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She is my Poet, He is my Writer.
Complain as I may about over-reliance on testing and “no child left behind” and Common Core and what have you, my children have been blessed – blessed I tell you – with phenomenal teachers and headmistress/principal that put heavy emphasis on the act of writing. At a very young age both my children were encouraged to write, write, write, punctuation and spelling be damned, the focus should be with getting them comfortable with getting the words on paper (as punctuation, grammar and spelling will come in time.) I have always loved to write, but it was never a skill I was pushed to develop in the manner they have. The encouragement…
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What I’m Reading Wednesday: Paradigm
I’ll admit, when I hear “dystopian fiction” I let out a groan, as after the success of the Hunger Games, Divergent and the like, there has been a surge of books in the genre, and not all have hit the mark. Thankfully, Paradigm by Ceri A Lowe does. What makes Paradigm unique is that while other books address life in a postapocalyptic world, author Lowe entwined a tale of life during the end of the world as we know it, from the viewpoint of teenaged Alice Davenport, with 15-year-old Carter Warren’s story 87 years later. The book opens with the words “You have five minutes of this life left” and…
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What I’m Reading Wednesday: Summer Reads, Part 1
It’s May, the end of the school year beckons, as does a full summer ahead of us. A summer for which I am making plans (including an escape to the Outer Banks) for the family and lots of activities for the kids. Along with the fun, I need to make sure the kids keep up their good reading habits, and what better way than by modeling good reading habits myself? Fine. I never need an excuse to read. And in all honesty, I’m avoiding the impending end of my personal free time by escaping in a book or two – all of which will make great reads for y’all for…
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Tips on Tuesday: On Cleaning Skunks and Fixing Keurigs (not at the same time)
Monday was a…well…MONDAY in every sense of the word. As in, it was a pretty stinky day. Literally. But, like I tell my kids, every problem is an opportunity to learn something new, and oh boy, did I ever. And I want to share a few tips with you, specifically on what to do when your dog gets sprayed by a skunk. Also, a handy tip on what to do when you get the single lit cup light on your Keurig, which according to the company, if you have done all the recommended de-scaling tips, means that machine is DONE. (It’s not.) These may seem like two very disparate subjects,…
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Always (Ask to) Read the Label
Organic, simply defined, means made from naturally occurring ingredients. Organic does NOT equate to non-toxic. If you harbor any doubts about this, consider this: some wild mushrooms, toads and raisins are all “organic”, but they are very poisonous to dogs. Honey is organic, but can be potentially harmful to babies under a year old. When you are going to try a product for the first time, it is highly likely that you are going to check out the label before purchasing it – even it the claim is organic – to make sure. It stands to reason that, should someone claims that a product being used around children or pets is…
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What I’m Reading Wednesday: Denise Grover Swank
I haven’t done a book review in a while, despite the fact that I’ve been binge reading for the past month Binge reading to the point where I’m writing a lot of posts in my head, but don’t get to put them on paper/in my laptop because my nose is stuck in a book. The dangerous thing about Kindles is that you can download the next book in a series you’ve discovered without leaving the sofa, thanks to Amazon and our local library which has amped up its e-book program. My reading tastes are pretty varied – mysteries, crime novels, chick lit, supernatural. I like a book with clever characters,…
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Thoughts On Praise (Or, Your Kid Is Awesome)
It was the cocked hip and cocky head shake from the sixth grader surrounded by second graders that caught my attention. She got a little to up-in-your-face with one of the little girls. “Did you just say “look at her pants?” Yeah, this is my costume. I do hip-hop, and this is what we wear.” Her face was a little scary, to be honest. I will admit, I am not a fan of saggy-ass Hammer pants. They make even the skinniest of girls look like they have a poopy diaper, so I can’t say that I blamed the second-grader for pointing them out, particularly this pair which were black-and-white…
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Thoughts on the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop. Finally.
Two weeks ago today I left for the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop. It’s a bi-annual writing conference held at the University of Dayton – Erma’s alma mater – and yes, it was every bit as funny and sentimental as the grand dame herself was. Over three days there was much laughter, networking, conversation, learning, wine, and for me, introspection and self-discovery. I’m already counting the days until the next one. But first, I really needed to write something about THIS one. To say that I learned a lot would be an understatement. In fact, my brain hit content overload at about 2pm on Saturday afternoon, right about the same time…
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What Makes Me Happy
It’s been a long, cold winter, those of us not living in Florida would agree. Too many days cooped up inside. Bundling up to go outside, and dearly wishing we were inside. Frankly, it has gotten a bit depressing, this weather. But today when I woke up, something was just in the air. (Besides pollen. Lots of pollen. Gesundheit.) I don’t know what it was, but I just felt…. Happy. Was it the sunshine? The tulips fighting their way up, despite last week’s snow? The three-day weekend we have ahead of us? I’m not sure. But I do know what does make me happy: Squeezey hugs from my 8-year old.…
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Seasonal Ineffective Disorder
I have a confession to make: I didn’t decorate my house for Easter. Or for Valentine’s Day. Or Thanksgiving. Or Halloween. Let me rephrase that: I didn’t decorate much. As in, I put out a themed candy dish filled with appropriately colored M&M’s, ate them all myself, then didn’t refill out of guilt. I also bought an appropriately themed runner or two for my new kitchen hutch, but that was done more with the idea of adding color. I also put out two really tired decorations that I “discovered” while unpacking. They are molting fake moss all over the tables and are missing a few eggs; the bunny has a…
