The Sunrise Story

Week #5 Reflection #1 Unplugged for an hour a day.  Lots of unplugged time. I signed up for an art class. Spending time being mindful...finding the quiet and preparing for the art is a heavenly way to spend time unplugged. I wonder if this nerdlution helped me find the courage to sign up for this class.  #2 Acts of kindness. These continue to feel more normal. Today I brought in a special treat for a friend. On the ride to school I was BELTING out a good song and grinning from ear to ear...I turned and looked at the car next to me and the driver was laughing and smiling. I made him happy with my silliness. That's a job well done.  How Nerdlution going for you? Share your joys and successes as well as your stumbles and revisions. I can't wait to read your posts. Thank you for stopping by and please share this blog! Invite others to share their reflections in comments! Now you...write a post at your blog.  Remind us what your nerdlutions ...

Sharing my slice of life (#sol14) over at  Two Writing Teachers.    Please join us! Yesterday I blogged about signing up for an art class. The Kelly Rae Roberts Mixed-Media Mantra class began yesterday. I completed lesson one and introduced myself on the Welcome Page & in the Facebook Group. And then I got scared. So many people in the group are already accomplished artists. Many make a living as artists. The negative voices started in,  "What are you doing here?"  "You don't belong here."  "You aren't any good!"  "You can't draw, paint..." They didn't stay long. This class is for me. It's for my joy and my growth. I want to learn something new. When those voices jump out at me, I'm ignoring them & when that doesn't work, I'm smiling, saying thank you and moving on.  The voices are ME, you know. I realized that today. They come from a place of high expectations for myself...

It's a couple of months into the new year...I guess it's not new anymore...and I'm still working on incorporating my word of the year. Writing about it helps. This year, more than any before, I have people asking me about it. There's a friend at church who checks in almost every Sunday and asks, "Taken any risks lately?" I love that she does that. It keeps me focused. I took a big risk.  I signed up for a class. It's an art class.  It's called Mixed Media Mantras .  The teacher is one of my favorite artists,  Kelly Rae Roberts .  You can barely turn your head anywhere in my home without seeing a piece of her artwork.  It's filled with inspirational words and sayings, as well as colorful images. Looking at her artwork makes me happy...smile...feel inspired...so when I stumbled upon this class, I immediately wanted to take it. But, then the fear seeped in... You're not good enough...It's too expensive...What a wa...

Every Saturday I get the opportunity to celebrate the week over at Ruth Ayres' blog,  Discover. Play. Build.  Thank you! It's become a highlight of my blogging week! Today I'm celebrating the little things...  A walk with a friend Coming home after a trip Markers and my notebook Beautiful snow Even better...a sunny sky Finding my necklace  after six months New devotional book Student successes Taking risks Hugs Appreciating where I am in life, right at this moment... Knowing this is where God wants me to be

Week #4 Reflection Can it be Thursday already? My week is beginning today as I traveled to Massachusetts unexpectedly for my grandfather's funeral.  Grammy & Papa on their honeymoon in Florida Grammy & Papa with me at my first communion celebration! I'm all turned around. Here's my quick reflections for today... #1 Unplugged for an hour a day.  Lots of unplugged time and lots of reading and writing this past week. I've been doing much better with praying everyday too. I credit the book recommendation from  Ruth Ayres . I'm loving Whispers of Hope and reading it every morning. Thanks, Ruth! #2 Acts of kindness. Travel gave me lots of new opportunities for acts of kindness. I noticed how taken aback people were when I stopped, looked them in the eye and said, "Thank you. Have a nice day." Our world moves SOOOO fast..simple moments like that are rare. I must confess, I felt like this week I've received more acts...

Every Saturday I get the opportunity to celebrate the week over at Ruth Ayres' blog,  Discover. Play. Build.  Thank you! It's become a highlight of my blogging week! I had a plan for my celebration post today...and then life got in the way. I missed posting last weekend because I was on an amazing women's retreat with my church and that's what I planned on celebrating today...until I found out that my papa died this week. He was almost 98 years old. Today I celebrate Papa! He's the last living grandparent for me. Michael...a strong man, a man of faith, hard working...he loved playing golf! He loved the Red Sox & Celtics & Patriots. Papa married Grammy and he loved her so much. She died years ago and we all miss her a lot! At Thanksgiving a couple of years ago, my cousin Danielle and I asked Papa about Grammy & here's his answer... My nephew and niece loved PopPop, as they called him. They'd visit him every week.  ...

Third reflection blog post about Nerdlution! #1 Unplugged for an hour a day.  Sigh. Last week I miserably failed at the one hour thing. I've been conscious of using technology and that's a positive change. I know I haven't done well when I need to check to see what my other nerdlution is. Life certainly "got in the way" of focusing on this goal. Snow day tomorrow...I'll make up for it!  #2 Acts of kindness. So many to count...this makes me so happy! Last week I took the day off on Friday (the first personal day I've taken in...I can't remember how long) to prepare for the Women's Retreat. Our church sponsored a retreat this past weekend and over thirty women attended. So many opportunities to spread kindness...notes in joy jars, gifts of notebooks, special gift for the woman who organized it all, lots & lots of hugs! Kindness seeping out of me and around me!  How Nerdlution going for you? Share your joys and successes as well a...

Sharing my slice of life (#sol14) over at  Two Writing Teachers.    Please join us! I didn't want to post today because it hasn't been a good day. Normally, I'd post first thing in the morning, but I woke up sick. Pushed myself to go to school and UGH, I shouldn't have. Now, I feel sick and I'm tired. I kept working on making today better...it didn't happen.  Complaining is not something I like to do. One of my first grade teacher friends used to say, "Don't spread your bad feelings around!" I hear her voice in my ear as I type this! I'm sorry, but I feel like there's no energy for anything else. Soon, I'll take more medicine and get into bed early and stop spreading my bad feelings around...finally. Hoping your Tuesday was better than mine!

Second reflection blog post about Nerdlution! I confess that I've slipped a bit...no, not slipped....things haven't gone the way I planned.  The good news is I feel like I've made some big changes to incorporate my nerdlutions...as a daily life practice.  Nerdlution #1: Unplugging for an hour a day I changed my iPhone plan and drastically cut my data plan. I don't need to be on Facebook & Twitter all day long. Spending too much money on something that's draining and not adding to my life was a change that was long overdue. Now, I'm thoughtful and conscious when I use the internet on my phone. It's a hard change! Much harder than I'd like to admit. It's worth it. BUT, I have not consciously taken an hour everyday. I've made choices to decrease wasted time, but I haven't used that hour like I did the first week. I loved it. I want to get back to that! (Again, this is one of my favorite things about Nerdlution. Changes occur, just...

Sharing my slice of life (#sol14) over at  Two Writing Teachers.    Please join us! Working together can be hard. My students began book club groups yesterday. They met and planned strategies for success. My guidance was simple... think about groups you've been in already. What worked? What didn't? Use that to guide your rules & procedures for this group. As always, my sixth grade students impressed me with their mature and wise outlook on making a group work. As I read over their strategies, I think...if only we, as adults, could follow these suggestions. Here are some of my favorites:  My favorite in this list is "Be calm". That's a reminder for me when working in a group. As I read it, I wonder where that originated from...what happened to that student to motivate them to add that into their rules.  "Be kind"! So simple, yet so important to a functioning group! Also, "Stay serious when you're supposed to be" ...

Every Saturday I get the opportunity to celebrate the week over at Ruth Ayres' blog,  Discover. Play. Build.  Thank you! It's become a highlight of my blogging week! This has been a week with so much to celebrate! Ruth, I'm so grateful for this opportunity to blog about it. Blogging gives me time to reflect and share my joys. Onto the celebrations... Risk is my OLW for the year and I've taken another risk this week.  I offered my blog as a place to share reflections on our second round of #Nerdlution. Putting myself out there was a risk because I worried no one would show up. It's back to that need of being accepted. Silliness. A few people shared their blogs and responded. My hope it that it will grow with each week. I'm glad I took that risk.  Speaking of blogging...I'm LOVING blogging. I celebrate the friends I've made here and on TWT and through twitter and the Nerdlution. I feel connected like I haven't felt in a long time....