HAPPY NEW YEAR!

WELCOME 2010! STAY SAFE, HAPPY & HEALTHY AS THE NEW YEAR ROLLS IN!

The Perfect Holiday Present

I got a LONG e-mail today from a student I taught in the last 3 school years. She was one of my brighter kids with so much potential. I had some good times with her class and I cried like a baby at their graduation. When they left our school, I told some of them to keep in touch. This girl has consistently e-mailed me on and off since May. Today's email was all about her family and their holiday (I'd gotten pretty close with the family too) and she sent me pictures of them during their celebrations. At times like this I remember why I love teaching.

Gearing Up For 2010

Lots of stuff happening. Still reading and relaxing on school vacation. Still stuffed from Christmas dinner. Started spending my gift cards I got for Christmas. Almost done with house renovations (well, the contractor is, not me). Planning for new blog design and possible website renovation. Gearing up for revising my writing business plan for 2010. Writing my end of the year lists- accomplishments in 2009 and goals for 2010. We're supposed to have bad weather tomorrow, so I'm planning to stay in most (if not all) of the day and get some of this stuff tackled!

What about you? What are you up to?

Merry Christmas!!

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve and may Santa bring you all you wish for!

Dalliance With Dickens

A Christmas Carol is my ABSOLUTE favorite story. When I was younger, I'd go to the local theater and see it performed every year. My mom took me once to the Nutcracker just for something different, but I didn't care for it as much. As I've grown up, I've watched TONS of versions of A Christmas Carol, from the Mickey Mouse version to the Lifetime "Ebbie" version, from the Flinstone version to my favorite, the 1951 Alistair Sim version. I teach the play every year and have the 7th graders write their own versions (and sometimes perform them). And yet, in all that time, I never read the story.

About 2 weeks ago, one of my 7th grade girls pointed out that our school book fair had the book. I jumped at the chance to check it out. I didn't want someone else's version, though. I wanted to read the actual words Charles Dickens wrote. Sure enough, that's what we had in the book fair. So I bought it and tomorrow I plan to read it! It's only 122 pages. I'm sure it'll go fast. What a great way to spend Christmas Eve, huh?

iPod Update

I'm competent! I've gotten several of my favorite CDs added to my iPod ALL ON MY OWN! I'm so excited! Next up...hitting the iTunes store!

Ho-Ho-Ho...Almost

So far Christmas break has been wonderful! I've still got some shopping to do, but I'm not in panic mode yet. I'm hoping to finish up today. I've been reading-2 1/2 books so far in 3 days. It feels so good, although my eyes don't necessarily agree. This afternoon I'll be seeing Jim Carrey's A Christmas Carol with my mom, stepdad, niece and nephew. Then some shopping and a bit more reading. And maybe a hot chocolate somewhere, although our temps are supposed to be close to 70 today. Not really hot chocolate weather. Although I imagine some of you are making hot chocolate with tons of snow around your house. Take care of yourselves!

Another New Toy

To celebrate getting through the first semester without killing anyone, I went shopping and bought this. I took a 3-day teacher training in the summer that paid me and an online follow up survey last month that also paid me. So, the money went to a good cause. Just think. All those one-hit wonders I've loved through the ages will soon be at my fingertips! Now if I can only figure out how to work my new toy...

Whoohoo!

I'm almost free! Kids got out at 12:30 today. We (staff) have to go in for a few hours tomorrow, which I don't mind, and then I'M FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE until January!

Tonight I'm just relaxing, looking over the cool Christmas presents I got from my students and their families, and watching a little TV. Tomorrow I'll work hard and then I won't think about or do anything related to school for 2 whole weeks. Imagine that. Two weeks of reading, sleeping, writing, cleaning, sleeping, reading and writing. How better to spend the holiday season and to begin the new year???

Tuesday

Busy, busy! With school winding down, Christmas shopping to finish, a cold/allergies/sinus infection/whatever this is to battle, I've been away from my reading and writing. BUT not for long! I'm working extra hard at the day job now so that come Friday afternoon I can put all my school related books, papers, clipboards, etc. away and not touch them until we go back January 4th. We had our school-wide winter performance tonight and tomorrow are the class parties. So I'm off to finish wrapping some presents and writing out cards. I'll let you know in a day or two how it all went!

Stay safe, warm and happy!

The New One...

SHADOWED HEARTS

A writer with a looming deadline and no heart to write new pages.
A Scottish gillie eager to restore his tarnished reputation.
A bond forged in a season of miracles.

A Week And A Half

NaNoWriMo ended for me in the early morning hours of Sunday, November 29th. After that, I decided I wouldn't write a thing for the month of December or until the itch to put new words on a page hit me.

A week and a half later, the itch returned. I've been thinking about my fictional Scottish village from Fractured Paradise and the next story I'd planned to write in that series. I've reread the 20 pages I already have. I've been brainstorming ideas while driving and listening to conversations in Scottish accents in my head while watching Christmas movies. Now I'm thinking I might have to start drafting the synopsis and 1st chapter (or at least outline the turning points) in the next week or so in between shopping trips for Christmas presents and grading terrible essays. (Okay, they're not ALL terrible!) And then I can write to my heart's content over Christmas break.

Ok, Done Whining

I'm over my rejection. Yes, it's sad, but she had some positive things to say and someday I'll find the exact person I'm supposed to work with. So, I'm moving on. Today I have to clean my house and put my Christmas tree together. This afternoon I'm going to my brother's house to watch college football and to hang out with them. Then tomorrow, my niece and nephew will be coming over to help decorate the Christmas tree, make cookies and color Christmas/winter scenes. My aunt and uncle used to take me every year to help decorate their tree and I ALWAYS had a great time. So, since I moved into my own place this year, I figured I could start the tradition with my own niece and nephew. Have a great weekend whatever you do!

Pooh!

Got a really wonderful rejection from an agent today. Positive things she said were, "I think you have a really great writing style and your voice is also very compelling...." But it's still a rejection. And I really liked her. So I'm allowing myself to wallow for 24 hours. Then I can't whine about it or be miserable. I need to jump back on that horse and gallop toward the next...hurdle????