Thursday, October 30, 2008

FIRST MYDOLS SHOW WITH APRIL


Last night the Mydols (less Wensdy who is still out on maternity leave) played our first show with new lead singer April Boyle at Gilda’s Club. We celebrated Noogie Fest in Halloween drag (a captain, a cowgirl and a witch) with a simple acoustic sing-a-long. It was SO GOOD! I loved it and I think the crowd did too. We even got asked to play a couple of encores AND people requested songs—and they were Mydols’ songs too. Max Ortiz (Detroit News) was there to video tape the historic moment.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

DIANNE ROSE

Today I got a call from the husband of one of my Gilda's Club students telling me his beautiful wife died on Friday. Dianne Rose was one of the coolest people I have ever met. She was sassy, smart and full of life and energy. It was hard for me to ever believe that she was really sick. The stories she told our group were funny, inspiring and sometimes left me with goose bumps. Dianne is the type of friend you had in 7th grade. She never lost her youthfulness. I will miss her terribly.



STORIES FROM BEHIND THE RED DOOR


I have been working with a great group of women at Gilda's Club for about a year. I have been teaching a memoir writing class and we are ready to publish a collection of personal essays. I couldn't be prouder of the book. We are going through final edits and hope to do a reading at Gilda's around Thanksgiving.

Here's a sneak peek at the cover.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

THAT"S ME ON "MOMz ROCK THE HOUSE"

That's me with my Daisy Rock guitar featured on the radio show "Momz Rock the House" hosted by Janeane Bernstein in Irvine, CA.

Friday, October 24, 2008

TV STAR MOMMY


My son Dylan and Ihave been taking television production classes all fall. There are probably 15 people in our class. We've learned how to use cameras, direct, run sound--you name it. Tonight our class films our final project--a variety show that will air throughout the month of December. My segment is a holiday cooking demonstration with my friend Jill Martens who is the co-founder of ChefMama.com.

I have been writing and rehearsing my lines all week. Yesterday I worked on set design. I love TV--and I LOVE my class--especially producing/directing. I am super psyched about tonight.

Look for Mydols.TV coming to a public access television station near you in 2009!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

COOL FRIENDS

From time to time I get asked by friends to come up with logos for various things. I recently did a t-shirt design for "Purdy Good" that was well--pretty good!

Today I designed a logo for a law firm. I was completely stumped. I looked at various web sites for attorneys and they were all yawners. I figured it should be simple and use corporate colors but with a little splash. I hope they like it. Fingers crossed.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

NATIONAL READING GROUP MONTH

Did you know October is National Reading Group Month. So, in celebration, I have joined with some other authors and Key Business Partners to help highlight these writers and authors here at “Books to Read” .

This event showcases a variety of wonderful works of writing on different topics including my book Rock Star Mommy and others like:

Mindful Marketing by Jenn Givler
The Soccer Mom Myth by Holly Buchanan and Michele Miller
Back to the Table Cookbook by Betty Lynch
Customized Style Guide for Coaches who Write by Linda Dessau
Web Business Success by Susan Daffron
The Celebrity Experience by Donna Cutting
Girl Talk by Gigi Garner

I would like to invite you to spend a few moments on this page (these books will be exhibited for the month of October) to support these great writers and authors.

This event showcases the books in two ways
1) You can receive a free downloadable book excerpt or one chapter of the books
2) You can click the url link to purchase the book

I hope you enjoy the time you spend reading about these books and perhaps you will find your next treasured book.

So if you wish you can go now to Books to Read.

Friday, October 10, 2008

NEW MYDOL COVER


Catch a falling star - Francoise Hardy


Here's a Françoise Hardy cover song (circa 1964)we are learning.

STAND UP BASS


The Mydols are doing a couple of fundraisers this fall. We'll play at Gilda's Club on October 29 at Noogie Fest, and in November we'll be at AJ's in Ferndale for a fundraiser for the Pediatric Cancer Center at Beaumont Hospital.

Our bass player Wensdy is taking a little time off to welcome a new baby daughter. She's due TODAY. So....I will be playing bass! And a stand up bass! We practiced last night. Johnny (who normally plays drums) will play acoustic guitar.

April has the most amazing taste in music. We'll be playing some really cool folk songs with a '60s Austin Power-ish twist. We're going to record our next practice. I can't wait to let everyone hear our new sound.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

DAISY ROCK AND CANCER RESEARCH

Yesterday I was asked to do a very cool thing. I did a voiceover for a Daisy Rock ad. If you buy a guitar in the month of October from www.daisyrock.com, a portion of the proceeds will go to breast cancer research. All the Mydols play Daisy Rock guitars. They're the best!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

PEACEFUL LIVING IN A HECTIC WORLD

My next big project is redecorating my son Willie’s bedroom. He’s recently decided he wants to move into the guest bedroom although I am not quite sure why. I suppose it’s a little bigger, and on the first floor next to the kitchen. (Willie's my snacker.) The room he wants has been used as everything— from a nursery to a TV room to a game room to an office—you name it. Most recently it was used by Jee Yeon, our foreign exchange student. At the moment, AJ (our latest house guest) is using it until after the election. (AJ is a staffer for Michigan's Campaign for Change.)

I told Willie after AJ leaves we can redecorate the room any way he wants.

As I was searching around the Internet for furniture I stumbled across a website that had some really inspiring furniture—though not for teenagers but for sophisticated adults. It's very sleek and chic and oh so peaceful looking. The site is http://www.lombok.co.uk/.

Check out their wooden beds . I would love to curl up in the Canton four poster wooden bed for a nice long nap and drift away to a peaceful place where no kids need to be driven to soccer pitches, no dogs are barking in the yard at the squirrels, and there are no piles of clothing that need folding. (I also checked out the chests of drawers . I could use those too.)

Lombok's so-called “eastern inspired living” is not typically my cup of tea. My house is colorful and busy—maybe a little too busy. These days when I'm feeling over-stressed and over-tired a little luxury would certainly be a nice and romantic welcome! Rustic wood and white linen—may I lie down now?

I toured the rest of the Lombok site and found they have it all: desks , sofas , TV cabinets, dining tables and more.

Alas, my dream(y) furniture is in the UK. They do however make arrangements for International Delivery.

I’ll put it on my to-do list when I am less stressed out. :)

Now where was I? Oh yeah, back to finding some cheap teen furniture.

CHECK OUT THIS BOOK REVIEW!

Rock Star Mommy By Judy Davids --Review by Carine Nadel.

http://augvcmisvbk.blogspot.com/2008/09/rock-star-mommy-by-judy-davids.html

Carine is on The Reader's Advisory Panel of Woman's Day magazine and has had numerous articles and recipes published both on various websites and print publications. To read more of her work, log onto: Carine-whatscooking.blogspot.com Carine-whatscooking.blogspot.com.

MOMz HOT ROCKs ARTWORK AND MORE...


I have really been busy...to busy to even blog. I have gotten so far behind in EVERYTHING. I have made more promises than I can keep. SO today I snuck away to my office and I am desperately trying to catch up. So far I have designed a T-shirt for a band called "Purdy Good", finished up a short Yoga video featuring the Mydols' lovely lead singer--Ms. April Boyle and designed the DVD packaging for "MOMZ HOT ROCKs". (You can see the rough draft above.)

Still to do: Update my personal website, write a website review, post a cool book review of "Rock Star Mommy", update the Royal Oak Middle School website, make phone calls for the bagel sale at the middle school, publicize the Mydols' songwriting contest, and attend a precinct meeting this afternoon to get out the vote. (We have a new campaign staffer living with us until November 5. Welcome AJ! She is SUPER cool and hails from Califonia.) I'm sure there is more stuff to do too ( I just can't remember it all). Gotta get back to work!!