authorwithin

Say it like Molly Weasley and I'll be properly chastised. ;-)

You all know I have a crazy busy life, and it keeps getting busier and crazier. I tried to do Nano but didn't even reach the 10,000 word mark. Am I ashamed?

NO!

And I'll tell you why. Every year my kids' school has a Holiday Store in December. This is a safe environment where the kids can come purchase inexpensive (though there are some more expensive things as well) gifts for their families and friends. I had a booth last year and will again this year. Only this year, I decided to sell some handmade things as well as things from our online store.

As a result of this decision, I've been spending my time using this stuff:

To make this jewelry:

And these bookmarks:

Now while this endeavor may not be more fun than posting on LJ, it was certainly more fun than my Nano novel.

Over the next several days, I will continue to make bookmarks and jewelry, but I'll also be revising WAM. So don't be offended if I'm not updating much.

Oh, and if you like the bookmarks, take a close look at the first picture. See that bookmark on the far right? Yep, the one with the watch. It's special.

Why is it special?

When I wasn't making jewelry or bookmarks, I was reading. One of the books I read was this:

It's the sequel to THE FARWALKER'S QUEST, and the gold bookmark is one of the prizes in an upcoming contest featuring ARC copies (yep, plural) of THE TIMEKEEPER'S MOON.

But that's all I'm saying right now because suspense is good, right?

Be sure to check back soon for more information about the contest and prizes.

Write on.

cynthialord

Today's featured panelist judge in the Easy Reader and Early Chapter Book category of the Cybil Awards is Jennifer, a Youth Services librarian at the Matheson Memorial Library in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Her blog is called Jean Little Library (named for one of her favorite authors).

Jennifer reviews all types of books for children and teens, but her reviews for our Cybils category can be found here!

I'm excited to see which books are chosen for the short list. That list will be announced January 1st and then the final judges (including me!) will choose a winner by Valentine's Day.

sandratayler

I was watching Firefly with six year old Patch snuggled up next to me. He loves to watch the space ships. Some of the other stuff in the show was a little scary to him, so I paused the show to explain how it is all pretend. He turned wide eyes to me in disbelief and said “You mean space ships aren’t real?!”

It was like someone had taken away Christmas. I had to explain to him that we do have real space ships, but that they don’t look like the ones in movies. So we googled some pictures of the space shuttle and I told him about it. I told him what I knew about space shuttles and how they work. I told him how my dad dragged us kids out of bed at four in the morning so we could watch space shuttle launches on live television. I told him about watching the space shuttles land at much more convenient west coast hours. I told about the time that the space shuttle was transported via plane over our house and I watched it fly by. I remember what an amazing miracle it was to have a space ship that could be used more than once.

My stories convinced Patch that all was not lost in the space ship department. I wanted to give him more to be excited about, so I went to netflix to find documentaries about space. The documentaries arrived only to disappoint. They were nostalgic and historical. There were images of space ships, but most of the screen time was old guys talking. These documentaries did nothing to make my son excited about real space ships.

This makes me sad, because the fact that human beings travel into space is a miracle. It has become one of those routine miracles that few people pay any attention to. We entertain ourselves with fantastical visions of futures filled with flying cars and space ships when high above us people are orbiting beyond the reach of gravity. If we want our future to include amazingly cool space ships, we need to be making kids excited about space. I wondered at the lack of documentaries explaining to kids what space exploration has done and why it is cool. I wondered at the lack of a Carl Sagan or a Bill Nye or an Adam from the myth Mythbusters to make space science accessible to kids.

Lacking an exciting documentary, I took matters into my own hands. Today we had a family outing to the Hill Air Force Base Aerospace Museum. This museum is devoted primarily to airplanes rather than space ships, but it is worth the trip. We got to walk right up next to hundreds of historical aircraft. The one Kiki loved was the 1948 era plane of the kind used by the “candy bomber” who dropped packages of candy to children during the Berlin airlift. Gleek was creeped out by the mock up of the first atom bomb. It was truly creepy looking even before reading the plaque. Patch was delighted by the whole experience. He would have been happy to wander for hours just looking at the airplanes. But the true joy of the trip for him was the hands on exhibit where he got to climb into a bomber cockpit simulator and play with all the switches. If he’d grinned any wider, his face would have split.

I was once again amazed at the marvel of airplane engineering. I was a little saddened that so much of it is devoted to ever better ways to commit violence. I think that is why the portions devoted to space travel were my favorite. Space ships are all about making sure that no one gets killed. I mused on all of this as I sat waiting for the kids to be ready to leave the hands-on exhibit area. Then I noticed that in the waiting area there was a video playing. It was taking the viewer step by step through a space shuttle launch and doing so interestingly. I asked one of the docents and she told me that the video was The Big Space Shuttle. I have now added that to our Christmas list. It is more similar to How It’s Made than to Bill Nye The Science Guy, but it is much better than the documentaries I found before.

The outing was a success. Patch even acquired a little pewter airplane that he has been playing with all evening. He cornered me to tell me all about it, including the fact that the plane had a giant laser on its back which no one could see, but which could blow up anything.

I don’t know that any of my kids will become scientists or engineers. I don’t know that they will ever work in an industry related to space. But I do know that they will some day vote, and I want them to have some idea of the marvelous accomplishments which have come from the space program. It would be sad to have manned spaceflight come to an end merely because the voting public considers the miracle too routine to be worth funding.

Mirrored from onecobble.com.

karenkincy

Originally published at Karen Kincy. You can comment here or there.

You may have already heard of the 2010 Debut Author Challenge by The Story Siren. If not, definitely check it out! More info, snatched from Kristi:

What will be happening during the challenge?

This year I’ve planned ways to get more “interactive” participation.

• I’ll have a post every month were participants can enter links to their reviews to gain entries for some fantastic prizes.
• I’ll be spotlighting authors, with interviews and guest posts throughout the month. If you comment on any of these posts you will also gain you an entry into the monthly prize packs!
• I’ll be featuring a list of 2010 debut novels each month, for their releases. 
• And of course I’ll be posting reviews of my own for the challenge. If you comment on any of these you can also gain an extra entry into the monthly prize packs!

I’m seeing my debut Other on quite a few lists so far…  from Tattooed Books to Mindful Musings to Black and Blue Ink, to name a few. Thanks so much, guys!

sandratayler

Ship store orders: These have been stacking up in the last two days while I was eating turkey and then digesting it.

Answer email: Ditto

Wash children/clean house: It is time to vaccuum and clean up so that we can face the holidays in cleanliness

Take kids to Hill AFB Aerospace Museum: There’s a longer story involved here. I’ll tell it tomorrow when I can include scenes from the museum.

Pick up Link from BestFriend’s house: Conveniently near the Aerospace Museum

Make sure Kiki gets her homework done: Almost caught up. Almost.

Spend time with Gleek: She’s been feeling neglected lately with all the time I’ve been having to spend on homework for the oldest two.

Spend time with Patch: Ditto.

Put up Christmas tree: Not sure this will actually happen. It depends on how gung ho the kids are to get it done.

Mirrored from onecobble.com.

edawn

Our Thanksgiving turned out very nice, despite the fact that we noticed a bunch of little red, itchy spots on the Bulldozer. Although I am relieved that it isn't the flu starting its path of destruction through my family (the rest of us have already had them), I feel bad for the little guy. He is miserable.

As soon as my oldest got home from school, we hopped into the car and drove into the big city where DH joined us to travel a couple of blocks to the Sarah_Create Family. There, we got to eat turkey and all the trimmings. I brought a pumpkin pie, but Sarah and her crew did all the rest of the work. Thank you!! for that, Sarah and family.

Today, I have to say that I am thankful that everybody involved in the festivities yesterday had either had the chicken pox or been immunized. I am also thankful for the internet because I get to keep in touch with old friends and make new ones all in one place.

Ok, now everybody take a deep breath and enjoy a moment of tranquility because Christmas is up next.

annemariewrites

1. My family. I got them to eat birdseed (millet), and EVERYONE tried it. YAY! Also, no one seemed to hate it either. Double YAY!! My uncle inquired about the recipe. I explained, "just bung a bunch of canned veggies in a pot after you boil the birdseed". Wow, I should write a cook book. >:D
   
2. My friends. There were a lot of text messages going around with good wishes on this holiday. And last night, one of my friends came over and we watched TV, drank wine, and I got her to eat a bunch of weird stuff (including birdseed -- hey, I'm trying to perfect it!).
   
3. My beagle. Even though he got up on the table and gobbled some turkey down, he was very adorable and well-behaved. Minus the five seconds of turkey devouring, of course.
   
4. My writing. It's not perfect. It's not pathetic. It's mine. Someday it might be shared on a larger scale. This is a result of the NaNoWriMo high. It's a phenomenon. ;)
   
5. My bed. It's been a long -- good, but long -- day, and I'm happy to be home at last where I can tuck myself in and dream to my heart's content.
   

rj_anderson

Sophos, heir to Sounis, doesn’t look like much of a prince. At least, according to those in power. At least, to those who do not know him or the size of his heart and the depth of his courage, loyalty, and love. But Helen, Queen of Eddis, knows him, and so does Gen, the queen’s Thief, who is now King of Attolia. Gen and the queen believe that Sophos is dead. But they also believe in hope, especially since a body was never found. So when Sophos is discovered in Attolia, the obvious question becomes: where has he been all this time?

sounis