I met with one of the Rock Valley College counselors today to see exactly where I am in this long process. He had good news for me. If I take a summer class, five classes in the fall, and then five in the spring I will have my associates degree this time next year! It is worth it for me to take the heavier load of five classes and be done in May 2009 instead of December of 2009 because when it gets down to it I just want to be done with school and have a college degree in my hand!!
Speaking of college degrees my brother is graduating this Saturday. He is the first member of our immediate family to graduate college. For those of you that don't know he already has a job lined up, teaching History at Gage High School in Chicago. He has been there since last fall doing his observation and student teaching and they want him so badly that they told him not to even bother going to any job fairs or interviews. He was also their wrestling coach this year and was able to get a bunch of the boys to state for the first time! It is really wonderful to see him so fulfilled with his career. It was a long, hard road for him from Afghanistan to here and we are all very proud of him. So, think of him on Saturday and I will post pictures of our roof top party later. Way to go, Ray!!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Blue Man!!
I had plans to go and see the Blue Man Concert with my friend Lynne, her daughter Courtney, and Courtney's friend on Sunday. At the last minute Courtney's friend was not able to go and they called and offered the ticket to Joey. He actually was a little hesitant because he was out in the yard playing football and didn't want to have to leave his friends and come in for a shower. I pulled up a clip on youtube to show him what it was and that it was in fact worth missing the neighborhood game for one day!! He relented and went to get ready.
The show started at 7:30 and we were still stuck in traffic at 7:25. The crappy thing was that we were stuck right in front of the Metro Centre. There we were starring at the big orange building knowing that we should be in there. I was so mad! It ended up that more than 1/2 of the people were in the same situation because they had closed the parking garage and parking in downtown Rockford is not easy. We were very lucky and we found an empty parking lot about 5 blocks away. We got out and ran to the Metro as fast as we could. Not easy to do when you are wearing flip-flops like me and Courtney.
Well, we were late but luckily we were only missing the opening act which from what I did see, was not a big deal to miss. It was just some guy scratching records!
The show finally did start about 8:00 and it was well worth all of the craziness!! If you have not seen a Blue Man Group show I am not really sure how to explain it to you. It was fascinating. There was an unbelievable light show, rock music with lyrics that were really meaningful, and lots of comedy. I had never seen them perform before and I went in thinking that it was some men painted blue that would bang on PVC pipes and make music. That was going to be interesting enough to me but they totally blew me away! I was completely amazed at the simple things that they were using to make recognizable music. They also had an awesome percussion section and that always helps. In total there were 4 drummers.
All of us talked about it all of the way home which is always a sign of a really good show. Joey and I were still talking about it the next day. He said that he was so glad that he had decided to go with me and not keep playing with his friends. If any of you ever get a chance to go and see them in concert I highly recommend it to you!
The show started at 7:30 and we were still stuck in traffic at 7:25. The crappy thing was that we were stuck right in front of the Metro Centre. There we were starring at the big orange building knowing that we should be in there. I was so mad! It ended up that more than 1/2 of the people were in the same situation because they had closed the parking garage and parking in downtown Rockford is not easy. We were very lucky and we found an empty parking lot about 5 blocks away. We got out and ran to the Metro as fast as we could. Not easy to do when you are wearing flip-flops like me and Courtney.
Well, we were late but luckily we were only missing the opening act which from what I did see, was not a big deal to miss. It was just some guy scratching records!
The show finally did start about 8:00 and it was well worth all of the craziness!! If you have not seen a Blue Man Group show I am not really sure how to explain it to you. It was fascinating. There was an unbelievable light show, rock music with lyrics that were really meaningful, and lots of comedy. I had never seen them perform before and I went in thinking that it was some men painted blue that would bang on PVC pipes and make music. That was going to be interesting enough to me but they totally blew me away! I was completely amazed at the simple things that they were using to make recognizable music. They also had an awesome percussion section and that always helps. In total there were 4 drummers.
All of us talked about it all of the way home which is always a sign of a really good show. Joey and I were still talking about it the next day. He said that he was so glad that he had decided to go with me and not keep playing with his friends. If any of you ever get a chance to go and see them in concert I highly recommend it to you!
Friday, April 18, 2008
Better late than never....
I have been so bad about logging on here and posting. Mostly because the things that have been going on seemed so day to day and I didn't want to bore anyone. Anywho, here's what's up.....
Joey had his Spring Band Concert and the whole band showed incredible improvement! What a difference from December. Joey really enjoys playing his saxophone and I am so proud of him that he has the ability to play an instrument. I just never had that talent and believe me I tried.
Jimmy had his 4th grade Spring Musical and the theme was Oliver. He was the Funeral Director. We enjoyed that just as much. It was so fun for me to see many students that I have not seen since I left last year. Amazing what a year can do!!
Nana and my mom got to make it out to both shows which made us so happy. Thanks for taking the trip both times. (And special thank you to Nana for sitting in the bleachers for over an hour at Joey's show.) You two are wonderful and have never missed anything for the boys!!
Phil and I are just going along, same 'ol, same 'ol. I have been spending 4 nights a week out at the baseball field watching the kids practices. Their games start in the beginning of May which will be nice because practice is getting a little old to watch. Joey has been practicing by the school track though so I have been taking advantage of that hour and half by walking the track. Jimmy has been walking with me and we get to have some very nice time together without any distractions. Plus, we are exercising!
Last weekend I was at Dawn's house for a Girls Night Out. We were celebrating the fact that Dawn quit her old job! It was a blast. We played Guitar Hero which I actually own but I have never played because the boys and their friends are always hogging it. Now that I know how much fun it is I am going to put my name on the list and get my 10 minutes of play with the egg timer! Watch out Holly, I am gunning for you at the next party!! We also played Dancing With The Stars because most of us are huge fans of the show. It reminded me of the old school Nintendo Power Pad! Way too much work and the highest I was able to get was a 5!
Today Phil and his friends put in my new kitchen door. We needed to get rid of our slider because last winter it was actually snowing in my kitchen thanks to the horrible seal on the door. It always had a cold draft but snow was ridiculous! The handle on the door was also broken and didn't lock anymore. We red necked it until now with duct tape and paper bags as installation. We replaced it with a set of French Doors that have the blinds inside of the windows. It ended up to be a good thing that we did that because when they pulled the old door out they found out that the wood underneath it had rotted completely. Phil simply put his finger on the wood and it crumbled. They had to run to Menard's and get all new wood. All the while I am sitting here with a HUGE hole in my kitchen and rain on the way. Well they started the job at 9 and thanks to the extra work did not finish until 4:15! A few prayers helped hold off the rain too. It literally started raining just as his friend put the last piece of siding up!! Thank you God. I really LOVE my new doors though so it was totally worth all the hard work. (Of course I did none of the work so I guess that its not really my place to say that) I will post pictures soon, when it is sunny out!!
Well that's all for now. Later Gators!!
Joey had his Spring Band Concert and the whole band showed incredible improvement! What a difference from December. Joey really enjoys playing his saxophone and I am so proud of him that he has the ability to play an instrument. I just never had that talent and believe me I tried.
Jimmy had his 4th grade Spring Musical and the theme was Oliver. He was the Funeral Director. We enjoyed that just as much. It was so fun for me to see many students that I have not seen since I left last year. Amazing what a year can do!!
Nana and my mom got to make it out to both shows which made us so happy. Thanks for taking the trip both times. (And special thank you to Nana for sitting in the bleachers for over an hour at Joey's show.) You two are wonderful and have never missed anything for the boys!!
Phil and I are just going along, same 'ol, same 'ol. I have been spending 4 nights a week out at the baseball field watching the kids practices. Their games start in the beginning of May which will be nice because practice is getting a little old to watch. Joey has been practicing by the school track though so I have been taking advantage of that hour and half by walking the track. Jimmy has been walking with me and we get to have some very nice time together without any distractions. Plus, we are exercising!
Last weekend I was at Dawn's house for a Girls Night Out. We were celebrating the fact that Dawn quit her old job! It was a blast. We played Guitar Hero which I actually own but I have never played because the boys and their friends are always hogging it. Now that I know how much fun it is I am going to put my name on the list and get my 10 minutes of play with the egg timer! Watch out Holly, I am gunning for you at the next party!! We also played Dancing With The Stars because most of us are huge fans of the show. It reminded me of the old school Nintendo Power Pad! Way too much work and the highest I was able to get was a 5!
Today Phil and his friends put in my new kitchen door. We needed to get rid of our slider because last winter it was actually snowing in my kitchen thanks to the horrible seal on the door. It always had a cold draft but snow was ridiculous! The handle on the door was also broken and didn't lock anymore. We red necked it until now with duct tape and paper bags as installation. We replaced it with a set of French Doors that have the blinds inside of the windows. It ended up to be a good thing that we did that because when they pulled the old door out they found out that the wood underneath it had rotted completely. Phil simply put his finger on the wood and it crumbled. They had to run to Menard's and get all new wood. All the while I am sitting here with a HUGE hole in my kitchen and rain on the way. Well they started the job at 9 and thanks to the extra work did not finish until 4:15! A few prayers helped hold off the rain too. It literally started raining just as his friend put the last piece of siding up!! Thank you God. I really LOVE my new doors though so it was totally worth all the hard work. (Of course I did none of the work so I guess that its not really my place to say that) I will post pictures soon, when it is sunny out!!
Well that's all for now. Later Gators!!
Monday, March 10, 2008
When you wish upon a star....
This is a wish that I bet all men have wished at one time or another. Even if they won't admit it out loud.
The boys were sitting at the kitchen table doing some homework while I was cooking dinner on Friday night. Somehow the subject of wishes came up. They asked me if I had one wish what would it be. I said to be done with school and have my own classroom. Joey's wish was that he was rich. Then it was Jimmy's turn. Here was his wish.......
Jimmy: "I wish that I could be a girl for one whole day!"
I stopped stirring and Joey put his pencil down on the table. Both of us gave him the "what are you talking about" look. Then he explained......
"Well, no offence Mom, but girls are so weird and so confusing. I just don't get them at all. I thought that if I was a girl for a day I would find out all of their secrets and then I would understand them. (Insert huge grin on his face) Then when I came back as a boy, I would get all of the girlfriends!!"
I just laughed and Joey just shook his head. It is always interesting when you get into Jimmy's brain!
The boys were sitting at the kitchen table doing some homework while I was cooking dinner on Friday night. Somehow the subject of wishes came up. They asked me if I had one wish what would it be. I said to be done with school and have my own classroom. Joey's wish was that he was rich. Then it was Jimmy's turn. Here was his wish.......
Jimmy: "I wish that I could be a girl for one whole day!"
I stopped stirring and Joey put his pencil down on the table. Both of us gave him the "what are you talking about" look. Then he explained......
"Well, no offence Mom, but girls are so weird and so confusing. I just don't get them at all. I thought that if I was a girl for a day I would find out all of their secrets and then I would understand them. (Insert huge grin on his face) Then when I came back as a boy, I would get all of the girlfriends!!"
I just laughed and Joey just shook his head. It is always interesting when you get into Jimmy's brain!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Back to normal!
My psychology class was canceled today so I am sitting in the school library with nothing to do. I figured, why not blog!!
Everyone in my house is finally back to normal. The boys have been on their antibiotic for 2 days and they are doing great.
I knew yesterday that they were doing better because all of the sudden the fighting began. They had laid on the couch together since Sunday night watching whatever came on the TV. In fact, they were so sick, I believe they would have laid there and watched paint dry. Well by yesterday morning I started hearing, "Get your NASTY foot off of me!", or "I don't want to watch your dumb shows, I want to watch Sports Network!" and a lot of "MOOOOOM, he's doing ________"!!! By noon I told them both that if I heard one more argument I was driving them to school! They stopped pretty fast. I wished that I had their school work for them to do but the school only gives work after 3 missed days and you can only pick it up after school. Well, yesterday was the 3rd day but I couldn't pick it up until 3!!
They finally went back to school for the first time today. They have a lot of work to do, especially Joey. I went yesterday to pick up school work and I was shocked at how much Joey had to do. Jimmy had quite a bit too but it was easier work like spelling worksheets, and fill in the blanks for Social Studies. He also had to finish the read aloud book that the class had been reading so that he could take the AR test. We were able to get all of his work done so he is officially caught up. Pre-teen, hormonal Joey would not stop going on and on about how unfair it was that Jimmy was done and how middle school was the worst!!! He was truly mad! They are off tomorrow because of conferences at school so we will just work all day long to get his stuff done. I guess it will be like a day of home schooling which should be real fun because as I mentioned above he is a preteen and hormonal but, only with ME!!
Today I did my second Speech for my Speech class. I am quite sure that I bombed it! It had to be an informational speech and I did it on how to make chocolate candies and suckers. When I get nervous I talk way too fast so I did not fill the time requirement. Also, I was shaking so bad that everyone could see. When I went to pass the molds around for everyone to look at, the mold was visibly vibrating in my hand!! Oh how I hate this class. I know that it is a fear that I must conquer so that I can do parent orientations and other things someday when I have a job. I just don't know how to get over it. I hate talking to a room full of adults! I feel like they are all judging me. Have any of you ever been afraid of public speaking and been able to get over it? Or anyone who is just naturally good? Do you have some tips you would be willing to share?
My Speech professor really scared me when class ended and he asked me if I would stay behind. When everyone left he told me that another student had come to him to talk about me but wanted their name left out of it. (Enter my heart beating out of my chest, sweat on my brow, and a dry mouth) I just stood there with my mouth open and he said, "Oh, no, it's good! She wanted me to tell 'the mom in the front' that she really appreciates the eye contact you gave her during her speech. She said that you were the only one in the room that looked like you were paying any attention to what she had to say." I asked him if that could give me some bonus points on my own speech and he just laughed. I am guessing that is a no. So, that is what I am to my fellow students of 18 and 19. 'The mom in the front' Oh well everyone needs a label I guess.
Later Gators!
Everyone in my house is finally back to normal. The boys have been on their antibiotic for 2 days and they are doing great.
I knew yesterday that they were doing better because all of the sudden the fighting began. They had laid on the couch together since Sunday night watching whatever came on the TV. In fact, they were so sick, I believe they would have laid there and watched paint dry. Well by yesterday morning I started hearing, "Get your NASTY foot off of me!", or "I don't want to watch your dumb shows, I want to watch Sports Network!" and a lot of "MOOOOOM, he's doing ________"!!! By noon I told them both that if I heard one more argument I was driving them to school! They stopped pretty fast. I wished that I had their school work for them to do but the school only gives work after 3 missed days and you can only pick it up after school. Well, yesterday was the 3rd day but I couldn't pick it up until 3!!
They finally went back to school for the first time today. They have a lot of work to do, especially Joey. I went yesterday to pick up school work and I was shocked at how much Joey had to do. Jimmy had quite a bit too but it was easier work like spelling worksheets, and fill in the blanks for Social Studies. He also had to finish the read aloud book that the class had been reading so that he could take the AR test. We were able to get all of his work done so he is officially caught up. Pre-teen, hormonal Joey would not stop going on and on about how unfair it was that Jimmy was done and how middle school was the worst!!! He was truly mad! They are off tomorrow because of conferences at school so we will just work all day long to get his stuff done. I guess it will be like a day of home schooling which should be real fun because as I mentioned above he is a preteen and hormonal but, only with ME!!
Today I did my second Speech for my Speech class. I am quite sure that I bombed it! It had to be an informational speech and I did it on how to make chocolate candies and suckers. When I get nervous I talk way too fast so I did not fill the time requirement. Also, I was shaking so bad that everyone could see. When I went to pass the molds around for everyone to look at, the mold was visibly vibrating in my hand!! Oh how I hate this class. I know that it is a fear that I must conquer so that I can do parent orientations and other things someday when I have a job. I just don't know how to get over it. I hate talking to a room full of adults! I feel like they are all judging me. Have any of you ever been afraid of public speaking and been able to get over it? Or anyone who is just naturally good? Do you have some tips you would be willing to share?
My Speech professor really scared me when class ended and he asked me if I would stay behind. When everyone left he told me that another student had come to him to talk about me but wanted their name left out of it. (Enter my heart beating out of my chest, sweat on my brow, and a dry mouth) I just stood there with my mouth open and he said, "Oh, no, it's good! She wanted me to tell 'the mom in the front' that she really appreciates the eye contact you gave her during her speech. She said that you were the only one in the room that looked like you were paying any attention to what she had to say." I asked him if that could give me some bonus points on my own speech and he just laughed. I am guessing that is a no. So, that is what I am to my fellow students of 18 and 19. 'The mom in the front' Oh well everyone needs a label I guess.
Later Gators!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Well, Hello again!
It has been quite a while since I was on here. I guess I was busier than I thought, but with what?? Pretty much just day to day life.
School is keeping me pretty busy right now. I love having all of my classes on Tuesday and Thursday. It gives me Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to do everything else that needs to be done. This week I have two essays due and one speech!! Ahhhh! Thank goodness for the extra days of work time.
Just last weekend we took our annual February getaway with Mary and Ben and went down to Springfield. We all had an awesome time together like we always do. We saw many sites that put us in awwww but that is because Phil and I are huge history buffs. We just love it. We went to see Abraham Lincoln's home and I didn't want to leave the street because I was enjoying soaking in all of the history from every single original house!! We also toured our new capital building and our old capital building. The very best part of the whole weekend was the Lincoln museum and library. If any of you are history buffs like us I highly recommend it to you. We spent well over 3 hours in there and frankly we could have been there even longer. Joey and Ben enjoyed it almost as much as Phil and I did. Mary, Jimmy, and Danny all liked it but could have gone through it in about half the time and felt satisfied about it. Mary is just not into history, Danny is too young to really choose if he is into it or not and Jimmy hates anything to do with school!! Thank goodness for Mrs. Lincoln's attic where Mary took the boys and let them play for about and hour and a half. (Love ya Mary!!)
Sadly, once you step outside of Capital Square, Springfield is a dump! It is actually embarrassing to have that city represent our state! I never would have expected that. We have been to a couple of capital cities before and they have all been decent. It is too bad that so many people come there to see the Lincoln Museum and walk away with such an awful perception of Illinois. I sure hope that they clean it up some time.
The boys had fun swimming and hot tubing at the hotel. To tell the truth I enjoyed that too! With all of this crappy weather it was nice to take a dip and pretend like it wasn't only 9 degrees outside. This was the first trip we have taken where we got adjoining rooms and now I will never do it another way! It was so nice for the boys to be able to run back and forth between the rooms without hearing the slamming of the hallway door and then having to keep getting up to let them back in.
The worst part of the trip was the drive home. Joey all of the sudden was flushed in the face and said that it hurt really bad to swallow. He was eventually driven to tears which is not common in Joey when he is sick. Later that night Jimmy started to have the same symptoms and by Monday morning Phil had it. When we were finally able to get everyone into the doctor they were diagnosed with strep throat and the flu! My poor boys are sick still today, all three of them.
So, that is where we are as of today. I will try to get on here more. Spring Break is coming and I will finally have a break!
School is keeping me pretty busy right now. I love having all of my classes on Tuesday and Thursday. It gives me Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to do everything else that needs to be done. This week I have two essays due and one speech!! Ahhhh! Thank goodness for the extra days of work time.
Just last weekend we took our annual February getaway with Mary and Ben and went down to Springfield. We all had an awesome time together like we always do. We saw many sites that put us in awwww but that is because Phil and I are huge history buffs. We just love it. We went to see Abraham Lincoln's home and I didn't want to leave the street because I was enjoying soaking in all of the history from every single original house!! We also toured our new capital building and our old capital building. The very best part of the whole weekend was the Lincoln museum and library. If any of you are history buffs like us I highly recommend it to you. We spent well over 3 hours in there and frankly we could have been there even longer. Joey and Ben enjoyed it almost as much as Phil and I did. Mary, Jimmy, and Danny all liked it but could have gone through it in about half the time and felt satisfied about it. Mary is just not into history, Danny is too young to really choose if he is into it or not and Jimmy hates anything to do with school!! Thank goodness for Mrs. Lincoln's attic where Mary took the boys and let them play for about and hour and a half. (Love ya Mary!!)
Sadly, once you step outside of Capital Square, Springfield is a dump! It is actually embarrassing to have that city represent our state! I never would have expected that. We have been to a couple of capital cities before and they have all been decent. It is too bad that so many people come there to see the Lincoln Museum and walk away with such an awful perception of Illinois. I sure hope that they clean it up some time.
The boys had fun swimming and hot tubing at the hotel. To tell the truth I enjoyed that too! With all of this crappy weather it was nice to take a dip and pretend like it wasn't only 9 degrees outside. This was the first trip we have taken where we got adjoining rooms and now I will never do it another way! It was so nice for the boys to be able to run back and forth between the rooms without hearing the slamming of the hallway door and then having to keep getting up to let them back in.
The worst part of the trip was the drive home. Joey all of the sudden was flushed in the face and said that it hurt really bad to swallow. He was eventually driven to tears which is not common in Joey when he is sick. Later that night Jimmy started to have the same symptoms and by Monday morning Phil had it. When we were finally able to get everyone into the doctor they were diagnosed with strep throat and the flu! My poor boys are sick still today, all three of them.
So, that is where we are as of today. I will try to get on here more. Spring Break is coming and I will finally have a break!
Friday, January 18, 2008
Happy Belated Birthday, MOM!
Yesterday was my mom's 54th Birthday! Mom, sorry that I wasn't able to get on here yesterday. It was good to talk to you though and I am glad that you had a nice dinner with Nonie and Gary.
Well as for the Gorski Happeinings we are all back to our busy schedules.
I started school again on Tuesday. I only have classes on Tuesday and Thursday now and I love it! My school days are long but I love having Monday, Wednesday, and Friday off to study, get into Jimmy's classroom and help, or clean the house.
Joey and Jimmy are also back in school. They are right back in the swing of things. Jimmy joined basketball at the Y so we will be there Tuesday and Friday nights for practice along with Saturday morining for the game. (I enjoy being at that stuff though because many of my friends are there with their kids and we get to chat.) He is such a "sports kid"! Whatever sport season it is; that is his new favorite sport! He has been walking around the house bouncing a basketball for the last week. I thought that the football flying up in the air all day was annoying! I would trade that for the thudding that I am now hearing! I can not wait until it is warm out so that he can get back outside and run and play with his friends. Right now my basement has become their new playground!
Speaking of weather, what is going on? We have a high of 5 all weekend! Yuck, I hate the cold more than anything at all. It isn't worth taking my 11 year old van out in this weather. It doesn't have good heat when it is 40 degrees out forget about it when it is 5! So, that means that by Monday I will have serious cabin fever! Thank goodness that I have my wonderful sister-in-law Kate and my best friend Lynne within 10 houses. I will be walking to one of their houses sometime this weekend just to get out of here!!
Well as for the Gorski Happeinings we are all back to our busy schedules.
I started school again on Tuesday. I only have classes on Tuesday and Thursday now and I love it! My school days are long but I love having Monday, Wednesday, and Friday off to study, get into Jimmy's classroom and help, or clean the house.
Joey and Jimmy are also back in school. They are right back in the swing of things. Jimmy joined basketball at the Y so we will be there Tuesday and Friday nights for practice along with Saturday morining for the game. (I enjoy being at that stuff though because many of my friends are there with their kids and we get to chat.) He is such a "sports kid"! Whatever sport season it is; that is his new favorite sport! He has been walking around the house bouncing a basketball for the last week. I thought that the football flying up in the air all day was annoying! I would trade that for the thudding that I am now hearing! I can not wait until it is warm out so that he can get back outside and run and play with his friends. Right now my basement has become their new playground!
Speaking of weather, what is going on? We have a high of 5 all weekend! Yuck, I hate the cold more than anything at all. It isn't worth taking my 11 year old van out in this weather. It doesn't have good heat when it is 40 degrees out forget about it when it is 5! So, that means that by Monday I will have serious cabin fever! Thank goodness that I have my wonderful sister-in-law Kate and my best friend Lynne within 10 houses. I will be walking to one of their houses sometime this weekend just to get out of here!!
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