A year in the life

I thought a brief catch-up on our past year was in order seeing as it's been 15 months since Wildly Ever After was a regular thing. In the summer of 2013, I took part in the Northwest Indiana Writing Project (this national organization can be found in all 50 states in more than 200 places and has been challenging teachers to write and better teach writing for 40 years--check out the National Writing Project or our site here!) I felt as though I'd been asleep before joining the Writing Project. I was shaken to my core as far as what teaching writing looks like. We read every day, we wrote (A LOT!) every day, and we shared amazing lessons, activities, and enthusiasm for teaching. We also shared delicious food, lots of laughs, and compassion for one another. We became friends, something I didn't expect on day 1. Teachers from elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as a couple from area colleges/universities, joined together each day for four very intense weeks at Purdue Calumet. I came home with a binder jammed full of resources, a brain brimming with ways to revamp my teaching, and a heart kickstarted with a new passion to teach writing the right way. The Writing Project has lost a lot of its funding and is at jeopardy in our area, at least to continue in the same capacity it has been, but I would wholeheartedly recommend this to any teacher of any age at any level. Amazing experience!

2013-2014 marked my fourth year of teaching, and following the Writing Project, went on to be my best year yet. I finally felt like I'd found my groove. My anxiety from years past was almost  nonexistent. Things were, for the most part, really smooth. I loved how my Composition classes were transformed using my new writing skills. I once again directed the fall play, this time choosing two one-act comedies. They were so much fun, and I really enjoyed having two more manageable pieces that allowed more students to shine. The first was a modernized "hip-hop" version of Snow White. The second, and my personal favorite (only because it was a challenge and could have bombed terribly but didn't!) was a two-person, fast-paced piece about a made-up language called Unamunda. The brilliant writing first made Unamunda sound like complete nonsense, but by the end, the audience was easily following the snappy dialogue and understanding the fake language.  The piece is titled The Universal Language by David Ives--I've put a professional production video below (If you watch that one, imagine the orgasm part removed--I decided that was pushing the high school acceptability line too far!) My stars, a male sophomore (such a great actor already!) and a senior female, worked incredibly hard on their lines and did not disappoint. They received long standing ovations both nights. I was really proud of all of my actors, assistant directors, and stage crew, and I finished the season with renewed excitement to make the next fall play just as great. I haven't started looking for our piece(s) yet, but I'm leaning toward one-acts again as it went so well. Stay tuned for more details!

Just before Christmas (and the Polar Vortex aka the Winter from Hell) we decided to put our house on the market. We knew from the beginning that our first house, the Cable Street house, or, as Levi calls it, the yellow house, was just a starter, but we weren't sure when a move would happen. Our wish list for a new house included at least two bathrooms, four bedrooms, a garage, and a bigger yard. I was leaning toward the county as that's where I grew up; Zach was hoping to stay in the city as that's where he grew up AND, as a city firefighter, he wanted us to continue to have fast response times from fire and police. We found one in the city (my longtime friend Jen had lived there through high school, actually) that we thought was perfect. Beautiful details like built-ins and moldings, but the sellers didn't like our offer and we decided it wasn't the one. Zach and I have both said since then that their refusal was a blessing in disguise, because it forced us to broaden our search. Shortly afterward, we found our house. It was a flip, purchased by an entrepreneur from California who'd worked hard to restore it and who desperately wanted to get out of the snow and back to the west coast. The first time we saw the house it was cold, snowy, and dark outside. We came in the back door into the kitchen and I knew immediately. I remember looking at Zach and saying, "I love it." I could just tell it was meant to be ours. Every room after that continued to deepen my feeling that this was it. We saw another house right afterward that didn't even compare, and then we went to dinner with Zach's parents. I couldn't stop thinking about the house, and after seeing it again and showing my parents, we decided to make an offer. We were prepared for a counter offer and knew from the city house experience how we'd felt with a difficult counter, but miraculously our offer was accepted. Shortly thereafter the yellow house sold to a young family. We moved into the blue house (Levi STILL calls it "me boo house" after all this time) over spring break and handed over the keys to the yellow house two weeks later. It was a strangely smooth process overall, another sign that this was meant to be our forever home. We absolutely love it, and we hope to add another baby to our family in the near(ish) future.


This summer continues to be one of the best I can remember. For the first time in years we don't have anything scheduled--no clubs, classes, camps, or family trips. Levi and I have been spending our days going for walks or bike rides (Zach bought me a great bike and toddler seat for Mother's Day),  watching Disney Jr., blowing bubbles, swimming, learning letters, playing trains, and coloring. Sometimes I'll go to the Y while he plays with a babysitter. Zach often does side work when he's not at the fire station, and he is very involved with the Union. Norah will be going into second grade this year (hard to believe). She can ride her bike without training wheels now and got a big girl bike at the beginning of summer for keeping all A's throughout first grade. She and Levi  adore one another. Their favorite game currently is to play Mommy and Daddy. They take care of Norah's baby dolls, sometimes asking me to babysit so they can go to work or out to dinner. It's adorable.

Levi is napping at the moment, so I'm off to catch up on my Bravo television or read! I'm trying to appreciate every summer moment I get for the next few weeks.

Wild in New Digs

Long time no see, blogosphere! It's been more than a year, actually, since I've posted, but I haven't been silent online. I'm still quite active on Facebook, Twitter (where I get my news, fashion and general entertainment but rarely tweet anything myself), Pinterest, and my new favorite, Instagram. I took on the 100 Happy Days challenge via Instagram (check out the challenge here) and LOVE seeing moments in the lives of others. I've discovered some really beautiful photos this way and appreciate the strictly visual quality of the site. Blogging, however, is the social medium closest to my heart, I'd say, because it's writing. Writers write. I haven't in probably a year for many reasons, but I'm ready to start again. I've missed it. I've missed the way my thoughts fly faster than my hands can express them, one idea barely formed before it weaves its way into something entirely different. It's almost like I can visualize the words as they're streaming. It truly is art.

I went for a walk today, no stroller, no tugging dog on a leash, just me and my thoughts. It was a perfect day. Sun shining, light breeze, perfect temperature. I went to the local park which had recently been mowed. Freshly mown grass is probably my favorite scent in the world, which, coupled with the rare alone time and the weather, took me to my zen. I don't know if I prayed, meditated, or just sorted through my thoughts, but I finished my walk feeling calmer than I had in days. It hit me that that kind of catharsis comes from writing, too. It's why I used to fill notebooks when I was younger, challenging myself to write six pages one day, then eight the next. I'm hesitant to commit to blogging again because I suffer from a crippling fear of critics. I imagine every word I write from the perspective of whoever might read it and I panic. Catharsis is not for those people, though, it's for me. I just read today in Women's Health a great reminder--it's none of my business what other people think of me. Easier said than done, but I'm going to try to embrace that notion and start writing again. Because I want to.

In the past year, our wild family has moved. We sold our house in March and moved in to our "forever home" over spring break. It's a renovated farmhouse just outside the La Porte city limits. I love that aspect of it because I grew up in the county. It's quieter, more spacious, and just feels right. We live near a great subdivision, perfect for walks, and everyone has been so welcoming. I forgot what it's like to have neighbors who smile and wave. The woman across the street baked us cookies our first week! We luckily don't have to redo much as it was essentially gutted before we bought it, but we are slowly making it our own. I've loved looking for pieces that fit the style--I'll devote future blogs to our endeavors!



Our new digs! This was taken the day we closed, so imagine more landscaping and general homey-ness.

If you want to follow any of my other social media activities, you can find me on Instagram @ekanney, on Twitter @elkanne, and on Pinterest @elkanne. Thanks for reading after such a long hiatus!