Wednesday.. not so wonderous

I realize, it IS Wednesday, today, but I have bad news - I was a slacker and didn't collect pictures for this week's Wednesday Wonders. I am disappointed in myself, also. Sad face.

You had to have noticed, though, that Femmena Mala has a new look! I wanted to change it with the season, and probably will change it up again in the near but slightly distant future :)

The above banner is courtesy of Amy from amyshmamey.

She SO graciously offered to make this banner for me for free a couple of days ago, and I am so happy with the way it turned out! I think it really makes the place look Autumn-y :) Thanks, Amy! <3

This week has been kind of frustrating. I really try my hardest to be upbeat here, and I rarely make space to write anything negative, simply because so many journals in the past have turned into that. However, I have been feeling really down lately, and I am not entirely sure why. I think it may have part to do with the fact that I spent all of this weekend alone in the apartment, and I thrive on being around people. I wanted to go home to spend time with my parents, Cate, and Tony, but I felt terrible leaving Guillermo alone after his surgery. 

Nick has also been having a rough time at work the past few days, and it might be rubbing of on me a little, too. Hopefully, I can get through this week and recharge over the weekend. I try hard not to let myself get down, and I haven't done too great of a job this week. 

What do you all do when you're feeling down?

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday. <3

Weekend Haps!

Today is going to be spent doing lots of things: We already went to the grocery to pick up a few things. Pomegranites were on sale, so we scooped one up because Nick has never tried them (SOGOOD) and we also got some frozen veggies, a frozen pizza (mmm) and some moisturizing puppy shampoo. Guillermo has had such problems with dry skin lately and we finally found some extra moisture shampoo (all natural, of course) that we really trust! We also scooped up some strawberries because Lynzie told me the other day that broccoli and berries are great for inflammation in puppies, and Guillermo has had a bum leg for a while now. We are hoping he grows out of it, but here's for wishing.

Right now, we're sitting on the couch cuddling with Guillermo (and each other ;) ) watching our television addiction #1: Hell's Kitchen! It was awesome finding out that they are having another season so close in time to the last one. We love this show, along with Weeds and Dexter. Speaking of Dexter... omg. This season is going to be AMAZING. 

Laura and Justin are the married couple that live below us, also great friends that we have known for a long time. Laura offered to dye my hair when she gets home from work tonight and I cannot WAIT! My hair got so light over the summer, and I am ready for a fall color. I chose Dark Brown by Revlon Colorsilk. It's fairly cheap, and they have the colors that I love. 

Tonight will be spent at a house warming party for Nick's cousin, Amy, and then getting ready for tomorrow! Tomorrow is going to be so exciting because it will be our first baseball game together, and my first Reds game in SOLONG. Lynzie and Brandon are using our other two tickets, and we're all going together. It's going to be pretty cold out tomorrow so I can't wait to break out my jackets and scarves and boots! Yay for fall events :) I can't wait. 

After the game, we'll head over to my parents house to have our first weekly Sunday dinner. My mom always has something yummy for me to eat, so I can't wait to see what she comes up with this time! In the meantime, we're just gonna sit back and have a few beers.... ;) 

Hope everyone is having just as great a weekend as he is! Don't forget to check me out on Facebook and Bloglovin'! Thank you everyone for stopping by, and don't forget to follow! <3

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! 

Looking Forward, Naps, and Entertainment Gluttony!

I wasn’t originally planning on posting today because it’s been a rough day! I wanted to still pop in for a little update, though. Last night’s concert was amazing. I wanted to do a full-length post on it, but I think this will have to do. I don’t have too terribly many pictures, but I do have a few that I would love to share. And there are even a couple more on Brittany's camera that I can't wait to get from her! It was so awesome to hang out with everyone last night, and it was great to get out of the apartment. The show was really fun, but definitely not what I was expecting. I was having a cranky night after leaving school and it was hard to be excited for the show, but when we got to the venue and the opener was on, Janelle Monae, it was easy to get excited. Shortly thereafter, though, I started to get REALLY tired and about halfway through the show I was ready to go home. They were amazing, but I just couldn’t get into it as much as I would have liked!!

School, today, was pretty awful. I didn’t even want to go. Getting four hours of sleep is NOT conducive to a productive/tolerant day at West High. I mostly: checked email, prepared assignments, and graded papers. Holly pretty much did everything else, which I was really thankful for. I am almost ready to just shut down with this student teaching gig. It’s really difficult to stay positive/enthusiastic. I really cannot explain the dread that overcomes me some mornings when my alarm goes off. I can’t tell if this means that teaching isn’t for me, or if this is just the wrong setting for me. I’m going to stick it out, because I have to, but I am certainly not enjoying it.  Oh, well. Only 12 weeks left! At least today one of my students told me I was having a good hair day, that was nice! 

As soon as I got home from school and having my eyebrows waxed, Nick and I hit the pillow immediately - for a three hour nap! I needed it after last night. Nick so graciously took the day off of work for me (not really, but I like to think so ;) ). Tonight marks the premier of the new season of Hell’s Kitchen, mine and Nick’s favorite show. We’re watching (slash blogging) as it’s on now, and then the new episode of Weeds! Can’t wait! 

Later this week or weekend, check back for collaborative posts here and over at Blackbird Fly! All about my favorite teas and Morgan's prized mug collection. :) See you guys tomorrow!! xo Stephanie

Autumn

Not only is Autumn my favorite season, it's also one of my favorite names for a girl, ever. I love everything that fall includes. This is not limited to:

apple cider

hot chocolate

bonfires

homemade soup

corn mazes

chuck taylors

scarves

gloves

hats

[spiced] tea

autumn smelling air

pretty + crunchy leaves

cute cute cute mugs

long sleeves

being cold + cuddling

boots (!!!)

jeans, jeans, jeans

red/darker hair

dark makeup

pumpkin patches

thanksgiving (vegetarian style)

puppy sweaters!!

hand holding + cold fingers

etc etc etc

xoxo S

p.s. pics via weheartit! 

Weekend Adventures

Here's to spending a lovely Saturday with my boyfriend and our puppy. We took Guillermo to the vet to get his ONE stitch out from getting neutered. He was scared, but very happy that we took him home with us this time. There has been talk of going to Oktoberfest tonight, which is going to be really fun. A friend of ours invited us, and I have never been, so I can't wait! I am going to take lots of pictures and post them here probably tomorrow night. There was ALSO talk about going to see The Toadies tonight at the Mad Hatter in Covington. This isn't exactly my favorite place to see a show.... but Nick has been wanting to see them for a long time, so I will oblige with no complaint :)

Last night went smoothly; I cleaned the apartment and make sure there was a beer and candles waiting for Nick when he walked in the door from work, and he seemed happier already, just from being home. I am glad I could help make his day a little better! First we sat around in the living room and listened to The Flaming Lips and just relaxed and talked. Then we ordered food and we stayed up late and fell asleep to episodes of Seinfeld, season 7. Make that: I fell asleep to episodes of Seinfeld and Nick had to wake me up to go to bed later. I was so tired I slept in my clothes from the day all night!

I am supposed to be on call tonight at work, but there is a slim chance that I will actually be called in. Part of me hates that I am never getting hours but part of me is so thankful to have almost every single weekend off. I need a decompressing period after each week at West High, and this one was NO exception. We are planning on watching an episode or two of Lie to Me before heading out for our adventure tonight, but for some reason Netflix is being crappy!

I will leave you with this sweet cover of The Flaming Lips' "Do You Realize??" by The Postal Service, whom I love, love, love.

Anyways, hope everyone has a great weekend, maybe I'll see some of you at Oktoberfest tonight!

xoxo