Get your custom-painted watercolor!

As one of the Camp Mighty 2012 attendees, I'm raising money for charity: water, which funds clean-water projects in developing nations.

As incentive for you lovely people to chip in, I am auctioning FIVE  (5) original 7" x 10" watercolors. To bid, donate $20 or more here and include the comment "Paint it up, Alice Bradley!" 

If you’re one of the top 5 bidders, I will paint a watercolor JUST FOR YOU. (You choose the image but I get to ask for alternatives in case it's something I can't do all that well. Like faces. Faces are hard, guys.) Here are a few examples of my work:  

And!

Or!

I use Arches watercolor paper (that's French for "super-high quality") and top-shelf watercolors that won't fade over time. You'll help get clean water to people who need it, and in return you'll get a lovingly packaged, carefully rendered watercolor. Plus you'll receive my love. So much of my love. How can you lose? Go! Donate!

This campaign's funds will go specifically to fund water projects in Rwanda. Here's more information on that effort:

I. Hate. Homework.

(sample page in Henry's Math Investigations workbook, not even a little bit edited by me! I SWEAR)

1. 48 divided by 8 = ? Show your work.

2. Let's say you have 48 cookies and you must divide them equally among eight people. How many would you give them? Show your work some more.

3. Now what if you had 48 gum balls, smart brains? And 8 ponies? How many gum balls would each pony get? Show your work. But a different way this time.

4. Okay NOW we're going to imagine you have 48 headaches and only 8 skulls! DIFFERENT THINGS! How many headaches does each skull get? SYW. (That's short for Show Your Work. Really mix it up this time, would you? We get bored.)

5. This one's new, promise. 48 candy corns, 8 socks. Put an equal number of candy corns in each sock. See? Candy corn + socks = fun! (You better show your work AGAIN but this time in an equally FUN way.)

6. How were the above questions different? Explain.

7. Explain more. Draw stuff for us about how you're explaining. Really show us your work.

8. Are you yelling at your mom about how you don't want to do your homework? How much?

9. Hey, what are you thinking right now?

10. We're desperately unhappy people. This is probably because there are 48 of us, and only 8 desks. How many people should sit at each desk? Show your work.

11. Seriously, show us. We should mention that Tad is hogging one desk all to himself, and Linda and Jason are making out at another one, and one desk is infested with spiders; two others are in an alternate dimension and if you try to use them you're torn in half; three desks are in this one corner of the office where the lights stopped working and we can hear someone or something in there growling and snapping. Wait, that's all the desks. But where .... where are we?

12. Show our work. Oh, God, show our work! 

Love is patient, love is kind

I couldn't be happier that Obama was re-elected, but what drove me to tears was the fact that gay marriage passed everywhere it was on the ballot. Things are changing.

I watched this video the other day with Henry and Scott and I cried and cried. And Henry was like, what's the big deal, here? Of course people who love each other should be married.



Of course. Henry's growing up in a country where, state by state, people are catching on. Of course, of course.

Whether you're as thrilled as I am by last night's election results or not, please, please don't forget that there are so many people rocked by Hurricane Sandy who are suffering immensely. People with no power, no heat--people who have lost homes and loved ones. Cool Mom Picks has a great round-up of charities that could use your donations. You can register for a month of writing prompts (which will help benefit Masbia, a soup-kitchen network), or donate on your own. And check out Occupy Sandy's registry of needed supplies. This crisis is nowhere near over, and there's another storm coming tonight.

Get a month of writing prompts, and help a good cause

The Practice of Writing course is almost over, and it's been a fantastic experience. So much so that I'm going to offer the course again, the next one beginning December 31st. Mark your calendars! I'll have more information on the class near the end of November.

Meanwhile, my next offering, which will be begin December 1st, is A Month of Writing Prompts. Every day you'll receive a prompt in your inbox, written by me. I'm a huge proponent of writing every day, no matter what, and prompts are a perfect way to get started. 

A Month of Writing Prompts is for you:

• If you're trying to start a daily writing practice
• If you want to write but feel like you need a little inspiration
• If you're in a writing rut
• If you're just finishing NaNoWriMo and/or NaBloPoMo and you want to keep the momentum going

The fee for A Month of Writing Prompts is $30 (that's one dollar a day, plus a bonus day for FREE), and I will donate 30% of net proceeds for this class to Masbia, a nonprofit soup kitchen network and food pantry in New York. I have been very, very impressed with the service Masbia has been providing hungry New Yorkers in the wake of Sandy, and I want to help them all I can.

(When you purchase your Month of Prompts, please make sure to indicate if you want your prompts to be sent to a different email address. Thanks!)