Project 365: 31/365 - Library Haul

Project 365: 30/365 - Dinner

Chicken and gravy over mashed potatoes, served with spring greens and cranberry sauce.

Project 365: 29/365 - Light

A pretty light fixture at the house of an awesome young man I know. :o)

Project 365: 28/365 - Science Experiment

My daughter's science experiment for the science fair. Wondering why there's peanut butter mixed with dirt? Her project is entitled "Are sandwiches good for plants?"

Project 365: 27/365 - Writers

A couple of my brilliant young writers from the Inkaholics 9 group.

Project 365: 26/365 - Happiness

One of our new favorite songs!

Project 365: 25/365 - Delectables

Sugared strawberries for dessert. Nom nom. Need I say more?

Project 365: 24/365 - Mountain View

I've taken at least a couple of these before, but I still find it lovely that I live in a place where the mountains are close enough to see in my sideview mirrors.

The Case of Dr. What by Inkaholics 007

It's been a long time in the making, but we are finally releasing the latest Collaborative Writers Group novella, The Case of Dr. What, by the group that is now known as Inkaholics 007. This is our longest novella yet at a finished total of 158 pages! The story itself came to roughly 33,000 words, which is positively gargantuan in comparison to previous Inkaholics books, which usually top out at 20K. This is one incredible story, let me tell you. We've got people asking about a sequel already!


The Case of Dr. What
by The Inkaholics 007 Writers Group

When Hanover, an unsuspecting university student, stumbles upon a clandestine espionage operation gone sour, he is thrust into an international manhunt to locate the odious criminal Dr. What. Hanover’s companions are a cantankerous pair: Glaydin, a ruthless, alien bounty hunter and her nemesis, Kriscilla, a feisty, alate mouse with the Secret Spy Association.

The mismatched team must learn to work together as Dr. What leaves a trail of enigmatic clues and bizarre portals that will send them on a trek around the world. Can Hanover accept his adventurous fate? Will Kriscilla learn to forgive her enemy? Who will Glaydin choose as her allies—a man and a mouse, or the most powerful villain of their time?

Project 365: 23/365 - Me

My son actually took this one when I wasn't looking. We were at my mom's Thai restaurant, and I was trying to figure out the pricing gun for her.

Project 365: 22/365 - Fishy, Fishy

A really clever craft project in my son's Sunday morning preschool class. They added blue toothpaste and water to a zipper bag and made an ocean for the fish. Pretty cool. (And minty!)

Project 365: 21/365 - Reorganizing

Sometimes you have to make a mess in order to get things organized.

Project 365: 20/365 - Panera Salad

One of my fave dishes at Panera--the BBQ chicken salad.

Project 365: 19/365 - G. Willikers

This is the bookstore cat at the new local bookstore, G. Willikers. He's adorable and very friendly.

Project 365: 18/365 - Book Cover

Looooove making book covers. Finalized this one for the latest young writers group's novella, The Case of Dr. What.

Project 365: 17/365 - Icy H2O

Bet those of you in the warmer climes have rarely had this happen--leaving your water bottle in the car overnight, only to find it frozen the next morning.

Project 365: 16/365 - Lioness

We went to the zoo on a chilly day, and the lionesses were lounging right next to the glass. It was amazing to see them so close up--less than 24 inches away!

Project 365: 15/365 - Lo-Fi vs. Hi-Fi

These were the "instructions" (with a few clarifications added in my handwriting) that I received last Tuesday morning for a card that needed to be printed and available for Sunday morning. Quite a quick turnaround.

But you see, this is why they keep me around. I love a challenge like this. Here's the final, printed result of the Sharpie scribblings. I'm rather happy with how it turned out.

Project 365: 14/365 - Bookstore

Went to the grand opening of a local bookstore that will target readers and writers alike. This is my lovely friend Mary, helping to stock the shelves for the owner that morning.

After scoping out their front meeting room, methinks we have found the location of one of the spring Inkaholics groups!

Project 365: 13/365 - Book Browsing

Got an opportunity to go shopping at Target, unencumbered by children. Somehow, I always gravitate toward the book section for ideas on what to read next. I wrote down a few titles to look up at the library, but picked up a copy of The Hunger Games because I have only heard good things about it.

And trust me, it's rather a big deal for me to buy a book, much less a new one. (I'm a huge fan of the library.) But with all the positive reviews and knowing my own taste in books, I figured it was worth the risk of purchasing. Besides, it was on sale. *whistle*

Project 365: 12/365 - Annie

Introduced my kids to the classic film "Annie" that night. They loved it!

Project 365: 11/365 - Wolves

No, this is not mis-titled. I played an RPG with my friends Flynn and Angel, and we had to find some markers for the pack of wolves our characters were fighting. Into the toybox I went, and out came Batman the wolf, Puma the wolf, Gorilla the wolf, and Ariel the wolf. Spider-Man and the two action figure dudes were our characters.

Project 365: 10/365 - Poison

It's not often you get to bring home outright poison from the pharmacy...

Project 365: 9/365 - Pie & Dice

A little homemade pumpkin pie, a little Yahtzee... Sounds like a perfect evening to me.

Project 365: 8/365 - Salad?

Oh, how I love a good salad bar. But with all the stuff on my plate, can this really still be called a salad?

Project 365: 7/365 - Smoosh

This must be comfortable somehow...

Project 365: 6/365 - New Eggspert

My daughter can now crack eggs expertly. No bits of shell included!

Upcoming Young Writers Groups

What an exciting year 2011 has been! And here we are in 2012 with many more opportunities for young writers to hone their skills and be creative together. This year, we're going to try running a couple Inkaholics groups simultaneously, with two different age groups. Here's what we have in the works:

Inkaholics 8 (Middle School)
6-week Collaborative Writers Group for Middle Schoolers
Ages: 12-15, intermediate
Dates: Saturdays, January 14-February 18, 2012
Time/Location: 2:00-4:00 p.m. @ Panera Bread (Powers & S Carefree)
Cost: $75 for the entire workshop
Participants: 6-8

Participants learn to work together to craft a story and contribute their own ideas and writing to the finished product.Every student will receive ONE FREE COPY of the final, professionally-designed, printed copy of the novella after the workshop ends.

REGISTER FOR INKAHOLICS 8

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Inkaholics 9 (High School)
6-week Collaborative Writers Group for High Schoolers
Ages: 15-18, advanced
Dates: Fridays, January 20-February 24, 2012
Time/Location: 5:00-7:00 p.m. @ Panera Bread (Powers & S Carefree)
Cost: $75 for the entire workshop
Participants: 6-8

The older Inkaholics group will have longer write-at-home scenes, plus an opportunity to advance toward real, paid publication IF the final novella meets market standards.Otherwise, we will self-publish, and each student will receive ONE FREE COPY of the final, professionally-designed, printed copy of the novella after the workshop ends.

REGISTER FOR INKAHOLICS 9

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Ink Slingers: Free Monthly Peer Critique Group

This is a brand new group for 2012 that will meet during the school year. Bring 3 copies of 1500 words of your work-in-progress. We'll read it together and critique it as a group--live and in person! Discuss your story with peers and help others with their writing as well.

 

Ages: 14-18

Duration: Monthly, 4th Saturday of the month

Time/Location: 5:00-6:30 p.m. @ Panera Bread (Powers & S Carefree)

Cost: FREE

Participants: 3-8

RSVP for your first meeting

 

 

If you have any questions or would like to register via email, just contact me. Thanks for considering how to encourage the young writers in your life!

Project 365: 5/365 - Holding Out

We've had relatively warm weather lately, but there are still spots of ice and piles of snow that are holding out in the shadows for as long as they can.

Project 365: 4/365 - Immunization Day

My son starts kindergarten in the fall, so that meant that we had to get his shot record up-to-date. Just two shots this time, but whether it's one or six, it's never fun. :o(

Project 365: 3/365 - Blackbirds

O blackbird! sing me something well:
While all the neighbors shoot thee round,
I keep smooth plats of fruitful ground,
Where thou mayst warble, eat, and dwell.

Excerpt from The Blackbird by Lord Alfred Tennyson

Project 365: Day 2/365 - Playtime @ the Park

One nice thing about playtime at the park is that momma gets to read her library book before the overdue fines get out of control. :oP

Project 365 for 2012: Day 1/365 - Grammar Be Good

Back in 2008, I learned from my dear friend Beth about a little thing called Project 365. It is basically a challenge to take a photo every day for a year. The purpose? To create a visual diary of a single year in your life. Time moves surprisingly fast, and if I didn't keep a daily account of my comings and goings, I honestly don't think I would remember even half of what I do.



I managed to finish Project 365 in 2008 (video above). Started it in 2009 but fizzled due to extreme busyness. In 2010, I made a concerted effort, but stopped in April because sometime at the end of 2009, I got a crazy hair spiraling out of my cranium and attempted to do a photo AND a video each day. (It was extremely fun to do a video a day though; don't get me wrong. One of my faves is here below.)



For 2012, I'll attempt no such daily video nonsense, but will most definitely be posting daily photos here.

Please feel free to comment! Creative people are feedback junkies; we thrive on pats on the back and constructive criticism. So I welcome your comments as we progress through the year. Many thanks for following! And now, without further adieu...let's begin.

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2012 Project 365: Day 1/365 - Grammar Be Good



How, oh, HOW does a sign get publicly posted with a blaring grammatical error such as this? The "in assure" is bad enough, then let's add the fact that there are capitalization and punctuation problems to boot. ACK.