but i was more than happy to rip that stupid remax sign out of the grass
and throw stupid rochelle's face on the ground! (no anger management issues here)
but it's finally OURS!!!
our first home:
Saturday, May 31, 2008
WE OWN A HOUSE!!!
we were exhausted by this whole process by the time we got to the closing...
but i was more than happy to rip that stupid remax sign out of the grass
and throw stupid rochelle's face on the ground! (no anger management issues here)
but it's finally OURS!!!
our first home:
but i was more than happy to rip that stupid remax sign out of the grass
and throw stupid rochelle's face on the ground! (no anger management issues here)
but it's finally OURS!!!
our first home:
Monday, May 26, 2008
wonderful weekend
that's what i had the past few days. it was the first time in over 6 months that andrew and i had a whole weekend together (weekend being two straight days off). i get days off, and he gets days off, but they're hardly ever at the same time. this week, andrew had thursday evening, friday evening, some of saturday, all of sunday, and all of monday off. it actually felt like back when he was in school full time and had weekends off - it was amazing. i miss my husband so much when he has to work all the time, and it's impossible to explain how wonderful it is when i get to actually spend time with him. maybe someday, he'll have a job that gives him regular nights and weekends off.
friday night, we went to dinner with monica and dave at on the border... mostly, as monica explained, for the "borderitas" hahaha. i indulged in one to celebrate my new position next year at work, and andrew and i shared an entree. then, we went to home depot and ordered our hardwoods... and unloaded a wad of cash. whoo, wood is expensive!
saturday, andrew had to go to work, so i went to caribou and spent the morning/early afternoon planning for next year. i figure that since i'll be busy working at oberlin and on the house during my "summer", i might as well get a jump on the planning i usually do during that time off. i created a syllabus and reviewed the north carolina standard course of study for english IV. it was pretty cool to dig into that. then saturday evening we went to jessi and norm's cookout at their/jim's house out in cary. and i vowed never to drive there again - ever. the place is nice but i can NOT get there without taking a wrong turn! every time i go, the streets are different (literally, the streets change direction and location), and their names are different!! but, we had a good time eating, telling stories, and playing with fire.
(this was when we caught the grass on fire, and while i tried to pound it out with a stick, jessi poured her beer on it. we're smart.)then, yesterday, andrew and i went to church, followed by a great 10-mile bike ride along the american tobacco trail. it runs from parts of chatham county, through durham, and to parts of wake county along the old railroad tracks. it's awesome for someone like me, who is a chicken and doesn't like scary (real) mountain biking. it's straight and flat, and easy riding. we had a blast! when we got back, we had people over for dinner. i made an indian inspired chicken and rice dinner, and good times were had by all :-)
then today, andrew and i got up and ate breakfast, followed by a day full of walking around southpoint mall shopping. we haven't been shopping in goodness knows how long, so that was a fun treat. we mostly window shopped though, cause we are de po. for those of you who don't speak emilese, that means "poor". we ogled some bedroom furniture at restoration hardware and pottery barn, ate lunch at california pizza kitchen, exchanged something at williams sonoma, and walked around a lot. then we made our seemingly daily hardware store trips. we purchased some primer - on sale - and some paint for the trim of the house - also on sale. we came home happy but exhausted and have spent the rest of the night eating, hanging out with the dogs, and watching tv.
after a weekend like this, it's hard to go back to work and to know that andrew'll be gone until 9:30 each night for the forseeable future, but i'm trying to stay positive and be grateful. only 5.5 days of school (with kids) left, and only 3 days until we close!!!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
yowza
ok, so i was going to blog like 6 times in the past few days, and each time i got too busy. so let me give you the run-down of what's gone on this very very busy week!
-the kids finished EOG's at work
-andrew got the floor measured at the new house and documented the trashiness of the place before we move in, you can see the pictures here
-we went out to a great dinner at the mellow mushroom, where we were surrounded by frat boys and post graduate frat used to be boys. it was weird and they smoked and cursed a lot
-chloe got her first set of shots, and it cost a ton
-we ordered the hardwoods, and they weren't cheap either
-we're broke
-andrew's company keeps not paying the bills, so he's searching for something new before they get evicted from the mall! yay! (ok they probably won't get evicted...)
and the really exciting one...
I GOT THE HIGH SCHOOL JOB!
perhaps i should explain some. i've been talking to the administration since january about how i really want to teach high school instead of middle school. they weren't taking me seriously, and i was about to apply at other schools. i decided to give them one more shot and wrote an email telling them that i was serious about wanting a high school job.
i met with the assistant principal of the high school... and then waited. i met with the high school team for an informal (but pretty formal) interview to take the 9th grade opening... i waited. and andrew and i were getting impatient, and i was about to give my resume to a few other high schools when mr. johnson called me into his office to tell me that they wanted to hire me and the other candidate. they wanted him for the 9th grade position, but they wanted me to teach 12th grade! yay, even better than i'd hoped for! ...and they want me to teach yearbook, and they want me to be the SADD advisor - yeah, a lot on my plate, but it's a good lot.
so with all the excitement of closing on the house this coming thursday, getting a new puppy, working at the vet this summer, renovating the house, and trying to balance bills with income and expenditures, i now have to plan a new curriculum and learn how to teach yearbook - something with which i have absolutely zero experience. hahaha! watch out what you wish for!
God is good and does answer prayers (and sometimes even with the answer we're looking for), so this is all just another reminder to be patient and faithful to your prayers!
-the kids finished EOG's at work
-andrew got the floor measured at the new house and documented the trashiness of the place before we move in, you can see the pictures here
-we went out to a great dinner at the mellow mushroom, where we were surrounded by frat boys and post graduate frat used to be boys. it was weird and they smoked and cursed a lot
-chloe got her first set of shots, and it cost a ton
-we ordered the hardwoods, and they weren't cheap either
-we're broke
-andrew's company keeps not paying the bills, so he's searching for something new before they get evicted from the mall! yay! (ok they probably won't get evicted...)
and the really exciting one...
I GOT THE HIGH SCHOOL JOB!
perhaps i should explain some. i've been talking to the administration since january about how i really want to teach high school instead of middle school. they weren't taking me seriously, and i was about to apply at other schools. i decided to give them one more shot and wrote an email telling them that i was serious about wanting a high school job.
i met with the assistant principal of the high school... and then waited. i met with the high school team for an informal (but pretty formal) interview to take the 9th grade opening... i waited. and andrew and i were getting impatient, and i was about to give my resume to a few other high schools when mr. johnson called me into his office to tell me that they wanted to hire me and the other candidate. they wanted him for the 9th grade position, but they wanted me to teach 12th grade! yay, even better than i'd hoped for! ...and they want me to teach yearbook, and they want me to be the SADD advisor - yeah, a lot on my plate, but it's a good lot.
so with all the excitement of closing on the house this coming thursday, getting a new puppy, working at the vet this summer, renovating the house, and trying to balance bills with income and expenditures, i now have to plan a new curriculum and learn how to teach yearbook - something with which i have absolutely zero experience. hahaha! watch out what you wish for!
God is good and does answer prayers (and sometimes even with the answer we're looking for), so this is all just another reminder to be patient and faithful to your prayers!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
good article
looking through other people's linked blogs is one of my guilty pleasures. today, i found myself really enjoying reading charity's linked "Christian Wives" blog. here's a great article about avoiding temptations in marriage. it's not completely eloquently written, but the message makes it a winner.
Marriage Junk Mail
Marriage Junk Mail
Monday, May 19, 2008
blogger's block
rears its ugly head once again. i've been rollin on this blog for nearly (if not) a year now, and i haven't experienced much "blogger's block" until recently. it almost seems like there's so much going on that the thought of explaining it all is too daunting to begin. but alas, i shall try. ::deep melodramatic sigh::
we can begin the logical place - at school. kids are nutzo as usual. actually, they haven't been all that bad recently. maybe it's that they're maturing, or maybe i just don't give a flip anymore, but they do seem to be a little less weird. no, wait, i take that back, today one of my students actually stabbed himself in the face with his pen. like hard enough to make himself bleed. yep, i must not care anymore cause they're definitely still freaks.
EOG's go into full swing tomorrow, which means weirdly silent children who are ridiculously concerned with meticulously making their marks "heavy and dark and completely filling the circle". remember, "if you erase the circle, do not redraw it, as it might be counted as an incorrect answer." and then no planning time for core teachers, followed by hours on end of time where we are legally not allowed to teach them any math or reading. oh joy! yes and on top of that, i have carpool duty and i still haven't heard if i get to go teach high school next year or am stuck again in 6th grade - oh the humanity!
the stuff with the house is stressful but still proceeding. time passes, scary decisions are finalized, we take on the possibility of incredible debt (you know a thirty year loan is a LOT of money!), and andrew gets all grumpy having to set up times for this and that. i run away to yoga and meditate on my breath (and my sweat, and my trembling muscles, and the pain, and the fact that i'm the wimpy one in the class who can't do whatever it is we're supposed to do) to try and de-stress.
then we meet up and "enjoy" a "quiet evening" with our 3 dogs... yes, 3 - again i say to you, do not ask me what we were thinking, or i will officially disown you as friends.
bailey is actually on the couch too, she's just down at my feet, and this picture doesn't show it - ayayay!
no really though, things are going pretty well, just lots of changes and not a lot of breaks. but believe it or not, we're nearing a year of marriage! it's been about 9 months already, and come the end of august, we will no longer be "newlyweds"... or maybe we will, i'm not sure when that time officially ends. but i am proud of us for being married almost a year and not killing or divorcing one another! and for all of you almost-married-people out there: the first year is hard. good, but hard. don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise! so when you get married and have that "holy shit what did i just do?!" moment, take a deep breath, realize it's normal, and let it go.
and that's enough dr. phil-mily for tonight!
we can begin the logical place - at school. kids are nutzo as usual. actually, they haven't been all that bad recently. maybe it's that they're maturing, or maybe i just don't give a flip anymore, but they do seem to be a little less weird. no, wait, i take that back, today one of my students actually stabbed himself in the face with his pen. like hard enough to make himself bleed. yep, i must not care anymore cause they're definitely still freaks.
EOG's go into full swing tomorrow, which means weirdly silent children who are ridiculously concerned with meticulously making their marks "heavy and dark and completely filling the circle". remember, "if you erase the circle, do not redraw it, as it might be counted as an incorrect answer." and then no planning time for core teachers, followed by hours on end of time where we are legally not allowed to teach them any math or reading. oh joy! yes and on top of that, i have carpool duty and i still haven't heard if i get to go teach high school next year or am stuck again in 6th grade - oh the humanity!
the stuff with the house is stressful but still proceeding. time passes, scary decisions are finalized, we take on the possibility of incredible debt (you know a thirty year loan is a LOT of money!), and andrew gets all grumpy having to set up times for this and that. i run away to yoga and meditate on my breath (and my sweat, and my trembling muscles, and the pain, and the fact that i'm the wimpy one in the class who can't do whatever it is we're supposed to do) to try and de-stress.
then we meet up and "enjoy" a "quiet evening" with our 3 dogs... yes, 3 - again i say to you, do not ask me what we were thinking, or i will officially disown you as friends.
bailey is actually on the couch too, she's just down at my feet, and this picture doesn't show it - ayayay!no really though, things are going pretty well, just lots of changes and not a lot of breaks. but believe it or not, we're nearing a year of marriage! it's been about 9 months already, and come the end of august, we will no longer be "newlyweds"... or maybe we will, i'm not sure when that time officially ends. but i am proud of us for being married almost a year and not killing or divorcing one another! and for all of you almost-married-people out there: the first year is hard. good, but hard. don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise! so when you get married and have that "holy shit what did i just do?!" moment, take a deep breath, realize it's normal, and let it go.
and that's enough dr. phil-mily for tonight!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
here's the deal
so i've had a somewhat long absence (for me) from blogging because of a few major things.
1. the blog is now "friends only" - and as such, i shall explain why i did that. mostly, it was just because i didn't want anyone from work, like bosses or students, googling my name and finding this blog. and when i googled "emily korhonen", the first (and only) thing that came up was in fact, this blog. i've never had an employer look for/see a blog of mine (or at least that i know of), but i have had students find it, and that was weird. secondly and less important, i started realizing how many random people read this blog, which is awesome, and one of the things i'll miss about it being open to anyone, but i also thought it was a little creepy. and unless i keep it totally superficial (which makes a lame blog), i'm not comfortable with putting deep thoughts out there to the random public. but limiting the readership has made it sort of strange because i now know exactly who is reading it!
as a sidenote: i did have a few people who didn't comment to say that they wanted to be added, so if you know people who are confused as to why they can't read it anymore (cause they didn't see the blog to add their email address), please tell them to email me, and i'll add them!
2. we're in the last few weeks of school, which means... sheer insanity. EOG's are next week, and the year couldn't end sooner for me, but just as it ends, we'll be closing on the house, fixing it up, moving, and oh yeah - i'll be working at the vet for 3 of the 4 weeks i have off. after that i'll go back to EWA a week earlier than everyone else, so that I can leave during the teacher workday week to go to california for mark and emily's wedding, so i can rush back and start a new year - ahhh! what happened to 3 month summers??
3. the huge reason i've been extra busy...
we had a baby!
a great dane puppy!
yes, i know, we're stupid, we have enough dogs, we don't need to take on another one for time, financial, or sanity reasons... but we got one, and she's cute, and she's also sort of a demon... and i think if anyone asks me what we were thinking, i'll disown you. especially since she screamed from 4-5am this morning! ::big cheesy fake grin::
EDIT: i wrote this post several days ago, but stupid blogger wouldn't let me post pictures, so it goes up today.
1. the blog is now "friends only" - and as such, i shall explain why i did that. mostly, it was just because i didn't want anyone from work, like bosses or students, googling my name and finding this blog. and when i googled "emily korhonen", the first (and only) thing that came up was in fact, this blog. i've never had an employer look for/see a blog of mine (or at least that i know of), but i have had students find it, and that was weird. secondly and less important, i started realizing how many random people read this blog, which is awesome, and one of the things i'll miss about it being open to anyone, but i also thought it was a little creepy. and unless i keep it totally superficial (which makes a lame blog), i'm not comfortable with putting deep thoughts out there to the random public. but limiting the readership has made it sort of strange because i now know exactly who is reading it!
as a sidenote: i did have a few people who didn't comment to say that they wanted to be added, so if you know people who are confused as to why they can't read it anymore (cause they didn't see the blog to add their email address), please tell them to email me, and i'll add them!
2. we're in the last few weeks of school, which means... sheer insanity. EOG's are next week, and the year couldn't end sooner for me, but just as it ends, we'll be closing on the house, fixing it up, moving, and oh yeah - i'll be working at the vet for 3 of the 4 weeks i have off. after that i'll go back to EWA a week earlier than everyone else, so that I can leave during the teacher workday week to go to california for mark and emily's wedding, so i can rush back and start a new year - ahhh! what happened to 3 month summers??
3. the huge reason i've been extra busy...
we had a baby!
a great dane puppy!
yes, i know, we're stupid, we have enough dogs, we don't need to take on another one for time, financial, or sanity reasons... but we got one, and she's cute, and she's also sort of a demon... and i think if anyone asks me what we were thinking, i'll disown you. especially since she screamed from 4-5am this morning! ::big cheesy fake grin::
EDIT: i wrote this post several days ago, but stupid blogger wouldn't let me post pictures, so it goes up today.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
coming in 3's
doesn't bad news always seem to come in 3's?
wednesday, i found out that someone from oberlin got fired, arrested, and incarcerated for felony embezzlement, thursday, i found out a friend's marriage is over (and has been for months), and then today, i found out that a girl who graduated from ewa last year was killed in an accident. the kids and many of the teachers were, obviously, quite upset.
i keep feeling like i'm so worthless in these situations. i can't do anything but feel bad for dr. joe and debbie at oberlin, i have no control over the hurt and confusion the friend who's separating is feeling, and there is nothing i can do or say to bring the young girl who was killed back to her family and friends.
then tonight, dr. page called me to come help with an emergency surgery. i was in durham when i got the message, and by the time i got there, the surgery was almost done. i put in a catheter because the other tech couldn't do it (upside down and while the animal was under anesthesia), and then while i went to get tape to tape it in, somehow it came out. being bummed about that and about missing the surgery, i spent the rest of the time trying to clean up the mess they'd made, but i had a hard time even doing that because i have no idea where anything goes anymore. i felt worthless again.
this week i just just haven't felt like i've fit in. i haven't been able to fix everyone's problems, and that weighs heavily on my heart. sometimes i feel like i'm not fitting in the teacher job, i'm no longer fitting in the vet job... i wish i could find my place! and i hope the terrible things stop happening to the people i care about.
wednesday, i found out that someone from oberlin got fired, arrested, and incarcerated for felony embezzlement, thursday, i found out a friend's marriage is over (and has been for months), and then today, i found out that a girl who graduated from ewa last year was killed in an accident. the kids and many of the teachers were, obviously, quite upset.
i keep feeling like i'm so worthless in these situations. i can't do anything but feel bad for dr. joe and debbie at oberlin, i have no control over the hurt and confusion the friend who's separating is feeling, and there is nothing i can do or say to bring the young girl who was killed back to her family and friends.
then tonight, dr. page called me to come help with an emergency surgery. i was in durham when i got the message, and by the time i got there, the surgery was almost done. i put in a catheter because the other tech couldn't do it (upside down and while the animal was under anesthesia), and then while i went to get tape to tape it in, somehow it came out. being bummed about that and about missing the surgery, i spent the rest of the time trying to clean up the mess they'd made, but i had a hard time even doing that because i have no idea where anything goes anymore. i felt worthless again.
this week i just just haven't felt like i've fit in. i haven't been able to fix everyone's problems, and that weighs heavily on my heart. sometimes i feel like i'm not fitting in the teacher job, i'm no longer fitting in the vet job... i wish i could find my place! and i hope the terrible things stop happening to the people i care about.
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