Updates

Hello, dear readers,

I apologize for the two-month, impromptu hiatus. My life has been shifting in a big way lately, and as regular blogging had not yet become ingrained in my routine when these changes came along, it was the first thing I put on the back burner. So let me share with you the biggest of these developments. And then, I promise, I'll get back to the happy business of maintaining this site!

Here's my news (drumroll, please): After this school year ends, I will be leaving the teaching profession. I'll have to write a follow-up post about the many factors that went into this decision someday, after I've had time to process through it all. I'm sad, of course, to be leaving the classroom, and I'll miss my students and colleagues terribly. But this is, on the whole, a happy development, and the main impetus behind my decision is that I've caught the writing bug. I've caught it bad. And I want to make a career out of it!

Time will tell what this will actually look like for me, but I'm excited to see what the future holds. The tricky part is that I am doing this soul-searching (and job searching!) while finishing out the school year. As any high school teacher can tell you, April and May are two very busy months for us. It is difficult to take all the necessary steps to start a new career while making sure that I'm not cheating my students out of a strong end to the school year. As a result, it will be a few weeks yet before I can put my full energy into writing. I can't tell you how excited I am, though. Expect further updates as time goes on!

My craft projects have also fallen victim to the busyness of the end of the school year, but I have a few updates in that department as well. The blanket I showed you in my last post is finished, and a beautiful baby girl has already puked on it, so I know it's well-loved. Here's a picture of the final product, along with its owner, sweet little baby M.

Isn't she just too beautiful for words? Watch out, Gerber baby! You've got competition!

I decided to go with a simple scalloped edge. The moss stitch was pretty enough that I didn't feel the need to add any embellishment.

And alas, I don't have the Misfit Flash ribbon wristband project to share with you. This is partly because I've been so busy, and partly because before I found the time to make it, my Misfit met with a mysterious misfortune. I was rocking it in my pendant necklace holder while attending my college's Alumni Weekend a couple weeks ago, and somehow, during the course of the day, my Misfit went kaput. I'm corresponding with company support to diagnose the problem. Up until its untimely demise, though, it was working great and I really enjoyed using it. I may or may not end up writing that review post I talked about before. It depends on whether I'm able to have my device replaced.

That's all I have for you today, friends. Have a lovely Monday!

I'm Back!

Greetings, web dwellers!

It’s been quite some time since I posted in this blog, and I’ll be straight with you: that’s because it started as a project for a college publishing class, and I am human, ergo I dropped it the less than two months after the class ended. I’ve since become a high school English teacher, and while my students write something every day in my class, I spend my days writing nothing more substantial than email. And every time I assign an essay, every time I ask my students to put their creative hats on and craft a story, poem, or persuasive article, I miss doing those same things myself.

I’ve decided it’s time to start writing again. Even if I’m inconsistent with my blogging, and even if nary a soul reads it, I know it will soothe my stagnated, shriveled writer’s soul. And besides, I’ve always regretted letting such a sweet blog title go to waste.

So here we are. I don’t know what I will write about from week to week, but hopefully over time something will begin to solidify. I still love tea, but I don’t think I can sustain a regular blog that focuses exclusively on that blessed beverage. I’ve mostly become set in my ways on that front, mostly drinking Twining’s and Bigelow and whatever’s on sale at the grocery store. Also, I long ago abandoned my Google Alerts for “tea” because I was inundated with articles about the Tea Party. And while I have plenty to say on that subject, I’m going to try to keep things positive here.

So, dear reader, in true English teacher form, I believe it’s time for a brainstorming session. Here are some ideas I’ve come up with for blog posts. In the future, if I can force myself to stick with this, you can expect to see posts about…

• Tea - I know, I know, I’ve already talked about this. But it’s best to start from familiar ground, no?

• Teaching - This is my third year of teaching and I work in a low-income district. I have SO MUCH still to learn, but I'd like to share my experiences!

• Travel - I don’t do a lot of it, but I do have a family trip to Paris coming up in June, so there’s that! I speak French and I love French culture, so that will show up from time to time on here as well. 

• Crafts - crochet, embroidery, sewing, and general crafts of the Pinterest variety. 

• Wellness and Fitness - I am currently in the worst physical shape of my life, and I’m working towards exercising out of self-love. I’m dipping my toe into cycling and yoga, and I’m also trying out mindfulness meditation to combat anxiety.

• Book Reviews – That English teacher life.

• Food – I like it a lot. I’ll probably share recipes.

• Feminism – Prepare yourself for some rants.

• Faith – I've always been a Christian, but I have some complicated feelings on the subject. Let's see where that goes.

I guess that’s a long enough list. I’m sure other things will come up as well. Cats, for instance. Yep, get ready for some posts about cats. But for now, I think it's time wrap this up. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope you come back to read more!

Anna