February 3, 2011
Notes on the State of New Jersey
Great news!
The Jersey Girl project has become part of a fabulous, new online publication called Notes on the State of New Jersey.
Would love for you to check it out!
Submit a question. Be a part of history!
~Melissa
August 7, 2010
Make-A-Wish Foundation
Read all about the “Live your passion, live your life” event for the Make-A-Wish Foundation at Katra Lounge:
~Melissa
July 25, 2010
Unpacking, Not Enough Rain, and Make-A-Wish
The Art of Unpacking
Just settling in after being on the road for 8+ hours today. It’s nice to come home and rest (even though there is a lot of writing I want to get to – after a week of being away from the computer). But first, I have laundry to do and lots of unpacking to finish. I really don’t remember packing this many bags when I left. (I am embarrassed to admit it, but so much of what I’m now unpacking went untouched during my trip – it seems that though I try, I’m not very good at the art of packing light. Oh, well. Guess I better plan another trip so I can practice…)
It Never Rains When You Want It To
It started to rain a little while ago, and I thought it would be nice to sit down with one of the books I’m reading (the almost-finished Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, Jen Calonita’s Secrets of My Hollywood Life series, and House Rules by Jodi Picoult), but it stopped. One flash of lighting, a little thunder, and that was it. The rain stopped. So now, the books will have to wait until after the laundry and unpacking are finished. I guess this also means that now I have to go water my plants.
So Excited!
We’re three days away from the Make-A-Wish event in NYC. If you’re in the area, come and support a great cause. I’m so excited!
~Melissa
July 22, 2010
A Road Trip, Thomas Jefferson, and My Blog
Finally in front of a computer that successfully connects to the internet!
From the Road
I’m writing today from sunny South Carolina where a road trip (my first in a really long time) has taken me. This trip seemed like a perfect way to spend a week or so of my summer vacation – exploring, taking pictures, relaxing and writing are the only things I put on my TO DO list. Everything was going so smoothly until my netbook stopped connecting to the internet on the first night of my trip. I didn’t realize how dependent on the internet I’ve become until I couldn’t access it! It has been one of the most disconcerting and unsettling experiences and has made it difficult for me to accomplish the writing I had planned to (so many things I needed to access are saved online – come to think of it, maybe it’s not the entire internet that I rely on; it’s just my Google account). I tried to run the diagnostic tests and restore the system myself, but it still doesn’t connect. So, my updated TO DO list now includes getting this fixed!
Standing Where Greatness Stood
On the way from Baltimore, MD and Myrtle Beach, SC, I made a stop at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, VA. It has been listed as one of the 8 sites for Americans to see by Budget Travel and made it onto my personal list of places to visit a few years ago when I began teaching American History. When I studied about our founding fathers all over again in order to teach the material to my students, I quickly became enamored with Jefferson. Visiting his home and learning more about his personal life, as well as the way that his time in public service influenced the design of his home, was a remarkable experience. At the end of the day, I left Monticello (reluctantly and only because it was closing) inspired by the ingenuity, hard work, and perseverance that Jefferson was known for – and set off to continue my own work with a renewed level of energy and intensity.
A Return to Blogging
Though there hasn’t been much posted here lately, if you check the archives of this site, you’ll see that it’s been around for a while. I started this blog a couple of years ago – with no other plan besides wanting a venue to share my writing – and it became a “laboratory” of sorts for my writing and reading thoughts, or what I like to think of as “experiments.” (Teachers who use the workshop model from Columbia will understand what I mean when I say that this blog was my “writers notebook.”) I really loved the idea of creating a site centered around “the things that inspire readers to read and writers to write.” Now that I’m writing much more regularly than ever before (and getting to read a little more these days since I’m on summer vacation from school) it seems appropriate to put my lab coat back on and share some of my findings and inspirations here.
Here we go again…
~Melissa
July 8, 2010
“Live Your Passion…Live Your Life!”
Networking and Charity Event to Benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation
I’m honored to be a part of this important event and want to share it all with you. I know too many people who’ve given up on their dreams, and this will be an amazing opportunity for people to begin working toward them instead. Come to Katra Lounge in NYC on July 29th and check it out! ~Melissa
On Thursday, July 29th, at the Katra Lounge in NYC from 5pm to 10pm, entrepreneurs, business owners, and other go-getters from a variety of professional fields will share inspirational stories about how they found the motivation and the courage to pursue their life’s dream – something that not everybody is willing to do.
The networking event is being organized by Andre Farnell (Dre’ The Trainer) of Better Body Expert LLC. He is a Fitness Expert and life coach in the New York/New Jersey area who has worked training soldiers in the US Army, numerous corporate executives, athletes, and those in the entertainment industry.
Inspired by the role that the Make-A-Wish Foundation played in empowering and encouraging his young nephew, who at the age of 8 was diagnosed with Leukemia, a form of bone marrow cancer, Farnell, who is dedicated to helping people regain great health and change their lives through physical fitness, wanted to create an event to empower people to Live their Passions in their careers while giving back to the organization.
The night of the event, a $25 minimum donation will be collected at the door by Make-A-Wish volunteers. 100% of the proceeds from the event will go directly to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Farnell hopes that people who attend the event will realize that their wishes and dreams should be pursued beyond childhood and take action.
Invited guests including Amore Leighton Black (Actress & founder of the New York Film Exposure Network), Levar Riley (Lil Bo Sheep Dry Cleaning), Al Davis & Rick (ADA Group), Melissa Morris (Writer), Jessica Styles (founder of the Fab Network), Nicole Lundy (Owner of Nelani Cosmetics), and DJ Moskieno will share their individual stories.
Farnell is very excited about hosting the event and says “This is going to be fun & inspirational event that brings some great people together from many industries and also brings in some great donations for the Make A Wish Foundation.”
May 23, 2010
Super Chicken Nugget Boy…and the Furious Fry by Josh Lewis
The cover for Super Chicken Nugget Boy and the Furious Fry
One day, Josh Lewis had a detailed conversation with his young nephew about a giant chicken nugget – that could talk and walk. Topics like this, of course, are not uncommon among conversations with imaginative kids. However, the unique thing about this particular conversation was that it sparked a brilliant idea in Lewis called Super Chicken Nugget Boy.
After years of being encouraged to write for children, but never quite thinking it was his niche, Lewis took this idea that he and his nephew talked about and developed it into a children’s book called Super Chicken Nugget Boy and the Furious Fry.
In the book, a new kid in school named Fern tries to fit in, make friends, patiently wait his turn to take home the class pet for the weekend, and avoid the school bully. Accomplishing these feats is more challenging than Fern imagines, and out of necessity, he dreams up a superhero, Super Chicken Nugget Boy, who he hopes will help him out. Even more unexpected twists and turns take place for Fern including ninjas, a vat of green gooey liquid, and a giant French fry. In the end, Super Chicken Nugget Boy saves the day – and the school – from the bully and more.
With Josh Lewis at a reading for his book, Super Chicken Nugget Boy and the Furious Fry, at the Princeton Barnes and Noble
The humorous book with likable and relatable characters is probably best suited for 1st through 3rd graders but can be a fun story for all ages. The illustrations by Douglas Holgate, with intermittent accompanying speech bubbles and comic strip-style explanations from Lewis, keep reluctant readers engaged and interested in finding out what happens to Super Chicken Nugget Boy. Thanks to Lewis’ lively descriptions of the characters and authentic-sounding dialogue, the book also makes for a fabulous read-aloud. After reading the book, I’m sure many kids will ask the same thing I did, “When is the movie coming out?”
“I got lucky in a lot of different ways,” Lewis has said about the wonderful people he’s had the opportunity to work with along the journey of creating the Super Chicken Nugget Boy book. He’s also appreciative that he followed the advice to write for children and says, ”I really am loving writing for kids. I could be happy writing for kids for the rest of my life.”
You can find Super Chicken Nugget Boy on facebook or purchase the book through Barnes and Noble.
Happy Reading
~Melissa
April 15, 2010
Books in Progress
In my living room, I have an entire shelf of books devoted to “books people have lent me” and “books in progress.” Actually, the shelf is starting to overflow. I love to read every day. Lately though, I just haven’t had the time to sit down with a book and really make as much of a dent in my collection as I would like.
I started reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (loaned to me by Christina) a little while ago and really enjoyed it…until I left it at my parents’ house one day. Then, I picked up Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster (loaned to me by Lauren). I laughed from cover to cover while reading that book. (Yes, I did finish that one before I could misplace it. It safely sits on the shelf until I can return it.) Now, I got Eat, Pray, Love back and can finally continue reading it.
The funny thing (at least to me anyway) about all of this is that the two books are so different…and they’re both stories that I relate to! I just chalk it all up to kismet and that I was meant to read these very different memoirs at the same time.
How many books do you have “in progress” at once? I’m afraid to tell you just how many I do…even when I have more time to read than I do now.
~Melissa
April 7, 2010
In honor of National Poetry Month
River Poets Journal is featuring a special “pocket poems” exhibit on their site to celebrate National Poetry Month.
Check out the exhibit: http://www.riverpoetsjournal.com/National-Poetry-Month—Pocket-Poems.html
~Melissa 
March 22, 2010
Eat, Pray, Love…
When it rains like it is now, I have to find a good book, curl up and read. I just starting to read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert; so far, the first two dozen pages have kept me interested.
Has anyone read it? Any thoughts?
Melissa
March 10, 2010
The Jersey Girl blog is up and running (finally)
Check out my new and exciting project at www.thejerseygirl.wordpress.com.
I wasn’t able to start when I had originally hoped to, but the project is up and running now!
~Melissa
