Survey Time!

I'm still waiting for my Crisis Intervention grade. Other then that, life has been pretty good with the weather being warm, work atmosphere okay, great boyfriend, etc etc.

Ok here we go!

1. What is your salad dressing of choice?
italian

2. What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
hmm don't unusally go but lately I've been digging white castle

3. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
chilli's

4. On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant?
15 %

5. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
chicken and pizza comes a close second

6. What are your pizza toppings of choice?
Pepperoni, green pepper

7. What do you like to put on your toast?
butter

8. What is your wallpaper on your computer?
little coffee mugs that remind me of college

9. How many televisions are in your house?
1

10. Are you right-handed or left-handed?
righty

11. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
gosh no

12. What is the last heavy item you lifted?
metal chair

13. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
nope

14. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
i would consider the year but day...that would be freaky

15. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
i like Joanna but i get Joanne, it is not Joanne

16. What color do you think looks best on you?
blue

17. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
nope

18. Have you ever saved someone's life?
personally, this is a tricky question. i believe i saved my dad's on a number of occasions.

19. Has someone ever saved yours?
yes

20. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?
yes

21. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
never

22. Would you never blog again for $50,000?
yes! sorry folks

23. Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?
at 22, hell yes!!

24. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $10,000?
i don't think i would survive that

25. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?
NEVER

26: What is in your left pocket?
nothing

27: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?
what??

28: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?
house: hardwood. apartment: carpet

29: Do you sit or stand in the shower?
both,lol

30: Could you live with roommates?
i think so

31: How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
maybe 5

32: What did do you do the last time you had a run-in with the cops?
i never had a run-in with the cops :)

33. What do you want to be when you grow up?
School Counselor

34: Last Friend you talked to?
Monica

35: Last person who called you?
Jay

36: Last person you hugged?
Jay

37: Number?
5

38: Season?
summer

39: Missing someone?
YES

40: Mood?
happy

41: Listening to?
Z100

42: Watching?
waiting for The View

43: Worrying about?
seeing the dermatologist

44: First place you went this morning?
the bathroom

45: What can you not wait to do?
go on vacation this spring/summer

46: What's the last movie you watched?
I Am Legend

47: Do you smile often?
Yes, I am a sweet person

48: Are you a friendly person?
Yes, sometimes to my disadvantage

Winter Intercession

Yesterday was my first day of my Crisis Intervention I course. It is a 5 day jam packed course--5 1/2 hours W/Thurs/Fri,  8 hrs Sat, and 5 hrs Sunday. The good news is that the course is 3 credits and that I still have 2 and a half weeks before my second semester starts!!!

We basically discussed the terms and stages of crisis, what we would do in different areas of crisis', listened to a first year high school counselor, and saw a mini video about bullying and how it led to one student's suicide. Our school provided us with dinner, cookies, drinks and coffee which was excellent! I participated and it was a good day--better then I had anticipated.

I'll let you know how the course ends. Keep warm everyone!

Superstitions

I found this neat website about New Year's Traditions and Superstitions. I also really like this font color; I think I might use it more often :)
New Year Superstitions Drinking and kissing your spouse or life partner at the stroke of midnight is a very popular New Year superstition. Most superstitions, traditions and customs related to beginning of a year stems from the belief that whatever you do on the first day of the year will set the pattern for the whole coming year. Other superstitions are to ward off evil spirits and invite Lady Luck in our house. January 1st is supposed to be the most important day of the year as everything we do on this day is supposed to become a part of our life for the next 364 days. Some popular New Year superstitions are:

• Avoid breaking things, crying and wailing on the first day of the year, if you don't want to continue the pattern for the entire year.
• Babies born on 1st January is said to be the luckiest of all throughout their lives.
• Do not let money, jewelry, precious items or other invaluable things leave your home on New Year Day. Do not pay loans and bills or lend things to anybody, if you do not want to show just-entered fortune the way to leave during the year. People go to the extent of not taking out garbage or even not dusting their carpets on this day to ensure that nothing goes out of home during the year.
• Dress well throughout the year by wearing new clothes on January 1.
• Evil One and his attendants and servants hate din and loud noise. So, scare them away by being as loud in New Year celebrations as possible. Church bells are rung at midnight for the purpose too.
• Full larders, cupboards stocked up with food and wallets and purses full of money bring prosperity in New Year.
• If you have to deliver presents on New Year morning, leave them in the car since New Year Eve on December 31st.
• If you must take something out from the home, let someone come with the present inside the home first.
• Never leave the home before someone comes in first. First footer in the house should be ushered in with a warm welcome and should not have flat feet, cross-eyes or eyebrows stretching out to meet in the middle.
• Pay your bills and loans before New Year Eve, so you don't have any debt left for New Year.
• People do not wash hair on New Year and wear festive red clothing for happiness all the year round.
• The direction of wind during sunrise on New Year morning prophesizes about the coming year. Wind from south foretells fine weather and prosperous times ahead, wind from north foretells bad weather, wind from east foretells famine and natural calamities and wind from west foretells plenty of milk and fish for all but death of a person of great national importance. No wind means joy and prosperity throughout the year.
• Token amount of work on first day of the year means advancements in career but starting out a serious work project is unlucky on New Year Day.
• Washing dishes and doing laundry on this day is said to lead to a death in the family during the year.

http://www.indobase.com/holidays/new-year/new-year-superstitions.html

Merry Christmas!

Merry  Christmas everyone! No matter all the struggles of this year, we really have no other choice but to look ahead and trust God and what he has planned for us. Maybe there are doors we want opened but we aren't ready to look inside them yet. We can only pray and surround ourselves with those we love and cherish. With this thought in mind, I wish all of my readers a happy and healthy Christmas and New Year!



Thank you Shelly for these beautiful graphics!

aoljurlAdd, aoljurlAdd_2

More venting

I'm feeling stressed out today. It started in the morning when I tried calling my doctor to get the results of my x-ray. After speaking with several people, I finally left a message with the secretary. That was 9 hours ago and she hadn't called me back and I doubt she will call me tomorrow. I guess I need to try again tomorrow morning.

My mom and I are paying more then we should for our health insurance. Before my father's one year anniversary of his death, both of us were covered under his medical and now that is no longer the case. So my mom is looking for another job to handle this extra weight *sigh*

It seems that I write whenever things are wrong or have gone awry. Writing is, and has always been, very therapeutic for me. I was looking through my old journals and the entries I have created since I was young. I actually haven't updated my "paper" journal for over a year and I did yesterday. I love how I have these things to look back on and it's interesting to see how much I have grown

Rants

I'm finally finished with school and it wasn't without any hard struggles in this past week. It started with one of my professors who exempted me from her paper final only to give me an A- for her class. After emailing her about this, she explained that the "-" was for not participating and speaking up in class. I can remember volunteering to be her "class dummy" in which I was the counselor and she was the bratty eighth-grader. I participated at least one in every class and this wasn't enough for her. Just because I'm not as loud as some other more experienced students in my class, she thinks this is the kind of person I am. She says that I will have to speak up and break up fights and arguments when I am in school. Duh! I work in an after school program, I know all about this. I hate how she thinks she can pigeonhole me as a certain person but she does not know me.

I hope that I can one day find a great boss because this boss I am working for now is no good. I've been there around 5 years and she still treats me like I'm a teenager, not someone who is getting her Master's degree. The other day, she told me harshly, "Joanna, NO ONE is allowed to go outside, OKAY??" I said "Sure, why, is there someone outside right now?" and she tells me with her hands up in the air, "THIS IS A STATEMENT, I said NO ONE is allowed to go out!" She was referring to the bad weather we were having on the East Coast a couple of days ago. Geez, mind you, this was in front of all the students and several adults who were in the room. How dare she speak to me and humiliate me like that. God forbid I ask a question. I think she expects me to be a robot and nod my head yes Ms. Eileen. This job is so convenient though and gives me flexible hours and I would hate to leave it. If only my professor had seen me, haha.

It's funny how does two people can preoccupy my mind these past few days. Now that I got it out of my system, I can put on Christmas songs, wrap presents, and try having some fun! :)

Taking it Slow(er)

I don't think I mentioned that I went to see an allergist last week. For years I've been sneezing and feeling allergic to things in my house. Well after the allergist tested me, I discovered that I'm allergic to dogs (I have a dog ), dust and roaches! She wants to see me in January for further testing. In addition, she gave me a referral to a dermatologist. I've been breaking out and the cold weather and allergies don't help my skin at all. She also gave me a referral to get a chest x-ray for my hives that I tend to get around my chest area. This worries me a little but she just wants me to do this as a precaution. Knowing what happened to my dad, of course I need to do this!

Almost done with school! As a matter of fact, I need to hurry up and finish my 10 page paper that is due today. All I need to add are recommendations and a conclusion paragraph.

Have a great day!!!!