Can you believe it, this is the last day of November! All the leaves have fallen from our trees which hasn’t made hubby too happy and there is less sunshine during the day which make my evening commute much worse.
Winter will be here and soon I’ll be wrapped in hats, scarves and gloves but until then I am still wrapped in sweaters and shawls.
As you can see, I was not wearing pantyhose or tights in these pics, however, since then have pulled them out and started wearing them because it got really chilly last week.
Speaking of last week, it was a very busy one because in addition to getting ready for Thanksgiving, I conducted a Basic Blogging Workshop at the Bear Library, and then presented a “Social Media for Personal and Professional Networking” Workshop for IAAP Administrators in Dover both of which were awesome.
Thanksgiving was nice, Malik came home Tuesday and I prepared a nice dinner for my mini men and hubby and we had more than enough to eat. The No Thaw Jennie-O Cajun Turkey was amazing and very easy to cook, from the freezer to the oven to the table in four hours. After dinner, I spent several hours pulling out winter sweaters, ironing and gathering items to be donated to the Salvation Army.
Not one who likes wearing winter coats, I do however, love this shawl because it’s large enough to be wrapped in total warmth and it matches perfectly with these suede fringed booties. If you remember, I purchased these booties from TJ Maxx for a Cowboy outfit and they are very comfy and cute – what do you think?
Last minute I changed from the shawl and booties and decided to wear this oversized, thrifted sweater with these Cognac color pumps to work instead. I also have these Fioni pumps in black purchased at a BOGO sale last month at Payless. I received several compliments from a few ladies in the office which made me feel pretty good.
This is not a “You Choose the Shoes” post, but I am going to ask, which pair would you have worn with this outfit?
As most of you know, I teach Basic Blogging and Social Media Savvy Workshops for The Money School of Delaware. These workshops are usually held at the Bear Library, close to home in Middletown.
However, last week I taught a workshop at the New Castle Library in Old New Castle which is a beautiful, quaint little town about 30 minutes from my home.
The class was very interactive and I was glad that all of these “future Delaware bloggers” came out on such a beautiful day. Because it was such a beautiful Saturday, after the workshop, Beverly Powers, an attendee, author and friend of mine decided to have lunch, stroll through the town and then take a walk through Battery Park.
We decided to have lunch at Jessop’s Tavern a small Colonial Style restaurant where I ordered a delicious salad topped with shrimp and Beverly ordered the same but with salmon.
The salads were both large enough to satisfy our hunger as well as filling enough to justify the walk down to Battery Park.
We stopped along to way to take pictures as I had never been to Old New Castle during the day and after living in Delaware for over 30 years it was fun being a tourist in my own state.
Old New Castle is a beautiful place so the next time I visit, I will ask hubby if he would care to join me.
As a matter of fact, starting in July there will be free summer concerts in Battery Park on Wednesdays, so we will definitely come back for one of them.
It was a bit windy once we got to Battery Park but there were a lot of people out and about either walking, having a family picnic, reading, or just relaxing on a park bench enjoying the beautiful sunshine. We took the opportunity to take more pictures and to broadcast few Facebook Livestream videos.
As we returned to our vehicles we peeked into the windows of several stores that were closed due to the lateness of the day.
We picked up a tourist brochure which were available outside of the Mayor’s office and read about the Historic New Castle Heritage Trail with tours on Wednesday through Sunday. These audio self-guided tours are also available online at newcastlehistory.org
It was fun being a tourist in my state of Delaware and I will definitely make plans to come back when the shoppes are open.
How about you, have you ever been a tourist in your own town?
Thanks to a referral by my “partner in crime” Mike Fox from Splash DesignWorks, I had the privilege of presenting a Social Media Savvy for Students workshop at Dover High School. The workshop was part of Youth Leadership Day which was created by Dr. Lane Carter. The program was geared toward the DHS rising Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors.
Youth Leadership Day was a fun filled day of education and training which also included a mid-day lunch buffet and the presentation of Certificates of Accomplishment. There were actually 3 workshops so in addition to mine, the students also attended “Leadership without Apology” presented by Pastor Mark Harmon, and “Trust Your Team”, presented by Mr. Maurice Tooles.
Each session was approximately 45 minutes in length and there were about 17 students in each group. Most of you know that I have been conducting workshops for The Money School of Delaware since 2013, however, this was the first time presenting social media to high school students.
In meeting with Dr. Carter and then having subsequent conversations with her, I decided to create a Social Media Savvy for Students presentation with emphasis on the “10-Do Be’s” or what they should be doing online. We all know that most students are well aware of what they should not be doing on social media.
We talked about branding and their digital footprint. I had them go online and Google themselves so that they could see what others saw. Posts, Pics, Snaps and Tweets which are positive, creative and honest are the types that they need to promote and share online.
They needed to understand that future employers and college administrators will be checking them out, and most likely will have already seen their social media profiles even before they walk through the door.
“Think Before You Tweet”
“If you tweet it – you own it”
“Stop before you Snap”
“Pause before you Post”
Needless to say, I was very excited and do believe the students were receptive to my presentation and to be honest I had a great time! Here are just a few pictures from the day and I wished I had videotaped at least one of the sessions.
Having a BS Degree from Delaware State College in Elementary Education was definitely a plus even though I hadn’t been in a classroom since 1983!
I felt quite a home at the high school and hopefully there will be other opportunities in which to do so again.
Next month, our oldest son Tayair will be celebrating his 24th birthday which is a miracle.
You see, Tayair was born on June 23, 1992, 3 months prematurely weighing only 2.8 lbs, with a condition called Trachea Esophageal Fistula. He had more surgeries than I care to remember and had a feeding tube inserted into his stomach until the age of 5, which meant he didn’t eat his first real meal until around the age of 6.
He was not able to be around others without health complications so a home nurse was his first friend and formal teacher. When he was able to attend pre-school the nurse would follow behind the bus then sit in the office until it was time to administer his nebulizer treatments and pour a can of Pedisure through his feeding tube which was his lunch.
Tayair struggled through school but was mainstreamed into regular classes so that he was able to learn despite being labeled “intellectually disabled” This miracle son of ours is going to be the next speaker in our house.
A few weeks ago we attended a meeting with his DHSS counselor and she was very impressed in what he stated with regards to his career path as well as his ability to create Powerpoint presentations. He had been chosen to be a representative for the UDel CLSC Program last summer and had presented at a workshop in Virginia.
She asked him if he would be interested in presenting at one of their monthly staff meetings and naturally he said, “yes”.
Tayair’s father and I have been presenting in front of audiences for years and Tayair has been the photographer at many of my Social Media Workshops, therefore, public speaking is literally in his DNA.
However, this was the first time we both had an opportunity to hear him speak and our hearts were filled with pride and excitement!
The audience was quite large and he did an amazing job as you can see from the following video. Tayair spoke briefly of his experience in learning how to drive and being stopped by a cop for speeding and how the Trooper treated him.
His father and I were then asked how we felt about having an adult child with disabilities and letting go so the presentation became a family affair.
Tayair is definitely destined to be the next speaker in our house and I know he will carry on the legacy with greatness. Remember, “being disabled doesn’t mean you are not able!”
