a few good things

my weeks are seriously CRAZY now that i'm teaching 2 nights out of 5. i'm tired a lot of the time [tuesday through friday, at least] and a lot of work-related stuff stresses me out.

howeverrrrr... i did have a few good things happen on tuesday:
1. all my new day-time students showed up! they're wicked excited about class :)
2. my GED students had awesome attitudes. one of them even encouraged another verbally when she was feeling discouraged!!
3. my most troublesome student finally got it after i explained fractions to him one-on-one~


in other news, i only have about 48 hours till sittig-mohnkern reunion/val's wedding!!!

lunar festival!

on saturday my friend becca and i headed to chinatown for their lunar [or mid-autumn] festival. it was really interesting-- semi-similar to a festival in japan because they had food stalls and kids/teenagers EVERYWHERE!!! i mostly wanted to go because they advertised a lantern parade. but either they postponed it for a wicked long time OR it got completely rained out. we waited for 1.5 hours and never saw any lanterns progressing through the streets.

we did, however, hit up a japanese restaurant that i really like. becca had never eaten japanese food so it was SUPER exciting for me to introduce her. i ordered basically everything i like and just let her try. our menu included avacado rolls, edamame, sweet potato tempura, gyoza, and miso. YUM!!! [why the hay didn't i take any pictures of our food?! i was too busy gobbling it all up with my chopsticks.]

because i love lists 3: random edition

1. isn't this photo great? my friends are so good looking <3
2. i'm going to this festival tonight with my friend becca. can't wait~
3. this morning i tried to take a nap but i had already consumed coffee. so it was fruitless. except that i just lounged in my cozy [from grammy's house!] sheets comfortably.
4. next weekend i get to see some of these kids: we're staying at a B&B after val's wedding. holy smokes i can't wait to spend time with my college crew!!!
5. i've been in love with this gelato place basically since i moved to philly. guess who ate there last month!!!! [click on the link to find out]
6. yesterday one of our students brought in her nephew; playing with him may or may not have given me a slight case of baby fever. wow, he was so adorable.
7. teaching this GED class may be the death of me. it's.seriously.hard. and i.seriously.am.not.good.at.it.
8. october is going to be a whirlwind [more on that later!]. today is the only saturday for the next five weeks that i'll be at home.

the grass will always [or never] be greener...

a few months ago i heard this lady i know talking about how women are always looking for what's next [maybe men do the same thing, but i have no experience in such matters]: they think "life will be better when i meet someone". THEN they think "life will be better when i'm officially dating". better when i'm engaged. better when i'm married. when i have a baby. when i have another baby. when all my kids are in school. when my kids go to college & i have my life back...

i know this is true. i've seen it. and i've thought it myself. it's super tempting to allow this kind of thinking to take control in my head & heart. especially when having to answer innocent questions [nope, haven't had the DTR talk yet. nope, no weekend plans yet. nope, no plan to drive across country & meet the parents. nope, nope, nope].

but if i can't enjoy this stage-- the figuring it all out, nervous/excited, thrilled but uncertain, kinda-goofy-kinda-giddy, awkward-side-hug-back-pat phase-- then i doubt i'll find contentment in any of the later phases.

and i'm guessing the ol' mantra will prove to be true in my life: the grass will always look greener, but it probably won't BE greener.

if i were a boy 3

if i were a boy, i'd volunteer to pay.

but i'd let the girl pay sometimes. if she wanted to.

21 mile bike ride

no, that's not a joke. or an exaggeration. [i would never do either of those things! i'm appalled the idea would even enter your mind!!]

on saturday i went on a 21 mile bike ride with my friend rebecca. she didn't tell me how far it was and i didn't ask until we were almost back to my car. i almost fell OFF my bike when she told me.

holy cow my legs were killing me last night. but i'm wicked excited that a. my bike is good enough to do well on that long of a trip, and b. that i could handle the ride!



on a somewhat related note, rebecca introduced me to "owl city" yesterday. he is my new absolute favorite!!

i love my life

melissa always says that, and now i've started saying it, too!

it's friday. the weather is amazing. i'm baking oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. we're having a weenie roast tonight. i have great friends. my GED class hasn't killed me yet. our day-time students start coming regularly on tuesday. i'm going bike riding tomorrow. i get to see some college favorites in two weeks [!!!]. in one month i'll be a quarter century old. today i wore a cozy new sweater that's an awesome shade of blue. my dad's new cell phone contraption makes long-distance conversations fun. i get to see adorable kids at work every day.

see why i love my life?!