Category Archives: writing

If I can figure out how to write a blog, anyone can.

Beautiful table setting.

Would you like to write a blog? Please do.

If you would like to be a published writer, it’s easy, just do it. I started writing as soon as I got a crayon in my hand.

When I was 11, I started keeping a small lock and key diary with a bright yellow and red Snoopy picture. I would write whatever came to a 11 year-old’s mind.

I have entries in my diary about what I would do for my birthday party, where my family went and who I liked and didn’t like at school. The diary entry that makes me laugh is My sister hit me. Now I realize the importance of those four words.

I found a place for myself, a place to put my own thoughts but most importantly I have proof 30 years later that my sister hit me. ;)

As I got older, I started writing travel diaries. I have about 15 handwritten diaries in my garage that I wrote when I was between 19 and 30. Sometimes I would like to burn them because I’m afraid what my children will think.

They probably won’t be so interested in my life. Still, when I travelled I always kept a journal  before I decided to give writing a try.

If you want to write, do it. Just take out a pen and write. open Word. I use WordPress to blog.

How to get published.

The first time I got published as a writer I was in high school. It helped to have friends. I was president of my high school so the job was sort of just assigned to me. One of my teachers came up to me and said Julie, you are going to have to write a weekly article for the school newspaper.

A couple of weeks later, I saw my name in print for the first time with a headline saying Howdy Cowboys. What a laugh.

From then, I moved to Europe and remained one of the few people who actually knew English so it was pretty much certain that I would get published in the first English magazine in our city. Luckily for me, the publisher was a good friend of mine. She had great taste in style and the magazine was a big success in my humble opinion.

From there, I just continued writing. I would write or suggest stories to my publisher and she usually printed them. Sometimes, my publisher friend, Ali,  would give me assignments, for example she’d say Julie, there’s a new art opening on Friday, can you cover it? I continue to write for pleasure just as I continue to paint pictures of flowers, just as I love reading other people’s stories.

Also, I would suggest you write from the heart and write as you speak. Finally the easiest way to get published is to publish yourself ~ just as I am doing here.

Thank you for visiting. Comments are appreciated. Have a great day.

Have you ever been published? What sort of things do you like to write about?

I’d love to hear if you’d like to leave a comment below. Thanks.

Country Side Tulips Laptop Sleeve electronicsbag

Beaching it in Italy lol:-)


♥ Be inspiring.

Once when my kids were little I took them to the beach on a vacation camping.

The following day, I drove back home defeated.

It’s been about three or four years since I have braved taking my kids to the beach on my own. Finally, I got some courage to spend a week seaside.

How did it go?

My friends on facebook are sending me messages hoping that I have survived. I am back at my computer and house alive, relaxed, tan, and feeling quite amazing actually.

I’m from southern California. I have been living in Italy for 15 or 16 years now. It’s so different. I know in my about Julie contact page I mentioned that after a while, the differences between the two countries, USA and Italy seem to mix, but since I just got back from the beach, I’m going to try to convey them to you here now.

Ready?

♥ I'm sending you a {big hug} ♥

California beach ~ wide, open, relaxing, breath taking, cold water, big waves, surfing, never ending horizon, beautiful sunsets, beach bike path on the sand.

Italian beach ~ semi crowded, clean, organized, rows of umbrellas and chaise lounges lined up like soldiers. Toys, families, hours on the sand, trampolines, jumpy jumpy things, slides and tons of food at organized hours. Kids free to play in an enclosed safe environment until late.

I just didn’t cook much. I went out for all of my meals which if you know is the same as admitting to sin in this country. We spent our days in the water, at the beach, taking long bike rides and playing in the park.

♥ Believe in yourself ~ give yourself a break. ♥

Italians love their food. In fact, I had home made sauce jarred in the fridge as well as home made pesto. It was perfect. I gave it to my neighbor. Please don’t tell my mother in law. She went to a lot of trouble to get that there for me. I just couldn’t get over the idea of having to wash dishes.

I read a lot.

I was an extra good vacationer.

I lied on my beach bed for hours. The kids played endlessly. They both made friends, came home sun kissed and lovely. We bought lots of toys and plan on going back if and when I find the courage.

I certainly missed my blog and facebook friends. I have an online community that has become a big part of my life.

Hope this post finds you happy, lovely and in love.

Julie

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How about you?

How did you spend your holiday? Are you getting a vacation? What do you do to relax? What is the last book you read, and do you recommend it? What kind of beach do you like? Waves? No waves? I like the waves. I love the Pacific Ocean. :)

Bl❀ggity bl❀g bl❀g.

Hi friends and welcome back. Nice to see you. Welcome new visitors.

Hello Africa! Hello Asia! Hello Europe! Hello Australia! Hello Canada! Hello south America and above all hello U.S.A! Did I leave anyone out?! Hope not!

What motivates you?

Key kitty kitty kitty. That's me talking again to my cat. : )

Key kitty kitty kitty.

My best friend kicks my bum in tennis and probably anyone else’s. When we were playing at university we were great partners.

We spent our time between matches actually doing cartwheels on the court. Sometimes we’d do them during matches. :)

One day our coach pulled us aside and assigned us new partners. Not the Chinese, we chanted. They’d kill us at tennis. They were serious players.

Sure enough, my best friend and I found ourselves paired up with fantastic new partners.

I’m building bridges here.

Stay with me folks. There IS a reason I’m telling you this.

The reason is this.

I ask you, What motivates you most? Is it someone who comes over, puts your hand on your shoulder, smiles, and says good job, or is the person who gets behind you and yells ‘DO IT!’?

Can I let this go? Will I let this go? When? Now.

Oil Painting I made for my BFF.

When I was on swim team in high school, my sister was my best motivator. She’d follow me back and forth across the lanes and scream ‘Go Julie!’ Her coaching strategy was swim toward the chocolate cake and away from the shark.

The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle.

I prefer swimming towards the chocolate cake. But I think both motivators will work.

When we were back playing singles tennis, my best friend would look me in the eye and with a sly smile say You’re going down.

She’d say it with such conviction she would win! I think this is called psyching me out.

She’s an awesome tennis player.

The point is, get out there, do your best, don’t be afraid of things that are new, go towards your goals and model good behavior hopefully doing cartwheels inbetween.

Have a nice day and thank you for visiting.

6 reasons my blog readers rock. ❒ ~ check ✔

Muah ♫.•*¨`*•♫.•´*.¸.• {blows a kiss.}

Muah ♫.•*¨`*•♫.•´*.¸.• {blows a kiss.}

Welcome back visitors for yet another pot of freshly brewed hot blog copy, using homegrown partially recycled pure grounds. Whatever that means.

Blog copy. Try saying that ten times fast.

I wanted to start off by saying I’ve had a few readers who have been such loyal blog followers leaving comments, hitting the facebook ‘like’ button, encouraging me.

I thank you for being my constant inspiration. Believe it or not, some of you wonderful readers have sent me long inspiring letters AND super cool REAL presents. That’s just too cool.

Like This!

Now my readers are going to ask 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.

Bwah ha ha

I’m digging myself quickly into a hole on this post. I can feel it spiraling down.  I still have friends who don’t know what blog means.

Note to self.  Should I start calling it an online journal?

❀ I know you are there. I can see you and it makes me happy and sad all at the same time.

❀ It's okay to take a break. ❀

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 lives better. They say things like they love to read my blog. I don’t know if that counts though because it 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. Stay with me folks.

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. I want to know what makes a blog successful so I just click away. Luckily I’ve been super peaceful and smiling.

I'll forgive you. ´¯`»¸¸.·☆

It's a new day and new dawn and I'm feeling good.´¯`»¸¸.·☆

I’m not so certain that spending more time online is a good thing though.

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 hyphenated the word be-er.

This chick is so cool. She's thinking about you. ❀

I can see you. Just tell me everything is going to be okay. It will! ´¯`»¸¸.·☆

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 my family, cleaning, cooking, writing, drawing,  a lot of time with my friends – as much as possible and the major part of my time taking care of life.

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. Take care of yourselves.

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

Julie

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Reach for the moon. ☆ If you don’t make it ~ at least you’ll be in the midst of stars.

When they say you can't, show them differently.

10 x No = YES!

Here’s a story I learned when I was young.

There’s a bunch of fleas put in a jar. They keep jumping super high. In fact, fleas can jump 60 times their height! The fleas are now in the jar jumping so high so high.

Then someone comes along and puts a cap on the jar. Bump bump bump. The fleas hit their heads. Ouch. They change their behavior and say in a tiny flea voice I will only jump as high as this lid. Ouch ouch ouch.

Then someone comes along and opens the jar. What do you think happens? Do the fleas jump super high or do they jump just as high as the lid?

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. ღ ॐ Friedrich Nietzsche ♡

Unfortunately they only jump slightly lower than lid. You know why? They learned they couldn’t jump any higher.

The point of the story is that we are all little fleas that can jump 60 times our height.

You can jump higher.

Please don’t let ANYONE ever tell you that you can’t do something that benefits yourself, humanity, your team or someone you love.

Even better do something for an enemy. Forgive them.

More Peeps?! WT~@#?

Surely a vanilla green tea with honey day today.

Tell me when you want me stop talking about this but I have a good number of visitors here. I think that’s unbelievable.

I just don’t know when I am going to get used to thinking I’m talking to more than my husband or children. Still it just floors me. I googled the question How many people visit your blog?

I keep getting referred back to one site and I found an interesting chart saying they get 20,000 visitors per week. I’m not buying it. Maybe they are. I just don’t know of any personally.

I am sure somewhere someone is. If so be brave, come forward, leave a comment. One guy said he got like I don’t know 250 per week when he wrote an iphone review. Probably.

Cough cough cough bull…bull. bologna.

Keep Calm and Carry On

Welcome new readers. I hope you become a regular visitor.

The bottom line is I am completely satisfied with the positive feedback I am getting and the steady increase in visitors. Thank you.

Do you like email – I don’t so much.

What do you think about the box that reads: If you are new you might want to consider adding me onto your email subscription? I wish someone would explain that to me. I personally don’t like email so much.

I do all of my communicating between my friends on facebook. What am I going to do with a HUGE list of emails? Sell them to marketers? No. Why? So they can send me junk mail that I trash?

I’m not going there. Am I wrong in thinking if someone wants to see what I am up to they can go to my site or drop me a line? People know how to bookmark, don’t they? Argh.

The first week I was blogging I added myself as a subscribe to my newsfeed by email button. I kept getting letters from myself and it was awful.

Reach for the moon. If you don’t make it at least your are somewhere amongst the stars.

Have a great day and thanks for visiting.

Julie

It’s a new day and new dawn and I’m feeling good.

Flowers for my sister. This is a water color painting a bit bigger than the size of a your laptop opened up.

Today I'm offering you love, a smile, a hug and some well wishes. .¸.•´* ♫`*.♥

I’m dedicating this post to my blogging friend over at Tiny Island in Singapore as she has shown the courage day in and day out to be an excellent blogger.

Two days ago I wrote on facebook that I was going through a bit of a difficult time and I asked for prayers. Within one day I received countless messages of support. I feel as though I am being held up by angels. It hasn’t been easy for me, this whole blogging journal.

Friends who have known me best know I have written a journal for all of my life. I like to write. Who doesn’t? How could you NOT like to write? It’s just like talking to yourself. I do it because I feel like once I get my thoughts written on the page, they might just make sense.

Then later I can go back and try to understand them.

That would be an ideal life, wouldn’t it? If everything just made sense?

I’m really hesitant to share why I’m going through my difficult times at the same time I feel like it’s absolutely necessary to write them down.

Bloggers have a love hate relationship in my opinion with comments. Comments seem to be the first thing people like to read in an article ~ to see what people are talking about.

But I don't want to go among mad people", said Alice. "Oh, you can't help that", said the cat. "We're all mad here."

But I don't want to go among mad people", said Alice. "Oh, you can't help that", said the cat. "We're all mad here."

Well, who writes comments on a blog when everyone is over chatting on facebook? When a blogger puts himself out for commenting and receives NO COMMENT, then they think Well, that was fun.

Plus, unfortunately, positive feedback never seems to be enough, or does it? How insecure can a person be? You could get a hundred comments. Or, you could get no comments in six months as one blogger confessed. When is enough, enough?

Hey, I heard that.

I believe words count. One of my favorite examples is:

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

It just matters to me how sometimes I think that this world is made up of good and evil. I always choose to see the good. That’s the positive person inside of me. But the more I read, the more I see, also see how the world is also full of evil. I see images of my friends who have their kids home from the war in Afghanistan. I read a lot. It’s a crazy world out there. It’s also a beautiful world too if you choose to see it that way.

I watch TV too. I saw David Letterman host a man who had killed someone in combat. He talked about it. What a burden to bear. I watch a channel here that shows how the prisons have a budget three times the budget that goes to education. That floors me. I worry sick about our youth. I think we have to transmit what love and life and  beauty are to them.

Do you guys have ANY idea what these kids are going through? I work with teenagers and they are just like you and I, they are REAL people trying to carve out a life for themselves given the resources they have.

And what are we leaving them as a human race? Are we leaving them an earth that is free of war and hate? Are we leaving them a world that is damaged by pollution? Are we instilling morals and values in them. Are we teaching them that by simple acts of kindness we can make our worlds better?

Do we say the words “You are bad.” or “You are a good kid, you just used bad judgement?”

Did you guys know that kids when they are like 11 or 12 don’t know how to make friends? They will walk up to other kids in the class and just be downright mean. They will say insulting comments to their friends just because they can. I like to tell them, you know that’s not really the best way to make friends.

They will learn. Kids are smart.

Yes, I can paint a pretty picture and make everything look beautiful and rosy. And yes, wherever you go, well, there you are.

What I am trying to say is folks, friends, guys and dolls, surround yourself by lovely things. Believe in yourself. I do. When and if someone says a comment that you choose to believe, remember, you are the one who has chosen to give importance to their words. So choose to hear the good things. Choose the positive. Choose the good.

Much love,

Julie

13 excellent blσgs for your reading and viewing ♥ pleasure

иєω σяlєaиs ¢ιту♥ Be lovely. ♥ Be inspiring. ♥ Be generous. ♥ Be kind. ♥ Have integrity. ♥ Believe in love. ♥ Believe in yourself. ♥ Never give up. ♥ Be the change you want to see.

иєω σяlєaиs ¢ιту♥ Be lovely. ♥ Be inspiring. ♥ Be generous. ♥ Be kind. ♥ Have integrity. ♥ Believe in love. ♥ Believe in yourself. ♥ Never give up. ♥ Be the change you want to see.

Hi guys, welcome back. Good to see you. New visitors, welcome, join, comment. Grab a cup of fresh brewed blog copy. Sugar? Milk? Beuller? Anyone?

Today I’m talking about what makes a good blog based on scientific evidence also known as my opinion. OK OK, I’ll throw in some scientific evidence.

Here are the 13 best blogs who have gotten my blogging bum in gear and motivate me to be a better blogger. Try saying that 10 times fast.

1. BJ at Tiny Island This blogger lives in Singapore. She has a nice style of writing. I go back to her blog because not only is has she become a blogger friend, she has great information on living in Singapore. I feel like I’m travelling without leaving my home when I visit her blog.

2. Tana @ From Kenya with Love If you haven’t read about Tana, my friend from Junior High School, who moved to Africa from California when she was young and raised three gorgeous girls on her own, then now is your chance. Tana tells awesome stories of adventures in Africa that will have you cry, laugh and worry. You’ll love her blog.

3. Michelle @ Bleeding Expresso The Godmother of blogs. I kiss her ring. Based in southern Italy, when I got the nod from Michelle my visitor hits soared. Her blog is FULL of useful information, wit, charm and pictures. She captures the spirit of Italy way better than I can. But best of all, she’s got a goat. Actually three goats.  I’m telling you I have yet to see a cuter goat.

Like This!

4. Matt @ ma.tt This cool blogger who designs blog platforms likes to play jazz in his free time. DID YOU HEAR ME? He’s young, talented, traveling the world and has provided half of the world with a FREE place to write your words. We bow down to our youth.

5. Chris @ The Art of Non-Conformity This guy is AMAZING. I admire him. I came across his blog when doing research for my ebook Zero to Blog and saw the fantastic headline 279 days to overnight success. His ebook is FREE and downloadable now.

Chris’s mission is to travel the world and share his stories. Let’s see if he will dominate the world with his World Domination Manifesto. I found his blog absolutely packed with valuable information – for bloggers, travelers, doers and dreamers. Not only THAT, he’s making this world better place. Five star blogger.

6. Anne @ Anne on Life http://anneonlife.com/ – This lovely mom gets an A in my book for being excellent. She does it all, the mom, the blog, the math, the homework, giving her kids the jeep, but what I love about Anne is NOT only did she go back to continue her education in the later part of her life, she got outstanding grades. When she commented on my list of 7 killer buzz words, she got me to snicker when she wrote:

I love ‘hiney’. Uh, that didn’t come out right.

7. Barbara @ Blogging without a blog I can NOT emphasize enough how much I love clicking and going back to Barbara’s blogging without a blog. She and I have similar tastes in books and motivators such as Wayne Dyer, Byron Katie and Tony Robbins. Written in a classroom like setting, when you click over to Barbara’s blog you a guaranteed to learn something new every time.

purple flowers

I smell spring.

7. Pam @ bored cook Good recipes, good stories and a good blogger. She’s actually gets you cooking delicious food. I love her stories about being young and visiting Italy hoping to bet pinched in the bum.

8. Linda @ Lindaloumac This nice English lady moved to Italy after she raised her lovely girls. She keeps us up on her adventures at her blog. She’s also an avid reader and shares tons of information and book links.

9. Katie and Krystyne @ Tres Chic – Two newly graduated high school students embark on their journey to France to study abroad for four months. Read about their adventures and share their journey.

10. Dr. B @ Dr. Tom Bibey Blue Grass Physician I love love love love going back to read Dr. B’s blog. His visitors are like his patients and he takes good care of us all. His mom was an English teacher and his best friend passed away. He keeps his soul alive telling us what it is like to grow up in a small town where you get to the local diner by turning left at the oak.

Plus, he does it with grace, beauty, dignity and love for his wife and family.

There was not a whit of culture or refinement in me or my brothers.  We were just wild sunburned boys who ran all day and stayed covered in red clay dust.

11. Jeff R @ The Anti ignorance Blog
This young fellow is discovering the world through his words. He’s not bothered by visitors or by growth. He’s just writing. Isn’t wonderful that we have the opportunity to read about what our youth think? Give him a visit and let him know we aren’t all bad.

12. Miss A. Topp @ Love, Literature & the Pursuit of Happiness Enthusiasm, smiles, friends, a big family and willingness to tell the truth. Miss Topp is a young teacher and a lover of books. She’s working on her latest novel. In the mean time, feel free to follow her blog at http://msatopp.wordpress.com/

13. Julie @ local food.

One of the perks of coaching our 13 year-old son, Jack’s soccer team is getting to know the parents of our team members. Disclaimer: Joe does the coaching, I do the Starbucks run and cheering. One of the families we’ve had the pleasure of getting to know is Vince and Denise Brigantino. As a thank you gift for coaching (and cheering), they gave us a lovely bottle of their family grown Cabernet Sauvignon. We uncorked it tonight, let it breath for about an hour, and served it with Baked Ziti – yum!

When Julie writes you enjoy the northern California lifestyle along with her.

Thanks for joining me. Leave a comment. It’s how we little blog writers get paid. : )

Julie

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Building a Better Blog – You guys rock.

I’m so proud of my readers I’m turning the spotlight on you.

My heart is bursting with joy as I welcome you again to another pot of blog copy at jbulie’s blog. I have to share today how proud I am of my readers. They are all taking HUGE leaps and bounds towards their personal goals. It’s such a wonderful feeling to be part of that.

What I didn’t expect when I started this blog is the many thanks I am getting.

Choose HappinessWho would have known?

So much news to report all about you guys, my readers. I don’t even know where to start. Yesterday I had a chat with a friend of mine that I have known since I was a young kid. We were literally cracking each other up talking about our lives, our families and our progress on our blogs.

We pitched each other ideas and we got to the point of intense laughter. My idea was the hand in the video with the Mtv microphone interviewing myself about the success of my ebook Zero to Blog. I had the microphone decorated like a real mtv mic with lights, bells and whistles on it. And a puffy something or another.

Only problem was working out logistics since I make my own videos, I have to be the hand and the voice. We were laughing thinking how we are going to manage this on line from a distance. Maybe we can use a fake hand?

I’ll get my cat to prop it up on a pillow. Too bad the cat can’t talk.

Everyone’s starting to write, express themselves and make blogs.

It started with a friend of mine who is a runner. She sent me her article and asked me what I thought. I thought it was out of this world. She made a step of sharing. If you knew this girl and her story you would see what a big personal step that was for her. She’s a mom of five. Her running is her time for herself. She runs marathons. When I went on a diet, she’s the one who filled my inbox with health and fitness information. I love this girl. She is working on her personal growth and I am so very proud of her.

Then the blogs.

At LEAST four of my good friends who have read my book have talked about it and made positive steps on make their blogs more reader friendly and interactive, by asking for comments, by interacting with their visitors, by adding music, but adding of themselves. It’s a wonderful feeling to know I am somehow part of their process. We encourage each other. It’s like a fire under your buns. :)

OK, I have more and more and more to tell you about but life is calling me. I feel like I’m living life at the top of my game. I have my work, my family, video, my book, my blog, my friends, my mom’s new website and my clothes line going on.

OH AND two of my readers have a date this Saturday. Ah ah ah, life is good.

jb

It’s time for another blog post. {And no, I couldn’t think of a better heading.}

Life is good. *¨`*•♫.•´*.¸.•

Warning. This blog post is longer than usual. Click away now if you know what is good for you.

One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn’t belong.

That’s a song that Cookie Monster sang on Sesame Street. Do you remember it? I don’t know why I have that song in my head these days but it is.

This is hard even for a monster! Cookie Monster

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Do you comment on blogs?

Just wondering. You know why? Because ever since I have started a blog I have also started commenting on blog posts. I’m quite certain I have never left a comment until I had a blog. Strange that is. Life. Huh?

How about you? What’s your opinion?

Do you like reading, writing or neither. If you had the choice would you rather watch a movie or read a book? I know I personally prefer reading to watching TV. It seems like ever since the introduction of a Visual Audio medium such as You Tube and TV, people just gel infront of videos instead of reading.

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That’s why I like reading and writing.

Don’t you remember what it was like when you were little and you got lost in your very first book? I know my first books were “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis and Charlotte’s Web. I remember how involved I got with the character Lucy when she entered the wardrobe! I truly fell in love with the lion.

Also, because I work in schools with students I am surrounded by noise. I have noise at home because I live with kids and my husband so there is always talking, tv, music or friends around. At school, there is silence only during written tests but it gets awfully loud during the break from one class to another.

Plus, have you ever noticed how kids, especially youngens, can have voices that shrill? My compliments to their vocal cords. My sympathies and condolences to my ears.

How having an iphone, internet and wi fi in Italy has changed my life for the better.

I have wanted to write a post about this for a long time and just have never gotten around to it. I just want to let you know I’m learning how to use my iphone that i have wanted for over three years now. Yay!

What I love the most about my iphone?

The navigator.

I used to come home after school and have to prepare directions the evening before. That’s not what I mean. What I mean is now that I have a navigator AND information at my finger tips with me at all times, I just put what I’m looking for into the little search box and my smart phone tells me the closest whatever it is I am looking for, where I am, how to get there and how long it will take with traffic.

I AM A BLUE BLINKING DOT IN CYBERSPACE!

I can travel and have INFORMATION!

How cool is that? God bless Steve Jobs.

My cousin shared a video with me about Android vs iphone. It uses bad language but is too funny because it sums it up for me. I just remember how many years I lived with Apple and Mac in Italy and NO ONE got it. There was NO SUPPORT whatsoever but my husband and I held on tight to our belief that Apple and Mac were a superior product. I am so happy to see the rest of the world catching on.

ALSO One last thing! I look at my stats and I LOVE how people visit my blog from all corners of the world. How cool is that?

Hello Africa! Hello Asia! Hello Russia! Hello Italy! Hello USA! Hello Singapore! Hello Sweden! Hello UK! Hello Ireland! Hello France! Hi there India! Hello Spain! Hello Portugal! Hello Australia! Hello Russia! Hello Thailand, Netherlands, Greece and Canada! Hello small blue blinking dot in the middle of nowhere!

Hello world!

I have NO idea how you have found me or my blog, but you are welcome here.

Thank you for stopping by. Thank you for leaving your comments.

Thank you for your constant support.

FaceTweet it!

For my twits~!

The commercial segment of this broadcast has now come to an end and you can go back to internet surfing, jobs and life. Thanx!

Have a great day. Nice to see you.

Julie

P.S. I totally forgot! I am looking for new blogs to read. What is your favorite blog? Can you leave me a link? Thanks!

Here’s a shout out to my husband, his new blog and his Day Spa here in Italy. We are finally online. It looks like there’s another blogger in our family!

Bloggers Blogging about their Blogs and such.

☆But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.☆ Isaiah 40:31

I know this blogging business has gotten out of hand when bloggers blog about other blogs and we lose the focus of what this whole blogging business is about. That is sharing, learning and trying to make this world a better place through our words and through our examples.

My goodness that’s a lot of Bs in one sentence.

Since coming back home a few weeks ago and getting back to school, I feel like life has been a whirlwind of events, places, people and meetings. It’s okay. It’s fun when it’s not tiring.

The last English teacher to be given a good teaching contract from the government just received her nomination. She was born in 1954. So, maybe in ten more years time I can hope for the same. For now I’m thankful that I keep getting called back for what is the best I can possible hope for, which is an annual contract.

I don’t mind. The biggest challenge of having an annual contract is having to switch schools every year. That means new teacher’s lounges, new directions, new faces, new ways of doing things. I got lucky in a way. I was told that the school I’m working at is the best in my area. It’s true. It is good. What that also means is that there are quite a bit of standards set. Or, maybe I’m just imagining.

I’m cool like that. I like the kids. I like getting down to business and studying. Today we got a step further because I had the kids WRITE and I mean WRITE their hearts out. I’m just giving them time, space and the resources. They do the rest. I hope they enjoy it. I doubt it. They would probably rather be on facebook.

I am having a hard time keeping track of people. I started this blog a year ago with a few friends on my friend’s list. Maybe 100. Now I have 500. No, of course, they are not all true FRIENDS friends. They are people who I have met on facebook and from blogging.

But I have to say, some of them have actually because intricate part of my lives and for this I am truly thankful. They write things to me that encourage me to keep blogging ~ things like they like my blog. Well, thank you. :)

That doesn’t include people like my mom, dad, brother and sister who are paid readers. ;)

And, yes, of course, the students who write get extra credit and a plus in the grade register if they leave me a compliment. I’m JOKING. Although it wouldn’t hurt.

So with the help of my friends I’ve found my classes, I’m getting my books and most importantly I’m making headway with our sports’ foundation. We are getting our mural painted and have already got the base done, thanks to friends who love to contribute.

If you haven’t joined our little league fan club, please feel free to. It’s just for fun.

Hope this post finds you lucky and in love.

Julie

Minerbio Lupi little league baseball team, jbulie’s blog and readers: Promoting sports and academics while aiming towards excellence.