Chocolate Tastings and Beer Gardens

If you live in the Sacramento area and have never been to Ginger Elizabeth in midtown, you are missing out (on a lot of sugar intake and calories...but mostly joy and decadence). My brother's girlfriend Natalie and I have taken to going to the monthly events at Ginger Elizabeth, and this past Saturday they were sampling the new bon bon menu. 

Naturally after indulging in chocolates we walked over to Der Biergarten. It was such a beautiful afternoon with the sun out, but still cool enough to not be melting. We spent some time on their patio sipping on beer and munching on french fries. What a Saturday!

xxo

Things I've Learned This Week

1. It makes a huge difference in my day and general outlook when I take the time to find gratitude in the seemingly every-day-mundane. I've always loved the transition to fall. The colors are beautiful and ever changing. I love the symbolism of trees shedding their leaves and conserving energy. It reminds me to do the same: shed the outer layer, and continue to grow my roots strong and healthy.

2. I read Love Warrior this week by Glennon Doyle Melton in about five days. The only reason it wasn't within one day is because things like work and general adulting get in the way...What a powerful book. Glennon is open and honest and deep and dark. She's also hopeful and brave and courageous. I cried at least five different times. One thing I really connected with is the idea that Glennon presents about pain. She wrote that although pain is universal, it's incredibly personal in the moment. Much of my frustration and sadness in leaving the chickens is that no one else I know has been through the same situation. Although everyone in my life that I look to in times of need and find comfort in have no doubt experienced great pain, it's not the same. But Glennon reminded me of something Maya Angelou said that I also connect with: we are more alike than unalike. 

3. I will no longer apply to jobs that work with pre-school or elementary school age children. My heart is for adolescent girls, and I will put all of my resources and energy toward following that path, not the easy and familiar path of young children. 

4. My (ten years) younger brother just performed in his first high school play called 44 Plays for 44 Presidents. I loved every minute of it, even when he wasn't on stage! As a little boy he did some theater and he's always been a musician by playing guitar and piano. So to finally see him performing on stage as a young man was so satisfying and made me so proud of him. His bravery in stepping in to the theater program as a senior has inspired me to go for the things that interest me no matter what. 

xxo

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Happy Halloween

I've never really been into Halloween, especially as an adult. This year is tough as it's the first year I'm not with the chickens to see them dressed up so cute. I don't even know what they're going to be, and it breaks my heart. 

What the conclusion of Halloween does mean though is that I can start setting up for Christmas...yep, this year I'm that freak breaking out the Christmas decor two months early. But really, two months out of the twelve to enjoy my Department 56 village and pretty twinkling lights?! I'd say that's pretty reasonable. 

Happy Christmas season Halloween!!

xxo

Things I've Learned This Week

First of all, it's a lot harder to stay on top of blog posts while actually working...All those bloggers out there working full time jobs and blogging "on the side," yet posting every day/on a regular schedule-MAJOR props. You da real heroes.

1. I've been subbing a lot of middle school P.E. classes lately, and I've come to learn that middle school girls' locker rooms smell like at least 12 different kinds of body spray at one moment. It's like walking through strong clouds of nasal overload every step you take. Delicious.

2. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people walk and don't pick up their feet, so their shoes drag against the floor and make a loud noise.

3. Telling students to do silent study hall as a substitute teacher DOES NOTHING. It will never result in every student actually working silently and individually.

4. The life of a substitute teacher sucks.

xxo

Things I've Learned This Week

Today I'm starting my first series on this blog, called "What I've Learned This Week." Some things will be funny, some things will be more serious and sobering. What I'm hoping this series does is hold me accountable for being present, and then reflecting on my week. With so much going on in my life, I want to be able to celebrate and appreciate both the minor and the major. So here we go...

What I've learned for the week of October 17th, 2016:

1. When doing a sing-along-song, preschool age children will mimic everything you do with your body (with great power comes great responsibility, which I may have misused once or twice...they're just too darn cute and easily influenced)

2. People who work with preschool age children are heroes and go unrecognized way too often

3. Riding my bike makes me feel relaxed and connected to the earth

4. My eyes are slightly different shapes, and I cannot apply eyeliner the exact same way for each eye and expect it to look even

5. I cannot truly express my gratitude to my parents for the tradition and ritual they created in my life of going to Apple Hill. Whether I venture up there alone to take pictures and enjoy the quiet, or I go with my mom and experience it with her, I just love it, and all of the sweet memories that come along with it

xxo