playing with knives, birthday love and naked mannequins

is it just me, or...i should know the answer almost every time when i begin that way...so i play with knives. sorry.not.sorry...i am that crazy person that sees the knife thrower in the circus murder-mystery (murder she wrote), and decides that i need to learn how to throw knives, and this desire is once again rekindled when i watch the bodyguard, because that would be such a powerful ability!! but this was a legit accident. i was down to one chew treat, so i had to split it for the boys, because i would NEVER hear the end of it if i didn't...well, while i was forcefully trying to cut this rawhide treat in half, the knife slipped and cut a chunk out of my finger...and today, a pen slipped while i was signing a debit receipt and somehow managed to drive into that hole in my finger! AH! OUCH! but i didn't cry-we all good.

i know, you can barely even see the gash, and you're probably thinking: what a baby...but i seriously went through three bandaids before i was able to put one on without it bleeding through.

fast fwd the knife incident happened last weekend.

during the week, i had a meeting off campus for personalized learning. it went well-i really like the group of coaches, and i appreciate everything that kristen and vanessa do for us and the planning they put into our meetings!

#favorites

this weekend was my bday. friday i was greeted in the morning with a cupcake and birthday cake-flavored bubble gum from the 5th grade team (maite's daughter picked it out-so sweet!) it was a pretty busy day, with modeling and meetings, then i had a chance to sit with one of my teachers and look at some video that i had taken for coaching purposes. it is not easy to sit and watch yourself, so i was proud of her. while i was there, she gave me a birthday present, which was so thoughtful-loved everything about it! one of my favorite things in this assortment was the book-how full is your bucket...it reminds me of tim hise, our principal from a few years back- he was a firm believer in this philosophy, and he was really good at it! i have not read the book, so i am looking forward to it!

love the book,journal, candle (smells are always good)

and this made my day! she is so very thoughtful and she is teaching her students to be as well.

 then, when i got back to my office, there was a little envelope on my desk from the admin team-when i opened it: instant smile! dunn bros coffee! i'm pretty sure andrea organized it, because she knows me that way! if you recall, i do enjoy me some dunn bros and have stories that are related-here and here!

more live music, more coffee, more scrabble...or coloring, or writing

 oh, so back to while i was doing what coaches do, nafia said she and nicolette were going to dinner, and would i join them to enjoy a birthday dinner. so later that evening, i drove down to mckinley, and parked in the parking garage. i was surprised that there were spots available! then i walked out and around the corner to the restaurant-the same one i'd gone to with natalie, xochitl, lindsey, olivia, and i can't remember if maria was with us that time, or not...a full on wine place. nafia had text and said she was parking and waiting for nicolette, so i went ahead and got a seat, and ordered a drink...then i got another text that it was taking a little longer, because nicolette was at the wrong place; IMMEDIATELY, i looked around for the name of this restaurant, because the menu looked nothing like the one i'd seen on the website and yelp...i stopped the waitress, and apologized profusely because i was most DEFinitely in the wrong place! she was so kind and understanding and gave me a pass, because it was my birthday! smile. and she even told me that the place i was looking for was just up a couple of blocks. the two at the hostess stand asked if anything was wrong, but they understood as well-i was not supposed to be at imax's.

so on my little hike up the street, i was wondering how far up it was and i asked a preppy looking guy where entourage was. he looked at me with a blank look...entourage? why did i say entourage, and why couldn't i think of the name?? EUREKA!!! yes, "do you know where eurkea is?" that he was familiar with and pointed just up and around the corner. so as i was walking i was kicking myself, entourage? really? perhaps it was a subconscious thing-channeling tracy morgan from 30 rock, thinking about my entourage--i mean eureka-reminds me of california gold rush! no worries, and i know everyone was on pins and needles, i did arrive and found them waiting for a table. when we finally got a table, one of them asked for lemon for water or tea-i don't recall, and this was what was delivered...apparently lemons are in short demand, and highly guarded!

you gonna hafta squeeze the crap outta that thing to get all the lemon you need!

 dinner was delicious! i would SO go back!! the conversation was rich, and by the end of the evening, we unintentionally came up with some major challenges-it will be good to see everything unfold, and that's that. oh! and it took me a minute to come up with one for naf, but i have. i need to let them know so that there is accountability.

entourage..eureka..whatevs.

 they drove me back to my car, and i looked at the clock when i got home--i'm not a late night gal anymore...i used to be, but i don't stay up late anymore...so even though it was late, i had a great time.

 and i was SHOCKED that i woke up at 6:30, rolled over and tried to go back to sleep-couldn't, so i got up and made breakfast, and when it was finally late enough, i went shopping. i still had to find a dress, and shoes, and some other stuff, so i drove until i decided where i wanted to go. i finally found a dress, but they had 2 sizes too small, and 2 sizes too big. boo. so i txt b mayes, and asked if she wanted to go shopping that afternoon-as soon as i got a text back, i headed up to norman to hang out with one of my besties! (every time i write that, i snicker a little, because it's not really a term i use...i mean...bff? besties? not terms i grew up with) 
anyhoo, on the way up, i saw a wind-turbine farm just north of ardmore. it was real surprising-i certainly didn't recall seeing them before! had i been oblivious? i sent a pic and asked bmayes, and she said she'd never noticed either. well, once i got closer, they were right there next to the road like giants! very distracting, and all i wanted to do was stare-so yeah, they were new. i just looked it up and the project was completed at the end of 2015.

so i arrived and we got to play for the day! before we started our dreaded shopping trip, we chatted for a bit, then stopped at chic fil-a for the kale salad, which was surprisingly good!! i wasn't expecting it to be! she hates kale, but had tried it on a whim and loved it, so she brought me into the fold! then we set off to find hat i needed, and we were able to find the dress that i couldn't find here. in the process, i wanted to try on two dresses just to make sure. well...the only dress that was the right size of the other make was on a mannequin...so...i may or may not have awkwardly undressed the mannequin-which b got some pics of, and she showed me a video that she took as well. and then the shop girl came over and helped because she saw it wasn't going completely as planned. (apparently i wasn't as smooth as i thought!) after trying them on, my first choice was the best choice. later in the evening, we went to ted's for fajitas, and it was delicious! the bartender wasn't a super social-personable guy, but that's ok, because we weren't talking to him)..but it was perfect, as always, i might add. #tedsfan

good times, right there! if we could eventually live in the same neighborhood...that'd be good. just sayin'...and it'd be really good if it were in fl by a beach..and shea were in that neighborhood too...live the dream?

 i was a little tired driving home, as it'd been a long night before, and an early morning-with no nap! we should have taken naps! my saving grace on the way home was talking to brandy on the way home! we had a good conversation, and i was happy to see this morning that she acted on it! the boys were a less than happy at my arriving home so late!

 so this morning, i woke up with a crazy craving for bacon! i didn't have any in the place to cook up, so i  twisted someone's arm to go out to breakfast- i didn't have to twist very hard, because breakfast (and BACON) is a necessity-even if it's for brunch! we had a good conversation-which at one point went to extrovert/introvert talk, which bmayes and i had talked about a little yesterday. it always helps me to understand people better-today was not a surprise, people fall at different places on the continuum, and while i do fall on the introvert side of the spectrum (for the most part), i am not nearly as far down the spectrum as she is, in fact, it's an adjustment, because i don't know very many people who are that far down the spectrum-learning curb-good to know. you can read a little more about it here. good post.

anyhoo-i got home from brunch, and went for a walk-which was really good! before nicolette took off for her trip, she dropped off some sub/class work to take back to school tomorrow. and she dropped of a birthday present too-which was perfect:

a. stationery-we all know it's a weakness of mine b. this notebook/journal: TODAY SOUNDS BETTER THAN SOMEDAY! this is it. this is exactly right, and this is somewhat our conversation from the other evening. live life..today. 

and this was the other part of the gift-which i LOVE! i have a few pics i actually need to go to office depot and get printed off-update! yes, pictures-friends and family are important to me!

i will end with this last thought. on my way home friday night, as i was thinking about my own challenges, i was reminded of a quote that i have loved since high school, which was a chapter opener in a book-the singer.

what do you want to be when you grow up, little girl?

"alive"

i've always wanted to feel alive. i need to remind myself of those things which make me feel most alive and make them happen on my TODAYS!

may you find what makes you ALIVE, and not wait for someday to do it!
julie