Hope + confidence = optimism

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence." -- Helen Keller

The code for this doodle and other doodles you can use on your blog can be found at Doodles.

Letting go of expectations

"...You need to realize something else: you can lead a perfectly good and satisfactory life even if you're not a writer [artist]. When i figured out that i could be perfectly happy and not be a writer, i became a better writer. The unhappiest people in the world may be the ones who think their happiness depends on artistic success of some kind."

-- Wendell Berry



[h/t: Keri Smith]

How karma makes us fat

In his book, "The seven spiritual laws of success," Deepak Chopra states that

All actions are karmic episodes. Drinking a cup of coffee is a karmic episode. That action generates memory, and memory has the ability or the potential to generate desire. And desire generates action again. The operational software of your soul is karma, memory, and desire. Your soul is a bundle of consciousness that has the seeds of karma, memory, and desire. By becoming conscious of these seeds of manifestation, you become a conscious generator of reality. By becoming a conscious choice-maker, you begin to generate actions that are evolutionary for you and for those that are around you. And that is all you need to do.

As long as karma is evolutionary -- for both the Self and everyone affected by the Self -- then the fruit of karma will be happiness and success.

Karma --> memory --> desire -->

Mmmmm..... I could really use a brownie ....

The code for this doodle and other doodles you can use on your blog can be found at Doodles.

Stick to it

This quote

The great thing and the hard thing is to stick to things when you have outlived the first interest, and not yet got the second, which comes with a sort of mastery.

by Janet Erskine Stuart, reminded me of this chart by Kathy Sierra (previously mentioned).



Which is right inline with: Mike Lynch's comments about getting better at drawing by drawing a lot, Denis McGrath's advice about getting better at writing by writing a lot, and of course Gladwell's "10,000-Hour Rule."

The future of publishing

This video was prepared by the UK branch of Dorling Kindersley Books. Originally meant solely for a DK sales conference, the video was such a hit internally that it is now being shared externally. Be sure to watch until after the 1:30 mark. Something unexpected happens.

Blanket + Lego = quick clean up

Tired of the time it takes to pick up all the little pieces of your children's Lego / Playmobil / assorted other toys with far too many small pieces?

Next time, take a blanket or old bed sheet and spread it on the floor before bringing out the itty bitty plastic things.

When it's time to clean up, gently lift each of the sides of the blanket / sheet and voilà! All the bits are now in one consolidated pile for efficient tidying!

MLF&H: Everything you need to know about sending your child to camp

Do you want to send your child(ren) to camp, but don't know where to start? Don't know the difference between Day Camps and Sleep-Away camps? Your child wants to go to camp, but is scared to do so? You're in luck!

Mabel's Labels has recently published the free eBook, "Mama of Many’s Guide to Camp," to help you prepare and pack for summer camp. The topics include:

1. Finding the Right Camp for Your Kid
   
2. Day Camps
3. Sleep-Away Camps
4. Special Needs Camps
5. Artsy Kid Camps
6. Sporty Kid Camps
7. Smarty-Pants Kid Camps
8. Getting Ready – Part One
9. Getting Ready – Part Two
10. Adjusting to Sleep-Away Camp
11. Resources – The Usual Kind
12. Resources – The Unusual Kind

As the mother of six children under ten and founding VP of Mabel’s Labels, Julie Cole’s perspective is both practical and fun. Download your copy of the free eBook today!

[h/t: Mabelhood.com]

To get you in the camp frame of mind, I bring you

(Items with a variation of this image can be purchased at Cafe Press.)

The code for this doodle and other doodles you can use on your blog can be found at Doodles.


--
Disclosure: I'm a Mabel's Labels Buzzmama and I receive free products for my involvement in the program. I'm also a Mabel's Labels web affiliate and I earn a commission if you use the following link to purchase your Mabel’s Labels – Labels for the stuff kids lose!®

MLF&H: Buzzworthy

Lookie what came in the mail today!

Click on over to FAQsandHacks.blogspot.com to find out more about this package and it's contents.



--
Disclosure: I'm a Mabel's Labels Buzzmama and I receive free products for my involvement in the program. I'm also a Mabel's Labels web affiliate and I earn a commission if you use the following link to purchase your Mabel’s Labels – Labels for the stuff kids lose!®

How to be a better ...

Mike Lynch, a magazine cartoonist, shares some insights from cartooning classes his post "Draw 160":

And that's what drawing is all about; acquiring the knowledge of how to draw. How do you draw a fish? A bird? a cool car? a poodle?

Sure, when you read those words you get a visual in your mind -- but how to train your hand to draw what you imagine?

By drawing a lot.

How do you get to be a better cartoonist?

There is the old piece of advice: take a stack of paper the same height that you are. Draw on every one. When you get to the bottom, you’ve gotten a lot of the bad drawings out of your system and you’re a better artist.

What's more, this doesn't just apply to drawing. (Well, perhaps the drawing on paper part of the instruction.) It fits nicely with McGrath's idea of it being his job to fail.

"I kind of look at it as -- it's my job to fail until I don't. You try something, fail, fail, fail, keep failing, and hopefully eventually you look at something and say, 'that's not a total failure' and then you nurture that little ember and follow it and hopefully you get somewhere."

It's right in line with Gladwell's "10,000-Hour Rule." ("No one gets to the top unless he or she puts in 10,000 hours of practice in a field, be it computer software, hockey, music, or law.")

Go visit Lynch's post. You're sure to be impressed (and entertained) by all the talented work by the students in his class!

And whatever your passion... go and practise. Now!


[h/t: Drawn.ca]

The code for this doodle and other doodles you can use on your blog can be found at Doodles.

Well take a look at where you live. What if it happened there?

Young Artists For Haiti performing "Wavin' Flag."

And if you're like me and not completely in touch with today's young artists, the artist list can be found part way down this page.



[h/t: Postcards from the Mothership]

Daily disappointment

It happens every day,
You'd think I'd learn by now.
The question always comes
At morning time: "How?"

"How did the coffee in the cup,
Get to be so low?
Piping hot with cream and sugar,
Where did my coffee go?"

The code for this doodle and other doodles you can use on your blog can be found at Doodles.

Of mixed minds

I'm torn. I love that the company "One" is raising funds to build PlayPumps in Africa so that children a) have access to clean water and b) can go to school and play in lieu of spending their time getting water. (The project is nicely described in this quicky YouTube video.)



However, they do raise funds through the sale of bottled water.

Yesterday was "Bottled Water Free Day."

What do you think? Do you think that One should find an alternate method of raising funds? Or do the ends justify the means (since people are going to be buying bottled water anyway ... why not get them to buy water that helps a good cause)?

Happy birthday Mabel!

Mabels Labels is 7 years old!

To celebrate this event, random orders placed between March 9 and 17 will receive a surpise pack of goodies!

For complete details, visit the Mabel’s Labels – Labels for the stuff kids lose!® website.


Disclaimer: I'm a Mabel's Labels web affiliate.

Taking action

Looking for worthy causes that you can help, without costing you a penny? Here are a few for you:

Test your vocabulary and help distribute rice through the World Food Progamme at FreeRice.com [h/t: GeekDad]

To play the game, click on the synonym you think is right. If you're right, you get a harder question. Otherwise you get an easier question. For right answer, 10 grains of rice is donatedto the United Nations World Food Program.

Join a Facebook group to help fund a PlayPump for a village in Africa. [h/t: David-Tennant.com]
From the One Difference website:

The PlayPump® uses a specially crafted children’s roundabout to pump water from deep underground. So, as children spin on the roundabout, fresh, clean water is pumped from a borehole into a storage tank for use by the entire community.

It’s a simple idea but one that is changing the lives of thousands of African people. Now, instead of walking for hours to collect water, children can go to school and the entire community benefits from access to fresh drinking water.

From their Facebook page:

A further donation of $5000 has been pledged if 250,000 Facebook users join the One Difference [Facebook] fan page in time for World Water Day on the 22nd March. [snip]

The $10,000 total will fund a PlayPump for a village in Africa. [snip]

Please join the group and pass this on to all your contacts. Be a part of the change.

Looking for something a little more local?

Save the Association for Research on Mothering (ARM)

Read what Ann Douglas has to say. Ann also outlines three ways to take action here.

You can also lend your support by joining the Friends of The Association for Research on Mothering Facebook group.

Doodle idea based on a Tweet by Ann Douglas.

The code for this doodle and other doodles you can use on your blog can be found at Doodles.

You and ....

Fill in the blanks:

"I believe in the power of you and _____"

"It's true we'll make a better day, just you and ______."

Grammatically, the blanks would be replaced as follows:

"I believe in the power of you and me,"

"It's true we'll make a better day, just you and I."

If you're reciting song lyrics, however, it would look like this:

"I believe in the power of you and I,"
-- "I Believe" (Nikki Yanofsky)

"It's true we'll make a better day, just you and me."
-- "We Are The World" (African-famine fundraiser)

Poetic licence and pop-culture are eroding my ear for poor grammar!

[h/t: You and I know Olympic lyrics flawed: grammarian]

Genuis or nuts?

Inspired by Brent Butt's tweet:

"Reminds me of Rich Hall gag: If you play guitar & harmonica at the same time - genius. But if you strap cymbals to your knees- you're nuts."

The code for this doodle and other doodles you can use on your blog can be found at Doodles.