14 steps to getting healthy in a day... ha. admiring people i dislike. lace cardigans.

Thursday and Friday at school were TORTURE. i usually don't get sick, but i got hit with something pretty awful. it's like a cough + horribly stuffy/runny nose + chills + fever + croup.

i only have the weekend to recover, since i can't really take a day off this week (mostly because of PT conferences). this is what i've done: mucinex. chest congestion relief. vapor rub. sauna. inhaler. 2 jacuzzis + candles + magnesium salts. 12 hours of sleep + 2 hour nap. vitamin c. neti pot. tons of water. zinc. tea with honey and lemon. homemade soup. breathing steam. sitting by a vaporizer.

i literally don't think there is anything else i can do to get better haha. but i think it's working... (:

i just spent some time today buying a few things from Target, mostly for spring break. i found some lace cardigans i have been wanting forever.

i got a new phone.

now, i need to grade and get plans set for next week. i feel like watching a movie and relaxing more.

Question: pick a person (or type of person) that you dislike. what do you admire about him/her?

when i first saw this prompt when Mike and i were collecting/brainstorming for prompts, it really made me think. i get along with most people. there are a few people who rub me the wrong way... and lately, i'll tell you.

i'm kind of just picking "type" of person who rubs me the wrong way in order to answer this prompt. usually they are kind of similar... so this isn't about one person in particular.

however, i admire her (or his, but i'll stick with "her" throughout):

-ability to speak her mind and not care what others think
-extreme loyalty to close friends
-confrontation abilities?
-eagerness to speak her mind
-confidence in self and points of view. i don't mean for that to sound negative. i can't think of how to word it. self-assured-ness? ha.

hm. this is hard.

travel. growth.

i need to travel. somewhere. far.

whenever i look at pictures from trips people take (mostly to Europe), i get really jealous and want to go. now. i'm not worried about the money aspect, even though i probably should be... since i should be saving for grad school.

i need to get out of Michigan and see other cultures. i say that like i've never left here. that is far from the truth. i grew up traveling. i've been out of the country many times. i've been to Europe and the Caribbean and Canada (and Hawaii). i've been on cruises. lots of them. i've lived in Spain. i've seen Big Ben, Stonehenge, the Guggenheim, La Sagrada Familia, the London Eye...

i have traveled.

but i can't get enough of it.

sometimes, it just consumes my thoughts. i dream of places i want to go. i stare at maps. i flip through "1000 places to see before you die." i sit in the travel section of Barnes and Noble. i NEED it.

and yes, i am going somewhere in about a month. A MONTH. i'm excited. Vegas and L.A. and Palm Springs. and this summer, i'm flying to Seattle and going hiking up through Canada (Whistler and Vancouver). but for some reason, i want more. something bigger.

but i want a big trip to plan for. backpacking through Europe. a road trip to California. a cruise in the Mediterranean.

it's going to happen.

Question: How have you seen yourself grow in the last year? If you haven't seen growth, how have you withered? 

i think i have grown more than i have withered. ways i have grown:

-in my art. especially jewelry. i look back on some of the first necklaces i ever made, and it's almost embarrassing. haha. my style and work has evolved a lot.

-in my outfit choices. i find myself not wanted to re-wear the same outfit. ever. no, i'm not crazy... but i hate getting stuck in a rut with clothing. i seem to think that more colors go together than most normal people... so i feel like i have such a wide range of options for what to wear. lately, i've been wearing purple and mustard yellow together a lot. and also, coral and teal. and hunter green and tan. it's especially helpful when i have lots of jewelry at my disposal to tie things together. (:

-my boldness.

-confrontations. speaking my mind.

-my food preferences. i always liked different foods, but this year has been much more culturally experimental. Indian, African, Middle Eastern foods... thanks to two new cookbooks. i LOVE cooking food from other cultures.

-my teaching. obviously there is quite the learning curve from student teaching to having your own classroom. i can't wait to go to CKH in April. (:

-my boot collection. ha.

hmm. that's all i can think of for now.

connecting with new friends. explaining scars.

i've had really great conversations with friends and strangers lately.

i like when the conversations go beyond shallow and try to answer the "why."

i know this sounds crazy, but i think people who share the same "love languages" are so much easier to be friends with. if you are a "words of affirmation" person, and you meet someone who also is, i think you will fill each other up and encourage each other well... just naturally. there are certain people you meet who you just connect with. you feel like you've known them for years. you feel comfortable. inspired. at home. it's kind of like if you've lived in a foreign country for years, where everyone speaks Italian... and you finally meet someone who speaks English.

this has been happening to me lately. somehow, i've been meeting people who i just feel SO comfortable with. within minutes of meeting them, we are talking about real things. world problems. struggles. goals. dreams. i love it.

these people just accept you immediately. it's the epitome of what friendship and community should be. these people inspire me to love better. go deeper in relationships.

i love it.

Question: Choose a scar you have. Explain how you got that scar.

i don't have a lot of scars. i heal pretty quickly. i didn't get hurt that much when i was growing up (besides floor burns and bruises from playing volleyball). i have a big scar on the palm of my hand, and i have no idea where it came from. here are two scars that i remember:

1. i have one scar on my knee. when i was in elementary school, i played almost every sport (as did many kids): soccer, volleyball, t-ball/softball, basketball, etc. once, during a softball game, i hit the ball pretty hard when i was up to bat. the guy who was on first was completely in my way as i was running to first. being the competitive person i am, i decided it would be a better idea to jump over him (he was crouched down waiting for the ball). well. i jumped. and completely wiped out. i had gravel and rocks stuck in my skin and got a pretty deep cut on my knee. i honestly don't remember if i got to the base on time or not.

2. i have a scar on my big toe. in college, i went on a mission trip to Sarasota. i worked at a ministry for sailors and also spent time completing a huge mural on the side of the building. after work one day, we had about 15 minutes to change and get ready to go to dinner. we were going to eat at a pretty nice restaurant ON the beach. somehow, i sliced my big toe open on a sharp, broken metal piece of my suitcase while running around to get ready. it would not stop bleeding... at all. i still went to the restaurant (with my toe wrapped in a hundred bandaids). i even went swing dancing in the sand as the sun set. probably a poor choice. we got home and my toe was bleeding through everything... so i had to go to the ER. we waited foreverrr. they cleaned it out and couldn't do stitched because of the way my toe got cut, so they put some skin glue over it. it was quite a night. i think we got home at 3 or 4 am. (:

lists and schedules and jobs without money.

i like making lists. and schedules. and plans.

sometimes it bothers me. sometimes i love it. for example: today, i have my entire day planned out to the hour. often, when i make a schedule like that, i always follow it. the part that bothers me is that i'm not very good at being spontaneous when i have a plan for the day set in my mind. i have NO problem being spontaneous if i have no plans set... but when i have a certain number of things i need to accomplish and places i want to go, i'll do it. i like crossing things off lists.

this might be why i like planning trips so much. researching and writing down where i want to go and what i want to see... planning each day. i love it. on trips, i'm better at being spontaneous because i'm always with other people. i can be flexible if other people are involved.

i also love mornings. i like setting an alarm for the weekend (so i can get stuff done). i got up at 7 today, which isn't THAT early... but it is for a Saturday. (:

question: if money didn't matter, what would you be doing for a living?

well... clearly money is not the reason why most people teach. that would be a boring answer. if i did not have a teaching job, and money didn't matter, i would:

top two:

1. be an importer for goods/crafts/art from third world countries. get to know the people there. live in their lifestyle. come back to the U.S. and sell their goods (giving them the profit back) and educate people on who is making their goods. what life is like for people in Guatemala or Kenya or wherever. host some kind of cultural gatherings for education that would have food, information, and some kind of opportunity for people to provide Kiva loans (or something similar).

2. own a boutique of handmade goods. part of the boutique is an artist work space, where community is encouraged. have "volunteer experts" give workshops on what they know: writing, drawing, painting, whatever. possibly part coffee shop. that's pushing it. but money doesn't matter, remember?!

additionally:

-work for a non-profit.
-be a writer or journalist or lyricist or travel blogger or anything to do with words.
-be a waitress for a short period of time. i think it would be a good experience.
-work on a farm for a summer.
-work at a camp every single summer.
-lead backpacking trips.
-work with some type of youth program / youth group and mentor kids. maybe just be a Younglife leader for life. (:
-do something in sales. people have told me this for a while.
-teach college writing. direct a writing center at said college.

making legwarmers. sprouts. burned fingers.

here's what i learned today: if you eat pistachios before eating pasta, it can reduce the glycemic index of the pasta you eat. also, a serving of pistachios is about 50, while a serving of walnuts is about 7.

i just ate a sandwich. with sprouts. that i grew myself. in the winter. it was amazing. (:

so you know how yesterday, i posted about wanting those legwarmers? i sat with them in my Etsy cart for a while, then decided that i would go thrifting after work today and see if i could find some sweaters and make my own.

i found sweaters. 7 of them. (: i am in the process of creating the legwarmers, but i have to go get my sewing machine out of my trunk... i'll keep you posted on how they turn out.

also... i just burned the crap out of my finger on a hot glue gun. i've had it in cold water for about an hour... and there's a huge blister. owww.

Question: What song or lyrics have really loved you lately? 

Song: A Little Bit Stronger by Sara Evans
Song: Take Me or Leave Me from Rent

Lyrics: "In Between the Lines" by Sara Bareilles

hippie clothes. trips to Cali. top 10.

i have been obsessively looking at this Etsy website for about an hour now. there are a few things i really want (that are sold out). these are the ones that i loooove. tell me what you think.

top ten:

 

Question: What is something that you really want to do, but just haven't gotten around to it yet? How long have you wanted to do it? What holds you back?

well. one thing i want to do is drive to Cali and back on a giant road trip and stop lots of places along the way.

i don't know how long i've wanted to do it. it's probably been in my soul somehow since i was born. the first time i remember REALLY wanting to do it (and planning to do it, via Google Docs and lots of research) was last summer. i was planning to go with some friends, but a lot of things popped up that prevented our trip from happening, including a job opportunity for me. the timing didn't feel right for us. it does now. i really want it to happen this summer. EVEN THOUGH i'm already going to Cali for spring break. i don't care. my heart is there.

(:

what holds me back is mostly money and friends and schedules. it's hard working all of those things out. 

i can assure you that SOMEDAY in my life... it will happen. hopefully ASAP.

winter beach adventure. moroccan food. family heirlooms.

 while cooking dinner last night, we learned a few things about fava beans:

-they're hard to find in stores.
-they supposedly taste like pinto beans.
-don't buy them dry.
-they take two hours to boil.
-you have to take the outside skin off.

i mentioned yesterday that we made dinner last night (Arabian Pizza from Lebanon and Artichoke Tajin from Morocco). The pizza was delicious. The Tajin was really good, too, minus the dry fava beans. We didn't have time to boil them for the full two hours. Next time, we'll buy the canned version. It was quite an adventure.

like i said, yesterday we also went on a beach adventure. here are some highlights:

Question: Which heirloom that you have inherited from an ancestor means the most to you? If you don't have any, then write about a specific object you remember from your father, mother, grandmother, etc.

Grandma: Vintage cameo pendants that I made into jewelry. I helped her go through some stuff in her house when she was moving, and she gave me quite a bit of her jewelry. I made a couple necklaces (that I won't sell) that I love. Every time I wear them, they remind me of her.

Grandpa: A lot of coins. He gave me a bunch that have holes drilled in them right when I started my jewelry business. We usually got coins for most holidays. He's a coin dealer.

Great-Grandpa: I have this little glass dog statue that I remember getting after my great-grandpa passed away. I was really young, but I still remember almost exactly what his house looked like.