Single Mom Grad Girl

It’s safe to say I love farmer’s markets, everything about them.  I was delighted to find that Raleigh has three markets, one operating year round. I like the sights of all the goods, the smells of the plants and flowers, and of course I like the variety of goods for sale; there’s way more than just fruits and veggies.

At the farmers market you find an amazing array of produce that you don’t see in your average supermarket: red carrots, a rainbow of heirloom tomatoes, purple cauliflower, stinging nettles, green garlic, watermelon radishes, quail eggs, maitake mushrooms, and much, much more. It is a wonderful opportunity to savor the biodiversity of our community.

I also love that markets are so kid friendly. I try to go to the grocery store alone as often as I can, so as to avoid boredom, and items mysteriously appearing in my basket. But the market is different; I never go alone. All three Raleigh farmer’s markets have activities for the kids each opening day, but I find that the open air space, hustle and bustle of shoppers, conversations with farmers, and the abundance of locally sourced items packaged so differently from what kids are used to seeing in the stores, is more than enough to keep them entertained while parents shop. Not to mention, bringing the kids along is a great opportunity to sneak in a little education about nutrition and get them more interested in the food they eat. I firmly believe that if you start healthy you stay healthy.

Below is a short video highlighting the Raleigh State Farmers Market.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq-iFxxty4o

I have been reading this blog for a few years, and despite its best efforts to steer me in the opposite direction, I began graduate studies in August 2012. So far, the writer is up to reason 89, and he makes nothing but good points, though I can’t say my experience has been as trying as he’d have his readers believe. I enjoy reading the blog’s comments as they are often just as insightful and entertaining as the posts.

I’ve not read all the reasons, but #62 on the list, “You have no free time” is really starting to hit home.

…however, whatever time is under your control is time that you could spend working. For some reason, awareness of that fact makes it hard not to feel that you should be working all the time. When doing something other than working, you may experience a feeling uncomfortably akin to guilt. Academic work has a way of burdening your mind on every weekend, every holiday, and every vacation. There is no end to the workday. You are never free.

AS of late, I’ve never been able to relate to anything more than I relate to this statement. As I finish up semester projects, I can’t help but wonder where the semester went. I don’t have much to show for my time, my house is  a mess, I haven’t watched TV in weeks, my friends send texts messages asking where I am and why I’m ignoring them, not to mention I’m still swamped with school work.

The little time I do spend cooking a proper meal, or cheering on my son’s soccer team is riddled with not only guilt, but despair over the fact that the time I don’t spend doing class work or preparing for teaching duties is time that will come back to haunt me at 3am when I’m pulling all nighters.

Nevertheless, despite being exhausted the majority of the semester, I’ve actually been having a blast during the program learning new software apps and writing styles. Having completed a B.A. in English Literature, literally every project I’ve completed this year has been completely new to me. As the semester winds down, I’m looking forward to having free time to begin working on an online portfolio with samples of the work I done my first year as a grad student.

No free time but the first year has been a success!

I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been bowling in my life; I don’t have anything against bowling, it’s just not something that comes up often for us. But, I recently discovered the Kids Bowl Free summer program, and I foresee free bowling for kids being a great weekly summer activity for my son and me.

Parents can register their children at the website below, and weekly coupons will be sent via email. All summer long kids 15 and under get two free games per day. Shoe rental is not included.

https://www.kidsbowlfree.com/center.php?alley_id=5949

This will be our first Spring and Summer in Raleigh and we’re (read: I’m) super excited to have the time and energy to explore my new city. Imagine my excitement when I heard about the Downtown Raleigh Walking Tour. I think the best way to explore any city is on foot, as it allows you to pop in and out of shops, bars, and restaurants with ease.

The self guided tour has 9 stops and takes about an hour to complete. What better way to enjoy Spring in a new city than by exploring on foot. Best of all, this is free fun.

http://walk.dtraleigh.com/

Since I’ve been in my graduate program, I’ve spent a lot of time looking at job ads for potential positions I might apply to in the future. One thing I’ve noticed is that the vast majority of job applications ask for the web address to your blog or other online presence.

Prior to this project, I had absolutely no online presence. I’m excited to be working on this site, not necessarily to put the url on a my resume, as I don’t think the subject matter is at all relevant to any job I’ll be seeking, but I’m excited that I’ve finally commenced the task of learning how to use a CMS to suit my needs. Now that I know how to use WordPress, once this semester is over I’ll get my portfolio site up and running, and who knows, maybe I’ll set up a profile on LinkedIn. It’s definitely time I start branding myself for the future job hunt.