did you know...

...there is more protein in a bundle of spinach, bouquet of broccoli, and ball of cauliflower than eggs, chicken, and beef??

"Say what?!" you say?

All you meat eaters out there who give me crap for not getting enough protein on my veggie lifestyle can s**k it! I'm getting more natural protein than most! :p

first time for everything

had my first teacher panic attack today in the staff lounge.

yes it involved tears.

no need to explain what "went down." 

it's one for the records book though.

tgi...almost friday...

this and that

this and that of early september: 

[latte art from Blue Bottle Coffee located in the Ferry Building Market Pier on Embarcadero in San Francisco]

[edamame hummus and red pepper spread vegan sammy. yum in my tum!]

[super succulent display. want the key to my heart fellas? gift me a succulent!]

[coconut kale chips i'm totally into making right now. got an oven or toaster oven like me? you're half-way there to enjoying these tasty, healthy treats! do it: 1) wash and dry some kale, 2) add a teaspoon of olive oil over the kale and lather - don't use too much or you'll have soggy kale :'( 3) sprinkle on some coconut butter, 4) bake at 225 degrees for 20 minutes or so - check 15 minutes in for crispness, 5) and ENJOY, doy!]

[rosemary marcona almonds from Bin 38 in the Marina in San Francisco]

[sea fog in the San Francisco Bay - taken from the ferry to Sausalito]

[Giant Dipper fun at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk! Sal, you're a legend...]

[favorite food combination at Cafe Brasil, one of my favorite restaurants in Santa Cruz, is (drum roll please....) the Acai Bowl (top) and the Peixe De Baiana (simmered white fish in tomato sauce)]  

New Beginnings Bringing Me UP!

I am four weeks into my new and improved life as a 4th grade teacher at Kammann Elementary! I find myself significantly overwhelmed the majority of the time, but I have yet to have a panic attack in our staff lounge so all is good in my eyes. I look at it as though I'd be doing something wrong if I wasn't overwhelmed as a first year new teacher...

  

Since my return from Tanzania almost two months ago, my professional working life has made a complete 180 degree turn for the better! Coming home after two months volunteer teaching in Tanzania and learning more than I taught, I found myself in a whirl wind of conflicting feelings. I was a newly, re-inspired educator coming back to the states where the job market for education was a bleak one if not nonexistant. I was stressed financially (I didn't make one cent in Africa but was spending...), exhausted from the journey home, and yearning for some sort of closure from my trip...all while having to look towards the future and find myself a real teaching job that pays the bills and affords benefits. 

How did I handle this, you ask?

Well, luckily for me, my mother raised me to tackle life's problems head-on in order to overcome its adversity and move on to the good. This advice got me my job this year. Without the strength, as well as the endless supply of support and positive thoughts from family and friends the past couple months, I would not have these stills of my very own classroom to share with you. 

With that said, here are some stills. Enjoy!

[in our 4th grade hallway student shields surround the spiffy 3D class tree I made] 

[view when your first enter]

[view of the front of the room]

[my desk. the orchid was a gift from one of my students :)]

[writing wall showcasing Haiku poems our class created the first week of school]

[construction paper self portraits to go along with their I AM poems for Back to School Night]

[view from my desk]