Oops and Daisies

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Mindfulness Practices Even When We’re Busy: Book Review of ‘Everyday Mindfulness’

January 20, 2021 by Liz SanFilippo Hall

I have always loved the concept of mindfulness: slowing down and being present. But as a mom with two young kids? Practicing mindfulness can be, shall we say, difficult. While I have found small ways of working it into my life over the years, I've always been on the lookout for new approaches to mindfulness that work with my crazy, busy life on a regular basis. *** Oops & Daisies … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Reviews, Writing, Books, & Resources Tagged With: book review, busy mama, journal, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness practice, mindfulness workbook

How to Make Time for Reading After Kids: What I Wish I’d Known

December 31, 2020 by Liz SanFilippo Hall

About a year after I had my daughter, an old friend of mine called to catch up and asked me: "What have you been reading lately?" I had always been an avid reader. I love reading books, discussing books, and sharing books. But when she asked me that question, I had to pause and think about it. Finally, I admitted: "I haven't read much lately." In fact, I had barely read anything since Little … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Writing, Books, & Resources Tagged With: books, daily reading, more than mama, quiet-time, what I wish, what I wish I'd known

Gift Guide: Educational Gift Ideas (Or Presents that Keep on Giving)

November 24, 2020 by Liz SanFilippo Hall

With learning at home continuing for the foreseeable future, I've been focused on finding activities that not only engage my kids but also teach them a thing or two. In other words: this holiday season, their list includes fun educational gift ideas. After all, learning should be fun... and I'd rather buy them something that they'll use again and again. This list of educational gift ideas … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family & Lifestyle, Writing, Books, & Resources Tagged With: educational gifts, encourage reading, gift guide, gift ideas, holiday gift guide, math toys, science gift ideas

5 Tips for Facing the Blank Page

November 11, 2020 by Liz SanFilippo Hall

Facing the Blank Page

So you want to write, but you're unsure of where to start. Or, perhaps you're worried that whatever you write won't be as good as it sounds in your head? Facing the blank page can be hard. Getting started can be hard. Finding the right words can be hard. But there are ways to trick yourself into defeating the blank page and getting started with a story idea, or a blog post, or whatever else it is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Writing tips, Writing, Books, & Resources Tagged With: blank page, editing process, give yourself permission, story idea, writing, writing process

6 Tips for Creating a Learning Environment at Home

October 13, 2020 by Liz SanFilippo Hall

Learning environment at home

As this school year started, I saw designated learning spaces in people's homes everywhere I looked online. I'll admit it: I was a bit in awe of all the organization. In our small house, my kids and I constantly shifted where we did our projects and work (and it's constantly messy). We may not have a dedicated school space, but here's the thing I've realized: create a learning environment that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family & Lifestyle, Homeschool, Life With Kids Tagged With: art projects, art supplies, at home learning, backyard, homeschool, learning, learning environment, learning outdoors

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authorlizsanfilippohall

Multi-genre author. 📚BECOMING CHARLOTTE CORDAY, a YA historical fantasy coming 4/27/2027 from Apprentice House Press

It kind of feels like I lived in two different wor It kind of feels like I lived in two different worlds in August: we wrapped up our final Michigan vacation of the year and finished summer with a series of huge thunderstorms… and then the kids returned to school, and all of us have been acclimating to our new routine ever since.Given how much time I took “off” in August, let’s just say this: I’m pretty proud of all that I accomplished. Every single baby step on a creative project takes me one step closer to sharing it with the world.What I worked on:🌸 Finished final line edits on my YA historical fantasy, Becoming Charlotte Corday, and sent the manuscript over to some authors I admire for their blurbs/testimonials🌸 Worked on some ghostwriting projects and wrote about topics like brand management and orthodontics.🌸Wrapped up my online Summer Writing Momentum workshop series and left feeling inspired by my students and their progress on their stories🌸 Exchanged feedback with a writing partner on her YA gothic paranormal book and my NA contemporary🌸 Published 4 blog posts to OopsAndDaisies.com🌸 Continued publishing weekly to my Substack, Where Daisies Grow🌸 Created a waitlist for a new creative community I’m launching later this year. (Check my bio for more info about Open Window Lit)🌸 Networked and learned from some amazing individuals through Jenni Gritters’ World Builders Collective, including Lindsey Galloway, Bailey Lang, PhD, and Sara Strese🌸 Held my weekly online Creative Writing Accountability Club… and officially renamed it to “Creative Writing Cowriting Club!”🌸 Hosted a free reflective writing session focused on writing letters to ourselves. I’m thinking I’ll be hosting free sessions like this on the regular… stay tuned!🌸 Decided to launch a weekly video sharing updates on my writing, because people keep asking about my process and what it’s “like” to write and publish a book.And through it all, I, of course, toyed with some new story ideas, journaled a ton, and let myself enjoy some creative playtime!#WritingUpdates #WorkLife #WhatIDo #WritingLife
What I’m working on this week… but before I share What I’m working on this week… but before I share my creative writing updates, I give a quick glimpse into my work days and how I juggle my freelance work with my creative endeavors — because making time for my creative writing is important! I may just share a hint of something new that’s coming too. 🥳#CreativeWriting #WritingLife #TimeBlocking Follow along as I share my journey as I head toward the publication of my debut novel with #LizsWritingJourneyNab the first chapter of my book when you join my author newsletter linked in my bio.
We’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for the We’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for the huge raspberry patch to burst in our yard… and it’s finally happening! Normally, our raspberries come in two big batches: early June and mid-August. With this year’s extreme weather, we’ve only had one handful ALL summer. Who knew, sometimes you just need to wait for your seeds/plants to be ready on their own time. We can tell that a whole bunch are about to burst! 💖#GardenMetaphors #StoriesFromMyGarden #WritingLife #SummerLiving
For me, Sundays are for organizing and figuring ou For me, Sundays are for organizing and figuring out my week. It’s also the end of August, so it’s also time to figure out my September priorities. I took a hot mess pile of papers and started sorting… and ended up with 12 piles! Some were story ideas, some were workshop notes, some were notes from networking and business meetings. You get the idea… fortunately I managed to group some things together, because 12 felt way too overwhelming 🤣#HowIWork #AuthorLife #CreativeCommunity #AuthorAugust26
I can’t wait until I can share it with everyone!!! I can’t wait until I can share it with everyone!!! In the meantime, go on and grab the first chapter by signing up for my author newsletter in my bio. 💖#YAReads #AuthorAugust26 #HistoricalFantasy #Bookstagram
Every time I work on an idea: a book, a workshop, Every time I work on an idea: a book, a workshop, a story, etc… another (few) ideas always seem to show up! #WeeklyUpdate #WritingLife #TheCreativeLife
Proofreading: the final step in writing/editing a Proofreading: the final step in writing/editing a book before it’s formatted!Since I’m working with a small press, I decided to make my own “proofreading guide” for Becoming Charlotte Corday to give to my proofreader. It includes everything from how names and places are spelled to character details, like eye and hair color. In my case, I also include the spelling of major events and places in and around Paris.This is the first time I’m handing my “own” proofreading guide to someone else. Usually it’s the other way around… a publisher/client gives me their manuscript along with their proofreading guide and style notes.It feels weird to be on the other side of the equation! But let’s be honest, I love it, and I’m totally geeking out over assessing/double-checking everything in my manuscript, from formatting rules to punctuation preferences!Since proofreading is a “final” step, you might think I’m just about done, right?Well, close. After this round of proofreading, my press will format the book… and there will be another chance to proofread, because formatting can impact surface errors, like splitting words between pages.Writers, please don’t skip the proofreading stage! When you’ve looked at/reviewed/edited your manuscript a ton, it’s so easy to miss small things that might catch your reader’s attention (and not in a good way). That’s why I’m so thankful to have an “outside” proofreader who hasn’t seen my book before give it a look.#Proofreading #WritingCommunity #WritingLife
I used to think I had “too many ideas”… now I real I used to think I had “too many ideas”… now I realize it’s a superpower, because it means I’ll never run out of things to write about! But… writer beware: we still need to be cautious of shiny-object syndrome.Read the full post via my story or through my bio! #WritingAdvice #Brainstorming #Superpower #WritingLife
I’ve always wanted to be like Dolly… fearless, bra I’ve always wanted to be like Dolly… fearless, brave, strong, unafraid of speaking out, an advocate for so many things. Never stop chasing your dreams. Be unapologetically you. We’ll miss you, Dolly.
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