My spouse and I re-watched a film over the weekend, “Kingsman: The Secret Service.” We sat down to soak it in again after we saw the sequel in the theater. In it a line by main character and mentor Colin Firth was said to a rookie kingsman in training Taron Egerton. The phrase really struck …
I recently had the privilege of speaking to a group of 50 teachers for the National Writing Project conference at the University of West Florida. I delivered an hour long presentation on my writing background and experiences writing as a child. In addition, I shared how I came to write the book Kazoo Makes the …
How does a writer like me re-energize and stay inspired to keep writing? The answer to that changes daily. But today my inspiration came from a whole room full of people, mostly educators dedicating time on a Saturday to help promote writing and reading among the youth in our community. It was a humbling, amazing …
Leave it to another kids’ film to have a great life lesson, something simple that we all know but need a reminder about – happiness. The DreamWorks’ Trolls movie tackles subjects like loss, disappointment, fear, lack of self confidence and more in a fun sing-along feature. One particular troll, Branch, is the unhappy one among the …
Ahh, a New Year…this means a clean slate. New possibilities await. Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Do you set goals at the beginning of a calendar year? I certainly have in the past. Last year I came up with a word for 2016: Mindfulness. Although I must admit, it was well past …
Today is Small Business Saturday, the day after Black Friday. Today is the day I thought I’d be selling my children’s book in local retailers for #ShopSmall and #ShopLocal. I had it all pictured in my mind. Friends and family would come by to pick up their copies. Maybe I’d even sign a few of …
A place I have missed visiting A place I once tried to push away A place I slipped from furiously A place for simply another day A place I thought unworthy A place I didn’t appreciate A place I deemed trivial A place to almost hate A place to prevent growth A place to stump …
Greek philosopher Plato is quoted as having said “The beginning is the most important part of the work.” I often agree with this. To start a new project, chore or duty can often be the most daunting task. We procrastinate. We make excuses. We find something or someone else that “needs” our attention. Sound familiar? …
“Mommy, you’re always working. You never have time to play with me.” My oldest daughter (age 8) said these sentences to me about three weeks ago. She said it out of the blue in the middle of the day. She said it sincerely with a disappointed look. It brought me to tears almost instantly. I …
I gave the invocation at my Toastmasters group meeting last week. This part of the meeting is designed to be inspirational and set the tone. A few days prior to my delivering this 1 to 3 minute speech, I gathered my thoughts. What did I want to say? I thought about a helpful meeting I had with …
