My Pot is Brimmin' Over

           Lisa Ricard Claro gave me this award, and since it has an Irish theme (and I think my birth mother was Irish), it's green (my favorite color) and since it...well, it's an award! I appreciate it, and am going to enjoy passing it on.

         There are several "strings" attached:

1) Thank the person who gave you the award.  Thanks, Lisa Ricard Claro.  Lisa has recently launched a new meme---Book Blurb Friday---and you can see the photo prompt the Friday before it officially begins. 

Sadly, Lisa is a chronic liar, and later on this week, will be leaving on a "vacation." At least that's what she's calling it.  In reality, she's attending the "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire" convention.  (She's still passing on the lies that she's been married for 30 years and she has grown kids. She's not even 30 years herself!  Look at her photo---no wrinkles, no spreading waistline, no mustache/beard beginning.) Hopefully this time the 12 steps to truth will stick...


2)  Write a post, include the image of the award, include a link to the person who gave it to you and a link to the person who originated it.

Christie Wright is the creator of this award, and she has a blog called Write Wild.  Christie, from what I see,  I am going to have to become a follower. Thanks to Michael at The Year of Writing Dangerously for awarding Lisa the Pot-o-Gold prize, who then passed it onto me...

3) Tell about a time when you had faith, something you hope for, something you love and a time when you experienced luck/felt lucky (see below).

4) Pass it onto 4 other bloggers and tell why they are a pot-o-gold.

It's very hard, because there are more than 4 bloggers I'd like to pass this onto, so I will stick with my teacher-friends.  (I have too many Saturday Writers/Missouri Writing Guild blogging friends; I don't want to insult some by only passing this onto 1 or 2.)

Pat Hensley and her blog always helps me out.  She regularly has great links to helpful teaching sites, she is retired yet still committed and inspired, and she writes interesting posts when she travels.

Cindi Rigsbee and her blog also keeps me uplifted. She is among the best of the best (nationally) was recently invited to attend an international teaching summit, and managed to be in the same room as Arne Duncan and not go for his jugular, so she has amazing self-control as well as a talent for teaching...

The Underground Teacher recently lost her classroom position. She has stayed involved by subbing, determined to keep connected and committed to what she loves---teaching.  She has a blog that I have followed ever since I began blogging.

Rebecca Bramstetter also writes inspired and informative posts about working with kids.  She is joining Lisa at the liar's retreat this week as well.  She says she is a "doctor" yet she is only 19 years old. (Look at the perky face that looks back at you when you check out her blog. If she's old enough to have the credentials she claims she has, I'm Halle Berry!)  Check out her blog to see some of the behind-the-scenes school stuff.

             Now here's my faith, hope, love and luck stories:

*  I had faith when I left my previous school district (because they were doing some very unethical things) and resigned without a contract (because they were notorious for NOT letting teachers out of their contracts). I had faith that I would be able to find another classroom for myself, and I did...

*  I have hope that my son will be able to find a job as a music therapist (he just completed his internship), and that there will be a world for my granddaugher to grow up in. 

* I love my husband. There have been times over the past 25 years of marriage where I have wanted to kill him with a soup spoon (it would inflict a lot more pain than a sharp knife) in the middle of the night, but we have worked on our differences over the years (Yikes! There have been years where he has voted Republican!) and work together to keep our family afloat...

* A time when I felt lucky I didn't even know I was lucky until 40 or so years later.  I was given up for adoption when I was born, and only discovered much later how fortunate I was. My biological mother had three girls.  The first two she gave up for adoption (I was # 2), the third one she hung onto for seven years; she then committed suicide by shooting herself.  The third girl had an unbelievable amount of garbage heaped on top of her, and is now in prison for the rest of her life.  That could have been me...

         So Lisa, thanks again for the award, and Christie, thanks for creating the award.  And a top of the mornin' (or a top of the muffin, for all the Seinfeld fans) to everyone!