Wednesday, August 31, 2011

i've named the dragon kronk

i knew today was going to start out great because i had an 'egg-ceptionally' great plan to start my day! remember how i went to bed bath and beyond to get a wedding gift? and how i got a couple of extra things? well, this one was worth every penny! not only is it cute, but it made me a great little omelet.
it's small, it only makes one 2-egg omelet at a time..but then i don't need more than one omelet at a time

so the lighting is terrible (lighting from stove top)...but as you can see, perfect little omelet disc..3 min/side
and then i went to put the boys in daycare (their pen and a few toys) and i realized i didn't have any greenies, so i knew i would have to make a stop after school. for those of you who don't have dogs, greenies are a little treat that they love chewing on and they help clean the teeth-little dogs seem to have an aversion to big humans sticking toothbrushes in their mouths and trying to scrub their teeth...i don't get it.

so i broke down and went to petsmart and spent more than i intended. i have been wanting to get them this one toy for a long time, but i couldn't justify it. then yesterday chaco was sitting on the floor licking the top flat part of my shoe (my chacos...how appropriate). i'm afraid that licking will turn into chewing. so today, tired of chaco ruining every squeaky toy by killing the squeaker on the first night...i gave in and bought the ultimate squeaky toy!
he looked really cool!
i felt like the witch on the lion the witch and the wardrobe when she shaved aslan (only not as wicked)
so i came home and made the mistake of squeaking the toy before it was ready and neither would stop bugging me. "what is it?" "let me at 'im!" "momma, hurry up!!"basically, i couldn't get the tags, strings and felt off quickly enough!by the way, who makes a dog toy using felt as part of the design? umm...perhaps owners of geriatric canines who gum their food and don't chew...but my dogs and felt...no sirreee...
love-eeeed it!
and of course after a couple of hours, what does chaco decide? right back to the old, little toy. can't win.
go figure
as kronk would say: squeaky, uh, squeak, squeaker, squeakin',

julie

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

i don't rightly know what that was under the desk, but i fear the worst...

got home and after feeding and playing with the dogs, chaco decided to make a little cave under the beanbag and there he fell asleep.
he has ties to the Ancestral Puebloans....he is a cliff dweller at heart.
it doesn't happen very often in upper elementary school, but one day every time i looked down during one of my 'carpet-time' workshops, i saw different boys with their fingers near their noses...it hasn't happened this week, thank goodness. but i was walking by a desk today and i accidentally touched the bottom edge and something crusty flew off...almost yacked. note to self: no more touching any furniture in classroom.

after that, nobody really wants to go to the cafeteria, but i forgot to pack my lunch...LIES! ALL LIES!! actually, i was too lazy and figured i would go out to a fast food place to grab something...but then i got too lazy to do that and settled for cafeteria.
cafeteria pizza. and a spork..woo hoo!
and then i made it a top priority to get to the store after work!

i just got a very unexpected call. (seriously, just now, in the middle of writing this entry)it was great to hear from one of my Bible study gals from last year (by the end, everyone had all but fizzled out and gotten 'too busy,' and i was pretty much showing up and having coffee alone). boo. anyhoo, i prayed about it and decided that i would not be leading a group through the ministry i was volunteering with simply because i knew it was going to be a busy year at school, and i knew i wouldn't be able to keep up with the emails, contact data, meetings etc...but at the same time, i've felt a heavy heart to not finish what i started out with. so when i got that phone call, i was asked if i would be interested in starting up a Bible study again. when the students are calling and asking, it's really difficult to say no, and  the best part is i didn't have any desire to say no! i cannot wait!

don't touch furniture unless you know what you'll find underneath,
julie

Sunday, August 28, 2011

nothing spoils a good stained glass window like a creepy child

i do not love weddings. but i do love people who get married, therefore i go to weddings. i chose not to write about this ahead of time because i didn't want to jinx myself. i checked and double checked...i even triple checked this time to make sure that this time i had all of my information in order! if you recall, i missed my last big wedding. boo.

part of the reason i don't enjoy weddings is the whole 'getting-ready' thing. and then there's the 'being-single' thing. unless you are going with a group of friends, it isn't much fun going to weddings. as the bride entered and walked down the aisle, i was not completely dry-eyed because i've known brett anne since she was in 8th grade (or before). fortunately as soon as the bride began walking, mary showed up! she'd been helping brett with the dress. mary is a great wedding buddy because she loves to laugh and has a great sense of humor, so we play off of each other well.

the venue was a church out in mckinney and mary had been privy to many of the details, so she was quick to point out the creepy window:
'suffer little children to come unto me'...i think this little child is suffering.
and once the wedding was over, i helped mary do some quick clean up before heading over to the fellowship hall for the reception. and it was beautiful! i thought at one point that i saw...dick cheney...
white shirt-doesn't he kinda bear a resemblance? (and there's mary fully enjoying being in the picture)


anyhoo, i loved attending this wedding because i love this family! they love the Lord and they are such a blessing to everyone around them! it was also nice to visit with several mutual friends who happened to be guests as well.so many people that i really don't get to see very often, and sadly, at a wedding reception, there isn't much of a chance to really catch up and have any real conversation because everyone is making rounds and seeing who else is around to talk to :)

and is it ok that when i went shopping for the wedding gift, i saw some things that i really liked on the list? and that maybe i bought something for myself as well? well, i did. but as you can see it was something small!
yes, a mini measuring cup for tablespoon, teaspoon, etc, and kitchen spice yankee candle-which i am LOVING!
the perfect way to end a wedding weekend was brunch with a former camper, one of the bride's sisters and a new acquaintance. egg-cellent!

hope your weekend was beautiful!
julie

Friday, August 26, 2011

cicada...secada...let's call the whole thing off

ok, so...it's been awhile since my last post; some people might blame president bush for this type of thing, but the blame totally lies with me. apart from being busy getting started back up with school, my back pain flared up again. after procrastinating and putting off the physical therapy, i reached the point where i realized it was foolish not to go sooner (the point where i was trying to maneuver a way to roll off of the bed into a semi-standing position).

the worst part of feeling poopy is that it's rough on the dogs because they want to play, but it's been difficult to get down and do the fun stuff with them, so thankfully it's getting better with the p.t.

all i've been hearing the past few days is hurricane this and hurricane that. sorry, but we've had a drought here in tx and in the dallas area, it's like day 42 of 100+ weather this year. i was so thrilled to hear the thunder the other morning and see the lightning, just to realize it had passed us by to the north and west. boo. so as i drove toward school, i got like 20 drops of rain on my windshield. i was so disappointed that i turned on my windshield wiper wash a few times and pretended i was driving in the rain.

 i am fascinated by cicadas. these guys are so loud! there is a link if you want to know a little more about that go here . at kamp there were cicadas everywhere-one summer one of my friends caught 3 of them (and held them in her fist until she could throw them out the window-asking if we wanted to make a necklace out of them first. gross). but i looked more closely at one and realized that they are beautiful! for something so perfect, there must be a creator-artist! check out the wings-they are perfectly symmetrical and so intricate like stained glass! then on his head and upper body there is a distinct color of camouflage! i am amazed! so as you can imagine, i was ecstatic to find this little guy!
            


this little guy was sitting in the landing on the 2nd floor when i came home today. he was dead (i figured that out because he was laying upside down, legs in the air). so i picked him up (like any normal human being would) and brought him up to my apt. as i unlocked my door, i couldn't help but think, 'what if he was just unconscious and he wakes up in my apartment because he was revived by the air-conditioner?' i then had to find a place for him that the boys wouldn't get curious. and guess what!? after i got the documentation i needed, he flew away kinda like the wasp from awhile back...(if you will recall, the wasp did NOT really fly away...he fell away over the balcony-albeit gracefully).

i remember the first time i heard about cicadas and i didn't know what they were and the only connection i was making was good ol' jon secada -until someone said it was like a locust. hmm..not sure which i prefer listening to more.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BMAYES! i was thinking about making a cicada necklace for you...

if you hear the shrill song of the male cicada, go the other way...that's the mating call and you don't want to be mistaken for a female cicada!
julie

Monday, August 8, 2011

i really hope his fingers were clean

today i woke up later than i have all summer! 10:53, and i'm blaming  on the meds i took before i went to sleep last night. i was REALLY out! when i realized what time it was, i quickly got myself together so that i could run up to the school to get something input into the computer--by getting together, i simply mean changing shorts and t-shirt...it's still summer! i was hoping to get my shirt to wear to training tomorrow, but was informed that it wouldn't be in until 4pm, so just wear khakis to the training and get the shirt in the morning (obviously i will wear a generic shirt there and then change, i won't be showing up in just khakis-i'd probably get arrested).

so i had to go purchase some cheap khakis at walmart because i don't wear them (i think it's a residual side effect from the days of working in the restaurants-all but one required khakis). so i found some, but apparently the mexican factory people think the average american female is an amazon giant b/c i have about 5-6 inches left over on the bottom! boo.
and since i was in the area, i decided to check out this 'HONDURAN restaurant' called baleadas express.

there was like a remolacha slaw, whole plantain, taco, beans with crema and a pastelito de carne
i went  up to the counter and tried to figure out the menu and how to get what i wanted. it took a couple of minutes, but the guy finally offered me what i was wanting. then i went and found a booth to sit at and pulled out my book to do some work, but i was super distracted by the telenovela and the music competing for attention. the guy brought out a diet coke can with a straw, then he picked it up just after setting it down and said, "oh, there's something dirty-they've been working on the a/c." and he turned around, got his finger all up in the rim and i thought he was going to go get me another, but no. he turned back around with it and said, "ahi esta."

aaaaannnnddd....thankful for the straw. (i never use a straw to drink out of a can. today i did).

here's the deal. the food looked really good. i was hoping that they were going to fry the plantain in slices and that it was going to be sweet. i was also expecting the beans to not be as refried, the taco was ok, and the pastelito didn't have the sweet spices i was hoping for...but it did have a bee hidden down in there fried into the batter. needless to say, that was when i stopped eating. i would not recommend this restaurant to friends i like. it wasn't really typical for me. the best pastelitos i ever had was on one of the little stops between sps and tegucigalpa...a little restaurant-delicious! but as far as this area goes, i will be sticking with gloria's (only not on their pimped out friday saturday club nights)!

then, since i was in the same area, i stopped at hobby lobby, another favorite. i had to get some paint. they already have their halloween, thanksgiving and Christmas stuff out. crazies. on the way out, i saw this poster, which i had to take a pic of because i needed the information! it looked like a really cool thing to visit, so take note all of you in the oklahoma area!

you have until october 16th!!

and that is how today has been...if you go out to eat this week, make sure the owner isn't putting his fingers all over your can, and that your food bee free of insects,
julie

Sunday, August 7, 2011

it's just a hot mess of heat that's real hot!

willis h carrier...thank you for contributing to the invention of the air conditioner. you have no idea. the other day a news reporter interviewed a man from dallas who had this to say about the conditions here: it's just a hot mess of heat that's real hot. hmm.. couldn't have said it more eloquently myself.


we were leafing through the dog magazine today when we saw this little gettup:
it's like an apron with a pouch in the front..and a pooch in the pouch
chaco looked at it and said, "that dog is ugly." he doesn't mince words. bruno peeked over and said, "mama don't ever get one of those things, i would be so embarrassed."  with a dog as big as hers, i think that would wear on my back. yikes. i have a little sling i used for bruno when he was smaller but only in crowded areas (riverwalk) or when he was sick did he ever get a free ride. the same magazine had doggie strollers. 


any drop dead diva fans out there? it's a unique little summer series i started watching last summer and the mom of one of the lawyers said she just went on vacation to branson! that gave me so much more respect for the show!


it's getting late and i don't have a whole lot to say, let's just stay away from the pooch pouch in front!
julie

Saturday, August 6, 2011

nobody tosses a dwarf....not the beard!

alright, so we did, we watched the fellowship of the rings on thursday night and then last night, lo and behold the sequel two towers was on t.v. and bruno said, "stop! we have to watch it, it's destiny!" so we did. and i just have to say, gimli is my favorite-such a comic relief in this series!
favorite gimli line is when he's running and trying to keep up with legolas and aragorn
Gimli: [out of breath] I'm wasted on cross-country! We Dwarves are natural sprinters, very dangerous over short distances. 
and then: keep breathing, that's the key, breathe. 
and today the third movie in the sequel was on: return of the king and chaco piped up this time and said, "we HAVE to watch it- i need closure." i didn't think he even knew what that meant. and even though we've watched it many times, i went along with it because i was so impressed.

so while the boys were watching, i was partially engaged because i was spending time downloading music.

this morning as i woke up, i had just dreamed that people were on the news saying that some group had invented or discovered manna and i thought to myself, 'no way. you cannot invent manna, it was something that God sent to the Israelites...you cannot just invent it.' and they were showing a clip of exploding or collapsing a cave and what they were calling manna flying out. and then i think i must have moved and redirected the dream because i don't recall an ending. i'm sure you really don't care about any of that, but it was just one of those dreams.

once we were up and around, i pulled out the rubiks cube because the boys were a little curious about it. they were very intrigued by the whole solution thing. chaco was bummed because i told him he really wouldn't be able to solve it without thumbs. i need to pull it out more often because i almost forgot one of the steps and i've gotten a little rusty.
thank you katie for teaching me the ways of the cube!

this evening i made a simple version of caprese tartlets that i'd seen on the food network. they are so easy, yet taste so good! thought i would share.
start with your bread slices-one slice makes one little tartlet. cut off the crusts and save them (i like to snack on them with the cream cheese dip)

flatten the slices so that they're a little doughy-i use the bottom of  a plate

fit them into the muffin tin and set them aside until the cream cheese is ready

with a fork mix basil, garlic salt, and pepper until creamy. then spoon a dab into the bottom of the tartlets and pop into the oven until crispy, take them out promptly so they don't burn.

add a thin slice of mozzarella cheese and a thin slice of tomato

if you like balsamic vinaigrette, feel free to drizzle a bit on top of the tartlet. enjoy!! again, super quick and easy and delicious!

alright, i have to call my parents and see what they're up to-have a blessed weekend!
julie

Thursday, August 4, 2011

so glad i don't have to lick your face to say hello

i'm so glad people don't greet each other like dogs...between the sniffing and licking of the face, it could get real illegal real quick. (still trying to work with chaco on the face licking thing). not to mention i don't think the neighbors would appreciate it if i sat at the window and yelled every time someone walked by or every time i heard a noise.

i decided to try making potato chips with the fry daddy again tonight-i baked them first for a bit and then tried, but they still came out soggy. boo. the new neighbors probably don't like me very much and have mean nicknames... don't care. the hardest part about making chips is when ya turn around and the potato is sitting up staring at you...right before you pull out the guillotine.


tonight i was watching 'wheel of fortune' and the puzzle had gotten to _ipping down the water slide and the girl landed on a $3500 and i was sure she was going to guess the z, but she said Y..what? yipping down the water slide? really? i wish i could go on wheel and win (i wouldn't even have to be the big winner, i'd be okay with a couple thousand to pay of debt and be done with it! or an all-expense-paid trip to HONDURAS!)
"donna decorates dallas" does that sound sketchy to anyone besides me? too much alliteration to be a clean show? but it's on hgtv, so it must be ok. just sounds a little shady. i just saw a commercial for it a little earlier today.

i'm all 'news-ed out' so i think tonight it's movie night with the boys! so i gave them the choice:
guess which one they chose??? yep, we will be watching hobbits, elves, wizards and hottie strider
 thanks guys! i'll watch pride and prejudice while you're sleeping tomorrow!

 gotta go get the popcorn ready- next time you greet someone be sure not to gp sniffing or lick their face,
julie

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

i feel guilty if i don't feed the digital fish...

is it weird that every time i view this page i feed the fish? seriously..they are captivating.

last night as i was falling to sleep, my brain began to think of lots of old shows we used to watch. let's see if you watched some of the same things we did: bj and the bear, dukes of hazard(given), hogan's heroes, mash (only when the baby sitter was there), cagney and lacey, knight rider, simon and simon, greatest american hero, fantasy island, alf, magnum p.i....i know those were mostly 80's, and then these two songs from the 70s being with babysitters and mom and dad's 8tracks: blueberry hill, and don't it make my brown eyes blue-they've been playing in my head off and on over the last few weeks.

this morning when i turned on the news they were talking about what a cute story it was that this lady in her 80's and an older man were getting married (it was the lady's first time to be married). i didn't think it was cute. but it was interesting. apparently she was a nun. if you want to read about it click here. 

today i was craving a chili's quesadilla explosion salad. so i started looking up recipes online. did you realize that it is the #2 worst for you salad? WOAH! i could leave the quesadillas out because i rarely eat them anyway..i just love the salad! so i found a recipe that cuts way down on the calories and it sounds amazing. so i went to the grocery store to get some of the ingredients i was lacking.
wait one minute! THAT was not one of the ingredients!
i also got a bag of marshmallows to make s'mores, but i forgot the graham crackers. i figure i could just set it out on the balcony for a minute and it'd be ready. i'll probably try to make the salad sometime this week-let you know how it goes!

so i showed you the foot massager last night and i tried it out for a few minutes, with the tag still on so i could take it back if i wasn't impressed. then it started to come apart-the wooden pegs started coming out of the sides. so i figured out the problem and got it back together...then about an hour later, i heard something and chaco had put his signature teeth marks on it. nice. now it's a keeper, so i took the tag off and here's what was on the back.
it reminds me a little of the operation game...i don't know how accurate any of these pressure points are, but i thought i'd share them with you just in case
alright, gotta go-chaco's sitting on the footstool staring at me.
julie

p.s. what shows or songs most take you back to your childhood?

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

it was a one-stop day

i woke up this morning and needed coffee. how do i know? well, as i started the coffee maker, i realized that i didn't have a cup under the mouth of the keurig and coffee was spilling into the reservoir. hence the need for coffee.

and i was thinking about going to get some diet coke, (4 cases for $10..good deal these days), but i couldn't bear the thought of carrying 4 12-packs up to the third floor...especially after the radio man said extreme heat warning-110 in the shade, 120 in the parking lot.but not to worry, it's going to cool off next monday and tuesday it'll be down to 103-104...boo. so instead i went to bed bath and beyond and finally got my soda stream refill..i know, it's taken forever but i just never want to stop in because it makes me get things like this:
i think my feet deserve it after teaching all day!
 i also got a meat thermometer-i know it's hard to believe that i've been cooking all these years without a food thermometer and i have not gotten sick nor died yet! (but i did see something about some people dying because they hadn't cooked their turkey burgers to the correct temp...darned turkey burgers!) when i worked at kamp we drove by the tyson processing plant whenever we went into berryville-and the stench makes me reconsider whenever i think about purchasing turkey...ew. (by the way, i went to the website about berryville arkansas, and it had all sorts of information including most popular name of deceased persons)

so when i got home, i stayed inside because the man on the radio suggested it. and to be honest, it's a yucky hot out there. i've noticed that on hot days i've become a 1-2 stop person. i can't make more stops than that because the diet coke won't stay cold long enough!  and then i found it as i was flipping through the channels-
thank goodness for the hallmark channel! murder she wrote!
she's like an old nancy drew. i love it! intelligent but not sexy-gives us average folk a boost of self confidence. smile. i have always enjoyed angela lansbury..classy yet down to earth. also i loved her voice in beauty and the beast!

so...i've seriously been considering a hyundai elantra (not the touring) in part for the gas economy. anyone have one? i might lease one more time...see how i like the car. i think it has about as much space as my g6 and i don't need a whole lot of room (as long as there are headrests to put up the dog seats we're good).

goodnight!
julie

Monday, August 1, 2011

what did one truffle say to the other truffle? we're rich! we're rich!!

ok, so...summer is dangerous. after i posted last night, i may or may not have had an urge to make caramel-coffee truffles...i know...bad.
i coated them in nuts, powdered sugar, chocolate sprinkles and toasted coconut (only when i was toasting the coconut in the microwave, i forgot to keep an eye on it because i was distracted, and some of the coconut burned and i thought i might have another fire alarm incident)
they are rich, rich, rich. if only they were worth their weight in sugar!

remember how i once mentioned that i am kind of a 'fix-it' person? well, this morning i was so disappointed when i looked at my weak salsa that looked like someone got sick, that i pulled out the tomatoes, onions, cilantro, sea salt and crushed red pepper. surely if i cut them up instead of blending them and add them to what i already have, it will make it better...right?
it worked, i feel like i have redeemed myself in the salsa category
i thought i was going to have to go pick something up from the school today, but i misunderstood-i don't have to go until next monday-good! that gave me a chance to go get something i needed; unfortunately i stopped at target. that led me to many more purchases than were absolutely necessary, but i really like what i got! i am especially enjoying the wireless keyboard-which was on sale. i also finally got a new bag (which is why i got the keyboard-they were in the same aisle and it caught my eye. i figured i might be able to use it at school with my computer there, which is how i validated the purchase.

i hauled it all upstairs and realized that i didn't have my keys-locked them in the car...nice. so i called the main office and asked if any of the maintenance guys were available that might be able to bring a key. what was i thinking? this isn't like a full service hotel. they were all out on maintenance. so i pushed everything up against the wall in hopes that no one would see it. i didn't have the cloaking device to cover it. so i took off on the hike to the main office in 104'. fortunately i had a cold diet dr. pepper in hand-no worries. when i got back, everything was in place-thank goodness! and the spare was where i thought i had left it-double thank goodness!! "mama! is that you?" chaco from behind the gate. silence-maybe if i don't answer he'll think it's the wind or something. and i took off again to see where my keys were.
fingers crossed. i got into the car, and i didn't see the keys in the seat or on the floor or in the ignition..not in the stash compartment-i was starting to sweat a little-oh, but that was just because of the heat-they were hiding in a crack just behind my seat. you must understand, my car is still full of all of my teaching supplies because 3 stories up feels more like the empire state building these days when my hands are full! i returned the spare key and checked for mail (none...maybe it melted).

when i came in, i called to the boys and chaco said, "mama, you missed it! it sounded like the wind or something rummaging through the kitchen drawer!" (i knew it would work..he blames the wind on a lot of things). anyhoo, i went to the refrigerator to get some cold water and this is what i found-kind of funny. let me preface this picture with the fact that my refrigerator has had an issue since i moved here, and i don't want to mess with maintenance or whatever, but it's a cheapy and the water melts from the freezer sometimes, so i have to put a container in there to keep the thing from filling up the vegetable drawers and the bottom of the fridge.
bob, the tomato decided to dive in while it was a pool of water, and then when it turned to ice, he was stuck

the key to success is to not lock the key somewhere unless you have a backup plan....
julie