Thank you!!

I feel it necessary to say: Thank you SOMUCH, readers. Everyday, my read count is higher, I have more emails waiting to tell me about such amazing comments I get from you guys, and you are all so NICE to me! I can’t believe it. I just wanted you all to know how absolutely motivating and comforting and uplifting you have been. I absolutely love it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! <3 

Please take the time to follow me by clicking the button at the top left! No worries, no annoying emails or updates will come your way, just a little way to let me know you're stopping by!! And don't forget that I am on Facebook and Bloglovin'! <3

Books!

This is the second weekly collaboration post with the lovely Morgan from Blackbird Fly! This week we are sharing our favorite reads. We all know that being an English teacher makes me the absolute expert on all things literature…. ;) So, of course, you will want to know my opinion about the best books, hehe! I thought that since my love for reading began in the Young Adult section at the Cincinnati Public Library, and remains there, still, that I would first tell you about some of my favorite young adult books.

The first being, of course: The Catcher in the Rye. This book has been a long time favorite, since high school. I read it first when I was a freshman at Mercy, and fell in love. At first it was only because I thought that Holden Caulfield was completely hilarious. After teaching the book, I think it’s one of the most fascinating journeys through someone’s mind. I highly recommend this book!

The Tea Rose. This book, by Jennifer Donnelly, is one of the most captivating books you will ever read. It traces the journey of a woman with hopes and dreams that are hindered by tragedy. For a young adult novel, it’s very mature and is ridiculously addicting.

Next we have 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher. This is one of those books that you can’t put down because you HAVE to know what happens next. The sequence of events in this book is one of the most riveting I have come across in young adult fiction. It's about a high school girl who commits suicide, but before she does, she records thirteen tapes telling people she knew what part they played in her death. Completely eerie and intoxicating. I read this book in one day, and loved every page.

Wintergirls. If you have read anything by Laurie Halse Anderson, you will know that she is one of the most gifted young adult authors of our time. She wrote the other popular YA book Speak. I have read all of her books and these two are my favorite thus far.

The Jessica Darling Series. Yes, when I googled this phrase for a shot of the covers of this series, I was met by some pretty crude images, do this at your own risk. I should have known this would happen, considering it’s included in the book! However, this series tracks the teen to adult years of Jessica Darling. It’s a really good series for girls who want something fun and light to read.

And, lastly, you all know how big of a fan of Sophie Kinsella I am. Any of her books would be a fantastic choice, but the one in particular that I really loved was Twenties Girl. I got this for Christmas this past year and read it in about three days. Its kitschy and cute and fun, per Sophie’s usual. 

Finally, you know I have to throw in a plug for my Kindle, again. I am still on the third book of the Shopaholic series, but there are several books in my lineup for when I am finished. First of all, I have to finish the last two books in the series so that I can get to the newest book in the series, that just came out about two weeks ago: Mini Shopaholic. 

Following this, my planned reads are:

I have samples of each of these waiting for me, and I can't wait to read them! 

Hope everyone has a lovely Thursday! Be back later tonight with a little update about my last few days at school, etc! Don't forget to follow us Facebook! <3 xoxo

Wednesday Wonders v.1

Tonight is marking the first night of the weekly “Wednesday Wonders.” I will comprise a list of 10 things I love love love and post/explain them here. I am really excited about this weekly feature because so many blogs that I read do this, and it’s so fun to see what their loves are!  

This chalkboard wall and the amazingly beautiful colors on this bed.

My red iPod Nano. Red in general, but especially this.

The sheer amount of books in this library, and the colors, too. I want my own!

Fall, for the reasons stated here.

Chihuahua babies. Especially MY Chihuahua baby. Enough said. <3

Love, which I am completely fascinated by.

Tea; hot or cold. Love for reasons stated here.

Tattoos and all things ink. Completely stunning.

Tulips, especially yellow ones.

These ballet flats!



That's it for this week's Wednesday Wonders, hope everyone enjoyed it!! Thank you all for stopping by!! Don't forget to follow and check us out on Facebook!

xoxo

Back to school.... Again!

So, today is my first day back at school - MY school. It was so weird walking onto campus and being surrounded by people my own age for the first time in WEEKS! I miss it. I miss walking a half mile to class, I miss having to bring gloves and scarves for the walk, and I miss sitting in class and learning. Teaching is definitely not the same, obviously. On the walk to campus from Nick's old house (still a great place to park, and not too far away) it finally hit me that this is my last (potentially) quarter of college. I have every right to end my university journey in three short months, and it's so exciting to think about... Freedom! But - what will I do with my time? With no obligation to go to class, and therefore using that as a great excuse to work only part time, I will be obligated (with my diploma and degree in hand) to find a real, full time job. I am still not sure if teaching is right for me, and I probably won't be until I try it out for real, but whatever is in my future, I am super excited.

In other news, I signed up for a CD swap facilitated by the wonderful Mattie over at Oldema Vintage, and while I am a little more than behind on getting mine to it's new owner, I wanted to share with you a few of the songs on my probably-too-long playlist just waiting to be burnt to a CD!

This really is just a few! The whole thing is 35 songs in all, and it will probably have to be put onto two CDs. Haha! The swap instructions were to include a variety of songs from our libraries so that our CD swap pal can hopefully be introduced to a broader spectrum of new tunes. If anyone has any ideas of how to make a neat case for it (from scratch) feel free to leave them here! I am so excited to do this because it really gets me involved in the blogging community that I surround myself with daily. The women that I have met since I began blogging this past summer are all amazing, each and every one. It's so nice to have a friendly type of competition to keep me writing! P.S. This is my shout out to all of you who are stopping by every day - THANK YOU. You are so fantastic. Please, do not hesitate to comment! I will always reply :)

I JUST got home from school/tutoring/class/interview. Class was okay, it was great to see everyone, but it made me SOJEALOUS that there are people enjoying their placements. I hate that I am not liking my student teaching, I really wish this were the experience that was solidifying my passion/choice to become a teacher. It's just making an office job look like chocolate cake with chocolate icing with chocolate sprinkles (calorie free); a.k.a. FUN. The interview was not my favorite - a group type, and the job sounds less desirable than it did when I just knew that I needed a second job. We'll see how that goes.

I have pretty much nothing of interest to talk about other than that I plan to spend the REST of the evening grading papers with my puppy by my side. I want to take a nap, but we all know that there is no time for that. See you all tomorrow!

<3

S

Eeep!

I just can't hold in my excitement! I am planning so many things and I want to get them all out of my head and onto.... this text box! [Probably a post-it, later.]

Among the future plans are:

Sunday Letters - a 30 week challenge to write a letter a week to someone in my life
Sunday Dinner on Monday - a recap of Sunday dinner with my family :)
Wednesday Wonders - inspirations for the middle of the week; god knows we need them to finish it up!
Blogging Ladies - my blogging inspirations - there are so many!
Collab Posts - with my lovely friend Morgan; aiming for one per week!

Please keep visiting and keep following! Thank you so much for your support :) Don't forget to check out femmenamala on Facebook and Bloglovin'.


**images via weheartit

Manic Monday

There are so many things I wanted to write about today, and I kept thinking of them at the most inopportune moments throughout school. I never got to write any of them down!! I can remember two, at least.

It was so nice to wake up this morning to actual fall weather. I cannot wait to bust out my scarves and jackets and boots. I love rainy days like these because it makes me feel no remorse about sitting inside with a blanket and my puppy writing for my blog. I am excited to take a nap and then go home to hang out with my family. 

Sufjan Stevens! His new album, The Age of Adz, finally, FINALLY came out! NPR featured him on their program, and subsequently wrote an article on their site. I urge you all to check it out here and to gaze longingly at him while you listen to the samples they have provided!

Secondly, I have/had two interviews this week! One interview is at a local restaurant here in Western Hills and another at UC, tomorrow. I had the local one, today. While the people seem really nice there, I am intimidated about waitressing! I have never done it before and am so worried about being clumsy. The woman who interviewed me was SONICE and I loved talking with her, but just don’t know if this is the best fit for me. Have any of you waitressed before? Do you have any advice you can offer?

And now… school was pretty uneventful, today, but still not really pleasant or enjoyable. There are just some people that you don’t want to see at 7:30 in the morning, and one of them happens to be at West High. The kids seemed especially attitude-y, today; several of them completely ignoring me for no reason, and a few shot back snotty remarks. It was another one of those days where you can’t wait, can’t wait, can’t wait for lunchtime. Turns out, lunchtime wasn’t too great, either.

The head English teacher at our school volunteered me to head the reading and writing tutoring for the OGT. I was flattered, honored, and flabbergasted that she would even think of me. I was not, however, prepared for her expectations of me. I don’t think she realizes that I am a full time student teacher with a part time job and a myriad of other responsibilities. I have to stay after school three days a week (which is no problem at all) but I was also made to call every parent and let them know about the program and am also required to call parents for kids who aren’t coming to tutoring and need to be. I am expected to keep track of all 150 students that I have to begin with, how they are doing in class, and what they are missing AND the 200+ kids that haven’t passed the OGT and need my help? Please. I am not superwoman, and considering this my first semi-realistic teaching experience, everything takes me about twice as long as it takes an experienced teacher. My point in all of this is that this woman, the head of the English department, seemed a little more than impatient with me for not being completely on top of it. Well, excuse me. ::bangs head against wall::

Let me just remind you all of the calendar that I keep in my desk drawer among my tea bags and pencils where I count down the days, one by one:

Sorry everyone, had to get out a little frustration :) I hope everyone is having a fantastic day. I am going to continue watching Dr. Phil and have a little snack of almonds! 

Just want to remind everyone know that femmenamala is now on Facebook and Bloglovin. Hope you can stop by! Following my blog is what keeps me motivated to post everyday! <3 you all! 

Sunday Letters and Other Happenings

Today was spent cleaning out Nick’s grandma’s apartment at West Park. It was hard work, but we definitely got the job done. After this, I went to work which was slow, slow, slow. Nick picked me up from work at eight, and then we went to dinner, followed by Bob’s house to pick up a few things, and finally to Walmart for bath soap (yay for being clean!) and almonds:

Now we are home! Yay for being home :)

~~~

One of the new features that I have planned for this little blog of mine is a weekly letter. I stole a list of letters that one should write (from Lynzie) for thirty days. Mine will be thirty weeks. Every Sunday, check back for the newest letter. The first one is “write a letter to your best friend.”

Dear Lauren,

We don’t see each other too often, these days, but it’s so wonderful when we do! I love spending time with you, and spending hours talking when we originally plan on watching a movie/playing a game/any other activity. I am so glad that we make time to see each other, even if it’s only one or two hours every couple of weeks. Thank you for being such a wonderful part of my life for the past 11 years! We have been through so much together, and have lasted over an entire decade through the hardest years of our lives. Though we have grown in separate ways since getting to know each other, we still have so much in common. I can’t wait to share all of the most special moments of my life with you!

Love,

Stephanie

~~~

Hope everyone had a great weekend, and has an even better Monday! Just want to let everyone know that femmenamala is now on Facebook and Bloglovin. Hope you can stop by! Following my blog is what keeps me motivated to post everyday! <3 you all!


xoxo

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Bloggin' Ladies Series

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