iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

Too gross. That is a huge price swing!!!

A close up selfie of my face with furrowed brow and my hand holding the side of my head. Facial expression meant to display disgust.

MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

I think of this scene from Blast from the Past about the term Ladies & Gentlemen (Updated version: “Well-Mannered People”) I try to consider the comfort of others rather than the status of others. It makes it easier to navigate the world. Derek Guy builds out this idea fully in his thread.

Eve: Now hold on, hold on just a minute! In the first place I do not fall in love with weirdos who l've only known for four or five days!
Troy: Yes you do.
Eve: And I don't fall in love with grown men who collect baseball cards!
Troy: Yes you do.
Eve: Or pee in their pants when they see the ocean!
Troy: Yes you do.
Eve: Or have perfect table manners!
Troy: You know, I asked him about that. He said, good manners are just a way of showing other people we have respect for them. See, I didn't know that, I thought it was just a way of acting all superior. Oh and you know what else he told me?
Eve: What?
Troy: He thinks l'm a gentleman and you're a lady.
Eve: [disgusted Well, consider the source! I don't even know what a lady is.
Troy: I know, I mean I thought a "gentleman" was somebody that owned horses. But it turns out, his short and simple definition of a lady or a gentleman is, someone who always tries to make sure the people around him or her are as comfortable as possible.
Eve: Where do you think he got all that information?
Troy: From the oddest place - his parents. I mean, I don't think I got that memo from mine.

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Show me your gateway vehicle

Becky the Carpet Queen in a white dress and sparkling tiara stands on a rug while pretending to fly over the St. Louis Gateway Arch

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Up but still down is down. Just look at the S&P 500 for the past month and three months:

A screenshot of the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF with 9 major companies listed. Of the nine, they are down between .11% and 24.1% for the past month (in red because of negative growth). Only Berkshire Hathaway shows positive growth for the past three months with .85%. The other companies are down between 3.03% and 25.13% showing red as negative growth (aka losses).

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Used some calming watercolor processes this weekend and made a surprise dinosaur.

A hand drawn cartoonish dinosaur is in the center of a page. The page has wavy lines intersecting horizontally and vertically that were created by pushing a penny with a permanent marker. The dinosaur is painted in segmented shades of green and the background is segmented and painted in rainbow order.

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

My favorite beach in Duluth is awash in science.

A bright yellow sun is surrounded by white clouds. A snow-covered, sandy beach curves off to the right while spiked plumes of sea smoke fog lifts above the edge of Lake Superior.

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Very excited about the fashion choices for myself this year.

A tight screenshot of the word “derelicht” from the dictionary gif.

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Time to bring back sewing new hems onto existing clothes!!!

A screenshot of toddler clothing with coordinating fabric ruffle hems added to the bottom of a sweater and a lacy fabric cuff added to toddler pants.

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

Graduation Day! I celebrated via live stream on my prep since I participated in an online program 9 hours away by car. I worked today instead of attending in person, and my students were totally excited and supportive when they came in later and saw me in my regalia!

MsGillELA in a black graduation gown and mortarboard cap in front of her white board. Her master’s hood is folded over her arm in preparation for her hooding. She has a big smile on her face.

A zoomed in picture shows MsGillELA still in a cap and gown, this time with her light blue education hood over her shoulders and in front of her neck. You can see the projected graduation ceremony in part of the background with no identifying info of other students.

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

Looking for some help bringing the outside world to my middle school classroom. If you have the time and capacity, I would love to feature a short (less than 1 min!) video from you explaining how reading shows up in your life and work. See my video for more details!

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Watercolor and coffee to start my Sunday. Making my to do list . . . After I make some calming rainbow art.

A sketchbook with crayon lines creating waves and watercolor paint flowing between the lines

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Feels like a stone soup story waiting to happen. I can grab the saffron.

Picture of a pile of saffron dried and deep orange. Words at the top of the picture say “Ok, 10 items were added to your cart. What next?” Words at the bottom of the picture say Saffron Whole, 10 times $41.35.

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

This collection of short stories is gently creepy and so good.

Screenshot of the book cover for The Collectors. Edited by A.S. king featuring stories by Cory McCarthy, Anna-Marie McLemore, G. Nero, Jason Reynolds, Randy Ribay, and Jenny Torres Sanchez

The book cover includes curio shelves with a skull and lower mandible, an eerie green butterfly, a pocket watch and other oddities

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 11/05/2024

3s exposure from my backyard!

Light purple and pink sky with lighter starburst effect - northern lights as seen from below with two trees in the foreground.

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 14/04/2024

The Minnesota River is looking nice today!

A bright blue sky soars over the flowing Minnesota River - the river reaches from bank to bank

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 10/02/2024

It started as a bit of a joke, but now I am obsessed with getting an old mechanical time clock for punching in and out of work! Just look at it! It’s so cute!

A screenshot of two search results for eBay acroprint. The acroprint time clock has an analog face, a richly green body, and a spot to put a punch card. It has squared edges and an industrial aesthetic from the middle of the 1900s

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 22/01/2024

I finished my first fingerless mitten! I made it with the Cloudburst pattern by Arienne Grey on Ravelry. I could have shortened it, but didn’t want to mess with the pattern since this is my first time with a thumb gusset. I did shorten the thumb by two or three rows.

A variegated yarn fingerless mitten with a subtle lace pattern

The palm side of variegated yarn fingerless mitten with ribbing at the cuff and fingers

MsGillELA wearing the fingerless mitten and her thumb and first three fingers are out but her pinky finger is almost completely covered

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 18/01/2024

Working on my first set of fingerless gloves. This cold snap reminded me why I bought this yarn in the first place! Twisted knit ribbed cuff almost done, and it fits!

A variegated hand knit cuff is on my wrist while still on needles with a magic circle so I can try it on

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 01/01/2024

I tracked my books with StoryGraph this year and exceeded my goal! 2023 was the year of the light Romance. I wonder what 2024 will bring . . .

Covers of books read:
You Only Live Once David Bravo
One Night with the CEO
Getting Dirty with the CEO
Klara and the Sun
How to Succeed in Witchcraft
The Secret, Book, and Scone Society
The Last Fallen Star
Better Than the Movies
The Unhoneymooners
Something Wilder
Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating
Soulmate Equation
In a Holidaze
Roomies
My Favorite Half-Night Stand
Love and Other Words

Book Covers:
Meant to Be
Debating Darcy
The Barren Grounds
The Family Remains
Red Scarf Girl
If the Shoe Fits
By the Book
The Wedding Date
Drunk on Love
True Love Experiment
The Inheritance Games
The Hawthorne Legacy
The Final Gambit
Party of Two
The Wedding Party
Kiss the Girl
The Proposal
Royal Holiday
Twice in a Blue Moon
While We Were Dating

Loveboat Taipei
Loveboat Reunion
Kiss the Girl
Acting on Impulse
Dating You Hating You
The Spanish Love Deception
The American Roommate Experiment
The Honey-Don’t List
Autoboyography
The Whispered Word
The Book of Candlelight
Bundle Punk Bruja
Loveboat Forever
The Long Game
Paper Cuts
The Brothers Hawthorne
Ink Shadows
The Vanishing Type
I’ve Got Your Number
Twenties Girl
Sari Not Sari

The Burnout
Sleeping Arrangements
The Party Crasher
Zero Days
The Gatecrasher

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 01/01/2024

It’s shrimp cocktail o’clock! Happy New Year to all who stay home

A silver tone black and white photo of five shrimp balancing on the edge of a bowl with cocktail sauce

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 30/12/2023

Finished Sweater #4 - pretty pink for the 3yo nibling. This one was tricky but I finally figured out how I was twisting stitches. Next sweater will be an adventure in stripes!

A small, hot pink, hand knit sweater with garter stitch sleeve panels

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 28/12/2023

Lake of the Ozarks boat-related errand, and I’m looking over my shoulder for Ruth and Marty.

MsGillELA smiling in front of a mobile home with a paint job on the door that has seen better days.

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 09/12/2023

Further research shows that Nokomis, SK was named by an English colonizer after Longfellow’s poem.

On one occasion, while delivering mail along the route from Taylorboro, Mr. MacFarland called at the home of Thomas Halstead, on Sec. 24–20 9–22 – W-2. Mrs. Halstead asked if he thought the authorities would consider the establishment of another post office at their home, with her as postmistress. She obtained signatures and forwarded a petition from the settlers in her vicinity, and Mr. MacFarlane sent it to Ottawa with request that the name Nokomis be chosen. She had selected the name “Nokomis” from Longfellow poem “Hiawatha”, because to her, newly arrived from England, the West represented the romantic domain of the Indian. “Nokomis” farm post office was open for business on August 6, 1906, when the first money order was sold to Albert W. Bridgewater.

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 06/12/2023

My very neglected Christmas cactus is blooming! I can’t believe it’s still alive. And making flowers!!

A large potted green Christmas cactus sits on light purple tissue. Seven or eight pink flowers have opened with a handful of white buds that have the potential to open in the next month.

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 31/10/2023

First attempt knitting circles from the inside out! Glad for the warm costume today.

A photo of MsGillELA in a cream and red knit hat and blue sweater holding a plush red turtle shell. Her hat is cream with red circles like Toad from Mario Kart’s head.

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 29/10/2023

37 states visited; 13 left to go. Still need: Alaska Hawaii Oregon Washington Idaho Utah North Dakota Nebraska Michigan Delaware New Hampshire Vermont Maine

A color coded map of the USA with green showing 37 states visited and light blue showing the states left to go

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 15/10/2023

Each spring @natebyr0n.bsky.social tries to teach us all a little bit more about great animation, but somehow this moment has yet to come up during the animated movies tournament . . X

Still from Disney’s Robin Hood showing the snake advisor pouting in a basket. The text reads, “There’s animation, there’s great animation, and then there’s the bit in Disney’s Robin Hood where *a snake crosses his arms”

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 10/10/2023

In MN, parents do assign the grades & keep the transcript. It’s expected that parents or guardians would have integrity. That being said, a college or university can request additional verification, incl a work portfolio. MN also requires norm-referenced testing for continuing homeschool yearly

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 01/10/2023

Former students would get really into Inktober in previous years. I plan on bringing it to my homeroom this year and see if I can inspire some current students. #inktober

A screenshot of the drawing prompts from Inktober 2023. The first five daily prompts are dream, spiders, path, dodge, & map.

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MsGillELA @msgillela.bsky.social · 01/10/2023

I opened that for like a second and closed it again. Too many words for me for today. It is more that I searched literacy, education, and edu under feeds to see what I could find. This is a strong example and I would love to see someone set up one for literacy.

A screenshot of iTeachMath feed showing #MTBoS #iTeachMath #MathChat #MathEd #MathSky

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