• Steering wheel desk surface for writing in a parked car

    Chalk + Ink Podcast Extras

    Recently, I was a guest on Chalk + Ink podcast with Kate Narita. It’s a podcast for teachers who write. If you aren’t subscribed, I highly recommend it. I’ve been listener for awhile, so it was an honor to be a guest.  Link to the podcast episode I thought…

  • 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…

  • The Halfway Mark of 2014: Are You Where You Want to Be?

    Halfway There It’s the end of June. We are officially halfway through 2014. The question is, are you pleased with where you are as a writer this year? Are you working toward your goals? Are you making time to write? If so, keep going and planning out the rest…

  • June Monthly Focus Reminder and New Planning Template

    Where did May go? I looked up behind my computer where I hang my monthly focus paper, and it still says April. Oops. It’s not that I haven’t been working in May. I’ve actually had one of the busiest writing months ever, but it was so busy, I never…

  • Making Time to Write: A Writing Marathon

    Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to be posting on Writing Wednesdays about setting up a Writing Marathon for students. During the month of February, I did this at my school with fourth and fifth graders. The goal was to write for 30 minutes a day for…