Miami- Then and Now!

Jade blue water melding into royal blue and then into that favorite crayola color of mine, cornflower blue. Such is the water of the Atlantic Ocean in South Beach Miami. Clear water, I might add, much warmer and so much clearer than the Atlantic water I am used to seeing at the New Jersey Shore. Water so clear you can see the bottom and waves so gentle that you don't have to worry about your younger children being carried off with the undertow. This time I am visiting Miami without younger children or older children; therefore, visiting the beach is much more relaxing and different. I can close my eyes in the surf and float for hours without worrying if one of my children is drifting further down the coast or wandering off with a stranger. I could float for hours but actually, I can't. Yesterday, I went to the beach with my husband and the waves actually made me feel sea sick... there's a new development! Body surfing has never made me feel seasick, so why now? Is that a part of becoming middle aged? If so, that's yet another strike against aging. I REFUSE TO GET OLD! After entering the water, a couple of fish over a foot long swam right past me! And, when my husband joined me, a smaller fish skipped passed us and bounced five times like a skipping stone across the waves before diving back down below the waves. Astounding.

I have a special fondness for Miami that dates back to 1990 when my husband and I were driving back from visiting the Keys. While the friends we were traveling with continued home, we stopped in Miami for two nights and enjoyed ourselves. We were young. I had corn rows in my hair and were both rather unkempt after traveling for so long. The first hotel actually turned us down, so I can remember us trying desperately to make ourselves more presentable in the car by changing our clothes and me wearing my husband's hat over my corn rows to hide them. In retrospect, I don't really see how that was a better choice but nonetheless, it worked. While in Miami, we visited a reggae bar and restaurant and danced the night away. My husband thinks he can't dance but he actually does a good job and never says no. Never saying no to a woman who wants to dance scores big points.

Today, Jeff and I sat and reminisced and ate and drank. And, after one, two, three or more beers, we started writing collaborative stories where one person writes a few sentences and the next person only gets to see the last three words and continue from that point. It was quite fun and after completion, we laughed pretty hard. We shared our stories with our waiter who slowly warmed up to us with each beer that we drank. My husband is asleep now on the bed while I write. After leaving the restaurant hours later, we ambled down to the gelato store and sampled it. My favorite was the hazlenut gelato. I don't know if it was the beer or the gelato, but either way, the gelato was smooth and rich and tasty. Afterward, we felt the primal woo which calls to all Mac users, emanating from the Mac store. We carefully made our way to the store not fully aware of the temptations which lied within. My husband encouraged me to go ahead and charge a new Mac Ibook. I WAS SO TEMPTED! We left the store. We walked a half block. We returned to the store. We discussed the pros and cons of using my credit card. Luckily for me, or unluckily, the winds of sobriety were starting to blow my direction. I stood up to the temptation and took it on face to face. I said, "No!"

Damn it. I said, "No!" What the hell was I thinking?

We quickly made our way out of the Spanish tourist village of South Beach and tried to return to our hotel but another primal urge was calling to my husband... that of getting a tattoo at what is probably one of the most famous tattoo parlors in he U.S. right now, Miami Ink. So, we heeded the call and went straight instead of veering left. After perusing book after book of sample tattoo art, Jeff and I both decided that the tattoo he wanted did not exist in one of their books and he would have to email them a sample if he wanted to get one while here. Another expenditure avoided. We finally made our way back to the hotel and here I am writing and my husband is napping. The woos and wonders of a little bit of leisure and beer. Beware, fair generation X traveler.

Chick Fil-A Cow Appreciation Day = free food

Chick Fil-A Cow Appreciation Day = free food

Posted using ShareThis

Easiness to Uneasiness

What happens when God or life moves us out of our comfort zone? I believe that Newton's first law of motion is being applied to my life. "A particle will stay at rest or continue at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external unbalanced net force." Some might call that outside force the poor economy while I tend to think it is God giving me a little nudge. In 2007, I spent a good portion of the year creating a photographic diary of days and doing more writing than I had been. For most of 2008, I didn't do as much creative or personal writing, but I did write professionally reviewing restaurants and hotels. It seems to me that what started out as a slow year is beginning to explode with possibility and more writing than I have ever done before. My mind is an old-fashioned slide carousel clicking through each possibility wondering if I should bring that particular slide more into focus or continue to the next one because it could be even better than this one.

Star Trek and the creative home

Sitting in the movie theater watching Star Trek this past weekend, almost brought tears to my eyes. To view a movie that actually has a plot line that twists and turns enough to not be formulaic is a rarity. Being a long-time Trekkie, I didn't know what to expect when I walked into the theater. Could new actors and a new director match the creativity and depth seen in previous Star TrekStar Trek can be a jumping off point for new stories and adventures.

How can you weave more creativity into your home life or homeschooling day? Put away the school books and get out the art supplies, the video camera, pens, pencils, papers, dvd's, and anything else that excites you or your children. When my son was eight years old, my husband started teaching him how to make stop-action animation movies and live action movies using our video camera. My son ended up making a series of three movies centered around alien life, several stop-action lego movies, and more recently, pretend Heinz Ketchup commercials (see Youtube video below). Making movies was a fantastic way to foster his skills in dialog creation and art. Here are a few ideas to get the creative juices flowing in your house: movies and tv shows? Apparently, the answer is yes. Creativity is a part of life worthy of high appreciation. Movies, like other art forms, can be used to motivate the viewer to further artistic expression. For example, well told stories like the one presented in

• Go to the library and take out music cd's in various genres such as classical, jazz, techno, etc. Get out some markers, crayons, paints and paper and have your children interpret the music into drawings, colorings or paintings. Discuss how the tempos and flow of the music can effect the lengths of the lines used and the colors chosen.

• Get out your digital camera and exit your front door. Without going further than five feet from your door, let each child choose an item to photograph in a new way. Perhaps they will focus on the doorknob close up or lay down on your sidewalk and shoot something from below. Even the most mundane objects can be made interesting if you capture them in an unexpected way. Photojojo.com is a great site to visit for photography-related ideas.

• Take out all of your old magazines, glue sticks, and cardboard or poster board. Have your children cut out squares of color from the photographs and then sort the squares by color. Next, encourage them to create a picture by pasting the squares onto the board.

• Get a large cardboard box and cut out a "window" in the front of the box. Have your children decorate the outside of the box with crayons or markers to resemble a television. Next, let your children act out their own tv shows, commercials, and interviews through their new pretend television. My children always end up making me laugh hysterically when engaging in this activity.

• If you are more daring, go out to your local hardware store and purchase blackboard paint. Choose a wall in your house and cover it with the chalkboard paint. I chose to paint a 6' x 6' square on my living room wall and have not regretted it once. Every time I look, there is a new drawing on the wall. In order to avoid conflict in my house, we have a rule that no one can erase the current drawing until it has been photographed digitally.

I hope these ideas help you start down the path to a more creative lifestyle. As an artist and writer, I'll be posting ideas on how to stimulate more creativity in your family on a regular basis. If you don't want to miss upcoming articles, click the "subscribe" button to receive emails whenever I update my column. Happy homeschooling!

Sitting in the movie theater watching Star Trek this past weekend, almost brought tears to my eyes. To view a movie that actually has a plot line that twists and turns enough to not be formulaic is a rarity. Being a long-time Trekkie, I didn't know what to expect when I walked into the theater. Could new actors and a new director match the creativity and depth seen in previous Star Trek movies and tv shows? Apparently, the answer is yes. Creativity is a part of life worthy of high appreciation. Movies, like other art forms, can be used to motivate the viewer to further artistic expression. For example, well told stories like the one presented in Star Trek can be a jumping off point for new stories and adventures.

How can you weave more creativity into your home life or homeschooling day? Put away the school books and get out the art supplies, the video camera, pens, pencils, papers, dvd's, and anything else that excites you or your children. When my son was eight years old, my husband started teaching him how to make stop-action animation movies and live action movies using our video camera. My son ended up making a series of three movies centered around alien life, several stop-action lego movies, and more recently, pretend Heinz Ketchup commercials (see Youtube video below). Making movies was a fantastic way to foster his skills in dialog creation and art. Here are a few ideas to get the creative juices flowing in your house

• Go to the library and take out music cd's in various genres such as classical, jazz, techno, etc. Get out some markers, crayons, paints and paper and have your children interpret the music into drawings, colorings or paintings. Discuss how the tempos and flow of the music can effect the lengths of the lines used and the colors chosen.

• Get out your digital camera and exit your front door. Without going further than five feet from your door, let each child choose an item to photograph in a new way. Perhaps they will focus on the doorknob close up or lay down on your sidewalk and shoot something from below. Even the most mundane objects can be made interesting if you capture them in an unexpected way. Photojojo.com is a great site to visit for photography-related ideas.

• Take out all of your old magazines, glue sticks, and cardboard or poster board. Have your children cut out squares of color from the photographs and then sort the squares by color. Next, encourage them to create a picture by pasting the squares onto the board.

• Get a large cardboard box and cut out a "window" in the front of the box. Have your children decorate the outside of the box with crayons or markers to resemble a television. Next, let your children act out their own tv shows, commercials, and interviews through their new pretend television. My children always end up making me laugh hysterically when engaging in this activity.

Cupcake Love! (for little girls!)

As I make my way down the trail to discover the perfect chocolate cupcake, I have veered to the left in order to fill an order... vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting for a lovely 7 year old girl. I tried two different recipes tonight, both with tasty results. One of the recipes leans more toward tasting like a butter cake while the other one tastes more like a traditional vanilla cupcake. My client is getting the traditional version. I am also experimenting with two new products I found at the arts and crafts store... edible glitter and spray food coloring. Air brushing cakes is nothing new, but being able to do it without owning an air brush is a newer concept. Above is a picture of a work in progress. The frosting is a light spring green sprayed with blue highlights. The pink is merely a reflection from the surface the cupcake was shot on.

Stimulating your local economy

A friend of mine found this great website, The 3/50 Project, that offers terrific ideas for stimulating your local economy. The basic premise is to choose 3 different local, independently owned businesses each month to spend $50 total at. If even half of the employed population participated, it would generate over 46.2 billion dollars in revenue, according to the website. One business that I would like to feature and encourage others to support is the Doylestown Bookshop. The Doylestown bookshop is quirky and unique unlike "box" bookstores. My favorite part of the bookshop is the aisle that features the favorite books of the store employees. There is always a wide range of books to choose from in this aisle, everything from the classics to NY Times Bestsellers. The bookstore is constantly giving back to the community by hosting book signings by local authors to holding free meetings and parties.

Another local business that I'd like to feature this month is:
La Maison Cheese
51 W State St
Doylestown, PA 18901
(215) 348-7543

They don't have a website, as far as I know, but they do have the best croissants on earth. Heavenly, melt-in-your-mouth buttery croissants with either sweet or savory fillings. Of course, you have to get there early to have the best selection and they do sell out regularly before noon. La Maison Cheese also offers the obvious, cheese. I can't really review the cheese, though, because I go there for the croissants. The store also sells French kitchen items such as platters and tablecloths.

The third business I'd like to feature this month is Chalfont Hardware. It is a family owned and operated business. Unlike large home improvement store chains, the owners of Chalfont Hardware offer personal and knowledgeable assistance. I can get in and out of this store quickly, even if I need assistance, which is something I can't say about those larger stores. Currently, the hardware store is undergoing renovations, but they are still open for business.

Art and history combine at historic Rittenhouse Town

Spring is the perfect time of year to start incorporating more field trips into your homeschool routine. One memorable field trip that I have organized for my homeschool co-op has been to historic Rittenhouse Town. Located within Fairmount Park, historic Rittenhouse Town holds a special place in history because it is the site of the first papermill in North America. William Rittenhouse, who came to Pennsylvania in 1688, built the papermill and successive generations of his family continued to operate it until competition and new technology led to it's demise in the late 1800's.

Although you can visit this site as a family, it is best to organize a group in order to take advantage of the discounts and add-on classes that enhance the experience. A group can be as small as 10 people, not including chaperones. Of course, as a homeschooler, you will most likely want to participate in the program rather than be a passive observer. If you are not part of a homeschooling group, just call a couple of your homeschooling friends to create your own impromptu group.

The site offers three separate programs for groups of 10 or more to choose from. The first program includes a tour of the property and interactive discussion of the importance of historic Rittenhouse Town within American history. During the tour, visitors get to view the 1707 Rittenhouse Homestead and the restored bakehouse. Inside the visitor's center, a working model of an eighteenth century paper mill and early American kitchen are also available for viewing. This option is available for $2.50/per person. The second program includes the aforementioned tour as well as an exciting hands-on papermaking class. In this program, visitors get to make their own paper using traditional techniques. This class is great for kids and adults of any age. My children loved this class when they were in kindergarden and third grade. Each visitor leaves with their own sheet of hand-crafted paper for merely $5.00/person. To gain the full experience of early American life, you can add a German Colonial cooking class to the papermaking class and tour. In this class, visitors have the opportunity to use Colonial tools to prepare a genuine Colonial German dish cooked on the hearth. The German Colonial cooking class is only available for groups that have 25 people or more. At $10.00/person, it is a terrific way to make early American living come to life.

With or without a group, taking a trip to historic Rittenhouse Town will make early American history come alive for your children.