Starting with a Thankful Heart (and photos, as promised!)

Today was one of those days. You know the kind. The day when you throw your hands up in the air and wonder, "Really?" But, when all was said and done today, it turned out find. I'm tired, but still thankful for a good number of things:

1. The packages to the aunts and uncles are in the mail - complete with little kid-made dough ornaments with the tags for a splash of holiday cheer!

2. Little Sister did her shopping for Mr. Music before we picked him up from school. No lines at our favorite locally owned shop, though I was happy to see a number of shoppers!

3. After dinner we had an impromptu hacky sack circle which was just hilarious. Neither of us adults are any good at it (despite hours and hours of it in high school and college . . . very sad, really), but we sure looked like superstars compared to the 4 year old and almost 2 year old! Mr. Music is great at getting hit in the forehead and Little Sister kept us all on our toes by running around in circles and randomly crashing into one of us for her turn with the footbag (which she would then pretend to throw, but really just hand off to the next person). It really was a fun time and we all had sweaty faces afterwards to prove that "circle kicking" CAN be a workout if done with the right people (especially when those people are under the age of 5).

4. Despite icy roads and icy hills, we accomplished all of our errands safely. My favorite trip was to the post office (the first stop to the first post office of the day) when I picked up our package with the book's award stickers!!!

This is our award certificate for the Moonbeam Children's Book Award - isn't it fancy? You can see the stickers in the corners. I'll get a photo of a sticker on a book ASAP.

Even the envelope the certificate was sent in is sparkly!

Here's the actual Bronze Medal! The center moon part actually spins, so it is really quite cool. I'm still trying to figure out appropriate framing of it.

5. I finally have photos to share with you of our big Christmas sewing adventure (although if you are a relative of mine, I'm going to ask you to use your self-control and please go visit another site without viewing this next set of photos - they are Christmas gift related in nature!).

See how the bag folds flat so nicely? That's because we used a canvas bag as a template! This is one of 5 different fabric combos. It just so happens that I bought this fabric in Italy in 1999. I used some of the fabric for bedroom curtains when we lived in North Carolina - but now I've reused it all for reusable bags!





If the bag could stand alone, it would look like this (we filled it with reference books!). We have since added straps made of the same fabric, but I haven't gotten a photo of the bags with straps yet!

There's Nothing Like the Release of a Good Run

About 6 years ago I was sitting in a lecture for one of my Master's classes with about 40 other teachers-in-training at Queens University of Charlotte. It was the last class of the semester, so our professor asked us to spend a few minutes thinking about where we thought we'd be in 5 years. Immediately heads looked up at the ceiling or dropped down in thought as we all looked through our crystal balls and sought the answer for what we'd be doing.

Those silent moments seemed to drag on forever for me. There I was, more than half way through the program (countless dollars into it, too!), but I wasn't ready to say, "I'll be happy as a clam teaching fourth grade." I did enjoy and work hard at my job as a fourth grade teacher (and third grade, too), but I just didn't see it as my life's work. I wasn't quite sure I should stick with the honest truth when it was my turn to report my vision of the future, lest the optimistic women around me come after me and send me running before I could earn that degree. So, I took a breath and listened to the dozen or so responses before my turn. Some of the visions that were reported included:

- I see myself in a colorful kindergarten room with 20 smiling faces looking up at me as we read together from a big book.

- I see myself as Teacher of the Year for my school.


- I see myself going back to school to become a reading specialist.

- I see myself team teaching with gifted students.

- I see myself taking a break from teaching to raise a family, but will volunteer in the schools.

On and on the reports went. And, I think they were all sincere and optimistic - as they SHOULD be! But, my heart wasn't right there with them. My crystal ball was telling me something much different. So, when my turn came, I took a breath told the women what I saw for my future:

- I see myself as a published author. I'll still work for and with kids, but not in a traditional classroom setting. For me, teaching is a stepping stone for something else.

That was the first time I really verbalized and believed those ideas of being an author. And here I am, just a bit more than 5 years later, after three years in a classroom (I taught while I finished my degree) and four years at home with children . . . a published author. An award-winning author.

The thought of that dream becoming a reality has been overwhelming the past few weeks. When the final award listing was published this morning, I called my husband (cried a bit), updated Facebook to let my friends know the results, emailed my illustrator/graphic designer/foreword author/newspaper editor to let them know and then did what all good runners do . . . I went for a run!


And I'm here to tell you that that overwhelming feeling is clearning and I feel refreshed and excited and ready to do all that the honor of this award needs me to do. There is just NOTHING like the release of a good run.

You can see the award results for yourself at Independent Publisher. We Are Girls Who Love to Run is honored with the Moonbeam Children's Book Award Bronze Medal in the Body-Mind-Spirit category.

We Are Girls Who Love to Run is a Semifinalist!

I wasn't going to post again this week, as I'm busy welcoming home my husband and daughter from their cross-country trip, BUT . . . news this BIG just couldn't wait:


We Are Girls Who Love to Run is a semifinalist for the Moonbeam Children's Book Award in the Mind-Body-Spirit category!!!!


The final medals for each category will be announced next Friday. Thanks to all of you who have been supporters of this writing dream of mine - from the moment the idea came to me through these crazy days of spreading the word about the book. I couldn't have done it alone. Seriously. This book is my third child . . . and we all know it takes a village to raise a child.


Be sure to check back next week to see how it all turns out!



Haven't gotten yourself/your teacher/your coach/niece/daughter/sister/neighbor/local school/girl scout troop a copy of the book yet? Be sure to read here to see how you can get your hands on a copy - the remaining donation copies are likely to go fast now that the book is getting some exciting press! And, be sure to let others know - in these days of budget cuts, school libraries are getting shorted. Wouldn't your local elementary or middle school love to get a FREE bilingual hardback book that celebrates strong girls, positive self-esteem, healthy choices and goal-setting? That's what I thought!