Book Review: "You Are a Badass" by Jen Sincero

Pretty recently, I have begun dabbling in the self help section of the book world. I have always silently (and sometimes not so silently) mocked the genre, but recently my thoughts have changed. I have watched YouTube videos that are essentially oral versions of a self help book in the form of TED Talks, or just videos of people I watch regularly. There were many book recommendations involved, and to be honest, I pretty much ignored them. It wasn't until friends began recommending certain titles I had heard of before that I paid any attention. After all, these women are educated, bright, socially well adjusted, and are not the "vision" of a self help book reader I had previously concocted in my mind.

The book You Are a Badass was not recommended to me by a human, but Amazon recommendations after I added a related book to my cart and to be honest, I liked the title. It was a worthwhile read, but overall, not life changing.

The Good: I really love the way Sincero speaks. I enjoy the casual conversation-like vibe, the swearing, and how realistic some of her examples really were. The kind of inner thoughts that NO ONE ever says out loud, and so you convince yourself you are the only one who has them. In that way, the book is very relateable. I believe the strategies around setting intentions are good, and setting appropriate goals, refusing to make excuses, are excellent.

 I may be guilty of secretly assuming my perfect man was a casualty of the good guy genocide. This page hit me home the strongest of any of the other pages!

I have not yet actually tried this strategy, but I plan to. Targeting the problem is one of the more difficult challenges in trying to change one's own thinking, in my opinion.

The Bad: This will not be bad for many, if not most, people, but there is a slight tone of religiousness that I personally very much dislike. Sincero makes it clear that when she refers to connecting to the "Universe" (for her, this would be God), it could be any sense of higher power one has. I think that is awesome, inclusive, and really great...if you have a belief in a higher power. I am agnostic but live in a rather atheistic way, and I do not personally connect at all with this idea. Unfortunately, a huge amount of the strategies in the book relying connecting to this "Source Energy" and relying on it's vibrations to give you answers. I am a more introspective person, and do not believe in vibrations. I personally would like strategies that I can implement that do not rely on religion or magic.

Sorry, not buying what is being sold here. Money isn't manifested, it is a product of working hard. If visualizing it is what a person needs to do in order to work hard, then this is great advice. However, to me it merely gives a chuckle.

In the end, it is all up to the Universe (code: God). Just manifest it with your thoughts (code: pray) and have faith. I don't need to elaborate on the issues a non religious person would have with this.

In all, this is a great book for a spiritual person. An atheist, or agnostic who is not searching for a deity in any way, might find this to be lacking. I would recommend it highly to a spiritual person actually, who is in need of some confidence boosting. So much so, I plan to pass this along to one of my closest friends, who is religious, and I hope will get a lot out of it. For me, it is a pass.

I am starting Daring Greatly soon, upon recommendation of an actual human I am friends with and who knows me. I am hoping that one will be more up my alley!

Been Awhile!

Well, it has been quite a long time since my last post. As it tends to be with teaching, and moving, things were quite the whirlwind. Combined with my first teaching year being (predictably) overwhelming, things like this blog got away from me.

I am hoping to restart posting here regularly, but first I should do some catch up first.

Location: I am still living in Virginia. It took me over a year to furnish this apartment so it looked like a real (semi) adult lived here, but I finally did it! I enjoy this area, and could see myself staying long term. I live with a girl I lived with in college, and having her as a roommate has been awesome.

Work: I have loved being a third grade teacher the last two years. Third grade is really in my wheelhouse as a great age group, and I have worked with some amazing people. There have been some issues with some coworkers and certain students, but such is life. I am excited to start a new year with a fresh batch of kids this fall.

Dating: I have been casually dating a man here for about a year, it is not destined to go anywhere, as he is a certifiable train wreck. But we have fun, he is a lovely person, and he provides companionship as I periodically attempt dating elsewhere. So far, my attempts have been unsuccessful, but school tends to be all consuming. I make stronger attempts during summers.

Tea: The tea hoard is actually getting under control. School has prevented me from being as active on Steepster as I would like, but school also prevents me from justifying new tea purchases. I have slowly but surely been working on it. New count to come soon, as well as pictures of my awesome tea/coffee setup!

Cooking: I have really gotten my shit together on the cooking front. I am no master chef, but I have mastered quite a few super awesome dishes that I can't wait to post. They are seriously amazing. I've been making a variety of deliciousness, enough that aforementioned man I date has no idea I am not a natural born amazing cook! I am still striving to improve, as I still stick to mostly simple things. No shame in my game, but I don't like the idea of being intimidated by anything, let alone a recipe.

Weight Loss: On January 1 of this year, I rejoined Weight Watchers. Things were kind of stressful at school, I was tired of how I looked and felt, and decided to just get serious and take the plunge. I have lost about 35 pounds since then, and am feeling great! Things have not always gone super smoothly, but I have stuck with it, and have every intention of continuing. My goal for this calendar year is to have lost 65 pounds total, which I feel is doable. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen, but I am a big believer in challenging but achievable and realistic goal setting.

Exercise: I have always loved walking, but beginning Weight Watchers spurred me to kick up my exercise into high gear. I bought an inexpensive stationary bike, and went from walking three miles a couple of times per week to walking 5-7 miles five or six times per week. With the summer heat, I have not been exercising nearly as much, but I know come fall I will be walking like it is going out of style again. Walking alone or with my roommate is truly therapeutic for me, and I know I can't stay away for too long!

Well, that is the update. In many ways, things are exactly the same. In so many more, things are very different. My confidence is higher, I am healthier, and more adventurous. I am hitting financial goals, dabbling in the world of podcasts, meditation, reading for pleasure consistently for the first time in too long, and I've decided to start brewing my own kombucha. It is summer, why not?

I have made a particular effort to focus on myself these last six months after spending a year and a half totally immersed in my work, and I am looking forward to continuing to do so even more intentionally!

Revamp Winning

I haven't posted in a super long time because things have been an absolute whirlwind. I won't go too much into it because I am so super busy, but in the past month - actually 3 weeks - I got a job, moved to Virginia, began said job, and my third graders to arrive Monday for school to begin.

I am exhausted, super stressed, my apartment is in shambles as I have yet to unpack, I moved in a week and a half ago, but overall I am very very glad. I don't adjust super easily to change so I am proud at keeping up so far, even though I know it will be another month until I feel like this is really home and get into a real routine at school. I am so fortunate though - most of the team in third grade is new this year, and we seem to be meshing well. I feel comfortable with my mentor teacher who isn't in my grade, and overall feel good about asking for help when I need it, which is frequently.

I am not totally panicked for Monday which is a bit of a shock, but I t4hink those few months of subbing really helped prepare me to go with the flow. I don't know the school super well, but the kids will know where to go for most things. I have to walk them through a lunch line and eat with them for the first week, which is new to me. Dismissal and attendance and such are also some adjustment stressors I know I will get used to within the first week. All were my main concerns entering a new classroom to sub each day. I am confident in my ability to teach and manage my kids, particularly getting to know them over time, but the little things trip me up once in awhile.

Progress

After a couple months of plateau, there has finally been some progress on the job front. I have been applying to any position I am qualified to apply to (and a few I am not) in PA, DC, DE, NH, VT, VA, and MD, as well as a few other outlying places as well, that show up on the job sites I have my information on. I have an interview with a school in Virginia for a second grade position, of which there are 2. There are two days of interviews, which makes me believe I am one of 15 at the most (as they are scheduling them in hour increments), so on first look, I do have a fighting chance. The school looks beautiful, the location looks beautiful, and second grade is a great grade for me. It is about an hour and a half from DC, so closer to where a lot of my friends live and about equidistant from my family as where I live now, which I think works well.

I am freaking out. It will be a 5 hour drive down, and a 5 hour drive home, and thanks to pet sitting and subbing I will need to do both drives in one day. I am hoping the drive down will help to subdue and calm me, and the drive home will hopefully feel triumphant. And if it doesn't, as this is my first interview for a classroom job, it will hopefully also help me feel calm. It has been 8 years since I have interviewed for a job that I had no paid experience doing, and the first interview I am sure I will be the most nervous for the first interview.

In less critical news, my tea stash that was once filling a cabinet, half of my dining room table, and a 4 by 2 foot space on the floor has been reduced to the cabinet and the table only. Sounds silly, but it is the first tangible evidence of me consuming more than I acquire that I've had in awhile, and all of my tea that has over an ounce now lives in a tin in its appropriate spot in the cabinet. Particularly if I end up moving home without a job, how much tea I have will matter a lot, as my organization options will be exceedingly limited. If I am in my own place at a new job, I will just have a new cabinet to organize. Maybe the solution is dedicating a larger cabinet/shelf...

Anyone else nap when they get nervous? I suddenly feel like I know absolutely nothing about teaching at all. Dating is so much easier for me, so much less riding on it. I just need to remind myself that this interview is not that different from a first date - if it doesn't work, I have a plan that is still in place that isn't terrible. It will be great practice, the principal sounded friendly on the phone, and even if I struggle with something unexpected, I will be even more prepared for the next time.

Taco Spice and Hot Weather

I feel like I am in a kind of calm before the storm phase right now. My life is basically just me applying to jobs like a fiend, wrangling and herding truly insane children subbing, wondering where I will be going and what I will be doing in three months. Probably herding more insane children in a different location, at this rate. Kids are terrible these days - I don't remember feeling unsafe as a second grader, but I would have been absolutely terrified if I were in class with some of these children. In the meantime, it has suddely gotten hot as Hades out. Bye Spring, it was nice knowing you for all of five minutes. So I have been going back to more lazy dishes that don't involve the oven, or much effort at all. I have been terrible about going on walks, or cleaning, or anything that involves moving from in front of my fan that doesn't pay me money.

This "recipe" is kind of a cop out, as I know how to make tacos. They are glorious. But I always find myself needing to go to the store for those spice packets. So I decided to give the recipe from Laura in the Kitchen a go. It took spices I already had, and while those spice packets say they only cost a dollar, this ends up being a fraction of that for several meals' worth.

This was a little over one serving when I made it according to the recipe. It worked out though because after using it, I made two more batches to add to it (which I assume will add up to close to 3 meals' worth) and keep sitting around to encourage even further laziness.

After adding the tomato sauce and water, the only drawback was that this takes a solid ten minutes or so of simmering when the packets seem to take less. Logic tells me if I added a bit less water, I could cut this by a couple minutes without sacrificing anything.

It thickened nicely, and I used the leftover meat for nachos the next day. I like my tacos and my nachos with cheese, sour cream, and taco sauce (or hot sauce). Sour cream on the bottom to act like glue to help hold the meat in place, reducing the wreckage from inevitable taco collapses after the first bite. No space for any stinkin veggies for me. Guac is good too.

Highly recommend.

Long time...Recipe: Light Fettuccini Alfredo

Blogging fail. Since my computer being broken I have been hyper focused on getting my applications re-rolling (as I am discovering there truly is a never ending list of places to apply, given the application takes an hour on average) and getting my computer back to where it was before in terms of preferences and bookmarks and such. Also, subbing is of course a never ending adventure where at the end of most days I shake my head and realize exactly why so few certified teachers without contract jobs are subbing. It is rough work, so far almost as rough as actual teaching, because the pros and cons are so different. I have been exhausted, and taking a day here and there for more stomach trouble which I turn into an application day.

But, I am making good progress and have relooked at DOZENS of recipes I went back to hunt for to restore my to-make list from before. Last night I made this slightly unconventional Light Fettuccini Alfredo recipe from Laura In the Kitchen. She is one of my favorite YouTubers for food, beauty, and to watch vlogs for, which is rare. Don't let the amateurish website with terribly placed ads fool you, she is very good and also has a Food Network show I have yet to see, and a cookbook coming out this fall that I have already pre-ordered. I always find it strange when established brands have websites that look cheap or thrown together, given how easy it can be to find someone to design a site that is attractive, professional, and functional. That being said, I care about her food, not the site, and things are pretty easy to find on there. I tend to only go to the site to search a specific recipe for measurements, I subscribe to her YouTube channel and watch those for my primary instructions. I like that her videos are so easy to follow, as it REALLY helps me to be able to see step by step what things are supposed to look like.

I found this recipe to be easy to follow, very tasty, and pretty darn similar to an alfredo, despite the fact that it isn't made with heavy cream. It also only took me fifteen minutes to make, which is downright miraculous. After a day of teaching, I need things that can be made in a jiffy. It wasn't as creamy when I reheated leftovers, as the pasta absorbed the sauce a lot, but it tasted the same.

Ground chicken was a bit of an odd texture, given that traditionally cut up chicken breast is used, but the flavor was the same, and it did bulk up the dish a lot more. I was concerned I had not added enough flour, but it all worked out in the end.

I have been trying to use up my chicken bouillon cubes, so I used that to make the chicken stock, so I didn't season the chicken with salt when I browned it, and it worked out great.

I was concerned it wouldn't thicken up enough, so I let mine simmer a few minutes longer. My concerns were unfounded, as I underestimated the thickness of the cream cheese. Still had the same great taste, was a bit less saucy because the thicker sauce stuck to the noodles tighter.

I actually used Trader Joe's Garlic Basil Linguine because silly me forgot to buy fettuccini when I went to the store to get cream cheese and parmesan. Good parmesan really does taste better.

Added in the parsley, and that was all it took.

Seriously, fifteen minutes or less to make. Plenty of leftovers, so I would consider making half batches to keep things more reasonable for just me and remaking more fresh the next day so I could keep it saucy, but it was tasty reheated as well.

I am a hair behind schedule with all the sickness and stuff with my goal of cooking 50 new dishes this year, but that's ok. I am not on a schedule. 11 down, 39 more to go, and hopefully two more this week.

Recipe: Spiced Rice

Stomach bug again today. I really don't know why it is that I have been sick more in the past 6 months with colds and allergies and stomach issues than I have my whole life combined. I am hoping (sort of) that it is just stress. But I've been more on top of cooking again, which is good. This recipe was inspired by a recipe I saw on Budget Bytes, for Yellow Jasmine Rice. Except I don't like cinnamon in savory dishes and I didn't have bay leaves and I decided to go bonkers with the other spices. It still tastes fantastic. I had learned the gloriousness of using broth to make rice to give it amazing flavor, I am not sure why I never thought to cook it in spices before.

First, I melted a couple tablespoons of butter.

Then, I added the spices. I added turmeric, cumin, paprika, garlic, a little curry powder, and black pepper. I let them toast up a little and the house smells AMAZING at this point.

Then, I added in the dry rice. I have never made rice this way, but cooking it in the oil dry toasts it up and definitely changes the flavor some. 

I added the water in after a few minutes, adding a bouillon cube as well to create a broth. I normally would use cans or something of higher quality except I have so damn many of those cubes. It still tastes great at the end, and needs no salting at any other point.

The finished product.

I think I might never make rice the regular old way again. This is good as a side dish, it would be amazing as a base for any Indian inspired dishes (or any sauce recipe that normally goes over rice), and it would be very easy to mix in veggies and meat to make it a more complete meal. The best part is that there are infinite ways to tweak this to suit any taste or any meal.

I know my rice game has totally changed.