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June 30, 2017

June 2017 DNN/Evoq and Module Security Summary

The past week has been a bit hectic in the DotNetNuke/Evoq space. Four confirmed security vulnerabilities were identified that could impact existing installations, one last week and three this week. Sadly, many sites have already been exploited by these vulnerabilities, adding a bit more urgency to the situation. Although many people are aware of the situation we have found that not everyone knows what is going on, so we thought it would be prudent to share what we know about the situation. This information is being shared both on Mitchel's Technical Blog as well as our corporate website.

November 11, 2016

Applying A Methodical Approach to Website Performance Issues

Last week the folks at PostSharp where kind enough to host me for a webinar on website performance.  For those that have attended my various performance talks over the years I'm a firm believer in following a process every time to resolve issues.  In this webinar, I discuss the beginning portions of approaching website performance issues, tips that are helpful for those with existing applications, or even those that are starting fresh.

May 26, 2016

Resolving Issues with Security Compromised DNN Sites

Yesterday I published a blog posting about a recently re-surfaced security vulnerability within the DNN/Evoq platform.  In that post, I provided the steps necessary to mitigate the risks associated with the exploit.  If you have not yet taken the steps listed in that posting, please be sure to take those steps immediately.  This posting is geared towards the proper auditing, review, and resolution of any issues that might be present on a compromised site.  Please note, even if you do not believe you were compromised PLEASE review the first section of this post to be sure.
January 01, 2014

2013 a Year In Review

For the last 4 or 5 years I've done a year-in-review post to summarize technology happenings from the prior year as well as to help set a path into the following year.  Therefore, lets take a look back at 2013 and prepare to leap into 2014!
October 07, 2013

Blog System Changes

Just a quick update on the blog system here on MitchelSellers.com.  As you all might have noticed almost all of the articles as of today 10/6/2013 show no comments.  Due to the exponentially increasing number of spam style comments that I was receiving through the existing platform on this site I've been forced to switch to a different comment platform. This means...

December 31, 2012

2012 Year In Review

It is hard to believe that yet another year has passed and it is time for me to be writing another "Year in Review" post here on MitchelSellers.com.  It seems that each year the time goes by faster and faster.  2012 was most likely one of the fastest paced years for me professionally as there were a lot of changes and as such this blog has suffered a little bit.  As I look back at 2012 I will also share some important notes about 2013!
October 30, 2012

DotNetNuke World Review and MVP

So first of all, I'll admit I'm a bit late to the game here getting this post put together, as DotNetNuke World was almost three weeks ago.  Sadly combined with two major site launches, some travel and other things the blog just hasn't gotten the attention that it deserved.  But better late than never I thought so here it goes!
April 12, 2012

Windows Updates, Monitoring, and ASP.NET...Oops!

For those of you that are regular readers of this blog you will know that outages of the site are very, very rare with the past year showing almost 99.9% up time.  Well if you were around here this AM you will know that the record for up time was killed, with the sites being down almost 10 hours today.  In this post I'll talk a little about my experience with this as I know a number of other people across the world have experienced similar issues this morning based on my conversations with a few of them.
January 08, 2012

2011 Year in Review and a look at 2012

Over the last few years I have been trying to keep a little bit better track of usage of the content here on MitchelSellers.com as well as just keeping track of other interactions that I have through User Groups, Open Source Projects, and the like. Each year around the end of the year I try to compile a few of these items, if not for everyone that is reading things here for myself to see how things progress year to year.

January 06, 2012

Upgrading MitchelSellers.com - A DotNetNuke Upgrade Retrospective

For those of you that are regular visitors to this site you most likely noticed a number of changes to the site over the past 24 hours, including a small amount of downtime.  This was caused by changes surrounding the upgrade of this site to DotNetNuke version 6.1.2.  Now, I have worked on a number of DotNetNuke upgrades over the years, and I lost count a few years back at about 300 upgrades.  This site was by-far one of the hardest upgrades that I have ever completed and in this post I will share a bit around the growing pains that were experiences throughout the process.

October 31, 2011

DotNetNuke World and Blog Updates

It seems that the past few months have just flown by and I haven't gotten as much time to blog here as I have wanted.  I hope to start changing that here in the next few weeks as I have a large number of items that I'm looking to get out here, just trying to find the time to get it done.  But with DotNetNuke world just a little over a week away I wanted to post a quick note here about the event.

July 21, 2011

DotNetNuke 6.0 and You!

As many of you might not have heard yet DotNetNuke version 06.00.00 was released last night.  You can read all about it on the Announcing DotNetNuke 6.0 page from DotNetNuke.  In this blog post I'll talk a little bit about what it this release means to you as a user in the community as well as share some insights and recommendations that I have to make the transition easier, and we will finish with information on a special offer from a known DotNetNuke Vendor.

January 03, 2011

2010 Year in Review and 2011 Preview

It has been a little over two years since I did a "year in review" post, the last was completed in 2008.  I thought that it would be a good idea to start of 2011 with a review of the previous years and the items that I am proud of from the past year.  I'll then give an introduction into my plans for 2011 and the future of this blog.

September 30, 2010

Day of DotNetNuke An Apology

It is with deep regret that I have to announce that I will not be able to attend/present at the Day of DotNetNuke event this weekend in Chicago.  For those of you that follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed tweets from me over the past 2 weeks talking about this horrible cold that I have.  Well, at this point I am still not recovered, with only 40-50% of my voice available and day-to-day still not feeling all that well I had to make a very hard decision.

In the end, I need to continue to take things slow and relax so that I can kick this cold and be able to resume my regular schedule.  I understand that this will be a disappointment to the individuals that were looking forward to my presentations as well as the individuals that I was working to arrange meetings with.  I am also deeply sorry for the stress that my cancellation puts on the organizers of the Day of DotNetNuke event.

Over the course of the next 3-5 days I will be taking all materials from my sessions and making them available here so that at minimum you will still have the ability to get the content that was to be presented.  I will post my PowePoint slide decks with notes that would have been my talking points.

For those of you attending DevConnections I am looking forward to that event coming up in just  a little over a month, and I WILL be there for that event.  Otherwise to everyone else again I do apologize that I will be unable to attend and hope that you truly enjoy the Day of DotNetNuke event, I know it will be a great success!

July 13, 2010

Want a Free MSDN Ultimate Subscription?

Like other Microsoft MVPs I have been given a few MSDN Ultimate licenses that I can give away to individuals that I feel are deserving of it.  I have been arguing with myself for a while now about how to best determine who should receive the license, and have came up with a contest to give one license away to a reader of this blog.

February 18, 2010

Future Blogging on MitchelSellers.com

Over the next few weeks you will see a much larger effort for me to get back to this blog and getting new content out. In addition, I have made a few category additions and changes with hopes of expanding the content of this blog a bit more. There will still be plenty of DotNetNuke related content, but I am going to try and get more content in the C# and Visual Studio areas, trying to share some tips and tricks that I use on a daily basis to help speed the development process. The following is a quick list of topics that I am working on, and will be getting posted soon, these are NOT listed in any order, so they could appear in random intervals. If you have other suggestions, please post them to the comments.

November 04, 2009

SQL Server Dynamic Pivots Article

I am proud to announce that an article that I wrote for SQL Server magazine, "Pivoting the Dynamic Way" was included in the November 2009 issue of the magazine.  The article was published in both the print and online editions of the magazine, for those of you with subscriptions I encourage you to check it out!

May 11, 2009

So you moved sites again?

As many people caught on the other day via Twitter I have moved my sites to a different hosting provider again.  One of the first questions I got before was "why did you move" or "did you have a problem with your existing host?".  I want to start off by saying that I do NOT have any issues with my old hosting provider, and that if it was not for special circumstances I would still be with them.  In this article, I'll lay out my hosting experience, and give everyone some insight in to what happens behind the scenes when I make hosting decisions.

March 02, 2009

Speaking Engagements

As we get moving into 2009, one of my personal goals this year was to get out and do more presentations to User Groups and at conferences.  Well ...
February 14, 2009

Site Upgrades and Performance Improvements

Those that frequent this site and the other sites that I operate might have noticed some periods of service interruptions over the past 2-3 days as I have been working on some infrastructure upgrades for our collections of sites.  As part of this, it was my goal to improve the "average load times" of various pages of my DotNetNue sites.  As many people will note, they have been pretty fast before, but that just wasn't good enough for me.

So, now I'm proud to say that I'm done with all of the major changes and the functionality of all sites should now be stable, I've love to get some opinions of those regular users/visitors of my sites to see if they can confirm the improvements.

View the full article for a listing of sites affected as well as benchmark information that I have.

September 24, 2008

Major Set of Releases

Today my business sent out an e-mail to all newsletter subscribers about the most recent set of free module releases. This is my final cross-post of this information here on the blog, if you wish to stay up to date, please visit the IowaComputerGurus Newsletters page to subscribe.

June 30, 2008

Site Update and Announcement

Well as I'm sure that many of you can notice I have completed the upgrade to this site.  Tonights upgrades resulted in about an hour of downtime due to slow file transfer and network speeds.  However, many improvements have been made.  Please view the full post for details as well as the BIG Announcement!

Content provided in this blog is provided "AS-IS" and the information should be used at your own discretion.  The thoughts and opinions expressed are the personal thoughts of Mitchel Sellers and do not reflect the opinions of his employer.

Content Copyright

Content in this blog is copyright protected.  Re-publishing on other websites is allowed as long as proper credit and backlink to the article is provided.  Any other re-publishing or distribution of this content is prohibited without written permission from Mitchel Sellers.


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Beauty Products Selection #6

Alright here is the 6th blog in my beauty products I've done so far.  I'll admit it's been alot of fun posting about the different products and why I liked or disliked them.  I hope this helps everyone else out there so they can find something they like too!

Without further delay, here are today's five products!

Product #1
L'Oreal Paris Youth Code Youth Dark Spot Correcting and Illuminating Skincare Day Cream SPF 30
Purchase: or any local drug store
Price:  $ 19.97 USD

I was looking for a cream that would help with dark circles.  I had tried a serum from Clinique but my dark spots were not that bad that I didn't see much of a difference.  I should actually go back to that since I now see some freckling on my cheeks.

I tired this and found it works okay with my oily skin.  It has alot of sun screen in it, which will help your skin from gettting too much sun.  I think that's what helps with the reventative maintance of getting sun spots.  At first I started to break out from it because it's so heavy of a cream that I used less of it and also gave my skin a break from it.  I was recently in sunny California and I had to use more sun screen on my face since I was driving during the day and the sun was out EVERY day.  I liked how it kept my skin from being too oily and also it helped keep me from getting anymore freckles.  I did learn to wait for it to absorb into my skin before I started to put on any BB Cream or foundation.

I'm not 100% sold on this product for helping remove sun spots or dark circles, but it does help prevent them!

Product #2
Oil of Olay Total Effects 7-in-1 Tone Correcting UV Moistorizer
Purchase:  local drug store
Price:  $22.44 USD
I actually like this product for a day when I don't want to wear any BB Cream or foundation.  It's a great tinted moistizer and is feels nice on my dry/oily skin.  I did find that applying it, the product felt greasy but dry.  It didn't glide onto my skin like most moistizers but it "stuck" to my skin.  If I put on a gel moistizer it helps but this alone doesn't do well.  I suggest to wear a moistizer under this and use this as a primer.  I've used it a couple of time and I will return to use it and see how I feel about it again and will probably blog again on this product.

Product #3
L'Oreal Paris Youth Code Dark Spot Correcting and Illuminating Skincare Serum
Purchase:  Local drug store
Price:  $19.97 USD

I started to use this product to help with dark spots.  I stopped using it because my skin was not showing dark spots or freckles I didn't want.  I was happy with the product not damaging my skin, I'd rather it not work as well and have to use more of it than having a white spot on my face!  I will revisit this product because you have to use a serum more than just a few times.  I believe there are better items on the market for dark spots but this one for a drug store wasn't too bad.

Product #4
Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Treatment Gel
Purchase:  Local drug store
Price:  $8.94-8.97 USD

I saw this in the store at Walmart and thought about trying it.  I had a large blemish on my upper lip, not the most flattering place to have one!  I was thinking if it didn't work as it said, reduces redness in four hours, I'd return it.  I used it and it did reduce the size, redness and it was gone within a couple of days.  I scar very easily anyways so I'm not unhappy with this product at all.  It didn't work as well on another blemish I had but then again tha blemish was very difficult to get rid of.  I kept applying this gel to that blemish and it went away very easily.  I am very pleased with this product, it doesn't leave any strange odors, doesn't burn when you apply it (don't apply it to an open blemish it may sting then!), it really did reduce redness in four hours, it didn't discolor my bed sheets or towels, and it helped my blemishes go away!  I will recomend this to help with blemishes.  It did dry your skin out, which most do, but remember to moistize when you have to use this so your skin won't have issues later.

Product #5
Lancome Oscillation Powder Foundation with SPF 21
Purchase: or Lancome Counters
Price:  $48.00 USD

I saw this on Michelle Phan's youtube channel some time ago.  Unfortunately I can't find the video of where she shows this product for the first time.  I went out and bought it myself a few months later, saving up to buy it.  I thought it was pretty inexpensive to buy since I like to rotate my foundations around.  I had found this foundation so much nicer than than Bare Minterals.  I prefer this way of putting on foundation than using a kabuki brush.  I found the Bare Mineral kabuki brush to leave strange marks on my face.  It stayed on very well, since I oily skinned.  I didn't like when I didn't use the brush regurally it left those marks.  I am about 1/3 down on my foundation but I bought this at least two years ago.  Since it is a powder foundation it will last much longer than liquid.  Liquid foundation can discolor and expire.  Oh, the only down fall on this is you have to replace the little sponge applicator.  Thankfully I take care of the applicator and it only cost $5.00 USD to replace it.  I am not thrilled with that and I think the batteries are dying.  You can't replace the batters, you may have to buy a whole new oscillater.  But in the end I found this foundation to be amazing.  I can take a concealer brush and dab some of the foundation under my eyes and it hides the dark circles fairly well.  When I run out of this foundation I will save up and purchase it again.  This is by far the best powder foundation I have found!

Plese leave your comments below for any suggestions.  I did get a suggestion recently and will hopefully find some products to blog on for that.  I hope everyone had a great and safe Labor Day weekend.  Be safe and keep watching.

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New Year’s Resolutions

Okay, so it’s been MONTHS since I have took part in SOL Tuesdays, or any writing for that matter. I promised myself I’d keep it going after the 2017 March SOL challenge, and well, I fell off the wagon. Life happened (As it always tends to do) and I got “busy.”

One of my New Years resolutions is to GET BACK at it, and stick with it. I think it’s important that I “do” these few things for myself. Writing, and being part of this community, being one of them. 🙂 So what else do I have? Well, to just SLOW down, CALM down, and find some peace and mindfulness. This is a big goal for me. I have “started” the process in the past couple months. Making sure that I’m listening to my body if I’m tired or sore and NOT forcing myself to engage in some crazy, intense workout at 5:00 am daily. To find time for yoga, reading, writing and the activities that calm me and bring my peace and happiness. It’s all good stuff and I need to make sure that I allow myself to have these opportunities. Like so many of us, I’m a full-time working mom. We give 100% of ourselves to our students (most days) and to our spouses/kids and we have to remember to allow ourselves to stop. To find some mindfulness and to take care of ourselves. So moving forward in 2018… I am preparing to be back, and finding my way back to a more happy, grateful, fulfilled self. 🙂

Books Books and more Books!

It is officially summer. All the tell-tale signs are present. I don’t have to set my alarm for 5:00 am, my son began swimming lessons and camp, and I have an endless supply of literature to read!!!! 🙂 This is truly one of my favorite parts of the summer break is that I have the time to actually read, and read I do.

I have already finished one book that I began late last week, All the Missing Girls,  and now am wrapping up my 2nd book of the last week, The Lost Girls. This one is okay, but I have to finish it soon so I can start one of the new ones that I just ordered from Amazon with my $125 gift card (an  appreciation gift from my class). Yup, the majority of the $ was spent on books for me! The rest was spent on a new planner, and some sight word flash cards for my son! I bought four new books and couldn’t be more excited. I’m already chopping at the bit to get more that are on my list, as I know these will not last very long.

Although I try so hard to find the time to read during the school year, it is impossible! At winter/April break I can usually finish a book, but other than that, it is so hard for me to find the time. However, once summer hits, I go into “Reading” mode and it’s game on! I catch up and easily finish a book or two a week. It is one of my favorite parts about summer!!!  I feel like this tradition began when I was a kid, actually. While I was always a reader and read throughout the school year, during the summers, I often had my face in a book. Whether at the beach, in the backyard or in my room, I would read and read for hours. Back then, I could even read in the car on long rides. (Although, now I just get nauseous!)

Finally, it is that time of the year! The time of the year I get to relax with a good book!!!!!

Happy Summer and Happy Reading!

Positive Vibes

So when I first started slicing for the March Challenge, I titled my blog “Work in Progress” . How true this statement is for me and it means so many different things. Working on my writing, and trying to continue with it regularly. (I suck at it lately…) Working on my relationships and being the best mom and wife I can be. Working on finding balance between work, home, family, friends, Brayden’s activities, finding time for myself, etc. and also working on accepting myself and just being comfortable in my own skin. (Not always easy for me.)

My husband told me recently that I was too hard on myself, and truth is he’s right! I am, and it doesn’t take much for me to start down that road of negative self-talk/thinking. I am bloated, I look tired/, old, whatever. He tells me I look nice and I reply with I feel fat, or I’m disgusting or no, I don’t. Look at the dark circles under my eyes. It is out of my mouth before I even realize it.  So not the easiest thing to admit about yourself, especially since you’re not even sure why or how it began. I am healthy, strong, and have a job that I love and that I’m good at. I have a wonderful husband and son, great friends, and a pretty good life. I try to be positive and kind to others so why don’t I give myself the same respect? I am not sure. I do know that it is something I need to work on

Heartbreaking Lesson

So today in my 5th grade classroom we did an anti-bullying activity on how words hurt called “The Crumpled Heart”. Many elementary school teachers know of some variation of this activity, and the message. I drew the outline of a huge heart on easel paper and gave each of my students a small, colored, post-it. They were to write one word/phrase that a friend or peer has said to them that hurt their feelings and stuck with them. They then took turns bringing their word up and placing it on the easel and after they did, they crumpled the heart a bit to show how it felt to have someone say that to them. At the end, there are 20 words/phrases in a very wrinkled/crumpled up heart to represent the impact the hurtful words and behaviors can have on us.

I have done this activity for years, with many different classes, however this year it really stuck with me and I feel I got more emotional than I had in the past. I am not sure if it was the degree of nastiness of these words/phrases or just how well I’ve gotten to know my students this year. I do feel in the past, we have done it during October during Anti-Bullying Month. However, I waited until May this year and it was very fitting due to some “incidents” recently with students being mean to each other. I tried to upload a picture of the heart, but it was tough to see all 21 posts in the picture, so I thought I’d just write what was written in the actual heart. This list is really hard to read. 😦

  1. You’re ugly
  2. I’m going to kill you
  3. You’re gay
  4. You’re fat
  5. You’re stupid
  6. Nobody likes you
  7. You are dumb (dumbface)
  8. You are the Duff (definite ugly fat friend)
  9. You need to Grow up
  10. You look anorexic
  11. Who invited you?
  12. You have buck teeth
  13. You’re bad at everything you do
  14. You’re annoying
  15. Everybody hates you
  16. You’ll never be good enough
  17. Why don’t you just die

*A few of these were written by more than one student. Kids can be so cruel, and it’s so hard as an educator as we really want to teach them to be respectful, and kind, and just “Good” human beings! It breaks MY heart to think of my students being hurt and worse, that they might be hurtful to others. Sigh. I guess we just keep fighting the good fight and hoping that we can get through to some. Just keep swimming…

wrinkled heart

SOL: A New Outlook

So today I’m starting something new, and I figured it would be a great way to begin sharing it here in a slice. So, What is it? Well, after some soul searching this weekend, and a not so easy conversation with my husband, I’ve realized that I have been really down on myself lately, and  I need to change all the negativity I’ve been feeling.

I did bring up the conversation with my husband Saturday night after talking with my mother in law. In passing she had mentioned to me at dinner that at a certain age women stop caring so much about their appearance and just accept themselves for who they are. My thought to this was, “Really?” When? When will I finally get to that place?” Somehow this remark stuck with me after dinner, and on the ride home. I kept thinking about myself and mentally listing all the things that bothered me about my looks.

When we got home, I brought it up to my husband and he admitted that I have been extremely hard on myself recently and that it’s been really hard for him to hear and see. He told me that he doesn’t think I believe him or even hear him when he gives me compliments about the way I look. Truth is, he’s right. I don’t.

Unfortunately, I’ve never been really “good” with compliments. I don’t know why, bu they make me feel uncomfortable. The truth is when he says “You look cute today” or “Wow, you look fit.” or any other positive comments he makes about my appearance, I DON’T believe it. It’s not that I think he’s lying to me, or that I don’t believe that he feels it, but it’s more that down deep, I don’t believe it myself. This is not an easy thing to admit. Now it’s even at the point when he says something nice to me about my appearance, instead of saying “thanks, honey”, I usually say something negative about myself in response. “Ugh, I’m so bloated.” or “No, I don’t. I look tired and old.” Something negative, and something self-deprecating.  It is really upsetting to my husband and he told me it makes him sad that I can’t see myself the way he sees me. Truth is, it makes me sad too.

So, I have come to realize that I need to change my own self perception and I need to give myself some self-love. To start, I figured I should try to come up with at least one positive thought about myself every day.  Since my husband and I spoke on Saturday about this, I need one for Sunday, Monday and today. So here are the three I came up with:

  1. My body is strong and surprisingly flexible which makes me a pretty good dancer and a pretty solid yogi! ( both Yoga and Dance make me feel wonderful so I need to add more of them into my life.)
  2. I have pretty good skin tone for my age. (just turned 45) Luckily I inherited my dad’s olive, Italian skin.
  3. I have a good sense of humor and at times can be quite funny. I love to make my family, friends and students laugh. (I really am quite hilarious to most 11 year olds!)

So that’s a start. I’m not going to pretend it was easy to come up with three positive things about myself, especially my face as sometimes all I see when I look in the mirror are the dark circles under my eyes. However, I did it and hopefully will continue to moving forward. Life is way to short to spend it obsessing about these things that are keeping me from being happy and enjoying my life. I deserve more than that, and so does my family.

Well my 5th graders are all hard at work right now. First day of the ELA MCAS test. So it begins. I feel that they were ready and as prepared as they could be. It is such a crazy thing to me, these standardized tests and the weight they are given. I’m looking around my room at my 19 students and know that some of them are going to nail this, as it just comes easy to them. Some are going to put in 100% and do great. Others are going to try their best and do okay… and others won’t do so great. It just is the way it is. Then they are going to get a score, a score that’s going to be a reflection on how “Well” they did this year, How “Well” I did this year. The grades on their report cards, the work they did with their groups in Science creating water filters, the research they did on the causes of the Revolutionary War, the presentations they did on their Historical Fiction books of choice, won’t “count”, however this ONE test will.

I think of a few of my students in particular and how far they’ve come this year in their reading and writing. How much they’ve grown in these last few months. Yet, that won’t be taken into account either. It breaks my heart. They and I will be “scored” based on how they do on this one assessment. It is just so depressing to think about.

On that note, as I look around and watch them work, I feel proud. They are great kids, they are doing their best,  and I know that each and every one of them is much more than a score on a test.

Have you ever listened to the words of a song and thought it might have been written for you? Even if it’s a song you’ve heard over and over and then just one day you actually listen to the words, and it’s like, “Wow. That’s so me.” I felt that today listening to the radio on my car ride into school. The song is “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence. A song, I have heard thousands of times, and never really paid attention to that much. However this morning, I really connected with it. It reminded me so much of myself  a few years back when I was in a very, very dark place.

I try not to think about it too much as it was really tough time for me, however I’m also pretty proud of myself for how hard I worked to pull myself through it.  It was not easy to finally face and deal with some pretty horrible things that I had experienced in my childhood. No to mention, the painful losses that my husband and I experienced at that time as we tried to become parents. It was a horrible, dark, scary time for me, and for a while there I truly believed that that was just the way I was going to stay. Cold, sad, disconnected, numb. I just felt beat down and damaged.

Luckily, I didn’t stay that way. It was a combination of being a new mom after going through the grueling international adoption process, and realizing that my marriage was falling apart, to realize I wanted to be happy again. So, I started therapy, I worked through all the memories I had somehow managed to surpress, all the feelings I hadn’t allowed myself to feel, all the pain and the scaries, and the ickies, and the sadness that came with it. I worked hard on healing myself, and then on my marriage, and thankfully I came out of it feeling stronger and whole. Now, My relationship with my husband is healthy and solid, and I’m a better mother, friend, teacher, and just a better version of myself now.

Truth is, I’ve been through a LOT, more than most will ever have to endure. Yet, I survived. I didn’t let the darkness win. I chose to be happy and live my life. I am lucky enough to have an amazing husband, a beautiful son, and am blessed with a loving family and friends, and a career that I love. I am healthy, I am strong, and I have so much to be thankful for.

This is Forty something…

I am feeling old today. I hate to admit that, but it’s true. The hubby and I had a late night out in the North End Saturday night with some of my cousins and their spouses, and the 8 of us had a blast. Drinks, Dinner, a comedy show with drinks, another bar for more drinks, and finally getting the Uber home at 2:00 am!! What?! We are in our forties, we can’t roll like this anymore. We don’t have the stamina of my thirty something cousins. Not to mention, I still woke up at 8:00 am and had to be a “mom”! Tired was an understatement.

Unlike my hubby though , I WAS able to get out of bed yesterday, go to the grocery store, clean up around my house, do some laundry, and even completed one of my assignments for my online class. Okay, so the 3 mile run I planned did NOT happen, but I was somewhat “functional”. I went to bed early and had every intention of getting up at 5:00 am this morning like I do every week day for my workout. Although, today when the alarm went off, .I shut it off and fell back asleep! I never do this. I usually can will myself out of bed, knowing that if I don’t get up and do it, I won’t get to it later. Instead though, I rolled over and slept for one more hour and needless to say, that workout never happened.

So, now I’m feeling guilty for not getting up and working out, but at the same time KNOW that my body just couldn’t do it. I am playing catch up. I’m still so tired from Saturday night and I needed that extra hour. Not to mention, by the time I was done with teaching all day and a staff meeting, I was not feeling it. What I am feeling is old. I get tired so much easier than I did 10 years ago. I eat right, I exercise and I take good care of myself, yet I can still see myself aging. The darkness under my eyes, the little wrinkles in the corner of my eye when I smile, the gray hairs that I never had before that are popping up here and there. The 5:00 am workouts that used to be much easier, are a bit more of a struggle. I always feel great when I’m done, but it’s not as easy as it once was, and that makes me a bit depressed. Sigh.

I’ve thought about getting braces again to realign my teeth that have shifted some in the last 25 years, or to get surgery on my under eyes,  but then I wonder if I just need to somehow be okay with what is happening to me. Just accept these changes.  I am healthy. My family is healthy and happy, and I have a pretty good life. I have a job I love, friends, a husband who loves me and thinks I’m beautiful no matter how “hard” on myself I am, and overall… things are pretty good.  I need to focus on that good and learn to be okay with the fact that I am forty-four years old. That I am getting older and it’s okay.

SOLSC: Day 31: Reflections

So, I can NOT believe this is the last day of the challenge. While I am SO excited that I was able to write and read slices every day, I’m sad that it’s ending as well. Okay, the pressure every morning to get my slice done, will obviously be less, but I have really enjoyed being part of this challenge so much that I’m bummed it’s over. In looking at my slices and thinking about the experience I have had being part of this writing community, I have learned a bit about myself. Here are some of my reflections:

  • First, I really missed writing. Even the days when I couldn’t think of something and did something fun like a list, it was such a great feeling of accomplishment to post my slice everyday.
  • Writing for me has always been therapeutic and I’d forgotten that. I feel that by writing about what I’m feeling or thinking about helps! It also gets the juices flowing and my mind thinking which leads to me wanting to write more and more.
  • If I never decided to do this, I wouldn’t have done it with my class, which would have been so sad, as my students have embraced this challenge and done amazing with it.
  • Not only have I enjoyed writing and sharing my slices, I have LOVED reading about others experiences and feelings. Many have been so touching and inspiring and others have just made me really think.
  • I have learned that by writing, I am a bit more vulnerable and honest. I don’t have my “guard” up, my “everything’s fine” wall when I write. I am just… real.
  • I honestly feel that I have been LESS stressed out, more patient, lighter, and just all and all in a better mood since starting to write again and that’s huge!
  • I am so thankful and grateful that I found the TWO WRITING TEACHERS blog and was given this opportunity to take part in this challenge. It has been such a positive experience and I didn’t realize how much I NEEDED this, until I did it. 🙂

I can’t wait to continue on this journey in this wonderful community! I am very excited for Tuesday 4/4 when I can begin the Tuesday Slice of Life, and I’m already eagerly anticipating or March 2018 and my 2nd year of the challenge! 🙂 Wahoo!!! We did it.

SOL Day 30: No SNOW!!!!

So April is just around the corner and they are talking about snow for tomorrow and Saturday here in Massachusetts. What?!!!!! I literally feel like I want to cry! NO!!!! It’s spring! I need sun, and warmth and to NOT be wearing my black boots anymore! Ugh. I am surprised at how upset I actually am about this forecast. It’s not a big storm, just enough to be cold, gross, and annoying.

Saturday, April 1st, my cousins and I are all going into the North End in Boston for dinner and a show. It will be 10 of us, five couples, all for a kid free fun night out. We have been planning this get together for months and felt that April 1st would be “better” weather. I had a cute top picked out with wedge booties (that I can’t wear in the snow) and now it’s going to be yucky out and wintry. Ugh. So, back to my black boots and winter coat. So annoyed!

I realize that I am the WORST New-Englander ever. I should totally live somewhere south or west coast, or somewhere that is warmer and sunny and that they don’t have winter! I lived in Scottsdale, AZ for two years between college and graduate school and the weather was perfect. I LOVED it. I came home for Christmas and then I was back in the sun. However, twenty years ago when I lived there, it was “weird” to me not having seasons. I actually missed it. More so, I missed my family and my friends, which is why I decided to come back. Well, I also missed trees and real grass and seafood and the city. I missed New England. I try to remember that when I feel like this. I LOVE Boston, Cape Cod, New Hampshire, the beach.. all of it. I love it from April (usually) until right after Christmas. Then I’m MISERABLE from mid-January through March! 🙂 Clearly, when I eventually retire my husband and I need to be those people that “go south” for the winters! 🙂 Ha.

Well, I’m still crossing my fingers that it doesn’t snow, and this will pass us by! (Praying) however, I know I need to suck it up and make the best of it. The family is getting together and it will be lots of laughs and fun. I will stay positive and just enjoy the night even if I can’t wear my cute new shoes. 😦


text:
Recall: Hyland’s Teething Tablets

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers that Hyland’s Teething Tablets may pose a risk to children.

The FDA recommends that consumers not use this product and dispose of any in their possession. The manufacturer is issuing a recall of this product.

Hyland’s Teething Tablets are manufactured to contain a small amount of belladonna, a substance that can cause serious harm in larger doses. Belladonna is commonly known as Deadly Nightshade. It is a plant whose leaves and berries are extremely toxic. Belladonna has been used as both a poison and a medicine throughout history.

For such a product, it is important that the amount of belladonna be carefully controlled. FDA laboratory analysis, however, has found that Hyland’s Teething Tablets contain inconsistent amounts of belladonna.

In addition, the FDA has received reports of serious adverse events in children taking this product that are consistent with belladonna toxicity. The FDA has also received reports of children who consumed more tablets than recommended, because the containers do not have child resistant caps.

The FDA advises consumers to consult their health care professional if their child experiences symptoms such as seizures, difficulty breathing, lethargy, excessive sleepiness, muscle weakness, skin flushing, constipation, difficulty urinating, or agitation after using Hyland’s Teething Tablets.

Hyland’s Teething Tablets are a homeopathic product intended to provide temporary relief of teething symptoms in children that is sold over-the-counter in retail outlets, including online sources. The FDA has not evaluated Hyland’s Teething Tablets for safety or efficacy, and is not aware of any proven clinical benefit offered by the product.

An ongoing inspection at the manufacturer also indicates substandard control of the manufacturing operation. After consultation with the FDA today, the manufacturer of the product, Standard Homeopathic Company agreed to voluntarily recall Hyland’s Teething Tablets from the market.

FDA urges both health care professionals and consumers to report side effects from use of Hyland’s Teething Tablets to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either:

Complete and submit the report online:

Download form or call 1-800-332-1088 to request a reporting form, then complete and return to the address on the pre-addressed form, or fax to 1-800-FDA-0178.

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