Let’s see what’s up with some of my favorite haunts around the web:

Mouthwatering Numminess from Cooking by the Seat of My Pants. Can you taste the decadence? I loooove cheesecake. Perfect to keep me going when I forget to eat for 10 hours. *ducks* Is my husband reading this?

Finally! A strawberry lemonade that tastes like my grandmothers! But snatch the recipe quick! The owner has put the website on hiatus. Who knows how long it will be there! Perfect drink for a long night’s work. I save my alcohol mixes for when I’m done with a project.

Nanowrimo (national novel writing month) is almost upon us! In November hundreds of thousands of participants will pound out (hopefully) 50,000 words. A new novel, multiple novellas or getting that big fat THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE checkmark. It doesn’t matter. Sign up, give it a try. You never know. Harlequin Romance (who, oddly enough, have many category lines within that 50K limit *WEG*), Romance Divas, Cobblestone Press, Asimov’s Forum, Writing Forums, and many others have groups/forums/etc you can join to share in the madness that is NaNo. Kelley Armstrong is giving a pep talk to encourage writers. Did you know she has her own forum where she’s asking for people to struggle right along with her? Wicked cool.

Even cooler than Nanowrimo? Nanowrimo’s Young Writers Program. From elementery school (different set of parameters here people) to high school if the kiddo has aspirations to write, this is the place. With daily writing challenges and really awesome workbooks to help them get motivated, it’s definitely a great thing to keep them going through the blah month of November.

Besides, I can think of no better pastime than pounding out word over agonizing word with your kid, nephew, niece, cousin, etc. It definitely gives you that sense of familial accomplishment so rare in angsty teenage years. Since no one underage should be checking out my blog, please pass the Young Writers Program link on to them.

Tokyo Pop, Youngwriters.net and many others have forums dedicated to all those attempting it this year! Check with their school…some are actively (YAY) encouraging it! Also, if you’re an educator interested in getting your students involved there are a lot of active forums discussing it, like Realms of Fantasy. http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/
Want to know what I’m up to? Come find me on twitter.

Crafty stuff to do from around the net. Since this is completely off topic, you’ll have click more to get to the rest. For those not interested, feel free to skip.
Don’t want to carve a pumpkin? Why not Stencil It?

Tired of not having the perfect writing or craft desk? Check out this awesome DIY project. Link courtesy Whip Up.

Inexpensive Halloween (Or anything really) votives using baby food jars!

Do you crochet or knit on the go and have a little bit of sewing skill (you don’t need much, I promise!), then check out this awesome tutorial on how to make your own on-the-go kit. Minimal supplies and time. Plus, if you’re a commuter, she has another tutorial on how to make your own knitting needles so you don’t stab the person next to you LOL. Caftster has an entire forum topic dedicated to doing this using dowels or chopsticks.

Do you crochet? Check out this mini purse tutorial.

I’ve found the perfect t-shirt for my zombie obsession…if only I knew how to screen print.
Want to make a gorgeous bookmark? It’s basic crochet, so if you want to try it out…this is a great place to learn how.

Is your daughter a princess, ballerina, or uber cool super hero with awesome speed? LOL. What about your son? Is he a super ninja with lightning fast reflexes or a wizard with awesome magical powers? Well, here’s a tutorial on how to (together) make streamers to reflect all those awesome things. Inexpensive is the word of the day. LOL. But grab it quick since the owner is retiring the website!

Hehe. I’ll be making these when it gets warm again for me and my son. It’s far less dangerous for toddlers than water balloons and can be actually used to clean stuff. Crazy. LOL. Sponge Balls!

Going as a pirate or a tavern wench this year for Halloween and can’t find just the right color or style of bandana, or maybe you found some material YOU REALLY LIKE and want to use…here’s an easy easy tutorial on how to make your own bandana.

Ever want to make your own journal? Check out the wikihow on binding your own book. I make them for Christmas every year and they’re a hit. Link courtesy of the Paperback Writer.

Make a fall applique without sewing! Easy easy.

And finally…who Doesn’t have a scrabble game with pieces missing? So what do you do? How about making gorgeous scrabble tile pendants. Easy to do and they turn out so lovely! Think I’m crazy? Check out some of them here, here, and here. What about Captain Jack Sparrow and of course, my typewriter obsession LOL. Apparently they’re popular as rings as well. LOL.

And that’s my Sunday Spotlight! Nothing else to post except an updated word count for those following along. LOL.

Tags: Nanowrimo, Off Topic, Recipe

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 19th, 2008 at 4:29 am and is filed under Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.