back to basics

i just wanted to bookmark for future reference when i restarted the ww core plan. i gained way too much since rosh hashana, so it was back on the wagon for me as of this monday.

i still have 50 lbs to go til my first goal.

my new scanner

at first i was pissed at my darling husband for spending so much money without consulting me, but now i see his idea for a new printer/copier/scanner/faxer was a shear stroke of genius.

firstly, i was able to scan and upload old high school pics onto facebook. we all know how important it is to simultaneously embarrass yourself and your friends by posting photos from our dorky yesteryear.

next, i am able to send handwritten notes to my husband while he is at work. who needs to type ":)" when you can put your blood, sweat, and tears into drawing your very own smiley face, scanning, and emailing it??

and finally, i was actually able to scan my linear algebra notes and send them to a classmate who missed a week's worth of lectures.

i've been using my new machine for less than 12 hours and i've accomplished all this. i can only say that what lies in the future of our user/scanner relationship knows no bounds.

i scored an interview!!!

well after being so pessimistic yesterday, i actually got an email this morning from nyctf informing me that i've been advanced to the interview round!

so on to step 2... i'm so nervous about this part. i get flustered when put on the spot at interviews and have been known to ramble on. i really need to relax and better educate myself about things like urban ed issues and classroom management techniques. i also need to go over my past experiences and really think about how they can contribute to my success in the classroom. i'm sure they're going to want to know about this!

i also have to come up with a five minute lesson plan. i was thinking of teaching about the sine of a double angle (trig) but i don't want to bore them to tears. the thing is i have a cute little song my 10th grade teacher taught us to help us remember the formula. and obviously it worked, because i still remember it 11 years later. doing this lesson and song can show that i can make math, even a hard topic, a little more enjoyable. of course, i can make a complete fool out of myself by singing in front of the interview panel...

so i have a lot to think about right now. and let us not forget my linear algebra midterm on wednesday, my research psych paper due thursday, and my research psych midterm on monday. oh and the fact that i have to teach myself the entire multivariate calc course from the very beginning before my next exam. oh the joys!

well i finally did it

i submitted my application for the new york city teaching fellows last sunday. i want this more than anything, but i have a looming feeling that i won't even be invited for an interview. i honestly don't regret messing around in school so much when i was younger because if anything, it has helped me clarify my goals and accomplish so much while having two young children. but i'm sure no admissions committee will see it this way.

if i don't get in i have two choices. i can go the traditional route through grad school and wait an extra year until i can teach, but this will put a huge strain on our finances and i don't think we can swing it. or i might teach myself multivariate statistics and take the first actuarial exam in may. this way i'll have a good chance of finding a decent paying job. but i'm not entirely sure this is what i want. i'll end up seeing my kids for only an hour every day and i'm not ready for that.

in any event, i don't want to jump the gun here and hopefully i'll find out by next monday whether or not i got the interview.

procrastination

why is it that i always wait until the last minute to study? i have a multivariate calc exam tomorrow night and i just cracked open the textbook for the first time this semester today.

and why am i studying in front of the computer? this is just bad news.

sara is still such a baby to me; it's crazy to think that she was this age when i had katie. sometimes i feel so bad for katie, that she should've had more time with me to herself. sometimes i feel that it's so selfish to add another kid into the mix so quickly.

but then other times i think she would be so lonely without her sister, especially on days like today, erev yom tov, when the best i can do for them is let them watch tv and play indoors with each other all day while i cook and clean (and take 5 minutes to blog!) they can entertain each other endlessly, even more than they abuse each other.

i still feel mixed about it though. what's done is done and i'm so thankful for both of my girls, but i definitely would not want to go through this again. forget about how hard it is as the mother, but i think it's a big injustice to the child.

Wow wow wow, it's been so long since I posted on here. I nearly forgot about the existence of my blog until I was going to comment on my sister in law's own newly formed blog. I was about to sign up for a new account when a little lightbulb went off and I had a vague memory of signing up here once. And fortunately enough I remember the name and passowrd, so here I am yet again.

We'll see if I can keep it up this time, as I'm notoriously B.A.D. at these things. But thanks for the reminder Becky!

p.s. Katie, who I refered to in an earlier entry is now 2 and a half, and that positive pregnancy is now a 15 month old gorgeous little girl.