Sunshine All Around

Denver has an average of about 245 days with sun or part sun each year.  Our weather is mercurial for sure.  Consider this from the Post news of Friday and Saturday:  With near-record highs and plenty of sunshine during the day followed by multiple inches of snow overnight, Colorado weather once again can't make up its mind.

It was beautiful Friday, with the high reaching 62 degrees at 2:15 p.m., which was 3 degrees shy of the record high set in 1918.  Saturday will reach a high of about 20 degrees! 
            Today a high of 16, then by Tuesday, back to 50.  But almost always sun!

My sunshiny days of the year!

I imagine many of you have seen the posts circulating about sharing some Sunshine by tapping a few bloggers that are in your network.  This time, I'm sending some sunshine to a few blogger friends!  Here is how it works!


           Acknowledge the nominating blogger.
 Share 11 random facts about yourself.
 Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you.
 List 11 bloggers.  They should be bloggers you believe deserve some recognition and a little blogging love!
 Post 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer and let all the bloggers know they have been nominated. (You cannot nominate the blogger who nominated you.)
           I've had the pleasure of being tapped more than once recently, and feel honored to hear from all these blogger friends:  Terje, of Just For A Month; Mardie of Mardie's Muse; Tara at A Teaching Life; and Michelle at One Grateful Teacher.  All of these bloggers write interesting posts, are stretching into new areas of writing, and are worth taking a look if they're new to you!  Thank you Terje, Mardie, Tara and Michelle for sending more sunshine my way!
           I'm going to answer 3 questions from each, hoping to cover some things I've rarely shared on my own blog!

from Michelle 
1.  What's your favorite quote? from Elizabeth George, favorite mystery writer: "Let's just muddle through today, that's what I say. We can't take care of tomorrow until it gets here."

2. What's your theme song? Why? I still want to keep my husband's and my song: "Oh, we aint' got a barrel of money!"  It was our song always, and means a lot to me in my memories.

3. What are you reading right now?  I read mostly books for kids, to keep up for teaching and helping teachers who teach all ages!  But I want also to return to books for adults too, so am starting The Orphan Master's Son, recent Pulitzer Prize winner by Adam Johnson.

from Mardie

4.  What 1-3 pieces of advice would you give to a newbie teacher?  Trust in your students.  They'll always lead you to good learning if you allow them to.

5.  You’ll be spending the afternoon outdoors.  Where will you be and what will you be doing there? I'll be at a nearby wetlands with my sketching notebook, having walked there for exercise, but also for sketching exercise!

6.  You are off to dinner and a movie?  What kind of restaurant will it be?  What genre of movie will you see?  Although I haven't seen many movies lately, I'm likely to choose the latest foreign film at a local art house, and then stop at a great pizza place in Denver called Beau Jo's. One of my favorite movies in past years is Life Is Beautiful.

from Terje
7.  One thing you wish adults would have told you about growing up?  That travel is fun and rewarding and full of learning.  My family only traveled to visit other family members.  There wasn't much adventure.  I only learned the wonder to new places with my husband and by traveling with my students.

8.   What is your happiest childhood memory?    Visiting grandparents, aunts and uncles.  It was idyllic to spend summers, mostly in farm or rural settings, from one set of grandparents and aunts and uncles to another.

9.  How have you surprised yourself?  That I'm becoming more and more a risk-taker.  I think it started when I returned to horseback riding.  I was scared at first to do what my coach wanted me to do, but finally got past that and loved the adventure and physical excitement of riding.

from Tara
10.  What did you learn from your mother?  To be kind and patient with others.  My mother was a wonderfully thoughtful person.

11.    How do you plan for writing on your blog?  I keep running lists, parts of other writing I see that I like, descriptions, etc.  I'm always looking for those small moments.  Ruth Ayres taught me that in many of her posts!

I know, it's supposed to be 11, but I'm answering three from each!
12.   Where do you find joy in your classroom or work?  Conversations, with students, with teachers-alway interesting, rarely fail to learn and grow from them.

And here are my questions:

1.  If you could eat any dessert, what would it be?
2.  Are you an avid reader?  What is the influence that led you to be one?
3.  Do you like to travel and stay busy going and going, or travel and relax, read, be still? Explain.
4.  If you could have any famous person come to your Thanksgiving dinner, whom would you invite and why?
5.  What is one thing in the past year that pushed you into changing something in your life?
6.  What is your favorite season?  Why?
7.  Do you have a favorite poem, or poet?  Please share.
8.  What is the funniest, maybe embarrassing, thing that ever happened to you? 
9.  Tell about a mentor in your teaching, or in your job?
10.  What is a favorite book from childhood?  Why do you believe it's a favorite?
11.  Where would you most like to be found on a Sunday afternoon?  What are you doing?

      And here are the bloggers I'm giving a Sunshine spotlight, the posts I don't usually miss!  There are others, but many have already been tapped, so I will spread a little sunshine further!

Stacey at Raising A Literate Human
Elsie at Elsie Tries Writing
Betsy at Teaching Young Writers
Donna at Mainely Write
Robin at Teaching Tomorrow's Leaders
Bunny at Bunny's Girl
Carol at Carol's Corner
Jennifer at I Hablo Espanglish
Andrea at Mrs. Payan Reads
Katherine at Read, Write, Reflect
Jen B at Ready To Flip A Coin