Happy Tuesday!

First! Make sure you all catch my feature from this morning on Shawni from A Spoonful of Love here!

I am having a really great day, today! So far, I have just been at school, and I DO have class tonight, but I am still pretty chipper :) I just spent a good amount of time catching up on blogs and getting that infamous Google Reader bold number down to zero. It's one of my favorite things to be able to read excellent posts and "star" them to check out again, later! Especially when it comes to the 2398 vegan/vegetarian blogs I am subscribed to ;)

Here are just a few of the posts I have starred since I began using Google Reader. I am a huge fan of finding new recipes and trying things out, so that's mostly what they are:

I am really excited to try out the these three most recent of my starred posts: "How to make brown sugar," "Pumpkin pizza," and "zucchini and chickpea burgers!" I am lucky that Nick is so open to trying whatever I make, even if it's a bite or two. 

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking a lot about Sophie Kinsella and her Shopaholic series. Well, I finally finished it, and the final book was just as great as the previous five, and the end leave plenty of room for a seventh book, so I am really excited! After I finished that book, in about three days, I started on one of the other Madeline Wickham (Sophie Kinsella's pseudonym) books I own but haven't read: Sleeping Arrangements.

The book was pretty good, but not what I was expecting from SK. However, I would still recommend it :) 

Also: I am teaching The Crucible to my AA kids, as I said last week, and they are really struggling with it. However, this is the first time I have read it at all, and I am loving it. I think it's really eerie and perfect for the fall season - and it's really interesting! We are also watching the 2004 film version alongside it, to make sure that the kids are understanding what they are reading. 

Lastly - Petsmart called today to formally offer me the spot in.... their groom shop! It was between that and Pet Care, which is their umbrella term for the part of the store that deals with fish, birds, reptiles, etc. and while I would have accepted it graciously, I was really hoping for the groom shop position. This means I get to work with puppies - every day! I am SO excited, since animals would totally be my profession if I weren't teaching. Yay!! 

Hope you all have a lovely Tuesday, I am off to mail Jaelynn from Pardon My Ffrench a thank you package for sponsoring me this month! 

<3 S

Tuesday features, dents, and reads :)

Ladies and Gentlemen, my lovely friend, Morgan featured me on her Tea Time Tuesdays post over at BlackbirdFly. :) Please, go check me out! You can click here, here, or here! Thanks, Morgan, you’re the best :).

I think since Morgan is doing it, I might have to do something like that also, but if any of you have an idea of a nifty name for this fun feature, let me know!

I kinda had a rough morning! My brother was playing basketball in the driveway when I got home last night, so I had to park really awkwardly. That accompanied by the fact that I was still sleeping (practically) when I got into my car to go to school, today led to my backing into a tree in our driveway on the way out. The wheel well is dented; and other than feeling like a complete idiot, everything is fine. But, needless to say, it didn’t help my mood any!

Today was a pretty lazy day at school; I mostly graded papers and made some quizzes and study guides for the coming week. The students who are reading The Catcher in the Rye had to do a stream of consciousness journal entry today. It was so hard for them to understand! Somehow, writing about whatever you want is a little overwhelming to some kids :).

**Just wanted to point out that in this picture of me at school, there are a list of detentions on the board behind me. I know it's hard to read backwards (thank you, photobooth) but one of my lovely kids wrote "Ms. Zella Boss" underneath. For some reason, that's why my AA kids have taken to calling me, in a really deep voice. Sillies! I thought everyone would like a little laugh out of that. :)

I have to work tonight, 7-12. I am SO not looking forward to this. Days that I have to work after school are completely exhausting! Even though this is the place that is actually paying me for my time, it is extremely hard to go in there with a positive attitude after spending my entire day at school, which is exhausting itself! I hate thinking this way, but luckily there are only 13 weeks of student teaching left. I can’t wait to be licensed and paid for this. It’s going to be great.

After school today, I have OGT tutoring until 3:30. Then I plan on going home to take a nap with my little puppy before work. It seems like if I don’t take a nap these days, my day is so much worse! It’s amazing how much a little sleep can help.

Unfortunately, lately, I have had no energy to even read. I have been wanting to do a book post for a while, now, but since I am so slow at reading this same book I have been for a month, I have really nothing new to say! If it weren’t for my kindle, I would probably have no desire to read whatsoever, so I am really happy that I have it.

Anyways, that’s all I have for today! Don’t forget to check me out at Morgan’s blog, here! And don’t forget to hit the follow button at the top left before you go! (If you’re a little apprehensive, don’t worry! It doesn’t send you emails or updates or anything like that. It’s only there to let me know you’re stopping by!)

xoxo

Things

It's been a rough time with friends lately, but the ones that I love the most have managed to stay super close to me, and I, to them, over the last few months. However, I have discovered that there are a few people in my life that are toxic at times. What do you do when someone in your family is not a good friend, and sometimes not a good person? It has become difficult to be around this person because I can often think of how much I do not want to be like them. I hate feeling this way about someone who will be in my life forever. I hate having negative feelings towards anything, really. I guess I just have to decide what is important to me and how I want to live my life, and if this person fits in that equation then they are welcome to join me. Right?

On the other hand, my best friend, Lauren, has come back into my life in a positive way after a few (or more than a few!) months of distance. We talked things through in a really productive way that I am absolutely proud of and I can't wait to get together more.

Secondly, after reading a few posts over at my friend Morgan's blog, Blackbird Fly, I have really started to be honest with myself about teaching. For about a year now, since we have been introduced into real classrooms settings, I have been questioning whether or not this is the right thing for me to do. This entry is the second place I have admitted this worry. I finally talked to Nick about it last night via text, so not as thoroughly as I would like. I realize that any profession comes with a certain amount of work that one might not look forward to, even if they are completely ecstatic about their path. However, I have come to dread going into a classroom. I have yet to discover whether this is because of the setting I have been introduced to (guest teacher rather than fixture) or because this really is the wrong decision for me. I have deduced that I will stick it out (at least through student teaching and maybe even my first year) to see if this is really what I want to do. My fears are similar to Morgan's, though. Have I wasted four years of my life and thousands and thousands of dollars? Let's hope not...

Anyways, on a more positive note, I am going to finally see Sex and the City 2 tonight.

I am a new fan of this series, and have recently watched all of the seasons and the first movie. Call it a guilty pleasure, but I live for girly, silly stories. I'll be back later to let you know what I thought!

xo