Learning

Mister Ed Isn’t Available To Answer My Question, So I’ll Ask You

/ Ally Bean / 19 Comments

Yesterday afternoon I was driving home at about 25 mph through our subdivision when coming at me on the other side of the street were three people on three horses. Gorgeous horses. Big horses. Very calm.

Just walking along.  *clip-clop, clip-clop* 

Not knowing what to do when driving past horses on my suburban street, I slowed down to about 10 mph.  The people on the horses nodded, waved, but did not smile, as we passed each other.

Ever self-aware, I realized that I may have done something wrong.

So here is my question: when driving through city streets am I supposed to treat horses as cars and just drive on by;  OR am I supposed to slow down [stop?] when I see them?

Anyone got an answer?  I sure don’t.  This is all new to me.

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QOTD: What’s On Your Superpowers List?

/ Ally Bean / 21 Comments

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Remember back a few weeks ago when I was reading Darcy Eikenberg’s Bring Your Superpowers To Work and how it bugged me that I couldn’t figure out what my superpowers were?  

I mean, I’ve always been told that it’s more important to know WHO you are than to know WHERE you’re going.  Yet there I was on a bleak February day not knowing myself OR my path.   

So I decided to dig in and determine what superpowers I had.  Then I created this list.  Perhaps it’s a bit lighter in tone than what Darcy has in mind, but it is who I am.  Which I do believe is the whole point of this exercise.

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I am…

  • able to confirm that the color you painted your walls is not the right color.
  • able to laugh, more often than not, at the absurdities of life.
  • able to say thank you so many times in a day that it may sound insincere, but it’s not.
  • able to bring ideas and experiences together in novel ways.
  • able to determine within minutes of meeting someone if said person is a problem solver or a problem keeper.
  • able to sit on the curb and clap enthusiastically as the parade goes by.
  • able to find a way to avoid ironing anything, preferring to delegate that task to anyone with the patience necessary to get rid of wrinkles.
  • able to remember minutiae/information that doesn’t matter any more.
  • able to remember to write down minutiae/information that matters now, often remembering where said minutiae/information is after being written down.
  • able to pick myself up, brush myself off, curse about life’s inequities– and then start all over again.

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Now, I’ve shared my list. What about you, gentle readers? What are your superpowers? I’d love to know.

Words Are The Best, Aren’t They?

/ Ally Bean / 25 Comments

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  ~ John 1:1, The Bible (KJV)

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This morning is the first one since we changed our clocks that I’ve gotten up at 6:00 a.m. without a struggle.  Feeling more springy, I am, I am.  That would be the good news.

On the other hand, even though I’m sitting here typing my heart out at my usual writing time, my mind is a complete blank when it comes to tales to tell.  That would be the bad news.

So I thought that instead of a story I’d share with you three items that I discovered while surfing the ‘net.  We’re all wordy people here, so I’m sure that you’ll get a kick out of the following fast and fun links.

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1.  HERE is a “List Challenge” which is fast, fun and has cool sounds when you click on the books.

“The BBC believes that most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books below. How many have you read?”

Screen Shot 2014-03-18 at 6.53.34 AM

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2.  HERE is the “Are You a True Fashionista?” quiz which is fast, fun and more difficult than you might imagine.

“Test your style smarts by seeing how many fashion terms you know.”

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3.  HERE is “Grammar Madness” on Twitter which looks like it will be fast, fun and worth watching throughout the rest of March.

This is the “battle to determine the most MADDENING writing error.”

Screen Shot 2014-03-18 at 6.42.10 AM# # #

A Book Chat [Sort Of] About The Three Books That I’m Reading [Kind Of] This Month

/ Ally Bean / 12 Comments

[This month I’ve read three books.  Well, to be more accurate– I’ve been browsing through, glancing at, skimming across three books.  Because these books are not my usual fare of novels, histories, memoirs, I didn’t feel like I needed to read them in a linear way.  Kind of fun to read like this, btw.]

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•  For Christmas I received a copy of Giada’s Feel Good Food by Giada De Laurentiis.  The book is mostly a cookbook with a few pages of personal details every so often.  Over the weekend I sat down to read the personal parts of the book and found this quote on page 198: “I have curly hair, so I always brush it in the shower.”

This makes no sense to me.  I’ve always been told to never brush my curly hair when it is wet.  Yet here is Little Miss Accomplished & Gorgeous telling me to do this.

I’m confused.  More than normal, that is.  Why is she doing this?

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•  A business acquaintance gave me a signed copy of Bring Your Superpowers To Work by Darcy Eikenberg, ACC.  As some of you know, I have a love/hate relationship with self-help books.  A few of them I’ve found to be useful, but most of them I find to be stating the obvious, poorly written and ultimately defeatist.

That being said, I love this book.  Darcy is a life coach who knows how to write and provides practical ideas about how to become a better version of yourself.  My favorite witticism of hers is on page 51: “affirm the squirm.”  Meaning that if you’re intellectually uncomfortable with a new healthy behavior, then you’re growing a superpower & going in the right direction for you.

I’m still working on my Superpowers List;  but when I complete it, I’ll be epic.

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  •  I’d forgotten all about Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg until I found a copy of it when I was reorganizing our home office after the new desk arrived.  I decided that reading bits & pieces of this book, in no particular order, would be a great way for me to jumpstart my writing career.

To wit, the piece that I’m currently enamored of is on page 119 where she talks about making writing sweet:  “… always associate learning with sweetness.  It should be the same with writing.  Right from the beginning, know that it is good and pleasant.  Don’t battle with it.  Make it your friend. “

Isn’t this a lovely thought?  Who doesn’t need more friends?

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