Happy new year!

I'd like to wish everyone out there a very happy and prosperous new year, and thank you to my family and friends, as well as editors, clients, fellow writers, publishers and my blog followers for a very memorable 2009. Thank you for your support and for helping make writing my passion! Here's to more exciting writing projects and achievements in 2010! ;)

My debut in Best Buds

Here's another reason for me to get all excited about January 2010 - I'll be making my debut in Best Buds magazine! I'm so thrilled that their editorial team has given me the chance to do so. Thank you so much guys! I'll mostly be writing about legends, myths and folklore under the name "Auntie Adline," how cool is that?

When I spotted Best Buds on the newsstands a few months ago, I was taken by their tagline “Where Kids Rule”. Targeted at kids aged between 7 and 14 years, it covers a variety of topics that appeal to tweens. If you have kids, be sure to check this mag out!

Mummy magic @ Venusbuzz.com

Gosh, a new year, and a brand new decade is just around the bend! Can't wait! I've been reflecting on life as a mum lately, and here are 10 things I've learned about motherhood since Amir came along.

TV programme addict

Can one be a TV addict while not actually watching TV? Yes, one can, and I am a living example of it. My husband and I hardly get to watch TV, because our son has to go to bed at around 8.30 to 9.00 pm. Plus, our tiny home and family dynamic doesn't allow for him to go to sleep while the TV's on.

Recently, however, the ever-resourceful husband had gotten his hands on Law & Order and Criminal Minds, which we watch on the computer, and needless to say... I am addicted to them. For one, it provides us with some well-needed grown up relief to the seemingly endless exposure to Spongebob Squarepants, and secondly, they do make you feel a wee bit more intelligent than usual. It's nice to feel smart.

Of course, these shows won't be watchable without the great actors, but the writers? OMG!

Berg update

Looked up the Berg website today and found that they've listed down the contributors :) I'm second on the list because my "last name" starts with "A" :)

Birthday Bust @ Venusbuzz.com

My son, Amir, will be turning six in less than four months. Sigh, where does the time go? As much as I love that he's older, and more independent now, I'm already getting that sinking feeling that my baby's all grown up. Sigh.

Speaking of birthdays, something happened at Amir's school during his birthday this year that left a bad taste in my mouth. You can read all about it here. Hey, it's my article and I can rant of I want to!

Interestingly, Birthday Bust was yesterday's most read article on Venus :)

We've created monsters & Come and Play @ Venusbuzz.com

At the start of the school holidays, the hubby and I had to spend an entire week sans out little boy, and although we've been looking forward to some "alone time" all year, when the time came for him to spend the week at my brother's, we were pretty miserable... We love our little monster to bits!

Check out this article I wrote about our children's insatiable appetite for toys, and this mum's terribly feeble attempt at discouraging it.

And, here's a little something dedicated to Sesame Street, somewhere I wish I lived as a kid.

Brighter Planet

Here's an idea for online activism. Today, I added Brighter Planet's 350 challenge badge to my right sidebar. As soon as I signed up, they sent me this message:

"Thanks for joining the 350 Challenge! By displaying our badge, your blog will help us offset 122,500 lbs of CO2 -- that's like turning off 38,000 light bulbs for a day! With your support, we're putting more clean energy on the national energy grid, and together, we can help fight global warming, one blog at a time. We'll check out your site today so that we can add you to the list."

Isn't it amazing that they can do that? To find out how they do it, check them out, and add their badge to your blog. Just click on the badge below to visit Brighter Planet's 350 Challenge site.

Thankful

Goodness... I'm a little bleary eyed for watching marathon sessions of Season 4 of Heroes in the last few days. That stuff is addictive man! My favourite character this season has got to be Samuel, the mysterious and villanous gypsy troupe leader. His narration is fantabulous, whoever is responsible for that man's dialogue should get a freakin' raise!! Plus, that guy can sure act!

Anyway, I'm really excited about the new year. I get like this every December. So far, the end of the year has been pretty good to me. I feel so blessed. Thank you God. Sometimes, all I can say is, "Wow!" 2010 is looking promising. Hey, I'm a bit of a pessimist, so optimism is a big deal for me!

I'll still be writing for Venusbuzz.com next year, so do look out for me there. They have a new editor, and I'm sure lots of exciting new things will happen as we grow from strength to strength. I am aiming to write more personal articles, because sharing my thoughts and feelings with others can help me put things in persepective, and I think that's what people like to read.

I'm also working on a super secret project, poised to launch next year. I can't tell you about it yet, but I can say that I'm really happy to be on board. I think it's important for a freelance writer like me to take on new and challenging writing projects to broaden one's horizons. There's always room for learning and improvement!

It also seems like there's a good chance that I'll be published in a children's/tweens magazine starting January 2010. Hurray! I love writing for kids! Stay tuned for that, I can't wait to show it to you!

On the flip side, I've had to turn down one or two writing jobs due to my hectic schedule and pressing personal matters, but that's okay, I don't want to bite off more than I can chew.

This year, I've had the great pleasure of meeting many wonderful people and making new friends through my blog and writing, which is the most wonderful blessing of all. I love working with passionate, professional and friendly people. I love being able to work hard and provide for my family. For my son. They are so worth it.

So, thank you God for blessing me.

PS: I procrastinated and missed out on submitting something for last week's Weekly Art Project. I am kicking myself. Anyway, here's what other people did. Good fun. Looks like I'm going to have to pass on the next project as well, there's no way I can create mail art and get it to the US in time for the deadline. Meh.

Copywriting for a4trip.com

I've been working with a4trip.com for a while now, and I truly enjoy it, because they're such an easygoing and fun-loving bunch. I started off writing articles on travel destinations for them, and then they hired me to brush up the content on their website.

Wanna see an example of the copywriting that I do? Here it is!

1. A4trip.com Home Page

2. Their Our Story and F.A.Qs pages

3. Their Join Us page

Something tells me, us travel writers may be called back into action and whipped into submission soon enough! Can't wait!

Big Bad Wolf Book Sale thing... and 6 year olds

Hang on... is that what's it's called? Anyway, I bought 6 or 7 books, all for RM30. I would've bought more, but was practicing restraint. Among the stuff I got was a pocket thesaurus, a steal at RM2 and a small book by Gideon Defoe entitled "The Pirates! In an Adventure with Communists." I've read a few pages, and it looks tremendously fun!

Also, I gave tours to groups of 6-year olds for 2 consecutive days and discovered that they ask better questions than most academics and VIPs I've met :)