self-questioning

ciao tutti! life has been crazy. I am student teaching once a week and taking classes on Mondays and Wedensdays. in the meantime, I am working, working, and working.  I haven't been able to do any substitute teaching because of my work schedule, but I think that's okay. it may be nice to have the experience, but I'll deal. I've had 4 years of experience by now and I'm doing okay.

the funny thing is, I've been having a lot of doubts lately - about a lot of things. my classmates are all super happy to be done with university and moving on a getting jobs, but I'm freaking out a little bit. not about finding a job - I'm flexible with where I live and what my job may be. I'm just hoping that I'm going down the right path. self-discovery is important and essential to be happy. at 24, I don't think I even know myself yet. what I'm most afraid of is that I've chosen a path that's too rigid. there are so many laws and rules and requirements and too little respect and pay for the work teachers do. I just feel like I'm finding out too little too late that I want to do so many different things, and I don't know if I'll be able to accomplish them all.

don't get me wrong - I love teaching. and I know I'm good at it. I love my students, and I love the fulfillment I get out of it. it is my passion. it's just not my only passion. I also want to travel. I do. I can't pretend like I would be happy if I didn't travel and live and teach in other countries. life is too short and the world is too big. I also love writing. what a lot of people don't know is that I was a creative/professional writing major for a year and a half before I switched to special education. and as I'm sure you can tell, I love photography. I'm crap at it, but I just love getting behind a camera and taking photos.

what I'm saying is that I'm scared that I went to school for six years to do something that I won't be doing my whole life. and I suppose that's okay. I just hope that I can teach, while also traveling, taking photos, writing, and blogging simultaneously. sounds impossible, huh?

adventures in cooking

I love taking photos of food. I don't know what it is. maybe it's to remind me what I ate. maybe it's because it was so darn good-looking that I just couldn't help myself. anyway, here are a few memorable photos :)

I made up a batch of chick pea burgers last week - I usually eat them in a pita, but I decided to go for a whole wheat tortilla this time. a bit more difficult to eat, but so good! most recently, I decided to go bread-free and wrapped my burgers in a couple lettuce leaves, and it was a-m-a-zing.

there's no better way to use up leftover chickpeas from my burger. chick peas are one of my favorite salad additions, right next to avocado and olives. onions and soy sesame ginger vinaigrette make this salad SOGOOD.

I've been on a bit of an Indian food kick lately. I wouldn't consider myself a good cook, so this is some store-bought curry simmer sauce. I fried up some tofu, cooked chicken, and added veggies before simmering it all together. over brown rice. SOGOOD. leave a comment and share any favorite recipes you have! I'm always willing to try new things :)

featuring: Kasey Ann Illustration!

hello all! so, I meant to post this a while ago, but I'm way too forgetful. I need to start writing ideas for blog posts down!

one of my coworkers, Kasey, is an a-m-a-zing artist! she does all kinds of stuff, including illustrations and digital art. more than once, she's brought her sketchbook to work, and I am always blown away by her work. even things that she doodles are incredible. I wish I had the know-how to do this kind of stuff. I've never been able to draw well, so I can definitely admire those who can.

how good is she?! I just wanted to shine a little light on her amazing talent, because I am forever amazed.

have a look at her blog and website for more art. and she has an etsy shop, too! she sells prints of her work as well as stickers featuring some of her creations.

truly cool! you should all check her out! ♥

Anthropologie has arrived!

aahhh I'm sorry that I suck at updating.

last Thursday my Anthropologie package came in the mail!!! I was sooo excited (see, mom? blog giveaways ARE real! :D)!

even the packaging is beautiful and mysterious :)

the wavering glasses and latte bowls sit snugly in my china cabinet

the milk bottle measuring cups and the zigzag tights aren't pictured, sorry :\ I wore the tights out to dinner the night I recieved them, though. LOOOOVE. the the milk bottle measuring cups I wanted to leave in their nice packaging because I intend to re-gift them.

but everything is fabulous. I think we will break in the wavering glasses this weekend with some cocktails - who knows! they are so fun. and I love the color of the latte bowls. I think I made the right choice, going for the retro.

AND two days later, I was driving to East Grand Rapids and I found that AN ANTHROPOLOGIE STORE OPENED TWO MONTHS AGO, 5 MINUTES FROM MY HOUSE. very annoyed. I paid $14 to ship all this stuff, and I could have gone to buy it myself! ah well. I'm still happy with everything, and that's that.