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So, my tutoring orientation went GREAT. The people at the center are really nice, and I start next Tuesday with my student, Margarito from Guatemala.

It's weird to think of how much we take language for granted. During orientation, the education coordinator said that students' success stories usually center around being about defend themselves in the world. As in, a woman who was told she owed a rental fine, and she KNEW she turned her materials in on time, was able to explain herself to the clerk, and avoided spending money (that she probably didn't have!) I'm really excited to approach this volunteer opportunity knowing that. Language is power.

So, to the topic of my post. Eventually, I'd really like to volunteer a little on the shelter side of CAC. Aside from free tutoring, they office a transitional housing shelter for women who need to get back on their feet. I can't stop thinking about these women. They are likely trying to come back to life from a substance abuse problem, emotional issues that are leaving them helpless, or any number of other problems that make me just happy to have my life. I want to DO something comforting for someone else.

For me, that means food.

I really hate all the obsessing we do over body image, weight, and food. Overall health is a GREAT goal, but what good is a perfectly toned body if you have to stress yourself out by denying your natural need for food and fullness?

I LOVED coming home from school to the smells of my mom cooking in the kitchen. I loved wintery weekends with something baking in the oven, and summers with the grill on. Food IS comfort. And I don't mean fast-food-processed crap. I mean real, slow food eaten at a table.

I'd like to try cooking for the CAC once a month. We'll see if I actually get up the courage to ask, but anymore, I turn to my kitchen for solace, and I want to share that with some women who would either like to join me in chopping/mixing..... or just think about their day with something good-smelling wafting over them.

Just my thoughts for the day :)

Here I go

So....... here I am!

I've been considering a blog for awhile now. I used to write all the time -- I had a blog through college, I wrote for my job, and (I know how THIS sounds) I wrote for fun. I still write, that is, if you count a flurry of e-mails coming out of my Outlook account at work.

This is for me mostly. I recently married a WONDERFUL man who returned in November from a year in Iraq with the Iowa National Guard. The words of bloggers out there who also had loved ones overseas comforted me while he was away. Now that the craziness of the wedding is over and we are settling into the rhythm of married life, I'm getting restless with my mid-20s self. I want to turn to the blogosphere and write it out! Call it what you will, but I'm, hoping as I journey through this next phase of my life, a few of you can laugh and grumble along with me :)

Here are the stats: I have a great job at a company that I would have never pictured myself working for. I live close to my loving family, and husband and I have made a comfortable home in an apartment near a park along a river. No imminent plans for kids -- in fact, we have a cuddly furchild (cat) who I've locked away for the moment so I could be alone with this keyboard, hahaha.

Lately, I've been focusing on the living situation. I happen to NOT love my city. It's small, family-focused, and I feel out of place in it. It also happens to be affordable and near our important people, so I'm trying to redirect my restlessness elsewhere....

I've signed up to be a volunteer at a local community shelter. They needed people to help adults with basic education classes (many are also learning English). Now, I was an average student, but the lady on the phone assured me that I could help someone else learn what they needed to. Alright! I really hope this opportunity will help me explore and dig a hole in this town. Get new experiences, meet new people. Orientation's on Thursday, and I'm already nervous! I need to get out of my routine more often.... hopefully, the more I shock my system, the less anxious I'll be about EVERYTHING.

(Seriously, I can't even seem to change my life routine to go to the gym in the morning..... my heart races at the thought of getting up before the sun comes out to exercise, and then showering and getting ready in a place that reminds me of a high school locker room, aaaannnddd possibly forgetting stuff like towels. I digress....)

So, after 4 years out of college not really doing much outside of work, I've got something new on my plate. We'll see how it goes.

That's probably enough for a maiden entry! Time for me to officially "follow" all the blogs I've been reading :)