Wednesday, July 24, 2013

What's Up Wednesday: Short and Sweet Edition


What's Up Wednesday is a meme started by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to bring reading and writing bloggers together once a week. Go to Jaime's blog to add your link and check out posts from other writers!


What I'm Reading
Still loving A Short History of Private Life!


 

What I'm Writing


I've gotten back on the horse, now that my brain has re-formed in our air-conditioning.  I've been meeting my goals, so I think I'm ready to try for a few days of 1K words this week.  


What Else I've Been Up To
Had a nice visit with my mom and step-dad this weekend, including a lovely brunch with them, my in-laws, and my husband's grandmother.  And driving: I had a double lesson Tuesday, and I have another one today.  Getting my license by the end of the summer is starting to feel like a very real possibility!

Also, congrats to Jaime, who was the winner of my giveaway!  She'll be getting a copy of My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi, as well as a giftcard for DonorsChoose.  Thanks to everyone who entered!

What Inspires Me Right Now
 
The calendar!  I've got four more full weeks before we really start up again with meetings and professional development, but for part of one week we're going away to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday, and I have to plan my classes, finish learning to drive, finish up my Little Women project, etc.  So making time to write is feeling pretty urgent.
What's up with you?

21 comments:

  1. Congrats on meeting your writing goals, Jess!
    Brunch sounds yummy and it seems like you have quite exciting things coming up! :D

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    1. Thanks! I guess "exciting" is the best possible way to describe the road test, so, yeah! Let's go with that!

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  2. So glad to hear your air conditioning is helping your writing process along. It hasn't been quite so hot here lately, which is a huge relief since I don't handle the heat well. Good luck with hitting those 1k days this week and with your driving lessons! Sounds like you've had a very full summer so far!

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    1. Glad it's cooling off for you! Amazing how much the heat can bring you down!

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  3. Hehe - brain reforming. Glad that air conditioner's working!

    And I'm glad your calendar is inspiring. I used to count the weeks until teacher meetings started and get a little depressed. Summer goes by too quickly! But sounds like you've got a lot of wonderful things on your plate. I hope you can squeeze some writing time in!

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    1. Yeah--I'll definitely miss my summer, but this is a pretty exciting school year, so I'm not too bummed out about starting, for once!

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  4. Congratulations on hitting those goals! That air conditioning sounds heavenly and if it helps, Yay! Good luck on learning to drive :)

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    1. Thanks! Went out again today without incident, so I'm feeling pretty good!

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  5. Good luck with making writing time! The end of summer does get kind of crazy. Make sure to take some time for lemonade and a good book (I bet you have a spot outdoors you can read in now, right? Lucky!)

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    1. Oh man, I'm totally about to grab some lemonade and hit the porch with my book! Yes! That is an awesome thing about living in Bufffalo!

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  6. Little Women is one of my favorite books, but I haven't read it in a long time. It might be nice to revisit it (whenever I can manage--I have books coming out of my ears now).

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    1. It's fun to go through it with students--happily, they seem to be enjoying it. (It's always tough to teach a book you love and find that your kids hate it--happened to me with To Kill a Mockingbird!)

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  7. It's great that you're meeting your goals. It sounds like you aren't only meeting your writing goals, but your general life goals too, which is even better. :)

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    1. Yeah--balance is important! Now, if I could just get housework into the balance...

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  8. Hooray for AC-fuelled progress! And best of luck getting your driving license too!

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    1. Thanks! I'm getting the hang of it--now I just have to practice practice practice!

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  9. You've been rocking your writing goals, so you should feel very proud of yourself! Which reminds me, I forgot to respond to your words yesterday. Meep. Busy evening with band... I'll get back to you today!

    And you are so much braver than I am with your driving lessons. I've been talking about doing it again for years now, but so far no dice. Ugh. High time I just did it, right? :)

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    1. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't get this second job for next year, I think! Finally I reached the point where it just had to be done.

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  10. I hope you're able to find some writing time, Jess. It can be so frustrating to WANT to write, but to not have the opporunity to do so. And yay for air conditioning! You must be the happiest girl ever these days!

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  11. Congrats on meeting your writing goals! It's been super hot where I live (Utah), and I hear you on the magic of AC for writing. I try to head to the library or a cafe, otherwise I won't get any writing done.

    I really enjoyed Bill Bryson's A WALK IN THE WOODS, the story of how he and a buddy (both out of shape) decide to hike the Appalachian trail. It offers beautiful descriptions of the areas they walk through, but what I most loved were the hilarious bits about he and his buddy (especially his buddy) struggling through the hike.

    I haven't read anything else by him, but this reminds me that I should. So thanks for that! :)

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  12. Congrats on meeting your goals! And good luck with your driving lessons. I still remember taking my test when I was 16!

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