WHAT'S UP WEDNESDAY
I'm catching the What's Up Wednesday hot air balloon from the blogs of Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk. Go to Jaime's blog to add your link and make the rounds to get to know other bloggers!
WHAT I'M READING
I'm about to dive into two "projects" - one, a manuscript that's outside of what I usually read (or write) and I'm super excited! and two, I've decided to read as many of the YA Buccaneers Reading Mutiny titles as I can. A couple of them I've already read this calendar year, so I'm not going to re-read those, and yes, a few of them I've read before (more than once), but a couple are new. So, six books in a month? That's totally doable.
I'm about to dive into two "projects" - one, a manuscript that's outside of what I usually read (or write) and I'm super excited! and two, I've decided to read as many of the YA Buccaneers Reading Mutiny titles as I can. A couple of them I've already read this calendar year, so I'm not going to re-read those, and yes, a few of them I've read before (more than once), but a couple are new. So, six books in a month? That's totally doable.
I'm starting with BETSY AND THE GREAT WORLD.
WHAT I'M WRITING
Lots and lots. I spent the majority of Saturday with my CP Kari White during our Second Annual Saturday of Labor Day Weekend Caribou Coffee Write-In. I entered the dark, murky waters of revision (trying to stay out of the weedbeds as I work through some tough scenes) and have had a break-through. I dabbled at KEYS and I jotted down tons of notes for another idea, one that started with a tiny seed of inspiration in the mid-90s and blossomed in a dream last summer but has yet to make it to WIP status.
WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO
Back to school and lots of it! We spent our weekend taking care of a few last minute errands. HG's parents spent part of the weekend with us. Sunday my sister invited us to her pool for one last lazy summer afternoon.
WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW
My kids. Yesterday they went back to school, both of them in new schools. Birdy has moved from a small Montessori where she was one of five Kindergartners to a big school with 7 classes of first graders. She's in a room with 21 students and she's taking it head-on. When we met her teacher last week, she caught me on the way out the door and said, "She's not shy at all, is it? I'm sure she'll do just fine." Toad started fifth grade in the Middle School and woke up at 5 am because of the excitement (said, not kidding you, with jazz hands. At five am.)
They are both so brave and enthusiastic and I wish I could capture that and carry it with me all day. It's so easy to let the monotony and ordinariness of every day life dull the shine and bring me down. Every day should be as exciting, as filled with promise, as the first day of school, don't you think?
So - what's up with you? What was one of your favorite back-to-school traditions when you were in school?