training is kinda like super market sweep

so, as any good blogger would do...wait a minute, who are we kidding? i'm not a good blogger, i am merely a person posting silly stories online so that my friends know what's UUUPPPPP! so don't worry, it's not about to get bloggy-er-y-ish-may it never be!

but back to my story! me.me.me.me.me! (some would call it the me monster, but hey, it's my blog post, i do what i want! because i can, mind you).  

so, yes, we slept in a little on tuesday morning, 7:30-right? did some morning prep-stuffs, and then made our way to the site, but first...drum-roll please, yes, yes, a little starbucks en route. and since this was in effect breakfast and would have to last all afternoon, we got two each. one hot to start the day and one cold to last through training (sort of). while in line waiting...and waiting, the lady in front of us had like 4,201 drinks. bless her, the angel of the medical center. yes, i was exaggerating-if you didn't catch that, you really don't know me well enough, and may want to consider finding a different blog to read-although you would miss all of my witty banter (with myself). but let us continue. she had like...14 drinks, needed a box, and even at that, needed like 1 more arm, and she still would've spilled someone's drink on herself, so i helped her out to her car, and by the time i returned, they were still working on ours.

once we got to the car it got real-a very honest conversation-the kind i like best; thanks for being authentic!

we rolled up and found the office, and sat with the contact. julie laid out kind of what she'd planned, and was informed of a twist. which was sorta like going to the grocery store and thinking you have a $100 budget for a meal, and 3 bags to pack your treasures in, with about 6 hours to then prepare, and getting a text saying: oh, hey. um...you'll be serving two different parties, and you actually have $50, they'll be there in three hours, and still plan on the same meal for both parties, but make sure you can get that in one bag...and by the way, there may be a VIP at the party as well! hmm. and like a pro, julie started changing the menu and getting to the meat of the matter, and said, well, let's do the main course, and we'll just have to save the dessert for another time! a little tweaking, but under control! in volleyball, our phrase was WIT-whatever it takes!

in the midst of making changes, deAn's call came in, so i went out to take it and find her, as she had just arrived. when we found each other, i brought her up to speed with the plan and the changes, then we went back into the office, did introductions and went to find our portable and get set up. while setting up, we shared a lunchable, because one is never too old for a lunchable! #notjustforfieldtrips

people began arriving, and we directed people to the math session or our session, depending on age-group. we worked first with middle school teachers and they were dears. some of them on the newer end of the spectrum. so it was a lot of information, but info they should have been able to take back and use. then, as the changeover was happening, there was somewhat of an additional challenge thrown in (just keeping it real, i guess!). instead of going from 2:30-4:00, you now have until 3:30. clasps hands with arms straight out, turns them palms out, cracks knuckles, cocks head from side to side, cracking the neck, shakes it all off, YES, MA'AM! can do! and did-with grace. it was decided that a portion would be taken out, but in the end, even with the shortened amount of time, julie was able to get to it, because this was the elementary school group, and most had a better grasp on the concept and what was going on. they were on the ball and had good questions and thoughts. it went smoothly and i am confident that when they return, they will be able to really put it all together and use their data like masters!

the great thing about this was that it was a great opportunity for deAn and i to see adjustment on the fly when things aren't going quite as planned, so you have to switch it up. when it was done, we bid farewell to deAn and made our way back to the homestead, passing by the little shop where joy works. who is joy, you ask? just a local kevin had mentioned the day before. moving on. bella was ecstatic to see her mama, and needed some lovin'. so stinkin' cute! and then julie said something to her about daddy being home soon, and of course, from that moment on, she had her eyes on the door, acute awareness that at any moment it could happen! so we (and by we, i mean julie) got the food out for dinner preparations. it was going to be good!

when kevin arrived, he came in and got to work, after explaining boxplots, and some workday talk. then we sat out on the deck while he was getting the grill ready. and soon it was time to put on the asparagus. with that it was also apparently time to go get some propane...after some banter of who was going to get it, and how a good wife might have anticipated this...kevin went and exchanged a tank in record time! and julie did a second batch in the oven while the mediterranean seasoned chicken was grilling. sitting around the table enjoying a home-cooked meal with friends- how pleasant! delicious, i tell ya! the chicken, the asparagus (both), the couscous, the pita with tzaziki sauce-like, i'm licking my fingers mentally!!

so this is the really cute pic of ju and kevin preparing our delicious meal!

after clean-up, we were back on the deck with some light music in the background, so as to not bother the neighbors, nor interfere with conversation, once it began to get dark, kevin turned out the porch light (again respectful of the neighbors), and brought out a small lantern light, and dialogue continued. kevin explained exactly what a psychometrician does, beginning with the history. it was very interesting. and after some time, he had another early morning, and i may have kinda' help volunteer julie to get up early and make hubster breakfast, promising to get up and lend moral support! smile. so he went to bed and we spent a little more time talking about traditions and such. parents, family, etc. and we then had to get some shut-eye as well, as we were getting up early and would be looking at work stuffs the next morning.

and now we'll call it a night, as we did!
julie 1-but only because i'm older.

100LoveNotes, lunch-fun and social emotional learning

tuesday night. deep breath as i prepare to simply enjoy the thanksgiving break!

so many things. today was the fourth day of getting up early to go walking with an accountability partner-and i don't hate it! early on the weekends, but even earlier on weekdays (meaning i am up by 4:40-reminiscent of working for the comair and having to get up in the wee hours to prep the planes!) so yes, good start-i need to force myself to get up for the remainder of the break (hard to create a habit if it gets interrupted mid-stream).

i inadvertently became a part of a lunch-share...only because i kept nicolette from getting veggie burgers one evening, so i offered to take sauteed veggies because i had an abundance. what beats food and fellowship-although truthfully it's mostly just food because we all have lunch at different times. it makes my heart long for the times we had meals together in 4th grade with gigi...and going to her house to cook fun meals. miss my friend!! i truly do enjoy cooking and sharing-as well as not cooking, and just enjoying! (and i think the world of these two, they have become the friends i've been missing over the past couple of years).

i'm very excited about a new resource that we will be using on our campus. i am helping roll it out with our 4th grade reading classes first, and once we figure it out and get going with it, we can share it with 3rd and 5th grades. (i really think olivia and susan will benefit from them, but there is so much going on right now, that i think we will have to push it for january, regardless of how good it is).  i love it because it lends itself to close reading and text sets/units. i really am beside myself, and i am thrilled that nafia is equally excited about the possibilities that it presents! to see a teacher excited about a resource that i believe in is reassuring, because the truth is that if a teacher doesn't see the value in something, it is very unlikely that they will appreciate or use it. i think i built up the case! i am looking forward to see what all can be done with it!

i am super excited about the beanbag that i have acquired, as well-thanks to olivia and solange for picking them up (i didn't leave school until very late); note to self-bring cash monday!! they are oversized and very comfy! apart from the never-ending group text that went from beanbags to starbucks to jeans back to beanbags and smiley emoticons...i am a terrible group-texter and i wish that i had the app to make me appear to be involved in the text, but actually be in stealth mode.

so, yesterday i spoke of letters and such, and today i was basically ushered out of the classroom when i went in to offer assistance in preparation for the computer diagnostic assessment...they were in the midst of something super secret! so it really tugged at the heartstrings when i was presented with a sweet note from a student and a super sweet note from the teacher, one of my friends. it meant a lot. the idea was spawned from the reading of an article about 100 love notes-(this isn't the exact one that i read, but it is the same story) how cool is that?! i love that she got the students involved, because at that age, it often takes some prompting to think beyond oneself...this was a great practice for them-social emotional competency. #100LoveNotes

i felt pretty special-as an instructional coach, we don't get many of these.

 and it just got better to hear about one of the morning meetings that blossomed from an authentic moment of gratitude..the students were saying what they were grateful for, but then they went a step further at the request of a companion, to say why they were grateful for the person next to them-difficult to receive if you aren't prepared! we love hearing these things, but could it be because of doubt and lack of exposure to hearing such things that it is difficult to accept? we should do these things more often. we certainly should express ourselves more freely, without fear of how it will be received...because who really cares?! and like one of the girls said (and i paraphrase from a paraphrase....) : we should say things like this more often because you never know when someone isn't going to be there, and you won't have another chance...wise words! i find myself living vicariously through my teachers, and i love it!

that's how i will be spending part of my day tomorrow-letter-writing because i have time and nothing to make me feel guilty! no distractions-i need to get back on track with the letter-writing! i would've started tonight, but i had to get my hair did...by myself- i didn't want to pay alejandro huge money if it was something i could do on my own...so we will see if the quality is close. i was happy with how long his brazilian blowout lasted, so we shall make a comparison...it was half his cost..now i can tip myself and spend that $ on something more fun! and i do have several things in mind.

thanksgiving is just around the day-corner, and i am excited because one of my friends will be in town, so i will get to hang out with her and another dear friend, who lives in the metroplex, but as far away as possible. and this weekend the lighting at vitruvian begins and i think it starts off with some live entertainment-i love what they do down here in the addison area.

alright, it's time to sign off so that i can get up at a decent hour to walk/jog? tomorrow (if i actually jog, i deserve a cookie!!)
night!
julie