Steph Williams's Blog

That title is essentially a slap in my own face. I mean, I know I readily admit that I only sporadically maintain this blog, but posting once a year is really just lame. Alas, it’s been a busy year.

Shortly after I accepted the full-time teaching job at ASU-Beebe (yes, that was my last post!), Bryan got an opportunity in Colorado. Long story short, we relocated from Arkansas to Colorado in December 2021.

Upon arriving in the land of the mountains, I immediately declared myself a convert because of the weather. Seriously, there’s no humidity. It’s amazing.

I also decided I’m a hockey fan. I’ve been to two Colorado Avalance games so far and they are, without a doubt, the most fun I’ve ever had at a sporting event. Go Avs!

While teaching online for my various schools in the Spring semester, I decided to look into returning to the practice of law full-time. I’m now working for a small firm in Elizabeth, Colorado (southeast of Denver) and practicing mostly contract, construction defect and family law. My license status is pending full admission (which just means I can’t appear in court yet). Given that I graduated from law school in 2002, my ethics test (the MPRE) isn’t recent enough for Colorado. So, I’ve got to take that test again in August, then hopefully I’ll be a full-fledged Colorado lawyer (in addition to Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee).

There’s a lot more going on, of course, but that’s the big stuff. Or, at least, that’s part of my justification for not blogging frequently enough. Justification, I realized, is directed solely at myself.

I’d like to say I’ll post more frequently and on a variety of topics, but let’s be honest, I write a lot but mostly in my head.

The post Annual Update appeared first on Stephanie Haley Williams.

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be joining ASU-Beebe this Fall as a full-time Instructor of English. After about 12 years as a “highway-flyer” (a/k/a adjunct) piecing together teaching assignments at multiple institutions, I’ll have a teaching home.

ASU-Beebe is a public two-year college offering associate degrees and technical certificates and affiliates with various 4-year institutions around the state so that its students can complete further degrees. Though its name has changed a few times, ASU-Beebe was founded in 1927, making it the oldest two-year institution in Arkansas. Primarily located in Beebe, Arkansas, the college has multiple campuses around the state as well as online course offerings.

My teaching will include, depending on course offerings, the following classes: Pre-college Literacy, College Literacy, Freshman English I and II, and Oral Communication. I’ll also get to help advise students on their college paths.

Despite the strains of the last few semesters due to the pandemic, I love teaching and I look forward to joining the Vanguard community this Fall.

The post My New Job appeared first on Steph Williams.

It’s like everyone thought 2021 couldn’t be as bad as 2020, so the new year said “Hold my beer.”

The temperature hasn’t been above freezing since Sunday, I think, maybe before. Today, finally, there’s no new snow. But this week we’ve gotten record snowfall in Arkansas. I lived in this state for most of my life (other than 1999-2009 when I moved around so much that people thought I was either in the military or the witness protection program) and I’ve never seen anything like what we’ve experienced this week.

The week started off scary, and I was sure I was going to have a stroke or panic attack, though now I’ll admit that I’m known to be prone to hyperbole. We had to rescue the 20yo from Conway when her little car got stuck in the snow on the side of the road. I threatened to sit on the 18yo if he tried to leave to go to work (before he realized that his little car wouldn’t make it out of the driveway). All the while, the 13yo is Minecrafting and doing virtual work in basketball shorts and bare feet like nothing.

But yesterday, with nonstop snowfall for most of the 24 hours, we were all safe at home watching the winter wonderland from the semi-warmth of the living room. We’re doing our part to conserve electricity and the firewood won’t burn properly so the house is certainly colder than I’d prefer.

I know some places have it much worse (praying for Texas!) and we’re blessed to have power for the moment.

I hate snow. There I said it. Sure it’s pretty. For like a minute. I took some pictures. Of course, I can’t upload any of them because satellite internet sucks in good weather. So, now, I’m done with all of it.

I saw the post above from THV11, and it gave me hope. C’mon, Tuesday!

The post Snowpocalypse 2021 appeared first on Steph Williams.

My mom died yesterday. It wasn’t completely unexpected. She’s had health issues for a long time, in and out of the hospital frequently. She fell a few weeks ago at home, arrested in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, and never regained consciousness. So, I’ve had weeks to “process” and “prepare.”

Mom and I weren’t close. We didn’t really talk a lot and there was usually a lot of tension when we did. There wasn’t really any one big thing that caused the tension. It was more about different life choices and perspectives. My sister admitted yesterday that she was upset that mom and I never “mended our relationship,” and I was surprised. I didn’t see our relationship as something that needed mending. I know some adult women who are very close with their mothers, and I hope my Girl will stay close to me, but that just wasn’t the case for mom and me. And that was okay.

Driving my sister home from the hospital yesterday, I realized I hadn’t cried yet; so, I said, “I know you think I’m cold–”

“I’m starting to think that’s the way to be,” she interrupted.

“But – I was going to say – I’m not,” I finished.

Everyone grieves differently. My sister cries easily in front of others; a healthy habit I’ve never mastered. My brother, on the other hand, gets even quieter than normal and will respond to direct questions but otherwise doesn’t really engage. I turn into a do-er: trying to cover all the bases and do everything that needs to be done in record time with as little free-brain time as possible. So, I spent most of the time that the three of us were together yesterday trying to figure out what we needed to do “next.”

It wasn’t until I got home last night and sat on the couch surrounded by Bryan and the kids that I cried quietly. Tears of sadness for my mom mixed with tears of joy that I am loved and blessed. Then, we turned on Modern Family, laughing freely at it and our own family jokes.

The post Moms and Daughters appeared first on Steph Williams.

Disappointment

I want to be a writer. I am a writer. I have control over this. I write words. A lot. I used to struggle getting words on paper and thought that was the reason why I didn’t “feel like a real writer.” I joked that I wrote mostly in my head. But I’ve been doing a lot better with that “hiccup” lately; I write all the time again – like I used to when I first discovered my love of words.

I want people to read my words. This is the part I don’t have control over. I want to influence people in positive, inspirational ways. I’ve blogged often about wanting to write another book but not being able to decide what to write it about (i.e., too many ideas, not enough time). I also often waver between spending more time on this blog – to really develop it into something far-reaching – rather than writing another book. Often, I second-guess myself as to whether I should focus on book writing or blogging.

A couple of weeks ago, I participated in C.J. Hayden’s “Get It Written Day.” Leading up to that day, I’d decided to focus on blogging. So, my goal for the day was to write 6 blog posts – a giveaway announcement post and 5 monthly giveaway posts. I got them all done. I published the announcement post and scheduled the 5 giveaway posts, with the first set to publish the following week. I even tried my hand at my first email campaign to spread the news. I was so proud of myself. I ended the day most definitely feeling like a writer and blogger.

Two weeks in, I have 0 entries.

Two weeks in, I have 60-70 views and 0 entries.

So, people don’t want free stuff? Or, worse, don’t want to acknowledge they read my words? Or, worse still, don’t read my words at all?

This is why I sometimes don’t feel like a writer. This is why I sometimes wonder if it’s worth writing at all? This is why I sometimes think my desire to influence/inspire people is stupid.

Getting Over It

Ironically, as I’m typing this, I’m listening to a lecture on happiness. My paths to jobs and careers in my life have always been a bit winding and unorthodox. Not surprisingly, then, developments in 2020 have led me to pursue accountability coaching. I blogged not long ago about being on a productivity kick and followed that up with setting unrealistic goals (e.g., my NaNoWriMo experience). My business partners and I are developing an accountability business and I’ve decided to pursue a few coaching certifications as a part of that. I’ve already completed courses on Goal Setting and Group Life Coaching.

One of the certifications is for being a “Happiness Life Coach,” hence the happiness lecture.

So, here I was wallowing in self-pity about no one reading my words and thinking my goals are stupid, and I’m brought back to the present by what I’ve chosen to focus on today: happiness.

There’s so much truth to focusing on positive thoughts over negativity. I’ve admitted before that I used to be a “Negative Nelly” but my whole life changed when I started focusing on the good rather than the bad. And I’m reminded of that today as I continue my training.

I can’t wait to share that with others through coaching and, yes, through my words.

Featured Image Credit: Screenshot from Come On Get Happy (The Partridge Family Theme) by David Cassidy-Topic on YouTube.

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As promised, here’s our first monthly giveaway! Enter below to win a copy of Michael Hyatt & Co.’s new book No-Fail Habits. 

This giveaway will run through January 31st. The winner will be selected at random and notified/announced on February 1st. I will ship the book to the winner that week!

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Everyone agrees that 2020 sucked. Unfortunately, 2021 isn’t off to the best start either. But I’m not going to dwell on all the negativity in the world right now. Instead, I’d like to add some positivity. So, how ’bout some free stuff?!

Announcing Monthly Blog Giveaways

Over the next five (5) months (at least), I’m going to run a giveaway each month. That means you’ll have the chance to win something for FREE in the month of January, February, March, April, and May. Surely, FREE STUFF will improve 2021 at least a little bit, right?

I’ve got the items for the next 5 months already. So, I can promise those to you all. Ideally, I’d like to collect enough items to carry us through the entire year.

Items Available for FREE

Here’s the schedule of items so far:

January Giveaway: No-Fail Habits book by Michael Hyatt & Co.







February Giveaway: Full Focus Planner (classic, black, still in original shipping box)







March Giveaway: Full Focus Planner (classic, oatmeal, still in original shipping box)

April Giveaway: Portfolio Powerbank (black, zippable, with USB Cable and phone/tablet stand)

May Giveaway: Rocketbook Everlast AND Rocketbook Mini







How to Win

You don’t want to miss out on these gifts! Giveaway posts will go live on the second Monday of every month, beginning NEXT WEEK. So be sure to bookmark the blog or subscribe to updates and check back for your chance to win.

Let’s make 2021 a better year with some free stuff!

The post Life is Better with Gifts appeared first on Steph Williams.

What does your desk look like? Do you have a desk? Do you have an office? One at work and at home? Where do you “get stuff done”?

There’s apparently some psychology to how a person keeps his/her desk and what it says about him/her. For example, this infographic illustrates what you and others think about cluttered versus clean desks. This article and graphic reinforce some of the points but it a little more in-depth. Of course, I think both are probably based on this article. I like this one because it says piles of paper mean you’re an “out-of-the-box thinker.” Another article links the state of one’s desk to the common personality types.

I’ve always had a workspace at home. Even when I had an office I went to every weekday, I had some place to “work” at home. Over the years, in different houses and work situations, it’s ranged from small, cubby-like iterations to full-blown home offices. A few years ago, I downsized significantly to an armoire-style desk in the corner of our bedroom so that we could turn what had been my home office – with built-ins and french doors – into another bedroom. Even after moving into a new house, that armoire desk was my one spot in the house that was mine and mine alone.

My “corner office” in my bedroom, November 2020.

It’s weird, and hopelessly selfish of me, I suppose, to dream of a space that’s only mine. I’ve ridiculously used the lack of a mine-all-mine space as an excuse for not writing. I had this “hiccup” in my brain that I needed the perfect writers’ space to be creative.

Nevertheless, for the day-to-day work, that albeit tight spot was sufficient, since most days I was commuting to one campus or another performing various adjunct teaching gigs. However, with the pandemic and shift to remote learning, I was spending more and more time in what seemed to be a shrinking space. So, Bryan offered to build me a desk, but it wasn’t an overnight project by any means.

My even smaller “corner office” on the other side of the bedroom while waiting for the new desk to be “touch ready,” December 2020

During the semester, I added another monitor to assist with Zoom teaching. Then, I had to move the whole set-up to the other side of the room so that the new desk could be brought in – though it still had to “sit” and “seal” before use.

My new desk (Padauk and Walnut), December 2020.

Isn’t it a beauty?! It’s really too pretty to put things on, but I have to. One of the things I asked for in my custom-built desk was lots and lots of desktop space. I didn’t want to feel cramped or run out of room for all my stacks.

This is most certainly a space “worthy” of writing as well as for getting the day-to-day must-be-done stuff complete. No excuses now.

I’ll admit when Bryan offered to build me a desk – and to have it ready by Christmas – I doubted him. I really should know better than to doubt that man by now. Of course, he knocked it out of the park. And, man, do I feel uptown now.

Wonder what this desk says about me.

The post Desktop (R)Evolution appeared first on Steph Williams.

At the end of every semester for the past … forever now … there’s this sense of finality when I turn in grades. I often celebrate with a social media post like the ones highlighted above and joke about catching up on napping. And there’s loads of memes floating around social media right now encouraging teachers to binge Netflix, wear PJs all day, etc. And I’m all for that, if you can.

The end to this Fall 2020 semester felt significantly different to me, though. Of course, I’m sure the pandemic has something to do with that. But, truthfully, it got me thinking about why there’s no “end” to the work and what teachers really do during Christmas break. So here’s some work that I know I and others keep doing throughout the break:

Managing students who are still turning in work (i.e., incompletes and extensions)Departmental meetings and documentationProfessional development (i.e., certification programs and other extras to make us better teachers, often on our own time and our own dime)Side gigs and projects (i.e., work we’re passionate about but can’t do normally because teaching takes up all our time and energy normally)

And there’s probably a lot more than I’m not accounting for here. So, if you have a teacher friend, maybe think twice before commenting on him/her being “off” for weeks. Instead, make sure the coffee’s full and the wi-fi strong. And if, by chance, there’s time for a nap, mind your own business.

The post What Teachers Really Do During Christmas Break appeared first on Steph Williams.

In 2020 – the year most will say has been the worst of their lives, the year when my greatest accomplishment some days is taking a shower – Taylor Swift released not one, but two, full-length studio albums.

Several years back, I blogged about why I hate Taylor Swift, which, spoiler alert, I don’t really. Basically, I was admitting to the world (or the 5 people who read my blog) that I was jealous of her ability to produce “words on paper.” Good words, too. I struggle so much with wanting to write, with having my head full of words, but those words never making it to the page.

Why?

I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m always taking on other obligations rather than devoting time to my own writing. Maybe it’s because I’m tired or lack motivation. Maybe it’s because I have ADHD (I got sidetracked this morning watching woodpeckers outside my window for way too long). Maybe because I don’t put enough value on my writing time or always relegate it to the end of the to-do list.

So here we are in a year that has forced us to stay home more often than not and what do we have to show for it? By we, I mean me, of course. I’m sure some have used this time to master a new skill, learn a new language, or something else uber-productive (this reminds me of that David Tennant-Michael Sheen video making its way around social media) while others haven’t.

*Obviously, we’re in a pandemic. It’s not like we’re on vacation. There’s a lot of mental and emotional anguish that has accompanied this year, and that pressure hurts productivity. Certainly, someone who’s experienced trauma or difficulties as a result of the pandemic shouldn’t be expected to accomplish more during this time. But, knock-on-wood, my family’s been pretty lucky/blessed to not get sick or face major setbacks as a result. Essentially, we’re just home all the time, and, as a homebody, I sort of feel like I’m thriving right now. Well, except for my writing.

When Folklore came out in the Summer, I swore I needed to write about it. I would sit on my back deck in the evening sun and write in my head as the music lingered in my ears. But those words never made it to paper.

I know there’s been loads of coverage about Taylor’s second album this year; I even saw something the other day to suggest these might be part of a trilogy (!). I also know some are sick of hearing about her; I saw a post on social media saying all the songs were the same, with a few curse words thrown in for shock value. But the songs are not all the same, and she’s really doing something amazing here with words and music.

Folklore Album Cover



Folklore

Folklore, released on July 24, 2020, contained 16 songs plus a bonus track. Taylor released Cardigan along with a music video, which she directed. She also announced that it was part of a trilogy of songs about a teenage love triangle, one song from the perspective of each party, and confirmed that the other two were Betty, and August. Cardigan tells the story from Betty’s perspective; Betty, from James’ perspective; and August from “the other girl’s” perspective (maybe Inez? though she could just be the gossiper). Other tracks that sparked attention included Exile (feat. Bon Iver) and The Last Great American Dynasty, which tells the story of Holiday House, the house Taylor bought in Maine. Seven is based on Taylor’s childhood in Pennsylvania and is my favorite of the whole album, probably because it reminds me of Anne of Green Gables.

Of course, I’m a writer and I like words; so I could highlight my favorite lines from each of the 17 songs (I hyperfocused this morning and wrote them all down). Instead, I’ll just tell you the most cohesive song and the best line of the whole album:

Most cohesive song: My Tears Ricochet



Best Line: "They told me all of my cages were mental / So I got wasted like all my potential / And my words shoot to kill when I'm mad / I have a lot of regrets about that" (This is Me Trying)

Sadly, I think, these might be the songs many skip on the album because they’re not as catchy or upbeat. But when you slow down and listen, they’re worth the time.

Evermore

Evermore, dubbed Folklore‘s sister album and released on December 11, 2020, contains 15 songs and a digital booklet in which Taylor writes, “we just couldn’t stop writing songs.” The knife in my jealous heart turns.

The opening number, Willow, is the first single and, like Cardigan before it, comes with another Taylor-directed music video that literally picks up where Cardigan ended. The Evermore stories span from the dark yet fun – like No Body, No Crime – to the heart-wrenching — like Marjorie, a tribute to Taylor’s grandmother.

Most cohesive song: Ivy



Best Line: "I made you my temple, my mural, my sky / Now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life" (Tolerate It).

Right now, Ivy is the obvious frontrunner for my favorite, though I am having a tough time choosing just one. Of course, that just means I need to sit with the whole thing some more. So, I’ll let the music linger in my ears some more, as I peer out windows into the cold and watch the woodpeckers congregate in the trees.

Featured Image Credit: Evermore Album Art

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