yoda would own bonsai trees...and ghosts probably don't even need headbands

this morning, on the way to work, for some reason unbeknownst to me, i was thinking about parts of speech. the only year that vividly sticks out in my mind with parts of speech, was the year that miss lava was my teacher (10th grade? 11th?) anyhoo, i remember diagramming sentences and while i didn't understand the 'why', i was pretty good at it. i was sitting in my car at the corner of valley view and marsh, creating sentences and asking myself, if i were diagramming, i know that it is a pronoun, but what is it replacing in the sentence: it wasn't long before i realized the truth. then i kept modifying the sentence, trying to improve it. who am i? i mean..who does that? (p.s. 'it' is replacing a period of time)

let's see...what else has happened lately that you NEED to know? well, it was our turn to fill the trophy case last week, so here's my rendering:

so many of my finest moments...please feel free to click on this to make it whole screen, because there are some doozies in there! (proud of it) missing: pics with bmayes, shea, stevie...i had to pare down my pics because they wouldn't all fit! the story of my life was not meant to fit on one small bulletin board, but at least it's a taste!

it's been a busy couple of weeks working with fifth grade and helping out with the bilingual students and their reading...it feels a bit like a triage unit! hopefully we have stopped some of the hemorrhaging and there will be less clean-up on aisle 5...i jest so i don't cry. but i will say this- i am proud of how far they have come this year with their teacher, and how much more prepared they will be for next year!!

i am still craving a particular caramel/sea salt muffin. i went to central market and whole foods and one of them said, "no, it's seasonal." (?????) how is caramel and sea salt seasonal, please.  i know how caramel is made and i know sea salt is available over approximately 71% of the earth surface, daily...so, help a kid out! i settled for sugar free baklava. is that illegal? i only did it because the label said: 15 calories..until i ate half the box and realized that there was a second column labeled: calories from fat: 85. oops.

completely worth it! 

and then there's our garden...getting into the swing of things again! tomato plants are on the loose! and pepper plants are going strong. also in the works: garlic, onions, lavender, oregano, lemon basil, lettuce, cauliflower, beans, peas, cucumbers and if we can get the dirt from the front of the building into the last bed, we will have honeydew or watermelon! also considering pumpkin.

already, the tomatoes are showing promise! earlier than i expected-SO EXCITED!!

when i got home from work today, bruno brought his ghost to me, shaking the tar out of it (and that's saying a lot because there wasn't any tar in it to begin with!)...so...he just looked up at me and said, "i ain't afraid of no ghost!" going all ghostbuster on me...please note that ghosts have orange bandanna headbands-when they wear them..it seems to be a disputed fact, as when they have been spotted, it's a rather transparent orange, so..different camps have different theories on that...i'm going petsmart on this one. invisible or not, the headband is most likely orange...and why wouldn't it be? (although, some of the younger critics who are still having pronunciation difficulties say it's boo...[if you didn't get it, i won't judge you, no worries] dummy). 

i told him if he was well enough to play with ghosts, he was probably well enough to do chores...#immediatelydropsghost

and as i was walking the building the other day, looking at writing samples, i came across this:

had i known there was a potion...

i also got the opportunity to lend my services to a couple of friends and colleagues at a nearby school. (let's face it, there is nothing quite as satisfying as being able to share something or help someone else out). and it was really heart-warming to receive a completely unexpected gift! well played, martha!

i mean, amidst the clutter that is my desk, this is a haven of peace during a stressful day! it calms me! AND i feel a little like mr miyagi....who is very similar to yoda..i think if they had bonsai trees on his remote planet, he would most certainly have an orchard-full!

and my parents are thinking, "where did we go wrong?"

so..i mentioned about bruno being on a special diet from now until the end of time..well, there are no treats for him. so  i asked the banfield manager-guy, and he said, "well, you can get the canned food and smush it into little balls and use that as a treat."  so, i put on my latex gloves and tried to make a ball out of the slimy little chunky squares of dog nastiness. and of course it didn't work. i'm sure he thought he was being a clever problem-solver. i give him an f+. so i ended up turning on the oven, blending the whole can of dogfood in the ninja, then smearing it onto parchment paper in thin little clumps to create potato-like chips...it worked, and they crisped up. the dogs both love them, so i am getting rid of their treats and moving in this direction, because i am kind of wondering if the treats may have contributed to his condition in the first place? idk...self-diagnosed prognosis.

and while the boys absolutely love it, the fact remains that i live in a tiny apartment, and there isn't much room for the smell of baked dog food to dissipate. #sadfaceemoticon gotta do what's best for the kids!

alright, i think i am out of gas-
julie