St. Paddy's Day is Coming - Monday, March 17, 2014

Are you getting ready? Planning on celebrating? Maybe going to mix in a little green food coloring into the mashed potatoes, or drop a dribble of coloring into your seltzer? There are so many ways to celebrate but this weekend I'll be running in the Shamrock Run in Portland along with 35,000 other runners.

There are all levels of runs: a 5k, 8k and 15k. And it should be fun because the runners dress for the event.

So, I hope you too will be having a wonderful weekend filled with food, festivities and maybe even a fun...run.

Taking it to The Next Level

Taking it to The Next Level is easy when you get help from experienced writers and another one of these great events is coming.

Yes, this is a wonderful writerly opportunity to learn some new things and network with some other people who are passionate about the same thing as you: writing.

So get ready. The Next Level is set for this Saturday at TaborSpace, located at: 5441 SE Belmont St, Portland, OR 97215, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. If you are interested in coming, look here: https://oregon.scbwi.org/events/ Plus, while you're there, you might as well click around the events tab and see what other great events are coming up.

There's another date to mark on your calendar too, it's July 26, 2014. This will be another summer edition of The Great Critique.

So, keep your mouse at attention and make sure you check back often to see what wonderful writing opportunities are waiting for you. 

Columbia River Gorge

The Pacific Northwest is one of the prettiest places in the world - at least in my opinion. Check out this view and see if it's not the truth. This is the view you will get from Crown Pointe. But it's hard to say if this is the most spectacular view . . .  or not.

Just drive a little bit further and you'll find falls and lots of them: Bridal Veil, Horsetail, Multnomah...just to name a few.

 In the view above, you can see the Benson Bridge, which is out of commission for now. There was a landslide that hit the bridge and left it unstable. It's a shame because we used to hike over this beautiful old bridge all the time in the summer.

But there are still a lot of trails to hike and pretty falls to seek out. So don't let the one bridge keep you back. And if you're planning a spring break trip, this would be a great destination: the Columbia River Gorge and the entire route along the way.

Run for Fun

 I love to run through this park but as you can see today the park was flooded.

 There were ducks floating in little makeshift ponds. But none of this water is usually here. There is a pond but it's on the other side of the park. Still it was a bright spot in a cold, damp day going for a run through this wet but beautiful park.

Family, food and fun

It was a busy weekend. We had a family dinner and wanted to have a little something special after the meal. So my husband played a few songs for everyone after we all ate and before everyone showed up, he practiced a bit.

And it was so fun to have family here all the way from Denmark.

Homemade Holiday Cards

I always want to celebrate but my bank account doesn't always allow me to party the way I want. So, I have to come up with ways to create, bake and make my own gifts, gear and goodies.

Here's one easy way to make cards if you, like me, aren't always so crafty.

I take some construction paper and a cookie cutter (yes, a cookie cutter) and etch the outline in the paper.

WAH-LAH holiday card created for only a few pennies.

St. Paddy's Day Bouquets - Sweet Enough to Eat

I love holidays and baking and making things to celebrate. This was an easy choice.

First off, I found these "vases" at Joann Fabrics and grabbed them in a hurry. Then I stuck some floral foam in each one.

Then the fun began.

I melted some white chocolate and colored it with food coloring. I made pink and green and yellow.

Then I poured the tinted chocolate into the candy molds.

Then I stuck food quality lollipop sticks (also bought at Joann's) into the chocolate.

I used rubber bands to give them support. Then I dipped some marshmallows into the chocolate and added sprinkles.

And then I started building my bouquet.

This was the first time I made these and now I have a few ideas for next time but I think they turned out sweet ;D