My Life on Full Throttle

 As I begin writing, my cat is sniffing my lips and sitting on the keyboard. This could get interesting...

So, I haven't written every week on the blog lately, and that's because I really feel like I have been going at full throttle since I returned from the Midwest trip. It's times like these when I realize that maybe, just maybe, I have indulged too many interests at one time, but I love them too much to give them up!

The house is a mess, the laundry is piling up, the dishes are only getting done because of my  husband, and the yard...well, I'd rather not talk about the yard and the possibility of a snake living there.

So, what have I been doing, you may wonder, that has caused me to neglect the basics? Well, you see, I have three kids...oh, you already knew that. I'd say we homeschool, but since we mostly unschool, it is very hard to distinguish "school time" from just living and learning and having fun.

Okay, okay, I'll stop messing around and tell you, listwise, a few of the things that I've been up to:

• Helping out with my girls' musical theater camp by helping backstage, tie dyeing T-shirts with all of the kids, and, of course, going to see their show. Whew! That ended last week. It was great, but I'm glad when anything's taken off the schedule!
• Planning and executing my youngest child's birthday pool party! Yay! Again, that was over yesterday, thank goodness! I was happy but exhausted by the end of the day.
• Going to karate classes once a week. I've actually been in karate about 2 years give or take. I usually go twice a week, but I've had to go down to once because of ...
• Play rehearsal! I am rehearsing to be in a play in September, a murder mystery called Murder Inn. I was in drama a bit in high school and college, but this is only the second I have done in my "adult" life. Rehearsals are a blast, and performing will be awesome. 

• Going to my historical European martial arts class once a week for about two hours, where I am learning long sword alongside my son and other classmates. We also had an annual gathering and mini competition last week. I came home with two medals, and a big bruise on my arm from getting hit with foam swords!

• Trying to edit more fiction. I am mostly an academic editor but am taking classes, building a web site, creating a new name for myself, and doing the work it takes to transform my business into mostly fiction editing.
• Trying to write more fiction. I have written and promoted my nonfiction breastfeeding book, but my writing passion has long been fiction. However, I haven't put in the work it takes to get it off the ground (aka finished and published). With the help of a few really awesome books that I've read lately, I think I'm ready, if only I can find a few minutes here and there to get some words down on paper...
• I'm still maintaining my YouTube channel and this blog, although maybe not as often as I'd like.

Did I mention that I have kids? Well, they always throw a wrench into things, but I wouldn't change that part for anything. I'm going to miss it when they are gone, and I have the quiet and time to get things done.

I am not going to start a new play once this one is done or start anything else new, though, because I really do want to spend some time getting the house back into a place I'd actually like to live in (maybe not so realistic with kids, but I can try!).

So, how has your summer been?  Is it just me, or does time really fly more quickly the older you get?

Short Review: The Busy Writer's Guide on Writing Romance

The Busy Writer's Guide on Writing Romance by Marg McAlister
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good, concise, and exactly what it says it is. I will be referring back to it more than once, I am sure.

View all my reviews

Our First Foray with Brave Writer

We are mostly unschoolers around our house. You know, we let the kids follow their own passions, be it Minecraft or gymnastics, and let them learn through their life experiences. Unschooling can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different homeschoolers. It's easy to find hot debates over whether someone is really an unschooler or not.

For us, sometimes unschooling means using structure or a curriculum, especially when my child comes to me and says that he wants a writing class. You'd think as a writer, I'd be all over that, but I was a little daunted and wanted some guidance.

So, as we all seem to do, I searched the Internet far and wide and finally came back to a site I had touched upon many times over the years but never committed to. Brave Writer. A hefty discount from the Homeschooler Buyers Co-Op helped out, too. I purchased The Writer's Jungle and a couple of the "magazines" that amount to guides that correspond to a certain book and help guide you in writing "assignments" that go with the book.

I admit that although I started it back in March, I still haven't finished The Writer's Jungle. It is a hefty volume that has given me a lot to think about. I enjoy Julie Bogart's philosophy, which is why I picked Brave Writer. It uses some traditional methods, such as copywork and dictation but still leans heavily on the child's own interests and wishes and finding ways to make writing useful for them. After all, who is going to be inspired to do something that they consider useless?

Although I'm still working my way through The Writer's Jungle, I've spent a bit of time listening to Julie's podcasts and reading through the Brave Writer Lifestyle discussion group on Facebook. It was there that I found my seeds for actually getting started and doing something concrete with this program. It had been months since my son's request, and I buckled down and promised him that we would start by June 1.

A file in that Facebook group suggested that you start with just one element of the "Brave Writer Lifestyle"—this is more than just a writing curriculum, folks—and get that established first before incorporating more elements into your life and routine.

For my son, I decided a read aloud with copywork would fit the best, and he agreed. So, on May 31, we started reading The Hobbit. It felt a little funny reading aloud to my 14-year-old for the first time in a long time, but after a while, it was very enjoyable. Because my voice was still recovering from a throat infection, we didn't even get through the whole of Chapter 1, but even that was enough to have me relishing the experience and remembering why Tolkien is so revered. His use of language is far from traditional and sometimes not even "correct." My editor's brain tried to switch on so I could add commas and separate all those run-on sentences. Then, I laughed at myself, thinking about how brash I must be to think I could edit one of the masters! It actually is more than just fine the way it is. My son listened quietly, never complaining of boredom, even though he generally prefers nonfiction.

Next came the copywork. This is where the issue of Arrow we had purchased came in handy because it includes prepicked quotes for dictation and/or copywork. We copied the opening passage of the book (both of us in our separate notebooks). Being a bit of a word nerd, I enjoyed it myself, savoring the writing and the passage itself. My son wrote his passage a little more slowly. Handwriting has never been his strong suit, but he chose to write it instead of type it, at least this time. I realized that he was even having a little fun when for one line, he switched to his nondominant hand to see how well he could write with it (not very!).

For my girls, being 6 and 8, I have chosen to start with poetry teatimes. This includes every little girl's fantasy tea party with real treats and drinks plus poetry! But it's not just for girls! My 6-year-old is kind of antireading (she prefers watching videos on her tablet or listening to audiobooks instead), so with her I try to be gentle and find ways to make reading fun. The poetry teatimes should help. We will have our first this Monday, even though we will be at their grandfather's house. Then, next week, we'll go all out with china, tea or lemonade, and a treat or two to enjoy while we pick poems to read. While they eat, I'll also read a bit more of Harriet the Spy, which we started this week.

I've started and quit many a curriculum. I hope that this one, especially with our slow approach in getting to know it, will be different. Why? Because when I read The Writer's Jungle, I find myself wishing that I'd been taught that way. Bogart encourages mindfulness, observation, and a host of other techniques that can improve a child's writing (and probably just their way of learning in general).

I'll definitely post some updates when I can and let you know how things are going with Brave Writer.

In the meantime, what inspires you in your homeschooling journey? Let's start a discussion in the comments!

Who Am I and Why Am I Writing This Blog?

Hi, and welcome. My name is Janell, and I am a woman of many interests and (hopefully) talents, a renaissance soul if you will.

One of the things I like to do is write. I have published many articles, mostly on breastfeeding, pregnancy, and homeschooling. I also published a book last year with Praeclarus Press about long/natural term breastfeeding called To Three and Beyond: Stories of Breastfed Children and the Mothers Who Love Them.

However, with my breastfeeding days behind me, I want to do more writing about all of the other things that interest me, and friend, my interests are vast and varied and continue to grow.

As I said, I love to write. Nonfiction is great, but I want to put more love and work into fiction as well (I've dreamed of being a novelist since I was a wee 14-year-old). Paranormal fiction and fantasy are my favorite to-read genres, and I hope to someday have a place among the fantastic writers I have come across. It goes without saying that I love to read.


I have a degree in zoology because once upon a time I wanted to be a marine biologist. I still love animals, and sometimes our house seems like a mini zoo. Right now, we are down to only 2 cats and 2 dogs with visions of a puppy in our future for our 8-year-old daughter.

I am an editor by trade, and that is all right, but I am trying to break into fiction editing to make it more enjoyable.

I love video games and have a YouTube channel dedicated to family gaming. Minecraft is awesome. What can I say?


I love crafting and occasionally sell homemade jewelry like this.

I love art and can often be found sketching, painting, or discovering new techniques.

I've been taking goju ryu karate for two years (I recently earned my green belt) and just started longsword training through a historical medieval martial arts school. I love both.

Despite being obese or perhaps because of it, I spend a lot of time studying food and nutrition and trying to find a balance with all of the options out there, including health and ethical concerns.

I am a wife and a mother. These brings my interests related to family, homeschooling, autism, and all of my kids' interests into play.

All of these things define me as do many other things. I hope you'll join me on the ride as I learn, ponder, and experience, taking dips here and there and sometimes going in whole hog on different topics and themes.

Thus is the life of a renaissance soul.