Feeling Inspired

I love when I find inspiration online. I often don’t post about it because sometimes when I find someone inspiring, it turns out that person’s one post was inspiring, but in general they aren’t. Or maybe I just have a shorter attention span because of the web ;)Anyway, I have been reading Pete Wilson’s blog, Without Wax for over a year.Pete’s a Christian Pastor at Crosspoint Church. He writes and has videos about contemporary topics, even online use and the Internet. His wife, Brandi also has a great blog. You may know Pete, his wife and children as they were in Taylor Swift’s Video, Mine. Pete and his wife played Taylor’s parents. Here’s one of their sons with Taylor:

Topics: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Reckless & Ruthless – Lives Ruined

Tyler Clementi’s is the Rutger’s freshman who committed suicide on the GW Bridge days after his roommate used a webcam to share Tyler’s intimate gay encounter to the online world.

Tyler’s roommate, Dharun Ravi was just 18 and having fun. His girlfriend, Molly Wei was also just 18 and starting out in college.

They were just joking and it went to far. I remember what it was like to be 18 and to be reckless and ruthless. Dharun and Molly Wei are probably now wondering how their joke went this far. No one intended for Tyler to kill himself, but he did. And now these teens are going to be doing some time.

Tyler’s dead and his family will be mourning for many year.

These two teens have ruined their college careers and I am sure their families are in complete shock.

RIP Tyler.

Of course privacy and bullying isn’t the only issue here. There’s also the issue of being gay. What is society doing to these kids that they are in so much pain they commit suicide?  Tyler’s not the only one.    Seth Walsh,  Asher Brown, Billy Luca  and Raymond Chase  are all gay teens who have committed suicide within the last month. All were bullied for being gay.

Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »

Lee was Promoted

Lee went for a promotional interview last week.  I got to help in picking out the clothes. After the alterations, he stood before me and looked ready for his interview.Lee went to the interview and when I came home from school he told me about the interview. Although he wasn’t sure, in my heart I just felt like it was his time to be promoted. He loves his job and never complains.Today he got the call that he got the job!  He has the top position and it is a good raise too.  I am happy & grateful. We went out tonight to celebrate and I planning a surprise celebration on the weekend.

Topics: Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Nothing Compares

Topics: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

My Grandmother’s Elves

A friend and I were reminiscing a few weeks ago. My friend asked me, “If you could have one item from your past what would it be?” I answered so quickly and surprised my friend. “One of my grandmother’s elves.” There is absolutely nothing special about these elves other than each Christmas season, I helped my grandmother cover the living with these crazy knee hugging elves. My friend laughed quite a bit….Today, I opened a box containing a blast from the past….a knee hugging elf just like my grandmothers. Sweet, sweet memories.((A good blogger would share a photo here…..soon my friends).

Topics: Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

First Week of School

I love teaching in middle school. Sixth grade and eighth grade are my favorite years. My sixth graders walk into school with sparkling eyes ready to learn anything and everything. By April or May of the school year, I look at my eighth graders who have become confident and knowledgeable young people. I admire their energy and enthusiasm as they get ready to take on the world.The first week of school is always tiring. I took a nap almost every day after work. I’m excited for the weekend and a celebration with friends.Tonight a tornado came through Brooklyn. Our block wasn’t affected, but there are trees down all over Brooklyn.

Topics: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Bursting with Happiness

We painted the iron railings outside out home today. I stood back and smiled because it looked great.We ate Chinese food on the back deck.And then we watched some thing we taped on the DVR.Nothing really exceptional. But I get the same feeling almost every night. I’m happy…not just a regular happy, but I’m bursting with happiness. I can feel it coming from the inside out. And when I feel it, I just want to pick up a camera or video camera and preserve the moment and feeling.I’ve felt it since we moved to this house. Is it the house or is it us? I don’t know which it is, but I hope this feeling lasts forever.I’m grateful, loved and happy.

Topics: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Feeling inspired by the past

I had the pleasure of going to lunch today with two women who I taught 15 years ago. Both had gone to college and chosen a career, but then decided to return to school to become teachers.  They sent me an e-mail and asked me if I would meet them for lunch. I thought they wanted to show me who they became and ask me about teaching .

They told me about their students and their personal lives. I made them laugh as I kept closing my eyes when they spoke because I could still picture their sweet adolescent faces. If I passed either of them on the street, I wouldn’t know them as they had become two beautiful women. I asked them what they remembered about school. Each woman told me things I had said to them. They recanted  stories about the year they were in my class. They reminded me of some funny stories. As we were having coffee, one of my former students turned to me and said, “You inspired us to be teachers. You always seemed so happy.” Wow. I stared at the two women and took a picture in my mind of them and that moment.

After lunch, I walked home from the restaurant and my eyes kept watering up. I was so touched by their kind words. I feel lucky to have known them and I’m so grateful they contacted me so many years later. When I got home, I looked at my face. My soul feels so young and alive, but seeing my students as grown women made me feel like I should be feeling older.

Topics: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Sweet Day

I got Pottery Barn sheers in the mail today. I have drapes, but wanted to put up sheers to emulate this look by Pottery Barn. I steamed the sheets and started putting them up.

  Lee’s aunt was telling me to fluff them at the top. I was standing on a small kitchen ladder barefoot and stretching to the left and right to “fluff” according to her directions.

The ladder tips and she says, “Don’t fall off. Balance.”   I regain balance and she tells me that she could do it better with a broken leg. I jumped down because couldn’t stop laughing.

I got the little bird above today….he’s so cute. More pics after I set him up in a cage.

Topics: Brooklyn | 2 Comments »

Creepy

Bank of America rep e-mailed me and asked me to call them about the fraud post I had posted. They wanted to know if my site’s visitor were international. Rep asked me if  I would share the info from my counter with them….and when I looked at the counter I found:

In 3 days,  eChalk has been to my website 25 times

Strange that eChalk reps (more than one browser) are coming from Twitter when they were too busy to reply to my tweet

I’m surprised the eChalk employees have so much time during the work day to browse my site. But here’s a site for you ladies

Topics: Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Mosque at Ground Zero

I lost a dear friend on 9/11 when the terrorists took down the WTC so I really had to think about this controversy. It’s annoying to see politicians using the mosque as a platform to gain votes.

I try to imagine how the situation might be if it was a group of Christian extremists who killed 3000 people and then wanted to build a Christian church near the area where many died. I don’t think we would be having this discussion. Muslims are just a scapegoat for Americans now.

I teach students who practice the Muslim faith and this isn’t what I want for them. I want them to know that our country was built on solid ideas to protect freedom and be fair to people. And everyone does have to learn that life isn’t fair, but that that law will protect their rights. We have a Constitution for situations that arise like this.

And my friend who passed on 9/11 would never want people to be arguing over such a trivial topic either. He loved talking with people and learning about them. 

Topics: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Shore Road in Brooklyn

Shore Road in Brooklyn is a very romantic and everyone I know whose walked on there on their first date has gotten married.  Last night a friend had a first date that ended on Shore Road so hopefully I will update in a few months and tell ya her good news.

 Our Shore Road story:

 Lee and I went to lunch at Cappuccino Café on 3^rd Avenue in Brooklyn. After some good conversation and lunch, we decided to take a walk on Shore Road. We walked to the end where Toy R Us is located and then walked back. As we walked back, Lee saw a cat on the Belt Parkway which runs parallel to Shore Road. He waited for the traffic to ease up and then crossed the highway to the divider. Lee picked up the scared, grey-striped kitty and carefully crossed back. Lee carried the small cat in his jacket because it was windy on Shore Road that day. We walked a little more than a mile to get to the pier and Lee took the cat out of his windbreaker. People gathered around us to see the cat and offer it food and water. We explained to them that we found the cat on the highway. A little girl and her Mom offered to take the cat home.

 Friends of ours joked that Lee called Rent A Cat before our date and had the cat placed on the highway so he could save it.

 A month after we started dating, I met Lee at his apartment in Park Slope before we were heading out to the city. I was standing in his kitchen and there was a large cat standing on the fire escape looking in at me. I called Lee to the kitchen and said, “Why didn’t you tell me you had a cat?”  He saw the cat looking in and laughed because he couldn’t figure out how the cat got up to his third floor apartment. He climbed down the fire escape and put the cat back into the yard.

 Friends joked that Lee didn’t pay his Rent A Cat bill and this cat was coming to claim it.

Topics: Brooklyn | 1 Comment »