My Dogs are Mooing

I've got new stuff coming soon...I promise! In the meantime, though, I want to offer you some alternate reading material.  Husband has challenged himself to start his own blog!  Cycling is a true passion for him, so he's started his own blog to share some tips, tricks, and other observations. Interested?  Check him out at www.ozarkcadence.blogspot.com (Note -- I get nothing for promoting his blog.  Well, maybe I'll get a foot rub later -- but that's it.)

As of a few weeks ago, Fiance is no longer Fiance -- he has been promoted to Husband.  Wow, it's still strange to say that!  I've caught myself a few times referring to him as "my fiance" before realizing I can't say that any longer.  I sometimes look down at my finger and am surprised to see another ring there. I've started the process of changing my name and my driver's license and all of that other fun stuff. I'm re-learning how to write my signature, and I will admit it was exciting to get my first piece of mail with my new last name. Legalities aside, we've now become a team of two.  We're linked by more than just a hard-to-pronounce last name and a piece of paper filed at the courthouse.  We've promised to be there for each other no matter what.  He's going to see me at my best and at my worst, and it won't change how he feels about me.  When he's frustrated he might want to push me away but I won't let him. We hope

Last week I attended a meeting where the presenter discussed the power of "yet"-- how someone can re-frame his/her thinking so as to have a growth mindset.  For instance, instead of saying "I can't run a marathon," I should tell myself, "I can't run a marathon...yet."  To be fair, I feel there's a fine line between self-confidence and false confidence; no matter how strongly I believe in myself, I'm not sure any amount of positive thinking will turn me into an Olympic gold medalist.  However, my thoughts on the theory were tested just a few short hours later... I discovered that someone was making disparaging jokes at my expense about my weight.  It's no secret that I have a love-hate relationship with my body; anyone who follows me on social media has seen my #runburstinrun journey. And it is indeed a journey -- I feel like I barely remember where I began, and there is no ending in sight.  The source of the jokes claimed no harm was

This past week I've been working with my students on writing revisions using the genre of flash fiction. Typically flash fiction is 1,000 words or less; for our purposes, we are sticking between 500 and 750. In order to model for my students I created a piece of my own, and I enjoyed reconnecting with my inner writer.  One of my students, after hearing me read my first draft, asked me why I was a teacher instead of a writer #notsohumblebrag.  Now that I've polished my story, I thought I'd share.  It may still need a little work (I'm still not sure I'm happy with how I wrote the ending), but it sure was fun to create. Enjoy! The Golden Years “Mistakes are ok...but not here.  You’re fired!” Fred started filling a cardboard box with his personal belongings from his locker.  He wondered if they had a room of boxes somewhere, ready to hand out whenever someone was let go -- something that happened a lot.  In his time at the company Fred only bothered t

It's been another long delay since I've written, and it's for all of the usual reasons -- life is busy, work is busy, same old same old.  Less than a week after my last post I got engaged, and not two days later I was wrapping up the school year knowing that I'd be taking on new challenges right away.  From playing principal over the summer to starting a new position for the new school year, I had my work cut out for me.  Both changes were exhausting and overwhelming and scary and fun and humbling all at the same time.  I'm still catching my breath from it all.  I keep telling myself that as soon as _______ is done, then life will calm down.  Unfortunately there's always something new filling in that blank. I've been struggling with a lot of self-doubt and apprehension lately.  Over the summer I constantly felt on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop -- the administrator's dilemma, I suppose.  I'd barely had time to process the experience befor

In January I wrote about pushing my personal reset button.  I had come to the realization that there is no "I" in team and that the "me" in team is just a bit smug.  But charming platitudes aside, I figure it's time to check in and report how things are going so far. The good news is that I've actually, like, ridden my bike in the last few months -- and for more than a mile or a spin around the neighborhood.  I bought a little computer thingy to attach my bike to tell me how hard I'm not working when I feel like I'm pedaling like mad.  I even wear padded bike shorts with...well, not pride, but with enough swagger to acknowledge that I prefer comfort over style. Beyond that?  I'm still learning.  The supposed thrill of flying down a hill with the wind in my helmet has yet to replace the cramp in my hand as I desperately ride my brake and hope I stay upright.  If I want a drink along the way, I best be pulling over to the side of the road becau