Two things: 1. I'm participating in NaNoWriMo again this year. I had such a good experience last year, I couldn't imagine not trying again. As with most good things, the people made the experience. I met weekly with local folks who share a love of writing. I met volunteers and participants and donors. I met people with senses of humor, senses of story, and a great love of words. So charming, so warm, so encouraging. Just the thing for me any month of any year, so why not November 2014. To make these in-person meetings last year happen, of course, I had to arrange childcare, apologize for my tardiness when the childcare (aka the spouse rushing home from work) fell through, plan meals, plan around work, and generally make an effort to execute extraordinary measures that would make possible having yet another activity on the calendar. But this was an activity for my own enrichment, my own artistic development and pleasure. And thus worth it. Long before having kids, I knew that martyring myself would be a non-starter. I'd long ago, in my own childhood, seen what was behind that tweedy curtain and so I said no thanks. No surprise, the local NaNoWriMo group is again charming, warm, encouraging this year. And this year, I have a better idea of what I'm doing, and how, and why. So this year, I might actually stand a chance of winning ("winning" means reaching 50K words in the NaNo world). I'd like to try. And for those who aren't familiar with NaNoWriMo rules and culture, just know that they don't have to be good words, or edited words. 2. I'm revamping this site! I'm thrilled to be working with a designer to revamp this site. I want to write more here as well as on my other blog, WordyDoodles. That one has turned into the repository of chocolate, lip product, and acrobatic gymnastics posts (three topics that hang together more cohesively than you might initially guess). This site I intend to be more about the facets of my work, including advocacy, social media, blogging; poems and stories; and reflections on parenting. I've just started the design process with her. If you've got thoughts on site design, I'd love to hear! Please tweet to @Anita_Sarah any and all ideas and suggestions. Thank you! It's going to be a fun November. *********************** Tweet your thoughts to @Anita_Sarah. Thank you!