What's next?

I've finished my college degree, finally; so now it's time to get to work! My immediate goal is to finish my new Web site, How To Homeschool Today. I hope to make this a helpful resource for homeschoolers all over the country.

Next, I'll continue to write educational products and magazine articles, as well as reviews of books, educational products and iPhone apps.

Eventually, I want to write a mystery. I'm looking into taking a fiction writing course to help me with this, as I have no idea how to write fiction. I'm sure I'll need a traditional publisher for this type of work. In preparation, I'm looking into online classes such as Christian Writer's Guild, Writer's Online Workshops, or Gotham. Anyone out there have any experience with any of these? I'd love to hear your experiences. Email me at cindy@me.com.

I'm also going to try to get involved in a writer's group. I'm a member of several, but haven't had time to really get involved. I'm looking forward to that.

In the meantime, I'm reading lots of books on writing. I'll add reviews here as I can.

Whatever is in store for me, I look forward to learning more about the writing profession and sharing what I learn.

Adobe InDesign CS4 Digital Classroom

I've been using Quark for my desktop publishing software, but have been wanting to move to Adobe InDesign. I just wasn't looking forward to the learning transition. This month, I received a review copy of Adobe InDesign CS4 Digital Classroom from Wiley Publishing and tried it out. It wasn't near as painful as I thought it would be!

Adobe InDesign CS4 Digital Classroom is better than a classroom. There's no waiting for others to catch up or missing a tip because I'm busy practicing something else. I can do the video on my time, in my home, at my pace. I love that!

The instruction is excellent - very clear and easy to understand. The book comes with a DVD (includes video training from Adobe Certified Experts) and lesson files. I can watch the video and work on the lesson files at the same time. The instruction is well organized enabling me to work through the lessons one by one in the order presented or select a specific topic, as needed. The graphics and sound quality is professional and positively enhances the learning experience.

In the lessons, you’ll learn all the essential skills you need to get started. The first lesson teaches you all about the tools. Although I had used InDesign a bit before, I learned a lot of nifty tricks from this lesson. For instance, how to set up my master pages so that they are horizontally rather than vertically aligned. This is important when you work on large documents like books.

Other chapters include:

• How to format type
• How to create style sheets
• How to add and manipulate graphics
• How to design and edit a table
• How to use and manage colors
• How to create special effects such as drop shadows, feathering, emboss, and blend
• How to create a book, an index, and Table of Contents
• How to share documents in various formats
• How to use XML with InDesign
• How to create interactive documents using flash

For a novice like myself, this book and training DVD is just what I needed to get started. For Intermediate users, you will probably benefit by picking up some tricks to help you use InDesign more effectively.

Visit the www.digitalclassroombooks.com Web site for updated lesson files.

For more information, see the Wiley Web site.

Toastmasters

Toastmasters is a great way to learn to speak in front of the public. I joined a Toastmasters Group and enjoy it very much. The most important thing I am learning is to speak extemporaneously. That's always the hardest part for me.

You can find Toastmaster Clubs around the country. Try one out!

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

If you are looking for good, old fashioned, high calorie yummy food that sticks to your ribs, you'll want to check out The Pioneer Woman Cooks. My friend, Liz Eubanks, sent me the link and it's my kind of food! You might even find some salads!

She also writes about gardening, her farm animals, homeschooling and more. A very interesting blog!

My Favorite Social Media Books

Now, that I'm getting very familiar with blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In, I'm reading a lot of books about social media to see some other ways I can use them in my home business. 

Here's my favorites so far:

• Facebook Marketing: Leverage Social Media to Grow Your Business.
• Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time.
  
• Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day.
• ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income.

Here's some I've bought, but haven't read yet. Hopefully, this week!:

• Start Your Own Blogging Business (Startup).
• YouTube for Business: Online Video Marketing for Any Business.
• Twitter Revolution: How Social Media and Mobile Marketing is Changing the Way We Do Business & Market Online.

A Good Tweet Article

Want to know more about Twittering? Here' s 10 Tips on being a good Twitterer. from Chris Pirillo.

Cindy's Double Tall Mocha

I LOVE Starbucks, and my favorite beverage is a double tall mocha. However, the fat and price of this treat is something I am trying to cut back on. So, I've created my own version - no fat and no sugar! 

Here's the recipe:

• Heat 1 cup skim milk in microwave
  
• Add 1/16 tsp. NuStevia  (a natural sweetener, not artificial)
• Mix in 1/2 tsp Folgers Instant Coffee (best flavor of instant)
• Mix in 1 tsp. Hershey's Cocoa, Natural Unsweetened  
• For fiber, add 1 tsp of Fiber-Sure.
• Mix well and then add 1/2 tsp vanilla

This is yummy and good for you - 105 calories, 0 fat, 5 mg. cholesterol, 5 grams fiber and it's really inexpensive!