More Blogging!

Why, hello there.

I'm back.

Actually, I didn't go anywhere. I've been here in Houston all summer, working at my organization's summer teacher training institute. Because I worked 12-hour days for much of the summer (and had a blast doing it), I decided to take some time off from blogging. And to be completely honest, dear reader, I felt like I needed to figure out the place blogging has in my life right now. 

Turns out, I was constantly thinking of blog posts as I was going about my day-to-day of training amazing young teachers. You should probably be glad you were spared the World-Cup-themed rant about how sports mania contributes to a culture of war.  But I found that I have a lot that I still want to say.  I'm still not 100% sure how often I'll be blogging (more on that below) but I'm not giving it up or anything.

I thought to get back in the groove, I'd update you on this year's theme: the year of MORE. I had three things I wanted to focus on:
1) eating MORE whole foods
2) spending MORE time outside
3) fitting in MORE time to write 

So how did those things fit into my crazy summer schedule?

1) More Whole Foods

I made these in my garden.

I gave myself a lot of grace when it came to cooking this summer, but I had two main commitments. I cooked on the weekend so that I could bring my own lunches to the institute, and I made a green smoothie every day. The lunches weren't always whole foods - I made burritos and Thai peanut chicken over rice - but at least it was home cooking and I could choose ingredients that were low in salt and preservatives and didn't have high fructose corn syrup.

A lot of people asked me throughout the summer how I had so much energy, given those 12-hour work days. I owe that to drinking a cup of kale or spinach every day in the form of a smoothie. I don't think it's magic or anything, but having a green smoothie just kept me going throughout the day. 

Spontaneous day trip to the beach!

2) More Outside Time
OK, I'll be completely frank here: I don't like to spend time outside in the summer in Houston. When I lived up north, we stayed inside much of the winter. That's how I treat summer in Houston.  Really, I don't even try to go outside. There are giant mosquitoes! Flying cockroaches! Alligators! (I've never seen an alligator in Houston, but there are definitely signs by the bayou telling you to watch out for them.)

I have managed to keep a slightly successful garden going. I say "slightly" because by most standards, it would be pretty pathetic, but it's been my most successful foray into green-thumbing it. I've gotten some tiny tomatoes and jalapenos, and my basil plant is going nuts. It's the first time I've kept a garden this long with ALL the plants surviving. I call that a win. 

3) More Writing Time
I've actually managed to make this a priority. I thought about what held me back from writing as much as I want to, and I found that I'm tired of the computer at the end of the day. I decided to start writing by hand, and on the weekend type up what I created. This has worked like a charm, and has allowed me to sustain my creativity through sketching, making notes, and otherwise being the stationery nerd that I am at heart.

However, this is not a great solution when it comes to blogging. (Blog by mail anyone?). I'll continue to think through my relationship to my computer and what that will mean for writing.

What's coming up?
You want to know more about how I've fit more leafy greens into my diet, right? Especially since I break my mother's heart by not eating a salad every day with dinner.

I'm also planning posts on fangirling, a summer pop-culture round up, and some thoughts on White privilege at the liquor store.

I'm glad to be back!