Days Nine through Eleven



Day Nine. Operate your vehicle more effectively.
Do you know how to use all of the features of that car sitting in your garage?
I bought a new car this summer, the first one in ten years. It has so many features and technologies on it I can barely operate it. I was feeling overwhelmed the other day when it dawned on me. I don’t have to learn everything about it all at once. Now I have the owner’s manual on my nightstand. I try to read a little about it each night. Eventually I’ll know how this big machine operates. Today I actually turned on the cruise control and used it correctly! Hurrah! It’s the small victories!
Day Ten- Exercise your creativity.
If you’re like me you have several craft projects in a box somewhere. I can think of three in-progress cross stitch projects and at least two embroidery projects I’ve started. Now that it’s winter I spend more hours indoors parked in front of the television. I’ve started working again on some pillow cases that I’m making for a relative’s vacation home. I’m learning to relax and letting my brain be creative. When the cases are done they will be a nice thank you gift for letting me use the place. This makes me happy thinking about it.
Day Eleven- Learn to accept something a bit different.
 Change your style of dress a bit. Try a color you don’t usually wear. Or that accessory someone gave you but you haven’t worn. I’m not a big fan of scarves. A couple of years ago I received a bright colored one as a gift. It hung in my closet for well over a year. One drab February day I needed something to cheer me up. At the last minute I threw it on. I got so many complements at work (that felt good) that now I’ve been wearing a scarf about once a week. My style is more polished and I feel more pulled together. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy New Year!

Today I'm beginning a daily post called Thirty Days, Thirty Simple Ways to a Happier You. Please take a look and comment. I'd love to hear your ideas. I'll be adding a comment each day through the month. This past year I’ve found myself dragging through the days and exhausted by the time evening rolls around. I teach middle school full-time and write fiction part-time. I wanted more energy and enthusiasm to write for an hour or so evenings and not have it feel like another job.   As a teacher I’m always giving out tasks. It dawned on me that I should be taking on some assignments too. The following is my opportunity to help myself. Perhaps some of these ideas may benefit you. I’m not talking about major, too over-whelming-to-even-consider tasks. No, these are easy things that won’t cost a lot of money, time or effort but added together I hope will really make a difference in my life and yours too. I plan to keep a simple journal (read spiral notebook) as I go throu
Read more

Lessons Learned--Grace's Secret: A review

A review of my latest book, Lessons Learned--Grace's Secret has been submitted to The Daily Nonpareil. You can read it below!  "...you know that you can't change the past, only the here and now." Grace Freeport is a well-respected school teacher in the frontier town of Omaha.  She thoroughly enjoys working with each of her thirteen students but her past still secretly haunts her. On a typical November day in 1874, the school day begins as usual.  However, the weather quickly changes with a little snow, and temperatures are plunging with the wind accelerating.   For a classroom with children, the weather can be frightening, and when their teacher steps outside to access the weather, the impending storm is terrifying for everyone. Fortunately yesterday, Grace had taken the precaution of running a clothesline from the school to her home.   She is well aware of storms in the plains and knows how quickly a blizzard can become dangerous.   Leaving a note of their lo
Read more

A Fabulous Friday and a Surprise!

Image
Hello! I wanted to write a brief post to share with you one of the happenings in my middle school History classroom. This past week, I shared with students the story of Henry Box Brown, a slave who mailed himself to freedom. In the photo below, the tape on the floor represents the dimensions of the Henry's box. Here, a student tries to become small enough to fit into a square the same size as Henry's box a cramped five feet, ten inches. Henry had a 27-hour journey to get to freedom. History comes alive in Mrs. Tweedt's classroom! Now for the surprise! My book, A Lady for the Lawman , has been chosen as a finalist for this year's Grace Award in the category Action/Adventure/Western/Epic Fiction. Wow! I am so honored and excited! You can get more details about the Grace Award and other books named as finalists here:  https://graceawardsdotorg.wordpress.com/2016/03/22/andthe-grace-awards-2015-finalists-are/ Happy Easter, ~J
Read more