Happy Halloween, if your school allows it!

Listening to the news on my car radio this morning I was very distressed to hear about yet another school banning Halloween. I find this very disturbing as Halloween is a part of our culture...yes I said it, Halloween is a part of our culture. I am sure that many of us remember trick or treating at our neighbours' homes on a snowy late October evening, making sure we only approached those who had a jack-o-lantern on their porch or the outside light on.

I also remember that many a year my mother would have me so bundled up that my costume was difficult to recognize. I was ok with this because earlier in the day I had been able to wear my costume in all its glory at my classroom Halloween party! We didn't wear our costumes all day, they were carefully put on during the lunch hour and then proudly worn as we shared cupcakes and goodies that our talented volunteer moms had provided. Even the adults seemed to have a good time.

I am happy that my little grandson's school is having a Halloween party this afternoon so he too will have memories of sharing this holiday with his friends.

misskimmy

Getting back into the groove

Although I have been studying french for the past 3 years, this is my first trip back into studying and working on a certificate. I was a bit hesitant at the beginning and by week 2 was feeling a little overwhelmed with the amount of reading and writing I had taken on. This of course is on top of my regular work day and 2 nights a week at french class.

I began to feel as though I was getting on top of it all and then came twitter! I must admit I have been using twitter for a while now, mostly to follow my favorite sports team and political news. Having to "interact" on twitter is another thing altogether! Suddenly anyone following you can see what you are tweeting. I don't know about you but this does scare the heck out of me. I don't know why it should, I speak with people all of the time but those 140 characters just seem like the perfect opportunity for me to stick my foot in my mouth or to have someone think, "What a lame tweet, why would she post that."

I am hoping to get over my fear and just go for it over the next few weeks. After all I can always claim that I was having a grey moment:)

misskimmy

My first venture into the blogosphere

Ok, here goes. Although I have played with blog programs a little in the past I have never seemed to find a reason to actually create one for myself. No, I have not come to some great realization that people will want to read what I have to say, this blog was begun as a requirement for my social media marketing class.

Over the next few weeks I will be attempting to broaden my skill set in the social media world, including this blog. There are already many blogs on politics and public policy but I suppose I will add one more. Perhaps my musings will connect with conservative middle aged grandmothers who have decided to upgrade their skills. I do think that we are often an underrepresented demographic in the public policy and political arenas so maybe there is a reason for me to do this after all.

I look forward to joining my classmates as we journey into the world of social media and hope some of what I say will strike a note with my readers.