The second day of Yoga Camp is the mantra of "I Create". I create a lot of things each day. I create worksheets, lessons, meals, laughter, etc. But this is obviously not the purpose of the "I Create" mantra.
The place that I took the mantra during my yoga practice was to create the vision for my future. Over the last five (plus) years, I have often struggled with knowing whether or not I had chosen the correct profession. The more time I spend in education, the more I know that it is the right profession, but I am still not sure if classroom teacher is where I am going to end up.
As I was working through the "I Create" practice, I decided to meditate on what I want to create for my future, and my families future. Through this meditation I was able to focus on what I really hope to be able to accomplish in education moving forward. I was also able to create a plan to reach some of these future goals.
And so comes the next step. I have applied and been accepted to a master degree program. This is absolutely terrifying for me. It has been six years since I was a college student, and it has been four years since I have taken a graduate level course. And now, I am diving in head first to two years of courses, papers, assignments and discussion posts. It's not that bad you may say, but I also know that I am getting ready to enter into what are panning out to be the two craziest years of my life. A new house. Starting a family. Life is not going to be slowing down, and now I'm adding another item to the list.
At times, the idea of accomplishing all of these goals I have set is overwhelming, but I have decided to create a space in my mind where I will be able to find peace and motivation to reach my goals. I know that in the end I will be better off and my family will be better off in the long run.
So I challenge you, if you are reading this, to create a plan to accomplish the goals that you want to accomplish. There is no wish to big, no idea to crazy, nothing to hold you back except for yourself. So create in whatever way to create means to you.
Until our next adventure,
C
Monday, November 14, 2016
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
30 (ish) Day Journey - I Accept
2016 is winding down, but the excitement in my life seems to be ramping up. 2017 is looking to be quite an eventful year and often when I think about everything that is coming our way, it can be overwhelming. Here are a few of the highlights of what's to come.
Buying a House
Eric and I are currently working with a realtor and looking at potential houses. We have been seriously looking for the past two months and I can feel that we are reaching a point where we will be making a decision soon.
Graduate School
Now is the time. That is what I have convinced myself. I have applied to a masters program to begin in January. With my new school district having a better reimbursement program, it is now feasible for me to earn my masters degree without going into debt, and then enjoy a healthy pay increase.
Moving (AGAIN)
Along with buying a house (very exciting) comes the fact that we have to move again (very unexciting). If you know anything about our journey, you know that Eric and I have moved SEVERAL times over the past five years, and we have just about had it. We are hoping that our next move is a permanent and long lasting one.
Starting a Family (?)
Although not in the immediate future, 2017 is the year that we would like to start a family. Due to our jobs there are ideal times to begin this journey, and fortunately we will be able to settle in a bit before we being this next major journey.
With all of these exciting life events getting ready to take place sometimes it is too much to handle. Last year, I began subscribing to Yoga with Adriene on Youtube and followed along for about the first 12 days of her 30 days of yoga camp series. I had really enjoyed the videos and in even just the 12 short days I felt stronger, more flexible, and generally more at peace. These are all things that have seriously been lacking over the past two months and so I have decided to begin again. No need to wait until the new year, it's better to just start now, and build the habit while I have the motivation to do so.
The first video in the yoga camp series comes with the mantra "I Accept". I thought it was very bold of Adriene to begin with such a challenging mantra, but I suppose it will set the tone for the rest of camp. Accepting my place in life has always been something that I have struggled with and while focusing on that mantra during the video yesterday I was able to make peace with some struggles I have been going through. Namely, other people getting what I want before me.
I know I'm 28, and I know I should be more mature, but it has on occasion been soul crushing when I log into Facebook and I see a pregnancy announcement, or a picture of my friends in front of their newly purchased homes. Eric and I have lived in limbo for the last five years and over that time is has been devastating to see others taking steps in their lives that I so badly wanted to be taking. This internal struggle has been something that I have really had to work on, and although I have improved, there is always room for improvement.
Now, please understand that I am extremely happy for my friends who are taking these next steps, but I just would love to be able to be walking along side them as they continue their journeys, rather than feeling like I am watching from the sidelines.
The mantra of "I Accept" is one that is very powerful for me, because it gives me permission to be happy with my stage of life. I am well known for saying to my friends "It will happen the way it is supposed to happen". But as always, this advice is easier to give than receive.
I am excited about my 30 days of yoga journey, and I hope to grow physically and mentally, as well as stay grounded as the excitement in my life begins to pick up.
If you are interested in coming along on the journey with me, I encourage you to comment, or visit Adriene's channel. I may not do 30 days in a row, but I hope to move through all 30 days before the end of 2016 and begin the new year with a new perspective (and hopefully a new house!).
Until our next adventure,
~C
Monday, October 24, 2016
Laundry Routine
Thanks to my seventh grade FCS (Family and Consumer Sciences a.k.a. Home Economics) teacher (Mrs. Basstress) I have been doing my own laundry since the fateful assignment where we had to have our parents teach us how.
While I lived at home, and in the dorms at Penn State, laundry day was ALWAYS on Sunday. It made sense because we had the most time on those days. You were always back from traveling, and it gave you a fresh start to the week.
This habit of doing laundry on Sunday's stayed with me for a few years after college. In the first apartment my husband and I lived in, we did not have laundry machines in our apartment unit. They were in the building, but you had to carry the loads downstairs, pay by the load, and remember to go and rescue your clothes before someone came and snatched them. Because we were living in a complex that was primarily college students, I found that Sunday mornings were the best time to do laundry because no one else was awake yet.
After we moved when my husband graduated graduate school, we finally had our very own washer and dryer IN the apartment. I was over the moon (what an adult thing to be excited about). And the habit of laundry Sunday's remained. It actually stayed intact for a full five years after college, until I decided to change my habit this past summer.
We have moved (again) back to Pennsylvania and with the move my husband acquired a new work schedule that has him working late two nights per week. I decided that rather than "waste" the time that he was at work, I would try and be productive. And thus began a new laundry habit. When I would do laundry on Sundays I would do ALL the laundry on Sundays. This took HOURS because between my husband and I we typically had four loads of clothing, plus towels and/or sheets depending on the week.
When I first began my multi-day laundry system I would wash all of the clothes that were dirty on the days that I did laundry. It seemed easiest to just combine our piles together and wash them all at the same time. This worked for a while, until I started back to work in the fall, and then I had to start remembering which outfits I had worn as to not duplicate them within the same week (because unfortunately this is something that teenagers would notice).
I was beginning to become frustrated with this system, but with the low quality washer/dryer that we currently have, it was too much to do all of the laundry on one of Eric's long days. And thus resulted my current system, which for the past two months has been working quite nicely.
The first late night Eric works in the week I do my laundry. I produce two loads of clothing (we have a very small washer and a crappy dryer so they can't be huge loads) each week. Total these two loads take about four hours from start to finish. Eric produces a similar amount of clothing each week and so on his second late night, I do his laundry, again taking about four hours.
Not to worry, Sundays are still reserved for washing towels and sheets as needed, but by moving my laundry day(s) into the week, I have more time on the weekend to do things that I enjoy.
What is your families laundry schedule like? Have you ever tried something that failed miserably?
Until our next adventure (House Hunting!!)
~C
While I lived at home, and in the dorms at Penn State, laundry day was ALWAYS on Sunday. It made sense because we had the most time on those days. You were always back from traveling, and it gave you a fresh start to the week.
This habit of doing laundry on Sunday's stayed with me for a few years after college. In the first apartment my husband and I lived in, we did not have laundry machines in our apartment unit. They were in the building, but you had to carry the loads downstairs, pay by the load, and remember to go and rescue your clothes before someone came and snatched them. Because we were living in a complex that was primarily college students, I found that Sunday mornings were the best time to do laundry because no one else was awake yet.
After we moved when my husband graduated graduate school, we finally had our very own washer and dryer IN the apartment. I was over the moon (what an adult thing to be excited about). And the habit of laundry Sunday's remained. It actually stayed intact for a full five years after college, until I decided to change my habit this past summer.
We have moved (again) back to Pennsylvania and with the move my husband acquired a new work schedule that has him working late two nights per week. I decided that rather than "waste" the time that he was at work, I would try and be productive. And thus began a new laundry habit. When I would do laundry on Sundays I would do ALL the laundry on Sundays. This took HOURS because between my husband and I we typically had four loads of clothing, plus towels and/or sheets depending on the week.
When I first began my multi-day laundry system I would wash all of the clothes that were dirty on the days that I did laundry. It seemed easiest to just combine our piles together and wash them all at the same time. This worked for a while, until I started back to work in the fall, and then I had to start remembering which outfits I had worn as to not duplicate them within the same week (because unfortunately this is something that teenagers would notice).
I was beginning to become frustrated with this system, but with the low quality washer/dryer that we currently have, it was too much to do all of the laundry on one of Eric's long days. And thus resulted my current system, which for the past two months has been working quite nicely.
The first late night Eric works in the week I do my laundry. I produce two loads of clothing (we have a very small washer and a crappy dryer so they can't be huge loads) each week. Total these two loads take about four hours from start to finish. Eric produces a similar amount of clothing each week and so on his second late night, I do his laundry, again taking about four hours.
Not to worry, Sundays are still reserved for washing towels and sheets as needed, but by moving my laundry day(s) into the week, I have more time on the weekend to do things that I enjoy.
What is your families laundry schedule like? Have you ever tried something that failed miserably?
Until our next adventure (House Hunting!!)
~C
Monday, June 6, 2016
What Would You Do If You Weren't Afraid?
It's the final week of the school year! Can I get an AMEN from all my fellow teachers?! The end of this school year is especially exciting for me as this summer is bringing another move and I will thankfully be reunited with Eric after three months of living apart. It has been a long three months and I am looking forward to it being over.
In the course of the past three months I have started watching a few different vlogers on YouTube to pass some of my down time. One of my favorites is Ellie + Jared and although I watch their daily vlogs as they are posted, I also have been watching some of their past vlogs randomly as they pop up in the "suggested feed". I watched their first daily vlog and Jared asked the question "What would you do if you weren't afraid?" For Ellie and Jared this meant starting daily vlogs for a week and then taking it from there. Now they have been vlogging every day for two years.
Jared's question really struck a nerve with me as I have been feeling somewhat adrift recently with all of the changes in my life, and looking toward the future. I am a teacher, and most days I like being a teacher. However, in the back of my mind I struggle with determining if this is what I actually am meant to be doing. I have a lot of passions in my life: cooking, baking, photography. I would love to drop everything and follow these passions, but the logical side of my brain is just too strong and I can't bring myself to do this. In an attempt to meet Jared's challenge of doing what I would do if I wasn't afraid, I am going to start small this summer and try to work on this blog regularly. I haven't quite decided what "regularly" looks like yet: daily, MWF, etc, but I am looking forward to this adventure.
I hope you will follow me on this journey. I plan to blog about a wide variety of topics: cooking, baking, crafting, moving, life, adventure, etc. I hope that it will be interesting and a little informational, but I know it will be a good representation of who I am as a person.
Today is day one of my self-challenge of doing something that I am afraid of, and I am nervous and excited.
Until our next adventure,
C
In the course of the past three months I have started watching a few different vlogers on YouTube to pass some of my down time. One of my favorites is Ellie + Jared and although I watch their daily vlogs as they are posted, I also have been watching some of their past vlogs randomly as they pop up in the "suggested feed". I watched their first daily vlog and Jared asked the question "What would you do if you weren't afraid?" For Ellie and Jared this meant starting daily vlogs for a week and then taking it from there. Now they have been vlogging every day for two years.
Jared's question really struck a nerve with me as I have been feeling somewhat adrift recently with all of the changes in my life, and looking toward the future. I am a teacher, and most days I like being a teacher. However, in the back of my mind I struggle with determining if this is what I actually am meant to be doing. I have a lot of passions in my life: cooking, baking, photography. I would love to drop everything and follow these passions, but the logical side of my brain is just too strong and I can't bring myself to do this. In an attempt to meet Jared's challenge of doing what I would do if I wasn't afraid, I am going to start small this summer and try to work on this blog regularly. I haven't quite decided what "regularly" looks like yet: daily, MWF, etc, but I am looking forward to this adventure.
I hope you will follow me on this journey. I plan to blog about a wide variety of topics: cooking, baking, crafting, moving, life, adventure, etc. I hope that it will be interesting and a little informational, but I know it will be a good representation of who I am as a person.
Today is day one of my self-challenge of doing something that I am afraid of, and I am nervous and excited.
Until our next adventure,
C
Monday, February 22, 2016
Here we go again!
Another summer is approaching and so is another move. Although I am significantly more excited about this move than most of the previous ones because we will be moving closer to family, back to our home state, and hopefully to the area where we will be buying a house in the next 12-18 months!!! Yay for the future!
Since graduating from college (5 years ago) we have lived in five different apartments in four different zip codes and three different counties/towns. We are basically professionals at moving. Or we should be. Every time though I always feel overwhelmed at the massive to do list, and actually remembering everything that I need to do. Because this move is bigger and farther than we have ever moved before, there are a lot more moving parts that are going into the move and I am going to do my best to make sure that I don't miss anything, and that every step of the moving process is as smooth as possible.
I hope to be able to share with you some moving tips, and also maybe a few things to avoid (five moves is enough times to realize that there are somethings that you just should not do).
Because we are still very early on in the process I don't have too many tips to share today, but I can share what I have set up for the future.
Eric technically doesn't even have a starting date yet for his new job. This means that we still don't really know when he has to be moved. Because I will be finishing out the school year at my current school Eric is moving on his own first, and then I will follow. Unfortunately this means a few more months of double rent, and we are trying to make this overlap period as small as possible. This means that we haven't signed a lease because we want to put it off for as long as we can until we know his start date.
This past weekend, because we knew we were not going to be signing a lease, we did some online research instead of driving the 2.5 hours to physically go to the places. We used Apartment Guide, as our primary search engine. One suggestion that I would strongly encourage anyone who is moving to do is to drive around the area that you are planning to move to so that you have a general understanding of the layout of the area. We are by no means experts on the city we are moving to, but because we took a whole day and drove around we have some general landmarks in our minds when we are looking at a map. We drove past high schools, malls, shopping centers, etc. This has been extremely helpful when we find and apartment and are wondering where is it in relation to other businesses in the city.
What also really help us is that I have a cousin who lives in the area and we were able to get some inside "scoop" from her on good vs. bad places to live, and she also came with us on our tour to provide a little more information. Obviously not everyone has this luxury, but if you already have been hired in the place you are planning to move, ask your company if there is someone who would be willing to at least talk to you about the area, even if they can't drive around with you (and then make sure to treat them to lunch!).
Even today, with all of the technology that is around, I am still a pencil and paper girl at heart. I am not sure what it is, but I keep myself much more organized if I have a physical copy of whatever I am working on rather than just electronic. I mention this because everyone's organization system is going to be different. For us, we are using a 5-Subject spiral bound notebook to keep all of the information and lists that we are starting to collect/create.
So far we have a section for all the apartment information, contact numbers, rent prices, square footage measurements, amenities, etc. I have also begun a section about my job search/change. Being a math teacher there are a lot of moving pieces that I need to make sure I have in order when I begin my job search/application process. I need clearances to work in the schools, I need medical tests/records to prove I don't have contagious diseases, I need my teaching certificate to transfer to a new state. The list is quite extensive. Then I have also created a section to hold the information about the various schools that I may be applying to. I have so far created a list of all school districts within driving distance of our anticipated location and have begun my initial research on those districts.
Later in the process I plan to have sections of the notebook dedicated to moving/packing lists, address change lists (this list really is endless), etc. For me that is what works. If you have an app or an electronic organization system that works for you, then that's what you should use. I have found that if it doesn't work for me, I'm not going to use it.
Once Eric has a start date I am sure that I will have many more tips to share.
Until next time,
~C
Since graduating from college (5 years ago) we have lived in five different apartments in four different zip codes and three different counties/towns. We are basically professionals at moving. Or we should be. Every time though I always feel overwhelmed at the massive to do list, and actually remembering everything that I need to do. Because this move is bigger and farther than we have ever moved before, there are a lot more moving parts that are going into the move and I am going to do my best to make sure that I don't miss anything, and that every step of the moving process is as smooth as possible.
I hope to be able to share with you some moving tips, and also maybe a few things to avoid (five moves is enough times to realize that there are somethings that you just should not do).
Because we are still very early on in the process I don't have too many tips to share today, but I can share what I have set up for the future.
Eric technically doesn't even have a starting date yet for his new job. This means that we still don't really know when he has to be moved. Because I will be finishing out the school year at my current school Eric is moving on his own first, and then I will follow. Unfortunately this means a few more months of double rent, and we are trying to make this overlap period as small as possible. This means that we haven't signed a lease because we want to put it off for as long as we can until we know his start date.
This past weekend, because we knew we were not going to be signing a lease, we did some online research instead of driving the 2.5 hours to physically go to the places. We used Apartment Guide, as our primary search engine. One suggestion that I would strongly encourage anyone who is moving to do is to drive around the area that you are planning to move to so that you have a general understanding of the layout of the area. We are by no means experts on the city we are moving to, but because we took a whole day and drove around we have some general landmarks in our minds when we are looking at a map. We drove past high schools, malls, shopping centers, etc. This has been extremely helpful when we find and apartment and are wondering where is it in relation to other businesses in the city.
What also really help us is that I have a cousin who lives in the area and we were able to get some inside "scoop" from her on good vs. bad places to live, and she also came with us on our tour to provide a little more information. Obviously not everyone has this luxury, but if you already have been hired in the place you are planning to move, ask your company if there is someone who would be willing to at least talk to you about the area, even if they can't drive around with you (and then make sure to treat them to lunch!).
Even today, with all of the technology that is around, I am still a pencil and paper girl at heart. I am not sure what it is, but I keep myself much more organized if I have a physical copy of whatever I am working on rather than just electronic. I mention this because everyone's organization system is going to be different. For us, we are using a 5-Subject spiral bound notebook to keep all of the information and lists that we are starting to collect/create.
So far we have a section for all the apartment information, contact numbers, rent prices, square footage measurements, amenities, etc. I have also begun a section about my job search/change. Being a math teacher there are a lot of moving pieces that I need to make sure I have in order when I begin my job search/application process. I need clearances to work in the schools, I need medical tests/records to prove I don't have contagious diseases, I need my teaching certificate to transfer to a new state. The list is quite extensive. Then I have also created a section to hold the information about the various schools that I may be applying to. I have so far created a list of all school districts within driving distance of our anticipated location and have begun my initial research on those districts.
Later in the process I plan to have sections of the notebook dedicated to moving/packing lists, address change lists (this list really is endless), etc. For me that is what works. If you have an app or an electronic organization system that works for you, then that's what you should use. I have found that if it doesn't work for me, I'm not going to use it.
Once Eric has a start date I am sure that I will have many more tips to share.
Until next time,
~C
Monday, February 8, 2016
Same Recipe, Different Outcome
Have you ever had this happen? You find a recipe, you make it, you love it. Then you make the same recipe again at a later point in time and it just doesn't live up to the memory of the first time you made it.
I had this happen to me last night. I had found a recipe for Cincinnati Turkey Chili a while ago (like months) and I had made it, and Eric and I loved it. Then I had made it again for my parents when they were visiting, and we loved it then too. But I made the same recipe last night and I just did not think it was as good as I have made it in the past, and I want to know WHY!?!
So I have been thinking back over what I may have done differently. Here is what I have come up with:
1. I used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth
2. I used 80/20 ground turkey instead of the 93/7 that I usually buy
3. I didn't measure the amount of chocolate I added at the end
Now, I am not a food expert. I typically struggle to understand the way that things work together and "flavor profiles" and fancy cooking terms (I have been watching a lot of Worst Cooks in America lately), but if I had to rank those in order of impact on the taste of my dish I would guess that the fat content of the meat probably had the biggest affect, followed by the broth.
Tonight I am planning on making baked ziti with Italian sausage. We need to get our meat fix in before Lent starts and then we can't eat meat on Friday's (or I guess this Wednesday).
Anyway, if you have ever had the issue that I am having (making the same thing multiple times and having it taste different) let me know why, or what happened.
Until our next adventure,
C
Saturday, February 6, 2016
Excitement and Fear: Two Sides of the Same Blade
One of the most exciting times in our lives began about a month ago and will be continuing for the next... unknown number of months. Something that I have been wanting so badly for the last five years is finally starting to become a reality. And although I am extremely excited and grateful at the way that our lives are headed, I am also terrified.
Eric and I have always wanted to move back to Pennsylvania (more specifically out of Delaware) and now it would seem that will be happening within the next six months. Eric has been applying to new clinics and going on very successful interviews. We have explored cities and towns where we could potentially be moving to, and every adventure has been filled with excitement and anticipation.
This is what we want, this is what I want, this is what will move us on the path toward our future: a house, kids, being settled closer to family and friends. And yet in the quiet moments when I am by myself my excitement and anticipation is coupled with a near crippling fear. This is it. I have felt stuck in limbo for so long, an adult on my own, but not truly grown up. And now that the fog is lifting I'm afraid? How does that make any sense?
Part of my fear stems from the daunting task of moving so far, to yet another new place. I have never been a fan of change (even when it is something that I have wanted). The uncertainty and uneasiness of it all is just uncomfortable for me to deal with. I do not enjoy having to learn new roads, new businesses, new rules about new places, and meeting new people. Beginning over again is not something that I was good at because it was not something that I ever really had to do before I moved to Delaware five years ago and got my first "big girl job". Even with transitioning between three school, five apartments, and three cities/towns it is still scary and uncomfortable for me.
But I am trying to look on the bright side, focus on the positives, and trust that this is the right move, the right path to follow, the last real transition. And that is exciting.
I will likely post more updates as this process continues and of course still try to continue my cooking/baking/crafting posts, but I am looking forward to this journey and I hope that it is quick, smooth, and as painless as can be.
On a Pinterest note, I tried making mug french toast this morning. FAIL. Well, not a total fail, but I would not ever make it again. Real french toast is the only way to be.
Monday, January 25, 2016
Work/Life Balance
Everyone says the 20's are the prime of your life... maybe I'm doing something wrong, but these past few years have been so stressful that I find it very difficult to believe that this is "as good as it gets".
One thing that I have really been struggling with is creating a work/life balance that actually works. I have not been able to really feel successful in both areas. What's more is that the more hobbies that I start experimenting with, the less I care about work. How horrible does that sound? I am training the future of our nation and I can't find the motivation. I want to explore my hobbies more and more and I would love to be able to turn those hobbies into work, but I don't know how.
Regardless, one of my new hobbies is photography. Here is my favorite picture from today (we had a snow day thanks to winter storm Jonas)
Eric and I are getting ready to potentially move again and so I hope to keep you updated on our next life steps. Hopefully they will also involve me pursuing my hobbies even more.
Until next time,
C
One thing that I have really been struggling with is creating a work/life balance that actually works. I have not been able to really feel successful in both areas. What's more is that the more hobbies that I start experimenting with, the less I care about work. How horrible does that sound? I am training the future of our nation and I can't find the motivation. I want to explore my hobbies more and more and I would love to be able to turn those hobbies into work, but I don't know how.
Regardless, one of my new hobbies is photography. Here is my favorite picture from today (we had a snow day thanks to winter storm Jonas)
Eric and I are getting ready to potentially move again and so I hope to keep you updated on our next life steps. Hopefully they will also involve me pursuing my hobbies even more.
Until next time,
C
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