Welcoming another Blogger convert to WordPress! Hope you enjoy your new blog home Regina! 😀
 Today I had the lovely pleasure
of sipping some coffee and discussing the how-to’s
of blogging with a few friends
at this rockin coffee shop,
Weatherstone, Old Soul.
I am here to announce that I am abandoning
my Blogspot blog and am now
moving my sweet little blog to WordPress!
The adventure continues!
Today was the inaugural meeting of the Sac Girls’ Blogging Club. Â My apologies to any other club with the same name, we did not steal it from you and chances are we’d love to join forces with you if you really exist.
When people in my real life discovered that I had a blog, I started to get a lot of questions about how things work. Â I also discovered the blogs of some other pretty cool people that I already knew beyond the computer screen. Â Brainstorming with a friend about blogs, the idea dawned on us– we need to start a nerdy girls’ blogging club!
So, today, three of us met at Old Soul in Sac and talked WordPress vs. Blogger, WordPress navigation, site monetization, and guest blogging. Â One of us is now even a WordPress convert, but we’ll wait until her style changes are ready to unveil her new WordPress home. Â We also chatted about teaching, reading, summer plans, exactly the social vision that I imagined for such a club.
Now, we have the goal to make our little club a weekly occurrence. Â Even if it only ends up happening a couple times a month, I’m excited. Â It’s nice to connect in real life with the faces behind the stories we read online. Â If you’re a chick in the Sacramento area and feel like joining us, let us know! Â Sorry men, it’s not that we don’t like you, it’s just that we feel safer connecting with women in person, (and, besides, you’re probably not interested in all of our chatter anyway!).
Happy blogging!
Girl Bloggers Unite! 😀
A friend just started blogging and is learning the ropes. I found this deeply touching and thought you may too!
A friend once mentioned how vulnerable she felt when blogging. I see why she feels that way. It’s nice to be able to write down your thoughts and feelings, but when they are your deepest thoughts, about things that others may or may not know and understand it makes it difficult to really go there… if you know what I’m saying. Well, I’m about to go there.
I thought about you today. Actually, I’ve thought about you a lot in the past few months. I’m not sure why now and not before…….I wish I knew. Everyone has that one song that reminds them of people who are special to them, and I have that one artist that reminds me of you. You were obsessed with her. All you did was talk about how much you loved her and if you had the chance you would make her a happy woman…
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Four more days of school, then seven weeks of glorious summer.
If I haven’t made myself annoyingly clear, I’m an anticipation junkie. Â Half the thrill for me is envisioning the future. Â Life moves so quickly. Â The real thing is over before you know it, but if you look forward to it first, it lasts longer.
At least, that’s what I tell myself.
So, in an effort to stretch out my summer before it even starts, here is what I’m looking forward to most:
1. Road trip to Olympia with my teacher lady friends! (Hello Portland, dirty bars, roller derby, beautiful coastline, our special version of Flat Stanley, and a raucous good time… Sometimes I wonder if people really know what elementary school teachers are like in their off hours… I didn’t!)
The fourth/fifth grade team dressed up like Viola Swamp to scare the children, told you we’re fun 😉
2. Â Kauai. Â Think the complete opposite of above road trip. Â Peace, quiet, sunshine, beach.
See, I already have the crucial supplies ready!
3. Â Mt. Shasta, CA. Â Time with my mom, sitting under the pines, swimming in the lake, snacks at the Goat Tavern, hot springs soaking in Ashland, OR.
See Mom, I am excited to come visit you!
4. Â WRITING. Â As much as I’m excited for all of the trips above, I might be even more excited for the time to write. Â I’m ready to do my final polishing of my book (AGAIN) and submit to 31 agents in 31 days in July. Â WOOT.
Only a little more work left before I can submit! No thanks to Simon…
5. Â General summerness. Â Time with my dog, husband, family, friends. Â Impromptu road trips to Napa for yummy Ad Hoc lunch, San Francisco Giants games, the Pelican Inn and Muir Beach. Â Days spent floating in my dad’s pool, lazing about at teacher pool parties, thrifting, reading and sleeping.
More time with these guys!
Okay, just one more, because he’s so stinkin’ cute. Â Clearly, I’m obsessed. Â Watch out when I have kids…
See, now I’m excited, and summer hasn’t even officially started. Â Thank you anticipation, I don’t care what people say about the present, you’re pretty cool too.
Last night, I went to Woodstock’s Pizza in Davis with my husband and a friend. I never realized how many memories I have connected to this place. Late night post-party pizza trips with beloved friends, pizza deliveries to the dorms in order to avoid the dreaded DC, infamous stories of fake IDs confiscated in the pursuit of alcohol… Apparently, Woodstock’s Pizza was much more memorable than I ever realized back in college.
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| As Alex and Ryan talked about the present, I remembered everything I loved about Davis! |
Alright, I know that I’ve shared these fabulous entrepreneurs on Facebook, but I am all about giving love to the entrepreneurs in my life. Growing up the daughter of one of the world’s great entrepreneurs, (as well as the sister to a girl that once sold rocks in our front yard and will likely be another great), I have always deeply admired people that take risks to create financial independence.
Heck, I have even tried unsuccessfully myself, (wedding videography/documentary maker anyone?!), so I definitely know the spirit when I see it and strive to continue chasing it through my writing. Soon enough, I will also be married to an entrepreneur again, as Alex is imminently headed back to real estate. Which reminds me, does anyone want to buy or sell a house? Oh, wait, that’s a different post!
Back to the point, it seems like I am surrounded by inspiring entrepreneurs. Here are a few recent inspirations in my life, thank you ladies for reminding me to be brave and take risks!
1. Shaka Soaps
My husband’s cousin recently launched her own home business making all-natural soaps and spa products in Hawaii. Not only are the ingredients wonderful, but the products are stylish. Jessica followed her heart to take the risk to move her family to Hawaii and has not looked back. I admire the guts! Her home business is experiencing great success, including the use of her products by celebrities. Doesn’t get much better than that!
2. Tanya Leigh
My dear friend Tanya is blessed with the courage to pursue her creative endeavors. She has sold gorgeous wedding veils, fabulous dresses, and handsome silk neck ties. As a design major at UC Davis, she kept us all on our toes in her various fashion shows, (excuse the rhyming!). Currently, she blogs for Style Bistro and does amazing freelance fashion illustrations. I truly cannot wait to see what she does next!
I deeply admire and am inspired by the creative people in my life. Looking through a friend’s fashion illustrations this evening, I was struck by the same old message from the universe that hard work fuels success, not luck. I know that my friend will be wildly successful, not because she is lucky, but because she is talented, works hard, and does not give up. Check out her work on Pinterest or at her blog, Drawn to Style.
Thanks for the inspiration, Tanya!
Trying to write a book is zapping my energy to blog.
That aside, there are a couple of things that I want to celebrate.
First, I recently noticed that a handful of my students still do not have warm winter jackets. This was very saddening to me, (even more so than all of the challenging life stories that I hear everyday, funny where the line is for each of us). I shared my frustration with friends and family and received a huge response from people willing to help me find jackets for my students. My dad even went to Target at 10:00 at night just to buy a jacket for one of my students, (and showed up the very next morning to deliver it!). As much as I was saddened to think of my students cold, I was really inspired by how many people in my life care enough to change this.
Second, I worked 52 hours last week! This is a celebration because I had been working 60! I am cutting myself off at 5PM, (7AM to 5PM), and forcing myself to spend only a couple of hours planning on the weekend. It feels better, even if there may at times be a mess on my desk. My goal is to keep this new trend up. Eventually I want to join the 4:30 club, but I’m not there yet. And, yes, there really is a 4:30 club among some of the teachers at my school! But, that’s a good thing. I’m feeling like the quality of my teaching is going up with the decrease in quantity of work, as I’m more patient and mentally prepared to deal with everything that comes my way.
oliviaobryon 