New here? Then you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

The topic for this week’s Denver Post haiku contest is COLORADO. Sigh, you think the editors at the Post could have thought of something a little more, I dunno, universal?

I’m sure that most of you are from out of state, so if you do decide to write the haiku, maybe you could do one on the stereotypes around Colorado - ski bunnies, cowboys, John Denver, mountain men, and cattle drives. Have fun with it and make it humorous.

The deadline is midnight Thursday (Denver time). Send your one stanza (5-7-5) haiku to lifestyle@denverpost.com or go online at www.denverpost.com/haiku to enter. (You can also read everyone else’s entries there.)

The weekly winner will win a $25 gift certificate to the Tattered Cover bookstore.

Tracey at ClubMom’s Picture This is having a Kid’s Photo Contest. No, not photos of the kids but photos taken by them. My daughter Lucie is an amazingly good photographer for a four-year-old, so I’ll be submitting some of her work. (Hint: they’re probably pictures of her stuffed animals or her brother - two of her favorite things.)

Click here to find out to enter. And let me know if you’ve entered, too!

—————————————————
How’s the Harry Potter reading going? Have you a funny story about the lengths you’ve taken just to read a few more pages. Give us your HP confession at my other blog, A Mama’s Rant.

—————————————————
Has anyone out there contributed a haiku to the Denver Posts contest? If so, comment below and share what you entered. Don’t be shy!

The topic for this week’s Denver Post haiku contest is HEAT. It’s been in the 90s here so I’m not surprised they picked that topic.

The deadline is midnight Thursday (Denver time). Send your one stanza (5-7-5) haiku to lifestyle@denverpost.com or go online at www.denverpost.com/haiku to enter. (You can also read everyone else’s entries there.) As usual, the weekly winner will win a $25 gift certificate to the Tattered Cover bookstore. Get writing and good luck!

If you or your older child loves to read about famous cooks and chefs from Julia Child to Emeril Lagasse, check out my book giveaway at The United States of Arugula: The Sun Dried, Cold Pressed, Dark Roasted, Extra Virgin Story of the American Food Revolution.

I reviewed the book back in October 2006 after a culinary adventure in Vegas, and loved it.

The publisher has sent me 10 copies of the David Kamp’s new paperback release to give away to my readers. Click here to enter!

—————————————————

The topic for this week’s Denver Post haiku contest is SWIMMING.

The deadline is midnight Thursday (Denver time). Send your one stanza (5-7-5) haiku to lifestyle@denverpost.com or go online at www.denverpost.com/haiku to enter. (You can also read everyone else’s entries there.) As usual, the weekly winner will win a $25 gift certificate to the Tattered Cover bookstore. Get writing and good luck!

The topic for this week’s Denver Post haiku contest is BASEBALL.

The deadline is midnight Thursday (Denver time). Send your one stanza (5-7-5) haiku to lifestyle@denverpost.com or go online at www.denverpost.com/haiku to enter. (You can also read everyone else’s entries there.) As usual, the weekly winner will win a $25 gift certificate to the Tattered Cover bookstore. Good luck!

Speaking of the Denver Post, check out their thought provoking article, "The end is in sight for Harry Potter - The final Harry Potter book may spell doom for key characters, which has some parents squeamish"

With death looming near someone as important to kids as Harry…many Potter fans worry a fictional demise might leave scars on real children.

Not to worry, say literature experts and careful parents. Beloved characters have been dying in books and movies revered by children since Charles Dickens’ Little Nell, E.B. White’s Charlotte the spider, Bambi’s mom and "Sesame Street’s" Mr. Hooper. An important death written with care and consideration not only offers emotional growth to the young reader but makes for a great plot they’ll never forget.

No matter what the subject - racism, death, drugs, sexuality - books provide a great opportunity to have a family dialog about hard-to-approach matters. If your kids are reading Harry Potter, it’s a great time to discuss death, the imminent demise of elderly or sick relatives and friends, and your beliefs about spirituality and the hereafter.

Take advantage of the situation and talk with your kids!

The topic for this week’s Denver Post haiku contest is barbeque.

Sounds like the editors over at the Denver Post are a little hungry. The deadline is midnight Thursday (Denver time). Send your one stanza (5-7-5) haiku to lifestyle@denverpost.com or go online at www.denverpost.com/haiku to enter. (You can also read everyone else’s entries there.)

The weekly winner will win a $25 gift certificate to the Tattered Cover bookstore.

GOOD LUCK!

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed.