Tag Archives: Sharing

12.08.19
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Tag #91: “Cause I Love(r) Talking About Books – Taylor Swift’s Lover Book Tag”

Image Credit: Red Gal Musings

Here’s the link to Elizabeth’s post: Cause I Love(r) Talking About Books / Taylor Swift’s Lover Book Tag

alrighty, now to post the official rules for the tag. 

1. Link back to the original creator of the book tag

2. Thank the person that tagged you and link to their post. (who tagged me??? IDK! but i do know i saw Marie did this tag and that’s probably where i tagged myself)

3. TAG AS MANY SWIFTIES AS YOU WANT! (Or non-Swifties, maybe inspire them to listen to our Queen)

1. I FORGOT THAT YOU EXISTED: A BOOK THAT YOU WANT TO FORGET YOU EVER READ

Allegiant, Veronica Roth.

2. CRUEL SUMMER: A BOOK YOU TURN TO WHEN THINGS GETS ROUGH

Any of Nicholas Sparks’ earlier works.

3. LOVER : YOUR BOOK OTP

Katniss and Peeta.

4. THE MAN: YOUR FAVE KICK-ASS FEMALE PROTAGONIST

Tie between Hermione Granger and Katniss Everdeen.

5. THE ARCHER: A BOOK WITH GOOD MENTAL HEALTH REPRESENTATION

Mosquitoland, David Arnold. This is easily one of my favorite books of 2019.

6. I THINK HE KNOWS: YOUR FAVE FICTIONAL CRUSH

Michael Moscovitz.

7. MISS AMERICANA & THE HEARTBREAK PRINCE – FAVE ANGSTY ROMANCE

The Fault in Our Stars.

8. PAPER RINGS – BOOK WITH AN UGLY COVER THAT YOU ABSOLUTELY ADORED

Their Eyes Were Watching God. I was assigned to read it during my senior year of high school.

9. CORNELIA STREET – A BOOK OR SERIES YOU NEVER WANT(ED) TO END

Tie between Harry Potter and The Hunger Games.

10. DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS – A BOOK OR SERIES THAT DESERVED A BETTER ENDING

The Divergent trilogy.

11. LONDON BOY – YOUR FAVE BRITISH MALE PROTAGONIST

Karrion from Fallible Justice. I reviewed the book as an ARC, so I need to get my hands on a real copy at some point.

12. SOON YOU’LL GET BETTER – A BOOK THAT YOUR HEART WILL NEVER RECOVER FROM

The War That Saved My Life.

13. FALSE GOD – A CHARACTER YOU WOULD LEAP INTO THE BURNING PITS OF HELL TO SAVE

Alaska Young.

14. YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN – A BOOK WITH A POWERFUL MESSAGE

The Battle of Jericho.

15. AFTERGLOW – A BOOK YOU WANT TO GIVE A SECOND CHANCE

I eventually want to re-read Go Set A Watchman again.

16. ME! – BEST CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Margo Roth Spiegelman.

17. IT’S NICE TO HAVE A FRIEND – FAVE FRIENDS-TO-LOVERS STORY

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.

18. DAYLIGHT – IF YOU COULD ONLY READ ONE BOOK OR SERIES AGAIN AND AGAIN, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Harry Potter.

Tag – You’re It!

I’m tagging Kristian from Life Lessons Around The Dinner Table.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

12.04.19
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Commentary #101: Sesame Street 50th Anniversary Special

The minute the 50th Anniversary Special was announced, I marked my calendar for November.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the full special posted on the PBS website for a whole week, from November 17th through the 24th. I watched it twice! And I experienced so many emotions!

I really enjoyed the story. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was a great host! And so many former cast members were a part of it. The songs were my favorite part, especially the performance of “Sing” at the end.

I’m planning to get it on DVD when it is released.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

12.01.19
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Getting Personal #192: December Goals

Image Credit: Love This Pic

Hello, December! It’s the last month of 2019. Wow!!

Here are my goals for the month of December:

  1. Donate blood.
  2. Publish all outstanding Tag posts where I’ve been tagged.
  3. Make at least one thrift store run.
  4. Write at least two Book Reviews.
  5. Clear more clutter.
  6. Work in my office for an hour each weekend.
  7. Clean out the cabinet above the oven.
  8. Sponsor Christmas gifts for two local children.
  9. Start my spreadsheet for cataloging all my American Girl items to sell.
  10. Celebrate Phineas and Ferb’s Gotcha Day!
  11. Enjoy Al’s company holiday party.
  12. Participate in my P.E.O. chapter’s gift wrapping fundraiser.
  13. Enjoy Christmas!
  14. Enjoy New Year’s!

What about you? Do you have any goals for the month of December?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

11.30.19
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Getting Personal #191: November Goals Recap

Image Credit: Twitter

November was quite a busy month!

Here’s the link to my November Goals post: Getting Personal #189: November Goals.

  1. Celebrate Lane’s milestone birthday. — Accomplished!
  2. Participate in the P.E.O. Reciprocity Rally in Richmond. — Accomplished!
  3. Celebrate four years of marriage with Al! — Accomplished!
  4. Participate in NaNoWriMo 2019. — Accomplished!
  5. Publish all outstanding Tag posts where I’ve been tagged. — Did not accomplish.
  6. Make at least one thrift store run. — Did not accomplish.
  7. Explore The Great Exchange. — Accomplished!
  8. Celebrate multiple birthdays! — Accomplished!
  9. Enjoy Thanksgiving! — Accomplished!
  10. See A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. — Accomplished!
  11. Write at least two Book Reviews. — Did not accomplish.
  12. Clear more clutter. — Did not accomplish.
  13. Work in my office for an hour each weekend. — Did not accomplish.
  14. Clean out the cabinet above the oven. — Did not accomplish.

November was a really busy month! Look for a blog post next week about my NaNoWriMo 2019 experience.

The first weekend of November was Lane’s epic 30th birthday celebration! On Friday night, we did an awesome escape room called “The Kidnapping” at Breakout Games in Virginia Beach.

Then, we went to the Airbnb she’d found, it was close to the Chesapeake Bay. It was an adorable house. We had a blast. Everyone brought food, and we all got to know each other better. There was also a small Spice Girls sing-along.

On Saturday morning, the fabulous make-up artist, Sydney, arrived. Several of us had our hair and makeup done. We left the Airbnb and headed to Windsor Castle Park in Smithfield. We couldn’t have asked for a prettier day!

Image Credit: Nick Boris
Image Credit: Nick Boris
Image Credit: Nick Boris

The following weekend was the Reciprocity Rally, held at the Henrico County Public Library – Varina, outside of Richmond. There were 75 women in the conference / meeting room, along with delicious fall goodies. After the rally, where we learned about leadership styles and ideas for membership, members of the 2022 Convention Committee gathered. It will be held at the Renaissance Hotel in Portsmouth! I’m so excited that it’s so close to my house! We had a great carpool group, too.

Our wedding anniversary was November 14th. We went to work, and then celebrated at Decoys Seafood. This is the “hat trick” of restaurants that are owned by the same people. We went to River Stone Chophouse in 2017, and Vintage Tavern in 2018. We had a wonderful meal. I also recognized our server, Alexander, who was in youth group with me years ago. He went out of his way to make our night special – He gave us a moscato toast, and vanilla bean ice cream for dessert. We had enough food left over to have dinner taken care of on Friday! We both blame the crab dip – Excellent, but it also filled us up.

There were multiple birthdays as well. Lane, Bruce, Kristian, Grandpa Stricker, and Nick!

I finished one book this month: Book Review #81: “More Than Enough: Claiming Space For Who You Are (No Matter What They Say)”

I took my mom to see A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood on Tuesday, November 26th. She had seen it once before, but knew she’d missed stuff. It’s definitely one of my favorite movies of the year. Tom Hanks did an excellent job. And the story was really good. I’m looking forward to seeing it again.

Bruce, Al, and I also went to see Midway the Friday before Thanksgiving. It was also well-done. Al’s grandpa served on the USS Yorktown during the battle.

Now that November is over, I plan to dedicate the month of December to de-cluttering and organizing. I’m tired of the state of my office, and I’m on a deadline to get it clean now. I have until February to get it ship-shape, since my P.E.O. chapter is coming to my house to learn about American Girl!

Did you have any goals for the month of November?

Come back tomorrow to see my December Goals!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

11.13.19
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Book Review #81: “More Than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are (No Matter What They Say)”

Image Credit: Amazon

I put this book on my Amazon wish list a few months ago, and then Al bought it for me for my birthday!

Little did I know how much I needed this book in my life when I started reading it.

I took my time with this book. Elaine is a good writer, but I found myself digesting one, maybe two chapters at a time.

This book is aimed at women of color, but it certainly applied to me. I’m glad I read it when I did. Having started my new job in September, I had a lot of anxiety and emotions, and more than one crisis of confidence. This book lifted me out of that negativity.

I hadn’t heard of Elaine when I started the book, but I felt like I knew her when I was done. She was so candid and honest about her early life, growing up as a biracial child, her dad’s struggles with alcohol, and wanting to work at Essence and Ebony.

Watching her navigate the painful eras of the recession and the move toward digital publishing was eye-opening, too. As someone who dreamed of living in New York and being a journalist for years, I felt like this book was put in my life for more than one reason. Elaine showed me how life in New York and working for some of the most famous magazines on this Earth really was – It’s certainly no picnic.

It’s not my favorite memoir, but I’m glad I took a chance on it. I appreciated the inspiring quotes at the end of every chapter as well. She’s a gifted writer, and there’s something in this book for everyone.

I’m grateful to Al for buying this for me!

4 out of 5 stars.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

11.07.19
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Hot Topic #28: Foster Care and Opioids

Research published in July 2019 indicates that the number of children entering the foster care system has more than doubled since 2000.

Other reasons for removal, including neglect and abuse, declined.

Coincidentally, Sesame Street introduced a new Muppet around the same time. Karli is staying with her “for-now” family while her mom is away getting better. The Sesame Street initiative focuses on addiction as a whole, but makes the connection to foster care. Karli’s mom is getting help for alcohol addiction.

Resources

More Kids Are Getting Placed in Foster Care Because of Parents’ Drug Use, NPR, July 15, 2019

At This Camp, Children of Opioid Addicts Learn to Cope and Laugh, NPR, October 9, 2019

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

11.06.19
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Commentary #100: “What Mum Taught Me” – Boundaries

Image Credit: Psych Central

This post originated from a friend’s Facebook post. I found it on Thursday, October 24, 2019. A. saw it and felt compelled to share.

It was originally shared on Facebook by Leslie Gaar, Writer on October 10, 2018.

The photos / screenshots come from Erynn Brook’s Twitter account. I encourage everyone to read it in its entirety.

I read Erynn’s story. And re-read it. And I’ve been coming back to it nearly every day since stumbling upon it on October 24th.

One thing is for sure: Boundaries are hard. Setting boundaries is even harder. But, at 31, I feel much more at peace with myself because of the boundaries I have set for myself. Many of them are unspoken, for me and myself only, but there are others that I make known, loud and clear.

Why? Unlike Erynn’s awesome mom, I was taught to stick it out. To not quit. To not leave. To not ruin anything.

And I’m now realizing how damaging that is.

I understand why, in a way – My parents are of a different generation. Overall, I think they did a good job of raising me. I know, as an only child and born severely premature, they sheltered me and protected me fiercely.

But, I don’t want to raise my future child or children like my parents did. I want to do some things differently.

Like Erynn’s mom, I want my child or children to have choices, to feel like it’s normal to come to Al or me with anything at any time, to not feel like they are bothering us, to express their discomfort openly. And Al and I both agree that if our child or children call or text at any time, asking to come home, we will come immediately, no questions asked.

Two of my family members have this rule with their daughter – Call us at any time, and we will come get you. There won’t be any questions when we pick you up. There may be questions in the morning / after whatever happened, but there won’t be any questions from us at the time we come get you.

What do you think about this? Let me know in the comments.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

11.03.19
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Tag #90: The NaNoWriMo Tag

Image Credit: The NaNoWriMo Blog

Here’s the link to the original post: NaNoWriMo 2019 and The NaNoWriMo Tag

1. How many times have you participated in NaNoWriMo? How many times have you won?

This will be my ninth NaNoWriMo. I have participated in five NaNoWriMo sessions in November (2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, and 2019). I have also participated in four Camp NaNoWriMo sessions (Twice in 2018 and twice in 2019).

2. Are you a pantser or a plotter?

Historically, I have been a pantser. This year, I started plotting the beginning of the novel.

3. What are the titles of the projects that you have attempted/completed for past NaNos?

2012: Experiences From Camp

2013: Specialton

2014: Discussion of Differences

Camp NaNoWriMo, April 2018: Continued draft of Experiences From Camp

Camp NaNoWriMo, July 2018: Continued draft of Experiences From Camp

2018: Tunnel Vision

Camp NaNoWriMo, April 2019: Continued draft of Specialton

Camp NaNoWriMo, July 2019: Continued draft of Discussion of Differences

2019: The Transformation House

4. What are you working on for NaNo this year?

I am writing a new novel about a woman, Angela Diaz, who decides to purchase a mansion, fix it up, and create a home for transgender people in the Midwest.

5. What is one tip that you’d give to someone else that is participating in NaNo?

I agree with what All Things Momma said: “Do not have any zero days. Even if you write only one sentence that day, that is so much better than having a big fat zero on your NaNo chart. Any progress forward is better than none.”

6. What was the inspiration for this novel? Do you remember when the inspiration hit you?

I listen to the StoryCorps podcast. In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, they created a podcast series, and an initiative called “Stonewall Out Loud.” One of the episodes discussed a home for transgender people in Little Rock, Arkansas (“We’re Still Here”). I wanted to write a story that encompasses a modern version of this effort.

7. Read us the first sentence from your NaNo novel last year?

“No, no, no! Damn it!” Nicole smacked her hands against the steering wheel.

8. What do you plan to do with your manuscript after NaNo?

Like all my other novels, I will let this draft rest for a while. I might pick it up again during Camp NaNoWriMo, April 2020. It depends on how much progress I make this month.

9. Are you prepared for NaNo? Are you nervous?

I always get a little nervous. But, I’m ready to dive in.

Will you be participating in NaNoWriMo this November?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

11.01.19
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Getting Personal #189: November Goals

Image Credit: We Heart It

It’s November! This is a big month of celebrations!

Here are my goals for the month of November:

  1. Celebrate Lane’s milestone birthday.
  2. Participate in the P.E.O. Reciprocity Rally in Richmond.
  3. Celebrate four years of marriage with Al!
  4. Participate in NaNoWriMo 2019.
  5. Publish all outstanding Tag posts where I’ve been tagged.
  6. Make at least one thrift store run.
  7. Explore The Great Exchange.
  8. Celebrate multiple birthdays!
  9. Enjoy Thanksgiving!
  10. See It’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.
  11. Write at least two Book Reviews.
  12. Clear more clutter.
  13. Work in my office for an hour each weekend.
  14. Clean out the cabinet above the oven.

What about you? Do you have any goals for the month of November?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

10.31.19
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Getting Personal #188: October Goals Recap

Image Credit: Ace of Gray

Welcome back!

Here’s the link to my October Goals post:

Getting Personal #184: October Goals

  1. Continue my fun Writing Prompt series, publishing one every Friday in October. — Accomplished!
  2. Celebrate multiple birthdays! — Accomplished!
  3. Volunteer at the blood drive. — Accomplished!
  4. Publish all outstanding Tag posts where I’ve been tagged. — Did not accomplish.
  5. Participate in decorating duffel bags for local children in foster care. — Accomplished!
  6. Celebrate my church’s 50th Anniversary. — Accomplished!
  7. Make at least one thrift store run. — Did not accomplish.
  8. Prep for NaNoWriMo 2019. — Accomplished!
  9. Celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Ghostbusters. — Accomplished!
  10. Send cards to several friends. — Did not accomplish.
  11. Research area rugs for the living room. — Did not accomplish.
  12. Try some new recipes. — Accomplished!
  13. Test-bake the cookies for the upcoming Cookie Exchange with my P.E.O. chapter. — Did not accomplish.
  14. Read every night before bed. — Semi-Achieved.
  15. Enjoy Halloween! — Accomplished!

October was a jam-packed month! I was able to volunteer at the blood drive, and I was also able to give a pint! Turns out that my Power Red donation in August was only counted as one unit because of some complications I experienced. So, I was eligible to donate in October, rather than having to wait until December to give again. I learned this week that my pint of blood went to the University of Virginia (UVA) Medical Center in Charlottesville.

I’m very excited to kick off NaNoWriMo 2019! I’m writing something new, and it’s something out of my comfort zone. Stay tuned!

We celebrated my mom’s birthday during the first weekend of October. Then, Nick and Savy’s anniversary and Mia’s birthday in the middle of the month! We also went to a fun Spooky Brunch during the weekend of the 12th, where we ate amazing food, watched The Nightmare Before Christmas and Beetlejuice, and enjoyed each other’s company.

The church’s 50th Anniversary was incredible. More than two years of work by many people came together in a wonderful weekend. The combined service on Sunday was packed – It was easily 500 people. We had several former pastors attend. All the musical groups performed together – Children’s choir, chancel choir, handbell choir. The catered lunch afterwards was delicious as well.

The significant new recipe I tried was Greek Chicken Bowls. Delicious! And it fed us for lunch for a week!

Did you have any goals for the month of October?

Come back tomorrow to see my November Goals!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂