I have spent three weeks working on this post. Starting and stopping, revising, restarting, deleting, retyping…I just could not find the right word to share with and to tell you about Mel from According to Mags. I simply could not find the words to share with you in true Talking to Strangers style why Mel is so fantastically inspiring and amazing to me. To tell you why I am so over the moon happy I met her and why my blogging, mommy, friend and teacher world.
…and then like ketchup plopping onto a burger the words found me.
On the 1st and 15th of every month Mel and her friend Michele host a link up called Ketchup With Us. The rules are no rule, just guidelines: In 57 words or less, tell us about…
So in pure Ketchup With Us style, today I give you not just 57 words but 57 tid bits, facts and reasons why I think she is pretty damn amazing…
1. We first met over beer
2. Mel introduced me to Sam Adams Chocolate lager…seriously delicious and Chocolate Beer PEOPLE!!
3. Mel is a writer
4. Mel is the kind of writer the kind of writer that can paint a picture with words, take you to another place, stand and look around and you can feel the breeze blowing and taste the salt on your lips from the margarita as your skin warms in the heat of the sun as the sand tickles your toes kind of writer.
5. Mel’s introduction of Chocolate Lager led to the Blueberry lager…oh my lawrdy make your mouth water deliciousness
6. Mel has written a children’s book
7. Mel and her hubs write original children’s stories
9. Mel’s podcasts make my daughters shout from the backseat of the car, ” MMMMOOOOOMMMMMM turn off the music!!!! We want the Nightlight stories!!!”
10. My daughter’s swoon over Mrs. Mel and Mr. Chris
11. I swoon over Mrs. Mel’s and Mr. Chris’s stories!!!
12. Mel is supportive
13. Mel has shown me the power of my teacher voice
14. Mel has shown me and reminded me the power of social media to connect teachers and resources
15. Mel is energetic and contagiously giddy
16. Mel plays a mean Rock Band guitar
17. Mel joins a book club and doesn’t read the book…been there!
18. Mel has two kids… with wickdly awesome smiles. The kind that just make you want to smile too
19. Mel has cheered me on just when I needed it most
20. Mel is a special education teacher too
21. Mel is one of those people you meet on social media and the more you get to know them the more you find you have in common, the luckier you feel that you have met and the smaller the world feels
22. Mel’s words have encouraged me
23. Mel’s words have given me confidence.
24. Connecting with Mel (and her husband Chris…also in education) as a teacher gave me confiedence I never thought I’d have as an educator in this space
25. Connecting with Mel showed me the power of my voice…I never thought I would find it any other place but here
26. Mel dresses in a Ketchup bottle
27. Mel is a hoot… not the owl kind either. The make you laugh until you have a stitch kind of a hoot
28. Mel is a fan of the Walking Dead…instant bonus points!
29. Mel is crazy goofy (in a totally awesomesauce great way… I’ll explain more later)
30.
ok… I explained it faster then I thought!!!
31. Mel is a math tutor
32. Mel is a University Supervisor for student teachers…how lucky are those student teachers
33. Mel aspires to be a professional napper…I have a napping habit too. I aspire to someday be a professional at it!
34. Mel adores every ounce of her children’s imaginations
35. Mel’s smile makes you want to smile too
36. Mel writes some super fun vs. posts. My favorite…Grover vs Evil Dead(she may have ruined Grover just a smidge for me but oh the post it is!!!)
37. Mel is an origional song writer…Nose Picking Song. I know! Serious talent there, right?!
38.
39. Mel is a runner
40. Mel ran in a Zombie 5k… I envy her so. I want to be chased by Zombies! Well the fake kind because the real ones OMGAWD that would be terrifying!
41. Mel has a SERIOUS…SERIOUS Cadbury Egg addicit…infatuation…love
42. Mel brings an energy that warms your heart, makes you giggle and smile until your cheeks hurt
43. Mel’s an amazing mom
44. Mel’s an absolute smiling beautiful goof!!
45. Mel’s a romantic
46.
47. Mel goes to see death clutch your husbands arm while you burry your eyes in his shoulder horror movies because her husband loves them
48. Mel is a home bound teacher
49.
50. Mel can turn even the most common into the hysterical
51. Mel came along right when I needed her, found value in what I had shared, validated my skills and knowledge and inspired me to share and create more
52. Mel hides her Cadbury Eggs in a cabinet…smart woman!
53. Mel brings a giggle, smile embracement of all the fantasticlly fun creative, weird ,give you a side ache from giggling and make you crazy parts of motherhood
54. Mel has a great smile
55. Mel plays a mean RockBand guitar…especially when at “Book Club”
56. Mel loves her family
57. Mel is amazing, creative, inspiring, supportive, crazy awesome imagination, a total goof, momma, wife, special education teacher, Cadbury Egg hider, beer conasueor, no longer a stranger.
So while some of the 57 may seem like they are kind of bland (no offense Mel) to me they are what make Mel so very special to me. We have opportunities to connect with people everyday. Whether it is here at this space, in social media or in real life. Sometimes if we are lucky we meet people who inspire us and share their awesomeness. If we are really lucky these people might also connect with us and support us. And sometimes if we are really, really lucky we also find someon we not only have the little things in common with but these strangers maybe even become friends. Sometimes the world just isn’t so small. There are people out there just waiting to connect with and enrich and brighten our lives.
*All pictures and the video were used with Mel’s permission. She is not alone in her Ketchup bottle wearing adventures. Her partner in crime, the Heinz to her 57… Michele at Old Dogs New Tits {snort} {giggle} {giggle} (sorry her name always makes me feel like a 7yr old little girl…she said tits!)
Kirsten Piccini of The Kir Corner is nothing new to this space. I have talked about her often here. Now if you told Kirsten that she was inspiring… no not inspiring… I would go so far as to call her my muse… she would smile (I imagine she would and share huge pearly white make you have to smile too smile) and politely say, “Oh, Laverne it isn’t me that is inspiring it is you sweetie!” Regardless of what she thinks, she inspires my quite frequently. Someone who inspires me this often can only rightfully be described as my muse.
Which brings us all to her latest inspiration…
Kirsten had been going through a rough patch in November. Painful life events, coupled with the changing seasons and some other things had left her sad. I think it is something we all can relate to. I know I can. I had noticed in November the absence of her make you smile, then giggle, then cry posts (what! a lot of her posts make me cry happy tears). I also noticed that her fantastically written stories that took me to another place and left me lost in a world of romance, passion and emotion posts had been fewer. Now the average reader may not suspect any change. I likened it to the bustle of the holidays, working full time and being a mom/wife. It often leaves very little time for blogging. So when Kirsten shared her post on Facebook it not only made sense to me, but it also inspired me!
You see wrapped up in the words of her Facebook post were also simple words about being deeply grateful for some of the things in her life. As I read the post I was instantly moved to want to flood her with gratitude and joy. Actually, I wanted to get in my car, drive out East, knock on her door, give her a huge hug and cry until it was all better. Well, that wasn’t going to happen so I decided I was going to do a link up and we would all share our joy and show everyone that when we all look at life have a lot of good in it. I was going to smother the blogosphere with happiness.
Note: When you have an idea to bring together tens of bloggers for a link up in December best not to have the idea 3 days before December… doesn’t work so well for planning and getting others on board. Also, not the best idea to be overly ambitiously when planning. For example, aiming to post for 30 days in a row while working full time, spending time with my family and then thinking I was going to run a blog link up and promote it all. I just going to go on pretending that my ambitiousness is cute… but seriously what the HECK was I thinking.
So yesterday I began. Little old me. All by myself. No link up. No big promoting. No 30 days. Just me and my 12 days. 12 Days of Joy that I will share with whoever visits this space. 12 days of noticing the little things in my life. 12 days of noticing the little things we do everyday that we miss but when you really stop and notice bring you joy. Most of all I will share my 12 days of joy for a friend I adore and who’s happiness and heart warms my life. I will share because she reminded me how important it is to look and find joy in our lives!
I have spent three weeks working on this post. Starting and stopping, revising, restarting, deleting, retyping…I just could not find the right word to share with and to tell you about Mel from According to Mags. I simply could not find the words to share with you in true Talking to Strangers style why Mel is so fantastically inspiring and amazing to me. To tell you why I am so over the moon happy I met her and why my blogging, mommy, friend and teacher world.
