Squid Writing by Jennifer Akers

I joined Rocket Moms last summer, but the timing of the last graduation deadline coincided with end of the year writing project wrap-ups, Giant Squid application, and then a barrage of technical problems. With generous help from my Squidoo friends, I became a Giant Squid in January and then earned my first Purple Star for Jennifer Akers :: Freelance Writer, where I share my articles, lenses, social networks, and a huge list of writers’ resources.

Despite — or maybe because of — the amount of time I spend online, I seem to attract all kinds of technical problems (broken fans, wacky keyboards, viruses, and so on). The whole family is online, so trying to piece together a variety of aged computers to make one decent one is a difficult task in itself. Then we have the time issue of sharing one computer when we all want (need?) our own.  Another downside has been delaying projects or reviews because I haven’t had the time or equipment.

Now for good news: I finished 6 weeks of Rocket Moms. I’ve had fun and learned a lot. With RM assignments, I tried new templates, like Hey Monkeybrain and Quiz. I’m looking forward to graduation and continuing into the next session.

For this last session, I created six lenses.  Music lenses: Rick Springfield, Quiz: 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield (I enjoyed revisiting my teenage heartthrob’s music videos); a niche lens: How To Write A Book Review; a Valentine’s Day lens: Surprise Her With Beautiful Marcasite Silver Jewelry; a debate: Banned Books: Protecting Our Society or Infringing On Freedom of Speech?; and a cooking lens: Easy To Use Kitchen Tools and Gadgets.

Every lens seems to teach me a new lesson.  To learn even more about making the best lenses, I’ve also joined Professional Squids, a ning group about creating quality content and learning from Squidoo experts.

My immediate plans are to continue learning and improving my existing lenses in a couple new groups, continue with Rocket Moms, and expand my online presence on other networking sites.  I’m excited about putting all the pieces together as I move toward the business side of writing.

I’m working on more Christmtas shopping lenses with Rocketmoms. I like giving gifts that a friend will enjoy at Christmas and the new year. For a toy lens, I decided to highlight puzzles. My son’s “new” musical exploration  of The Beatles inspired my latest toy lens.

In stores, my son always stops at The Beatles’ memorabilia. The latest to catch his eye is puzzles.  I had fun finding puzzles to include in The Beatles Puzzles. All the puzzles depict The Beatles’ cover albums. It’s so hard to decide which one would make the best puzzle gift. Can you imagine solving a puzzle made from The White Album?

As the holidays are quickly approaching, New Year’s becomes the focus. One of the first things I buy is a calendar. Actually, I will buy at least three 2010 calendars. My husband and I enjoy the nature calendars. My son enjoys themed calendars. I like reading inspirational quotes every month, so my new lens is on 2010 Inspirational Calendars.

My last calendar was my son’s 2008-2009 calendar, and it ended in August 2009. I decided to make my own for the last few months (not the cool, personalized kind — just one drawn on paper), but I miss the beautiful photos and inspiration from my traditional calendar. I’ll buy a calendar with big blocks for each day; one that gives me enough space to write all the family important events. I’m lost without a good place to write all the dates and deadlines.

For those supporting my journey to applying for Giant Squid, my lens total is 46.

With RocketMoms’ assignments and Giant Squid Challenge support, I’ve created three new lenses. I’ve had a lot of fun creating lenses for RocketMoms’ shopping lenses and adding to their unique holiday gift ideas. As I work on holiday lenses, I’ve enjoyed visiting memories of past Christmas seasons and family traditions.

My son creates stop animation movies with Legos, so you can imagine that any LEGO set is big on his Christmas list. The Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 actually lets you build a real, moving robot. It’s amazing what you can build with this kit. You can build four different types of robots. The robot can move, sort colors, talk, and many other motions that you create with computer software and download into your robot project.

One of the RM assignments was to create and share a kitchen lens:  a product / gadget, tip, or recipe. I realized how much my family loves salt & pepper shakers and always sets out special Christmas Salt and Pepper Shakers.  I have a couple holiday shaker sets, like my cute reindeers, and I found more wonderful shaker sets. My shopping list has grown (I loved the kissing Santa shakers). The lens brought back loving memories of my mom and her Christmas table settings.

I started thinking about other holiday memories and traditions, as I built a funny lens on how to celebrate “A Christmas Story” Christmas For Your Family. Our family watches the movie, A Christmas Story, every year. My husband and son think it’s hilarious, and it’s been added to our traditional Christmas movie queue.

I also entered a Twittermoms’ blog contest on your five favorite holiday activities with your kids. What are your traditions for the holidays? Is there some family activity that makes your Christmas special? I’d love to hear about it.

On my desk, I have the typical “writer” tools: paper, pens, writing books, and my cell phone. I also usually have a glass of water and a snack, which is currently a couple rolls of Necco Wafers. Mine are mini-wrapped rolls, with nine wafers.

The wafers include a variety of flavors like chocolate, lemon, lime, orange, clove, wintergreen, cinnamon, and licorice.  The lemon and chocolate are my favorites. I think I’ll try the all chocolate Necco Wafers next. They come in four chocolate flavors: milk, dark, white, and mocha.

Did you eat Necco Wafers as a child? They’re a similar taste to Sweethearts, those candy hearts, stamped with endearing phrases, like Will You Be My Valentine? or I love you. Wafers are thin, large, smooth circles of candy.

They make a refreshing treat without being too sugary sweet.The ingredients include all natural flavors and colors in red beet, purple cabbage, tumeric, caramel color, and paprika.

At Thanksgiving, I plan to make a surprising and tasty place setting using Necco Wafers.  The mini rolls are a little over an inch long, and I’ll hide a candy roll underneath a folded name card.  On the card, I’ll write the guest’s name and a question “What was your favorite childhood candy?” Since we enjoy sharing memories at Thanksgiving, the wafers will be a great starting point to reminisce about our favorite childhood candy. My aunt will be happy; she has already mentioned she loves Necco Wafers.

Thanks to Twittermoms for sharing the information about Necco.  A big thanks to Necco for sending me samples and providing a refreshing, writer’s treat and what will surely be a fun activity at Thanksgiving.

It’s almost Halloween, and my thoughts wandered to “Where The Wild Things Are”, a new film based on the children’s book by Maurice Sendak. I remember reading the book to my son when he was little, and it’s on our bookshelf today. I’m curious about the movie because the book is only ten pages, with illustrations. The film trailer looks grand, like it captures Sendak’s large, adventurous illustrations.

I reviewed Sendak’s book on my latest lens, Children’s Book – Where The Wild Things Are. I had a lot of fun since there are more activities available than when I read the book to my son a few years ago. I found Where The Wild Things Are lesson activities for art, language arts, geography, P.E.,  and social studies for ages K-8. I also discovered Where The Wild Things Are themed clothing, costumes, and cupcakes.

If you’re interested in Where The Wild Things Are costumes for Halloween, check out the lens for both store-bought and hand-made costumes. I absolutely loved the kid’s homemade costume for Max. It’s very easy to make, with a simple hoodie and sweatpants as the basic outfit. I also love the costumes that pull double-duty, like the Max pajamas that can also be worn as a Halloween costume.

From a literature point of view, Where The Wild Things Are is an intriguing book. Sendak wrote the book in 1963 and won the Caldecott award. When it was first released, the book received a lot of criticism for its dark themes: the child misbehaves and the mother sends him to his room without his supper. It’s there that the world opens up, and Max goes on his adventure with dark creatures of the night. While you’re on my lens, voice your opinion on censorship of children’s literature.

Forty plus years later, and Where The Wild Things Are is a classic tale, now released as a film. The last question, like other made-to-film books, which is better: Where The Wild Things Are book or movie?

I’m asking for a couple of reasons. If you read my blog, you will have undoubtedly noticed my summer absence. It wasn’t intentional. I set my personal and writing goals, and things were going as planned. Until my husband suddenly got sick, and we found ourselves in the midst of misdiagnoses, confusion, and living that saying, “When it rains, it pours”.

My husband wasn’t suffering a life-threatening illness, though it was long-lasting and affected his quality of life. The doctors gave us no hope the medications would even help. We refused their bleak dismissal and found alternative treatments, which are working remarkably well. While trying to take care of my family, I wrote but cut back on some projects.

So what am I doing now? If you’re on Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In, we probably ran into each other as I’m pretty active on those networks. I’m writing more now — articles; web content; press releases; book and product reviews; and Squidoo lenses. I was part of  SquidLog, RocketMoms and TwitterMoms and boy, let me say, those are super places to be. I still have my eye on being a Giant Squid (it’s taken me longer than I hoped, but the journey’s going forward. I’m on lens #37 now and setting a December goal).

I wanted you to know what’s been going on in my part of the world.  Life is good and getting better … although it’s still summer. Both in a quasi-timeline of this blog and also, the feels-like season of my native Florida, where it’s 90 + degrees Fahrenheit in mid-October.

I hear the weather’s going to be a cool 75 degrees this weekend. I’m planning my writing time so I can enjoy the beautiful weather. I’m looking forward to share even more exciting news with you.

Thanks for sticking around here. Please, drop me a line and let me know what’s happening in your section of the globe?

I meant to blog about Twttrlists last week and then other projects came up. I made a few Twttrlists to try it out. I thought it was a fun idea to use tweets in building a lens.

My first lens was on Best of 3 Breakup Words. The 3 Breakup Words started as a fleeting Twitter game using the hashtag “3BreakupWords”. I added funny tweets and a tweet by Justin Timberlake.  I wanted the lens to be fun, so I left off some of the really nasty tweets. I also added Squidster’s lens, Best of 3 Words After Sex, since the topics were related. Depending on what words you said after sex, you could be hearing some breakup words.

The second was the Best of Google Friend Connect. This one is in the top 100 Twittrlist list. I added content from Squidoo lenses, Hubpages, and YouTube. I liked how the lens came out.

I’ve already gone back and added new tweets to each lens. I entered both in The Best Twittrlist Contest. Plus, they will count toward my Giant Squid count, though I’m trudging closer to the deadline.

I’m enjoying reading everyone else’s Twttrlist too – great ideas out there. I’m not surprised – Squidoo lensmasters are a creative and smart bunch of people.

I just read about an interesting Twittermoms contest, based on the latest movie release “Away We Go”. The movie is about a couple expecting their first child, and they’re traveling the U.S. in search of the perfect home.  It sounds like a funny and sweet film.

The contest is asking participants to answer, “What Does Home Mean to You?” I think when I was younger, I would’ve answered somewhere close to my mom. She made me feel special, safe, and loved. What could be better. Now, my answer has changed a bit because my life has taken many turns: my mom passed away 14 years ago, I’ve moved several times, I’m a mom of a 12-year old, and I remarried 6 years ago.

Home isn’t a particular house or a lifestyle, though I’ve called many places “home” for those reasons. Home is a place where I have freedom to be myself and to be surrounded by people I love and who love me.

Right now, my home is with my husband and son, and we truly enjoy spending time with one another.  We accept each other’s foibles because no one should be a cookie cutter person. We cheer each other’s successes and soothe the temporary losses.

Our house is filled with lots of hugs, laughter, and love. That’s home to me.

If you want to enter the contest, visit Twittermoms Away We Go Contest. I can’t wait to read everyone’s responses and see the movie (it’s out now in select cities; June 25th for nationwide release).

For my family, Memorial Day has always meant family get-togethers and big barbecues. Occasionally, we’d attend a local parade. Memorial Day also signaled the end of the school year. It was a casual holiday that brought some welcomed relief from school projects and job stress.

Of course, the real reason for Memorial Day is far more meaningful than family picnics. Memorial Day is a day to remember our fallen veterans for their service to our country. The holiday brings feelings of pride in our nation and a sense of debt and gratitude to those who sacrifice their lives for our country. While my family doesn’t usually attend formal memorial events, we strongly feel military men and women deserve to be honored – their personal sacrifice and dedication is beyond what most of us are willing to do.

I hadn’t made a Memorial Day lens, but I searched for lenses that I thought brought all the aspects of the holiday together. Here are some outstanding lenses on Memorial Day.

For those of you who are planning family get-togethers, visit Everything You Need for the Best Memorial Day Barbecue Menu. It really does include everything you could possibly need for the best barbecue.

If you’d like ideas on how to remember our fallen soldiers, read Remembering on Memorial Day. This is an excellent lens, packed full of information, like The National Moment of Rememberance, the history of the buddy poppy, teaching children about Memorial Day, and the National Memorial Day Concert.

Memorial Day – Decoration Day describes the history of the poppy, including the poignant In Flanders Fields poem, 21-gun salute video, and links for more resources, such as Memorial Day printables.

To understand the meaning of Memorial Day, visit Memorial Day Military Tribute.  The lens honors our fallen soldiers, with videos on the meaning behind the day, a Memorial Day prayer, and “Amazing Grace”, sung by Judy Collins and the Harlem Boys’ Choir.

No matter how you celebrate Memorial Day, please take time to remember our brave soldiers who fought for our country. Considering their sacrifice, it is the very least we can do.

It seems like Mother’s Day sneaks up on me every year. It’s almost here again – Mother’s Day is May 10, 2009. I’m not sure why it surprises me. Maybe I’m busy with writing, taking care of the family, and other things. I don’t stop to think about it. Besides, those other people in my family (like my hubby and son) should be thinking about it, right?

When my son was old enough to realize moms had their own special day, he couldn’t wait to give me a treasure he had made himself. Even though he doesn’t make gifts in school now, he’s still excited about doing something special for me. My son’s joy is contagious, and Mother’s Day is special no matter what he does.

Mother’s Day is a day of both celebration and remembrance for me. While I’ll enjoy the day with my family, I also take part of the day to remember my mom, who died over 13 years ago.

I remember the first Mother’s Day holidays without my mom. It was very difficult emotionally. How do you celebrate a holiday when the honoree isn’t there? A couple years ago, those feelings led to a lens on How To Celebrate Mother’s Day When Your Mom is Deceased. I poured a lot of my thoughts and feelings to create and update the lens, and in doing so, I’ve enjoyed a different connection with my mom. I’ve updated it and added a personal story I had remembered recently.

If it’s your first Mother’s Day without your mom, visit and find resources on grieving, healing, making remembrance gifts, and more. I hope you find it helpful for yourself, children or grandchildren, or friends who have lost their mothers.

I had created another Mother’s Day lens, Perfect Mother’s Day Gifts – Unique Mother’s Day Gifts.  I enjoy finding unusual gifts, like poetry and personalized gifts.  This is a fun lens, with kid projects to make on Mother’s Day, poetry books for your wife, books to share with kids, and personalized gifts, like M&M candy gifts. Stop by and share your favorite gift-giving on my link list.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Mother’s Day!