tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2221100446093132892024-03-05T03:56:30.923-08:00Julie DeGuiaI have dubbed myself a Creative-in-Training... where I do a little bit of lots of different creative things, including but not limited to Photography, Scrapbooking, Kids' Art, Writing, Knitting and Crocheting. Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-56859752153829281042014-06-23T03:00:00.000-07:002014-06-23T03:00:00.213-07:00MMGM: What the Moon Said<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Moon-Said-Gayle-Rosengren/dp/0399163522">What the Moon Said</a> by Gayle Rosengren</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Word Count: 48,248</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b>Book Description</b> (from Amazon): </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Thanks to her superstitious mother, Esther knows some tricks for avoiding bad luck: toss salt over your left shoulder, never button your shirt crooked, and avoid black cats. But even luck can't keep her family safe from the Great Depression. When Pa loses his job, Esther's family leaves their comfy Chicago life behind for a farm in Wisconsin.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Living on a farm comes with lots of hard work, but that means there are plenty of opportunities for Esther to show her mother how helpful she can be. She loves all of the farm animals (except the mean geese) and even better makes a fast friend in lively Bethany. But then Ma sees a sign that Esther just knows is wrong. If believing a superstition makes you miserable, how can that be good luck?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Debut author Gayle Rosengren brings the past to life in this extraordinary, hopeful story.</span><div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>Why it is Marvelous</b>: First of all the cover is amazing. That is how I choose most books when I am browsing in the library and this one definitely caught my attention. I love how the title is on the moon and the joy of the scene depicted. I was a little hesitant as the story starts because there is a lot of repeated negativity in the main character's feelings towards her mother. Specifically that Esther feels that her mother doesn't love her as much as the other children. As a mother myself, this was hard for me to read. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Esther's quest for her mother's love and what she discovers about it in the end is the main storyline here, with all the superstition as setup and supporting elements. The author keeps the story tight, moving over weeks at a time without feeling as though anything has been left out. After feeling she is being a bit whiny in the beginning, I love how Esther's character arc plays out. There is sadness in this story but also adventure and perseverance and hope. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">This has definitely been one of my favorite middle grade reads of the year!</span></span></div>
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<strong style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 18px;">Marvelous Middle Grade Monday</strong><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 18px;"> (MMGM) was created by Shannon Messenger. To find other bloggers participating in MMGM go to </span><span style="color: #cc6411; font-family: Arial; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/2013/01/marvelous-middle-grade-monday-33.html" style="color: #cc6411; text-decoration: none;">her blog</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 18px;"> for a list of links.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span></div>
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Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-86629908305156643752014-06-06T03:00:00.000-07:002014-06-06T07:37:53.030-07:00Cover Reveal: RED BUTTERFLY by A.L. Sonnichsen<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am so excited to help my IRL (in real life) friend reveal the cover to her MG verse novel RED BUTTERFLY (<span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">Simon & Schuster BFYR) that is scheduled for release in February 2015. I have had the pleasure of reading an ARC and it is amazing! Without further ado, here is it...</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZn1yeo1TNjdZEpN_Rhh18vd-ZJHXIgG2U5E9GyCs9rPte67Ssl7xOUKaKF5ita1O-M6xyB-2Sc5UsaYGFMTBkDVsydw2TB_W1Wy-sFsaq0Rs4cHLf4sWJDockPa0mLonBWEwZY_seBw/s1600/Front+Cover+-+Red+Butterfly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZn1yeo1TNjdZEpN_Rhh18vd-ZJHXIgG2U5E9GyCs9rPte67Ssl7xOUKaKF5ita1O-M6xyB-2Sc5UsaYGFMTBkDVsydw2TB_W1Wy-sFsaq0Rs4cHLf4sWJDockPa0mLonBWEwZY_seBw/s1600/Front+Cover+-+Red+Butterfly.jpg" height="640" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Jacket Copy:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Kara never met her birth mother. Abandoned as an infant, she was taken in by an elderly American woman living in China. Now eleven, Kara spends most of her time in their apartment, wondering why she and Mama cannot leave the city of Tianjin and go live with Daddy in Montana. Mama tells Kara to be content with what she has … but what if Kara secretly wants more?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Told in lyrical, moving verse, Kara’s story is one of a girl learning to trust her own voice, discovering that love and family are limitless, and finding the wings she needs to reach new heights.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.559999465942383px;">If you're curious about the cover design process, please head over to </span><a href="http://motherwrite.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #6aa84f; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.559999465942383px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Krista Van Dolzer's blog</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.559999465942383px;"> (@KristaVanDolzer). She interviewed RED BUTTERFLY's designer, Laurent Linn, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #323232; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.735000610351563px;">art director at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.559999465942383px;"> Plus, she's giving away an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of RED BUTTERFLY.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShJodEicql6EiCePMDsRv8aTpgJNJQdr0YCmDsg_WRn7AmK84AiMTotufMWdhUpDBnD4PpYs8mKdwtS9Z2j4-rRY_bFyGO-VJQs0DcaoqI57wQEHHhT7GQNzVfXLJ79AfU5Aqbwe_c40/s1600/Amy5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShJodEicql6EiCePMDsRv8aTpgJNJQdr0YCmDsg_WRn7AmK84AiMTotufMWdhUpDBnD4PpYs8mKdwtS9Z2j4-rRY_bFyGO-VJQs0DcaoqI57wQEHHhT7GQNzVfXLJ79AfU5Aqbwe_c40/s1600/Amy5.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Bio:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A.L. Sonnichsen grew up in Hong Kong and then spent eight years in China as adult. She now lives on the dry side of Washington State with her dashingly handsome sidekick, five talented children, and a luxury cat. Red Butterfly is her first novel. Learn more at <a href="http://alsonnichsen.blogspot.com/">alsonnichsen.blogspot.com</a>.</span>Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-71216886143596983102014-04-09T14:05:00.000-07:002014-04-09T14:05:31.274-07:00Wordless Wednesday: Tulip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-68728315420691926522014-03-31T03:00:00.000-07:002014-06-22T23:22:42.099-07:00MMGM: Two Books with MagicThe last two middle grade books I have read just happen to have magic weaved into the story. I picked up The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop at the library, drawn in by its fun cover. A Snicker of Magic I just had to snatch up for a $3 steal through my daughter's Scholastic Book Order.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwLxHJ2LUuy1NcNGeHloharhgUO5PtIyrWJp5kZG0RKwbCtbNyohdpi7EIwl-gBcTndujwn6ODCU7UTbzj7Un7U4v4OOiiUaDJ0df1Z_Ef-e7MA_Z2coRq-ApLNTmznEwvZBiQO_9mqEY/s1600/WHIZZ-POP-CHOCOLATE-SHOP-THE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwLxHJ2LUuy1NcNGeHloharhgUO5PtIyrWJp5kZG0RKwbCtbNyohdpi7EIwl-gBcTndujwn6ODCU7UTbzj7Un7U4v4OOiiUaDJ0df1Z_Ef-e7MA_Z2coRq-ApLNTmznEwvZBiQO_9mqEY/s1600/WHIZZ-POP-CHOCOLATE-SHOP-THE.jpg" height="400" width="263" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Whizz-Pop-Chocolate-Shop/dp/0385743017">The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop</a> by Kate Saunders<br />
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<b>Book Description</b> (from Amazon):<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Welcome to the most magical house in London. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">The family of eleven-year-old twins Oz and Lily have inherited it, together with the mysterious shop downstairs. Long ago, the shop's famous chocolate-makers, who also happen to be Oz and Lily's great uncles, were clever sorcerers. Now evil villains are hunting for the secret of their greatest recipe. The terrifying powers of this magic chocolate have the ability to destroy the world. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Soon, Oz and Lily are swept into a thrilling battle, helped by an invisible cat, a talking rat, and the ghost of an elephant. It's up to them to stop the villains and keep the magical chocolate recipe out of harm's way. Their family and the world depends on it.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>Why it is Marvelous:</b> I enjoyed how the characters weaved together in this book, pulling from the past and tying in with the present. I enjoyed how certain relationships strengthened throughout the book, especially those you weren't expecting to, and then provided a path to clean up the all the conflict. It is a fun adventure for kids in the intended age group and I'm sure they will love how the parents are always blissfully (magically) unaware of all the adventures that are actually taking place. The fact that an immortal cat and rat are top agents in a secret government spy unit was a little far-fetched for my tastes but just fine I'm sure for elementary readers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/A-Snicker-Magic-Natalie-Lloyd/dp/0545552702">A Snicker of Magic</a> by Natalie Lloyd</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>Book Description</b> (from Amazon): </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Introducing an extraordinary new voice---a magical debut that will make your skin tingle, your eyes glisten . . .and your heart sing.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Midnight Gulch used to be a magical place, a town where people could sing up thunderstorms and dance up sunflowers. But that was long ago, before a curse drove the magic away. Twelve-year-old Felicity knows all about things like that; her nomadic mother is cursed with a wandering heart.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">But when she arrives in Midnight Gulch, Felicity thinks her luck's about to change. A "word collector," Felicity sees words everywhere---shining above strangers, tucked into church eves, and tangled up her dog's floppy ears---but Midnight Gulch is the first place she's ever seen the word "home." And then there's Jonah, a mysterious, spiky-haired do-gooder who shimmers with words Felicity's never seen before, words that make Felicity's heart beat a little faster.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Felicity wants to stay in Midnight Gulch more than anything, but first, she'll need to figure out how to bring back the magic, breaking the spell that's been cast over the town . . . and her mother's broken heart.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>Why it is Marvelous</b>: I really enjoyed this book. The writing is wonderful, the way she uses words as a main part of the story as well as how she uses her own words to tell the story. Some of the fun words are "spindiddly" and "splendiferous" and "factofabulous." And here is an excerpt to show her stylish writing:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> "I never wanted to forget all the ways we were connected that day: By our shadows and sunlight. By pounding hearts and a starry maybe.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> By the nearly silent flutter of our broken wings."</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Each character in this book is unique and interesting, with his or her own voice shown through actions and dialog and strengthened by the words Felicity sees floating around each person. The story of the town and how each character is connected to it draws the reader through the book from start to finish. I was racing to get to the finish line but a little sad when it ended - a sign that the author did a wonderful job! </span></div>
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<strong style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 18px;">Marvelous Middle Grade Monday</strong><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 18px;"> (MMGM) was created by Shannon Messenger. To find other bloggers participating in MMGM go to </span><span style="color: #cc6411; font-family: Arial; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/2013/01/marvelous-middle-grade-monday-33.html" style="color: #cc6411; text-decoration: none;">her blog</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 18px;"> for a list of links.</span></div>
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Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-1318585995714360432014-03-12T09:05:00.001-07:002014-03-12T09:05:31.508-07:00Wordless Wednesday: Signs of Spring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-36673272876142244452014-02-04T15:16:00.000-08:002014-02-04T20:38:13.280-08:00Update on my OLW (One Little Word) FINISHWell, it has been a little over a month and I think I am making fairly good progress on my OLW (One Little Word - workshop with Ali Edwards). Not the greatest as I still have long spells of sitting aimlessly at my computer checking e-mail, scapbook galleries, Facebook, and then OH! did I get anymore e-mails?! Probably none that needed my attention in the 10 minutes since I last checked.<br />
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BUT, I did get some stuff done that I had been putting off for a LONG time.<br />
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1. FINISHed a scarf I started 14 months ago. It was supposed to be for a friend of mine who I have since learned is allergic to wool and can't even wear it. So, I guess I finished a scarf for myself!<br />
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2. FINISHed retouching an old torn photo for a neighbor. I had gotten stuck on the nose (where the tear was the worst) and put it to the side back in May. After resolving to FINISH the task I saw that the only way to fix it would be to find another nose which I pulled from an old photo of my mother. Yes! Where there is a will, there is a way.<br />
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3. FINISHed compiling photos of my youngest son's first year to send to my mother-in-law so she can scrap them. This is only slightly time consuming, but still takes the decision to do that task instead of my spells of sitting aimlessly at the computer!<br />
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4. FINISHed assembling and decoupaging my advent calendar after it sitting (giving me the evil eye) for 14 months. Now I have 14 months to decide what will go in each of the little boxes during the month of December.<br />
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5. This may seem like a little thing, but I had set aside four stamps quite a while ago (see a pattern here?) with the intention of putting them together in a frame. And when I mean set aside, I put them right where we charge our phones (so I would see them and not forget about them) where they looked up at me everyday asking why I forgot about them. Who knew inanimate objects could be so judgmental? My solution was to take a picture and create a piece of digital art, which I can now print out and frame whenever the inspiration strikes again. And the four nagging stamps? In the garbage.<br />
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6. This is not a finish yet... but I picked up a pile of fabric off the floor (which was probably moved there when I needed the table in my craft room for the advent calendar project... which the cat decided felt soft enough to use instead of her litter box - yes, this is pretty gross... see what happens when you don't finish things in a timely manner?) rewashed it, and am ready to put this quilt project on my finish list for February.<br />
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7. I printed out and FINISHed slipping 180 scrapbook pages into their proper places (chronologically) in scrapbooks ranging from years 2006 to 2013.<br />
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8. FINISHed four weeks of the Project Life scrapbook album I am working on this year. The ONLY way I will finish this project is to keep up with it each week. We are in week six of 2014 (can you believe it?) and this week I will finish week five. Here is a glimpse of how I am doing the project (this is the left side of a two-page spread for week four.)<br />
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For those of you working with a word this year, happy OLWing! For those of you with resolutions to keep, good luck keeping them in the front of your mind and working them into your daily life!<br />
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<br />Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-29357858766828068182014-02-03T03:00:00.000-08:002014-02-03T03:00:01.895-08:00MMGM: The I Survived Series by Lauren Tarshis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The I Survived Series by <a href="http://www.laurentarshis.com/">Lauren Tarshis</a>.<br />
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What a great idea for a series. The author takes real life tragedies and builds a story around the event with a kid (the age of her target audience) as the protagonist in each. The stories she creates are well done with great characters. Throw in a little history lesson in each book and they are all winners. At least the three I read this past week were. My kids enjoy them too which is the best indication for success.<br />
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These are short books at around 10,000 words each, which is a great length for reluctant readers (as well as me when I am looking to finish a few books quickly!) I love that she adds in facts surrounding each tragedy at the end of the book and any personal experience she might have, for example that she was on a plane heading to NYC when the terrorist attacks occurred in 2001 (how scary!)<br />
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These are also fairly inexpensive books so I don't mind getting each new addition to the series when it pops up in my kids' Scholastic book order flyer! There are now nine books in the series.<br />
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I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912<br />
I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916<br />
I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005<br />
I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941<br />
I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906<br />
I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001<br />
I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863<br />
I Survived the Japanese Tsunami, 2011<br />
I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944<br />
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I have also read (and enjoyed) the other two books Lauren Tarshis wrote: <i>Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell out of a Tree</i> and <i>Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell in Love</i>. So I guess I am just a big fan of this author! Check out her website <a href="http://www.laurentarshis.com/">here</a>.<br />
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<strong style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 18px;">Marvelous Middle Grade Monday</strong><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 18px;"> (MMGM) was created by Shannon Messenger. To find other bloggers participating in MMGM go to </span><span style="color: #cc6411; font-family: Arial; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/2013/01/marvelous-middle-grade-monday-33.html" style="color: #cc6411; text-decoration: none;">her blog</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 18px;"> for a list of links.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span></div>
Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-53145894890485448462014-01-27T08:07:00.002-08:002014-01-27T08:08:55.608-08:00MMGM: Stealing Air by Trent Reedy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIpiardKOXPZWJ1eOU_hgXy0Sx1fpvF5HfhB1fxm54X-Q4IMPcJclZgnV5kMLvlF_hbMK78RHueY9PNQ5b9QD9TrLXr8g8qid5meE_PIlaHrTTqyOHq_eg48YDNT0oDmlDGaPKsP2XFM/s1600/9780545469890_p0_v2_s260x420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIpiardKOXPZWJ1eOU_hgXy0Sx1fpvF5HfhB1fxm54X-Q4IMPcJclZgnV5kMLvlF_hbMK78RHueY9PNQ5b9QD9TrLXr8g8qid5meE_PIlaHrTTqyOHq_eg48YDNT0oDmlDGaPKsP2XFM/s1600/9780545469890_p0_v2_s260x420.JPG" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Stealing-Air-Trent-Reedy/dp/0545383072">Stealing Air</a> by Trent Reedy<br />
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<b>Book Description</b> (from Amazon):<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">You can't just ask for the chance to fly . . .</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">When his dad announced they were moving to Iowa, Brian looked forward to making some new friends. But on his first day there he makes an enemy instead -- Frankie Heller, the meanest kid in town. Brian needs to hang out with someone cool to get back on track. . . .</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Alex has always been the coolest guy around, and good with money, just like his dad. But now the family is struggling, and he needs to make some cash to keep up appearances. Then an opportunity falls in his lap . . . .</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Max is a scientific genius, but his parents are always busy with their own work. Building an actual plane should get their attention -- if only he wasn't scared of heights . . .</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">The answer to all three boys' problems starts with Max's secret flyer. But Frankie and the laws of popularity and physics stand in their way. Can they work together in time to get their plan AND their plane off the ground?</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>Why it is Marvelous</b>: My son said I should read this book so that right there is an indicator to me that it is pretty good (at least for the intended age range). This was a quick and easy read, with a fun plot and diverse characters. The three boys make an interesting mix and throughout the book they are working on their relationships with each other, needing to overcome not only how they view each other but how others view them as individuals and as a group of friends. There is enough action with a little boys figuring out girls thrown in to make this a great read for boys. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">The only issue I had with the book is that Alex gambles and takes bets from his classmates on anything from the school football game to who will win a fight. There is never any consequence to his questionable actions which is not a great message to send to the intended readers. I guess this would bring up some points to talk about with your child if you have both read the book, but I would have liked to see this issue addressed better in the book.</span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Marvelous Middle Grade Monday</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> (MMGM) was created by Shannon Messenger. To find other bloggers participating in MMGM go to </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #cc6411; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/2013/01/marvelous-middle-grade-monday-33.html" style="color: #cc6411; text-decoration: none;">her blog</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> for a list of links.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span></div>
Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-21814342799038052922014-01-13T03:00:00.000-08:002014-01-13T03:00:05.337-08:00MMGM: Andrew ClementsI am highlighting three books by <a href="http://www.andrewclements.com/index.html">Andrew Clements</a> today. I read <i>Frindle</i> last year and really enjoyed it and then breezed through two more this past week: <i>The School Story</i> and <i>About Average</i>. I just watched a video on Andrew Clements' website where he describes his books as being about "kids, and teachers and school and family." And that is exactly what these three are about, all done in clean and respectful way.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKG3OaNtLcXSaoYFTufNzzF27qJCRdy7P6l_cLrRxJEYZXTrZXvyxil9BIEXSiD5Lw13dLxidj8miJtJ9AXPu3fAwT02XiGquWhEtLHMIj-zhICj1BERVJq3SaWbFH1f2WW7EurPp1S5g/s1600/frindle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKG3OaNtLcXSaoYFTufNzzF27qJCRdy7P6l_cLrRxJEYZXTrZXvyxil9BIEXSiD5Lw13dLxidj8miJtJ9AXPu3fAwT02XiGquWhEtLHMIj-zhICj1BERVJq3SaWbFH1f2WW7EurPp1S5g/s320/frindle.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<i><b>Frindle</b></i> description (from Amazon): <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Is Nick Allen a troublemaker?</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">He really just likes to liven things up at school -- and he's always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he's got the inspiration for his best plan ever...the frindle. Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle? Things begin innocently enough as Nick gets his friends to use the new word. Then other people in town start saying frindle. Soon the school is in an uproar, and Nick has become a local hero. His teacher wants Nick to put an end to all this nonsense, but the funny thing is frindle doesn't belong to Nick anymore. The new word is spreading across the country, and there's nothing Nick can do to stop it.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>Why it is Marvelous</b>: This is just a fun concept and a fun book. I think kids will enjoy rooting for Nick as he challenges his teacher with the use of his new word. I also like how the author uses the main part of the book to bring the action to a climax, and then wraps the story up with a shorter ending summarizing what has happened since the climax. The ending was really cool and showed that maybe we should have been rooting for the teacher right along with Nick!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b><i>The School Story</i></b> description (from Amazon): </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Natalie's best friend, Zoe, is sure that the novel Natalie's written is good enough to be published. But how can a twelve-year-old girl publish a book? Natalie's mother is an editor for a big children's publisher, but Natalie doesn't want to ask for any favors.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Then Zoe has a brilliant idea: Natalie can submit her manuscript under a pen name, with Zoe acting as her literary agent. But it's not easy for two sixth graders to put themselves over as grown-ups, even with some help from a couple of </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">real</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> grown-ups who are supportive but skeptical. The next best-selling school story may be in their hands -- but can Natalie and Zoe pull off their masquerade?</span><div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>Why it is Marvelous</b>: Forget about two sixth graders... what adult wouldn't want her "next best-selling school story" to get published! For this alone, the book is a fun read for any aspiring author out there. And for those who are not aspiring authors it is fun to see how Natalie and Zoe "work the system" with their well-thought-out, if not slightly sneaky, plans. Again the author builds to the climax and then gives a shorter summary of what happens next. I like this because it gives more room for detail where it matters while keeping the book fairly short for his intended audience. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b><i>About Average</i></b> description (from Amazon): </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Can average be amazing? The bestselling author of </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Frindle</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> shows that with a little kindness, it can. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Jordan Johnston is average. Not short, not tall. Not plump, not slim. Not gifted, not flunking out. Even her shoe size is average. She’s ordinary for her school, for her town, for even the whole wide world, it seems. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Then Marlea Harkins, one of the most popular girls in school—and most definitely the meanest—does something unthinkable, and suddenly nice, average Jordan isn’t thinking average thoughts anymore. She wants to get Marlea back! But what’s the best way to beat a bully? Could it be with kindness?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>Why it is marvelous</b>: This is a great read for young girls struggling with self-acceptance. I didn't completely connect with the main character though as there was a lot of negative self-talk, but enjoyed how she chose to deal with the bullying and how the character arc finished up. I think the book also shows that while not everyone will be a friend, having a few good friends is important and will keep you grounded. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><i>About Average</i> was my least favorite of the three books. We are inside Jordan's head for pretty much the entire book (which takes place over only one school day) and there is very little dialog, most of which happens in flashbacks worked into her thoughts. This is a short book, at under 19,000 words, and I thought it might have been stronger with a little more showing/action over a longer period of time.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7LSYb601ph_L5ab5nOxvfoXr4_AdbhUwboGgR0tt7LY8tG4WxWUAiCRzCix4QMEKBqqLmIH_xJ7YkvSf-ApzNY2wbD44-WUtx1OuF1GvMGT-jl49mLFMc8vMrFBe8wvHo1B7Kxi5S8pg/s1600/MMGM2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #ff9700; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" closure_uid_2z4fl3="2" closure_uid_4f0olz="5" closure_uid_civg3w="3" closure_uid_ffj75u="8" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7LSYb601ph_L5ab5nOxvfoXr4_AdbhUwboGgR0tt7LY8tG4WxWUAiCRzCix4QMEKBqqLmIH_xJ7YkvSf-ApzNY2wbD44-WUtx1OuF1GvMGT-jl49mLFMc8vMrFBe8wvHo1B7Kxi5S8pg/s1600/MMGM2.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Marvelous Middle Grade Monday</strong> (MMGM) was created by Shannon Messenger. To find other bloggers participating in MMGM go to <span style="color: #cc6411;"><a href="http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/2013/01/marvelous-middle-grade-monday-33.html" style="color: #cc6411; text-decoration: none;">her blog</a></span> for a list of links.</span></div>
Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-3146214721288184652014-01-07T16:20:00.000-08:002014-01-07T20:26:11.215-08:00One Little Word (OLW) workshop with Ali Edwards<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3XA2UJYvQ8eZVv6v4QYkwkMcyUWssArZaV7w6VJ7Y_w9hmzXH7FYPDRBEfPlbGLorumiee8Tpb3boZGopbv7nXydBygvkqy4MgdeN8Vf9AdW9TtpQZqvv5njkZAwF6ZfG0bqXafMd2hE/s1600/FINISH+ART-resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3XA2UJYvQ8eZVv6v4QYkwkMcyUWssArZaV7w6VJ7Y_w9hmzXH7FYPDRBEfPlbGLorumiee8Tpb3boZGopbv7nXydBygvkqy4MgdeN8Vf9AdW9TtpQZqvv5njkZAwF6ZfG0bqXafMd2hE/s1600/FINISH+ART-resize.jpg" height="337" width="640" /></a></div>
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I am not good at resolutions... especially the New Year variety. I also don't believe January 1st is a magical date where if you set a resolution at that time it will somehow be easier to keep. What if at the end of January you get so fed up with something in your life, you need to make a change... you certainly are not going to put it off until the following January because that is when resolutions are made. Usually it is pretty clear when a change needs to take place. This year, about half-way through, the little bulge around my middle started talking to me, especially when I was sitting at my computer and several rolls of fat were making it harder to sit comfortably. So finally, after one false start, I cracked down and got back to running (while it was still warm) and hitting the gym once it got colder. After five months I have lost 10 pounds and am back under 130 pounds. Depending on which formula used to calculate ideal body weight I may or may not have a few pounds to go... but there is definitely some toning left to go.<br />
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My point is, you have to <b>BE READY</b> to <b>MAKE A CHANGE</b>. And that can happen at any point throughout the year. The key is to recognize that you are ready and take action! I wasn't ready to work off my extra weight in January (or February through July either) but when the end of August rolled around KaPow! I was ready. And I jumped in, jogging stroller and all.<br />
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Now on to this year. There is one thing (or many things grouped together in one category) in my life that needs serious attention. While I have not made any official resolutions in the past, I have often said "this is the year" I will take care of this THING hanging over my head.<br />
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That thing - <b>UNFINISHED PROJECTS</b>!<br />
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These projects are scattered throughout the house and plague me as I walk through each room.<br />
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<li>A scarf I started knitting over a year ago is still sitting on the end table by the couch. I figure if I see it there I will pick it up when I am watching TV. Not so. (And the list of knitting projects I have purchased yarn for but have yet to start is long.) </li>
<li>The advent calendar (which required gluing together 25 little boxes) that I also started over a year ago, has seven boxes left to assemble and paper to decoupage... sits in my craft room giving me the evil eye. </li>
<li>A pile of abandoned books on my bedside table. They are either there because I am too tired to read at night or I got bored and didn't want to finish them. </li>
<li>A promise I made my mother-in-law (in August) to send her pictures of my youngest son so she can scrapbook them, left unfulfilled. I do lots of other things on my computer, but I can't take a few moments and do the one thing she asked me to do for her. That needs fixing and is the first thing on my list of projects to <b>FINISH</b> this year!</li>
<li>Important decisions I know need to be made and acted upon that would put our minds at ease. This may not seem like an unfinished project, but it takes up space in my mind... so if I were to just do it and <b>FINISH</b> the task, well that would be awesome.</li>
<li>And this one I am a little afraid to admit, but I will speak about it here with hope that admitting this will help me make a decision. Two summers ago (July 2012) we went to Las Vegas and I bought a pair of shoes. I wore them on the plane, we made it home and got everything in the house, and a little while later I looked down at my feet and there were all these little white bugs/mites (very very small) crawling around on the shoes. It freaked me out and (after scrubbing every inch of my body in the shower) I dumped them in a tub of water to hopefully drown and kill whatever those little white things were. After the shoes sat in the water for a while I dried them out and set them just inside the sliding back door. AND THERE THEY HAVE SAT FOR THE PAST YEAR AND A HALF. I can't bring myself to wear them and yet I can't bring myself to get rid of them either. I see them every day and it really bothers me that I can't make a decision and <b>FINISH</b> that one small chapter of my life.</li>
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The list is a lot longer than this, but you get the idea.<br />
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So this year I decided to sign up for <a href="http://aliedwards.com/about-ali">Ali Edwards</a>' <a href="http://aliedwards.com/shop/one-little-word-2014">One Little Word</a> workshop. My word: <b>FINISH</b>. I hope Ali's monthly video installments will help keep me accountable and on track throughout the year to finish my projects. And a rule for the year - I am absolutely not allowed to buy supplies for any new (personal) project until I complete (or get rid of - because I know I will never finish it) each an every unfinished project.<br />
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My hope is that clearing out these projects will free up space in my brain that has been swelling with mental clutter for years. I bought this journal (see picture below) to help me out... yes, I am a procrastinator most of the time, but by choosing to <b>FINISH</b> I hope to chip away at this part of my personality. While this journal may seem like the opposite of what I need, it will actually work out well and adds a little humor to each week.<br />
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For example: "Procrastinator Wisdom: A fool shovels snow; a wise man waits for it to melt." That is fine with me. While the snow melts I will hunker down inside and <b>FINISH</b> all my knitting projects!<br />
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If you could invite One Little Word into your life this year what would it be?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTjy_cRPvPghJe7tYaIXgk22Gti6Hte4cekMKQVWwFLrEMuqdOtUyVcQZrOzpni4s0BQQytonbsUO7CsC1CGUfIZSmwaft4Kn4wxiX_8Yi1GwltWi64g_G6xouAEfr24xUbwnVGLPW0rs/s1600/51PB5DUXBIL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTjy_cRPvPghJe7tYaIXgk22Gti6Hte4cekMKQVWwFLrEMuqdOtUyVcQZrOzpni4s0BQQytonbsUO7CsC1CGUfIZSmwaft4Kn4wxiX_8Yi1GwltWi64g_G6xouAEfr24xUbwnVGLPW0rs/s1600/51PB5DUXBIL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" /></a></div>
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** All scrapbooking products used in my FINISH word art are from <a href="http://www.designerdigitals.com/">Designer Digitals</a>.<br />
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<br />Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-87722315536514769252014-01-06T03:00:00.000-08:002014-01-06T03:00:04.954-08:00MMGM: My Top Three MG books of 2013<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
Below is a list of all the books I read this past year. I highlighted my top three favorites for the middle grade books, and my favorite YA and adult book. Unfortunately I had an apparent least favorite middle grade and adult book, but it wouldn't be in the spirit of this post to mention those. At least (as writers) we can learn from what we don't like in books we read and make sure it doesn't show up in our own writing!</div>
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Favorite middle grade books:</div>
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1. <b><i>Rump: The True Story of Rumplestiltskin</i> by Liesl Shurtliff.</b> I just thought this book was a lot of fun in the creative way she retold this story. Instead of a mean little old man, Rump was a young boy who needed to unravel the mystery of his name. I enjoyed learning the story right along with him.</div>
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2. <b><i>Out of the Dust</i> by Karen Hesse.</b> I had only read one verse novel prior to this, and it was a good one (<i>Inside Out and Back Again</i> by Thanhha Lai) but with <i>Out of the Dust</i> I really understood the power verse can have. I connected more with the format and knew I had to try to write in verse myself. Any book which inspires me to go write is a winner in my mind!</div>
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3. <b>Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary (Fablehaven Book 4) by Brandon Mull.</b> I have really enjoyed each book in this series. With every new installment there comes a new adventure (it does take a stretch of the imagination to believe that humans could come out from any of them alive - but it is fantasy after all) and what I liked about this one is a major character twist I didn't see coming. Like "whoa... no way!" Maybe other readers had this figured out, but not me. I have enjoyed the creativity of the world Brandon Mull has created and that he keeps us guessing how it will all turn out in the end.</div>
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What was your favorite middle grade (or other) book that you read in 2013?</div>
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Happy reading in 2014!</div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 27px;">Middle Grade Books 2013<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<ol style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>The Boy on the Porch </i>Sharon Creech</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Mockingbird by </i>Kathryn Erskine</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>The Dead Boys </i>by Royce Buckingham</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Smile by </i>Raina Telgemeier</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>A Tangle of Knots </i>by Lisa Graff</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Kepler's Dream </i>by Juliet Bell</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Doll Bones </i>by Holly Black</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Judy Moody and the Bad Luck Charm </i>by Megan McDonald</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Al Capone Does My Shirts </i>by Gennifer Choldenko</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Crunch </i>by Leslie Connor</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Breadcrumbs</i> by Anne Ursu</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Glory Be </i>by Augusta Scattergood</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>May B </i>by Caroline Starr Rose</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>The London Eye Mystery </i>by Siobhan Dowd<i> </i></span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Better Than Weird</i> by Anna Kerz</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Geenie Wishes </i>by Elisabeth Dahl</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Frindle </i>by Andrew Clements</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Pie </i>by Sarah Weeks</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>The Humming Room </i>by Ellen Potter</span></span></li>
<li style="color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow; line-height: 27px;"><i>Out of the Dust</i> by Karen Hesse</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow; line-height: 27px;"><i>Rump: The True Story of Rumplestiltskin </i>by Liesl Shurtliff</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>The Last Song </i>by Eva Wiseman</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>SLOB </i>by Ellen Potter</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Katerina's Wish</i> by Jeannie Mobley</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Heart of a Shepherd</i> by Rosanne Parry</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Faith, Hope, and Ivy June</i> by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>I, Emma Freke</i> by Elizabeth Atkinson</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>The Great Unexpected </i>by Sharon Creech</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Three Times Lucky</i> by Sheila Turnage</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>The Magic Half</i> by Annie Barrows</span></span></li>
<li style="color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow; line-height: 27px;"><i>Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary</i> (Fablehaven Book 4) by Brandon Mull</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Out of My Mind</i> by Sharon M. Draper</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Geeks, Girls and Secret Identities </i>by Mike Jung</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Fairytale Detectives</i> by Michael Buckley</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Liar and Spy </i>by Rebecca Stead</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Grip of the Shadow Plague</i> (Fablehaven Book 3) by Brandon Mull</span></span></li>
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<u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 27px;">Young Adult Books 2013</span></u></div>
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<li style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Allegiant </i>by Veronica Roth</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Insurgent </i>by Veronica Roth</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow; line-height: 27px;"><i>Divergent </i>by Veronica Roth</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Graffiti Moon </i>by Cath Crowley</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>I Heart You, You Haunt Me </i>by Lisa Schroeder </span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Deadline </i>by Chris Crutcher</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Butter</i> by Erin Jade Lange</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>This is What Happy Looks Like </i>by Jennifer E. Smith</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>The Dead and Buried</i> by Kim Harrington</span></span></li>
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<u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 27px;">Adult Books 2013</span></u></div>
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<ol style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">
<li style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Down the Darkest Road </i>by Tami Hoag</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>The 9th Girl </i>by Tami Hoag</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Fifty Shades of Grey </i>by E.L. James</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Look Again </i>by Lisa Scottoline</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>And the Mountains Echoed </i>by Khaled Hosseini</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 27px;">The Snow Child </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 27px;">by Eowyn Ivey</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Six Years </i>by Harlan Coben</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>Drop Shot</i> by Harlan Coben</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>The Shack</i> by William Paul Young</span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><i>You Don't Know Me</i> by Susan May Warren</span></span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7LSYb601ph_L5ab5nOxvfoXr4_AdbhUwboGgR0tt7LY8tG4WxWUAiCRzCix4QMEKBqqLmIH_xJ7YkvSf-ApzNY2wbD44-WUtx1OuF1GvMGT-jl49mLFMc8vMrFBe8wvHo1B7Kxi5S8pg/s1600/MMGM2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #ff9700; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" closure_uid_2z4fl3="2" closure_uid_4f0olz="5" closure_uid_civg3w="3" closure_uid_ffj75u="8" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7LSYb601ph_L5ab5nOxvfoXr4_AdbhUwboGgR0tt7LY8tG4WxWUAiCRzCix4QMEKBqqLmIH_xJ7YkvSf-ApzNY2wbD44-WUtx1OuF1GvMGT-jl49mLFMc8vMrFBe8wvHo1B7Kxi5S8pg/s1600/MMGM2.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Marvelous Middle Grade Monday</strong> (MMGM) was created by Shannon Messenger. To find other bloggers participating in MMGM go to <span style="color: #cc6411;"><a href="http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/2013/01/marvelous-middle-grade-monday-33.html" style="color: #cc6411; text-decoration: none;">her blog</a></span> for a list of links.</span></div>
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</div>
Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-65551950145567461032013-12-02T03:00:00.000-08:002013-12-02T03:00:03.832-08:00MMGM: Mockingbird by Kathryn Eskrine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZQSnku2Vx5oSYQ42CbhjVPGO_c0Jbx8T_FKX_4yQyjdpZWkandsKLL-fxYRL-Z4K42A9uIyvjIqMPlVsSF30B7SH5vrY9NnHTQIJa4uWk7YhyphenhyphenUoiZbWlszCiNY4FvC4ZPaLGSynpB9E/s1600/mockingbird-by-kathryn-erskine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZQSnku2Vx5oSYQ42CbhjVPGO_c0Jbx8T_FKX_4yQyjdpZWkandsKLL-fxYRL-Z4K42A9uIyvjIqMPlVsSF30B7SH5vrY9NnHTQIJa4uWk7YhyphenhyphenUoiZbWlszCiNY4FvC4ZPaLGSynpB9E/s1600/mockingbird-by-kathryn-erskine.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mockingbird-Kathryn-Erskine/dp/0142417750">Mockingbird</a> by Kathryn Eskrine<br />
Ages: 10 and up<br />
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<b>Book Description</b> (from Amazon) - <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.390625px;">Caitlin has Asperger's. The world according to her is black and white; anything in between is confusing. Before, when things got confusing, Caitlin went to her older brother, Devon, for help. But Devon has died, and Caitlin's dad is so distraught that he is just not helpful. Caitlin wants everything to go back to the way things were, but she doesn't know how to do that. Then she comes across the word closure- and she realizes this is what she needs. And in her search for it, Caitlin discovers that the world may not be black and white after all.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.390625px;"><b>Why it is marvelous </b>- The age range listed on Amazon is 10 and up, but I found this book because it is on the list of nominees for the <a href="http://www.wlma.org/sasquatch">WLMA Sasquatch Award</a>. So I know a lot of younger kids are reading it this year, which may not be a bad thing. There are some mature topics as the main character's brother dies in a school shooting, but I think the underlying theme here is bringing to light differences in people and how they can be accepted despite those differences. Anyone can be a friend, and anyone can teach us how to be a better person if we are open to those things. Hopefully the kids reading this book have paid attention and have a little more compassion because they chose to pick it up.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7LSYb601ph_L5ab5nOxvfoXr4_AdbhUwboGgR0tt7LY8tG4WxWUAiCRzCix4QMEKBqqLmIH_xJ7YkvSf-ApzNY2wbD44-WUtx1OuF1GvMGT-jl49mLFMc8vMrFBe8wvHo1B7Kxi5S8pg/s1600/MMGM2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #ff9700; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" closure_uid_2z4fl3="2" closure_uid_4f0olz="5" closure_uid_civg3w="3" closure_uid_ffj75u="8" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7LSYb601ph_L5ab5nOxvfoXr4_AdbhUwboGgR0tt7LY8tG4WxWUAiCRzCix4QMEKBqqLmIH_xJ7YkvSf-ApzNY2wbD44-WUtx1OuF1GvMGT-jl49mLFMc8vMrFBe8wvHo1B7Kxi5S8pg/s1600/MMGM2.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Marvelous Middle Grade Monday</strong> (MMGM) was created by Shannon Messenger. To find other bloggers participating in MMGM go to <span style="color: #cc6411;"><a href="http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/2013/01/marvelous-middle-grade-monday-33.html" style="color: #cc6411; text-decoration: none;">her blog</a></span> for a list of links.</span></div>
Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-79777551112929337152013-11-30T16:14:00.000-08:002013-11-30T16:19:49.970-08:00Quick and Easy Turkey SaladMy favorite Thanksgiving leftover is definitely turkey salad. Quick and easy to prepare, and it will disappear just as quickly. Nothing is measured so just add in the quantities that sound good to you. I am not a cook and don't use a lot of spices or know which go well together for that matter, so I just picked a few from my cabinet and threw them in. Responses for my daughter and husband were "fine" and "fine." Which from them means pretty good. I thought is was yummy, and probably would have tasted even better if I had let it sit in the refrigerator to let everything blend together.<br />
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Turkey, chopped<br />
Celery, chopped<br />
Red Grapes, quartered<br />
Mayonaise<br />
Sprinkle of oregano<br />
Sprinkle of sage<br />
Sprinkle of ground mustard<br />
Sprinkle of salt<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwkz7f4IxjM-Yvue6NTsmS1efUico-hy35gRz8MrLx96CnPfRtShayGUjVBpqdoaJKAW7Kg6MqDPzb_ndhCeDap11TEDU83HfS11lc5nblNyFt452wyId9-6aYplOtU1zF6fe77MpYMyA/s1600/TurkeySalad-resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwkz7f4IxjM-Yvue6NTsmS1efUico-hy35gRz8MrLx96CnPfRtShayGUjVBpqdoaJKAW7Kg6MqDPzb_ndhCeDap11TEDU83HfS11lc5nblNyFt452wyId9-6aYplOtU1zF6fe77MpYMyA/s640/TurkeySalad-resize.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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What do you do with your leftover turkey?<br />
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<br />Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-68151416892044971462013-11-29T10:21:00.001-08:002013-11-29T10:21:51.698-08:00Frosty Morning!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0wc5YDEQCHSmsOChxzB-wj6K0fGgf11vygLuRB93AcnXnAxnB3vjApO4ep8KYhYDqMbc3EhkBXWoOkoxN_J6ETvN7ccD3Y-uY1FoLTPYiaJEceg9WJU0ZLZ_C2U-NsZyxGeHxjq8kDcM/s1600/FrostyMorning-resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0wc5YDEQCHSmsOChxzB-wj6K0fGgf11vygLuRB93AcnXnAxnB3vjApO4ep8KYhYDqMbc3EhkBXWoOkoxN_J6ETvN7ccD3Y-uY1FoLTPYiaJEceg9WJU0ZLZ_C2U-NsZyxGeHxjq8kDcM/s1600/FrostyMorning-resize.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-82188852527253111562013-11-14T03:00:00.000-08:002013-11-14T03:00:06.901-08:00Healthy 5-Ingredient Granola Bars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have been wanting to try homemade granola bars for a while, but somehow thought they would be hard to make. My general plan when searching for a recipe is to type it in a search engine and use one of the first few that pop up. Lucky for me this one was in the top four when searching "how to make homemade granola bars with oatmeal."<br />
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Only 5 ingredients? Awesome!<br />
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No bake? Double-awesome!<br />
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Don't these look yummy? Oh, they are. And I even got a thumbs up from my husband who seemed genuinely surprised when he agreed they were good.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_JmsknnNb_DL2Ye3RSDqZn8xnBTJbhcHg4wkyJCX28r3UMbqvwdfnLuYbv7FjDAaFTzNkSnktFL1sYXK7OhlFIYEHexZ0iNFMm6U67DMsloUzzk6QiUhmE1UEecvMWi4whorHOw1n70/s1600/GranolaBars1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_JmsknnNb_DL2Ye3RSDqZn8xnBTJbhcHg4wkyJCX28r3UMbqvwdfnLuYbv7FjDAaFTzNkSnktFL1sYXK7OhlFIYEHexZ0iNFMm6U67DMsloUzzk6QiUhmE1UEecvMWi4whorHOw1n70/s640/GranolaBars1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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You will need to <a href="http://minimalistbaker.com/healthy-5-ingredient-granola-bars/">go here</a> for the recipe which I found on the <a href="http://minimalistbaker.com/">Minimalist Baker</a> blog. I have no doubt that I will be going back there to pick up a few more new recipes! What to expect at the Minimalist Baker: <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Enriqueta, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px;">Simple recipes that even the novice cook can approach. Always delicious, often sweet, never complicated.</span><br />
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Here are a few more shots taken while I was making these.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTwKjaWhbzBpHqPSTJAW1Zby_fwqIt8S-Mftb4XIVwOUkrwTCOXgdfvmG4xArkVk-QNHTyovUR6ACuKOPGqN4IG35AdJJ3IgL0XdnE5_zidmPgOsaSyg4Iq1NMSM7FR-2Rvgf9fZaAGg/s1600/GranolaBars4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTwKjaWhbzBpHqPSTJAW1Zby_fwqIt8S-Mftb4XIVwOUkrwTCOXgdfvmG4xArkVk-QNHTyovUR6ACuKOPGqN4IG35AdJJ3IgL0XdnE5_zidmPgOsaSyg4Iq1NMSM7FR-2Rvgf9fZaAGg/s640/GranolaBars4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I wanted my oats toasted so I started them first.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6YnrR6WuDABQP69neUBT6QMu99OWut8Qo1Tf75VhrOdNWcAS6NssSI1sEoaa-ga5zkRL6lwX2fEfjfc5lGpsSGFP-zdPbZUqL9AUcV5uTqhLSQdU-_uvEbtQYfy4aWQ1Xg0kNg8hyphenhyphenjg/s1600/GranolaBars2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6YnrR6WuDABQP69neUBT6QMu99OWut8Qo1Tf75VhrOdNWcAS6NssSI1sEoaa-ga5zkRL6lwX2fEfjfc5lGpsSGFP-zdPbZUqL9AUcV5uTqhLSQdU-_uvEbtQYfy4aWQ1Xg0kNg8hyphenhyphenjg/s640/GranolaBars2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I used my <a href="http://www.pamperedchef.com/our_products/catalog/product.jsp?productId=240&categoryCode=CE">Pampered Chef food chopper</a> on the roasted almonds.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJEjuZFcSGzyTsV0ECj7pe-ASmr7dBkMlpJFI-qoV-g7-iHS6HFQ7AkVOB_5bnJ_YHw02Tk_jFoAWPuMS63Tr_07Zuts_oVMnphvRbZHFvg9ajwp7S5m7FIN3QFaZxE-xKexDbAvccsEY/s1600/GranolaBars3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJEjuZFcSGzyTsV0ECj7pe-ASmr7dBkMlpJFI-qoV-g7-iHS6HFQ7AkVOB_5bnJ_YHw02Tk_jFoAWPuMS63Tr_07Zuts_oVMnphvRbZHFvg9ajwp7S5m7FIN3QFaZxE-xKexDbAvccsEY/s640/GranolaBars3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I also used the food chopper on the dates. This was kind of tricky as I had to shake them to the bottom each time but worked pretty well. I followed that up with a knife on any leftover big pieces.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlu6XoOgT8iRioJjmU7qLwSTu6DyMxySO5_yQVzyj7N79PmvxHj1fRUXHMxQAkJLkajwomTsQrcKnXYSZdRRg_VHD9zytq4s526EEIMyHukZiqDfQbv1QTGto_FDAs9oehLzY_e3SuZTQ/s1600/GranolaBars5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlu6XoOgT8iRioJjmU7qLwSTu6DyMxySO5_yQVzyj7N79PmvxHj1fRUXHMxQAkJLkajwomTsQrcKnXYSZdRRg_VHD9zytq4s526EEIMyHukZiqDfQbv1QTGto_FDAs9oehLzY_e3SuZTQ/s640/GranolaBars5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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These are the last two of the 5-Ingredient Granola Bars.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH81Zt33x7KnXCbnbB0WS6ZOQNnxwdXDOXcXXzhdcBcobTq0Yyq30oHY4YvtbZXipCbFTcmtVsK5aVGcuUJSeZItOSTbzjJH8yLoCL2Ou1l3yFd6RTsS_e5G-kuVbPhjRahRHNBCehgRU/s1600/GranolaBars7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH81Zt33x7KnXCbnbB0WS6ZOQNnxwdXDOXcXXzhdcBcobTq0Yyq30oHY4YvtbZXipCbFTcmtVsK5aVGcuUJSeZItOSTbzjJH8yLoCL2Ou1l3yFd6RTsS_e5G-kuVbPhjRahRHNBCehgRU/s640/GranolaBars7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Makes 8 bars.<br />
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This was my first time trying a date. I still can't say I know what one tastes like because they were mixed in with the other ingredients, but in the words of the lady who works in the natural/bulk section at Fred Meyer, they are "flipping delicious." I will have to take a bite before throwing them in the bowl next time!<br />
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Hope you give these a try... and come let me know how they turned out!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPMdIfsR2GGGL_9MM4L3VnXipEXDQDpW2ey1ORjuHNwowMur-NaCmf1v3FLnzN9_2VLJl5BbLwIpA-8-U7y5f9ddcuV9setbNdOueG6UTiP7AcLnzfZVoUqGlB9NRlZBhujdY4GA-i9c/s1600/GranolaBars6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPMdIfsR2GGGL_9MM4L3VnXipEXDQDpW2ey1ORjuHNwowMur-NaCmf1v3FLnzN9_2VLJl5BbLwIpA-8-U7y5f9ddcuV9setbNdOueG6UTiP7AcLnzfZVoUqGlB9NRlZBhujdY4GA-i9c/s640/GranolaBars6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-85529105139223660022013-11-06T03:00:00.001-08:002013-11-06T03:00:00.704-08:00Wordless Wednesday: Contemplating Travel by Air<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBDjZoCT4tFBvvaQ3M-MsE0ef64TL4o5oy04v69-Edg9_uAhR1Yzsl1qA0n-ratfdcbW1_m2psMX8tv1TX_ID2WjscyHn9MTEsXafVXUGXqKTuD_APXLHQsXOhXPZlXs4V5d9c0o9LBCI/s1600/Superman-Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBDjZoCT4tFBvvaQ3M-MsE0ef64TL4o5oy04v69-Edg9_uAhR1Yzsl1qA0n-ratfdcbW1_m2psMX8tv1TX_ID2WjscyHn9MTEsXafVXUGXqKTuD_APXLHQsXOhXPZlXs4V5d9c0o9LBCI/s1600/Superman-Blog.jpg" /></a></div>
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Digital Scrapbooking Products used are by Katie Pertiet and can be found at <a href="http://www.designerdigitals.com/">Designer Digitals</a>.<br />
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<br />Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-8969824880310721742013-11-05T03:00:00.000-08:002013-11-05T03:00:07.111-08:00Do You NaNoWriMo?What an interesting concept. Write a (50,000) word novel in a month.<br />
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Most of you visiting my blog will know what NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is, but for those of you who don't, here is the spiel from their website:<br />
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<strong style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.59375px;">National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing.</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.59375px;"> On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 p.m. on November 30. Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for </span><em style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.59375px;">anyone</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.59375px;"> who has ever thought fleetingly about writing a novel.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.59375px;">I know a lady through scrapbooking who, when we were asked to list random facts about ourselves, said she completed NaNoWriMo. I was intrigued since I am in the process of getting better at writing and wanted to know more about her experience. I was kind of surprised when she said she did it just for fun!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.59375px;">Here is what she had to say.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f2f6f8; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;">1. How did you hear about NaNoWriMo, and why did you want to participate?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Yes, I did NaNoWriMo for fun in 2006. I heard about it from friends who had completed it the previous year. One of them has now had short stories published so they had more literary aims than me. I guess I've never thought of myself as being much good at creative writing, so fancied a challenge. </span><br style="background-color: #f2f6f8; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;" /><br style="background-color: #f2f6f8; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;" /><span style="background-color: #f2f6f8; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;">2. Did you achieve the goal of writing 50,000 words in a month? Or did you have other goals?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">At the time my daughter was 3 months old, and it gave me a focus beyond newborn duties. I was still getting used to not working, and this was something I could say I'd achieved. I knew I had to write an average of 1667 words each day, and would write longhand in a notebook while Amy was sleeping, then type it up in the evening. I stayed pretty much on track through the month and completed the 50,000 words in time. </span><br style="background-color: #f2f6f8; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;" /><br style="background-color: #f2f6f8; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;" /><span style="background-color: #f2f6f8; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;">3. What do you plan to do with your completed manuscript?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I like my completed story, I know it has pretty massive plot holes, and would need a lot of edits, but I just did NaNoWriMo purely to see if I could. I'll probably dig it out at some point, polish it and let my daughter read it. NaNoWriMo was a lot of fun, and I'd recommend it to anyone. The support you can receive is so useful, and I asked a lot of questions on the forums, facts about the period in which my story was set.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I think this lady and I would be fabulous friends. She writes, she scrapbooks, she has a boy the same age as my youngest, she crochets, and is taking a keener interest in her fitness/health. Too bad she lives in Scotland! Hiya Chrissy! When I make a million dollars with my first novel (ha, ha!) I will come visit. :-) </span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif;">While I am not participating in NaNoWriMo I am planning on working on a MG verse manuscript. Since MG verse novels I have read so far fall in the 15,000 to 20,000 word range I would have to average about 600-800 words a day to finish. I am not making any guarantees.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif;">Do you NaNoWriMo?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif;">If you have, I would love to hear your experience in the comments!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-48676635627306778882013-11-04T03:00:00.000-08:002014-01-05T22:31:44.178-08:00MMGM: What We are Reading NowThis week for <b>Marvelous Middle Grade Monday</b>, I thought I would do an installment of What We are Reading Now.<br />
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Son #1 (age 11) :<br />
<ul>
<li><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Death-Catchers-Jennifer-Anne-Kogler/dp/0802721842">The Death Catchers</a></b> by Jennifer Anne Kogler - He picked this one up from the school library but he has not told me what he thinks of it yet.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/House-Hades-Heroes-Olympus-Book/dp/1423146727/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383434575&sr=1-2&keywords=the+house+of+hades">The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus, Book 4)</a></b> by Rick Riodan - He was so excited for this book to come out and read it very quickly. Out of the blue this past Saturday he said Book 3 (The Mark of Athena) had the horribilist (his word) cliff-hanger ending ever, and why did the author make him wait a whole year to find out what happens?? He devoured the book and yes, he liked it.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Exile-Keeper-Cities-Shannon-Messenger/dp/1442445963/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383434615&sr=1-4&keywords=exile">Exile: (Keeper of the Lost Cities)</a></b> by Shannon Messenger - Note to Shannon from my son... "please give me the next book NOW." He did say please! :-)</li>
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Daughter (age 9) - She is working her way through some of the books on the WLMA (Washington Library and Media Association) <a href="http://www.wlma.org/sasquatch">Sasquatch Award</a> nominee list.<br />
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<li><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Zita-Spacegirl-Ben-Hatke/dp/1596434465/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383434668&sr=1-1&keywords=zita+the+spacegirl+book+1">Zita the Space Girl: Far From Home</a></b> by Ben Hatke - This book was probably the first graphic novel she has read and she breezed through it. My advice to her was to study the pictures as they have equal play in the story as the captions/dialog. She thought the format was OK, but said she it was difficult to tell the emotions some of the time. She must have gotten the gist of it because she scored 100% on the AR test at school.</li>
</ul>
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Me (not reveling my age!) :<br />
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<li><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tangle-Knots-Lisa-Graff/dp/0399255176/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383434744&sr=1-1&keywords=a+tangle+of+knots">A Tangle of Knots</a></b> by Lisa Graff - picked this one up at the library b/c I had recently seen it on <a href="http://www.barbaraannwatson.blogspot.com/2013/10/marvelous-middle-grade-monday-tangle-of.html">Barbara Watson's blog</a> and the cover is just so eye-catching.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Doll-Bones-Holly-Black/dp/1416963987/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383434772&sr=1-1&keywords=doll+bones">Doll Bones</a></b> by Holly Black (recently finished) - While I enjoyed this book, I thought there were a lot of pieces of the story tied up a little too conveniently or not tied up entirely to my satisfaction.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Keplers-Dream-Juliet-Bell/dp/0142426482/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383434824&sr=1-1&keywords=keplers+dream">Kepler's Dream</a></b> by Juliet Bell (recently finished) - Grabbed this one at the library because I liked the cover (I pick a lot of MG books this way) and enjoyed the story and description of characters/scenery.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7LSYb601ph_L5ab5nOxvfoXr4_AdbhUwboGgR0tt7LY8tG4WxWUAiCRzCix4QMEKBqqLmIH_xJ7YkvSf-ApzNY2wbD44-WUtx1OuF1GvMGT-jl49mLFMc8vMrFBe8wvHo1B7Kxi5S8pg/s1600/MMGM2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #ff9700; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" closure_uid_2z4fl3="2" closure_uid_4f0olz="5" closure_uid_civg3w="3" closure_uid_ffj75u="8" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7LSYb601ph_L5ab5nOxvfoXr4_AdbhUwboGgR0tt7LY8tG4WxWUAiCRzCix4QMEKBqqLmIH_xJ7YkvSf-ApzNY2wbD44-WUtx1OuF1GvMGT-jl49mLFMc8vMrFBe8wvHo1B7Kxi5S8pg/s1600/MMGM2.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Marvelous Middle Grade Monday</strong> (MMGM) was created by Shannon Messenger. To find other bloggers participating in MMGM go to <span style="color: #cc6411;"><a href="http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/2013/01/marvelous-middle-grade-monday-33.html" style="color: #cc6411; text-decoration: none;">her blog</a></span> for a list of links.</span></div>
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<br />Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-63745161649477053712013-10-30T00:55:00.000-07:002013-10-30T00:55:22.880-07:00Wordless Wednesday: LOVE. FALL. That is all.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKOZV2XzCsnPjZwJYqLuKadfF6ys1t1zR-2ywiLYJX6dIqbD1JLS1tgpvXWoY0jQp8f0KDk0b1Dkl9GB0MpX_UEwqFgIssIhCrspwbWwfMvDNvViV3bzM985AzWelFn_qI9kEquwvNro/s1600/Collage1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKOZV2XzCsnPjZwJYqLuKadfF6ys1t1zR-2ywiLYJX6dIqbD1JLS1tgpvXWoY0jQp8f0KDk0b1Dkl9GB0MpX_UEwqFgIssIhCrspwbWwfMvDNvViV3bzM985AzWelFn_qI9kEquwvNro/s640/Collage1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-78481617974997633162013-10-21T01:00:00.000-07:002013-10-21T01:00:04.471-07:00MMGM: Judy Moody and the Bad Luck Charm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2bFtTQK-eOJ5oaM9QSDZP7ba9PAcBBbgI67SxqW7mR8detyyOizQWM1ZpC1KgKVzRLujc59FlrLCAcS2xF4_tl2a0SaW5GdMGjmm9wn1LCxk6RpZxU9UGfHT2PERD-KBtmdSezm2dMc/s1600/9781406344196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2bFtTQK-eOJ5oaM9QSDZP7ba9PAcBBbgI67SxqW7mR8detyyOizQWM1ZpC1KgKVzRLujc59FlrLCAcS2xF4_tl2a0SaW5GdMGjmm9wn1LCxk6RpZxU9UGfHT2PERD-KBtmdSezm2dMc/s400/9781406344196.jpg" width="297" /></a></div>
I finally remembered to put together (and e-mail Shannon about it) a Marvelous Middle Grade Monday post. Yay!<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Judy-Moody-Luck-Charm-Book/dp/0763643483">Judy Moody and the Bad Luck Charm</a> is a lower middle grade book for children ages 6-9. It is the eleventh book in the series.<br />
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<b>Book Description</b> (from Amazon) - <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22.390625px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The lucky penny in Judy Moody’s pocket sure does seem to be working. She can’t stop winning — at bowling, spelling, the unbeatable Prize Claw, everything! For sure and absolute positive, she’ll ride that wave of good fortune all the way to Washington, D.C. Watch out, District of Cool, here comes Judy Moody, the luckiest kid ever, until . . . oh, no! Her lucky penny just did a belly flop into a porcelain bowl of yucky, blucky UNluck. Has the coin’s magic gone kerflooey?Are some people, like Jessica Finch or Stink, destined to have all the luck, while she, Judy Moody, gets stuck with a yard full of three-not-four leaf clovers, a squealing potbellied pig in an elevator, and a squashed penny with cooties? ROAR!</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22.390625px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Why it is Marvelous</b> - Judy is just such a cute and funny character and I absolutely adore the pictures in this series. For fans of Judy Moody this book will hit the spot. She is funny (dare I say "charm"ing) and even when things don't go exactly how she planned, Judy seems to have a way of making everything an adventure. The only thing I missed in this book was her cast of friends, as most of this story takes place in Washington D.C. The one classmate who is there with her is not a close friend, but will the good luck/bad luck charm push them farther apart or closer together? </span></span><br />
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Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-32085117186080316702013-10-18T10:15:00.000-07:002013-10-18T10:15:16.017-07:00Angel Earrings - Getting Crafty and a DonationI saw this project in the weekly ad from my local craft store last December and put it to the side. I finally got around to making the cute earrings as a birthday present for my daughter in February. With the holidays coming up (again!) I thought I would post this project as something easy (but classy) you can make for someone you love.<br />
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With bead projects you often have to buy a bunch of the same beads/accessories to make just one project, so I had a lot of supplies left over. Soon after my daughter's birthday I heard news that an acquaintance had lost a baby late in her pregnancy. I got to thinking about that little angel baby and it brought me back to these earrings. I decided to make her a pair, but as a necklace instead, with one attached to the necklace and one she could slip off and place with the baby when they buried him. I passed this along to her through a mutual friend and have hoped that it brought her a small measure of peace.<br />
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Another mutual friend saw her necklace and (after a little asking around) came to me to ask if I could make some more and donate them to her ministry called Aaron's Project. She makes baskets for women who have lost babies, filled with items to help the woman/family through their loss. I was touched that she thought it would be something she would like to include and have now made some to pass on to her.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOKJWXcdi5N3k7WrraiSMlI1Rs6oooSMP6wo5wXcsKepbachIT9I5pDLfZq7phAsqH_b0R36gPBNcTOUDOtgORXx3AOfFIa_b0ch-s3f3ASzXC2tYV65imVPW5K-amTKQ6jwpc27KCa8/s1600/Angels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOKJWXcdi5N3k7WrraiSMlI1Rs6oooSMP6wo5wXcsKepbachIT9I5pDLfZq7phAsqH_b0R36gPBNcTOUDOtgORXx3AOfFIa_b0ch-s3f3ASzXC2tYV65imVPW5K-amTKQ6jwpc27KCa8/s640/Angels.jpg" width="425" /></a></div>
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Not having done beading before, these were relatively easy to make. The only tricky part was getting the loop just right, using needle nose pliers. I used a pair of craft pliers from a Stampin' Up tool set. If you are making the set on the necklace then you need to remember to make the loop big enough (on the one that will be removed) to fit over the clasp at the back of the neck.<br />
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Here is what you will need to make these for yourself or someone you hold close to your heart!<br />
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<b>Tierra Cast Angle Wings</b> (15 mm)<br />
<b>Swarovski Tear Drop Crystal Beads</b> (9x6mm faceted)<br />
<b>Crystal Bead for the angel head</b> (mine is 5mm, which was a hard size to find)<br />
<b>Beading Headpins</b><br />
<b>4mm Rhinestone Halos</b> (these didn't have a brand name - purchased at Craft Warehouse)<br />
<b>Connector</b> (for a pendant style necklace - I found this one at Michaels)<br />
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<b>Earring Wires</b> (lots of different styles here - I made sure they were sterling silver for my daughter)<br />
<b>Chain/Necklace</b> (the lady at Craft Warehouse measured and added the clasps for me)<br />
<b>Beading/Craft Pliers</b> - to make a loop at the end of the headpin after adding the beads<br />
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Let me know if you have any questions!Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-75876886408911637742013-10-17T17:36:00.000-07:002013-10-31T20:28:46.276-07:00My Journey in Scrapbooking<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I have been scrapbooking since I was a teenager, taking photos, cutting
up photos, journaling, and (at that time) putting it all in those awful albums with
the peel back magnetic pages. (You all know those are harmful to your photos, right?) I kept newspaper articles on myself and my
friends, ticket stubs and other memorabilia.</span><span style="line-height: 18px;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">Here is an example of my scrapbooking from that time. Not much technique going on here, using what was available to me: apparently scissors, ruled notebook paper and a red pen. I also didn't take much care in my penmanship, which is weird because I am pretty picky about that now. I would have also composed my shot of Muscle Beach Venice a little better... uh, to include some muscles!</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To say memory keeping has evolved a little bit since then is an understatement!</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">I found a company called Creative Memories at a craft fair in 1996 and
attended a class at the consultant’s house… even got my husband to tag along
and help with making the page. I love my Creative Memories albums and especially liked the concept of purchasing products in the same style/line to keep my options limited. Scrapbooking can be overwhelming and when I have too many choices I often end up not making a choice at all. I was just in Hobby Lobby yesterday and couldn't believe the amount of paper they had. My style in my Creative Memories albums has always been simple, usually opting for solid color papers, a simple title, journaling and a few (if any) embellishments. I also like my albums to lay flat so I never got into using any fancy supplies like brads and eyelets, twine, and really anything that would make my page bumpy.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Here are a few of my pages from my Creative Memories albums.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">This is one of the first pages I made, very simple and just a few captions.</span></span><br />
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Here I am rocking the hand-lettering. Before I started using alphabet stickers I made most of my titles by hand, which is really kind of fun. Now is it just me, or does the design in the letter "W" look like a pair of boobs? I'm sure that was not my intention.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgasdMrIhEcedmMhlfjZO05APUqS16iYVlBZtZm6oUh_EGcAkqOF9F41dQcOhD-6sX38csAatHDUF3Djh8QEKBqPsx1aet1hj322VYJ3i4RLY5vouJpW-xai-mJLh7E6FAIOwinguS_fK0/s1600/Scrapbook4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgasdMrIhEcedmMhlfjZO05APUqS16iYVlBZtZm6oUh_EGcAkqOF9F41dQcOhD-6sX38csAatHDUF3Djh8QEKBqPsx1aet1hj322VYJ3i4RLY5vouJpW-xai-mJLh7E6FAIOwinguS_fK0/s640/Scrapbook4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And here is another early layout where I copied a fun border I saw in a Creative Memories catalog. And... another hand drawn title.<br />
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I thought I would
always use paper products, but kept getting farther behind with my pages, not
having a dedicated space to scrap and once the kids came along, not wanting
them to get into all the supplies. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">In early 2009, I
downloaded some digital products being talked about on a photography site and
started to play. I was already familiar with Photoshop and while it did take
time to figure it all out, once I did I was hooked. No more cropping a photo
and then having to run out and get another because I didn’t like the crop. No
more redoing my journaling because I made a mistake. No more forgetting a set
of photos and not being able to fit them in chronologically. I could use all the brads and twine and staples I wanted and my pages would still be flat! And no
more paper cuts!</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When I started searching the internet I was amazed at how many digital products are out there. Since I was just testing the waters I searched for any and all free
downloads I could find – and there are a lot. I landed on a site called
<a href="http://www.designerdigitals.com/">Designer Digitals</a> and they had some awesome freebies – three every week! When I
poked around and looked at the gallery and forums I decided this was the place
for me and have made it my digital scrapbooking home. I was thrilled beyond
belief when Katie Pertiet (owner with her husband Randy Pertiet) asked me to
join their Creative Team in the fall of 2009. I have made well over 500 pages since then and find that this is a great way to combine my love of photography and being creative, with the added bonus of having our family history recorded and ready to pass down to future generations. </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is one of my favorite digital layouts. For the most part I try to keep my layouts simple (doesn't always work) focusing on the photos and jouraling.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">And here is a page I made for Project Life. The plan was to make a double-page spread for each week of the year. I finished nine weeks and petered out. I am hoping to revive the project for 2014 (in some way, shape or form) because every time I go back and reread the small details of our everyday life, I smile. Little things I recorded for the project that I would never have remembered otherwise. Like my son going through a phase of running up to the big Pepperidge Farm goldfish every time we saw one in the grocery store and giving it a hug and kiss.</span><br />
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So if you read through all that then I think you can tell I have been involved in scrapbooking for a while and am pretty passionate about getting pictures off the camera/iPhone (or out of the drawers) and documented in a place that will tell my family's story. Let me know if you have any questions!Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-35689384539193503622013-10-14T15:47:00.000-07:002013-10-30T00:59:56.286-07:00Miscellaneous MondayOK, I just stole the title of this post from <a href="http://barbaraannwatson.blogspot.com/">Barbara Watson</a>, but it is perfect for what I am blogging about today. Since I have been quite the slacker in blogging about writing-related topics I have decided to expand my blog to include all things created by me. I love all my hobbies (and yes, until I change my mindset and become more serious, writing falls into that category) and seem to go in spurts. Well, except for scrapbooking. That is an all-the-time hobby. When the weather turns colder I pull out my knitting needles, with big plans to knit everyone I know something for Christmas. When I see a cool project in the local craft store flyer, I run out and get the supplies and am hot on that for a while. When I get on a reading streak I can read multiple books each week. Every so often I get an itch to make a quilt.<br />
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So hopefully there will be something of interest to anyone who stops by. I added a few blinkies to my sidebar and added a tab at the top that details my published creative work.<br />
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For today I thought I would show you the latest scrapbook page I completed. I use an all-digital format which I will explain more in a later post. <br />
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This layout was designed using all <a href="http://www.designerdigitals.com/">Designer Digitals</a> products.<br />
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The other creative thing shown here is the hat. I found this pattern and thought it would be good for my son. He approved and we took a trip to the yarn store so he could help choose the type and color of yarn. I am very happy to report that he was pleased with the results and I am looking forward to seeing him wear it this coming season. <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/JulieDeGuia/horatio">Click here</a> for a link to where I posted this project on <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/">Ravelry</a>.<br />
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Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you come back and see me again!<br />
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Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-23324647694454680002013-09-26T10:22:00.000-07:002013-09-26T10:23:20.247-07:00Books my Kids Can't Wait to Read... but will have to.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There are two books coming out in October that my kids can't wait to read. My son (after years of me encouraging him) has finally jumped on the Percy Jackson bandwagon... and then The Heroes of Olympus series. The fourth book in the series by <a href="http://www.rickriordan.com/home.aspx">Rick Riordan</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/House-Hades-Heroes-Olympus-Book/dp/1423146727">The House of Hades</a>, comes out on October 8th. The other book both of my kids are looking forward to is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Exile-Keeper-Cities-Shannon-Messenger/dp/1442445963/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380214805&sr=1-1&keywords=keeper+of+the+lost+cities">Exile</a> by <a href="http://www.shannonmessenger.com/">Shannon Messenger</a>, the second book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. This on comes out on October 1st. Both are on sale in the Nook store for 50% off through today. I considered getting them, but wanted to check to see if they were loaded in the library system first. And both are on order! I had already told my kids they would have to wait for them at the library so I have placed them on hold, but what caught my interest were these numbers.<br />
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The House of Hades:<br />
System Availability - 30<br />
Current Holds - 68 (we are now number 69)<br />
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Exile:<br />
System Availability - 3<br />
Current Holds - 1 (that would be us)<br />
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This really amazes me. My kids seem equally interested in both books, and I know other kids would be too if they just knew about the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. But Rick Riordan is an established, well-known author with a fan base for his books. I will be interested to see where Shannon goes with her writing and who knows, maybe her second or third series will have numbers (at least for our local library) like The House of Hades sometime down the road.<br />
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What series are you reading and can't wait for the next book?<br />
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<br />Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-222110044609313289.post-76744235587531607442013-09-13T03:00:00.000-07:002013-09-13T03:00:03.107-07:00Author Amy Head Shots!I had the pleasure of taking head shots for my good friend Amy. Her debut middle grade novel RED BUTTERFLY (Simon and Schuster), to be published under the name A.L. Sonnichsen, will be out February 2015. Go Amy! You can read about her book deal <a href="http://alsonnichsen.blogspot.com/2013/07/my-huge-announcement-s-bought-my-book.html">here</a>.<br />
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So please help Amy by chiming in with your opinion of which of these shots is your favorite for an author photo on the back of her first book. You can respond here in the comments or go to <a href="http://alsonnichsen.blogspot.com/">her blog</a> and comment there. Thanks so much!<br />
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Isn't she beautiful! :-)<br />
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Julie DeGuiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223163526525906669noreply@blogger.com5