The Bright Side Project as a teacher's resource

As I start to come down from the "THANK GOD I AM ON VACATION" feeling, I am turning my attention back to school, which is something that I enjoy doing. It is like a fresh canvas (not that I could draw anything) and I can do anything I want on it and know that somewhere in there is going to be a brilliant idea.

I have kept on my educational reading (online and traditional) and have some great ideas however, I took a conference from a brilliant lady on creative writing notebooks and since then I have been looking for daily prompts to put in my notebook for my kids and the best resource for some five minute writing prompts (or longer) has come from a website called The Bright Side Project. On this website, there are designer giveaways and to enter you have to answer a simple question. Today's question was "What makes you feel lucky?" I wrote that I have a good support all around me and this one pair of jeans (in a nutshell at least). But that could easily be turned into a paragraph. They could tell me why that makes them feel lucky or an event that made them feel lucky, and then my mind just spirals into short stories. :)

NOOKStudy

I am not 100% sure of what is being offered but it sounds like Barnes and Noble is offering a free application called NOOKStudy. This program, at least it says it will, offers organizational and cool tools, get etextbooks with 40% off, over 500,000 books for FREE, and the capability to access the materials whenever and where ever. I did sign up to here more and if you clink on the above link you can too!

Making "the old", "the new"

I have recently become interested in antiques and reupholstering... In my Aunt Becky's attic, I found this! A beautiful rocker that she gave me! Currently, I'm in the process of sanding. Good lord, is that time consuming. I think what I am going to do is sand it down, leave the green in the crevices and put a brown or maroon cushion for the seat... any vote on that? Also, I am going to stain it. Eventually I would like to paint it white, but Brad was right, it does look nice sanded down. It's great knowing that I am doing something for my house! It is going too look beautiful on my stone front porch with the white columns.

Another find was in my upstairs, Uncle Mike and Aunt Amy gave Brad a very comfortable pink chair that doesn't match the decor of my new house. Lauren, my expert, is helping me reupholster. We found a beautiful tan cloth a design of multiple blues. I love it!!! We are currently taking this chair apart. There are tons of staples in it but it is beautifully done! Look at all the detail that went into this chair? And now Lauren and I are ripping it apart!

New hobby? I think so! New side business, maybe? Not right now though :)

A writer as a sketch artist? OK let's not go too far here!

I finished the grammar and mechanic edits that Marie did for me a few days ago. It is amazing how you miss things (like commas) that you know!

I have been talking with Nadine about about a new segment I need to add and I am very excited about it because I think will only expand my manuscript! Sorry to be so vague!

But what I wanted to talk about was how I have moved on to "plumping" up my novel. I have completely re-written the setting of my story, which is a boarding school. I did take some inspiration from a local college campus, Mercyhurst Main in Erie, PA. To fix my setting problem (which it was too vague), I had to draw the layout of the school, name the buildings involved, and come up with textures, colors and details. I have a very non-impressive sketch, but a sketch that helped to guide me writing... who knew that as I wrote, that I would draw!

My next job for the next few days is to develop some crucial characters that got passed over because they are not "main" characters. I have a great twist to add in too! (Again, sorry about being vague).