• 2020: Getting Clear on My Vision for Myself as a Writer

    Each year I look ahead and have way more goals in my brain (and on paper) than I could possibly accomplish. Over the years, I’ve started tweaking things to really fit my own personality and my own schedule. Joy in the Process Last year my phrase of the year…

  • Celebrating 2015

    For the past several years (2012, 2013, 2014), I have kept track of the accomplishments for the year. Last year I kept a monthly celebration page, which I called my “Book of Stars” (I originally posted about that here). This year was particularly challenging for me, which I wrote…

  • How to Survive a Move with Your Creativity Intact

    It’s no secret that we moved this year. I’ve moved a lot in my life, having grown up in Thailand and Malaysia, and moving multiple times in my adult life. But this one was different. This time I said good bye to a place I’d lived in longer than…

  • Best of 2014: Most Popular Posts

    Looking back over 2014, I wanted to take note of my most popular posts on my blog. It helps me see what posts are most helpful to my readers. The shocking thing for me was that all of the most frequently read pages of 2014 were actually posts I…

  • Looking Ahead: Mapping Out 2015

    I know we are smack in the middle of two holidays. I’m in the middle of a break from work. But this is the time of the year when I start to get antsy about what’s going to happen in the next year. I start to make my goals…

  • Looking Back at 2014

    For the last two years (2012 and 2013), I’ve done a post at the end of the year to celebrate what I’ve actually accomplished. I think I always get weary in December and wonder: “Did I get anything done?” While I knew the answer was “Yes.” I did have…

  • PiBoIdMo Prep 2014: Mining for Ideas

    Come November, I’m usually physically and emotionally spent. I’m exhausted from the first few months of school and anticipating the exhaustion of the holidays. But a challenge comes along every November that I just can’t pass up. PiBoIdMo. Picture Book Idea Month, started by the amazing Tara Lazar. I’ve…

  • Learning Never Stops

    My brother teases me that I’m a perpetual student. I never seem to quit going to school. It’s true. I have a MFA, MA, and soon an endorsement in Library Media to prove that this statement is true. But I think the more I learn the more I realize…

  • Take a Risk

    You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down. – Annie Dillard Summer of 2014 might have been my busiest summer yet. I had a week and a half to breathe—to sleep in past 5:00AM, to not work 12-14 hours a…