FREE NASA Afterschool Program for Grades 1-3

Good morning. Hope all is well with everyone out there, and power is restored for those who lost it.


Just wanted to let you know about a free after school program for kids in grades 1-3.  The  I'm an Engineer: NASA's Best After School Students is a 4-Wednesday, hour-and-a-half, program that will focus on science and engineering from a NASA perspective. According to NASA, the program will "examine the basic elements of engineering and include designing and building lunar rovers, rockets, and other NASA-related projects."


The program runs from 4:30 to 6 pm, for the four Wednesdays Sept. 21 - Oct. 12 (Session 1) or the four Wednesdays Oct. 26 - Nov. 16 (Session 2). It's at the NASA Goddard Visitors Center in Greenbelt (8800 Greenbelt Rd.).  Parents are not required to participate, but most stay on-site during each session. To register or for more information about the free program, contact: Catherine Kruchten, catherine.kruchten@nasa.gov, 301-286-0251.


More information is available here: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/visitor/events/engineer-best.html. The registration deadline for session one is Sept. 14.


-Hyattsville Mom

I Know Why they Bought All that Milk, Despite Predicted Outages!

Last week, in preparation for the hurricane, people were buying things left and right from stores. Flashlights and batteries were at a premium. This made sense because a primary concern was widespread power outages. (As an aside, on Saturday morning my husband went to a hardware store, and an employee there -- with a straight face, mind you -- told him the store was not price-gouging and that the keychain-sized flashlight was always $50.)


What didn't make sense was all the standardly packaged milk purchases. A gallon of milk, put in a refrigerator that loses power is not particularly helpful. In fact, it just spoils. So, even though I was down to about a cupful of milk, I resisted the temptation to buy regular milk. Instead, I bought a few single serving individually packaged nonrefridgerated milk (the kind you put in kids lunches: parmalat or Horizon). I figured this would be great if we lost power.


Luckily, we did not lose power. So, I said to my husband Sunday morning, I should stop at the store and buy some milk. What follows is the rest of our conversation.


Husband: Don't buy milk.
Me: Why not? We need milk.
Husband: Only buy milk if the store didn't lose power. If they've lost power, they'll sell you bad milk.
Me: The stores probably have backup generators.
Husband: Generators are expensive. Don't buy milk from a store that's lost power. This is a recession. They're trying to save money anyway they can.
Me: I don't think they want to poison their customers with bad food.
Husband: Call first. If they have power, go ahead. 
Me: So, if they lost power, when can I go shopping?
Husband: You can still shop there. Just don't buy anything refrigerated.
Me: For how long?
Husband: Three weeks.
Me: Sigh.


So, clearly, people have husbands like mine, or are simply like my husband and have decided they can't trust the stores after a power outage. So, next storm, I'll be like all the rest, and buying milk I know will spoil if the power goes out.  Because really, I'd like to have refrigerated food in the weeks following the storm.

Post-Irene, I Hope All is Well

Irene is over. Phew! A lot of lost power, but no lost lives in the immediate DC Metro. Our hearts do go out to the 22 who lost their lives in Irene's path along the coast.

We were fine during the storm, and luckily, did not lose power. I hope power is restored to those who are without very soon.

All PG county kids are out of school due to the power outages.  My wish is that they get back to school tomorrow.  For people who are out of power still, and may still be out of power tomorrow, it's important to get these public buildings running with juice so people have someplace to go. We stopped at the Whole Foods Silver Spring yesterday (because they had power) and it was packed. Mainly people eating food, and plugged in, using the wireless on their laptops. So, public places with power are crucial.

That's it for me today.

-Hyattsville Mom

A Hunker Down Hurricane Weekend?

What a week. First an earthquake, now a hurricane!

Well, life is always interesting, at least.

There are many fun things scheduled for this weekend. The real question is whether they'll be rained out or not. Tonight is Fabulous Fridays at Watkins Park where you can get unlimited carousel rides, rounds of golf and train rides for just $5 per person (this is quite a deal, because each costs $1.50, $3.75 and $1.50, respectively). But, it's obviously no good if it's raining cats and dogs and wet things (more likely than cats and dogs).

If you're looking for something indoors, there's a kite-making workshop at the College Park Aviation museum. That requires advanced registration, but it should be dry inside. And on Sunday there's a free cooking demonstration at the Riversdale House Museum. But, if the winds and weather are bad, who knows what'll happen. All the weekend happenings are available on the calendar.

Everyone stay safe this weekend, and let's hope Irene turns eastward and stays out to sea.

-Hyattsville Mom

Pretty Food is Evil!

OK, evil is probably too strong a term, but pretty food should not be allowed! It's too tempting to buy and then later discover all that glitters ain't gold.

Isn't it beautiful?!

This week, I saw the most gorgeous pepper at the Mom's Organic Market: purple. Lured in by it's gorgeous color, I put it in my cart and bought it. So enamored of it was I that I posted the pepper's photo on Facebook and e-mailed it to my husband (who is anti-Facebook).  My husband responded to my photo with two text messages.

Text 1: Is it supposed to be purple?
Text 2: If I find you in an unconscious heap on the floor, I'm showing the doctor the picture of the pepper.

Not even a little pretty inside!

Well, the good news is, I am NOT DEAD (as of yet, at least!).  But, the pepper was a bit disappointing. Beauty was only skin deep for this ravishing organic wonder. The inside is a yellowy-white. And unfortunately, the pepper was not slightly sweet and flavorful like orange, red or yellow peppers. It was a bit bitter, more like a green pepper.

Alas, the beautiful food always does me in.

Speaking of beautiful food, I am really looking forward to the opening of the Yes! Organic Market in Hyattsville. I was over there the other day, and the workers inside said it was slated to open Monday, Aug. 29. Just a few short days from now!

I can't wait to have organic fare closer by, and with decent parking. Hopefully, I'll have learned my lesson about pretty food, before the store opens. Though, probably not. I'm a sucker for a pretty pepper.

That's about it. But, before I go, don't forget to check the calendar for interesting events. For example, today, Bowie Sportfit is having an open house, with free swimming, refreshments and moon bounce for the kids. It's open to the public. I'm sure they'll try to sell you on joining the club, but if all you want is a free swim and free refreshments, you can just do that, too.

And that is it for today. Have a good one.

Hyattsville Mom.

Earthquake -- Wow! + Tips on Talking to kids

Just think, yesterday morning, I was saying to myself, "What in the world am I going to blog about tomorrow?"


Well, what a difference a day makes! That earthquake was a shocker.


First off, I hope everyone is well and suffered no injuries to self or property.


Second, I'll share my earthquake story. I'm sure everyone has one. I was in the movie theater and I felt the seat shaking. So many thoughts crossed my mind -- and earthquake was not among them. I was watching a battle scene in Rise of Planet of the Apes. So, my first thought was, "this theater doesn't do 4-d, does it? Are we supposed to feel like we're in the battle, the roaring helicopter blades and giant pounding chimps shaking us in our seats?" No, no, no, I told myself. Somebody in the row must be doing something that's causing the seats to shake. I look down the row -- I was the only person in it. No person. Construction?  No.  


I looked up at the giant speaker above my head, and said to myself, "you need to move." So, I went into the aisle and down a few steps (stadium seating). I guess, at that point, I felt like it was just a back row thing, so I wanted to move out of that row. The theater was still shaking. The lady seated in the row I stopped at yells at me, "It's an earthquake, you need to sit down." And I thought, really, no, I feel better standing, and being able to move out of the way if I see something falling toward me.  Of course, in the far corner, a panel falls from the ceiling, almost whacking a patron in the head. I was like, wow! Then, the quake stopped. And I waited for more, but no more came. Phew.


It was very odd to experience an earthquake in Maryland. I did go from the theater to m kids' school. I tried calling on the way over, but no answer. And when I got there, they were all outside, baking in the sun. I was glad I got there when I did, because my kids go to a "late school," which means they get dismissed late in the day, 3:40. They actually have to wait for buses that have finished dropping off kids from "early schools" to complete those routes. So, occasionally, a bus won't even make it to school until 4:30 or 5. Anyway, the kids would have had to wait out there another hour if I hadn't gotten there when I did, because they weren't letting anyone back in the school until someone had checked the structural integrity of the building. That was my first clue there would be no school today. I thought, it's gonna take a long time to check all the county school buildings.


And sure enough, they cancelled school. Oh well.


My children actually thought the earthquake was pretty cool, and were kind of excited about it. So, they don't seem to have been scarred by the experience, which is good. If your kids are having more trouble with it, here's a tip sheet from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry about how to talk to your kids about earthquakes and other natural disasters.


And in case you're wondering what to do in a future earthquake (though, I hope there aren't any more. I moved to Maryland with the expectation that there would be no quakes), FEMA has a tip sheet.


That's all for now. I must now plan my day with the kids, since there's no school. 


Have a good one.


-Hyattsville Mom

Second Day of School

Well, the first day of school is over.  I took my babies back yesterday, and it was a bittersweet moment, of course.

I was glad to see them moving up and onto a new grade, but really sad to let them go. It's been a fun summer, and hanging with them on a daily basis has been nice. I wasn't quite ready to see it end yet.

The good news is they both said they had a good first day. My youngest told me a lot of the things she enjoyed, but the transition from half-day to full day was clearly hard on her. She cried about everything that afternoon, which leads me to believe the day is a little too long for her at this moment in time. Hopefully, she'll adjust better today.

My son seemed fine, and for some reason they had cookies yesterday afternoon. He was quite thrilled when I picked him up, stuffing the remainder of a cookie in his mouth (My daughter, of course, cried because she didn't get a cookie in her class).

The backpack we made this summer, pre-Sharpie.

The only downside of the day is the teacher wrote on my daughter's backpack. Not too happy with that. Why not graffiti my car, too?  I understand that they want some things labeled, but if that's the case, simply ask me to label it, don't take a Sharpie to it and scrawl on something handmade (that was not going to be confused with anybody else's stuff).  It's not the end of the world, of course.  Just unexpected.

Hopefully, today will be a good day for the kids, as they actually get into the swing of things.

I may drown my empty-nest sorrows at the movie theater, since the Academy 8 Theater in Greenbelt has $5 Tuesdays. I'd hoped to see the Captain America, but it's gone. So, I might try to catch the new Planet of the Apes origin flick.

So, how was your first day of school? Anything you wish you'd done differently?

Have a great second day, folks.

-Hyattsville Mom

Spy Kids + Free DVD Night!

Well, first off, I must say I really enjoyed seeing Spy Kids: All the Time in the World this weekend. It was a very fun film for the kids. Their favorite part was the aromavision portion. When you got your tickets, they gave you a scratch and sniff card so you could smell the scents of the film as it played. This was truly the most exciting part of the film for my kids.

We also rented Mars Needs Moms from the Redbox this weekend. I had a coupon code that expired Sunday night, and we happened to pass by a Redbox Sunday afternoon (and thank goodness for SmartPhones, or we wouldn't have stopped at the Redbox, because I wouldn't have had the code with me). Anyway, the kids wanted it, so I got it, and we watched half of it. We have to watch the other half after school today (but before it's due at 9 pm). Yeah, I know, I probably should have just let the coupon expire, as we really didn't have time to squeeze the DVD in, while we prepared to go back to school.

Had I only known then what I know now. Late Sunday night, I got an e-mail from Redbox saying it's offereing a FREE DVD rental on Thursday night. The company has dubbed Aug. 25, America's Movie Night and wants to give you a free rental that night. To get the promo code for the free DVD rental, go to the company's Facebook Page.  Once there, you can even send the free code to a friend.

So, if you're looking for a way to spice up your Thursday night, be sure to check out this deal. Redboxes are all over the place - 7 Eleven's, Walmarts, Walgreens, Wegmans.

That's it for today. I must get the kids ready for their first day back. (Summer's over too soon, I tell you!) Will blog about first day happenings tomorrow.

-Hyattsville Mom

Free Fun Weekend

Princess Tiana and her frog prince.

Happy Weekend All!

It's the final weekend before the county's public schools begin Monday. Wow, how summer flew by. I'm not quite ready yet, but that's what the weekend's for, right?

There is lots going on this weekend. There's a free showing of the Princess & the Frog at Magruder Park in Hyattsville tonight (we love Princess Tiana at my house). Also, this weekend, there's free ice cream in DC (DC Scoop @ Union Market) and free school supplies at the county's Back to School Fair.  The Patuxent Wildlife Refuge will have a puppet show featuring lots of info on bears. And if you're into organic food, the newly renovate MOMs Organic Market in College Park will be re-opening. Throughout the weekend, the store has promised  "free samples, raffle prizes and more."

So, there's lots to do this weekend. And of course, the new Spy Kids film is out.

All these events and more are listed in the calendar section.

Hope you have a great weekend.

-Hyattsville Mom

Spy Kids and free food!

It's almost Friday, and my weekend plans include getting ready to see the new Spy Kids film.

For some reason, the kids are quite psyched about this. And because I love spy movies, I can't wait either.

Also, I like Jessica Alba, who plays the mom, and Joel McHale, who plays the dad. My husband likes the show Community, on which McHale stars, so he's looking forward to seeing this likable actor on the big screen (though I think he's looking forward to Alba, too). We're also excited because we'll finally be putting to use the Living Social deals we bought in July (I tweeted about this deal). A theater in Silver Spring was offering 2 tickets PLUS a Medium popcorn for just $10. So, we'll have 4 people, two tubs of popcorn and a great (OK, I've seen the film trailers; so strike great, and insert "action-packed") film for just $20.  Yay! This way beats $32 for a matinee (with popcorn costing extra) you'd regularly pay.

When reading about the new flick, I also learned that IHOP is doing a promotion tied to the film, where kids EAT FREE throughout August. Not sure why spying leads to kids eating free, but, in the end, I don't really care, as you don't look free food atop a gift horse in the mouth.  The fine print requires you to buy an adult meal per free kids meal. But, it's not a bad deal. Read more about the promotion here:  http://www.ihop.com/spykids.

A Digital Photo Genie!

I have to detangle these cords before I can get my photos off the camera.

So, as I mentioned earlier, I was on vacation the first week of August, visiting my parents in Illinois.

Now that I'm back, I have the time-consuming task of getting the digital photos off the digital camera and onto my computer as well as backing them up to our backup drives. I was lamenting this on Facebook, when my friend sent me this link: http://www.eye.fi/.

It's a memory card for your camera that has built in wi-fi. So, instead of grabbing cords or card readers after a trip, owners of this card just  turn on the wireless and shoot all those images over! Talk about easy peasy! My friend got it for a birthday gift and loves it.

This is the first I've heard of it, so I haven't tried it, but I think I may get one. The idea of pressing send and walking away as my camera does the rest sounds really pleasant.

Seeing as I don't have this chip yet, I'm off to detangle my camera/backup drive cords, and then download some photos.

Have a great day!

-Hyattsville Mom

It Seemed Like an Odd Place for a Hug ... At First!

My 7-year-old son, Eric,  was looking for a toy yesterday and couldn't find it.  He enlisted his sister, Ella, 4, and me to help him find it.

We looked and looked and couldn't find it. At some point later in the day, he says, "I remember where I put it!" Then, he found it.

Ella jumped up and down, shouted, "Yay," and then said, "Give your brain a hug!"

While it seemed like an odd place to hug initially, the more I thought about it, I realized it was a great idea! So, if your brain conks out and won't remember something, but then finally comes through for you later, don't forget to, as Ella suggested, "Give your brain a hug!"

-Hyattsville Mom

Photo Books for Great Memories (Cheaply)

A sample  photo book (image courtesy Shutterfly)

Today I thought I'd blog about a great way to store your family memories: photo books.

Photo books are the equivalent of family albums. The only difference is you don't have to go through and assemble them yourself and it's easy to make a second or third copy. 

Obviously, I've heard of photo books before, but I had never really used them for myself until recently.  I'd ordered one for my father-in-law a couple of years ago, as well as one for my own parents. I realized they'd be great for myself earlier this year when we were visiting my inlaws and saw the book I'd ordered on their shelf. When I looked through it, I realized it had encapsulated the highlights of our year in photos.  I knew then that I wanted one for myself, too. And luckily, because the company I ordered it from keeps them on file, I was able to order myself a duplicate copy.

The best thing about photo books is that you can simply upload the photos (and since we only take digital photos, they're already on the computer) and arrange them however you want them.

The other nice thing is that you can do all the hard work, like uploading your photos, but wait to arrange and order them until you can find a good coupon.  I uploaded some family photos I wanted because I knew I wanted to capture 2010 in one photo book. I didn't order a book, however until I found a half-price coupon on Groupon.  I've also seen half-price deals on Living Social for photo books. So, if you've not done one for yourself, definitely consider it. Also, open an account with sites that do photo books. Sometimes they send current members special offers. For Father's Day, I received a special offer from Shutterfly for a FREE photo book! Yeah, that was a great offer. Now, shipping and handling on it was $8.95, but overall it was still cheaper than paying $29.95 for the book, which was their regular price.

The only thing that would make photo books perfect, however is footnoting. While it's pretty obvious through captioning who the main people are in the photos, if you create a page with 9 photos, it tends to be collage style, with no room to caption and label people. It would be nice if you could put a number in the lower corner, then label people in the index. For example, for my son's birthday party, I had nine photos from the party. Some included classmates. His best friend, he'll probably remember 20 years from now, when we look at the book. But, a classmate he wasn't that close to, or doesn't stay close to, he'll never remember that name. So, it would be night to footnote that photo so I get all the names of the kids (and I know them now), but not necessarily on the page with the photo.

So, who out there loves photo books? Who has never used them but wants to try?

That's all for today.

-Hyattsville Mom

A FAIR WEEKEND!

Happy Weekend. It's a fair weekend, in several ways.

First of all, the weather is supposed to be quite fair--gorgeous with highs only in the 80s and low humidity.

Second, there are two fairs going on this weekend: Arlington County, which has free admission, and Montgomery County, which costs $10 for people ages 12 and up.  If you like fairs, have at it.

Also this weekend, for the teens, the PG County Department of Parks and Recreations is hosting a summer splash party where kids 13-17 can swim free at three local pools.

And, if you're a history buff, there will be a battle scene at the Riversdale House Museum. At the event with War of 1812 battle actors, there will be events for kids and adults.

So, sounds like a great weekend. Details about all these events--AND MORE-- are on the calendar page.

Hope you have a great weekend.

-Hyattsville Mom

Vacation Fun

I'm baaaaack! 


I just returned from vacation. Spent a week in central Illinois, where I grew up.  It was lots of fun seeing family and hanging out. 


However, I'm pooped, so it will be a short post today.

There was one slightly amusing story from the trip. This street lamp (below, left.)





We took a walk through my brother's neighborhood, and as we were walking I noticed how attractive the street lamps were. I mentioned the attractiveness of the streetlamps to both my brother, who owns his house there, and father, who also owns a house in the neighborhood, and they both (at different times) said the exact same thing to me. "They better be attractive for $2,200."   I was like, Wow, that is a lot for lights.  But apparently, my brother and father were on the losing side in the homeowners association vote for whether or not to buy lights. ... But, I found it amusing they both said the exact same thing to me when I mentioned the lights.


Well, hope you guys are having a great week, and enjoying this new cool front that's blown in. 


-Hyattsville Mom

Back to School Disconnect!

I've already seen half-a-dozen Back to School sales advertised in local papers. This is wonderful, as it allows parents to buy needed supplies at a cheaper price (and believe me, it's much cheaper, as I had to buy pencils and two notebooks in May; three times what I paid for the same items the previous August).

However, this year, the sales have been so early, they've been pretty much useless to me. I've bought a couple of things the kids need in general, like paper.  But, our kids' teachers provide a list of supplies they need each year, and we haven't gotten the list yet (usually it's posted online).  So, it's a little disappointing to have the sales so near, but not be able to take advantage of them.

Hopefully, we'll get that list soon. And I'm sure there will be more great sales to come before school starts up. But, it's nice when you can get in early and get out. At some point, I'll be in the mad rush with everyone else. :(

FYI, the dates of the Back-to-School sales tax holiday in Maryland are Aug. 14-20. During the holiday, you pay no sales tax on select back-to-school items, like paper, certain clothing and jackets, etc.
 More information is online here: http://www.marylandtaxes.com/ShopMD_2011/default.asp.

That's all for today. Have a great week.

-Hyattsville Mom

Happy Weekend, Aug. 5-7

Image courtesy of: http://juggergnost.hubpages.com/hub/Free-Tennis-Clipart

Well, everyone, hope you had a great week and are gearing up to an even better weekend.

This is a fun weekend to be in the DC area, because we have the privilege of hosting the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, a men's tournament that gets a fair number of big-name players. They come to practice playing in the heat, so they'll be ready for the US Open. More information about the tournament is online here: http://www.leggmasontennisclassic.com.

Also, if you like shopping at Tysons Corner center in McLean, Va., this weekend's perfect to go. It's Virginia's back-to-school sales tax holiday weekend (I'll be blogging more about Maryland's holiday on Monday). You can buy several items considered "back-to-school" and pay no sales tax. More information is on it here: http://www.tax.virginia.gov/site.cfm?alias=SchoolSuppliesAndClothingHoliday.

Finally, this is a weekend the Dinosaur Park in Laurel will be open. They only do programming once a month, so if you and your kids are interested in the dinosaur fossils that have been found in PG county, this is a great time to go. For more on this event and other great things, check out our calendar.

Happy Weekend!

-Hyattsville Mom

Hot Summer fun with Sharks

Our shark cupcake!

 On Tuesday, the kids and I decided to head to Silver Spring to play in the fountain. And I must say, we had a wonderful time. It's a great fountain, and free. The kids frolicked and kept cool. And I found a shady spot and watched.

Though, I must warn anyone who takes their kids there to take seriously the no running and really enforce it. Two kids fell and smacked their heads on the pavement while running around. Luckily, the injuries seemed minor and the kids were playing again, a few minutes later. But, head injury can be serious.

Since we were in Silver Spring, and not paying for the water fun, I told the kids we could get a cupcake at Cake Love. And in honor of Shark Week (see this post), they had a Shark cupcake special ($2 instead of $3). I got each of the kids one of these yummy shark cupcakes.

You can see here the actual cupcake is blue!

That's it for today. Hope you have  good one.

-Hyattsville Mom

UTC Woes Disappointing

Last week, the Hyattsville Patch ran an article about part of the University Town Center being auctioned off in a foreclosure proceeding. This is extremely disappointing as this center had the potential to be a really great place, but seems to be floundering under mismanagement--at least according to tenants quoted in the article.

I remember the high hopes for the University Town Center when it opened. During the summer, I used to take my children there for the afternoon to eat lunch at the Wild Onion, and then play in the fountain. It was always pleasant and nice.

However, the place is apparently not thriving. And that's ashame. The person quoted in the article may be right about mismanagement. I haven't been in a while. I always wanted to go to the theater, but couldn't bring myself to pay to park. While this may not bother some people (and really, the gas to go somewhere else might cause you to break even), it bothered me. I also stopped going because one of the loveliest features--a fountain children could frolic in-- was never on. A couple of times, I packed my kids swim stuff and towels and drove out there, to find a bone dry fountain. Having to watch the kids' disappointed reaction left me not going back.

I know the economy is bad, but places can still thrive if people are excited about them. Take the new Busboys and Poets (on Rte. 1), which is packed every time I drive by. There's tons of excitement about it. I hope people can get excited about University Town Center again. The only way to get more great places to go in Hyattsville (and PG county, in general) is to support the ones who are here.

-Hyattsville Mom

Free Movie/Truths of Housekeeping

Just in case you missed my tweet or Facebook post yesterday, the radio station Mix 107.3 is offering free passes to see a FREE screening of The Change Up at  Mazza Gallerie in DC. Just stop by  the McDonalds inside the shopping center and ask for the passes (this is while supplies last, so you might want to call first, if you're not going to already be there). Details are here: http://www.mix1073fm.com/Article.asp?id=2247078&spid=6578.

Now onto today's post topic: Truths of housekeeping.

The kids are home this week-- no camp, no school. This means we can linger and have fun. But, it also means a little more cleaning, as the kids leave a trail of mess in their path.

As I was putting in the time with the cleaning, I realized a couple of truths about housekeeping. These things aren't always true, but they're often true.

(1) The things I find when emptying pants pockets before throwing them into the washing machine are usually good. (Money tops the list: crumpled up bills are the best, followed by coins, then things I'm glad didn't make it into the washer, like used Kleenex and food).
(2) The things  I find in the very back of the refrigerator are usually bad (they're too gross to describe and usually covered in mold).
(3) I'm never able to get those last two or three specs into the dustpan. I always end up using a damp cloth to wipe up those evil lingerers!

So, what are your truths of housekeeping?

-Hyattsville Mom

Writing a Novel? Published author speaking tonight!

Do you have a novel in you? Have you started a novel, but need inspiration and encouragement to finish? Are you finished, but don't know what to do next?

Published author Gigi Gunn will be speaking tonight at 7 pm in the large meeting room of the Bowie Library, 15210 Annapolis Road,  Bowie, MD 20715, (301) 262-7000. Ms. Gunn will discuss novel writing and publishing. She is speaking during the regular meeting of the Pen in Hand writers group at the library. The group meets monthly (first Monday), offering encouragement and critiques of members' work. All meetings are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Alice Plaster, Bowie Library, alice.plaster@pgcmls.info.

-Hyattsville Mom