pirouette creme filled rolled wafers made me get up early this morning.

Christmas bulletin board- done!

last night while i was sitting here at home, writing letters, i had a strange craving for rolled wafers..so much so, that i was envisioning myself at school sipping coffee with a creme filled pirouette...so i woke early and stopped at walmart hoping that they sold there...i was so pleased to finally find a canister this morning before school! and as i was walking out, i figured i'd ask to see if they sold stamps, and guess what, they do!

hmm..so, i have been struggling with my room set-up at school, and i think i have an idea that will make it work much better.so, now i have to set it up and do a little work...some sanding, some drilling, etc...i'm actually quite excited about it.

i was thrilled to get the a-z readers out of my room! halfway through the year, and things are starting to come together...

so tomorrow the kids will have a reading assessment to see where they are. fingers crossed!

i know i mentioned the education reform fellows program-getting excited about that. today the idea was brought up that perhaps possibly since i got into this part of the program, they might consider grandfathering me into the program...i'll have to figure out how to endear them to me! smile. anything to not have to go through that whole process again of the interviewing! when i know more, you'll know more.

and the most exciting thing going on right now is that i just found out that one of my best friends from high school in HONDURAS is coming up to the dallas area to visit her sister over Christmas, so i will get to see her and catch up! it has been over 20 years since we've gotten to hang out and have face-time-i cannot wait! not only that, but i will get to see her parents and hopefully meet her boys as well!! (she has real human boys). so i couldn't be more tickled about this holiday season!

and hopefully b-mayes will be able to come to town or we'll be able to stop up there!

AND the hobbit is coming out!! i have been looking forward to this since the first rumors!!

the holidays are sneakin' up on us!
julie

farmers branch added a day to my life!

well. i hope ms. arther had a decent day in my classroom and that my instructions were clear enough. i work so hard to leave good lesson plans for my subs! i want the day to go as smoothly as possible; this stems from the time when i subbed in wylie, tx-i only did it once because it was that bad.

anyhoo. today was the day i was to appear for jury duty. selection. so i was able to sleep in for about an hour and a half, then i took the boys for a short walk before getting ready to go. fortunately it was right here in farmers branch, just around the corner. so i drove on up and then i turned and went through a little 'emergency vehicles only' cut through...it was too late by the time i saw the sign to stop, so i booked it and kept going hoping no cps were around (which i was pretty certain there were not because my radar-detector didn't go off).i got across, no lights, no alarms, safe.

farmers branch police and courts.

when i walked in, there was a roomful of people to my left, so i looked to the right, and there was the office clerk behind her little window and the line i had to wait in was short enough. so i went up and gave the lady my paper. i was a little surprised that they didn't ask for identification or anything to make sure it was me and not a paid substitute sitting in for me. so then i went to sit and read for a bit. i chose to take the book GUILTY by ann coulter with me to read, in hopes that it would send off subliminal messages to the counsel as they were making selections...and as i sat there for about 15-20 minutes, just getting settled into my book, another lady came out and addressed us all.

"unfortunately we are having some technical difficulties in the courtroom, and the judge is going to have to reset his docket. you are all free to go, and this will still count as a jury appearance." people almost shot out of their seats! so as i was exiting and giving her the card about the rules that they had given us earlier for our reading pleasure, i asked her, "so, we won't be asked to come back in for this jury selection?" "no, and if you are summoned by any of the county courts, you are exempt because you were here today-for the next 24 months." wow!

farmers branch courts just added a day to my life! it was 9:37 as i drove back home. i really felt like i had won the lottery! forget the powerball, i had a complete day of freedom! nothing hanging over my head! the worst part is that in the back of my mind, i was actually contemplating coming in to school. then i decided that no, i deserved this. i have not taken a day to myself, and today, it felt so good! i walked in, cleaned all the laundry and organized the closet. then i finished some painting i'd been putting off. i went to the post office to drop off some cards that my kids had made for our jr achievement person. then i stopped at walmart for some Christmas supplies.

this year's tree

got some Christmas cheer up around the apartment

then when i got home, i walked in and took the boys on another walk. it was great because it was early enough that everyone else was still at work, so i had them off leash and they loved it! when we got down to the open field-ish area out back, they played a bit, then they wanted some pics, so i gave in.

chaco

bruno

smelling the fall grass and flowers

just looking off into the distance-serious senior pic-look

when we got home, i looked down and saw a dark clump on my pant-leg. i didn't notice it until chaco came up and started sniffing. and my first thought was,"CRAP" literally. gross...another dog's poop on my pants. it's one thing if it's my dogs, but quite another if it's someone else's pup! so i looked at it, wiped it with a piece of toilet paper, trying not to smear it into the fabric, and then...yep, i smelled it. had to make sure. to my relief, it did not smell. it was just dirt i knelt in when i was taking pictures. i think...because just a few minutes later while i was sitting at the couch, bruno was walking by when his nose started sniffing at my pant legs...hmm..oh well.

now we're just settling in for the night and very satisfied..i may have to do this more often!
julie

today some dude got paid $36 to inject decadron into my hip

well, let me begin by saying that tacking on the $96 steroid shot was worth it, because tonight i was able to clean my kitchen (the thought never would've even crossed my mind earlier this morning).

not the best thanksgiving ever. i blame parents for not keeping the kids at home when they are sick (not thankful for that). in the cnn news the other morning, it said that those germs can catch you from 8 ft away! hmm...i suppose i could pull out the ol' laser pointer and sit in the back of my room and have one of the students turn the pages of the book...or mask...i could get one of those germ masks...no contact...instead of talking to me, we'll try writing notes and lysol them. i don't rightly know, but i do know that i do NOT like to be sick.

tuesday morning on the way to school, i thought i felt something a little weird in my throat. went on with the day. then tuesday night when i got home (which i am thankful for), i was exhausted. i tossed and turned all night and kept having to spit into the trash can to clear the throat-gross. then i was finally able to get up just enough energy to get to the living room (the boys were restless), and once i got there, i turned on the electric throw (which i am thankful for). and i slept off and on all day, switching positions, barely hearing whatever was on the television (which i am thankful for).

at some point during the day, i realized that i had left the tres leches from the evening before on the counter, so i threw  placed it in the refrigerator in hopes that it wasn't completely ruined and spoiled. finally around 9 pm, i was too tired to move to my bedroom, but the couch was no longer comfortable, so i moved the coffee table and made room on the floor and pulled throw down with me. (pathetic, i know). finally, once jimmy fallon came on and mind you, i wasn't watching any of it, just hearing bits and pieces, i pulled myself up to go to bed. more twisting and turning, etc.

wednesday night i had strange dreams that i was living in israel, helping them build arms against hamas...strange i know.
 
when i woke up on thanksgiving morning, it was a bit more of switching positions and trying to drag myself out of bed. so finally after being awake for a half hour, the boys convinced me that they wanted to watch the macy's day parade! so we  watched some of the balloons go by and listened to the lame commentary (even being sick, i thought it was lame...or maybe i was hypercritical because i was sick), but (i am thankful for the macy's thanksgiving day parade). 

feeling a little hungry, yet not really feeling up to scrambling an egg, i went for the tres leches. either it was going to be good, or it was going to be bad. at that point, the way i was feeling, it didn't really matter i probably wouldn't even notice a difference. it was still good (which i am thankful for). i watched/selpt through elf-i was hoping miracle on 34th street would be on, but sadly, it was not. i think i got on the internet, but i couldn't sit up long enough to actually do anything.

well, last night, it was nearly impossible to sleep, i must have been breaking a fever because my sheets were drenched, so i moved to the middle and withing 15 minutes-sopping wet.other side of the bed still sweating like a diet coke out of an ice chest on an hot day...did i really just compare sweating to condensation? sorry...being too exhausted, i grabbed a throw from beside the bed and laid it over my sheets and tried to sleep again, deciding this time that i was going to the doctor in the morning.

care now cost more than i would like, but the doc looked in my throat and said, "unless you WANT me to run the swab, i will, but since you pay 80%, i plan to treat it like tonsillitis. i can do that from what i see right now. but i would suggest the steroid shot or pill-shot will work faster, but it's up to you." i just wanted to feel better, so i said, give me the shot.

she also prescribed amoxicillin and 'magic mouthwash,' the generic name for this magic mouthwash = lidocaine. yes, the stuff they use to numb ya up. i'm hoping i don't need too much of that! and hopefully i do not experience the adverse effects of the amoxicillin...if so, i may have to find my own restroom at school...or get a johnny on the spot in my classroom...gross.

great. fortunately i've never had this problem in the past, but i may as well be prepared and get me some of that anti-diarrheal med for just in case!

and i have to submit this to the front office as well, civic duty, you have caught up to me. again. let's not make it a habit, though.

the last one i jurored was in iowa and it was an alleged sexual assault case...

perhaps if i go into it with a gung ho attitude like, "oh, dude, this is awesome! it's going to be kind of a mix between law and order (dun dun), drop dead diva, harry's law and the good wife, right? perfect, because i'm all into that stuff!" 

so, yeah, it's felt less like a holiday and more like 3 days off school sick, with the weekend to try to catch up. boo. 
so tomorrow i have to take the boys on extra walks or something to make up for being so lame.

if the situation ever arises, take the shot- i feel 80% better already!
julie 


 

thanksgiving...give thanks for the ñ in the spanish language

long overdue.

sorry about the time lapse. umm...if i laugh randomly at any point, please forgive me, i just put in elf, and i laugh every time! (i wanted to watch miracle on 34th street, but i don't have it).

our countdown is actually down to our last feather, so excited that thanksgiving is around the corner!

we also had our field trip to the environmental center. it was great for our students to learn about soil! then i took them out on the trail and improvised quite a bit...good thing i'd been on the trail before and i remembered some of what the guide had said. we found some scat and i may have gotten a stick to see if there was anything cool in it...but there were just a couple of undigested seeds. science teacher!

anyhoo, a lot going on. i agreed to go to some multi-language trainings and a science multi language training. well, i got my dates mixed up because of thanksgiving being in the middle and all...well. i missed the training this morning, but in all fairness, i had today double-booked...i may have to take blanca's suggestion and get a paper schedule book! today i subjected myself to another group interview at smu with the teaching trust. only this time it was for a policy fellows program. it entails a few tuesday evenings during the spring-if i get accepted.

last week at the science training, i actually picked up several great pointers that will be helpful!

at first glance it may not look like it, but it is an example of weathering and erosion!

we struggled over this common assessment thing that we need for 4th grade, and there was a pretty good one in english, but the problem was that we didn't have one in spanish, so i went ahead and typed the whole thing over again and pushed the translate button, went in and did a quick precursory once-over, and put it in a drop box for my co-worker maria to go over (always better to defer to the native speaker!).

the problem with writing the whole thing in spanish is that i am lazy and i don't like to go into the symbols every time i need to use a ñ = party letter! pronounced en-yea...not yay as some would spell it, but yea as in "woo hoo!" not to be confused with yeah-which is just a lazy yes. people mix them up a lot...i think 'yay' is actually accepted in words with friends, but still, that doesn't make it alright; i mean merriams dictionary doesn't even recognize it! anyhoo, like i said, ñ is a party letter. let's face it, a piñata wouldn't be a piñata without the ñ, and a party with a 'pinata' would fall flat. and another thing, if there were no ñ, i wouldn't wish you a happy new year, i'd be wishing you a happy new anus, which is something i hope i never have to wish anyone!

all of that to say i am lazy-and i'm not even talking about adding the accent marks! (i used to know all of the number codes to put them in manually-back when i used to have to type papers)

huge thank you to xochitl for bringing pecan pie to the thanksgiving potluck at school!! (i mean, after i wrote on the poster requesting it, i was hopeful! seriously even if there were no turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes...if there were just pecan pie, it would speak thanksgiving to me just as much!)

ok, my eyes are wanting to shut, so i must go now.
julie

boo berry finds nemo, and as for the candy...hide it in a roth ira

hohum. well, it's been a long week! i wish i could've gotten to this earlier!

we had a chilly spurt, so the boys got to try out their jackets again. i'm pretty sure i heard chaco turn to bruno and say, "dude, you look cool." now bruno wants a real bomber jacket for Christmas.

 i spent much f last weekend trying to figure out exactly how to do the halloween treats for hospitality committee. i made these little stands for the sticks, but they weren't quite as wide as they needed to be (you had to have them super still to keep them standing up).

 then i put the oreo cakesters on a stick and stuck them into the green styrofoam block and froze them. it was a funny little sight in my freezer! then on tuesday i melted the white chocolate and frosting to coat them and throw them back in the freezer. and then i spent a couple of hours on tues. night decorating them into jack-o-lanterns. it was a bit of a hassle, but they taste great with coffee!

 and i brought my 3rd pallet home to work on...only my hammer was not as hard-headed as its owner...i kept trying and kept trying to unwedge those nails! several were rusted and the heads ended up breaking clean off! boo.

never trust a $1 store hammer for an 'expensive taste' project!

 so i decided that this one is going to be brown with earth tones. i started with the boarder.

not gonna' lie, i kinda' like the blue tape!

 phase 2-

 phase 3- now i am working on filling in the middle with some earth tone colors and will probably finish tomorrow. every spot with white in between the brown stripes will be filled in with circles or cylinder-ish ovals...i will post an after pic too.

 and when i came around the corner, there was bruno just looking at me, waiting. so we played...with a face like that, i hate being away at work for so long every day!

 and while i was getting necessities at walmart, i noticed they've redone the artwork on the general mills cereal. now boo berry looks a lot like nemo-holding his breath and turning blue....after getting beat up with a black eye....right?

boo berry nemo

and i think i'm regretting (a little) signing up for the mlep stuff...3 saturdays..oh well, paid training.

so, last night was halloween, and i stopped by target. how many ladies...women did i see dressed in way too short costumes ? too many. using halloween as an excuse to dress slutty- yuck. i had 0 trick or treaters..it might have been the "i-hate-children" sign i keep around for special occasions like halloween....j/k, but it seems like a good idea.

our students are having a mock election, and i am pretty sure obama will win at our school because our kids like free stuff. i will bet that if i took their candy that they worked so hard for last night and gave it to the kids who did nothing they would be a little pissed....redistribution, kids, you have so much candy, you don't really need it all anyway.


well, hope your halloween was spook-tacular! keep your own stinkin' candy...you EARNED IT!
julie