Month June 2021

Melanie A. Peters in the Spotlight

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I am so excited and honored to be in the Spotlight for the June #BlogBattle! There are some seriously talented writers on this forum. It’s a treat to be in their community.
– Melanie A. Peters

BlogBattle

Welcome to this year’s fun spotlight introduction of Blog Battlers!

Every month we’re shining the light on a participant.

Welcome, Melanie A. Peters!

QuestionAnswer
Blog/Website:www.intentergy.com
How long have you been a writer?5 years
3 random facts about you!I love college basketball.

I live on a turkey farm.

Gary is one of my first blogging friends.

What genre(s) do you write?Lifestyle/Positivity Blogging
What is your favorite BB story/entry you’ve written? What is the URL?https://intentergy.com/2018/08/10/to-the-moon-and-back/
Have you published any books? Self/Indie published? Traditional? Hybrid?Not yet
If you have published books, where can people go to buy your books?Not yet
Do you plan to publish? If so, self/indie, traditional or both/hybrid?Yes, both
Who or what inspired you to start a blog and share your writing?I was coping with the decision to walk away from teaching fulltime so as to be able to meet…

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Two-Word Coaching: Simple Direction

Intentergy 1 Comment

This summer my oldest son has had the privilege of playing on a competitive baseball team, and with his new team, he gained some new teammates and coaches. The cool thing about new teammates and new coaches is there is a lot that can be learned from building team chemistry and determining the strengths and weaknesses of one another. Obviously, I enjoy hearing other coaches instruct my kiddos on the skills that I have tried to get them to work on for last couple of seasons, and then witnessing the kids actually trying those very techniques because somebody besides Coach Mom told them to do it. There is one dad on the team though that has introduced me to a different brand of coaching: Two-Word Coaching.

Tommy, the dad-coach, keeps his directions to the kids simple and usually only involves, you guessed it – two words. This may seem highly questionable, but let me tell you it can be very effective.

For example, as his son Will took the mound to pitch, Tommy barked, “Pitch strikes.”

Will proceeded to pitch 5 out of 9 pitches in the strike zone. (Pretty good for a first-year-in-the-league 10 year old.)

When Will was batting, Tommy grunted, “Little quicker,” and his son obligingly sped up his swing for a base hit.

Now don’t think Tommy’s two-word commands are limited to his son, the other kids are getting used to his brand of instruction as well. The more I listened; the more I was aware that Tommy wasn’t alone in taking advantage of this concise form of coaching. My awareness to this strategy heightened my recognition of just how often our terrific coaches employ its power, and the two-word coaching strategy has appealed to me even more.

Here are a few of the common two-word commands heard at most any game.

“Nice stop.” – for a solid catch or swatting down a hit by a defensive player

“Call it.” – Means, “Talk to each other, and let your teammates know you’ve got the ball.”

“Eat it.” – Means, “Hold the ball. Don’t try to throw out the baserunner (You probably won’t get them).”

“One more.” – This one has lots of meaning. It can infer, “Throw another strike,” “Get another out,” “All we need it one more hit,” or “One more game inning/game to win.”

“Charge it.” – Go to the ball and get that out. Don’t let it get away from you or the runner past you without hustling.

Continue reading “Two-Word Coaching: Simple Direction” →

Fish Delivery! Making Farm Pond Memories

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After almost 25 years of too many other things to fix, last fall Hubby tackled the task of repairing a busted dam for a pond located on our farm. After hours of pushing dirt and packing it down with a dozer, the pond filled quickly with fall rains and winter snow melts. As March approached, we kept our eyes out for the fateful announcement of “Fish Days” at our local feed co-op.

Making our choices from the fish order form was almost as exciting as circling our wishes in a Christmas Toy Catalog. There were options of different species and sizes for every pond and lake. After careful consideration and research compliments of the Department of Conservation, we made our selections; hybrid blue gill, red ear, and a whole bunch of minnows.

Prior to picking up our fish, we had to fill portable tanks with pond water, so as to help the fish acclimate easily to their new home. Hubby took our kiddos with him to receive the fish at the co-op. They were eager to help and in awe of the process. (Those fish delivery guys don’t mess around. They get you loaded and out of there in no time!)

Once they arrived on the banks of the new pond, we questioned whether or not we would get the truck back up the bank without getting stuck, but into the pond the fish had to go.

Watching those tiny fries fly out of the tanks was exciting and nerve-wracking. How could such little fish survive the force of that water gushing out of the tanks and plopping into the pond?

Well, survive they did, and there is terrific anticipation for when that fresh fish delivery turns into a fresh fish fry.

Giving our kiddos the chance to be a part of the fish pond process has been fun. As the fish and our kids grow, that pond is overflowing with opportunities to spend time together, and the kids have shown great pride in the work that went into its re-construction and addition of fish.

While you may not have a pond to fill with fish or a task that requires thousands of gallons of pond water, you can always find joy in creating opportunities to be a part a project that is bigger than yourself.

Find ways to build, create, or grow with your loved ones or community. I promise it won’t be hard to reel in some fun and net some great memories. If things don’t always turn out the way you expect, it’s okay. Even fishing is called fishing for a reason. If you caught something every time, it would be called catching.

By: Melanie A. Peters

P.S. We did successfully drive the truck up the bank without getting stuck.

20 Books of Summer +1 #20BooksofSummer2021

Intentergy 2 Comments

Thanks to Cathy at https://746books.com/2021/06/01/its-20-books-of-summer-time/ for sharing the 20 Books of Summer Challenge again!!! Yay summer reading!

During the summer of 2020, I participated in Cathy’s #20booksofsummer2020 and I LOVED it!

I enjoyed reading my choices and the posts of others readers as they shared their summer read picks. It made a season of quarantine feel like it a had some sense of community.

For Summer 2021, I am eager to dive into my summer reads, but I’m going to challenge myself to 21 reads before September 1st! #20booksofsummer2021 +1.

As the volunteer librarian at my children’s school, I host a reading club each year, and I always try to include the books in contention for the Mark Twain Award. There at 12 books nominated each year, and I have yet to be disappointed whenever I read those nominated. Students love them and often make informal waiting lists on my library desk for the Mark Twain Award titles. These 12 titles will definitely make up part of my 21 reads this summer, so I thought I would kick the list off with the nominees.

Shine!
Summer Read #1: Mark Twain Award Nominee #1: Shine by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
Pay Attention, Carter Jones
Summer Read #2: Mark Twain Award Nominee #2: Pay Attention, Carter Jones by Gary D. Schmidt
The Bridge Home
Summer Read #3: Mark Twain Award Nominee #3: The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman
New Kid (New Kid, #1)
Summer Read #4: Mark Twain Award Nominee #4: New Kid by Jerry Craft
Song for a Whale
Summer Read #5: Mark Twain Award Nominee #5: Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
Shouting at the Rain
Summer Read #6: Mark Twain Award Nominee #6: Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation (Charlie Thorne #1)
Summer Read #7: Mark Twain Award Nominee #7: Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs
Me and Sam-Sam Handle the Apocalypse
Summer Read #8: Mark Twain Award Nominee #8: Me and Sam-Sam Handle the Apocalypse by Susan Vaught
Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen
Summer Read #9: Mark Twain Award Nominee #9: Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen by Niki Lenz
The Memory Keeper
Summer Read #10: Mark Twain Award Nominee #10: The Memory Keeper by Jennifer Camiccia
The Unsung Hero of Birdsong, USA
Summer Read #11: Mark Twain Award Nominee #11: The Unsung Hero of Birdsong, USA by Benda Woods
White Bird: A Wonder Story
Summer Read #12: Mark Twain Award Nominee #12: White Bird: A Wonder Story by R.J. Palacio
M.C. Higgins, the Great
Summer Read #13: M.C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton is a book I often recommend to students in the library, but it’s beena while since I read it the first time and want to revisit this amazing story.
Continue reading “20 Books of Summer +1 #20BooksofSummer2021” →