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Hi. I'm Kara. Never far away is my furry shadow, Kona.
By day, I'm a higher education consultant. I specialize in helping higher education employees be more innovative and engage with new forms of teaching, learning, and working. I also create content online about personal growth, productivity, and technology, faith, and my well lived life.
I'm honored that you've taken a few minutes to stop by my little home on the Internet. While you're here, subscribe to my newsletter, learn about my coaching services and classes, or participate in one of my free events. And you can always scroll on down and read about what I'm up to.
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Sinners & Saints
Sermon delivered at Central United Methodist Church, Richmond, Indiana, November 2, 2025 All Saints Sunday – Luke 19:1–10 Our reading today comes from the 19th chapter of Luke, but I want to rewind all the way back to the beginning of the book and read verses 1–4 from New Testament Scholar N.T. Wright’s The Bible for Everyone translation : 1 Many people have undertaken to draw up an orderly account of the events that have occurred in our midst. 2 It has been handed down to u

Kara Monroe
Nov 36 min read


Week 29, July 14-20, 2025
Dad working on the "impossible" puzzle I spent most of the week at what I lovingly refer to as the Meadow, which is my dad and sister...

Kara Monroe
Jul 192 min read


Week 27, June 30 - July 6, 2025
Kona keeping watch under the desk with his fave Moosey toy It was a quiet week around here. The weather has been too hot to really enjoy...

Kara Monroe
Jul 51 min read


Day 14 - Keukenhof Gardens
Hi friends. This is future Kara writing to you from July 2025 - exactly three months to the day from when we returned from this trip....

Kara Monroe
Apr 183 min read


Day 13 - Fri., April 18, 2025 - Architecture-New & Old (Rotterdam & Kinderdijk)
Pin of the day Hi all, Kara again. If you recall at the beginning of the cruise, we learned that rather than docking in Delft, we would...

Kara Monroe
Apr 184 min read


Day 12 - Thurs., April 17, 2025 - An Appetite for Antwerp
Entering the Groot-Bijgarden Castle. Good morning Adventurers. Kara here again to get us started today. I’m going to actually start...

Kara Monroe
Apr 1710 min read


Day 10 - Go With The Flow
Disney had no idea how much meaning "Going with the flow" would take on today! ADVENTURE!!! Hi all. Kara again. Let’s just say that the...

Kara Monroe
Apr 155 min read


Day 9 - It's Tulip (Picking) Time
Besties in a field of tulips Hi all. Kara starting out again today. Our river cruise is starting out with what we've learned is an...

Kara Monroe
Apr 137 min read


Day 8 - Let The Adventure Begin
On board the AmaLucia Hi everyone. Kara starting off again today. We had, as our British friends would say, a good lay-in this morning...

Kara Monroe
Apr 127 min read


Day 7 - Exploring Amsterdam
It’s Kara starting out again today. One of the ways we like to learn about a city is through its food. Fun fact, we’ve had at least two...

Kara Monroe
Apr 117 min read


Day 6 - A Tale of Two Trains
Ready to leave London the Eurostar It’s Kara starting off today. We needed to be downstairs at the train station by 7:30am this morning...

Kara Monroe
Apr 1010 min read


Day 4 - Harry Potter Studios Deluxe Tour
Making notes in the ledgers in Gringots Bank Hi all. Kara starting off today. Today actually started way back in 2017. Gayle brought a...

Kara Monroe
Apr 811 min read


Day 3 - Westminster Abbey and a Spin Your Own Chocolate and Books Tour
Greetings from Big Ben Gayle: In trying to get settled into a new space last night, it was roughly 10pm by the time we were lights out....

Gayle Hartleroad
Apr 76 min read


Welcome to London
Fresh off the plane and ready to hit the town! Monday April 7, 2025 Arrival at Heathrow It's Kara back to start us off again today -...

Kara Monroe
Apr 78 min read


Let's Go To London
We're off on our journey! Sunday, April 6, 2025 Hi all. It’s Kara getting us started off today. After the change in travel plans that...

Kara Monroe
Apr 63 min read


The Journey To The Journey
A photo from our time a Keukenhof Gardens near the end of the trip Gayle here! If you read the previous “Origin Story” you know the basis...

Gayle Hartleroad
Apr 53 min read


Origin Story
Gayle: Let’s take the “Way Back Machine” to… 2017? This is the first time I remember Kara ever mentioning interest in a river cruise. Her...

Gayle Hartleroad
Apr 42 min read


Meet Your Hosts
Spoiler Alert: There are LOTS of tulips featured on this trip. Hi all. It's time to kick off another set of blog posts for an adventure -...

Kara Monroe
Apr 22 min read


March 2025 Reading Life Roundup
The Monthly Reading Report automatically generated by the Bookly app. I use Bookly Pro daily to track all of my reading! My reading...

Kara Monroe
Apr 24 min read
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