I found another Monday meme this morning called Monday Morning Meme hosted by Write from Karen.  I found Karen’s blog a long time ago, but must have lost the link when I switched over computers.  I’m so glad to have found it again.

The Monday Morning Meme is similar to the Maniac Monday one as it’s a set of questions to answer for the day and tell your readers about you.  The questions from Karen this week:

1. How many coats do you own? Do have a good coat? Casual coat? Summer jacket? etc. Do you wear coats very often? Or do you have a tendency to leave your coat at home whenever you go out? What is your favorite coat? Why is this one your favorite? Care to model it for us?

I own two coats – a letterman’s jacket from high school and one coat that I made myself buy as I thought it was wrong not to own a coat, but I NEVER wear either. Even when we have freezing temperatures, I just layer up and finish off with a jacket.  I actually hate the feel of something so thick on my lower arms. I can’t really stand anything to be even slightly snug below my elbow.

2. You’ve learned a thing or two about this thing we call blogging. Tell us one thing you don’t recommend to other bloggers. Tell us one thing you do recommend to other bloggers.

I don’t recommend that you always follow “expert” advice.  Make your blog your own.  Write about what you KNOW, what you want to write about.  I do recommend that you network and make blogging friends. Surf the blogs and find some regulars to comment on.  Most of them will come back and comment on yours too.  It’s one of the easiest ways to build a readership.

3. Is cursive writing a lost art? Should good penmanship be taught? Tell us about your handwriting – good / bad? Do you think your children have good handwriting (given their appropriate age, of course).

As a high school teacher, I can tell you that (in this area at least), yes, students are using cursive more and more each year.  While personally I don’t think it would matter if they print or write in cursive, I think the problem comes in that most of them can’t keep up with notes if they print which makes high school and college very difficult.  I wish that we weren’t pushing our kids so young so fast in some of the other areas and would go back to taking the time to force them to practice both printing and cursive writing.  My daughter’s printing is pretty bad – her cursive horrendous (she’s and the school doesn’t seem worried about making it any better.  I don’t think my handwriting is good or bad.  I really think it’s just middle of the road (though I have students frequently comment how neat it is).

4. Have you ever struggled with infertility? If you haven’t, or if it wasn’t the hardest thing you’ve ever had to go through — what was?

No.  I have one daughter that was conceived without any planning.