one of those posts

It’s been a while since I’ve been here.

I guess you could say I’ve had an extended recess. Whatever the case, it’s been a challenge to get back into the swing of blogging.

It’s not like I haven’t been writing, because I have been – in this journal and in that journal. But, well, I’m finding it difficult to add the excitement, the lure, to anything I want to write about.

There definitely is not a shortage of topics that’s for sure!

I could write about the book I just finished, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal…

but not today!

I could write about the book I’m reading now, Only Love Today by Rachel Macy Stafford…

but not today!

I could write about the ten day vacation to Europe that we just completed…

but not today!

I could write about my new fitness class obsession called Barre….

but not today!

I could write about the fact that I don’t have a lot of friends but the friends that I do have mean an awful lot to me…

but not today!

I could write about how frustrated I am with spending money on “pop-up” problems that seem to be happening again and again…

but not today!

I could write about how comparison is the thief of joy…

but not today!

I could write about the cardinal that lives in my backyard…

but not today!

While I may not have the words to tell my stories, today I decided to show up, to say that I am here.

So today is one of “those” posts.

~~~~~

Slice of Life

hosted at

Two Writing Teachers

Join in and share a slice of your life!

ten for tuesday {gratitude}

There’s no doubt about it, I’m a list lover! I love to create lists, revise my lists, and well, live by my lists. Heck, I could devote an entire post to my love of lists! Today’s post, however, is dedicated to the top ten things (in no particular order) I’ve been grateful for lately. And, a shout-out to my blogging buddy over at Wondering and Wandering for inspiring this post!

Number 10: I finally had the opportunity to plant a few annuals around my house. While they still look young and aren’t bountiful, they bring a smile to face as I peer out my window or sit idly by their side.

~I’m grateful to the sense of serenity that the simplicity of flowers can bring.~

Number 9: I created a my #cyberPD list. (Yes, another list!)  There are three books on my list: Disrupting Thinking, The Writing Strategies Book, and From Striving to Thriving. Disrupting Thinking arrived in the mail last week, The Writing Strategies Book will arrive this week, and From Striving to Thriving is pre-ordered and will arrive on August 9th. Since I’ve created my #cyberPD list, I’ve added two more books to my list! Imagine that, me adding to a list! I’ve added Mentor Texts, 2nd edition and Joy Write. Both of those are slated to arrive next week. Yes, reading for professional development is on my list!

~I’m grateful for budget money from my school district that allows me to purchase these books and devote my summer reading to becoming a better educator.~

Number 8: I was absolutely awestruck to find my Twitter handle on a post written by Kimberly Moran at We Are Teachers. Her post, titled 36 Twitter Accounts Teachers Should Follow, included my account along with many Twitter accounts that I’m proud to say I follow and that blog right here at Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life.

~I’m grateful for my PLN and the educators I have “met”. You inspire me to be my best!.~

Number 7: Matt and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary on May 25th. Twenty.six.years! It blows my mind! I can’t even believe how quickly time moves. We had a splendid dinner at our favorite restaurant, The Left Bank, and we enjoyed a delightful lunch with my mother-in-law at another favorite restaurant, The First Post.

~I’m grateful for 26 years of marital bliss. Here’s to another 26+ years!~

Number 6: I got a “big girl” camera compliments of my father. I’ve been wanting one for awhile now. My blogging buddy Molly over at Nix the Comfort Zone is partially to blame for this fancy. I love her photography. It inspires me slow down, look around, and capture the simplicity yet breath-taking aspects of nature. I also am just a wee bit anxious to use this “big girl” camera on our upcoming summer vacations. I can’t wait to capture the moments and memories that will unfold over the next few months.

~I’m grateful for gifts, the making of memories, and capturing those memories.~

Number 5: So it is, as I sit and write this post it is another rainy and cold day! While this rain has turned me into a bit of a curmudgeon, I have to admit that it has allowed me the opportunity to sit down to read and write. I am hankering for the warm sultry days of summer, but I’ve enjoyed my reading and writing moments on these rainy days.

~I’m grateful for my many passions that can fulfill my days.~

Number 4: As of this post, there are only one and a half student days left in the 2016-2017 school year. I created a list (Yes, a list! Insert a wink, wink here! ) called Cheers for This Year to help me reflect on all the reading awesomeness that went down during the last 180 +/- days. It brought a smile to my face and allowed me to create some new goals for next year.

~I’m grateful for culminations and commencements.~

Number 3: I stumbled upon a great book that I immediately downloaded onto my Kindle. It’s called Only Love Today. I swear this book is speaking directly to me. I find solace in it each night as I wrap up my day. A shout-out to Michelle @litlearningzone for tweeting about this one.

~I am grateful for books that validate my feelings and bring me comfort.~

Number 2: Matt and I gave our rabbits a “spa” treatment on Saturday. Truthfully, it was more like a wrestling match, but whatever. The boys got haircuts and all three had their nails trimmed. The boys look so cute! They look like baby rabbits. I said they got “puppy” haircuts just because I didn’t know what to call a baby rabbit. I wondered, what do you call a baby rabbit anyway? So, what’s a wonderer to do? Google it, of course! Unbeknownst to me, I learned that a male rabbit is called a buck and a female is called a doe. I think that is kind of weird, don’t you? A baby rabbit, on the other hand, is called a kit. There you have it. My boys look like kits. Um, okay…

~I’m grateful for the sense of curiosity.~

Number 1: I’m glad this post is wrapping up. My word count is way above usual and it’s truthfully more than I wanted to write and probably more than you wanted to read. Regardless, I had fun reflecting and I’m glad you came along for the ride. I heart readers and comments!

~I’m grateful for the Slice of Life writing community.~

~~~~~

Slice of Life

hosted at

Two Writing Teachers

Join in and share a slice of your life!

Oh, Happy Day!

Oh, happy day!

Oh, happy National Oreo Cookie Day that is!

Yes, believe it or not, today is National Oreo Cookie Day. I mean, who knew that there was a special day to celebrate this yummy little cookie?

Have you ever wondered about this amazing cookie that is made up of two chocolate disks and contains a sweet cream filling? Well, here are some fun facts that will leave wanting to celebrate National Oreo Cookie Day every year when March 6th rolls around.

• The Oreo cookie was first produced in 1912.
  • That’s 105 years ago!
• The National Biscuit Company, Nabisco, is the company that makes the BEST-SELLING cookie in the United States.
  • Move over chocolate chip cookies. The Oreo has you beat!
• When the Oreo cookie was first sold, it sold for 25 cents a pound. Today you can purchase 14.3 oz. on sale for $3.49 or at regular price for $4.49.
  • I teach reading, so I’ll let you do the price comparison on this one.

• The DOUBLE STUF Oreo cookie was introduced in 1974.
  • This is my favorite Oreo cookie. In fact, I turn my nose up to the classic Oreo.

• It wasn’t until February of 2013 that the MEGA STUF hit the cookie market.
  • I’ve never tried the MEGA STUF Oreo cookie. It sounds super-yummy!

• There are many different varieties of Oreos to meet your cookie craving needs. There’s Mini Oreos, Football Oreos, and Oreo Thins. Here are some that I stumbled upon when I was checking Oreo availability at my local Target:

• Then there are the limited edition Oreos. My research stated that there are SpongeBob SquarePants Oreos, Pumpkin Spice Oreos, and even Key Lime Pie Oreos. I managed to locate Birthday Cake Oreos and Peeps Oreos. Yes, Peeps Oreos!

• Last but not least, Oreos are best enjoyed with a glass of cold milk. So go grab a glass and an Oreo, or two, and enjoy!

#NationalOreoCookieDay

Happy National Oreo Cookie Day!

~~~~~

Looking for some writing ideas for the SOLSC? Click here.

~~~~~

Slice of Life

hosted at

Two Writing Teachers

Join in and share a slice of your life!

Sanity Savers

I follow a lot of blogs, more than I have time to read. That’s okay though because when I do sit down to read them, they inspire me and surround me with positive vibes. I would estimate that 90% are related to the world of education and many of them are fellow slicers just like you.

Just recently I did, however, stumble upon a blog called Modern Mrs. Darcy and while she’s not an educator, she is a book lover and I find parts of her blog inspirational. At the end of January she encouraged her readers to think about what is saving your life right now. Often times it is so, so easy to articulate what is killing us right now when someone inquires how we are. But what if we stopped; we stopped right now and thought about what is giving us life? What is saving us right now?

The problem is that many times the things that are saving our life right now are the small things, the simple things, the silly things. In fact, they may feel so silly because they seem so small. It doesn’t matter, acknowledge them anyway. Get your journal out and write them down. If we don’t take the time to write them down, undoubtably our mind drifts. It drifts to worry, hurry, anger, or feelings of being overwhelmed.

So, I broke out my journal and over the course of a week I looked for what is giving me life. And while I won’t share all of them right here, I will share (in no particular order) several of my sanity savers – no matter how small or silly they may seem to you or to me.

• watching the fur kids frolic in the morning
• hearing the wind chime outside in the early morning breeze
• the magic of tidying up my house
• my IG account and feed
• watching The Heart of a Champion early Sunday mornings
• Matt making dinner effortlessly again and again
• journals and reflection time
• silly Snapchatting with Maddie, family, and friends
• enjoying a Wendy’s chocolate frosty
• watching This Is Us on Tuesday evenings
• cozy Cabin socks on a chilly day
• Papermate Flair felt tip markers
• workout buddies
• perennials starting to bloom
• scented candles and essential oils
• feeling the warmth of the sun shining through the foyer window

There you have it. My sanity savers.  Just a sprinkling of the magic that is saving my life right now. Truthfully, though, the real magic is in noticing of these small, simple, or silly gifts day in and day out. For the more I notice them, the more I realize all that is good, right here, right now.

~~~~~

Looking for some writing ideas for the SOLSC? Click here.

~~~~~

Slice of Life

hosted at

Two Writing Teachers

Join in and share a slice of your life!

Microblogging…I’m giving it a try!

I enjoy blogging.

Sometimes.

What I do enjoy is having blogged. Reminiscing through my old posts and reliving them, well, it makes is worth it.

What I don’t enjoy is how my need for creating the perfect post stands in the way. It’s time consuming. It seems to take me a long time to write for my blog. I never just “wing it.” I find myself going back and making a change here and making a change there. It finally gets to the point where I just regrettably hit publish or I decide to forget it and not even post. Usually it’s the latter.

Sigh!

Enter microblogging. I’m not sure where I heard this term or if I even made it up, but it has been working for me. My interpretation of microblogging is basically capturing a moment and writing a minimal amount about that moment in the moment.

The platform I’ve been using for microblogging is Instagram. Just recently I changed the name on my IG account and I have been working on creating what is meaningful content to me. I’ve also been working my writer’s voice and trying to make my IG page unique. Again, not winging it, but keeping it simple.

I love capturing quotes so I have been taking the time to microblog them. The app I’ve been using is a no frills app called InstaMessage. And in terms of photography, well, while my photography skills aren’t the best, they’re not the worst either. I  enjoy highlighting the aspects of my family life and running life with photos. In fact, you’ll find me microblogging about similar content that I blog about right here. Sometimes my microblog post will serve as a springboard for a post here.

I’ve even started a second IG account that is solely devoted to my fur kids. It’s kind of like being a part of a secret cult. Us rabbit lovers unite and go ga-ga over each other’s fur kids. What’s even more ridiculous is that the IG account for my fur kids has only been up for a little more than a week and it has just about as many followers as my personal account that has been up for awhile. I guess my fur kids are more popular than me!

Sigh again!

Regardless, I’m going to keep capturing those moments here and capturing them there. Yes, writing is hard work, for me. But, I’ll keep pushing that pen and clicking those keys because the rewards outweigh the effort. I’ll wrap this up with this quote from George R. R. Martin that echoes in my ears:

~~~~~

Looking for some writing ideas for the SOLSC? Click here.

~~~~~

Slice of Life

hosted at

Two Writing Teachers

Join in and share a slice of your life!

a little talk, a little tea, and some biscotti, please!

Welcome!

Sit down,

join me for some tea.

A little biscotti and some talk is all we need!

If we were talking over tea this morning I would share…

that I am training for a half marathon. This is will be my  10th half marathon (throw some confetti here) and I’ll be running it in the beautiful city of Pittsburgh (and do a happy dance here). I’m not new to the city of Pittsburgh because I ran a marathon there two years ago and I ran the half marathon there last year. I’m in week #3 of my training so my training plan is still very manageable. My long run this week is a six mile run and my total milage for this week is 16 miles. So far, I feel good about my training plan and I’m looking forward to the race in May.

If we were talking over tea this morning I would share…

that I have read six books from my #MustReadin2017 list. I’m currently reading Flying Lessons and Other Stories by Ellen Ho. It’s a great compilation of stories and it even has one written by my new all-time favorite author, Kwame Alexander. Yes, I’m obsessed with his books. I absolutely loved his newest release, The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life. I loved everything about that book – the quotes, the format, the illustrations, the text, and the fact that orange inside feels and looks like a basketball. (Only book nerds would understand this!) I also finished Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. Her book is shocking, spectacular, and thought-provoking. Yes, I sing Picoult’s praises too. Oh, and then there is Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk. Have you read it? Well, if you haven’t, you should. I would love to talk to you about that character Betty. There will be no spoilers here so just read Wolf Hollow, okay!?

If we were talking over tea this morning I would share…

that I am anxious for April to arrive. Maddie will be home and she will be turning the big two.one (21!). I don’t know how this happened, but it’s true. When she was home over Christmas she insisted that I learn how to use Snapchat. We’ve been snapping back and forth and having fun with it. Yes, she keeps me young. But most of all I’d like to share how proud I am of her. She’s in her Junior year of nursing school and texted us last week that she was accepted into Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honors Society. She was excited and so are we!

~~~~~

So that’s a wrap for this runner, reader, and rockin’ mom.

Your turn!

What would you like to talk about over some tea and, of course, biscotti?

~~~~~

Looking for some writing ideas for the SOLSC? Click here.

~~~~~

Slice of Life

hosted at

Two Writing Teachers

Join in and share a slice of your life!

Writing Territories: 34 Ideas to Push the Pen and Keep the Keys Clicking

Several fellow slicers have been kind enough to share writing prompts and/or topic ideas for the upcoming Slice of Life Story Challenge. Some of the ones I stumbled across can be found here at Sweet Writing Life and here at Just for a Month. Thank you for sharing, ladies!

I  would like to share some writing territories that I created for myself to help me keep pushing the pen and clicking away at the keyboard. I’ve broken them down into days of the week and sprinkled in some alliteration just for fun! So, here we go!

Monday

• Marvelous Monday: What made your Monday marvelous today?
• Make a Change Monday: Time for reflection here. What changes would you like to make to enhance your life? Or perhaps enhance the lives of others?
• Mindset Monday: What can you say instead of “This is too hard?” How can you change your mindset? How have you changed your mindset?
• Motivation Monday: What motivates you, who motivates you? How do you motivate others?

Tuesday

• Tome Tuesday: Calling all book lovers! What’s on your reading radar? Please share what you are reading, what you have read, or what you want to read.
• Tickle Tuesday: Laughter, we all know it’s healthy for us. What has tickled your funny bone or are you that person that likes to make other people laugh?
• Terrific Tuesday: Celebrate the goodness of your day. What made your Tuesday terrific?
• Today I Will Tuesday: What’s one positive thing you will do to make today great?
• Top Two Tuesday: It’s quick, it’s fun. Share the top two highlights of your day, week, month, life. You choose!
• Teacher Tip Tuesday: Go ahead, give us a sneak peek into your classroom, into your teaching world. What do you in your daily grind that makes teaching easier for you? What would make teaching easier for others?

Wednesday

• Warm-Hearted Wednesday: Celebrate the goodness of your life. What warms your heart? How have you warmed someone else’s heart?
• Wi-Fi Wednesday: Calling all tech savvy individuals here. Share how powerful technology and/or the internet is for you. Is there a new app you’re using? Please share!
• What’s Good Wednesday: Keep is simple, keep it fun. Focus on the good and sprinkle that goodness around.
• I Wonder Wednesday: What are you wondering? What are you curious about? Model your post after Wonderopolis or just take this time to reflect.
• Workout Wednesday: Go ahead, share your workouts. What do you do to keep your body physically strong and healthy?
• What Works Wednesday: Go ahead, give us a sneak peek into your classroom, into your teaching world. What do you in your daily grind that makes teaching easier for you? What would make teaching easier for others?

Thursday

• Thankful Thursday: What are you thankful for? Focus on an area of your life and share what makes your life better.
• Three Things Thursday: Celebrate a little bit or randomness here. Don’t worry about rhyme or reason. Pick three things and share.
• Think About It Thursday: This is for all those who have thoughts on their mind. What are you thinking about today?
• Today I Will Thursday: What’s one positive thing you will do to make today great?

Friday

• Fitness Friday: Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. What do you do to stay mentally fit and work that brain muscle? Or, what do you do to stay physically fit? Maybe you focus on both. Please share!
• Fresh Air Friday: Calling all nature lovers or those who just like to get outside. What did you do outside today?
• Five Words Friday: Five words, just five words. Sprinkle them on the page. Perhaps leave us wondering how they connect, what they mean to you. It’s been said,  less is more!
• Furry Friends Friday: There’s not doubt about it, animals enhance our lives and bring us joy. Celebrate your furry friends and maybe share a funny story or two about them.
• Fam Friday: Focus on your family today. You chose what you want to share about how important family is to you.
• Foodie Friday: This is for those who love to create in the kitchen! Food planning: love it, loathe it, or wing it? A trend right now is to have your meals delivered to your doorstep. How’s that working for you? Or, perhaps you’re a restaurant connoisseur. Share some of your favorites.
• Friendship Friday: Who are the friends that are important in your life? Celebrate your friendship and honor your friend on Friendship Friday.

Saturday & Sunday

• Let It Be Saturday/Sunday: You made it through the week. What will you do to celebrate the day?
• Satur-Yay / Sun-Yay: YAY! It’s the weekend! What fun plans do you have to kick back and enjoy?
• Six Words Saturday: Six words, just six words. Sprinkle them on the page. Perhaps leave us wondering how they connect, what they mean to you. It’s been said,  less is more!
• Seven Words Sunday: Seven words, just seven words. Sprinkle them on the page. Perhaps leave us wondering how they connect, what they mean to you. It’s been said, less is more!
• Saturday Six Minute Share: Set the timer for six minutes and write! You only have six minutes. Share what you wrote in those six minutes.
• Sunday Seven Minute Share: Set the timer for seven minutes and write! You only have seven minutes. Share what you wrote in those seven minutes.
• If It’s Saturday/Sunday…: What will you do today to enjoy your weekend?
• Saturday/Sunday Celebrations: What did you do today to celebrate the goodness of life?

 

There you go!

Happy writing!

~~~~~

Slice of Life

hosted at

Two Writing Teachers

Join in and share a slice of your life!