i like to dress business professional

gotta love a job where you can wear this to work. it was dress as your favorite food day. anyone know what i am? (hint: a one word answer will not fully capture my costume)

lots and lots of sun

usually when i draw the sun i draw it like this:

it just looks so friendly! but today with the temperature breaking 100 and with the heat index being about one-hundred-and-ridiculous, i felt like i understood the true nature of the sun, and imagined it like this:

and for the 7 minutes or so that i was outside tie-dying bandannas with my campers i felt like this:that's right, i'm comparing my experience to melted rock. oh sun how i love you, but i forget how powerful you can be!

gorge-ous

my mom has been in California for the past 6 weeks visiting her mom, and so when she returned on Thursday we decided to have some good family time this weekend. on Saturday we took a trip over to Lexington, VA to soak in some sun and get some history while we were at it. First we took a drive along the Maury River, stopping at Goshen Pass for a view of the gorge- it was beautiful!
after taking in the view we drove a little farther and found a nice spot to just relax by the river. we set up chairs, laid on the rocks, and stuck our feet in the watersome parts of the river were very shallow (like pictured above) and others had deep pools where you could stand probably up to your shoulders. next time we'll have to wear bathing suits and bring river shoes! as the evening approached we drove back to lexington to see "Stonewall Country" which was a play/musical event talking about the life of Stonewall Jackson. it was a bit hard to follow at times, but overall very entertaining and a lot of fun! (not to mention a great overall "country" experience) it took place in an outdoor amphitheater which was pretty cool
it was great to take advantage of the cooler temperatures and beautiful weather!

Drive-In Movie Night!

last night i went to my first ever drive in movie! there's a drive-in theatre about 45 minutes from charlottesville in Fork Union. we had snacks and played Cornhole before hand, and then it was time to set up our lawn chairs and blankets for a double feature- Where the Wild Things Are and The Karate Kid with Jackie Chan and Will Smith's son! I had seen Where the Wild Things Are before and didn't love it the first time (sort of bizarre and very different than what I expected), but this time I was able to get past that and look for the meaning behind the movie, and I appreciated it a lot more! I thought the Karate Kid was a new one, but turns out it's pretty much a straight remake of the old one, with a few minor changes. Still good though. It was really fun and now I'm a big fan of drive-in movies!

a crazy storm hits charlottesville!

i was getting ready to leave work on Thursday when suddenly the most intense storm i've ever seen hit Charlottesville. with high winds and pounding rain it knocked trees and powerlines down all over the city, but it only lasted about 10 minutes! when i left my work building i came to find that a powerline had dropped across the road out of the parking lot, trapping myself and several coworkers at work. after about an hour or so someone attempted to get out by driving up some steep hills and across a field- and made it! thankfully i have 4-wheel drive as well and made it out soon after, which is good because the powerline was still there the next day! (although cars were driving over it the next day)

upon leaving work i encountered at least 4 roads blocked by trees and powerlines in a couple block radius and it took me about another hour to get home (i live about 3 miles away from work). i sorta felt like i was navigating a packman maze. we were fortunate to not lose power at my house, but many parts of charlottesville are still out of power today and roads are still blocked! apparently it was a microburst that hit the city. thankfully i haven't heard of any injuries, which is amazing because many cars and houses were crushed by trees!

camp was also canceled on Friday due to blocked roads and power, which enabled me to watch some World Cup and get some nice relaxation in.

i didn't get a lot of great pictures at the time, but here are a few from the next morning:

the entrance to my work- the string across the ground beyond the cones is a power line
the house right next to that- a sea of powerlines draping a car and yard
next street over- a homemade sign warning of power lines

delicious summer salsa

it's time to share with you all one of the best "salsa" recipes i have ever come across. i put salsa in quotations marks because it's not really a salsa but more of a fresh summary mix, but it goes on chips and therefore is in the salsa category.

i got this recipe from my roommate karen and her mom, and made it for the wedding shower that took place here a few weeks ago. many folks asked for the recipe and i just forgot to send it out, so here it is:

1 can yellow corn

1 can white corn

1 can petit diced tomatoes

1 green pepper
1 red pepper

1 can black beans

1/2 cup italian dressing

1/2 cup cilantro

1 cucumber

3 oz can green chiles

just chop everything up and throw throw it all together! drain and rinse the canned items (besides the tomatoes and green chiles) before adding. that's all! very simple and very delicious!
we made this batch last night for a viewing of Pride and Prejudice Part 1 (the old version- i've never seen it before but am quite enthralled so far!) and it was great! usually the batch isn't quite this liquidy at first but will settle and be more liquidy after a day or two. it makes a ton so make sure you have friends around to eat it!

enjoy!

a year ends

tomorrow i complete my first year working in education. although at times it has been trying, overall it has been incredibly rewarding and i feel so blessed to do what i do. i have at times been affirmed in my ability to do my job, and at other times humbled at my inadequacies. i have been blessed to see many students make incredible progress, and had my heart broken at the situations of others. i am so thankful to work with the staff that i do, and love the kids i get to work with.

it's comforting and exciting to know that i'll be continuing in the same job come fall. this is the first time i've had multi-year consistency with work and it feels good. i've also decided to start down the path to get my license/masters in special ed, and will possibly be starting evening classes in the fall (i'm applying to a grad program now).

anyways, those are just some more reflective life updates, but i felt that they were due. monday i begin my summer job full time (i'll be leading a camp in town for kids with disabilities) and that will bring with it its own set of challenges and encouragements i'm sure.

in the meantime i will enjoy my last day of school tomorrow and get ready for the summer!