Category: Essay

• Food of the Gods

  What’s your favorite recipe? You might as well ask me who’s my favorite child! Seriously, I cook every day, and of course I have my favorites. My favorites depend on the season. There are things I love making when it is cold out like Carbonnade Flamande, which is the famous Flemish beef stew we ate…

  michardillo

  August 24, 2025

  Essay

  afternoon tea, Belgian beef stew, Cajuns, carbonnade flamande, chili, cooking, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2040, English breakfast tea, Gumbo, recipes, rotisserie chicken, scones, wings

• Michelle, Ma Belle

  Where did your name come from? Michelle, ma belleThese are words that go together well (ooh)My Michelle Yeah, I haven’t heard that one, lol. For a while I heard this every time I was introduced to someone whether at work or a social activity. As the old saying goes, if I only had a dollar…

  michardillo

  August 21, 2025

  Essay

  Beatles, British Invasion, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2037, Ed Sullivan Show, first born, Michelle Ma Belle, name, only daughter

• Pharrell Taught Me Well

  What positive emotion do you feel most often? The lyrics of the 2013 hit “Happy” by Pharrell Williams really do answer this question for me. Clap along if you feel like a room without a roofClap along if you feel like happiness is the truthClap along if you know what happiness is to youClap along…

  michardillo

  August 17, 2025

  Essay

  classroom, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2032, findthejoy, happiness, Happy, Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana, Pharrell Williams, reading, school, social media, teacher, teaching, writing

• Peace or Piece?

  What brings you peace? Piece Peace

  michardillo

  August 12, 2025

  Essay

  baking, classical music, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2028, French food, hot tea, library, Louisiana, Mass, prayer, reading

• Teachers: Those Who Can’t Teach? Not On Your Life!

  What profession do you admire most and why? Full disclosure, I am a teacher. I taught full time from 2007 to 2020, middle school English and literature. Then covid hit and I sat out (per doctor’s orders) the 2020-2021 school year since I wasn’t old enough for the vaccine yet. A shift in administration created…

  michardillo

  August 11, 2025

  Essay

  Catholic school, certification, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2027, education, English, essays, grad school, language arts, library, literature, middle school, reading, retirement, secondary education, teacher, teaching, writer, writing

• Charge It Up

  We are in Los Angeles visiting our daughter. It has been a lovely visit. The hotel is standard Marriott Courtyard, but the rooftop pool is very nice. I’ve been able to swim laps almost every day we have been here. Today, being Sunday, we got up, got dressed, and headed off to Mass. One of…

  michardillo

  August 10, 2025

  Essay

  Catholic, Catholic Church, charge it up, faith, Fr. Emmanuel, Gospel of Luke, keep watch, prayer, remain vigilant, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, stay awake, Sunday Mass

• If Only I Could Remember What I Actually Ate

  What’s the most money you’ve ever spent on a meal? Was it worth it? From 2002-2004 my family lived in Belgium, the heart of Europe, for my husband’s job. It was a wonderful opportunity for our family, for our daughters, for seeing more of the world, for experiencing another culture in a way that a…

  michardillo

  August 6, 2025

  Essay

  Belgium, Brussels, comme chez soi, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2022, grand place, lunch, Michelin star, most expensive meal, Waterloo

• 30? Could be 3,000!

  List 30 things that make you happy. In no particular order except for #1 Edited to say that my husband noted I didn’t list CHEESE. Well, I did say it could be 3,000!

  michardillo

  August 4, 2025

  Essay

  30 things that make you happy, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2020, Jetpack, self-care, Wordpress, writing

• Sasee Magazine – New Byline

  Please see the August issue of Sasee Magazine for my first byline with them! It’s a humor piece on our beloved Maltipoo, Puccini! https://sasee.com/ebook/august-2025/

  michardillo

  August 1, 2025

  Essay

  dog, Essay, humor, Maltipoo, Puccini, Sasee Magazine

• The Para-Social Network

  The 2010 movie The Social Network details Mark Zuckerberg’s digital creation of Facesmash. Initially created out of spite after a failed date, it was an online directory of female students at Harvard where students could rate the girls’ attractiveness. Out of that misogynistic idea came Facebook, or TheFacebook as it was originally called. Today, Facebook…

  michardillo

  July 29, 2025

  Essay

  AJ Pearce, Catholic Church, completist, Elinor Lipman, Elizabeth Strout, Gospel of Luke, Jacques Pepin, Kirstin Chen, Mark Zuckerberg, Monsignor Oliver McGready, ParaSocial, The Social Network