Vegetables:

• 60 radishes
• 60 carrots (orange, white, yellow, red, purple)
• 14 tomatoes
• 1 eggplant
• 2 squash
• 3 ambrosia melon
• 2 pickling cucumbers
• 2 slicing cucumbers
• 6 strawberries
• 4 collard greens
• 9 kale
• 40 turnips
• 4 swiss chard
• 8 cabbage
• 12 potatoes
• 22 herbs (various)
• 1 dish of cat grass
• 4 flax
• 2 lettuce
• 1 stevia

Flowers:

• 1 columbine
• 2 foxglove
• 1 mullein
• 2 hollyhocks
• 1 container of wildflowers/bluebonnets
• 3 delphiniums
• 1 unidentified pretty blue flower

I’ve been busy.

Buy plants.

Buy pots and soil.

Not quite enough pots and soil.

Go to store to buy more pots and soil.

Extra pots and soil left over.

Buy more plants to fill extra pots and use extra soil.

Not enough pots and soil for new plants.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

This is why my garden currently has well over 300 plants.

I have just three teaching days left in my long term assignment, and about two months left in the school year.  It’s a little weird how fast this year went by – it feels like I just hit my substituting swing a few months ago, and now the year is almost over.

This long term assignment has taught me a lot.  For one, I am definitely absolutely sure that I have no desire to make teaching a career.  It’s a good skill to have as someone who likes living abroad, but it is not something I find fulfilling.  I spend most of my work day wanting to bang my head against my desk in frustration with how utterly fucked this generation of students is, and how little they care.

It has also taught me that the frequency of work depletes my “crazy” batteries far more than the type of work.  Every time I’ve had any kind of full time job, it is the full time nature of the job that seems to be problematic rather than the work itself, and this has been yet another experiment that supports that hypothesis.  Such a realization might discourage many people, but I find that it in fact inspires me to find a way to work around this problem and find a lifestyle that fits and is fulfilling.

I’ve saved up enough money to take time off from subbing through the end of September, and I plan on using that time to put some hard, concerted effort into figuring out how the hell to make a career out of my photography.  If I were on the weddings-and-portraits path that many photographers take, this would be much easier for me than it is, but I’m not.  As it is, there really isn’t a roadmap for the type of career I want to make, and even though there are others who have been down the same rocky trail, I am finding it difficult to figure out which path to take (and so far all I’ve gotten is the unhelpful advice of “I don’t know how I got here myself!”).

I plan on finally contacting some publications, trying to make connections with some local photographers, and just generally researching how the hell I get from here (being a professional grade photographer) to where I want to be (being a professional photographer earning something approximating a living).  I have an advantage in that my family is well entrenched in the art community, but most of their connections are in Texas.  I also have an advantage in that Marc’s sister recently started dating a photographer who does work for Rolling Stone and Esquire, and that a friend’s brother is the photo editor for the front section of the Sunday New York Times (and has won two Pulitzers).  I’m in a frustrating place because every pro photographer I meet says my work is phenomenal and that there should be no reason for me to not be successful.  I appreciate the praise, but short of shoring up my self confidence, it does little to help me figure out where I go from here.  That’s where this summer, hopefully, will come in.

In the meantime, I’m steaming ahead on my general theme of self improvement that has been so much of my focus this year.  My garden is about 90% complete, and I’m trying some new things this year.  Almost everything I’m growing is in containers this year, and I’ve got a few new crops I’m trying out this year, including cabbage, collard greens, melons, flax and potatoes.  I’ve also planted more flowers than I did in the past, including some columbines, foxglove, hollyhocks, and mullein.

This Wednesday I start my parkour and crossfit classes again, which I hope, combined with my new exercise habits gained from my Fitbit and my recent dietary changes, will help me to get back into shape.  Speaking of dietary changes, I have reduced the amount of gluten, sugar (both real and artificial), and meat I eat and have increased the amount of vegetables, fish, and fruit in their stead.  All in all, I feel like I’m making quite a few positive changes.

I’ve been riding Nadezda to work lately and am gaining a lot more confidence on the bike.  Steering a sidecar hack is hard work and can be very unnerving if you learned to ride on a regular bike.  I’ve been learning the way I do best – by forcing myself to do the things that make me uncomfortable, such as taking righthand turns and changing lanes.  I’ve discovered some steering techniques that help to minimize lift on the sidecar, and I’m getting used to the fact that my helmet drastically reduces my peripheral vision by moving my head around a lot more.  In May I’ll be taking a sidecar skills class which I hope will make me an even more skillful rider.

On top of all of this, Marc’s job situation has shifted somewhat.  The job out in Winchester had some complications and was essentially cancelled, but through some bold maneuvers, Marc managed to convince his company that he was worth a 50% raise while maintaining his current job.  It’s pretty unheard-of, makes both of us happy, and shows that he is of value to the company (of the 100+ people hired in his batch two years ago, he is one of only three employees left).  We now not only have more wiggle room financially, but are also in a better position to transfer to some other part of the country in the near future.  We’re planning on staying here in Alexandria for another year or so to help solidify his position in the company, but after that, we’re hoping to be able to transfer to somewhere cheaper and more rural.  The added bonus of Marc’s raise is that now we’re in an even better position to have a good life in the country – with his new, higher income, we would be very comfortable in a rural area.

So, while I’m still definitely knocking on wood on a regular basis, things seem to be going pretty well these days and I just wanted to update all of you on the goings on in my life.

(Source: timetravelingtomboy, via driftingfocus)

Coming to a Close

I have just three teaching days left in my long term assignment, and about two months left in the school year.  It’s a little weird how fast this year went by – it feels like I just hit my substituting swing a few months ago, and now the year is almost over.

This long term assignment has taught me a lot.  For one, I am definitely absolutely sure that I have no desire to make teaching a career.  It’s a good skill to have as someone who likes living abroad, but it is not something I find fulfilling.  I spend most of my work day wanting to bang my head against my desk in frustration with how utterly fucked this generation of students is, and how little they care.

It has also taught me that the frequency of work depletes my “crazy” batteries far more than the type of work.  Every time I’ve had any kind of full time job, it is the full time nature of the job that seems to be problematic rather than the work itself, and this has been yet another experiment that supports that hypothesis.  Such a realization might discourage many people, but I find that it in fact inspires me to find a way to work around this problem and find a lifestyle that fits and is fulfilling.

I’ve saved up enough money to take time off from subbing through the end of September, and I plan on using that time to put some hard, concerted effort into figuring out how the hell to make a career out of my photography.  If I were on the weddings-and-portraits path that many photographers take, this would be much easier for me than it is, but I’m not.  As it is, there really isn’t a roadmap for the type of career I want to make, and even though there are others who have been down the same rocky trail, I am finding it difficult to figure out which path to take (and so far all I’ve gotten is the unhelpful advice of “I don’t know how I got here myself!”).

I plan on finally contacting some publications, trying to make connections with some local photographers, and just generally researching how the hell I get from here (being a professional grade photographer) to where I want to be (being a professional photographer earning something approximating a living).  I have an advantage in that my family is well entrenched in the art community, but most of their connections are in Texas.  I also have an advantage in that Marc’s sister recently started dating a photographer who does work for Rolling Stone and Esquire, and that a friend’s brother is the photo editor for the front section of the Sunday New York Times (and has won two Pulitzers).  I’m in a frustrating place because every pro photographer I meet says my work is phenomenal and that there should be no reason for me to not be successful.  I appreciate the praise, but short of shoring up my self confidence, it does little to help me figure out where I go from here.  That’s where this summer, hopefully, will come in.

In the meantime, I’m steaming ahead on my general theme of self improvement that has been so much of my focus this year.  My garden is about 90% complete, and I’m trying some new things this year.  Almost everything I’m growing is in containers this year, and I’ve got a few new crops I’m trying out this year, including cabbage, collard greens, melons, flax and potatoes.  I’ve also planted more flowers than I did in the past, including some columbines, foxglove, hollyhocks, and mullein.

This Wednesday I start my parkour and crossfit classes again, which I hope, combined with my new exercise habits gained from my Fitbit and my recent dietary changes, will help me to get back into shape.  Speaking of dietary changes, I have reduced the amount of gluten, sugar (both real and artificial), and meat I eat and have increased the amount of vegetables, fish, and fruit in their stead.  All in all, I feel like I’m making quite a few positive changes.

I’ve been riding Nadezda to work lately and am gaining a lot more confidence on the bike.  Steering a sidecar hack is hard work and can be very unnerving if you learned to ride on a regular bike.  I’ve been learning the way I do best – by forcing myself to do the things that make me uncomfortable, such as taking righthand turns and changing lanes.  I’ve discovered some steering techniques that help to minimize lift on the sidecar, and I’m getting used to the fact that my helmet drastically reduces my peripheral vision by moving my head around a lot more.  In May I’ll be taking a sidecar skills class which I hope will make me an even more skillful rider.

On top of all of this, Marc’s job situation has shifted somewhat.  The job out in Winchester had some complications and was essentially cancelled, but through some bold maneuvers, Marc managed to convince his company that he was worth a 50% raise while maintaining his current job.  It’s pretty unheard-of, makes both of us happy, and shows that he is of value to the company (of the 100+ people hired in his batch two years ago, he is one of only three employees left).  We now not only have more wiggle room financially, but are also in a better position to transfer to some other part of the country in the near future.  We’re planning on staying here in Alexandria for another year or so to help solidify his position in the company, but after that, we’re hoping to be able to transfer to somewhere cheaper and more rural.  The added bonus of Marc’s raise is that now we’re in an even better position to have a good life in the country – with his new, higher income, we would be very comfortable in a rural area.

So, while I’m still definitely knocking on wood on a regular basis, things seem to be going pretty well these days and I just wanted to update all of you on the goings on in my life.

(Source: timetravelingtomboy)

I picked up lunch at McDonald’s today (first fast food in 4 months) while driving Nadezda. It worked out pretty well, though it was difficult to hear the order through my helmet and the engine noise, and I think I thoroughly confused the lady at the window.

Still, amusing.