love affair...i'm sure i'll get over it...maybe if there weren't thousands of recipes

and yet another week has managed to slip away...already we are entering our 2nd 6 weeks of school. strange, as i have still not been able to settle into any semblance of a routine. that is not good for me. i'm like a kindergartner-routine can be a good thing.

i mentioned in my previous post that my nutribullet RX came last week-and already i have been putting it to use. made the usual shake-enough for two, so i could have some for lunch...and then i made a tomato soup on saturday. that is a minor mystery-miracle. i don't even like tomato soup. in fact, when mom used to make it for us, i'd skip the soup and just eat the grilled cheese sandwich. well...now i'm skipping the grilled cheese sandwich and eating the soup! it was SO good! that i ate a little...then i ate a little more..and then i was craving it for dinner...and i may or may not have had the last of it today for lunch. yikes..i know. and so i decided to try making a hot pumpkin spice latte drink...only i fear i did it wrong, because when i wasn't watching, the liquid started coming out, and when i came around the corner (because something in my gut said jrob, you better just check it out, being the first try and all...)...when i saw pumpkin coffee-stuff oozing out of different parts of the machine, and puddling on the counter, a little on the wall, i quickly unplugged and tried desperately to salvage what i could because i really wanted to taste it! so i had this dilemma of: SAVE THE DRINK vs SAVE THE MACHINE-dry it out! i know it's not supposed to be submerged, so i'm fairly certain it isn't supposed to be self-deluged either...good thing i got the 3 year warranty...

that said, i was able to save about a cup-worth...but it needs some tweaking. i wasn't thoroughly impressed.

this morning i was hopeful that when i plugged her back in, she'd work like a charm...and she didn't disappoint!! (must come up with a name for her). so...today i decided to try a couple of different things. this week i decided to revert back to fish tacos, so i made my avocado/roasted pepper sauce for the coleslaw....yum. and then i decided i should try another drink-this time a cool drink, so i had a caramel cooler-that recipe is a keeper! it fixed the rumbly in my tumbly. and now all i can think about is what to make next...is this what a love-affair feels like? surely this cannot be healthy..even though technically everything i am making is healthy...

it's amazing to me how those little blades can extract all of those goodies and make the smoothest drink ever! even more so than my ninja (which i thought was pretty amazing-looking somewhat like edward scissorhands). if all other weapons are not accessible, turn on the nutribullet and try to get the villain to come closer and stick his hand in...ok, so not that practical as a weapon.

yum! papaya, mango, pineapple, raspberry, greens...i pulled some russian kale and pumpkin leaves to try them...it was a little nutty. (not like nut-house-crazy, more like a nut-flavor); perhaps it's an acquired taste.

the comforting tomato basil...and i added a few of my own ingredients (turmeric and nutritional yeast for a cheesy-flavor)

 a few weeks ago, i decided that i liked an idea on fb, so i thought it would be a good exercise to start collecting some of the things that make me happy and filling up a jar. after i got a couple in a jar, i realized that they only put that picture on fb because it looked cute. if you're putting in a 'happy' every day, they would never fit in that little jar (unless you were a fairy and wrote with the tip of a baby safety pin on a 16th of a square of toilet paper and wadded it up and then put it in the jar). so i found this old cereal container-and since i don't do cereal, it is working out perfectly. i just have to remind myself, and sometimes i forget, so i do double duty-triple duty ok, sometimes i just don't even limit myself, and i write several.. #doesntplaybytherules so yes, i may have more than 365 by the end of the year-and i've only been doing it for a few weeks-WHATEVER!! don't judge! there are just so many things that make me happy! deal wit it!

 one thing that made me sad was when i got into my car the other day and my trusty escort did not turn on. i've had my little radar buddy for a good 6 years now. it was a sad day. so i brought it inside, and i haven't had time to look at it. i don't know if it might just be the cord, or if it is the radar itself. either way, it is a necessity, so i will have to go into the shop (hopefully it's still there!).

i don't think even mcgeyver can help with this one. sad day. 

i love it that we are working with social/emotional learning at school this year! our second graders are learning about their brains, and this week, i believe this class is going to be looking at some tools to help students, like breathing and the glitter ball to calm their little brains.

i am thoroughly excited to be going up to branson to visit and play for my long weekend-bmayes will be joining me after work! woo hoo!! i'll get to see mom and dad in their new place (maybe help with a little unpacking?) and then head down to b-town. yay! one of our friends is getting married-but it's not until 4:00 pm on sunday-i have to work monday, so i don't know that i will get to attend the wedding as originally planned (i didn't realize the wedding was so late in the weekend). and i have a feeling that after playing all weekend, i won't do well driving late into the night. but at least i will get out of dallas for a bit, see the autumn leaves-good times! the boys will be staying with joanne, and they seem excited about it! bruno was happy about not riding in his car seat for so long, especially as we will probably be making the trip for Christmas.

today, we actually got to share our walk with joanne and fudge, they all walked really well! it was nice to actually have a chance to talk to joanne, because we've seen each other at a couple of PL things in the haskell building, but each time, there has been something going on, making it impossible to actually catch up! boo. so it was good to catch up today-we have certainly missed having her at cabell, but i am excited that she is enjoying what she does in her new position!

i've spent most of my weekend working on curriculum maps, because although we worked on them last week, the materials that the district has made available to us are better than the curriculum we have at hand. especially after going to the training and asking our teachers to go to the training...i felt like this should be something they have at hand. i still have one more grade level to work on, but hopefully it will be helpful-

and with that, i think i will call it an evening! (and yes, breakfast shake with the RX!)
julie