routine

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Today's prompt: Your morning routine

When school is in session I adhere to a routine--wake up at 5:15 but doze and hit snooze until 5:45, then get up to take care of bathroom things, pack lunch, breakfast, shower, dress (in clothes I've decided on the night before) and out the door, stop for coffee at Dunkin' Donuts and away I go! There are also the mornings where I brush snow off the car but I'm trying to think spring!

sunday stealing

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If...

1. If you could eliminate a single type of insect in the world, which would it be? earwigs

2. If you could have personally witnessed one event in history, what would you want to have seen? Neil Armstrong's spacewalk

3. If you had to paint your entire home inside and out a single color other than white, what would you pick? eggshell

4. If you could decide what will be written on your gravestone, what would you have inscribed. the ultimate nap

5. If you could have a secret listening device in any one room in the world, what room would you put it in? I wouldn't

6. If you could have any music group that no longer exists play at your birthday party, who would you want? The Beatles

7. If you were to perform in the circus, what would you do? I would be the ringmaster

8. If you could master one type of cuisine, which one would you choose? French or Italian

9. If you had to have one piece of music softly playing in your mind for the rest of your life, what would you want it to be? I have tinnitis, so there would be a lot of competition for my attention...

10. If you could ensure one single personality trait in your children, what would you want it be? kindness

11. If you could resolve any single dispute, anywhere in the world, what would you solve? I would make pineapple on pizza celebrated everywhere

12. If you could be a guest on any talk show, which would you like to be on? Oprah

13. If you were to be a news correspondent posted to any foreign country, where would you like to go? the UK or Ireland

14. If you could have been on the Supreme court for any single case in its history, which would you select? the Dred Scott decision--its ruling said that slaves are property, not people

15. If you could pick one person from history to live next door to you, who would you pick? someone who's handy at fixing things

postsecret

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard. I like to post one that speaks to me each week.

dnf

I had to walk away from this one. It bothers me to not finish a book. I just can't do it. Wrong book at the wrong time. I appreciate the writing. I appreciate the characters. But I can't connect to it. I listened for over 6 hours and it was painful to imagine listening to the next 11 hours; I downloaded the ebook from the library and couldn't keep my focus to skim it. The audiobook narrator was wonderful but I wasn't. This doesn't happen to me often. I feel guilty since it's a book group selection. But I shouldn't force myself.

finished reading

This is a promising series. It's a quick read that kept me wondering what would happen next. Now the dreadful wait until the next book is published. I would say this straddles the line between adult and young adult fiction. And it was more magical-realism than fantasy--magical things happen in a realistic world setting.

From the publisher:

An entrancing new series starring a funny, impulsive, and sometimes self-congratulatory young woman who discovers she has psychic abilities—and then must decide whether she will use her skills for good or…not.

Teddy Cannon isn’t your typical twenty-something woman. She’s resourceful. She’s bright. She’s scrappy. She can also read people with uncanny precision. What she doesn’t realize: she’s actually psychic.

When a series of bad decisions leads Teddy to a run-in with the police, a mysterious stranger intervenes. He invites her to apply to the School for Psychics, a facility hidden off the coast of San Francisco where students are trained like Delta Force operatives: it’s competitive, cutthroat, and highly secretive. They’ll learn telepathy, telekinesis, investigative skills, and SWAT tactics. And if students survive their training, they go on to serve at the highest levels of government, using their skills to protect America, and the world.

In class, Teddy befriends Lucas, a rebel without a cause who can start and manipulate fire; Jillian, a hipster who can mediate communication between animals and humans; and Molly, a hacker who can apprehend the emotional state of another individual. But just as Teddy feels like she’s found where she might belong, strange things begin to happen: break-ins, missing students, and more. It leads Teddy to accept a dangerous mission that will ultimately cause her to question everything—her teachers, her friends, her family, and even herself.

yas

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Today's prompt: Your zodiac sign and whether you think it fits you

Scorpio Traits:

Strengths: Resourceful, brave, passionate, stubborn, a true friend

Weaknesses: Distrusting, jealous, secretive, violent

Scorpio likes: Truth, facts, being right, longtime friends, teasing, a grand passion

Scorpio dislikes: Dishonesty, revealing secrets, passive people

This is me.

saturday 9

Easter Parade ("In Your Easter Bonnet")

1) Love may not cost a thing, but everyday stuff does. What's the most recent thing you bought? How much did you spend? I spent $3 on coffee

2) This video begins with Jennifer Lopez on the phone, on a veranda with a view of the sea. What's the view from the room you're in right now? the side of the post office across the street

3) She sings that she doesn't want her lover's gifts or money, she just wants his attention. Let's change that a bit. Which would you prefer: a gift that was personally chosen but you know you'll never use, or cash? cash

4) She met her first husband, dancer Cris Judd, while working on this video. She met Ben Affleck, to whom she was once engaged, while working on a movie. Think of those you're closest to -- where did you meet them? my bestie and I met in high school--we hung around the same people but didn't really know each other until college

5) She and her current boyfriend, former Yankee Alex Rodriguez, are both workout fanatics. How often do you exercise? I don't

6) Her high school nickname was "La Guitarra," because her curvy shape reminded her friends of a guitar. Share a high school memory about you and your friends. one night, my friends and got wild and watched Monty Python and reenacted it. Yeah, we were theater geeks. But we knew how to laugh.

7) JLo just completed filming her third season playing a police detective on NBC's Shades of Blue. Did you see anything memorable on TV this past week? If Netflix counts--I watched Nailed It! and laughed and laughed

8) Jennifer Lopez posts often on Facebook, and Twitter, and Instagram. Do you feel you spend too much time on social media, do you wish you posted more often, or do you try to avoid it altogether? I like perusing and posting, I don't think I spend too much time on it

9) Random question: You're at a yard sale and come upon an unusual little knicknack that would make the perfect gift for your best friend. The tag says $7. You think that's rather high for a castoff. Do you pay it? Do you pass on it? Or do you try to get the seller to lower the price? I would pay the $7

the friday 56

The Friday 56

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
*Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it)
*Post it.

I'm reading School for Psychics: Book One.

Outside, Teddy walked across a large campus green, back toward the central courtyard. The grass was cut so she could see the straight lines left by the mower, razor-sharp. Meditation Lawn, a sign read, Please Remove Shoes.

Teddy had tried meditating once before, after a humiliating loss at the poker table. It had been after she had been kickde out of the MGM but before she had been banned from New York, New York. She had sat cross-legged and everything, but she just couldn't clear her mind.

shuffle 3

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Today's prompt: Put your music player on shuffle and write the first three songs that play and what your initial thoughts are

ILYSB by Lany: It's a good road trip sing along song

First Light by Paul Speer: It's on my meditation playlist

Right By You (for Luna) by John Legend: Kind of neo-soul, almost jazzy--I love his voice!

never ending winter

Five months and 12 days....that's how long it has been since a 60 degree temperature was recorded at Caribou (Nov 6, 2017)

— Ted Shapiro (@tedintheclouds) April 18, 2018

three on thursday

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Three things I've done this week:

Finished the baby blanket.

Filled several boxes and totes with clothing donations.

Argued with myself about finishing a book group book. I still haven't made the decision to ditch or continue.

5 fears

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Today's prompt: 5 fears that you have

1) I'm afraid of losing my independence.

2) I'm afraid that George Clooney might never know my love for him.

3) I'm afraid that George Clooney might find out about my love for him.

4) I'm afraid of running out of money.

5) I'm afraid winter will never end.

unraveled wednesday

Join Kat @ AsKatKnits for some fun!


I'm finished the Garter Rib Baby Blanket and I'm listening to A Gentleman In Moscow
.

my ode to brown

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Today's prompt: Your favorite color and why.

My favorite color is brown. It looks good on me. I feel comfortable in it. It's not flashy but it goes with almost anything. Brown is an underdog color. A workhorse color. It is the color of chocolate. It is the color of earth and trees without leaves. My classroom has shades of brown.

ten things tuesday

Ten Favorites:

Favorite Movie: the most recent movie I've seen that I really enjoyed is The Big Sick

Favorite Album: Achtung Baby by U2

Favorite Book: I can't choose just one--here's my reading list for 2018

Favorite Tweeter: citizen janey

Favorite Blog: One Gal's Musings

Favorite TV Show: I just discovered Killing Eve

Favorite Instagramer: Joe Dombrowski (MrDtimes3)

Favorite Moment: last summer I recorded videos of my dad using crazy Snapchat filters and I think it's safe to say my family has never laughed so hard (I had to promise not to post the videos online)

Favorite Conference: the teacher leader cohort I'm part of had three sessions and they were the best professional development I've had in a very long time

Favorite Viral Video:

to be

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Today's prompt: A quote you try to live by

Your greatest power is the power to be.
To be more loving. To be more courageous.
To be more joyous. To be more friendly.
To be more sensitive. To be more aware.
To be more forgiving. To be more tolerant.
To be more humble. To be more patient.
To be more helpful.
To be a greater human being.
~ Wilfred A. Peterson

finished reading

This is the 11th installment of the Passport to Peril series. I love this crazy globe-trotting band of senior citizens--I can't wait for the next adventure! This whole series is a hoot.

From the publisher:

Hoping to reach an expanded clientele of senior travellers, Emily Miceli, travel agency owner and tour escort, offers discounted fares to a handful of bloggers in exchange for highlighting her group’s tour of Cornwall, England. But when the quarrelsome host of their historic inn dies under suspicious circumstances, Emily worries that the bloggers’ coverage of the situation will torpedo her travel agency.

To make matters worse, Emily is roped into running the inn, and not even a team effort from her friends can prevent impending disaster. As one guest goes missing and another turns up dead, Emily discovers that well-kept secrets and family treasure can provide more than enough motive for murder.

today

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Today's prompt: Bullet your entire day.

• Breakfast with my bestie at 8
• errands with my bestie until 11
• noodling around online
• watched some DVRd shows
• went to the laundromat
• put fresh sheets on the bed
• read Say No Moor
• watched the Elton John Grammy special from last Tuesday and knit
• chatted with my Virginia sister
• ate leftover pizza
• watched the news
• chatted with my bestie
• chatted with my Pennsylvania sister
• read some more

currently

I am...

Reading: A Gentleman in Moscow

Listening to: some ads on TV

Loving: hanging around

Thinking: about going to the laundromat

Feeling: lazy

Celebrating: vacation week

Grateful for: a staycation

Weather: 30 degrees and snow-raining it's good nap weather

Enjoying: I am loving my mani-pedi

A quote I want to share:

“Snow in April is abominable," said Anne. "Like a slap in the face when you expected a kiss.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Ingleside