#AllergicToEverything®

Because you won’t be there forever. Because of Christmas trees with meticulously crafted dollhouses under them. And how the wedding party fell into the basement. And Iris’ growing around the corner. Where I painted my first paintings. And then you framed them. Where you put me to sleep in a drawer as a baby. Where I learned to love the snow channel and the golden girls. Because this is where I started. Where I came from. Who I am. So grateful, I only remember the good @meganw57. #allmylove as Grandma Donna coined it. Thank you for walking with me tonight long enough to remember what mattered and for being willing to really listen @_live4thefunk, I love you big bug. (at Arlington, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZoJugTOng6BVuJPC4Etznq573VCdlkgNNlyfA0/?utm_medium=tumblr

I’ve always taken the fork in the road, sometimes that made the easier things harder to earn, sometimes it made them that much more rewarding to earn. Graduated with an undergrad in Art Education with a minor in Photography in 2008 from VCU but never did student teaching. Got a corporate job that drained my soul and left it to get my master’s in the Business of Art and Design in 2012 from MICA. Took an AmeriCorps job in Oakland in 2014 to put creativity back into the classroom. California said I’d need to go back to school to get licensed so I came home to VA. After one long year of job hunting and two long years of paperwork, here she is. Dual certified in Business and Information Technology and Visual Arts PreK-12. Only took 13 years but sometimes the long way around is the only way to go. We all have a path, no matter how clear it is to those around us. #followtheyellowbrickroad and trust that life will take you to places you could never have dreamt of on your own. (at Alexandria, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRhctgdhSlc/?utm_medium=tumblr

Piece of mind comes piece by piece. 🪞🧘🏼‍♀️🪄#mirrorsofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CRagokghuKC/?utm_medium=tumblr

Tongue piercing, circa 1999. Springfield mall? @judyande @sibsibrina @davislp1828 🤍📸 gold. #contactsheets https://www.instagram.com/p/CM5okuOBZxD/?igshid=bzudqma80y6a

Scribbled around the edges and embedded in the painting: I am free of the constructs of time. Punky plum. Sometimes families are messy. 2.02.21 to 2.22.21ish. 4 images, projected and sharpie-nail polish-paint-paper-collaged and mod podged together; the first a meditation selfie with my fresh #punkyplum hair and my yoga block; the second me in a polka dot tutu spinning in a circle age 5 or so?; the third a netted fabric swatch; and the last a pyramid sort of gift I recently acquired at sunset. I never know until I’m done. What is it about? Perhaps it means that to remain centered and focused inward brings with it great rewards, good kinds of changes, good kinds of company, sweet spring breezes. The net is dark and risky, can be used to catch or can get caught, it can be a tool and an obstacle. And something about the confidence of my inner child, she’s nurtured both then and now. And about being ready and letting the light shine in. 💡 #namaste #portraitpainting #modpodgepainting #modpodge #collageart #yogablocks #pyramids #thirdeye #balance #meditation #wipart #innerchild #arttherapy #shadowself #comeonin #projectorart #womenpainters #letthelightin (at Alexandria, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLp2kD4h4ln/?igshid=15wmlxica38rk

Bomb salsa from Harris Teeter. Oven nachos for dinner with @sietefoods lime #grainfree tortilla chips, cheese, sautéed onion, crock pot black beans. A side of hot salsa, a little dollop of diy sour cream. A cold night. A couch. A pup and trash TV. #allergictoeverything #greenmountaingringo (at Alexandria, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLdCItXhlZv/?igshid=mpjrjvl7vxrk

Home fried chicken and gluten free waffles. All weekend long. Sometime the first time is so good, you just have to do it again even if it means scraping the car to get the supplies. #allergictoeverything • • • • • #glutenfreewaffles #glutenfreewaffle #brunchtime #friedchickenandwaffles #spicyfriedchicken (at Alexandria, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLUvv2rBnke/?igshid=y9ck92s8auli

Always a work in progress. • • • • • #potrait #modpodge #portaitpainting #decoupageart #collageart #tutuskirt (at Alexandria, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLUu7YzB2MQ/?igshid=1os7cgqp5n3ye

Vitality is. February’s #writingwithrupi 🧿 https://www.instagram.com/p/CKxD7I3B5jh/?igshid=res1fuqlt012

Lose plan but ready. Teaching Advanced Computer Information Systems for the first time starting tomorrow, remembering that on the other side of this is summer break, which cannot come soon enough. #virtualteaching https://www.instagram.com/p/CKwtB_HB62L/?igshid=bxj9a6wsqz6h

Dose one down. One to go. Moderna for me. I was glad that’s what I got. Last I researched *this morning before leaving obviously* because my anxiety runs high: 2.1 people out of a million react with anaphylaxis to Moderna; Pfizer is around 6 per million. Pretty good odds. I brought my epi pens. They monitored me carefully because of my history. I was scared. Truly. But relived it is over and grateful I can share a story of a woman who is #allergictoeverything and 1/2 vaccinated as of today with my fellow allergics and the people who love them. Be brave. You’ve got this. 🖤 #covidvaccinated✔️ (at Alexandria, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKh2H9tB-Oc/?igshid=fbndly3tk790

Writing seminar workshop notes: Everyday is a new beginning. We don’t have to be machines. Just be. Be still. Get close to yourself. //Thank you for giving me an incredible lesson plan for tomorrow @rupikaur_ , from one teacher to another- this is exactly what I needed. Thank you for holding such a powerful, insightful space today. Thank you for offering yourself to the world for free. Virtual teaching is crazy, you nailed it. And thank you for reminding me of what it feels like to be a virtual student. Most of all thank you for leaving me with something to look forward to. //For those of you who missed it *i tried* to remember the prompts the best I could. Doing this w. My high schoolers tomorrow. Brilliant exercise. #rupikaur #spiritualresilience #freewrite (at Alexandria, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJooRnzhtAI/?igshid=11trp5jxs7hwh

Nine of cups, happiness. Be present in this moment. It’s a gift to have lived through this. I struggled in my classroom this week, facing my kids with all this anxiety. I made them turn on their cameras, face to face with me, and I told them the truth. I wasn’t prepared. I didn’t have a plan. I’m human. I’m like them. Stressed. Afraid. Present. Here for myself and here for them. Self care has had the most profound impact on my life. It’s taken me so long to learn. It’s become the most important thing I teach. It occurred to me watching the split in our country, some of their parents might not vote like me. And for them I kept my politics out of the classroom while we waited out the results. But the personal is political. And little do they know just how much they are my personal. My politics are for them. I started a new club this year, Women of the Future. What a year to have begun. What a teachable moment this is. (at Alexandria, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHTPUKaBieQ/?igshid=1o8qngvt2f0yd

All the news you’ll ever need.* *It’s your time, girls. Hard work pays off. The world is yours. (at Alexandria, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHTH5kvh0jc/?igshid=1cqewe1wooi7c

Noatmeal. Hemp hearts, chia seeds, a little stevia, a little cinnamon and ginger and turmeric. I used almond milk, topped it with the goji berries which I am mew to but really like. They’re not so sweet and they look incredible. You can do the same thing with quinoa as the base. Maybe add a splash if vanilla. #allergictoeverything @hashtagallergic • • • #noatmeal #hemphearts #gojiberries #chiaseeds #almondmilk #stevia #grainfreeoatmeal #foodallergies #quinoa #multiplefoodallergies (at Alexandria, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEVOKr2hZqu/?igshid=y4b3monm41or

Finally found my way into Ayurveda. Going to give this dosha idea a try. Unconsciously I’ve been practicing much of this without realizing it was Ayurvedic. This book, by the way, is a fantastic and fascinating read. I don’t love needing an idiot’s guide but I’m half way through and it’s sort of feeling like a game changer. 🙏🏻 to @iamsahararose for writing such an easy to digest prescription. • Spent a small fortune on the basics, including grass-fed dairy because I can’t wrap my head around going meat-light and dairy free all at once. But I’m leaning in purposefully. • #allergictoeverything #ayurveda #dosha #kaphabalancing #lentils (at Alexandria, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CD1wQCchWiE/?igshid=gn0z2dlx8sys