Each Friday, I post something to celebrate–we could all use a bit more good news and positive vibes in the world. Today I’m helping fellow author Melissa Eskue Ousley celebrate the launch of her new book, The Sower Comes. She’s invited 10 authors to celebrate with her on her Facebook page on Sunday, July 12th from […]
Browsing Posts in Fantastic Friday
Every 2 years or so, I grow my hair halfway down my back, and then at the end of the school year I chop it off and donate it. Here’s a picture of me on the last day of school, right before the haircut: And here’s what was chopped: And the result: Just before […]
Several months ago, my husband and I were sitting at home one evening, and a guilty look of panic came over his face. “I almost forgot,” he said. “We’re having a potluck at work tomorrow, and I said I’d bring dessert.” I shot him the look. “And you’re just telling me about this now?” He […]
It’s midway through the year, late enough that the novelty of “weight loss” and “fitness” resolutions has worn off. For those of you who stuck to it—great! And keep it up! For those of you who didn’t, I’m writing this post to hope to encourage you to get back on the fitness wagon. I want […]
For today’s Fantastic Friday post, I wanted to share some Memorial Day thoughts: Each year growing up, I biked several miles with my parents to watch the huge Memorial Day parade. It was a big deal, and of course to a kid, it was a day to have fun. It started with Dad putting the […]
It’s spirit week at my school, meaning the students dress up as a theme each day. Wednesday was “zoo day,” and as a teacher balancing end-of-year projects, standardized testing, makeup work, and end-of-year “excitement,” I feel some days like a zookeeper. We also just finished reading The Life of Pi, a story in which the […]
In The Kite Runner, protagonist Amir’s mother dies during childbirth in pre-war-torn Afghanistan. With the one-sided perspective of his father (physical strength! business prowess!), Amir’s childhood has the potential to be nightmarish. But Amir finds the role of “mother” filled by a male business associate of his father, a man who encourages Amir to write […]
There are some people in life who always seem to look on the bright side of any situation. My father-in-law, Allen, was one of them. No matter what was happening, he was always the one making a joke or finding the humor in a situation. He rarely (ever?) let things get him angry. Here is […]
Excuse me while I wax literary today. We just finished reading The Stranger in class, and one of our discussions steered itself toward whether Camus should be considered an optimist or a pessimist. Camus wrote as an absurdist (often considered an existentialist), stating that life has no given, universal purpose. There is no set meaning […]
Battle of the Books This year, I was honored that Loudoun County Public Schools chose my novel The Scarred Letter as one of its ten Battle of the Books selections. Battle of the Books is a competition in which students at all high schools across the county compete by reading all ten books and answering […]
