Halloween in a high school can be...distracting. Knowing we accomplish less when everyone is dressed up as Pac Man or the scientist from Back to the Future or Buffy the Vampire Slayer (hey, who was that?), I planned lessons where I knew I could accomplish everything planned in the time allowed. Which was good, because we had a fire.
Yep, I said that right. The costumes were NOT the most distracting thing.
We never have fire alarms 4th hour because of lunch, so when it went off 4th hour, my students and I were startled. I told them, "You know what to do!" so they dutifully went outside. We went back inside, then 10 minutes later were dismissed to lunch.
On the way to lunch we encountered a horrible smell in the hall. As soon as I started dishing up some food in the teacher's lunchroom (we had a potluck today), the alarm went off again. We went outside with our chili (it was actually chilly too--hard frost last night) and waited until we were allowed to come back in.
Turns out the money counter in the vault (I had no idea we had either) had started smoking, which started the first alarm. Then (and this is the funny part) when the fire department tried to blow the smoke out of the building, they set something on fire, which caused the second alarm.
No one was hurt, our evacuations went well, and we are left with great stories. To quote a kid in my 5th hour, "This was the best day ever."
In honor of good stories and writing them down, I want to call your attention to this new book from Ella Publishing:
Journaling is hard. Even for professional writers, deciding what to say on a layout can be truly challenging, let alone figuring out how to make it authentic, creative, and meaningful. But struggle no more, because help is on the way!
Journaling that Matters is packed with 51 easy tips to help you write from the heart without breaking a sweat. You'll love the expert advice, inspirational layouts, practical tips, and timeless suggestions that are suitable for writers of all levels—from the most experienced journalers to the most insecure. Kelly, Angie, and their eight talented contributors will help you unlock important stories and tell them with confidence. Also featuring the work of: Linda Barber, Moon Ko, Donna Jannuzzi, Layle Koncar, Audrey Neal, Keshet Shenkar, Wendy Smedley, and Stephanie Wheeler.If you are interested in winning a copy of this ebook, leave me a comment telling me a story you're dying to scrap or that you love to tell. I'll leave the comments open until Monday night at 10 P.M. CST, then randomly select a winner!
Even if you don't win, I heartily recommend this book; I can't wait to get started scrapping a conversation with my MIL.
11 comments:
What a great gift and a great story! The best part is, at least it was Friday! If this had happened on Monday, I somehow feel you might have a long week ahead. :)
I'm not sure if you saw what happened to me in the past week (last weekend) but I've taken up photography and it's been great for my scrapbooking. So here's the short version of the long story----my kids were carving pumpkins and I wanted to get pictures from different angles. I climbed up on the couch to get a good angle, but didn't feel I was up high enough so I stood on the arm of the couch. As soon as I stood on the arm, I fell right over like a dead tree and landed on my arm/elbow. My Nikon D300s that I just bought fell to the ground, bouncing twice. I was more concerned about my camera than my injuries. My hubby and kids saw it all and as they stood there looking at me in horror, I was looking at my pictures and camera to see it was ok. I ended up going to the E.R. the following night for pain-nothing broken, but the staff had a good laugh. I was put into a sling and given motrin and narcotics for pain. Oh how I wished my hubby had got a picture of me falling!! I still want to scrap it. I'd title it, "This is why mom says not to climb on the furniture." :D
I'd love to have a chance at winning that book. There are so many stories that are waiting to be scrapped. The one that stands out in my mind is on our big road trip in January, we took our guide with us in our van and we climbed up and bumped all over the place to get to the lava fields on a dormant volcano in Argentina. It was absolutely stunning and we are so glad we went. However, when we came back down and parked at our cabin, we noticed the wheel was crooked. The place where we were was small so we had to travel two hours back the way we came to be able to get it fixed. Of course, it was during a holiday weekend so the garage was closed. We ended up three days delayed on our trip and missed out on a fabulous part of Argentina. But it was an experience not to be missed! Dana
I'd love to win the book. Not sure my story is scrapbook-worthy, although I should have had someone take my picture. I was walking in the Halloween parade today with the kids from my school. Because of this I dug out my old standby costume; a package of peanut M & M's; basically a long tube of gold tube knit fabric with jagged edges cut at the top and bottom, cardboard at the top to hold it open and some straps. Oh, M & M's written on the front in brown paint. So, today I decide to add to the costume and write a lower case m on each cheek. I was in a hurry so I quickly applied them with a blue eye liner pencil. Get to school and ask someone if I should have her fix them or not and she informs me that I wrote them backwards since I forgot about the mirror mirroring them. Argh!
I have stories of my Mom that I should journal, but some are just too painful. I need to learn to remember the good and let the bad fade.
She was a gregarious soul- something I have inherited; I should be thankful for all the positive traits she left me. Someday I will do this, someday.....
Thanks for the chance to win! I've never been away from my Mom and she's my best friend. So when I moved away last year (after 28yrs)to another continent, no less, it wasn't the easiest for either of us. I want to be able to tell her exactly how I feel, and that no matter what, we'll always be the best of friends..
Thanks for the chance to win this! I love to journal but I do struggle to say exactly what I want to. I have a photo of my dad around 2 months after his stroke this year - still in hospital but I had taken him for his first stroll out in a wheelchair. He had hossy pyjamas on and a feeding tube in and is fanning himself with a little battery fan as for once the uk was hot! I really want to document his stroke recovery and although he will never be the same he has come such a long way as we nearly lost him :( it's delicate things that are the hardest to write about for me but I want to record them xx
I would love to give justice to why I married Mike. I have a rough draft from right before we were married, but I am having a hard time with getting it on a layout! Thanks for the chance Jennifer!
I can always use tips like this. I'd love to share my life story in a scrapbook form. The only thing is my life has been so eventful that it may require more than one volume. Definately some plannig.
Jennifer, Thanks for offering the journaling book from Ella Publishing. My lastest story would have to be about getting to see my darling grand daughter this weekend. My DD is a teacher and had Friday off, they decided to head this way to pick up the much needed breast milk that my daughter had pumped and frozen this summer. She was determined to not give her daughter formula and I admire her for the time she spent. I have wondered if this would be something that I should scrap?
I would like to scrap more of my childhood, especially the memories I have of my grandparents.
I want to scrap memories of my grandfather. He passed away 8 years ago, but I still can't bring myself to scrap about him.
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