P.S. If you’re looking for a Christmas present for your favorite English teacher, you can buy posters of these illustrations. Personally, I’d like semicolons, misspelled words, and apostrophes hanging on my wall just for funsies!

P.S. 2. Matthew Inman, if you read this post, may I request a poster about how to use the word everyday vs every day?

Time to votey voterson. Brilliantly creative or gigantic idiot?

In the book, Heather and Holly first chronicle the story of their family, specifically the health issues their dad faced when they were young and how they overcame his health problems by their faith in God. Once in college and on their own, each sister goes to college, falls in love, and marries the man of their dreams. And the kingdoms they’ve built for themselves come crumbling down. Their dad dies when his body finally caves to its health problems. And then their husbands die in a canoeing accident.

And their response was not to run away from God but to run to God. The rest of the book chronicles their journey of healing and how God turned their mourning into dancing. They now dance on the ashes that once covered them.

This book has a special place in my heart, not just because it’s the highest profile project I’ve worked on, but because I know Heather, and I got to watch her work through many of the lessons she shares. God is funny. When you meet Heather and her husband Dallas, it’s natural to assume that this beautiful (because they are both awesome–inside and out), talented (you should hear the songs they write together) couple with these two beautiful boys have never had a care in the world, but then you read this story and realize that God wounded them and scarred them and healed them and that what you’re looking at is what God has healed. A.maz.ing.

If you know someone who’s lost a loved one, specifically a young widow who’s lost a husband, you must share this book with them. Or if you’re just not happy with life’s status quo, you must read it. The book is not available in stores until April, but you can order it directly from the publisher. And you can find the girls on Dancing On My Ashes’ Facebook page, which also has listing of their speaking engagements.

As a bonus, here’s an interview they did with my pastor last year:

Time. Right. You may have read Monday’s post about the top 10 things I should be/want to be doing while I am letting online teaching take over my life. Blogging is one of those things that I want to be doing with my “free” time. And so here I am this morning (actually, it’s Wednesday morning, and I’m going to schedule this post for Friday, so I’ll look cool and “with it”), and I am taking time to blog.

Nike’s advice comes to mind. Just do it.

Yeah, it’s not that simple, but it is that simple. Just sit down and write. For five minutes. For five hours. It doesn’t matter. Just sit down and write. Don’t tweet about blogging. Don’t tweak your blog design. Don’t check your statistics. Because nobody is going to read your blog if you don’t give them something to read. Readers don’t care that you spent three hours adjusting the padding on your sidebars last night. They come to your blog, subscribe to your blog, because they want to read your blog. Or they’re family members who are afraid you might say something incriminating about them on your “blarg.”

Matt said it well when he reminded me that blogging involves more than writing. It’s “pimping” your blog to the world: social networking, commenting, designing, pleading, tweaking until the whole world reads it. And that’s overwhelming, so it’s no wonder that blogs have incredibly high abandonment rates. It’s a lot of frickin’ work!

My time is almost up, so to summarize: However much or little time you have to blog, spend that time writing.

Okey dokey artichokey. Time to vote. Brilliantly creative or gigantic idiot?

During my sophomore year of college, I was living on campus across the street from a frat house that had been shut down; the house and its parking lot were empty. Parking around the dorms at MSU was always at a premium, so naturally, I and several other smart people in Scholar’s House decided to take advantage of these wide-open parking spaces. Everything was cool for two weeks when somebodies (presumably some jaded frat bros) decided to take ice picks to one tire on each car in their parking lot.

Joy. Especially when you discover the flat tire just before you’re supposed to leave for work.

Whatever. A roommate took me to work, and my boyfriend picked me up. Now if I were a guy trying to win the heart of a cute college coed, I would’ve volunteered to change her tire. But did he? No. This is why he is fondly referred to as Bad Chris by my family and friends. (We certainly don’t want to confuse him with current, good Chris.)

Next morning, I bundled up in as many layers as I could find and headed to the parking lot to change my tire before my 9:00 class. I knew how to change a tire; changing a tire is just like fixing any other car part. Take the old part off and put the new part on. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

No, it wasn’t. It was difficult difficult lemon difficult.

Changing the tire wasn’t the hard part; figuring out how to unscrew my jack took me an hour. I wasn’t stupid; the jack had never been used, and the screws were screwed in so tightly that it was all I could do to loosen them. I called my dad, who took the brunt of my frustrations with a very colorful voicemail. And every time the MSU shuttle passed me by, I just knew the driver was laughing at the poor girl trying to change her tire.

Once I freed the jack, changing the tire hardly took any time at all. Because changing a tire is really simple: Block your tires. Put on your emergency brake. Jack up the car. Remove the lug nuts. Take off the bad tire. Put on the new tire. Screw in the lug nuts, tightening in a star pattern. Jack down the car. Release the emergency brake. Unblock the tires. Kill the “boyfriend” who is asleep in his warm bed. Be late for history.

It’s no wonder, really, why that relationship didn’t work out.

Her destination? My best friend forever Jenny. (We’ve been best friends for 17 years–more than half of our lives!) We decided to make gifts for each other, and she made me a flashy new apron and two embroidered dish towels.

Her name? Brulee Bot. Why? My and Jenny’s movie is My Best Friend’s Wedding. And we like to remind each other that creme brulee can never be jello. You’re never gonna be jello.

Her task? To keep Jenny company while she’s far away in St. Louis and working on construction sites (QA gal) during the day and sewing at night.

Don’t you love her? Tell me: brilliantly creative or gigantic idiot?
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For Kicks and Grins

Thankfully, I only have two weeks left at my full-time job, so come February 15, I should be able to better schedule all of my class to-dos alongside my real-life want-to-dos.

In the meantime, here is a top 10 list of things I should be/want to be doing while my classes preoccupy my mind, time, and computer:

1. Sleeping. I laid in bed an hour-and-a-half last night and outlined my B-block classes in my head. Finally, I turned on the light, grabbed my calendar from the living room, and wrote everything down. Purging my brain of these thoughts is the only thing that lets me get to sleep.
2. Dishes. Remember last week when I told you how Chris and I are eating at home in 2010 to cut down on the calories and costs associated with eating out? Yeah, that yields a lot of dishes. And I’ve been going an average of four days without doing them because as soon as dinner is over, I’m back at my computer working again.
3. Blogging. An editorial calendar for one’s blogs is a great idea, but it doesn’t write the blog posts for you. I’ve made revisions for this week, and we’ll see if I can write ahead of schedule and keep you all interested.
4. Exercising. Yes, it’s winter, and I don’t have a gym membership, but I do have a Wii Fit, and I can’t seem to muster the mental energy to be told, “You’re a little shaky.” I’m looking ahead to the middle of February when spring starts to shows its face every few days, and I’m going to work toward a daily walk/run in my neighborhood.
5. Sewing. Did you know that Chris was an awesome husband and bought me a sewing machine for Christmas? Did you know that it’s been sitting on my office floor since then patiently waiting for me to christen it? I have a project planned, but I need to buy the material for it, which should happen on Friday morning. Cross your fingers.
6. Reading. Remember that list of books I said I was going to read in 2010? And the stack of magazine subscriptions I get every month? I’ve made a little progress, but not nearly as much as I would like. (And the next book on my list is maybe 50 pages. Maybe.)
7. Crocheting. I have a project sitting out in the living room that’s been getting a little attention here and there. It’s a baby blanket for no one in particular, and I’m assembling it. This part is time consuming and not as much fun as whipping out an afghan.
8. Showering. Because sometimes I lay awake at night for so long that I’m exhausted in the morning and don’t give myself enough time to take a shower. Gross, I know.
9. Laundry. And I’ve been wearing shirts and jeans over and over without washing them. In my defense, I did wash all of my jeans this weekend; they walked themselves to the laundry room.
10. Eating (well). Oh, I’ve been eating. Eating crap. And lots of it. I’ve been eating through the giant tin of popcorn we got for Christmas. I’ve been eating the bag of peanut butter M&Ms I bought for Chris. I’ve been eating the chocolate chocolate chip cookies I made for Bible study last week. To my credit, I am eating/drinking a chocolate protein shake (with/without a banana tossed in) every morning for breakfast. And I’ve been packing healthy lunches: oranges, hard-boiled eggs, grapes, canned soup, 100-calorie packs of popcorn, nuts, etc. But come the weekend, and I’m noshing on whatever junk food I can find!

As you can see, I welcome Monday, February 15, and (hopefully) the eight hours a day I can schedule to my own liking.

What do you think? Brilliantly creative or gigantic idiot? Vote below:

How cute are they?! I found their pattern in Creepy, Cute Crochet. I bought this book last fall, and this was my first project to tackle. Isn’t the guy handsome?
Don’t you love the top hat and boutonniere?

Isn’t she pretty? Don’t you love her wreath?

I think their button eyes make them endearing!

I had a ton of fun making them. Lots of little details to make them special! I like going back and forth between little projects like this pair and big projects like afghans. The former take a lot of concentration, but I can finish them quickly; the latter generally have a pattern I can memorize, but they work up in less time.

Time to vote! Brilliantly creative or gigantic idiot? Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

I’ve taken it upon myself to make the most of my weekly trips to the grocery store, and I’m learning the fine art of carefully planning my meals and grocery list every week. Some weeks are easier than others. For example, this is the last week of the month, and Chris and I both have paychecks coming from a school, which means we don’t get paid until the end of the month. We’re s t r e t c h i n g the money and food this week.

A few weeks ago, I drew up this meal planning chart using a trusty Sharpie marker and graph paper. (See the picture?) In the top set of boxes, I write in the evening meal for the day and any activity we have happening that night. For example, we always have Bible study on Wednesday nights, so I don’t have to plan dinner, but I do have to plan a side dish, dessert, or salad to take. In the middle boxes, I write the groceries I need to make those meals. Before leaving the house, I double check my pantry and cross any items I already have off my list. In the bottom box, I write in any other groceries that need purchased for the week.

It’s rudimentary, but it seems to be working for me. Before committing to each week’s meal plan, I try to run it by Chris, so he can “approve” the week’s meals. He’s not too keen on leftovers, but we usually have a lot of leftovers (even when I freeze extras), so I also try to have plenty of mac and cheese on hand for him in case he doesn’t want leftover Mexican lasagna or leftover fried rice.

Anyway, I thought you all might enjoy my chart! Be inspired! Go grocery shopping! Feed your families! Save money!

Votey vote: Brilliantly creative or gigantic idiot? Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

The quick-and-dirty answer: Classes are going well.

The sorry-I-asked answer: Every time I read my email, it takes a concentrated effort not to let my blood pressure get so high that my eyeballs come flying out of my head.

OK. That’s a little much.

Truth be told, there is a learning curve for online teaching and learning. Since this is my first semester teaching, I am developing these course materials for the first time, so there are kinks that have to be worked out in my assignments, activities, and technologies. (Actually, Linden and I are developing these course materials together. She’s also teaching ENG 101 this semester. Our teamwork has kept my head above water.) Likewise, for some of my students, this is their first semester in online classes, too, and there’s a big difference between seated and online classes.

Communication seems to be the biggest difference. In a seated class, students ask questions in person before, during, and after class. In person is the key here. When we communicate with someone in person, we’re communicating with more than words. We’re also communicating with our tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language. And there’s usually a mutual respect between student and teacher–a sort of etiquette in place.

In an online class, students ask questions via Q & A discussion board forums (for general class questions, so everyone can benefit from the answer) and via email (for personal, confidential subjects, like grades). At least that’s how questions are supposed to be asked. Lost in translation seems to be the difference between general questions and personal questions; I’m getting a lot of general questions in my email inbox. That’s one frustration, but I’m taking it in stride, replying to the questions, and reminding students in a post script where general questions should go.

Another frustration I’m fighting is messages that are written too quickly without enough thought and with too much emotion. (This is a common problem for electronic communication; without a person in front of you, it’s very easy to write something you wouldn’t say in person. We’ve all emailed, Facebooked, texted, or tweeted something too hastily and wished we could retract it.) These messages don’t give me enough information to answer the question, so I have to ask a question in the reply, wait for a response, and answer again, which wastes my time and my brain power. Likewise, trying to sort through the meaning of messages that are written out of frustration or at a pity party also waste my time and energy because I have to decode their meaning and reply diplomatically.

The biggest frustration I’m fighting is questions that are not questions or questions that can be answered by reading course materials. If I were a participant in a public discussion board forum, the answers to these questions would be simple. For I’m having trouble finding X–a question that is not a question–the answer would be That’s too bad. Good luck finding it. For What is the access code for our online reference guide?–information that can be found inside our course–the answer would be RTFM: read the frickin’ material. Much to my chagrin (and a challenge to my own desire to shoot back a “smart” response), I can’t answer questions in this manner. It’s poor form and unprofessional and not in any way teacher-like.

The benefit of online teaching is that I don’t have to answer the questions right away. I have up to 36 hours to reply to student emails, so when they catch me off guard and make my blood pressure rise, I don’t have to answer right away. I can cool off, think about my answer, and reply professionally. When I got questions that put me on the spot when teaching in seated classes, I had to answer immediately–usually in front of the entire class–and I often regretted answers that I made too hastily without enough thought. Not to mention that I usually forgot those conversations and there was no record of them later in the semester.

I face another challenge in my replies: Do I sugar coat my responses or do I just get straight to the point? Am I more concerned with making my students feel warm and fuzzy inside or with communicating an answer as effectively as I can? I’m of the opinion that if my students want to feel warm and fuzzy, they should’ve hired Mowgli (my cat) as an instructor. It’s my job to answer their questions swiftly, so they can get back to their work.

Not that I’m being a jerk with my answers; I’m keeping everything cordial by beginning emails with Hi, [student's name], closing with Thanks! -Sarah, and including a bit of encouragement like Keep up the good work if it’s appropriate. I’m doing my best to set an example of professional communication for my students. And I’m exploring how I can train them in the fine art of asking questions and writing email. Any ideas you have are welcome!

Vote now. Brilliantly creative or gigantic idiot?

I’m under no obligation to review the book; they simply thought I might enjoy it. I did, and as a thanks to Tommy Nelson publishers, here are a few thoughts on it:

What Difference Do It Make? picks up where the previous book leaves off and continues the story of Ron Hall and Denver Moore. Most importantly, it chronicles the aftereffects of Ron’s wife Deborah’s involvement with the homeless in Fort Worth, TX. Nearly a decade after her death, her work still continues at Union Mission Gospel and inspires those who’ve read Hall and Moore’s books to get involved in reaching the homeless across the country.

In addition to reading the stories of other readers and how they were inspired to make a difference in the lives of the homeless, we catch up with Ron and Denver and learn how Ron came to make peace with his father before his father passed away. All of these stories testify to how God can work in the direst of situations and in the most broken of relationships.

I’m once again encouraged by these authors and the stories they tell, and I’m challenged to dig into the lives of those around me, not so I can change their lives but so God can! I think you’ll be encouraged and challenged by this book too! You can find copies at your local bookstore or on Amazon.com.

Here’s what other bloggers are saying:

• JoshDevine.com
• MomMostTraveled.com

If you’ve read the book, vote for it below:

P.S. Do you know about BookSneeze.com? It’s a book review program from Thomas Nelson Publishers for bloggers!