Assigned Topic: ALL CLASSES

I hope everyone's had a good first week and a half of school, and that you're all settling into your academic routines. It's always harder to start up in the fall than in the winter term because summer breaks our school routine. But summer's nice. It's a much needed break for many of us. SO, the first official assigned topic for the semester, which should be posted by this Sunday, 9/5, is: What did you do this summer?

I spent the summer teaching online, readings (read all 7 Harry Potter books, all 4 Twilight books, Eat, Pray, Love, and The Glass Castle) writing (essays and short stories), and spending time with my son. We went to Disney, the zoo, Music Time (a music program for kids). I also started a new endeavor: bookmarks! It's not something I planned; it just sort of happened. One day, I'm at Barnes & Noble in line, looking at cute bookmarks, and the next, I'm creating designs. I decided to incorporate hand-painted, thin wood with beaded jewelry and charms. Some have quotes on them, while others have decorative "gemstones." It's nothing fancy (as in, I'm not working with real gemstones, etc.), but they're cute and unique - no two are the same. You can check them out on my personal blog.

I also started taking an online course through UCLA's Writer's Extension program. I'm loving it, and I have two weeks left before I submit my final portfolio. I love it because it's been a great way for me to stay focused with my writing, and I'm hoping to get some of the essays published. One of my areas of concentration is creative nonfiction, and more specifically, the memoir. So if you're interested in that, we can chat!

New Academic Year, First Assigned Topic!

Welcome all! It's going to be a great semester; I can already feel it. I hope you're settling into your classes nicely at the wrap of this first week of classes.

Our first assigned topic - for all classes - for the semester (for the blogs, that is) is this: Tell me something interesting you did this summer. One paragraph. Go. ;)