I'm it!

Wow, I've been tagged! I don't normally do this kind of thing, but I'd do just about anything for Jolie, so here goes:

1. What are your nicknames?
One of my best friends called me Spoory Laur (since my maiden name was Laurie Spoor). I guess I’m not really a nickname kind of gal, though.

2. What was the first movie you bought in VHS or DVD?
Dirty Dancing. I still have it!

3. What is your favorite scent?
Pumpkin pie.

4. What one place have you visited that you can't forget and want to go back to?Whistler, B.C., my favorite (borrowed) "cabin" in the mountains. Thanks, dear friends, for all the wonderful mountain getaway trips!


5. Do you trust easily?
Yes, probably too easily.

6. Do you generally think before you act, or act before you think?
I think before I act, way too much. I just finished reading Chris Eboch’s Well of Sacrifice, and I think I need to take a lesson from Eveningstar: sometimes you need to act before you think, or the opportunity is lost.

7. Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days?
Politics, negative ad campaigns, lies and manipulations of the truth, the deep divisions and disagreements in our society and around the world.

8. Do you have a good body image?
Good? No. Sufficient? Yes.

9. What is your favorite fruit?
Hmmm… tough call. Peaches or strawberries? (You decide; I hate making decisions.)

10. What websites do you visit daily?
My Google calendar, Google reader, Facebook (in that order).

11. What have you been seriously addicted to lately?
Coffee, the all-important productivity enhancer. Facebook, the fun but insidious productivity killer.

12. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
Determined, modest, generous, glamorous, wonderful mother.

13. What's the last song that got stuck in your head?
The theme song from I Dream of Jeannie (no, I have no idea why it’s in there).

14. What's your favorite item of clothing?
Pajamas, the fuzzier the better.

15. Do you think Rice Krispies are yummy?
Yes, with or without butter and marshmallows. Snap, crackle, pop!

16. What would you do if you saw $100 lying on the ground?
Just lying there, with no one around and no idea who it belongs to? Well, in that case, I’d pick it up, silly!

17. What items could you not go without during the day?
Coffee. Hugs and “I love you”s from my family. (Okay, family comes first, but they don’t come anywhere near me until after I've had my coffee.)

18. What should you be doing right now?
Cleaning the car out for the drive down to the Second Annual Kidlit Blogging Conference!


Now, to tag eight more who haven't yet been tagged. I'm going to tag a few Facebook friends since they don't have active blogs that I know of, but hopefully they can post their answers on their wall or profile or something. :)

Bernie, Chris, Rob, Jim, Peggy, Kirby, Joni, and
Molly.

Busy, busy, busy...

I haven't posted any new articles for quite awhile now, so you're probably thinking I've been sitting at home all day eating bon-bons and watching Oprah. No way! I've actually been taking a conscious break from article writing to focus on a book... or two. What started out as an idea for one middle grade book has now become a picture book biography of Emmanuel Yeboah AND a teen how-to guide for Youth Venture! I'm not sure working on two so totally different books at the same time is a good idea, but they're slowly moving along.

I also joined the Advisory Committee of our regional SCBWI chapter last year, and was very busy helping to organize our 17th Annual Writing and Illustrating for Children Conference. It was one of the most daunting, eye-opening and rewarding experiences of my life, and I truly can't wait to do it again!

And now, back to work…

Blogging for Change

Over the past few years, I've been doing an increasing amount of research about social entrepeneurs, nonprofit organizations, and local and global challenges. Because I believe it's my responsibility and privilege to share the knowledge that I collect, I'm launching a new blog for my findings and thoughts on how we can change the world for the better. You can find it at http://changemaking.blogspot.com/.

There's not much there yet, but please stay tuned for more.

Book Review - Swimming with Maya

I picked up this book because the picture on the cover looks like my own daughter. When I read the back notes and learned that she was dead, I quickly put it back down. I didn’t want to read about Eleanor Vincent’s devastating loss. For some reason, though, I felt compelled to try to comprehend her experience.

What I found was indeed distressing, but inspirational at the same time. The book is in many ways a postmortem tribute to Vincent’s daughter and an exploration of the healing effects of organ donation. Taken in its entirety, however, this book is really about a journey through the process of healing from a lifetime of psychological traumas. The extreme grief over her daughter’s sudden death and the struggle to cope with it lead Vincent down buried paths of pain going all the way back to her childhood. She emerges transformed. She lost her daughter, but therein found herself, and we can’t help but applaud her success.

A little flattery

It's always nice to receive compliments on your work. After doing the article and school profiles for Judy’s Book Greater Seattle, Liesel Pollvogt wrote:

Thanks Laurie--you did an *awesome* job on these. I was impressed with your quick turn-around, quality of writing, and how you instantly "got" what this was all about and were able to get started without a bunch of questions. Thanks again for your hard work and quick turn-around on this! There may well be work in the future if all goes well!

School profiles

In March, I worked on writing summaries for several schools based on survey data obtained from parents by Judy’s Book Greater Seattle, including:

• 65th Street Cooperative Preschool


• The Clearwater School


• Epiphany School


• French American School of Puget Sound


• Hilltop Elementary School


• The Nova Project


• Pike Market Child Care and Preschool


• The Evergreen School


• Westside School

I also wrote an article for them entitled "A great preschool means a great fit."

[2007-06-01: Unfortunately, they seem to have taken down all of their articles and now have only community reviews and product deals, so my school summaries and article appear to be no longer available. Broken links have been removed.]