100 Things I'm Grateful For...

My blogging friend, Terje, wrote a blog post about Capturing Gratitude. I decided to take the challenge. So in NO particular order, here are 100 things for which I'm grateful...

1. My smart nephew Jack
2. My wonderful niece Jillian
3. My mom & dad who gave me a wonderful childhood
4. Laughing & talking with my sister
5. My aunts who add so much to my life
6. My uncles who love me
7. My cousins near and far
8. Friends who add so much to my life
9. My faith
10. Books
11. HGTV
12. My students
13. Laughing so hard until I cry
14. Quiet walks outside
15. Bella
16. Memories of Leo
17. Notebooks, so many notebooks
18. Writing and the peace it brings me
19. PLN
20. Learning new things
21. Making new friends
22. My church family
23. Yummy peppermint coffee
24. Curled up in a comfy bed
25. Warm sweats on a cool autumn morning
26. Sounds of the ocean
27. Living the examined life
28. Finding exactly what I need at the store...and it's on sale
29. Blogging
30. Conferences
31. Long drives
32. Cute shoes
33. Music that changes my mood
34. Praying with friends
35. Painting
36. Anne Lamott books & her facebook updates
37. Keeping in touch with old friends
38. Hugs!
39. Flowers
40. Library
41. Swimming in the summer
42. Early mornings
43. Health
44. First snow of the season
45. Snow days
46. Birthdays
47. Inspirational people
48. Authors
49. Cucumbers
50. Freedom
51. Daisies
52. Pinterest
53. Twitter
54. Cadbury chocolate
55. Pillows
56. Twinkly lights
57. Delight in the eyes of a child
58. Being an auntie
59. Teaching
60. The quilt made for me by my mom
61. Memories of walks with my dad
62. College and the experiences I had there
63. Struggles & how they helped me grow
64. My OLW for the past six years
65. An amazing trainer for Bella
66. iPad & Kindle...love being able to carry so many books in one device
67. Retreats
68. Movies
69. Books turned into GOOD movies
70. Cards that arrive in the mail
71. Colors!
72. Refreshing watermelon on a hot summer day
73. Sparkles
74. Books about writing: Bird by Bird, Writing Down the Bones
75. Framed pictures of those I love
76. Outdoor concerts
77. Cottages at the beach
78. Full moon nights
79. Love-filled relationships
80. My SUV with standard transmission
81. Reunions
82. Juicy cheeseburger
83. Blankets
84. Dog park
85. Friends & NCIS reruns
86. Fire in the fireplace
87. Bubble baths
88. Blogging friends
89. Organizing spaces
90. Apples in the fall
91. Spaghetti & anchovies
92. Soft, warm sweatshirts
93. Jammies
94. Fuzzy socks
95. Crafting
96. Unexpected time off
97. Quotes
98. Warm, safe home
99. Changing leaves in the autumn
100. BEing grateful

Here I Am

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. I've been thinking for the past couple of days about this post...but I can't think of anything to write. Frozen in my failure, I want to quit, but I push through and show up here...even though it seems pointless. Who wants to read a blog post about nothing? I begin to panic a bit...Have I "lost it"? My passion for blogging? My ability to blog? Why can't I think of something clever? What do I have to say that anyone will want to read? (By the way, I'd have all of these answers if it was you asking the questions!) Should I quit? Give up? Accept defeat? NO. Instead, I show up. Instead, I remember the words I said yesterday to my seventh-graders, "Show up. It gets easier." Instead, I write and show grace to myself. Instead, I remember that blogging is a muscle that I haven't stretched in a while and I need to warm up, I need to take some deep breaths. Here I am. Showing up to the page. I'...

Someday...

Thank you to Stacey, Betsy, Dana, Tara, Beth, Anna, Kathleen & Deb for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers . Do you have dreams? Kids are good at dreaming. I find many adults struggle with it. Speaking for myself, I get so caught up in the everyday drudgery of life, that dreams get nudged aside until they disappear. It's important to have dreams. I've been writing about my dreams in my notebook and so I thought I'd share my dreams here... 1. Writing a book. While I'd love to get a book published, my dream is to write a book...to complete the act of writing it. I've started on this dream and it's hard and challenging and exciting and amazing. 2. Living at the beach. I love the water, the waves, the ocean smell, the seafood, the sand...all of it! The Outer Banks is my favorite place in the...

Chasing My Dream

I'm doing it. I'm chasing my dream. I've always wanted to run writing retreats and workshops for people, but I've always been too scared to do anything about it...until now. I don't know what's changed...maybe I've changed. I'm not allowing the fear to stop me anymore. I've started Selah Writing Retreats. The past couple of weeks I've been getting the business end in order. I thought I would hate that...I don't. It's scary, but I am surprising myself with how efficient I am. Yesterday I went to a bank to set up a bank account. The woman I met with was kind and helpful and so enthusiastic about my dream. My website is set up. I've done lots of work on it. I hope you stop by and let me know what you think. It's selahwritingretreats.com . Balancing creative with business has been challenging but fun. Creating the website, getting a federal tax id, making business cards, planning dates... My favorite voxer group is called Butt Ki...

The Sunrise Story

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