Rain Dragon's Room!

So, there were two rooms that I wanted "done" for Rain Dragon's birthday party. One was the living room (since that was where we were congregating) and the other was her bedroom. I admit I wanted to show off the clouds.

Well, I didn't complete finish her room but it's pretty close! The Sasquatch says it's the nicest room in the house.  I am rather proud!

We hung up her 100 Wishes Quilt as it was too beautiful to use:

And the Sasquatch's mom sewed the bedding and coordinating curtains:

we are doing the Japanese tatami mat floor sleeping since we can't get her to sleep in a crib!

I wasted many happy hours just looking at fabric before I settled on these! The  constellation fabric was my favorite!  I wasn't sure if the  rainbow zigzag and the flowers  would go well together, but now I love it.

Her name spelled out with  Melissa Sweet's Alphabet Wall Cards:

And her reading corner:

the leaf canopy is from IKEA, it reminded my of My Neighbor Totoro!

And then there is her balloon light, floating in the sky:

This light was a huge splurge! But we couldn't resist.

But I didn't quite finish everything. I meant to do something more interesting than just simple blue paint for her IKEA dresser. And the unfinished switchplate and blank wall just cry out for something more colorful:

the animal lights I bought years ago, I don't think they make them anymore!

And behind the door is her  growth tree that I drew but didn't paint:

I'll post a photo when it's finished!

But, at least, the room is finished enough for her to enjoy it:

already a mess!

on my desk monday

During my school visit to Tulsa, OK, they gave me veggies chips that included green beans--and now I am addicted! The Whole Foods version is okay--but the kind they had in Tulsa is superior! Why don't they have a Sprouts here?

fortune cookie friday

"Fish cannot survive in absolutely clear water."
-Chinese Proverb

Belated Post: a day visit in CT

So, I wish I could post about all of my school visits! I try to post about most of them, however I often forget to take photos and-- being the visual person that I am--without photos, I sometimes forget. 

However, this school,  I did remember and not just because of the great projects the students did with Where the Mountain Meets the Moon:

everyone drew their own dragon!

As well as the with Year of the Dog and Year of the Rat:

students researched their zodiac animals and wrote about them and also created their own (if they didn't agree with their given animal)

Or the very thoughtful questions they prepared:

All those things were wonderful, but what made me remember this school was that a student came to my presentation dressed up as Minli!

I wish I had a better photo! She even did her hair the same way.

Isn't that nice? Thanks for the memories!

Rain Dragon's Lucky Destiny Birthday Party!

Have you just moved? Do you need incentive to unpack and clean your house?  Do you feel like you just want a challenge? I have the solution for you! Have a party!

Yes, even though we were still in boxes, I decided (I take full responsibility, the Sasquatch agreed under protest) that we should have a party to celebrate Rain Dragon's first birthday!  Even though it was a belated birthday party, I was afraid if I waited until we were "ready" she'd be a teenager. 

So we had Rain Dragon's Lucky Destiny Birthday Party! It was themed in red, for luck:

As well as dragons:

first time I baked in the new house!

It was a mad scramble getting the house in order. The Sasquatch's mom very kindly sewed the curtains and pillows for the living room:

it's still a work in progress

But what got the most comments was how I color-coordinated the books on the shelves!

I did this for effect, but it's actually a really great organizing system. Easier to reshelve than the alphabet and I always remember cover colors!

Old friend and new neighbor Alissa brought the red balloons:

And old friends and neighbors-no-longer traveled the distance:

with new baby!

and needed immediate nourishment:

The swingset was a big hit:

it came with the house and distracted from our rather sad landscaping!

And Cousin Lily played "Happy Birthday" on her flute:

I feel like it was just yesterday when we were celebrating her birthday!

But the big event  was when it was time for Rain Dragon to choose her destiny!

If you've read my book Year of the Rat , you'll remember how one-year old Max chooses his destiny at his birthday party. That is a real Chinese custom!  A one year old is presented with a variety of objects, each one symbolizing his/her future vocation.

We had Rain Dragon choose from money (finance manager), wrench (contractor),  computer mouse (computer programmer), book (author/librarian), thermometer (doctor), paintbrush (artist), ball (athlete), spoon (chef/baker), solar lamp (new energy engineer!).

After much hesitation, she chose....

she was a little overwhelmed by all the attention

The spoon!

maybe she will fulfill my cupcake dreams!

Yay!  Rain Dragon is going to be a chef!

Well, even if her lucky destiny isn't quite accurate, at least we know she had a very lucky  birthday party!

everyone clapped, so she clapped too!

Thanks for coming! Happy Birthday, Rain Dragon!

on my desk monday

Cupcakes and a brownie, the only dessert left, from Rain Dragon's belated birthday party!

fortune cookie friday

"A flower cannot blossom without sunshine nor a garden without love."
-Chinese Proverb

Belated Post: NESCBWI, an epoch in my life

So, I have to admit things in early May were  rather stressful.  Our condo had sold a faster than expected and the packing was in full swing (which was even more challenging now that Rain Dragon was walking!). So when the NESCBWI conference rolled around, everything was in a state of chaos and I was just crossing my fingers that I didn't make any disastrous mistakes. We just made it to conference a half hour before my keynote speech and I think I gave the organizers a heart attack (sorry!).

Because I really regret not being able to partake in more of the conference. It sounded amazing and I can't believe  I missed hearing Sharon Creech speak! She (and Natalie Babbitt) is probably my favorite living author, her book Castle Corona indirectly inspired Where the Mountain Meets the Moon-- I used it to show my publisher how beautiful a novel in full-color would look...and it convinced them!

And what made it even worse is that by getting to the conference so late they ran out of her books at the store (and I was not far-seeing enough to set aside my already-owned copies of her books in an easily identified box) so I missed out on getting a book signed! Boo hoo! But I thought at least Rain Dragon and I could get a photo...and what a photo it is:

Look at Rain Dragon's face! Ha ha! I think she is feeling some professional jealousy out of loyalty to me.

However, even with my less-then-auspicious state of mind, the NESCBWI conference was (as Anne of Green Gables would say) an epoch in my life.  Because, as I've mentioned before, while I am proud of how much I've improved as a public speaker, I'd never consider myself great at it.

But somehow, in the company of fellow children's book author and illustrators and their welcoming, understanding energy, the elements combined and my speech* was  so well-received that I actually got a standing ovation.

photo courtesy of Victoria Lindstrom

This was a first for me! I was very surprised, but also so grateful. It was a lovely moment, lifting me out of the dismal gloom of moving. Thank you, NESCBWI!

*small footnote: in my speech I spoke about how an editor at Charlesbridge asked me to change an Asian girl character to a caucasian boy character because it would pigeonhole me as a multicultural author/illustrator. I'm a little afraid I might not portrayed the story with as much entirety as I intended and people might be judging the editor and the publishing company unfairly. 

-In defense of the editor (who I'll leave nameless unless he wishes to out himself online) his suggestion was his way of looking out for me, trying to make sure I didn't get branded in a way I didn't want. And, he was right.  When my second book featuring Asian characters came out, I was immediately pigeonholed as a multicultural author.

-In defense of Charlesbridge, this was over 13 years ago when they were just starting their fiction line (before that they had been mainly known for educational, non-fiction books). The entire staff has changed since then and their company policy is now known for embracing books with diversity (like Mitali Perkins' Bamboo People)--they are company anyone would be proud to be published with!

Belated Post: visiting Tulsa, OK

April flew by and in May we flew (again) as well! We went to Tulsa, OK  for a quick one day visit! Our departing flight was at 6am, which was a little challenging with Rain Dragon, but we had so many things awaiting us (the final deadline for the move was  looming) that we had to do it.

But it was too bad our trip was so short because I was visiting the Jenks School in Tulsa, which is also a Chinese Immersion School.  I might have been able to improve my Chinese!  The students could've taught me!

But even though our time in Tulsa was short, it was lovely!  We were given such a warm welcome with a Chinese Dragon:

beautiful decorations:

And a Chinese song!

It was a such a fun visit!

Thanks, Jenks School!!!

on my desk monday

It was my birthday and my publisher sent me these amazing and so-incredibly-delicious Bee chocolates! They were soooooo yummy as well as bee-utiful (ha ha).  THANKS, LB!