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In a rare moment in time, I was able to chat with the guys from The Beige Planet Podcast.

A while back, I had the opportunity to chat with Paul Pate regarding his graphic novel Detective Perez Welcome To Rust City. His tenacity and perseverance in completing the book really inspired me.

Since that time, Paul and his long time friend Alfred Laurence has started a fresh new podcast and I was lucky enough to be a guest. We talked about the trials and tribulations of being an artist, a little bit about my film making experience, creating comics and what I’m currently working on. Hopefully, you’ll have fun listening to our wacky conversation and find a little bit of inspiration for your own journey.

This weekend we need to finish preparing for the first day of school. My daughter starts school for the first time next week, so we're getting excited and a little nervous. Earlier in August I had the chance to listen to a back-to-school blogcast sponsored by Office Max along with 200 other bloggers. The blogcast starred organization guru Peter Walsh and two mom bloggers, Ana from BonggaMom and Heather from Tweenteacher.com (plus two students Megan and Keaton.)

They shared many great back-to-school tips, but one word kept coming up time after time: ORGANIZATION. Yes, that is something that we need to work on around here. According to Walsh, organization helps keep the stress out of daily life and promotes confidence and self assurance. Good lessons for back-to-school beginners.

As parents, it is especially important to model good organizational habits. Some suggestions Walsh had during the blogcast for parents included:
- Show that you value organization
- Establish clear limits and clear routines
- Finish the cycle (complete tasks, don't leave things done half-way and make sure to regularly purge items)
The more you involve your children in organization, the more invested they'll become and the more likely they'll help in maintaining order around the home.

Since this is our first year with kids in school, we're trying to start off on the right foot. We don't want to rush around in the mornings, and we want to avoid mad dashes out the door. The blogcast helped me get into the school year mind-set. Hopefully our transition from summer to school will go smoothly and with out worry.

Office Max kindly sent us a box of Schoolio Von Hoolio school supplies to help us on our way to an organized year. The box included binders, and expanding file, a notebook, pocket folder, composition books, and a pencil set. My daughter loves the owl and cupcake designs, and I'm sure all the supplies will get used throughout the year. Right now Office Max is running some great back-to-school deals for last minute shoppers.

Related Links:
Watch a recording of the blogcast: www.officemaxsolutions.com/btsblogcast

Behind the blogcast scenes posts from Ana and Heather:
http://bonggamom.blogspot.com/2009/08/behind-scenes-at-officemax-back-to.html
http://tweenteacher.com/2009/08/08/peter-walsh-officemax-and-me-oh-my/

Thanks to Office Max and Peter Walsh for the opportunity to participate in the blogcast and for providing us with school supplies. (View my full disclosure statement for more information about my reviews.)