I had the privilege of reading early an absolutely adorable children’s chapter book. I even got my own, real copy. Neener neener. I’m reviewing Wishweaver, written and illustrated by J.H. Winter, as both an author and an elementary educator. In both arenas, Whimsy’s journey–and it literally is a journey–is one that will delight young readers…
A critique partner messaged me a couple of days ago. Great questions! Lots of things are happening, and I thought a quick update post was in order so those thinking I went *poof* is limited. And to start things off… 1. Belts What do belts have to do with authoring, you may ask. The answer is…
The past couple of days, I’ve been with my sons at their Taekwondo tournament. Athletes from all over the world gathered to compete in an array of events, including board breaking, traditional and creative forms (see the first video – my son is the one on the right), and team events. First thing on…
I’m penning this post at the end of a long and irritating day. What should have been a three-hour event ended up being an eight-hour ordeal. But this story isn’t really about me. It’s about my kids. Both of my sons train in Taekwondo. They attend classes three times per week, and they participate in extra…
I was watching American Pickers last night (the episode was called No Stoner Left Unturned. Ha.), and the guy Mike and Frank picked was an aging hippie guy in California. He was a real character, this guy. A free spirit. He was also an artist. In one of his bigger projects, he turned a Kawasaki…
I’ve been a legal adult for half of my life now, and I gotta say, we adults are screwed up. The prospect of growing up is scary to a lot of kids. Sure, they talk about how awesome it would be to eat whatever they want and not have bedtime, but the whole concept of…
This morning, I taught the third grade class in the kids’ area of my church. The lesson was about Biblical figures who persevered through difficult circumstances and those who encouraged them along the way. To go along with that, we completed a seriously cool project with the main point being this: when times get tough,…
Way back when I started this blog, it was solely a humor blog. I wrote about funny observations in parenting, teaching, married life, and pretty much whatever struck my fancy. A few things have happened since then. The blog has evolved into a more “author” oriented endeavor, and readership has grown substantially. I’d like to…
I want to have a little fun today. Last night, I took my kids to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. For those of you who live across the pond, CEC is a pizza place/kids gaming establishment. There are some video games and other activities that kids play to win tickets. They exchange the…
I’m writing this post on my phone and in the darkness of my room. See? Dark. My boys think I’m asleep. There’s no school today or tomorrow (I want to kiss whoever decided teachers don’t have to deal with roomfulls of kids on Halloween. That is true mercy.) Anyway, I don’t have to be up…
Allison Maruska 