I always ask my students to share their animals with me on the first day of class as an icebreaker, and it paid off so well today. Two students both have a bearded dragon, and they're going to share a sewing template for a bearded dragon leash with one another!

I found this copy of The Metamorphosis at a used bookstore and had to have it. Look at that cover design AND an intro by David Cronenberg!

First sunset of the new year! I'm going to miss being at the beach, but I'm really looking forward to being home with my kitty.

Spanish moss on a magnolia tree is the most Southern thing I've ever seen in the wild

Starting 2026 with a quiet morning reading by the ocean.

2025 was pretty good to me. -finished writing my first novel/ started querying -started teaching English to Ukrainians which has been more rewarding than I ever imagined -got really into birding -read/listened to 73 books -visited 4 Buc-ee's locations Let's hope for a peaceful and happy 2026!

I keep record of the books I read this year in an old school journal. I've read/listened to more books than ever at 73!

I'm ending off the year on this wonderful anthology that I'm reading as a beach read. Such cool stories that even my friend who's not fond of short stories is intrigued!

I was taking the picture blind with the glare of the sun, but was happily pleased that I got the sun and moon in the same ocean shot!

Drove by a car with a cat sitting in the passenger's lap, so naturally all of us in the car waved at the cat. The passenger waved back with the cat's paw and it made all of our day!

Good morning from the beach!

Benny likes to sit on tissue paper and isn't a fan of his new bouncy bird toy. He's a discerning boy.

Trying to overwinter my viola in a sunny basement window only to have Woo come and try to eat it.

For the first time in my teaching career, I've gotten burnout. It really sucks to feel completely dragged down by your job, but I'm hoping time off before the next semester will help me get back to normal. Anyone have tips to get rid of burnout?

Paint me like one of your French kitties

I got the best Christmas present from one of my coworkers who knows me very well!

Three students in three different classes said my classes were "fun." As long as they're learning, I'm thrilled that they're having fun in my classes! I've added a gamification aspect to all of my classes which has turned out great for student engagement.

My friend reminded me that we saw Ghost live in 2016 for $23 a ticket! Such a great, intimate show I'll never get from them again that was also at a price that'll never be that affordable again.

There's a meteor shower tonight, so be on the lookout! I started watching a little after 9:00 EST and it's pretty active. Enjoy nature's light show!

I just heard a woman call her husband "tater bug" in a store. Southern pet names are fun!

A new local coffee shop opened up in my town, so I had to check it out. They have a sweet potato maple latte? It's a bit too sweet, and I think there's pureed sweet potato in it because of an odd texture. It's worth a try out of novelty, but there's a reason why I've never heard of it before!

Does anyone else stress bake? I started doing it during finals week as a university student, and now that I'm a professor, I'm still stress baking during finals week, haha!

Baking Christmas cookies to German Christmas songs from my German grandmother's vinyl collection. I still remember the lyrics to O Tannenbaum!

End of semester weekend grading is afoot! All the AI use is disheartening, but even without a grade penalty, it consistently gives students a "D" at best. AI may help you say what you want to in a nice sounding way, but there's always little to no substance being said. The human element is missing.

I think YouTube wrapped just put me on the autism spectrum, haha! But I do love train travel and learning new things!

One of my students gave me the best excuse for his paper potentially being late: his parents are kicking him out of the house temporarily because they need to perform a seance. I have so many questions!

This has gotten me to finally make my own sing-a-long playlist since it's good for my health. My toxic trait is that I think I can execute Nightwish's Ghost Love Score, but hey, it's healthy to try! bbc.com/future/artic...

Woo is just the cutest little bean! A portion of my vintage metal tour posters in the background as a bonus. #catsofbluesky #siamese

I proofread my novel for another time, and I may be biased, but I truly love this book and my characters. It features a black metal band involved in Lovecraftian psychological horrors that change the trajectory of their success. I'm looking for a publisher and/or agent! #amquerying #writesky

Have a little ladybug roaming around my autumn mums and diving headfirst into them.

Such a nice gloomy day! Give me clouds and fog over sunshine any day!

I saw a statistic that said the average person has their first cup of coffee at age 22 and that feels painfully old to me. I'm also an anomaly having my first cup at age 8 because I wanted what the adults were having and they didn't think I'd like it. Turned out I loved it!

This is only half of what we made today (a tray was taken for quality control testing). Making so much mac and cheese from scratch is surprisingly exhausting!

My students were talking about a walk-out protest over ICE next week at the high school, and one said "Oops, I shouldn't have said that in front of you." I responded with, "I wouldn't shut it down. If anything, I'd be joining you." They cheered. The kids are alright!

For the first time in my over a decade teaching, I had not a single student show up to my first class today. Granted, there are only 5 students in the class and it's at 8:20 AM, but still, that's an accomplishment!

Woo hasn't been sitting with me like normal, then I realized that I had a different blanket. I brought the bat blanket back, and he's happily sitting again. Luckily bats are year-round decor!

The sun was shining through the trees just right and encompassed fall so perfectly

I was lucky enough to spot a cardinal and blue jay hopping around a bush together on my midday, I've been staring at a computer screen for hours and need a break, walk at work.

My mom gifted Woo pads that collect and reflect body heat, and he's a very happy boy on this oddly freezing early November day!

Good morning from the Appalachian Mountains! My morning commute is so much nicer when I can actually see

I wish I was this comfy

It's that time of year where I have to decide what gets put away as Halloween decor and what stays out as year round spooky decor. It's difficult!

Snagged Halloween deals today and found this fun game that's like pictionary but you use a ghost like a planchette to draw on a whiteboard.

Thanks for the super professional response option to my novel rejection, Gmail! "Bummer!" with no additions is totally the right move here. #amquerying #writesky

Gloomy days are so pretty in the mountains, especially during autumn

Started a wendigo/monster romance audiobook out of morbid curiosity and rage quit when I heard "conversate." Made it only 2 hours in out of 18.

Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein is phenomenal. The audience gasped, cried, and clapped. It's beautiful; no movie can bring forth such emotion in me like a del Toro movie.

Got my first rejection letter for my book! They said it was "very enjoyable to read" twice and invited me to submit more works again next year, so that's a good sign I guess! If anyone's looking to publish a horror novel about a black metal band, I'm your girl! #amquerying #writesky

I had two of my literature students visit me during office hours to discuss Poe's "The Black Cat" and how much they liked it! Absolutely made my day!

I literally stopped in my tracks to get a picture of this pretty praying mantis on these little lavender flowers!