Today, I worked at work!

Oh productivity... let me count the ways,

Today I:
1. Finished ALL the grading I had waiting for me.
2. Taught 4 adequate lessons which kept the children entertained and engaged.
3. Updated my computer gradebook so that I could...
4. Provide each family with an updated grade next week.
5. I returned parent phone calls!
6. I cleaned up the clutter in my classroom.
7. I planned my next MONTH of lessons
8. I'm updating my blog
9. I'm going to sit through 5 hours of conferences tonight
10. I'm going to be painfully sweet rather than say the things actually going through my head.
11. I will get home in time to play with Bri and relax with nothing left to worry about for tomorrow! Isn't that the best of all!

Valentines day

Well, this week I woke up Monday morning wishing the week were over. What does that tell you about my state of mind, and the week I have planned?!?

We have decided on a very nice Valentines day tradition that I think I will share with the group. Yesterday, Adam got his Valentines day. He got to do the day the way he wanted, in his sweatpants, watching TV and playing on the computer, where I brought him his favorite Subway sub. Tonight I will get my Valentines day. A nice family dinner at my favorite restaraunt where I eat appetizers and dessert, no real dinner.

Don't feel like I got shafted because I had to wait and he went first... we called my favorite restaraunt last night and just did not feel up to the HOUR AND 15 MIN. wait to be seated. Since they don't take reservations, we figure tonight we'll have a better chance.

All in all, a happy holiday!

PS- re: my picture below-- I am no longer blonde, I have gone to a more natural light brown/auburn shade that I love.

This is me!

B&W joey
Originally uploaded by josharow.

If you ever wanted to know too much about me, here you go! Here are my answers to some questions about my life!

2. What time did you wake up this morning? 4:45 and then every 7 min after that until 5:30ish

3. What did you have for breakfast? half of a peanut butter sandwich

4. Name as it appears on birth certificate: Johanna Kate Johnson

5 Nicknames: Joey, Josh, Jo Kate

6. Piercings: only in my ears

7. Eye color: Hazel

8. Place of birth: Gainesville, GA

9. Favorite food: lately, Hamburgers

10. What foods do you dislike? most fish

11. What is your favorite chip flavor? Nacho Doritos

12. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Phil Vasser

13. Favorite sandwich? at home- Plain Peanut Butter.... Away- meatball

14. What kind of car do you drive? Ford Escape

15. Favorite item of clothing? Loose jeans, sweatshirt, bare feet

16. Ever been to Africa? No

17. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Greece, or Hawaii

18. What color is your bathroom? White walls with green and blue accents

19. Color is your bedroom carpet? Blue, but I did not pick it out and hope to get rid of it someday

20. Favorite brand of clothing? whatever fits and makes me look thinner

21. Where would you retire to? southern CA

22. Favorite time of day? Night time, that is if I don't have grading to do.

23. What was your most memorable birthday? 18- In the Bahamas. Where you can gamble at 18!

24. Favorite sport to watch? Football

25. What fabric detergent do you use? Cheer Free

26. What characteristics do you despise? People who complain about things that are their own darn fault

27. Coke or Pepsi? diet coke- caffiene free

28. Ever been toilet papering? sadly, no

29. Love someone so much it made you cry? Yes.

30. Been in a car accident? One bad, one minor.

31. Croutons or bacon bits: bacon bits

32. Favorite day of the week: Whichever weekend day I have nothing planned

33. Favorite restaurant: Red Lobster or Olive Garden

34. Favorite fast food restaurant: Mc Donalds

35. Favorite flower: Roses

36. Diamonds or pearl: DIAMONDS

37. Favorite drink: strawberry daquari

38. Favorite ice cream: Chocolate with fudge or brownie bits

39. Disney or Warner Bros.? Disney

40. How many times did you fail your driver's test? 0, but I should have!

41. Before this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail? A parent at work :-(

42. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? H & M

43 What do you do most often when you are bored? eat, watch TV, sometimes at the same time.

44. Bed time: somewhere between 9:30 and 11:00

47. Favorite TV shows: CSI, Lost, Desperate Housewives

48. Last person you went out to dinner with: Adam and My parents

49. Ford or Chevy? we own one of each

50. What are you listening to right now? My students packing up their books

51. What is your favorite color? Red...

52. Lake, ocean or river? Ocean

53. How many tattoos do you have? Zero.

54. Have you ever run out of gas? No.

Irony sucks

Isn't it ironic (don't start singing...) that the one week I can't possibly have time to relax, or be sick, That I of course get sick. I feel like crap, I'm loosing my voice, and my throat hurts like I have a truck full of tacks trying to get down it.

On top of that, Brianna has been sick. She's had a runny nose (which is really no big deal) but then that progressed to pink eye! And now, like me she seems to be having a hard time swallowing and feels the need to cough a lot. I do mean A LOT! She coughed on and off for an hour this morning. And not little discreet, look at me mom, type coughing. Actual hacking coughs that make me cringe and want to cry for her, while simultaneously holding her as close as I can while praying she doesn't puke all over me.

I learned how to enter pictures!

snapshot
Originally uploaded by josharow.

So it turns out that Mac's suck for blogging! But- I found a way to put pictures up.

This was our snapshot that took first place on Sunday.

Just Plain Crazy

Well, since we last "spoke" I have sabotaged myself yet again.

Friday my students turned in a research paper they have been working on....Let's see.... 99 research papers x about 10 min. each to grade= almost 17 hours of grading! I bet you never looked at it that way when you were a student did you?

So I should have spent every spare minute reading papers over the weekend right? NOPE! Didn't read a single one. Saturday, had a lovely day just playing with Bri and vegging out on the couch. Sunday... Well, Sunday I'll get to in a minute. SO ANYWAY- I took Monday off work and graded papers all day long (sort of) and I got through a little over half of them. Now it's Wednesday, and here I am typing this instead of grading.... I am just plain crazy!

SUNDAY- On Sunday we decided that since we didn't have anything better to do, we would enter Brianna in a Beautiful Baby Contest. Literally, we decided based on the fact that we had nothing else that day, it was just something to do. We never thought anything would come of it...
4 trophies!
-Best Snapshot
-Best Smile
-4th runner up girls age 15-23 mo.
-Overall point total winner age 15-23 mo.

Before you think I've gone all Patsy Ramsey.... This is a natural baby contest with advertising as it's ultimate goal. That means, NO makeup or pageant tricks. They want natural babies/toddlers who have personality. NOT tricked out pageant kids with coaches and angry moms!

So all in all... Crazy as usual, but fun all the same !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
at home
Originally uploaded by josharow.

Why I love my life

Yesterday was a perfect day! My work day was relatively easy and without trauma. I worked one-on-one with a fabulous student who learned an entire dance in a half an hour, even though she is not a dancer by nature. It's not the best dance I've ever created, but it fits the play well and I am proud of it. Then I went to McDonald's and had a very peaceful, fattening, dinner by myself. (Which I thoroughly enjoyed! Sometimes I like being by myself). OK- going on, I went to grad class, participated in some lively discussion that reaffirmed my desire to progress down this particular career path, and even got done early! So I got home in time to hold Brianna, play with her, and watch my favorite TV shows!

The one kink in the day was that as I tried to put Bri to bed early, which she sorely needed!, it seems that her crib rail fell off it's sliding track! I have no idea how such a thing happened, and we were only able to make it worse last night when we tried to fix it.... But we (Adam) came up with a good temporary solution and I'm sure we will manage to get it fixed this weekend.

But all in all, Yesterday, just when I needed it, showed me that I can be crazy busy, and still love it! SOMETIMES!

self-psychiatry

Why do I take on so much stuff? Is it because my mom always did and I think I should? Is it because I want to feel important? or needed? Why isn't it enough that I have a happy family? do I really need less time at home? I think hard before taking something on, I know it's side effects, but I still do more and more stuff! WHY?

far too long

Well, I suppose it's about time I get my butt in gear and get a post up.

It has been a very long couple of weeks around here. Adam's grandmother passed away on the 13th so we flew out to California for a long weekend to attend the services. Now, while there are definite benefits to being in San Francisco on a weekend it is below 10 degrees in Chicago, It was not a good weekend.

Saturday we spent over 7 hours on a plane, with a very active 19 mo. old! It's only supposed to be a 4 1/2 hour flight but we had over 2 hours of delays. (Never Fly United!) The day was punctuated by Brianna's very first temper tantrum, complete with head thrashing, arched back, and hard kicking legs. Why a temper tantrum.... because her parents (and the airline) insisted that she be strapped into her seat during take off.

Sunday, services, all day. If you've never been to a Jewish funeral (and I hadn't prior to Sun.) it is very intense. I've been to numerous Christian funerals but this was so much more intense. We actually had to help shovel the dirt on to the coffin. It was a very touching ceremony and has wonderful sentiment behind it, but it was so much more final than what I was used to. (Which basically included walking away and trusting that someone else took care of lowering the coffin and covering it, etc.) I've said it before, I'll say it again, VERY intense.

After that, Brianna was really sick the whole of Monday, and Tuesday was another flying day, better this time but still really exhausting!

Since then, we've just been trying to recover mentally and physically. We had a very nice weekend of doing nothing this weekend. Well, nothing but shoveling out our driveway every few hours. We received more than 11 inches of snow this weekend! UGH! The piles are so high on some street corners that you can't see traffic coming, eek!

All in all, I'm busy as usual (see title of site!) but really not lovin' it right now!

Regrets

I was reading Jamie's blog today and she was thinking about her regrets like never going for her childhood dream of being a ballerina... and it got me thinking...

I regret a lot of things in my life. It's not that I am an unhappy person, because I'm not. You'll just have to take my word for it. I love my family and my career. I have enough material things. But it doesn't stop me from having regrets.

I regret not continuing as a dancer. I wasn't very good but I loved how I felt when I danced. I don't get that same feeling anymore because I've let my skills slide so far.

All my regrets about my earlier life really center around the lack of self-confidence I had. I've never been a real outgoing person, I would even classify myself as shy. I always seemed to reach a point in my activites where I no longer felt good enough to continue; Dance, Judging, Coaching, Dating. Thank God my husband came along when he did!

These days I worry more about what I will regret later. If I become a stay-at-home mom, will I regret not teaching or being a principal? If I become a principal, will I regret the time lost with my kids? If I spend my money on blank will I be sorry later? What if I don't buy it?

I have a lot to think about!

Bugger!

Since I primarily use the computer at work... and it won't let me download the necessary stuff... no pictures!

general random thoughts

Today I just need to get out some general random thoughts! I'm not going to spell check and I refuse to edit myself today.

1. We had a huge snow fall this week here in Chicagoland and as a teacher, I had every finger, toe, and other extremity crossed hoping for a day off... no dice! Despite the fact that my 25 min drive took almost an hour (due to horrible road conditions) and our district had several minor bus accidents (due to ice), no day off for me! Now, if your not a teacher, you are already thinking that I get plenty of days off and why do I need another one for goodness sake? WELL, I DO! It's not like I can just take a day off whenever I please. In your job, if your not there, the work just waits for you until you get back, or someone else does it and it doesn't matter. Thats not how it works for teachers. If I take a day off, I have to plan ahead all the work I would have done that day and leave copious notes so someone who isn't a teacher can attemp to do all the things I have been trained to do. And THEN- I have to re-do parts of it when I return to make sure it was done right so I can successfully go on to the next hundred things I have to do. UGH- Why didn't I become a banker or some kind of corporate person? I need to win the lottery or something and take a year off.

Which leads me to:
2. I just got to spend the most amazing two weeks with my daughter. I forget sometimes how much happens in the 8-9 hours I'm at work everyday! Now that we are all back in our work/daycare routine, I miss her horribly all day long. I pains me to hear all the wonderful things she did each day because, while I'm happy she did them and that she had a happy day, I missed it.

3. Yesterday, I missed the first time she played in snow! I can't really blame the babysitter, all the kids were outside playing in it, she couldn't make my daughter stay inside just because I wasn't there to photograph or video tape this big event. I'm really sad. I hope the rain holds off long enough to atleast get a second snow experience on tape this Sat.

4. Why do they make white gloves for children? I purchased this adorable little rose colored jacket for Bri (my daughter) and with it's light pink roses, it just seemed to need this cute little winter white gloves. I know rookie mistake right... any experienced moms could have told me this was a bad idea, but I didn't know! But why do they make gloves that after 10 min in the snow look like the've been run over by 10 dirty semi-trucks? This weekend I'm going to find a snowsuit that will go with black gloves! Or maybe I should just finish off the white ones and dye them.... hmmmm

ENOUGH! I'm going to spend my spare time today teaching myself how to add pictures and links to this site. It's time for me to get my butt into gear and be a more active part of the blogging community.

Happy New Year!

Perhaps it is a little later than normally accepted, but Happy New Year to you all. I hope your holidays were as wonderful as you wanted them to be.

I am back at work after a restful, but never long enough, break from school. We had a wonderful Christmas with my family, I had a lovely relaxing, but fun, birthday, and our New Years was uneventful.... just the way we like it.

Our biggest accomplishment over the last week or so was completely re-organizing one of our rooms so that we could have a play room. It became painfully clear to us as we were driving home from Christmas with my family, unable to see out the windows of the SUV thanks to piles of presents and toys, that we need more storage.

People had always warned me that as babies grow into toddlers, the toys get bigger along with the child... I now completely believe them! We were already quite tired of the entire family room being taken over by toys of all sizes, and that was before Christmas! We are now petrified... and quite convinced that toys reproduce themselves when the owners are sleeping. There is something about blocks and LEGOS and "pop-onz" that I have now discovered, no scientist will ever be able to prove it, but toys really can reproduce. I am quite sure that in a very "Nutcracker" type way, that they come alive at night and have merry little dances and such.

Regardless, Thank you to all of our loving family for your generosity. Brianna can now fully compete for the "Most Spolied Toddler in the World" award. She may not understand how lucky she is (at least not for longer than her 90 second attention span!) but her parents truely do and we love you all for loving us that much.

Happy Holidays

Well, it's been a while since I've let myself take the time for luxuries.

Since my last post, I went to a great salon and had my hair colored and cut. I love the new look but I am still getting used to it. Today, I am taking myself out with my girlfriends from work, we are having appetizers and drinks and going to get pedicures and manicures. We have gift certificates and such, but even taking the time feels like a luxury right now.

Other than that, nothing is new in my life. I hope that you are all well and happy.

Happy Holidays to you if you celebrate them, and Happy New Year regardless of faith!
Wishing you well,
Johanna

Friday blues?

For once in my life, I am not particularly looking forward to a weekend.

1. School has flown by this week, and I’d rather get next week done then have to wait longer for it to come, and go.
2. I have SUCH a busy weekend that I will have a hard time enjoying the various events! If anyone cares, I have book club party tonight, a big corporate holiday party tomorrow (think, chasing 18 mo old, trying to get her to behave, making sure that she is an angel so Grandpa Phil’s friends will be impressed), shopping and travel Sat. afternoon, work on Sunday morning to try and stay caught up, Hanukah with Adam’s family on Sunday afternoon/evening!

Any one of these events would have me happy as a clam, thinking how I can’t wait for the weekend to start so I can go have some fun. All together, it’s just a lot to do!

Having fun is so much work!

I just had a thought….Thank GOD I don’t have any grad school work to do, I might have a nervous breakdown.

Monday blahs

Well it is Monday yet again! Isn't it funny how fast time can fly except on Mondays! (although if you've followed my brain waves in the past.... it is mental Tuesday for me today because I came into work yesterday, Sunday, to get a jump start.)

I am anticipating that the next few weeks will fly by so that I can get to winter break.... so, inevitably (sp? jamie?) they will crawl.

I will keep you posted.

AND- I am thinking of taking my formerly blonde, now somewhat dishwater like hair to a nice light brown color. a color just dark enough never to be mistaken with blonde. I NEED CHANGE!

hello everyone

Hello to all of my imaginary friends who I imagine read this! And to Jamie who I know reads this!

It has been a long week! Apparently I like exclamation points today!!!!!!!!!

I have actually planned a movie for the students to watch today just so I can NOT do work. Now, in my own defense, it is perfectly timed with our curriculm and it is educational. However, I needed some time to do personal things like download pictures and reply to emails, and update my blog! It's not that I don't have grading and other work related work to do... I just promised myself that I would do the fun stuff first.

I love my job!

Now, as personal punishment... I am coming in to work on Sunday morning to have uninterrupted time for planning, grading, and grad school work. I am a crazy woman... who actually cares about her job and profession. Around here, sometimes I think I am alone in caring about my job and profession! Realistically though, I like to be a leader, it's part of my personality. And sometime I don't understand the people who just sit back and let things happen. AND.. I get really pissy when they complain about the results but won't help change things!

Enough for today... I am off to get some fatty snack to reward myself for not having dessert last night. Even I know it's messed up, but I do it anyway!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

We are thankful for our family, all of them... even the crazy ones!

We are also thankful for 2 days off work (my husband had 3 so he's extra thankful!).

And let's not forget all the deserts and foods later! I will feel guilty for a week... wait... no I won't! It's Thanksgiving!

Happiness to you all!

Monday.... or is it?

Well, It was a very nice weekend, and it's Monday again.

This weekend I spent every spare moment cleaning my house since I had a demo party on Sunday. (You know the kind, someone comes in, shows products, and you guilt your friends who came into buying something so you, the host, can get things free.) Well, the house was perfect, and no one really looked! (I hate it when my husband is right!) However, the house being perfect made me one much calmer hostess, and I had a very good time with the friends and family that came by. I also got 2 fabulous purses for about $16! (Together they should have cost over $100!) PS- I am actually thinking about becoming one of those party expert salespeople. It seems like a great way to become a stay at home mom!

And now it's Monday! But mentally, I think it's Wednesday. This is some pretty crazy logic so I understand entirely if you can't follow along!

• Friday- I have no work, so it will feel like a weekend day.

• Thursday- I have no work, it's Thanksgiving, and it will feel like a weekend day.

• Wednesday- I have to go to work for a half day, but don't have students, so it will be v. relaxed and feel like a Friday.

• Tuesday- Is a very long day at work, and Thursday's always feel long so Tuesday is my Thursday.

• Monday (Today)- is the day before my mental Thursday, so it must be Wednesday!

Now do you see what my crazy schedule is doing to my brain?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!

End of another long week

I don't have a lot of time to spend but I just wanted to get out a big

WHEW!

Here is to Friday and the upcoming holiday/long weekend!
Have a drink for me!