Tickled -- and CED update

First of all, call me silly, but it just tickles me to know that people from all over the world are visiting here. I get notices from my counter every time there's a new visitor (no, it's not annoying yet:), and I'm being introduced to places I've never heard of before -- so it's a kinda cool learning tool for me! (There ya go -- a creative learning opportunity!) And to think that I can share a bit of my world with someone from France or Uruguay -- that's just so awesome. (What would be even more awesome is if some were to leave loving comments -- then I could be like Sally Fields and claim (to myself, not the world), "They like me! They really, really like me!" I tend to think the worst of silence. But this blog is not about my foolish insecurities, so let's get back to talking about creativity, shall we?!?!? ;)

When I signed up for CED, it was never my intent to post daily, or stress over whether or not I'd been creative any given day. But I committed to looking for more creative opportunities, and to documenting them here because, well, that's what this blog is all about :) So, to encourage you and perhaps give you some ideas of how to fulfill that part of you that is created to be creative, I thought I'd just list some of the things that my family and I have been doing to be creative every day. Perhaps, also, the list will help you to see evidence of the creativity that already exists in your life -- every day stuff that will make you say, "Hey, maybe I AM creative!" (Some are repeats of recent previous posts. Check my blog archive if you want to see what you've missed -- I won't take the time to make links to them right now -- but if that's something you appreciate, leave a comment and I'll do it in the future.):

• I've been working more at reading aloud in a creative way by employing different voices for different characters. Books that have lent themselves well this week have been The Gruffalo and Brian Jaques' Redwall series. Funny -- my children have been asking a lot for those books to be read to them ;)
• I've been writing. (Book reviews and blog posts:)
• I've been working on my altered book challenge.
• I've been trying different ways to study academic topics. One of my friends lent us some Jonathan Park Radio Drama CDs and we've been enjoying learning some creation science that way.
• My 12 yo dd  has been creating her own anime characters. I have her permission to post some here, so I will do that soon.
• My 12 yo dd just made falafel -- so this post will not be much longer ;)
• My sons and 8 yo daughter have spent considerable time creating an assortment of swords and daggers using linking cubes (intended as math manipulatives;); they've also made themselves sheathes with belts.
• 8 yo dd has been writing love notes to Mom and Dad.
• 8 yo dd received some ceramic pieces for painting. She painted them and chose to bless a friend with them rather than keep them for herself.
• My husband has been shopping the grocery fliers, so I have been preparing meals with what we have rather than making lists of what I want. This week we were low on rice, so I "got creative" and supplemented it with barley. Not bad -- though I think we all still prefer straight rice:) Got any creative uses for diced tomatoes? We seem to be well stocked with those:)
• I used my calligraphy skills (learned in high school) for some invitations rather than printing them on the computer.
• 11 yo ds has been using his free time playing in imaginary worlds with his knights. The sound effects are the primary evidence of the incredible drama being played out in his head.
• I've been trying to take pictures from more varied angles, like this one of some of our baby rabbits:

That's all that comes to mind right now. How about you? What creative things have you been up to? (Seriously -- these are not rhetorical questions. I want to hear from you. I love hearing other people's ideas for creative living! If you'd rather email me, try the new address at the top of my blog page :)