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If all the world’s a stage, I’m a singing, dancing, blogging fool.

February 10, 2010 by http://julieangelos.com

Hey guys,

The reason I wrote Zero to Blog is because I wish I had someone sit down with me and explain how simple it was to set up a website or blog and be successful on line in a short time so you can write, sell your business, display your art, whatever.

Set yourself up to play a winning game.

Maybe it’s because I’m a believer in teaching learning and what I call being self taught “Look, my mom would say, the girls have taught themselves piano” as my sister and I sat side by side on the bench when we were little.

Self taught just means learning from past expierience as building upon the the things you already know. When pictures, words, art and technology come together we are all spectators of a beautiful symphony.

The most beautiful thing about it is that we can all actively participate.

It’s a simple recipe. All you need are a few words, perhaps a nice picture and a little will power. I’ve outlined the exact steps I took in my book Zero to Blog that is currently at the editors and due out month end.

I make it simple for you.

I believe in you.

You can do it.

Thanks for visiting and have a great day.

Julie

Posted in Inspiration, happiness, learning, motivation | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

12 things I wish I knew before I started a blog.

February 6, 2010 by http://julieangelos.com

1. That I would be visible in all of the world wherever there is internet. For some reason I thought I was still speaking to my class room and immediate friends.

2. That people could laugh at me if they wanted. Sometimes they do but I mostly get compliments, thank goodness.

get some beauty sleep.

3. That everyone uses their blogs however they want in different ways to represent their own individual style – some have comments, some have books, some have lists, some have videos. Each person can make their blog completely personalized.

4. That the blogger community is extremely supportive. If you need help with anything there are endless forums to help you answer your questions. Or, you can post a new one. I did and got tons of quick answers.

5. That words are important. And can save lives.

6. That lots of people make money with their blogs.

7. That it takes more time and dedication that I thought. But like most projects the more you put into it the more you get out of it.

8. That I ♥ blogging.

9. That 97 percent of people want to write a book.

10. What’s a widget. I thought a widget was that wooden triangle piece you slip under a door to hold it open. Boy was a surprised. I have since discovered that widgets are the spice of life. You can see all my widgets on my right column. They are things like being able to see your categories, most popular posts and facebook links.

11. What’s a theme? Believe it or not, you get FREE themes. Themes are the overall looks of your site and you can choose whichever one suits you, just like a jacket. You can even change as often as you want. I like mine for now but you never know. People love new looks. And it’s free.

12. That blogging would bring me increased confidence just like overcoming a fear. I’m a blogging fool.

What about you? What are your favorite widgets? Why do you blog? Why don’t you blog? What are your favorite blogs and why?

Posted in Inspiration, lists | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

8 life hacks to turn your end of semester blues into all the colors of the rainbow.

February 3, 2010 by http://julieangelos.com

Talk

There is a field. Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there. Rumi

Here are 8 ways to turn your upside down days right side up.

1) Care I was saddened yesterday because I saw a fellow student get a bad grade and her world went to pieces. Her eyes went red, her tears started flowing, her lip was trembling and she started writing frenetically in her notebook. How can we as a society be completely unmoved by things like this?

2. Pray – True story. Not too far from my house a kid’s teacher finds out he was smoking and he jumps out the second floor window of his school because he’s afraid his parents will find out. He’s still in a coma. My class and I are praying for his recovery. When I talk to my students I’m so careful to encourage them. It would have been so nice if we could just communicate.
It’s life and death.

3) Offer Encouragement. I have a soft spot for kids who come from broken families. I am one of those and I can tell you it has been my defining moment as I grew. I rarely talk about it because I feel like mentioning the word divorce would break my mother’s heart again.

The wind longs to blog in your hair.

Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen. Emerson

Still, I offer encouragement to kids going through difficult times. The other day I was in the class room and there was a new kid. He’s a cool kid. He talks when he’s not supposed to and sometimes doesn’t listen to my answers but I understand him. I understand him because I took the time to find out he’s new because he’s no longer living with mom, but he’s living with dad.

4) Contribute I contribute what I can to make my home and family a happy one. Not all the time. OK, I’m far from perfect.

Rather, there’s ROOM for improvement. OK I’ll do better. I promise.

We all have the power to add special touches that make our lives better, such as putting out some flowers, some candles, some spices in the garden. I do it as often as I can because I love to share. I recently added my dot com name, my logo and my shop. Pretty soon I should be giving away a beautiful picture, if I can manage to part with it.

Sure my shop doesn’t actually work YET but I’ve put down the corner stone. It’s a wheel in motion and I’m enjoying the process.

5) Communicate Teachers: Don’t wait until the end of the semester to tell your kids how they are doing in class. Parents: Find out ahead of time by meeting up with the teachers. Kids: Ask your teachers how you are doing – don’t let them intimidate you.

Do what is asked. And then some. Please don’t push your children or students too hard. THEY have to WANT to learn. Guess what? Children love to learn.

6) Do your best and then a little bit more. It’s a triangle that has to work together: parents, teachers and kids. The reason this sweet little student was upset is because she’s scared to talk to her teacher because every time she asks her something she gets scolded or a bad grade.

7) Have a Positive Mental Attitude Find what’s good. Find what’s good. Find what’s good. I have to turn in my semester end grades day after tomorrow. I pray I’ve been fair. I think so. I have worked hard at teaching. I tell my kids my goal is to be their best teacher. I want them to succeed.

*8) Go the Extra Mile I particularly remember a mom who asked how her son could improve his grades. I said do something extra. This kid would bring me a translation on a weekly basis. Was I ever impressed. I’m certain his grade reflected it.

I wrote the girl who cried a little message. I told her I hope she knows that there are more things in the world more important than grades. But in her world, there aren’t.

What are your experiences with teachers and bad grades? How do you get your kids motivated to learn? Do you think it’s better to award good grades, punish bad grades or something in the middle?

Thanks for your comments.

Posted in Inspiration, happiness, learning | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

7 killer buzz words that add extra value.

February 1, 2010 by http://julieangelos.com

I remember one day sitting at a trade show booth with my sister. Clients would come up to us and ask if we had any number of objects from Velco to copies, to faxes to signs. We’d look at each other with a knowing smile, pretend to bend down and change hats.

One hat said Designer, one said Electrician, on said Copy Girl. Today my hat says Professional Blog Copy Writer.

Being multi talented in today’s marketplace is absolutely key. That is why I’ve collected seven words you can use with certainty.

By the way, the above example is ONLY an story. We didn’t actually change our hats.

Here are 7 rockstar blog words for dummies.

1) Life Hacks I’ve noticed a lot of the seriously smart blogging blogs are using Life Hacks in a positive way. Life Hacks offer simple solutions to every day problems.

2) Wicked As old as this seems I’m still coming across Wicked in in well written headlines. It’s still works. At least on East Coast it was big when I was a wee tot. On the west coast we used a little bit more surf slang. You tell me, do people still use this? I try to use words that I say. I’d never say killer buzz words. It sure looks good in a title though, doesn’t it?

So I heard you been jammin’ down some gnarly tunes on your guitar?

That is just so wrong on so many levels.

Be a free thinker.

3) Zen Whether it’s Zen Motorcycles or Zen Journey or Zen Habits people love anything that will make their lives more zen like. It’s an art. It conjurs up images of peace. Oaahhhhhmmmmmmm.

4) Simplicity I like any website that promises a simpler better life. I remember reading one day less is more. Or was it every day one thing less? My goal in my life is to get everything put away before I die. One thing less. Simple Life, Simple Pleasures, Simple simpleness. Simplify your life. It’s simple.

5) Social Media I love this term. I bought a book at a garage sale from the nice lady. I wanted to keep in touch with her so I asked her if she was on facebook. She said, no I don’t like social media. It was the first time I heard the word. Now it seems to be everywhere and growing. I still can’t use it in a sentence though.

Take the road less travelled.

6) Non Conformity If we are living parallel lives as avatars in another planet, I think we’d all be driving Prius’s and living in solar powered houses. The art of non conformity offers EVERYONE the possibility of changing their lives for the better by choosing to do what they love. Be a non conformist. Be a free thinker. Turn off the news. Get informed. Read. Stay informed. Make up your own mind.

7) That’s Hot or BFF Thanks Paris. Enough said.

It’s time for reader input

What do you think? I think these words are on their way out: Dude, Alternative, Rad, Stoked, Factoid, Gnarly, Hiney and My Bad.

I think these words are up and coming: SEO, Blog, Social Media, Smile and Nod, Shiny, happiness, writing and Talk to the Hand.

Posted in Inspiration, happiness, journal, lists, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

I’m not a good writer although I play one on TV.

January 29, 2010 by http://julieangelos.com

I deleted my last post because I thought it was totally insane. I learned that you should never write anything in the middle of the night because we think we are lucid but IN REALITY we aren’t. I reread my post this morning, lowered my head in shame and hit delete faster than you can say Hey Mom, what did they put in her Jello?

What the mind can conceive the body can achieve.

I went on over to facebook and tried to let my friends know what in the world I was thinking because I had some pretty funny comments in my in box.

It’s one of those days where I think each key on my keyboard should be labeled delete. That way I might stop embarrassing myself with my lama rama ramblings as my friend Pam so aptly calls them.

Back to reality. Go Kelli, Go Kelli, Go super super Kelli!

First on the list is my friend Kelli from high school. She got the green light GO on her kidney transplant and now they are testing donors. She’s so excited you can see it in all of her words. I’m happy for her. She told me her entire story. It’s basically like a bad date. You go to the doctor and they sort of shake their head and say, well, you’re not going to like this.

Kelli is a HUGE winner in my book because she’s not taking the news laying down. She’s set up a site, she’s driving through snow to doctors appointments, she’s doing EVERYTHING to save her life.

The thing about Kelli is she’s the same as the day before the doc gave her the news about needing a new kidney. She’s had good days, bad days, funny days and struggling days. Through it all she knows she is blessed with a loving husband and two talented kids. AND Kelli’s going to be on TV! Yeah!

As her friend I’m asking you to click on this link and help her out if you can. You can follow her story here.

Snow

Book launch party with elephants!

I’m freezing out here in Italy. It snowed a couple of days a go and the ground is all icy. Being from So Cal it’s crazy. I like to tell my mom how I like having four seasons here but Come on folks. I’ve got to get the fire going. I feel like writing.

Grades + Point

Well if that wasn’t a bomb of a last class I don’t know what was. I had three hours of teaching today and if you aren’t a teacher you MIGHT not get this but I had a bunch of kids complaining about their grades. It got to me because I think of myself an EXTREMELY generous teacher so I don’t take to critcism well. One girl wrote the following sentence in English and she wondered why I didn’t give her a good grade.

She had put the following words in order:
discover / will / life / on / No, / they / scientists / won’t / Mars. She came up with
Will discover mars life of scientists, no me won’t.

I’m chalking it up to being the last hour of the week and we all were tired.

Counter Point

My other two hours were AWESOME. We laughed and smiled. We spent about an hour translating motivational sentences like like Take 100% Responsibility for your Lives, Stop being a victim, Accept and Love your Body, Dream, etc. I think they liked it because they listen, smile and their eyes look alive.

Another cup of delicious fresh brewed blog copy.

I’ve been actively participating in blog discussions. My favorite so far is Barbara’s blog called bloggingwithoutablog. She has set her site up to be an active classroom. It’s fun. I love the people in there. One guy just cracks me up with his post called North Dakota Doesn’t Exist.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. I knew it was a myth.

Man On Road – Italian Translation Cracks Me Up

I was driving on the freeway a couple of days ago and there was an overhead sign in GIGANTIC orange flashing lights that said Man On Road. I just had to laugh. What in the world does that mean? I think they meant Men at Work. I don’t think there was a man on the road because I saw the same sign at least three times.

Thank you for sharing my blog journey with me friends.

Have a great one and as always thanks for visiting. Feel free to leave your comments.

Posted in Inspiration, Italy, happiness, journal | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Blog and Grow Rich

January 26, 2010 by http://julieangelos.com

Set yourself up to play a winning game.

I had an inspiration. Do you know how when you want to say something but the words just don’t come?

Well I was facebook chatting after a full day of life, I lay down to sleep and BOOM it hit me.

No matter how many connections we have, friends we make, people we see, things we do, at the end of the day I truly believe there are only a few people who we can count on for hope, love, guidance, understanding, inspiration and warmth.

Tons of new peeps. Welcome.

I thought about how this site is growing rapidly. You are here because:

a) You like reading this
b) You find find inspiration here
c) you are laughing and shaking your head in wonder
d) all of the above.
e) none of the above.

Just nod and smile as if you knew what I was talking about.

Why blog?

It floors me that I’ve had such great positive feedback and I’m happy about that. Thank you for taking the time to read this and leave your nice words.

accept what you can't change

Let’s talk about you.

You guys clicked all the way over here and took the time to get to know me as a writer and I haven’t even offered you something to drink. What can I get you? I’ve got coffee, tea, juice, water, or whatever you’d like. I’m not big on alcohol, sorry. How’s a cuppa joe sound? I could really use one and it’s already brewing.

You know what I think you need is just a little bit of rest and relaxation and a pat on the pat saying ‘good job’. I learned a long time ago what it’s like to hear that ‘good job’. Fewer words are more powerful than thank you, good job, well done.

You must be the change you wish to see in the world. M. Gandhi

Those words motivate me.

A friend of mine frames letters from her clients in her store. All of them say Thank you. I couldn’t have managed with out you. I read them and think wow that’s amazing. What an amazing person. I used to think she was working for money and I realized a long time ago she was doing it for love.

Have a great day and thank you for visiting.

Julie

Posted in Inspiration, family, journal, motivation, relationships, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

6 reasons why I got 1,000 visitors to my blog this month.

January 22, 2010 by http://julieangelos.com

Welcome back visitors for yet another pot of fresh brewed delicious hot blog copy.

Blog copy. Try saying that ten times fast.

Now my students at Junior High are going to ask me Prof, what does blog copy mean? Then they are going to ask me what fresh brewed has to do with blog copy. I’ll have to send them to an expert because I have no idea.

It's all going to be alright.

I’m digging myself quickly into a hole on this post. I can feel it spiraling down. Can you tell I’m an absolute beginner at blogging? Is it showing? Sorry about that. I still have students who don’t know what blog means. Should I start calling it an on line journal?

1. I love my readers. Some of them I have known for ages and others are new. They continue to inspire me to write. They tell me nice things like you never know Julie, maybe you will make someone’s life better. They say things like they love to read my blog. I don’t know if that counts though because that was probably my mom. ; )

2. I love writing. To me writing gets my thoughts on the page and out of my head. Yesterday while shopping with my kids I sat down and wrote a list of 15 things I had to do. I felt overwhelmed and getting my list on the page made me feel like I could accomplish it. I’m just taking baby steps one at a time.

3. The more I give the more I receive. My friendships have been growing steadily and so is my reader base. I feel like I have never learned so much about life, love, laughter and people as I have in the last couple of months since sharing my life with others. I had a lot of fears to overcome. I think we all get used to talking to our inner circle of friends or to ourselves we think that if we wrote it for all the world to see we would be drastically made fun of.

4. My learning curve is out of control. The minute I hit the publish button on my first blog entry most of you know I couldn’t sleep. I thought, Oh great, delete, delete, delete. My husband is currently worried about me because it has been almost all consuming. I just read and read and read. I want to know what makes a blog successful so I just click all day long. And read. Luckily I’ve been super peaceful and smiling.

Find a balance.

I’m not so certain that spending more time on line is a good thing though. One of the reasons I moved to Italy is because I feel like Italians know how to live. I have always sustained that a to be happy in life you have to find a balance of work and pleasure.

I’ll give you an example. Say you are successful. I ask you how you are spending your days. Are you spending them alone or with other people? What percentage of your time are you dedicating to your family, to your work, to entertainment? How much of your time are you dedicating towards being a good person, toward helping others? How much of your time are you dedicating toward making yourself a better person?

As my best friend says it’s the doing that makes the difference. In writing and sharing, I’m a do-er not a be-er. Note to self: don’t forget to hyphenate the word be-er.

5. People are curious. I think one of the reasons people are reading this now is because they want to know what it is like to live in Italy. I think I should write more about that. I’ll tell you. I spend a lot of time with children in class rooms, a lot of time with my friends – as much as possible, a lot of time with my family and the major part of my time taking care of life. I got super angry today at my class because I found one of the kids copying during a test. On the other hand in another class they sang me song after song. Children’s voices are so sweet.

I have a ton of things on my plate at the moment. The biggest two are selling my house, buying another house, selling my car, buying another car and writing my ebook. I’ve decided for the moment not to do any of them. I’ve decided to keep life simple, enjoy the things I have and live in gratitude.

6. I push myself to succeed. I strive for excellence. I strive for peace. I model good behavior. I strive to be a better person. I’m crazy scared that I’m going to bomb in front of all of my peers so I’m doing all I can do to make this great. I know it’s not. But like I tell my kids, I’m not a great mom, I’m not even a good mom, but I do try. I make it a goal. I know they know that. Making it a goal shows you care. I tell them I love them every day so many times. They know the story because I tell it to them every night before they go to bed.

I tell them I love them more than the moon, more than the stars, and more than all of the oceans.

Tell people you love that you love them. I don’t think you can ever say that enough. Be the change you want to see. Be inspiring. You think you don’t know how? I’ll give you a start. Smile at someone you don’t know. Live your life with passion. Pursue excellence. Floss. Take care of yourselves. Promise.

Until we blog again. Uh hmm, I mean journal. Have a good one.

Julie

Since I am new to this and one of my goals is to get my on line journal known – Share on facebook or twitter account? Thank you.

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Posted in Inspiration, Italy, happiness, journal, learning, motivation, teaching, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

100 lists challenge writers, clear thoughts, inspire and motivate. Just like that.

January 20, 2010 by http://julieangelos.com

Serving a fresh brewed pot of hot delicious blog content for your reading pleasure.

Here is my 2nd list of 100. My first was my first blog post in October. The idea is to get all of your thoughts on the page. There are only two rules. The first is to start all entries with the number 100. The 2nd is to write it all out in one sitting. I made it only to 80 then took a break before coming back to finish and edit.

Frills.

The reason this works is that it brainstorms to get all of your thoughts on the page. Then the benefit is that everyone can write a list and one day you can expand on one of your ideas. Or maybe someone else will. Also it provides a nice story of where you are in your life today.

1. 100 new ideas.
2. 100 reasons I love to blog.
3. 100 smiles.
4. 100 things I’d like to do right now.
5. 100 students who make me laugh.
6. 100 best paintings.
7. 100 pages.
8. 100 sweet things.
9. 100 rooms.
10. 100 fears of change.

11. 100 reasons change is good.
12. 100 comments on 100 blogs.
13. 100 best all time films.
14. 100 best all time books.
15. 100 times over.
16. 100 songs I love.
17. 100 books to read.
18. 100 ways to motivate you now.
19. 100 ways to write new rules.
20. 100 students who are going to ask me why.

21. 100 calls to my mom.
22. 100 beautiful people inside and out.
23. 100 friends I’ve reconnected with.
24. 100 best cities to visit.
25. 100 new words to learn.
26. 100 jokes.
27. 100 tickles for my kids.
28. 100 dinners I’d like to try cooking.
If. I. had. the. time. and. the. desire.
29. 100 ways to learn to love cooking.

30. 100 things I wish I knew before starting this blog.

Travel in style.

31. 100 excuses I’ve heard.
32. 100 excuses I’ve made.
33. 100 places to publish your work.
34. 100 days on a cruise.
35. 100 animals I’d like to hold.
36. 100 kids who need help now.
37. 100 places who could use your help now.
38. 100 ways I’ve learned to give.
39. 100 ways to be generous.
without. spending. a. cent.

40. 100 ways to improve your writing.
41. 100 colors on my paintings.
42. 100 flowers in my garden.
waiting. for. spring. to. come.
43. 100 sounds in a symphony.
44. 100 yoga stretches.
45. 100 people I love.
46. 100 random thoughts.
47. 100 deep breaths.
48. 100 apples on 100 trees.
49. 100 places to go running.
50. 100 blogs to read.

51. 100 reasons writing a 100 list works.
52. 100 people who have influenced me.
53. 3 people who have influenced me most.

Be inspiring.

54. 100 dinners to serve.
55. 100 reasons I’m happy to be involved in community projects.
56. 100 quotes to sprinkle around.
57. 100 voices that sound like vanilla cinnamon.
58. 100 best metaphors.
59. 100 file folders neatly organized.
60. 100 stories in the news I hardly believe.

61. 100 great motivational words like inspire and empower.
62. 100 babies who are all grown up.
63. 100 adults who act like kids.
64. 100 years of happiness.
65. 100 types of love.
66. 100 upside down tickles.
67. 100 silly memories from my childhood.
68. 100 years of solitude.
69. 100 things I wish my teachers told me.
70. 100 things my teachers taught me.

simplicity

71. 100 sports that make you strong.
72. 100 best all time athletes.
73. 100 best cities to live in.
74. 100 best quotations.
75. 100 best bible versus.
76. 100 best all time gadgets.
77. 100 things to give to charity.
78. 100 top wines.
79. 100 cool things to write on the back of sweat pants.
80. 100 all time best you tube videos.

81. 100 words that can change lives.
82. 100 minute lunch break.
83. 100 minute work out.
84. 100 best nature walks.
85. 100 countries in need.
86. 100 reasons to thrive today.
87. 100 pieces of wood to stack.
88. 100 ways to be a better person.
89. 100 people who are reading this.
90. 100 favorite restaurants.

91. 100 ways to cook potatoes.
92. 100 different sports.
93. 100 miracles.
94. 100 stories to tell.
95. 100 people who have linked me to their site.
96. 100 uplifting positive things to say.
97. 100 people making a difference in this world.
98. 100 things to do before I die.
99. 100 ways to be excellent.
100. 100 discoveries.

101. 100 ways to go the extra mile.
102. 100 things to learn.
103. 100 toys.
104. 100 best cars ever.
105. 100 of my favorite stories.
106. 100 kinds of spices.
107. 100 ways to make cookies.
108. 100 ways to cook vegetables.
109 100 gallons of water.
110. 100 trips to Florence.

Like I said, I like to put in a little big extra. That’s why I wrote a little bit more.

Hope you are well. Thanks for visiting. Please feel free to comment.
Julie

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Posted in Inspiration, happiness, journal, learning, lists, motivation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

‘Let’s eat Grandma!’ or, ‘Let’s eat, Grandma!’ Punctuation saves lives.

January 16, 2010 by http://julieangelos.com

I was humbled when doing my internet research and came across blogs that have a reader base of 300,000. I was so excited about my first 1,800. I went into the kitchen and told my husband. He was lovely and supportive. He said Julie, give it a chance, you have only just started. He’s absolutely right.

I am reminded to thank God for my many blessings.

Participate.

Starting my blog a couple of months ago has been fun, interesting and educational. Funterational? I spend a lot of time figuring out the basics, how to choose a picture, how to get my categories and my archives visible. There’s a lot of behind the scenes work going on that I don’t know if my reader is aware of.

Here’s a little Oscar going to the behind the scenes workers at this blog. Someone needs a little love and appreciation today.

Some lovely person linked an article I wrote to their listsgalore site. This brought new visitors. Thank you. It is a nice friendly surprise – sort of like a birthday present.

More Readers Comments.

A guy left a comment saying anyone writes their biography in the third person is a dork. I didn’t publish it. Would you like to know why? I reserve that name for me from people I truly love like my sister, my husband and my best friend – who by the way also call me Mutt, Monkey, Julie Bulie and JB.

Theater in Bologna – Arena del Sole

I went to the theater with my bright and shiny students, some teachers and some parents last week. It was funny and entertaining. Funtertaining? I think it is important to participate in life. We had a few laughs. I got to know my students better.

Each Word You Say Represents Who You Are

Often when my younger students use questionable language on facebook, I give them a tiny note, a wink and a smile.

They told me in person Prof, we just copied and pasted. It’s not our fault. I told my sweet and smart students I’m going to buy them a shirt and write It’s not my fault on it for the amount of times I’ve heard that. I love that they have added me to their facebook accounts and include me in their lives. They gave me a couple of toys to play with at school: a spinner top, a stand up Winx as big as my index finger and a poofy top Cars pen.

Give.

I loved that they played a joke on me and took the Winx doll when the teacher wasn’t looking. They passed it around the class smiling and playing. Some of them conspired to give it back to me while others joked that they were breaking it. This to me is life. The smiles. The silliness. The wonder.

Life is Participation.

I walked into class and some of my students noticed I got a new hair cut. They gave me compliments. I think were sincere. I’ve learned so many things from people and living here. I would say the number one thing I have learned is how to be a nicer person. I mean it. I surround myself by lovely people and I thank you for being here right now in this minute. One of the girls asked me why I stood up to clap at the theater performance. I told her because life is about participation.

I’m Still Smiling.

I received a ton of stuff from my loved ones for Christmas. Thank you so much. They continue to spoil me. I don’t know what I have done to deserve such wonderful treatment but I try to be humble and thankful. My kids got a lot of clothes, toys and candy.

In class I gave a talk about health, not smoking and going the extra mile – and flossing. I told them how I feel knowledge will make them better people. They are making decisions at this age that will effect the rest of their lives. All of us are. I’m privileged to be talking to them and you too.

I know I got through because the whole class quiet and listening. After we talked about health we talked at length about existentialism, fatalism and Christianity and dreams. They get it. Kids are smart. They are our future.

I hope this finds you well and happy. Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read and visit. Have a great day.

Julie

Be inspirational. Be inspired. Note to self: Try harder. And smile. Everything is going to be alright.

I’m giving out brownie points to the first three people who share this article.

If you enjoyed this article please feel free to tweet it at twitter or link it to facebook.

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Posted in Inspiration, happiness, journal, learning, teaching, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

74th day blogging with 1650+ visitors. WT? Cranking out fresh smiley blog content daily.

January 12, 2010 by http://julieangelos.com

I’m going to remove my blog stats feature from my blog about Italy. Blogging has taken over my life. I’m going to try to only check my blog visitor stats once a month. Uh huh. Yeah. Right.

Love life! painted by yours truly Julie.

I just want to let my nice readers know how I appreciate each and every click you have made. I have a feeling it’s probably just one crazy maniac who wants me to think I’ve got a cool blog and has nothing better to do so he/she is clicking endlessly on my site. Thanks maniac. You’re keeping me sane.

Today’s theme is going to be about multi-tasking and/or doing one thing at a time. How many things can you do at once? Or is it better to do one thing at a time?

I feel alive when I am doing a zillion things at once. I can have two chats going on in facebook, the phone up on my ear as I’m skyping with my mom watching my children and husband play, listening to a cd while the television is on in the background and the teapot is about to whistle that the water is ready. I’ve also got 10 windows open on my computer and am reading, writing and watching a youtube video. Did she really just say that?

On the other hand I consider myself an entirely simplistic person. Breathe in, count to 10, hold, count to 20, breathe out count to five, repeat. Relax, eat well, do yoga. You can only do one thing at a time if you want to do it well so stay in the moment and concentrate, right? Focus. I’d call this a dichotomy if I knew what it meant. It’s sounds like a fitting word, doesn’t it?

I just looked up dichotomy in wikipedia. It’s actually fitting. Take that Mr. ‘I’m moving on’ blog spam man.

Surprise!

What do you prefer? Everything at once or just one thing at a time?

Hey kids! How are you?! Great to see you. Guess what we did AGAIN today? Yes, we went to the theater in the center of town and got a tour back stage. I went with two shiny teachers and a class of 22 bright students. All the world is a stage. I’m singing and dancing. I happily volunteered to go on stage while the lighting technician showed us how the spot lights work. I must be attention starved because before you knew it a girl named Giada and I were making up a dance routine.

We got booed. We bowed.

Arena del Sole

Tomorrow evening we will all be attending a show. It looks interesting considering the main actor is a man dressed as a woman. Is this appropriate for teenagers? We learnt that the theater used to be a convent with nuns then Napolean was in town about 200 years ago (uh huh) – anyone checking this for correctness? Then the theater got auctioned off to a crazy man who sold leather goods. At least that’s what our guide said.

As far as multi tasking in concerned.

For some psychotic reason I decided to write a guide ebook to getting your blog started and how to make it bloom. I noticed some people are having a hard time getting their blog off the ground so I wanted to share that information. Then I started writing it. It’s not a bad book by any means but still? In Italian they have a saying called ‘chi melo fa fare?’ It means who is forcing me? Everyone I’ve ever met in my life is writing a book so what? The world needs MY information? I don’t think so. And secondly, why would I do that? To prove I can? Breathe Julie Breathe.

I could just take off the picture and that would be that. Only problem is that I’ve already written about 24 pages. Once I start doing something I like to follow through. I just don’t want to put out a mediocre product. I’ll let you know.

Hope all of you are fine out there. Have a great day. Be inspirational. Make the changes you want. Be the change you want. Believe in yourself. You can do it. I know you can.

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