Sunday, November 29, 2015

Lesson 390: City on a Hill

Hello, Friends.


You have a bonus blog post this weekend.
Eloise wants to tell you about an upcoming opportunity
during this Christmas season.

Some friends planned a little post-feasting run this morning.
We chatted about our holiday and made plans for next weekend's charity run.


The last few years my workout group,
along with countless friends, neighbors, and citizens
have joined together for a charity run.

2013's Christmas Story themed event donated to Grady's Decision,
a non-profit organization to benefit families of babies born prematurely.





Last year we donned our best Dr. Seuss and ran for Safe Net.
This organization helps those in crisis reclaim their lives.


On Saturday, December 5th, we will run for the Erie City Mission.
Interested parties, please contact Eloise or any other member of Team Adrenaline.
The run will begin at 9:00 am.  There will be 2.5 and 5 mile distances.
Runners and walkers are welcome.
There is no registration fee--
just bring a needed item for the City Mission.

It was a great day for picture taking today.  


We sure do have an awesome city, Erieites.


That is even better experienced.


on foot.


 The hi-light of today's run was when I kicked this guy out of some tall grass
in Frontier Park!


 Join us next week, if you can.
Click on the video below to see more beautiful shots of Erie's Bayfront.
The song is set to City on a Hill by Casting Crowns.

Peace,
ELOISE


Saturday, November 28, 2015

Lesson 388: Go Light Your World

Today is Black Friday,
but Eloise thinks of it is a day of light and brightness.


It is the official start of the holiday season.
It's time to spread goodwill and cheer.
It's time to spread the light!




It seems fitting that this was the message on my Yogi Ginger Tea this afternoon.
*Note:  If you have not discovered the stomach-settling properties 
of Ginger Tea yet, Eloise suggests you buy a box to keep around
after a day of feasting (and left overs).



The moon taught us a good example of reflecting the light--
bouncing back the light that is shone upon us.



Many of my friends, neighbors,
colleagues, & peers 
reflected on the light of life of someone near and dear to many.
My sister and I showed up to the memorial service of my friend Tim Miller
wearing similar jackets.  
It seems odd that out of the 900 Kenyan has,
and the 3 that I own,
we'd pick similar styles to wear to the same event.

\

We wore similar sweaters to Thanksgiving dinner, too.


Dinner was perfect,
as was the memorial service earlier in the week.


Our time here on Earth is limited.
While we are here,
it is our duty to light those candles
and spread the light.

#quollective That's what we get to do when we have our own businesses and run our own lives. :):

One way to fight darkness,
is to shine a light upon it.

You can't fight hate with hate. You can only conquer hate with love. The greater the hate, the more you must love. Reminds me of "A Wrinkle in Time.":

Eloise's school district turned the spotlight on cancer on Tuesday.




We stuck it to cancer



and chased it away.


Thank you, Harbor Creek!
Fight on, Sue!



 One way to light the world is to follow the Huskie example
and rally some support and good energy.
Another way is to have a little fun!

Eloise hid a treasure for you, Local Readers!
I decorated an evergreen tree out on the trails of Harborcreek Community Park.


Here are some clues to the Christmas tree's location:




A few have found it already.
Finders get to take an ornament
and spread the light to your own homes.


Don't forget to send me a photo so I can see how you spread the light.



Another Fun Thing of the Weekend was Black Friday shopping with teenagers.
To throw a fun twist to the late-night--
I purchased them some of the snazziest clothing Walmart had to offer up for $4.97.


If the teens accepted the dare of wearing the shirt shopping,
AND posted a photo on social media--
each received $10 from Eloise.

I threw in a buck extra, each,
for being brave enough to drink from the 
highly controversial red, holiday Starbucks cup.




Money well earned, teens.
Mother Eloise is proud.
I will pay up as promised, this weekend.

Instead of my own photo video collection tonight,
enjoy a beautiful song, performed by Chris Rice.
Go Light Your World is the perfect message to start off our holiday season,
weather you drink from red cup or blue one.

My new FAV quote! Spread the love and inspire others! www.ivynewport.com:



You can view a beautiful photo video here--
it was not my creation,
but shared at my church last weekend.

Please watch.
Click the link below.


Add CANDLES
and
MATCHES
to your holiday shopping list this year.
Here is your homework assignment for the next month:


Go Light Your World #kathytroccolli Wall Decal:



Peace,
ELOISE





Friday, November 20, 2015

Lesson 389: Proper Nouns

What if today was your last day on earth?
How would you live it?
Eloise is curious.


I don't want to know about where you would travel,
or what you would eat,
or how you would live out your last minutes
(let's keep this blog clean).
I want to know what you would SAY.

Your weekend homework assignment is this:
What advice would you give to those you will leave behind?

The Harborcreek Community (special places are capitalized because they are Proper Nouns)
lost some special people this week.
One, a woman I never met,
but knew of, ended her three year battle with cancer.
 Her children were students in our schools.
When one of us suffers,
we all feel the pain.

Another was one of my Favorite People,
capitalized because he taught me that proper nouns are important,
and that they stand out from the rest.

Tim Miller, in the early years my teacher,
and in the later years, my colleague,
passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Sunday.


Three beers later and the Lamp Post minus one box of Kleenex 
I'm finally able to continue writing.
Tim was my fourth grade teacher,
and also my fifth and sixth grade English teacher.
He taught me how to write.

A Novel Idea is a six month series that will teach you how to write a novel. You'll have a first draft by the summer!:

Gotcha covered tonight, Ray.

The flag at Clark School, 
where Tim taught and touched lives for 32 years,
flew at half mast.


The sign out front expressed a collective sentiment 
that we somehow hoped he was able to see.


To his children Jon and Emily:
Your father was a special person who will never be forgotten.
He loved you dearly and we know more about you than you would ever believe.

If you are a Reader (again, proper nouns/important nouns, need capitalized)
and know Jon or Emily--please share my post with them.

#writing quote #- journaling as a young mom for my daughter to read someday.:

When people move on from this life,
the survivors share stories of them
to offer comfort and solace.

My favorite story of Mr. Miller is this:


Nine years ago, I was hired at my Alma Mater to pioneer a program for the gifted and talented.  I returned to the school I attended as a student; this time as a teacher.  At the first in-service day, I was most anxious to talk with one of my Favorite Teachers (important nouns are proper nouns and need capital letters).  I wanted to reintroduce myself to Mr. Miller, and tell him how much I learned from him.  

"Mr. Miller...." I hesitantly said, as I peered in the doorway of his classroom on a hot August day in 2007, "I don't know if you remember me or not but I was Elaine Ov....."  I never got to finish my sentence before he jumped up from his desk and took five quick paces across the classroom to greet me with a welcoming hug.

"Remember you?  My God!  I've used your essay as an example for years!  In fact, I have it here somewhere."  He rifled his file cabinet, pulling folders with his nimble fingers searching for a 30 year old sheet of tablet paper.

Mr. Miller, who now insisted that I call him Tim, reminded me of an essay I penned as a fourth grader in 1980--comparing the Girl Scouts to Communists.  I cringed at the thought of what I had written way back then.  Tim just laughed and said, "You really made some great points!  You were so shy and withdrawn as a child, but the second I put a pen in your hand, the True You came out."


The True Me tonight is 10 years old,
shy,
chubby,
and afraid.

The True Me wants Mr. Miller to know that he will be missed terribly,
but remembered fondly,
and his life was well lived.

Rest in peace, my Dear and Respected Friend (capital letters.....)

Thank you for teaching me what "the lee of the stone" meant,
that Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH is the best children's book ever,
and that drawing out a diagram of what was happening in a novel is an important teaching tool.
Your life lives on in my teaching.


Tim passed into his next life on Monday.
On Tuesday, I had to travel to Edinboro University in the evening for a school related meeting.
For the locals, you know that in order for Mrs. Eloise to get there from the Lamp Post,
I had to take Interstate 90.

It was a busy night on the highway for some reason.
I noted that as I took my time trying to ease into the lane from the entrance ramp.
A few minutes later, I was crossing the bridge that towers over Six Mile Creek.

Here is a photo of it when it was under repair a few years ago:


The distance between the bridge and the creek below is significant.
Eloise could not venture to guess how many feet it actually is.
Writing is my thing,
Math is not.



Tim had passed away only the day before,
so I used the quiet time alone in the car to say a prayer for his family and friends who miss him.

I was about two-thirds of the way across the bridge when I witnessed an accident in front of me.
An 18 wheeler side-swiped an Equinox. 
The impact was so great that the Equinox tipped onto its two right wheels at a 45 degree angle.
I still remember the sparks.
Mrs. Eloise was the car behind the Equinox.

The Equinox, which I have determined is part Sherman Tank,
was able to right itself and pull off onto the berm of the road.
I pulled off as well, to give my information as a witness to the accident.
The semi never stopped.
It just kept going.

Moments later, I found a rattled diver,
and destroyed driver's side of a brand new Equinox.
But we were both alive and for that, we hugged and gave thanks.

How it was that the Equinox didn't flip over that bridge, I'll never understand.
Maybe it's just physics.
Maybe it's just faith.
Whatever the reason, you are reading this blog tonight,
instead of attending my funeral.

This week was enough to make Eloise think about 
what lasting words I would leave to my loved ones.

I've chosen two, 
stolen from my Favorite Country Singer (capital letters.....),
Tim McGraw.

Humble
and 
Kind.

Tonight's photo video is set to Tim McGraw's new song Humble and Kind.
It is currently sitting next to Cowboy in Me as Eloise's Favorite (proper nouns...)
The song is from his new album Damn Country Music.
It is a Must Purchase (proper nouns stand out from the rest) if you are a music lover.

Tim McGraw,
who happens to share his name with Tim Miller
sings about the importance of staying Humble--
a word made famous in Charlotte's Web,
a book read to me by Tim Miller when I was 10 years old.

Sure, Wilbur was Some Pig,
but he remained humble throughout his praise.



I love the word "kind." 
I like how it looks,
and I especially like how is sounds when it exits my mouth.
Say it.
Isn't it a pretty word?

Cinderella,
in the modernized movie version,
gives us this advice.
Who are we to ignore Cinderella?


Tomorrow at 11:00,
I will pay respects to my Favorite Teacher
in a good and Proper Noun way.
I'll say goodbye to him in the Clark School gymnasium,
with hundreds of others whose lives he touched.

Peace to you tonight, My Dear Readers,
even if you are a Girl Scout or a Communist.
Time heals all wounds,
and I have since matured and forgiven you.

ELOISE

Friday, November 13, 2015

Lesson 387: When God Paints.


Eloise has her head in the clouds tonight,
and her eye on the sky.
Her eyes are a-twinkle 


because tonight was the annual Shining Star Pageant
for Special Needs individuals.



Natalie enjoyed the spotlight,



and didn't disappoint her biggest fans.


I think of life in pictures,
and as I look back on tonight,
I thank God for the masterpieces he paints.
Thank you, everyone,
for making Natalie's night so special.



As I promised last week,
I created my own Personality Assessment, similar to the one I blogged about last week.
In case you missed last week's blog,
I took this personality test on facebook


Screen Shot 2015-11-02 at 7.19.33 PM


and I reaffirmed what I already knew--
I'm a strong Type B personality.

Here is the link to the test I took:

Clever personality test--CLICK HERE

I've looked up several Type A, Type B characteristics since then,
and found this one quite humorous
(and quite true).




I decided to try my hand at creating my own Personality Assessment.
My Readers tend to read this blog very late at night,
or very early in the morning,
so I won't bother you with finding a pencil and paper.

This test is easy:
Pick your favorite photo out of the batch below.
Keep scrolling--
there are many to choose from.








































 










How good is your eye, Dear Reader?
What did you notice?

Eloise predicted that you would be subconsciously drawn to the
COLOR
of the photo,
more so than the subject.

I arranged them on the post in rainbow color order,
followed by pink, brown,
and ended with black and white.

Here is your Personality Assessment
based on the predominant color of the photo you chose.
I guess you black and whiters will have to count as gray.
That's gonna drive the Type A's nuts.
Sorry.
This Type B says to adapt.






Hang on now, Readers.
Wait.
We have to let my mom go back and re-select her photo
because she doesn't like what she first chose.

And, if you are one of my Gifted Questies--
I'm sure none of those colors fit the photo--
so here are your choices.
What does your favorite color say about you? - Great way to help choose the right colors for a room, based on what personality you want to show :) My fave color is Sunshine - which means I'm highly imaginative, with lots of positive energy and humor. Yep - that's me!:

I know from watching tonight's pageant,
God paints in all colors-
from the vibrant to the subdued.

To see more of the Shining Star Pageant,
click on the video below,
appropriately set to
When God Paints, by Alan Jackson.

Wishing you a peace filled weekend,
ELOISE