Small Strokes Big Oaks

Today is a busy day!  I’ve been searching for some freelance writing jobs to keep me occupied for the rest of the summer and put some extra cash in our vacation fund, and it seems like a few of them are starting to pan out, which is awesome.  So I had to get started on some articles for those jobs, and I also still have yet to work out, get my nails done, drop the dog off at my mom’s, and get ready for this weekend!  I’ll be in the Quad Cities all weekend celebrating my good friend, Emily’s wedding (and I’m reading in it!!! I’m kind of nervous!!!)!  I’m totally stoked that my friend has found such a wonderful guy to share her life with, and I’m even more stoked that I get to be there to help them kick off their lives together!  And I’m also stoked that she asked me to make her an Irish Cream Pie (like a normal cream pie, but with Bailey’s in it… YUM!) for a dessert for the rehearsal dinner, so I have to make that tonight and figure out how to transport it as well.  Lots of stuff yet to do!

So, today through Sunday, you won’t be seeing normal posts from me.  Instead, you’ll be seeing some Link Love!  Today, I’m going to be introducing you to a few blogs I just found.  Tomorrow, I’ll be posting links about feminism. Saturday is all about education, and Sunday, to celebrate weddings, is all about marriage.  Feel free to post your own stuff that you’ve written about these topics in the comments!  I’m always looking for new stuff to read!

Without further ado, allow me to introduce you to some new blogs I’ve found recently.  Most of these blogs are not really new, but they’re new to me, and since none of you actually introduced me to them, I’m assuming they’re new to you, too.  Check them out!  Also, if you have a blog you don’t think I’ve seen yet, put the link in the comments!  I’d love to check it out and maybe throw you some Link Love later down the line!

The Apple A Day Project

I’m teacher, writer, feminist, yogi, vintage fashion lover and wanna be runner. Lately the vitriolic discourse around the crisis in American public schools and teacher’s unions have turned me into an activist. And I’m attempting to write about it all here. Ambitious? I wasn’t doing much with my free time anyway. This blog attempts to examine and dismantle some of the most common myths and stereotypes about teachers, teacher’s unions, our students and American Public schools in general. Here you’ll find musings about how my everyday life effects my teaching, ideas and opinions about school reform and plenty of humor. My aim is to reach out to not only to teachers, but all those who consider themselves, “students of life”, I’d love to hear your points of view too. This is a safe space for constructive, inclusive dialogue.

Bending Towards the Sun

My name is Emily Heroy, and I created Bending Toward the Sun to share with you my thoughts on international gender issues, the U.S. education system, books (fiction, nonfiction, Women’s Studies), food, and culture.

If some of you are here via my old book blog, Eat the Books!, welcome! Glad to have you here.

The title of this blog comes from the song “All Flowers in Time Bend Towards the Sun” by Jeff Buckley.

DIY or Buy

It turns out I’m a bit of a hippie. It didn’t realize it for a long, long time. Growing up, when my parents asked me to take kitchen scraps out to the compost bin, I got annoyed. When they ignored the dryer in favor of hanging clothes to dry, and my jeans came out of the laundry room clean and crispy, I groaned. All my friends got the blue-box mac ‘n’ cheese, when we had a homemade version. And when I was asked to haul lumber and stabilize posts for the new deck, I didn’t understand why they didn’t just pay someone else to do it.

But now, as a semi-adult, I can see where they were coming from. Boxed foods are often (but by no means always) filled with chemicals, additives and fillers. Compost is expensive, especially when you don’t actually have to do anything to make it. And good contractors are worth their weight in gold, but it’s so much cheaper to just DIY. (I maintain my distaste for crispy jeans.)

And after spending 10 minutes staring at cereals in the grocery store on afternoon, I realized: My decisions are pretty random, or based on the way I’ve always done things. But half the things I buy, I could probably make myself. I should actually try it, and analyze and compare, and see what’s better.

The result? DIY or Buy.

What Mighty Contests – This is the blog of my buddy from grad school, Lori.  Check out the About Me section here.  It’s worth it.  This blog is HILARIOUS.

Becoming Graceful – This is the brand new blog of one of my friends and research buddies from undergrad, Becky.  She is an EXCELLENT writer, and courageous for sharing about her family!

F*** Yeah English Major Armadillo – Enough said.

Happy reading!