Facebook and life have kept me pretty busy. Still deciding what this blog will or should morph into. Perhaps I will turn it into a place to share craft and cooking adventure, or I may need to close it due to the abundance of social media opportunities at my disposal. Time will tell.

Hair Journey

Photo from Microsoft Office Images

I recently met a friend for dinner, and she commented on how nice my twist hairstyle looks."Maybe one day I will be brave enough to twist my hair," she added. I've never considered myself a brave person, but when I look at how long it took for me to get comfortable enough to wear twists to work (in my natural shoulder length hair without synthetic extensions); I guess she's right, I have become a brave person.

Audiobook Challenge

Once again, I am participating in the Audiobook Challenge.

Curious: 3 Audio Books
Fascinated: 6 Audio Books
Addicted: 12 Audio Books
Obsessed: 20 Audio Books


I am going to participate at the obsessed level.

Hair Journey

I haven't posted much about my natural hair transition. It's coming along wonderfully. I did not do the "big chop" because I did not want to give up length if if was not necessary. Periodically I trim my ends (I have about three inches of permed hair left), and I moisturize my hair and massage my scalp nightly. I've been using twists, twist outs, half-wigs, and pony tail wigs as transitional hairstyles.

These are the products I use on a regular basis:

I usually mix the hair lotion and the shea butter. The hair lotion was too greasy and the shea butter too watery but together they work perfectly.



I've gotten so many complements since I started my transition. This may seem like a great deal of work, but it's less than I had to do when I was relaxing my hair. It still feels liberating because I'm not trying to change my hair; I'm working with it.

No, I haven't posted pictures either, but I'm not big on having my picture taken, so that explains the absence of photos.

Things are Coming Together Nicely

2011 is off to a nice start. I'm getting more organized, feel spiritually balanced, and am appreciative of the life I have. The latter is the one that makes me smile the most. Yes, I have goals for the future. Yes, if wishes came true, I have an image of an "ideal" life as wish material; however, it is the life I have that makes me happy. This life is the one I worked to get and am working to keep. It's worth the effort when I consider the wonderful people in my life, the moments of peace and beauty that are easily found if I take the time to look for them, and the funny things that happen on a daily basis.

New Year, New Me

Thankfully 2010 is over. Without dwelling on the past, let's just say that the first six months of 2010 were difficult. 

My goals for 2011 are as follows:

1. Connect with friends more often
2. Continue my natural hair journey
         It's going great, and it's proving to be a very liberating experience.
3. Keep a more watchful eye on my finances
4. Enjoy life NOW because the future may turn out different from the one I have imagined.
5. Do a better job of posting than I did in 2010
6. Set realistic professional expectations --In other words, do my best and screw the rest.

Winter Garden

     I planted carrots, onions, turnips, collards, and lettuce yesterday. I'll probably add potatoes, celery, peas, and cucumbers next month. According to the Farmer's Almanac Gardening by the Moon Calender, there are some good days in December for those.

     I've added a plant house to keep the dog out. Maybe I'll get to eat turnips this time. The last turnips that ripened in my garden were spirited away and buried in parts unknown. When I went out to harvest them...all I found were holes. I'm suspecting my eggplant, that just beginning to grow, met with the same fate. (I can't imagine a dog eat a raw eggplant. They're really bitter.)

Spiritual Journey

Some parts of my spiritual journey have been too deep, overwhelming, and suffocating to bring me peace (if anything they increased my stress level) while other parts have been too shallow to satisfy or refresh. Like Goldilocks, I need to find my "just right".

New Year/New Toy

I am enjoying teaching again! The new school year is off to a great start.

I'm also enjoying my new cell phone (HTC Touch Pro2)! It's probably going to take a month, or more, to learn how to use all of the features it has :-)

Summer Goals, Harsh Reality

This school year is off to a great start. I did not accomplish all of my summer goals, but the few that I did have really made a dfference. I mapped out my year for social studies and the first three months of language arts. I made some important changes to my diet (added more veggies and protein), and I got a lot of much needed rest.

Even with all of the positive changes, my website still need updating. I still need to get ahead of the curve when it comes to planning (not just mapping), and at some point in my life I need to get a handle on household chores (cleaning, maintainance, and repairs).

Who Are You

I saw this at Carabousmom and decided to take the "What Part of The Fairy Tale Are You" quiz.

My results are in:
You Are the Dragon

I am powerful and a bit intimidating. While you have a bit of a temper, your bark is much more vicious than your bite.

In general, you tend to be fair and even noble. You treat everyone with respect, and you try to do right by people.
However, if someone crosses you, you can get downright nasty. Your emotions can get the better of you.

You don't literally breath fire when you're angry, but enough. It's best not to make you bad.

I started to change the last word to "mad" but, after giving it some thought, decided "bad" was the best word choice ;-)

Cleaning

Making up for all of the housework I failed to do during the school  year is going to take most of the summer, but it seems less and less overwhelming. I'm beginning to see pockets of progress. I now have three clutter free rooms.

Peace and balance are imortant emotional, spiritual, and mental states. All of the clutter and dust, combined with stress, was making peace and balance impossible to sustain. I can see why I'm beginning to feel and look better. I'm sure the extra sleep I've been getting, and the puppy's increased independence, is not hurting either :-)

Summer Goals

Okay, here's the list:

1. get back on the healthy eating wagon (following a dietary lifestyle based on ayurvedic guidelines) -- don't worry I still believe in Jesus (ayurvedic dietary guidelines have a lot in common with The Maker's Diet but no commercial aspects; only farmers will make money off of my new lifestyle)
2. transition my hair from chemically relaxed to natural (styling is going to be my biggest challenge) -- Thanks to Wen hair care products, I LOVE MY HAIR!
3. READ (leisure and professional) -- more actual books not as many audiobooks
4. map the coming school year
5. plan the first four weeks of the coming school year
6. take several small (inexpensive) trips
7. put three new routines in place to better organize and manage things at home - I hope I get this done because I'm tired of this problem being addressed on every list I've ever made

PaperBack Swap

For those who are unfamiliar with PaperBack Swap , it is a great way to find new homes for books that aren't keepers and to get books you are interested in. Goodreads provides a similar service, but I prefer using PaperBack Swap because earning points to order books is a much faster and even exchange. With Goodreads, you pay the shipping charges when you order a book and not when you send one; however, you have to ship out ten books to earn enough points to order one.

Something New

Blogger finally has pages! This website is under serious reconstruction but will be open for business during that time ;-)

Are We There Yet?

I can't wait for the end of the school year! I have been living off of chocolate bars, Skittles, coffee, donuts, and fast food. My garden is growing; however, it will be a while before I can harvest anything. Face it, in the meantime, I've fallen so far off of the healthy eating wagon that I can't even see the wheel tracks. It's a poor response to my extremely stressed out life (it actually adds to it), but I can't seem to stop myself. The onset of summer break will cause most of the stress to magically disappear and part of my summer plan is to put a better stress management plan in place. I'm trying to at least increase and maintain the amount of water I drink ("teeny, tiny baby steps", "gotta start somewhere", etc...). That can only help. Right?

ONLY 9 MORE DAYS!!!

Happy Earth Day!

(image credit)

I don't litter, I use my blue recycle bin, and I try to get maximum use out of things before I throw them away, but it just seems like reconnecting with the Earth is a necessary (and enjoyable) step in becoming environmentally conscious.

During Spring Break, I started a square foot garden. I did it in hopes of reducing my produce bill and, if it's readily available, actually eating more vegetables. I've wanted to do this for a long time and felt it was now or never. I started from seeds, and I have to admit it has been exciting to see plants breaking through the soil's surface. It was easier than I thought to get started (meaning I probably forgot to do something that was vital to being a successful gardener :-(

Coming soon...pictures!

 Image credit

                    Happy Easter!!!

Who Are You?

Funny Mrs.Chilli should mention Audrey Hepburn today (see here). I recently had one of those accept yourself moments when I asked myself which Hepburn archetype lined up with my personality. Audrey or Katherine. Honestly, I'd have to say I am most like Katherine Hepburn. I'm extremely independent. Don't mind getting dirty. Men are drawn to me (haha ;) by respect not lust. I have a friend who has a nice balance of both...I guess she's Lauren Bacall.

Today, I found the following description of Katherine Hepburen here:

You are KATHERINE HEPBURN:



You are smart, a real thinker. Every situation is approached with a plan. You are very healthy in mind and body. You don’t take crap from anyone. You have only a couple of individuals that you consider ‘real friends’.. You teach strong family values. Keep your feet planted in them, but don’t overlook a bad situation when it does happen.

Yes, I tried taking this test before I read the description. Guess what... I AM Katherine Hepburn, and I am just fine with that description.

The school year feels like a strange hybrid of a marathon, a sprint, and an obstacle course. From the moment we set foot on campus on that first teacher workday to the last day of school, teacher are racing to teach and reteach all of the standards to students who frequently lack the foundational skills needed to master the material. Yes, we get breaks along the way, but that time is spent trying to repair and patch up personal responsibilities we have often neglected.

I know spring break is less than a week away, but I really needed a break. On Thursday, I made the decision to take Friday off. Before leaving work, I had the opportunity to laugh and talk with some of my student who had stayed after school for math tutoring. Their work was done and they were busy being children. They shared their thoughts on things, made silly jokes, and laughed, laughed, laughed. The next day at work (yes, I went). I started each core by having students share something good from the day before. I shared the following:

"Sometimes teachers become so caught up in the work of teaching, and preparing for testing, that teaching is no longer fun. I would like to thank _________, ____________, and ______________ for reminding me how much fun it is to work with middle school students. I came to work today because of the fun we have as we do our work."