going out for bananas...as opposed to going bananas...

i swung by bed bath and beyond on the way home to get some comfy towels and a wedding gift (the wedding isn't until may 5th, but hey, better early than late, right?)...i'm so excited about new towels that i kinda' want to take a shower right now!

 i warmed up the spicy green chicken chili for dinner. i made a batch last night and it is quite spicy (even after leaving out 2 of the poblano peppers! whew!) but it's the kind of spicy that makes you want just a little more!

it mostly makes me happy because i made so much and i don't have to make dinner now.

 i didn't have dessert, but i found a recipe on my friend's blog ...it looks so good! and it seems so easy, i cannot wait to try it!

Ingredients:
Frozen Bananas (approx 1 cup)
Coconut Milk (approx 1/2 cup)
Cinnamon & Nutmeg to taste

pop it all in a blender and eat. (doesn't that sound delicious??!)
 (so i'll probably be heading out for some bananas in a moment)...

 --------next day---------
today i woke up, and my back is killing me once again, so i'm going to have to try to get in touch with a doctor that some friends have used and see if i can't get this taken care of! boo. but i went out in search of a dress to wear for the wedding; saw some cute ones, but i wasn't 'in love' with any of them (perhaps because i was wearing tennis shoes, and it just looked funny...) so i will try again on another day.

i was under the impression that we were going to receive an email from the teaching trust on thursday (the one that already passed), and obviously that was a falsity...i just figured i would receive it on friday..the new thursday. but that didn't happen either, and another gal who went through the same process called and they told her they were mailing out the responses...prolonging the waiting even further.

ok, i'm off to buy bananas!
julie

educational gifts and food processors

well, i went out today to make some purchases for a small christian school on the island of roatan.(children's palace- cpbs) my dear friend from 6th and 7th grade is the administrator there and there is not a lot of extra money to get lots of extra 'stuff'. it is a very small school, but they have a mission to educate children and love on them. so i went to lakeshore and u.s. toy and purchased some awesome stuff that i would use in my classroom!

i'm sooooo excited to send this package!! i think for the next package, i want to send something special for their staff. they only have 27 people working at their school, and i know they don't get paid much at all-room and board...maybe. they sacrifice but they gain so much!

while i was at lakeshore, i looked across the street and i was drawn like a firefly to a bug zapper to bed bath and beyond (did you like that simile?). so, i went in with one mission in mind: get a food processor. and when i got in and started looking at them, a saleslady approached and asked if she could help. i didn't say yes, i merely said, "i'm just looking for a food processor." so she asked for how many do i cook, etc. after i told her 1, she picked up the smallest processor and said it might be good. then i asked how many functions and blades it had and she looked and looked for the information on the back. finally i said, "well, i'll just take a couple of minutes and look at them and decide. thanks for your help." and i was grateful that she walked away. i don't like help at stores unless i request it-and usually when i do want help, no one is to be found. so i went with the 9 cup instead of the 7 cup.

i think i picked the correct one!

now all i really want to do is go to the store and buy choppable foods and shove them (gently) into the food processor! it's like a new toy on Christmas morning!

earlier, before all of the shopping, i took the boys out and shock of all shocks, bruno came without a scene! and he did fairly well most of the way. most of the time, he took off ahead of us and led the entourage. the girls at the office were very excited for him. and shannon pulled out the pupperoni that i had dropped off earlier to win puppy points. they were very excited, and displayed their gentlemanly behavior...sit and down.i was all smiles by the time we got home because bruno did so well...maybe it's the cooler weather? who knows, but i'm hoping he had so much fun today that he'll be excited about going again!

good boys! i'm so proud of you!!

can't wait to slice and dice!
julie

days off are made for long lunches!

i really did need today. disd, thank you for fair day!! i am so glad i didn't go to the fair! i slept in and then i went to an early lunch with 2 amazing people and got to catch up and just spend some time laughing. i never really think about how much i love community and hanging out with friends until i actually get out and spend quality time with them!

chuys! love me some mexican food! (well...chimichangas-fake mexican)

but this little guy and his brothers made it feel a bit more authentic...anyone remember animaniacs and the talking pigeons??

i used to come home from the steakhouse i worked at and watch animaniacs with kendra and laugh at all the silliness. i don't think there was really a more perceptive, creative, facetious cartoon out there.

did i mention that it was about a 3 1/2 hour lunch-definitely not a complaint, we just really had that much to talk about! and something unexpected happened while we were there. a young lady and perhaps mom and aunt came in, and you know how there's that look of recognition, and your brain races to try to pull the right file? well, my filing fingers were a little slower than normal. so, i had to pull the recognize but need a name line. as soon as she said the first name (which is what i was thinking, but i've made a fool of myself saying the WRONG name before), i finished with her last name because i remembered it. it was one of my former campers! so random, so fun!

on the way home, i had to stop at bed bath and beyond because i needed more diet coke mix and i wanted to get some dr. pepper mix so that i have it for bmayes next weekend! (i think she likes dr. pepper...i hope). b, if you're reading this, don't pretend you like dr. pepper if you don't!

'THE ONLY NATIONAL BRAND OF ROLLED WAFERS ACTUALLY MADE IN AMERICA"

i might have also gotten piroulines-a wonderful coffee treat..trying to get my 4 cups of coffee a day since they have now done the research to support woman's psychological/emotional balance has a link to caffeinated coffee (umm, i would love to be a fly on the wall in these test groups...and i am curious as to what other factors were taken into account). if the study is about caffeine in and of itself, angela and i should have no problems..but if it is strictly caffeinated coffee, i come close on some days.

today has been a fair-ly wonderful day!!
julie

i've named the dragon kronk

i knew today was going to start out great because i had an 'egg-ceptionally' great plan to start my day! remember how i went to bed bath and beyond to get a wedding gift? and how i got a couple of extra things? well, this one was worth every penny! not only is it cute, but it made me a great little omelet.

it's small, it only makes one 2-egg omelet at a time..but then i don't need more than one omelet at a time

so the lighting is terrible (lighting from stove top)...but as you can see, perfect little omelet disc..3 min/side

and then i went to put the boys in daycare (their pen and a few toys) and i realized i didn't have any greenies, so i knew i would have to make a stop after school. for those of you who don't have dogs, greenies are a little treat that they love chewing on and they help clean the teeth-little dogs seem to have an aversion to big humans sticking toothbrushes in their mouths and trying to scrub their teeth...i don't get it.

so i broke down and went to petsmart and spent more than i intended. i have been wanting to get them this one toy for a long time, but i couldn't justify it. then yesterday chaco was sitting on the floor licking the top flat part of my shoe (my chacos...how appropriate). i'm afraid that licking will turn into chewing. so today, tired of chaco ruining every squeaky toy by killing the squeaker on the first night...i gave in and bought the ultimate squeaky toy!

he looked really cool!

i felt like the witch on the lion the witch and the wardrobe when she shaved aslan (only not as wicked)

so i came home and made the mistake of squeaking the toy before it was ready and neither would stop bugging me. "what is it?" "let me at 'im!" "momma, hurry up!!"basically, i couldn't get the tags, strings and felt off quickly enough!by the way, who makes a dog toy using felt as part of the design? umm...perhaps owners of geriatric canines who gum their food and don't chew...but my dogs and felt...no sirreee...

love-eeeed it!

and of course after a couple of hours, what does chaco decide? right back to the old, little toy. can't win.

go figure

as kronk would say: squeaky, uh, squeak, squeaker, squeakin',

julie

it was a one-stop day

i woke up this morning and needed coffee. how do i know? well, as i started the coffee maker, i realized that i didn't have a cup under the mouth of the keurig and coffee was spilling into the reservoir. hence the need for coffee.

and i was thinking about going to get some diet coke, (4 cases for $10..good deal these days), but i couldn't bear the thought of carrying 4 12-packs up to the third floor...especially after the radio man said extreme heat warning-110 in the shade, 120 in the parking lot.but not to worry, it's going to cool off next monday and tuesday it'll be down to 103-104...boo. so instead i went to bed bath and beyond and finally got my soda stream refill..i know, it's taken forever but i just never want to stop in because it makes me get things like this:

i think my feet deserve it after teaching all day!

 i also got a meat thermometer-i know it's hard to believe that i've been cooking all these years without a food thermometer and i have not gotten sick nor died yet! (but i did see something about some people dying because they hadn't cooked their turkey burgers to the correct temp...darned turkey burgers!) when i worked at kamp we drove by the tyson processing plant whenever we went into berryville-and the stench makes me reconsider whenever i think about purchasing turkey...ew. (by the way, i went to the website about berryville arkansas, and it had all sorts of information including most popular name of deceased persons)

so when i got home, i stayed inside because the man on the radio suggested it. and to be honest, it's a yucky hot out there. i've noticed that on hot days i've become a 1-2 stop person. i can't make more stops than that because the diet coke won't stay cold long enough!  and then i found it as i was flipping through the channels-

thank goodness for the hallmark channel! murder she wrote!

she's like an old nancy drew. i love it! intelligent but not sexy-gives us average folk a boost of self confidence. smile. i have always enjoyed angela lansbury..classy yet down to earth. also i loved her voice in beauty and the beast!

so...i've seriously been considering a hyundai elantra (not the touring) in part for the gas economy. anyone have one? i might lease one more time...see how i like the car. i think it has about as much space as my g6 and i don't need a whole lot of room (as long as there are headrests to put up the dog seats we're good).

goodnight!
julie

"crumpets for breakfast, please," said chaco

so...anyone get up at an ungodly hour to watch the wedding? when i woke up, bruno and chaco had the t.v. on and they were ooohing and aaahing over the dress. chaco looked up when i came out and said, "how bout fixing us some crumpets with tea for breakfast?" to which i answered, "absolutely!" and proceeded to pull out the dog food and water.

 and this morning when i walked into school, one of my little boys asked (with a little excitement in his voice) if i watched the wedding this morning. i knew what he was talking about but i looked at him with a pretty convincing questioning look and he clarified, "the ROYAL wedding!" so i rolled my eyes and said no, jonathan, but bruno and chaco did. i figure it's going to be playing several times over the next week, so i'll watch when it's convenient for me...and at that, i won't be watching the entire thing...just the most important portions. a comedian did mention that the queen was dressed like pac man-we'll see.

did i really agree to work saturday school tomorrow? yes. but fortunately it's only one satrurday! i'll get by.

today i finally got over to bed bath and beyond! (it's not that i'm lazy, i just never feel like it after school.. ok, i'm lazy).

i was going to go to the gift registry to get something, but alas, the clerk was having difficulty with the computer. she was helping a lady, and then there was a young couple in front of me, and i figured it would take forever...so i fled.
but not before getting my diet coke for my soda stream!!

i decided to try the pink grapefruit too...

i really do love my soda stream! i do like the diet cola, but i also am finding i really like drinking just the straight club soda again! i used to drink it in HONDURAS after a run, and it just proved to be so refreshing!

and i may have gotten a little something extra as well.nothing big, but it sure is relaxing and it's making me smile! i love candles that are fresh, but not dripping with sweetness, and not too floral-y. when i used to live in des moines, ia i would go to my friend(also my manager at comair!) cindy's house and she had the coolest little electric potpourri pot that she would melt the yankee tartlets in. kudos to cindy for getting me one as a gift, because i use it often! and today i found some new scents i thought i would check out.

the lady that rang me up had to try to smell every thing and she reassured me that the pink grapefruit was one of her favorite drinks. oh goody.

drift away, sun and sand and pink sands

right now pink sands is melting away and who knew that pink sand smells a little like cotton candy? i cannot wait to pop in the sun and sand because i took a sneak whiff (as opposed to a sneak peek) and that little smell took me straight back to jack o neill's cay in HONDURAS and vacations with heidi and margo..the good-ol-days! (i linked the pic, so you must go see it to really understand whenever i start talking about the islands, this is what i'm conjuring up in my mind!) if i could choose one place that i consider paradise, it would be there! in fact, i wish heaven were like the islands!

(and a tv commentator just now said, 'tuppence for the birds'-another reference to mary poppins...i'm tellin'ya!)

oh, and for the record i don't think i've mentioned that i'm not an american idol fan (i was brought up knowing that idols are not a good thing...) i will admit that i did watch the season when jason was on, but that was it (i liked his hair and his family was from my church!), but as soon as he was off, idol was off. that said, i did watch the voice the other night, and i liked it a whole lot! i'm pretty sure that will be dvr'd at our apt. bruno is a big fan-i'm pretty sure he just has a crush on christina aguilera.

alrighty then...tea with jam.. jam and bread!
julie