a year of Wooden: week 15

Posted on April 14, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Hi, everyone! Monday means it’s time for this week’s year of Wooden challenge!

January: Drink deeply from good books.
February: Make friendship a fine art.
March: Help others.
April: Build a shelter against a rainy day.

This metaphorical shelter includes family, friends, good work, faith — but, since we will focus on these elements in other months, right now we are focusing on the financial interpretation.

Last week, the challenge was to keep track of where you spend your money — even small amounts. Not counting staple items like groceries and drugstore purchases, I tend to spend my discretionary money at Starbucks, bookstores, the movie theater, and going out to lunch at places like Panera.

This week, the challenge is to take just ONE of your weekly discretionary purchases and drop the money into your spare-change jar instead. For example, maybe I’ll swap one of my Starbucks chai lattes for a mug of home-brewed green tea on my own back porch. Or instead of meeting up with a friend for lunch at a restaurant, maybe we can meet up for something free like a walk outside in this beautiful weather.

Having a savings safety net is so important, and these little actions can really add up! I’m inspired by these words from Coach Wooden:

Questions of the day:

Where do you tend to spend your discretionary money?
What small change are you going to make this week to drop a little extra money into your spare change jar?
Have you ever had the experience of not taking the time to do something right the first time, and having to go back and do it over?

goals + recipes for the week of 4/13

Posted on April 13, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Hi friends! Hope you’re enjoying a lovely weekend! Yesterday I was busy teaching all day — I taught four classes as part of my new job working for Communication Academy. I was pretty tired last night, but I had so much fun working with such exuberant, energetic kids!

Today was a relaxing yet productive day. I opted to sleep in and go to the later church service, because sometimes you just need to hit snooze! Today’s sermon was so inspiring: all about redefining “failure” and life’s disappointments as a step forward and getting up to try again. It was a great reminder of the importance of perseverance and faith.

After visiting with some friends at post-church coffee hour, I headed over to one of my favorite local coffee shops for some lunch, a chai latte, and a work sesh! Something about working in a crowded, noisy cafe does wonders for my productivity. Is it like that for anyone else?

Speaking of productivity… Sunday means it’s time for goals!

Here’s how I did on my goals from this past week:
– ~~write 12 pages~~
– ~~read 100 pages of The Kitchen God’s Wife~~
– ~~go to two yoga classes~~
– ~~prepare for my new teaching gig~~
– ~~connect with three friends~~

And here are my goals for this upcoming week:
– write 12 pages
– prepare for teaching & tutoring this week
– send out three query letters
– read up to page 250 of The Kitchen God’s Wife
– go to two yoga classes
– connect with three friends

And here are some recipes I’m drooling over this week:
– spicy seedy power crackers via Robyn @the real-life rd
– grapefruit arugula salad via Sarah @The Pajama Chef
– peanut butter & raisin muffins via Danica @It’s Progression
– healthified fettuccine alfredo via Money-Saving Mom
– healthy dark chocolate pudding via Two Peas & Their Pod

Questions of the day:

What was a highlight of your weekend?
What are your goals for this upcoming week?
What recipes are you drooling over lately?

fabulous friday #18

Posted on April 11, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

It’s Friiiiiiidaaaayyy!! Hope you’re having a great one!

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. My new part-time job teaching writing and public speaking classes for middle school kids! I taught my first classes on Wednesday afternoon and had an absolute blast. I feel so lucky to be able to spend time teaching and building confidence in these amazing young people! I’m already getting excited to teach my seventh annual Write On! Summer Writing Camp this July.

2. The informal “book club” that my mom and I have started. A couple years ago, my mom made it her New Year’s Resolution to read more, and she started reading every day at work during her lunch break. Now she reads dozens of novels a year and she always recommends the best books to me! I love reading and talking about books with her. It’s a great way to stay close and connected even though we live far away.

One of my favorites of the books she’s recommended is Me Before You by JoJo Moyes. This is a tear-jerker {you’ve been warned! grab the tissues!} It is such a beautiful, well-written story — and extremely hard to put down, especially once you get to know the characters! Mom recommended it to me and once I finished it I passed the book along to my Aunt Annie, who said she was reading it at her hair appointment and two other women came up to her and raved about how much they loved it. When Annie finished it she gave it to my grandma, who just finished it last night, so now she and I have been talking about it too. I think it’s safe to say that we would all highly recommend this book!

3. My cousin Arianna rocked her drama performance last night! I am so proud of her. She absolutely *shines* onstage! Here is a video I took of her singing “Seasons of Love” for the show’s finale.

4. Speaking of great singers: Sara Bareilles’ new single “I Choose You” has been bopping around on the radio {and in my head!} all week. Oh my goodness, you guys, I can’t get enough of this song! It’s so catchy. Love her.

5. Baseball season! I had such a great time at the A’s game last weekend with Allyn & his family. Sunshine + hot dog + A’s win = happiness!

Now I’m off to tackle my to-do list before the weekend! Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Questions of the morning:

What are you loving right now?
What are your plans for this weekend?
Have you read any good books lately?

a year of Wooden: week 14

Posted on April 9, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Hi, friends! It’s time for this week’s year of Wooden challenge!

For this month of April, we’re going to be focusing on Coach Wooden’s creed to “build a shelter for a rainy day.” This metaphorical shelter includes family, friends, good work, faith — but, since we will focus on these elements in other months, right now we are focusing on the financial interpretation. In other words: save now to weave a safety net!

January: Drink deeply from good books.
February: Make friendship a fine art.
March: Help others.
April: Build a shelter against a rainy day.

Last week, the challenge was to create a “spare change jar.” Instead of pocketing spare change to spend somewhere else, drop it into the jar. This week I ended up with $3.49. I’m planning to continue this spare change jar throughout the year!

This week’s challenge is to keep track of where you spend your money — even small amounts, like that Starbucks pick-me-up or the impulse drugstore purchase. For the next three days {or the entire week, if you’d like} make note of every penny that leaves your pocket. We’ll work with the results in next week’s challenge!

Questions of the day:

Have you ever kept a strict budget before?
What are the “little details” that have made a big difference in your life?

guest post at Parent Grapevine

Posted on April 7, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Hi, friends! Happy Monday! I’ll be back tomorrow with this week’s year of Wooden post, but for today I wanted to let you know about a guest post I wrote for the terrific blog Parent Grapevine:

Help Your Child Become a Better Writer: 3 Easy, Fun Prompts to Try!

I’ve been a writing teacher for the past eight years, working with a range of ages: kindergarten through senior citizens. I’ve led writing workshops for public schools, private schools, home-schooling groups, community centers, and more! I also taught undergraduate writing courses at Purdue University for three years.

When I talk to parents and teachers, two questions come up again and again:
1. How can we make writing FUN for kids and teenagers?
2. How can we help our kids become better writers?

The answers to these two questions are tied together: like anything, people become better writers with practice. The best way to help your child become a better writer is to encourage him or her to write, write, write! Well, how do you do that? By making writing a fun activity.

Head on over to Parent Grapevine to read the rest of my post, including three popular writing prompts I use often in my work with young writers.

Hope you’re having a marvelous Monday!

goals + recipes for the week of 4/6

Posted on April 6, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Hi everyone! How is your weekend going? Mine has been lovely so far! Bianca came over and we baked some delicious pumpkin spice muffins. I got caught up on one of my fave TV shows, Nashville {thanks, Hulu!} Yesterday I went to morning yoga class and a women’s self-defense class. And I got to see my dear friend Michelle after she’s been out of town for three weeks! It was SO great to reunite with her.

As soon as I hit “publish” on this post, I’m heading off to morning church service, and then I’m going to the Oakland A’s game with Allyn and his family. It will be my first baseball game in forever and I’m really excited!

Before I head off for the day, it’s goals time…

Here’s how I did on my goals from this past week:
– ~~write 12 pages~~
– ~~send out newsletter~~ {subscribe for *free* here if you want}
– ~~go to two yoga classes~~
– ~~prepare for my Steinbeck Fellowship reading~~ {such an amazing night!}
– ~~connect with three friends~~
– ~~have a wonderful time with my mama in town!~~ 🙂

And here are my goals for this upcoming week:
– write 12 pages
– read 100 pages of The Kitchen God’s Wife
– go to two yoga classes
– prepare for my new teaching gig
– connect with three friends

And here are some recipes I’m drooling over this week:
– cheesy mexican chicken skillet via Lindsay @The Lean Green Bean {guest-posting @Nut Butter Runner}
– oatmeal fudge bars via Sarah @The Pajama Chef
– homemade pizza using this crust recipe via Danica @It’s Progression
– edamame & black bean salad via Julie @PB Fingers
– dark chocolate + pistachio + sea-salt cookies via Two Peas & Their Pod

Questions of the morning:

How has your weekend been so far?
What are your goals for this upcoming week?
What recipes are you drooling over lately?

asbestos awareness week

Posted on April 5, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

A few weeks ago, I was approached by the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance about their national awareness campaign. I learned that every year around 3,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma, a deadly cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. On average, they are given 10 months to live. That’s a mere 300 days. And yet, according to the MCA, asbestos is “still widely used in the U.S. It affects our water, air, and soil quality, as it does not break down or biodegrade.” The MCA works to spread awareness because mesothelioma is caused by asbestos exposure, so knowing more about asbestos and its risk factors can make a huge difference in preventing this cancer.

April 1-7 is Asbestos Awareness Week, so I wanted to share some facts that I was given by the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance:

Scary stuff! This definitely has motivated me to investigate my own surroundings and products to make sure that asbestos is not present.

I was also touched by this inspiring blog post on the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Blog about Sara Gapasin, the Advocate of the Month for April:

http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/warrior/advocate-of-the-month-april-2014.htm

You can learn more about mesothelioma and asbestos at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance website:

fabulous friday #17

Posted on April 4, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Happy TGIF, friends! I hope you have fun plans in store for this spring weekend!

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. My incredibly supportive, thoughtful and generous friends and family. I’m still on Cloud Nine after my Steinbeck Fellows reading on Wednesday night! My mom and grandparents came, as did Dana and her sweet mom Lynn, and Allyn took time out of his busy schedule to be there.

2. My dad. Yeah, he gets his own number 🙂 Some of you might remember when I had my first Steinbeck Fellows reading back in December, and he drove up with me after Thanksgiving to be there {and we also went to a wonderful talk by documentary filmmaker Ken Burns the next night!} Well, the arrangement was that he would stay home this time to take care of Mr. Mur-dog, while my mom came to the reading to support me.

Looking back now, I probably should have expected him to do what he did. Here are two facts about my dad: 1) He loves surprises; and 2) He has never missed a single performance or big event of mine, not even back in second grade when I was the lead in our class play and he came to ALL four performances even though it meant he had to miss a big event for work.

So there I was on Wednesday night, chatting with people at the dinner in the Steinbeck Center before the reading, when I felt two familiar hands over my eyes… I turned, not able to believe it. My dad! That was one of the best hugs of my life.

My dad drove 5+ hours to surprise me and be there for my reading! And then after the reading he turned back around and drove the 5+ hours home so Mr. Mur-dog wouldn’t be left alone overnight. He said simply, “You know I couldn’t have missed your big night!” It was such an incredible surprise — a memory I will always look back on and cherish. I love you, Daddy!

3. These beautiful flowers that Dana and her mom gave me. They are brightening up the kitchen, making me smile every time I walk by!

4. This video made me cry in a good way: http://www.upworthy.com/a-pregnant-woman-learns-her-baby-has-down-syndrome-people-who-have-it-answer-her-one-big-question-2

5. And this new Ingrid Michaelson song always makes me smile & dance in the car: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsvKT8vsgF4

Today is shaping up to be a “taking care of business” workday, which will balance out the all-play-and-hardly-any-work plans I have for the weekend. Looking forward to spending time with friends, putting in quality time on my yoga mat, and soaking up some sunshine at the A’s game on Sunday!

Questions of the morning:

What are you loving right now?
What are your plans for the weekend?

a year of Wooden: week 13

Posted on April 4, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Hi, everyone! Apologies for my extreme delay with this year of Wooden post… this week has flown by incredibly fast. My mom was in town, I had two job interviews, and last night was my final reading as part of my Steinbeck Fellowship. {More about that in tomorrow’s fabulous friday post!}

Now that we’re into April, we’re going to be focusing on a new topic for this year of learning from Coach Wooden’s philosophies and teachings.

January: Drink deeply from good books.
February: Make friendship a fine art.
March: Help others.

Last week, the challenge was to help someone less fortunate than you are. I dropped off a donation of clothes to a local thrift shop; books and magazines to the library; and canned goods and toiletries to a homeless shelter. In these next two weeks, I’ll also be volunteering at an event my church is holding called “Winter Nights” in which we feed and shelter homeless families from the area until Easter Sunday. I’ll be helping cook and serve dinner and leading some activities for the kids.

April: Build a shelter against a rainy day.

This month’s challenge also comes from Coach Wooden’s 7-Point Creed. I thought rainy April would be an appropriate time to focus on this credo! I like to interpret “building a shelter” in a multitude of ways: family, friends, work that satisfies and sustains you — but, since we will focus on these elements in other months, I’m going to focus this month on the financial interpretation of “building a shelter against a rainy day.” In other words: save now to build a safety net!

For this week, the challenge is to create a “spare change jar.” Instead of pocketing spare change to spend somewhere else, drop it into the jar. You could continue this challenge all month — or even {as I plan to} all year long! How much spare change will you wind up with at the end?

I’ve always loved this wise sentiment from Coach Wooden:

This month, we’ll work on building a shelter to keep life’s inevitable valleys that come along from getting too low!

Questions of the evening:

What are your favorite tips for saving money?
In what ways do you “build a shelter against a rainy day” in your life?

grandma’s birthday dinner

Posted on March 31, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Last night we celebrated my grandma’s 82nd birthday with a nice family dinner out at The Club. It was a lovely excuse to dress up and Mom and I had a fun time getting ready together side-by-side in front of my bathroom mirror. This beautiful lady is not just my mom, she is also one of my best friends, and I’m so grateful to have her here this week!

The evening flew by with excellent food and wonderful company. Whenever my family all gets together, there is plenty of hugging, talking, interrupting, laughter, storytelling, and picture-taking. Last night was no exception. 🙂

I absolutely love this photo of my grandparents:

We missed my dad and brother, but they sent Grandma flowers — sunflowers! yaaay! — that are brightening up the living room hearth.

Now Mom, Grandma, Grandpap and I are curling up on the couch with some popcorn to watch Saving Mr. Banks. I’ll be back tomorrow with this week’s year of Wooden post.

Question of the evening:

What was the highlight of your weekend?