It's been too long, friends

Why, it's positively shameful how long it's taken for me to update this thing!

As I expected, teaching feature writing to high schoolers was an utter joy - especially since all of the proper stars aligned and I ended up with 12 of the brightest, funniest, sweetest, wonderful-est students I could have hoped for. I'm really proud of the work they did on their newspaper. Not a bad way to spend a week!

If you're in Athens, pick up the latest copy of Athens Magazine - I've got the cover story on kitchen renovations, as well as a smaller feature on road trip season. (Neither are online...so get thee to a bookstore!)

Some exciting ongoing projects include writing a script for an online marketing video (for the first time - I'm having fun!), and there's always my weekly parenting column at Babygooroo; click here to see a handy list of my recent stories there.

At the moment, I'm knee-deep in vampires and werewolves and Bella Swan. Oh, yes. I'm writing about "Twilight" for the local paper, in anticipation of "Breaking Dawn" coming out on Aug. 2 (which I am so reading).

Until next time (which will be sooner, promise):

"Some are ethereal and light, with candy-sweet pinks and blues. One bottle is so wispy it could be a little glass ghost, softly resting against sandy-colored ground and a cloud-filled sky." Read more here (and yes, there is TOTALLY a Dalek reference!)

"Swarms of jellyfish gently undulate near the ceiling to the tune of whale songs and bubbly underwater sounds. A 40-foot whale swims on one wall against flat waves of blue, green and lavender. Tiny crabs and starfish are underfoot, and seaweed and coral reefs push up from sand-colored hardwood floor. When it's finished, an enormous octopus with five-foot long legs will sprawl in the middle of the room." The Lyndon House Arts Center was transformed into an aquarium, thanks to the efforts of a bunch of summer campers; read more here.

"Mildred Rutherford - former Athens resident, T.R.R. Cobb's niece and the historian for the UDC from 1910 to 1915 - made 75 scrapbooks chronicling the organization's history, gave frequent educational lectures in period dress, and lobbied for various causes.

'Mildred Rutherford vehemently opposed women's suffrage, but she went to the legislature to make that case,' says Cox. 'It's such a contradiction - she was being political about not wanting to vote!'"

I loved interviewing Karen Cox about the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Read more here.

Take care, all!