gadgety cuteness

Did you notice the cute new gadgets in the sidebar? Aren't they fun? Don't you want them too?

The Twitter badge is from the very talented Julie Green of up up. Grab one for yourself--there are four adorable color palettes. Also, stop by her Etsy shop. She has all kinds of papery goodness.

Cathe Holden's blog, Just Something I Made, has gobs of free blog gadgets, like the Comments Make Me Smile one I just added.

Don't you love when crafty people are also generous people? :)

Now, don't ignore the gadgety cuteness! Follow me on Twitter, leave me a comment, grab yourself a gadget, and leave the other gals a comment too!

all a-twitter!

Happy Almost Spring! We're in Daylight Savings time; temperatures are rising; birds are chirping; and it seems everyone is all a-twitter!

Are you on twitter? When I first heard about it, I thought to myself, "Do we really need another venue to make ourselves seem more self-absorbed? Do people I know and/or don't know need (or even want) to know what I'm doing at random moments throughout the day?" But, I gave it a fair shot for the sake of a work project and what do ya know, this girl is hooked! It's an easy and fun way to connect with friends and co-workers. It's become a great way to discover events around the city. It's a free advertising tool for your blog, and an extra way to chat, share links, etc with other bloggers. I even get occasional updates and glimpses into the lives of biggies like @halseanderson and @realjohngreen!!

Check it out. You may be surprised to find out who's tweeting. Everybody's doing it; why aren't you? ;) The Library of Congress, School Library Journal, The Columbus Dispatch, President Obama, The Today Show, CNN, and countless other radio, news, social, and community organizations. And those are just the "serious" ones! There are also plenty of tweeps out there doing it for fun and laughs. (Not convinced? Read this article. And this one. And, lastly, this one.)

So, aside from being all a-twitter about twitter, I'm also feeling so giddy and excited about my latest blog news. As you know from some of my posts, as well as my blog header, I'm a wanna-be writer. :) For now, it's mostly this blog and book reviews and product reviews, but I do dream of being a published author one day. A major source of advice, information, and encouragement is Christina Katz, who blogs at The Writer Mama, and is the author of several books on the business of writing, one of which is so perfectly titled The Writer Mama: How to Raise A Writing Career Alongside Your Kids. So clever!

Well, the book was a great jumping off point for me, and one impetus that brought me to blogging. After reading the book, I checked her web site, found the blog, subscribed to her newsletter and found a couple other great "writer mama" blogs from her blogroll. A few months down the line, I stumbled across her on twitter, which makes it very easy to see what she's up to and get much-needed reminders to write!

So, the news. I've taken a very roundabout way to get here, but here we are. During the month of March, Christina is celebrating her blog's 2 year anniversary, and she's doing it up big with a blog tour and giveaway -- every day in the month of March. And, drumroll please, she'll be stopping by this very blog on Day 16!!! I'm thrilled to have been selected to participate. You'll be thrilled too because on Day 16 (Monday, March 16, 2009) you'll have the chance to win a copy of The Writer Mama!

Hope you'll check back! tweet, tweet!

Creative Living

Tonight I dipped into my new stash of library books and read Amanda Blake Soule's book The Creative Family. Soule writes a blog that I've been following, which is how I discovered her book. She is absolutely inspiring. Incredibly creative, mindful, reflective and insightful, inventive, and real. I read straight through the entire book furiously jotting down quotes, reflections, projects, resources, and came straight here to blog about it. Each section of the book opens with a motivating or inspiring quote. Here are a few that really spoke to me:

"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."

- Albert Einstein

"The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things."

- Plato

"Every child is an artist. The problems is how to remain an artist once we grow up."

- Pablo Picasso

Soule, herself, is author to some very inspiring words as well. Reading The Creative Family, I felt I was reading part art book, part parenting book, part "green living" book, and part meditation book. Here are some of her gems:

"A large part of nurturing a spirit of creativity comes from being mindful, slowing down, observings, and looking around you at the beauty and inspiration all around. We are blessed as parents to have the best teachers for this - our children." (p. 5)

"Think about letting your child be the guide, director, and teacher, while you try to be the student. Your role is to provide the environment and to watch and learn." (p. 13)

"Practice gratitude - when we feel grateful, we feel full - full of love, full of inspiration, full of ideas, and full of creative spirit." (p. 15)

"Living the creative life is made all the more fulfilling and rewarding when we are creating with, for, or because of others." (p. 191)

Beautiful, no? I am really looking forward to attempting some of her projects and ideas with J this winter. I think they will be excellent learning opportunities as well as creative experiences. And many of the finished products would make excellent gifts.