dallas needs yogi's dancing bears!

when i was driving back to school yesterday, i saw the scene below, and so...what went through my mind? wow, i wish someone would pick all of that up! the second thought was a cartoon-i was replaying an old yogi bear cartoon in my mind where the bears were all around the park with their pokey sticks picking up trash while the wind was blowing.. there was a guy on the corner with a sign looking for handouts, and i kinda wished i'd had a little pokey-stick thingy, i would've told him to pick up those papers, and when it was cleaned up, i'd bring him a hot meal or something...

if only we had dancing bears with pokey sticks in the metro!

 oh, remember how i had to go back to panera for my second date? well, when i arrived to pick up that breakfast sandwich, i told the lady at the counter i had been there the day before, and cory turned around and said, "yes, this lady's breakfast sandwich is on the house today!" so i waited for it, and while i was waiting, i saw the sign- interestingly enough, this is what we talk to our students about with social emotional learning!

ha! they did take care of it with the greatest of customer service, though.

 this evening as i was driving home. i was at the intersection of spring valley road and midway, there they were...the birds! all the birds in the neighborhood gather here for a good time. it was fascinating!! as i watched, i kept wondering how they communicate-do they know each other? how do they decide which bird to land by? do they have personalities? is there a bully? do they scooch over if they don't want to stand next to another? is there an outcast? how do they know when to all go flying off? who decided this was going to be the hangout? SO MANY QUESTIONS!

sometimes things happen that change your view and perception of things. sometimes they are good things, sometimes they are easy things. sometimes they are difficult things, sometimes they are painful things. sometimes when things happen, i tend to over-analyze and try figure out the 'why' but i am slowly realizing this is not always necessary, in large part, thanks to one of my friends. she is very matter-of-factual, and it really is good for me, because it makes me back up and see things in black and white. sometimes color isn't necessary, because too much color can cloud the picture. regardless, life happens. it's not always as tidy as we'd like it to be. but then again, sometimes it's like goldilocks and the three bears, and it's just right--especially when you have the right people in your corner.

love this!

embrace life as it happens- tame the crazy! only you can control you!

julie

for only two labels, you can drastically change a life (drama queen, says who?)

quiet. peaceful. classical music. wood wick candle crackling. Christmas lights glowing in the background. finally a restful evening with nothing pressing to think about. i figure i will give myself week one to do nothing but enjoy company and give lots of love and attention to bruno and chaco.

what a whirlwind of a week! i went and got a gift in case i got jingled...i didn't get jingled, but no worries, i now have a stocking stuffer for mom. smile. just what she needed too...

i'm quite certain my room has been in shambles all week. ok, let's be honest, it's been in shambles since i started teaching science  ...so  i have difficulty finding a spot for everything, shoot me.(with really soft nerf ball pellets only, please). wednesday was the day for published books to be in and ready to go; to my detriment and stress, i am a softie and allow 'late-ies' to come in. i hate to deny anyone a chance to publish a book and have something they can take pride in having finished...every year i say i will have it ready to go early and every year i am staying after school on the day i should be jetting off for break.

 i finished my box top and labels for education posters to put on the walls in january when we return. we will be having a contest, so anyone who reads this blog that is not a teacher at my school, please feel free to send me your boxtops and labels for education!! [cue up mclachlan melancholic music and depressing captions] i know you want to be a part of helping my deprived students who have never heard of pizza enjoy the nutritional value it will bring to them. for just two labels a day, you and your loved ones could help provide pizza for desperate and deserving children....ok, perhaps i like embellishing....but the posters really did come out nicely (why do we say they came out nicely? they weren't birthed...they didn't come out of anything-except the laminating machine, but that was after the fact...maybe it's just turning the word outcome around and trying to colloquialize it?)

our kids aren't as familiar with labels for education, i hope it goes well...

i was smart enough to get them laminated this time!

 tuesday night there was a knock at my door, and so i went to the peek-hole thingy and looked out-the lights our in the breezeway was very dim. it looked like a lady, but i didn't recognize, so i called out, "who is it?!" to which she responded, "your neighbor!" so i hastened to open the door and in that instant as i was unlocking and opening my door, this is what went through my mind: what if it isn't really my neighbor? that would be the classic line to pull. what if this person has someone standing on the other side of the door just out of my line of sight, ready to ambush me?! and my body tenses up ready to fight..then i saw that it actually was my neighbor and she needed baking soda, so i went back in and gave her a box (i had more, and it's cheap).  well, the next day i came in from a walk with the dogs, and she had left a little bag with a cupcake on my door knob. CARROT CAKE! the one thing i haven't ventured to bake. i just never have any carrots around. (i don't love carrots- i kinda choked on carrots when i was younger because i chewed one into a million pieces when i was trying to enact the tip from school about chewing 5o times before swallowing to help your digestive system)...

yummers

add that to the goodies brought in by a parent

how cute and festive are they?!

 umm..then there was the morning  had to get up early to purchase...peppermint hersheys kisses..what? no, i did not type that in the smallest font possible so that no one could read it...don't judge. but i mention that only because the parking lot was full of refugee birds...apparently they couldn't find any available trees...or they were all looking for work..or maybe they thought it was 'black bird friday'...i don't know, but it looked somewhat like a scene right out of a horror movie.

yes, those are all birds, and they were not afraid.

 i was getting other things too-my gift for the white elephant party! well, it wasn't really a white elephant party, although hanging out with white elephants in a room might be slightly entertaining, it was a work party with a white elephant gift exchange. that was a lot of fun-and a little shout out to natalie because she did a fabulous job organizing a fun and interactive exchange for the game. snaps! i ended up with a lovely candle, which i am very fond of! in fact, i have been wanting to get a wood wick candle for a long time, but hadn't found a scent i liked-i love the fact that the wick crackles!

deck the halls

and yesterday as i was walking by our beautiful poinsettias that were decorating our hallway at the entrance, i was thinking that maybe chaco had stopped by to visit.

but i'm pretty sure it was just over-watered.

 and today was our school winter-break party. i'm fairly certain that all of the students shop at the same store, because i had multiples of the same cupcake, and i was 'excited' to receive each one. (no exclamation point). and of course since i didn't get the books packed up in time, i couldn't call the ups guy for a pick up at school, so i had to take them to the ups store- so i had quite a load to get to my car. i am SO glad i invested in a dolly!

see the door in the background? well, it closes and locks behind you. my jacket slipped off of the pile and the sleeve got stuck in the door. so i had to get the load down the ramp and go back up to try to pull it out of the door. at first it wasn't giving, and i thought i might have to wait for someone to happen along, but i persevered and tried one last heave-ho and it did pull loose.

 that was the first time i left school. then i got down to the stop sign and decided i had to go back to give my principal a card i had made because by jan, it would be out-of-date, and i hate to waste words! so i went back up to my classroom and found the card and took it down. then i left and got half way to the ups store when i realized that i did not have the ups return labels for the boxes, so i had to turn around or pay for the shipping myself...i went back one more time and fortunately another teacher was on her way out and i was able to tap-pound loud enough to get her attention..back up to my room to get the labels and finally off for the last time-no ifs, ands or buts about it-i don't care what i forgot, i will make do...because i am truly like mcgeyver....ask anyone. in fact, ask my student who forgot a serving spoon for the fruit today. i made her a ladle by cutting a plastic cup to size.

when i got home, i was thrilled to find mail-real mail! from my dad and from one of my favorite people residing in wyoming! bmayes got me the best tshirt EVER! it is so stinkin comfortable! AND it is the same color as an old tshirt i used to have that i out-lived. it's a terrible thing to lose a shirt in its prime of life...no owner should outlive a great shirt.

it's a beaut! i can't wait to wear it every day for the rest of my life! not really...but i wish. i wish i had 365 of them and worked at a mountain hiking resort and i could wear it every day!

 tomorrow i set out to clean my car out and pack it back up. hopefully get started on my vacation.

blessings to all, and don't forget, for just two labels a day, you can make more of a difference than you know...
julie


                  

the fourth is coming! the fourth is coming!

well, today was a filming and observation day. it went by fairly quickly and as one of my coworkers said, it's like a thursday since we have the 4th off. smile.

i took extra lunch today so that my friend could try something new-the chili is a little spicy...i mean it clears out the sinuses. and don't tell kay, but i didn't even put all of the chilies in that the recipe called for-i substituted in bell peppers for the canned diced jalapenos that were supposed to be in there...then i made her try a fig,date,cherry,pecan,almond bar. once again, there was a hesitation because of the consistency, but once she got around that, she finished it off. (it has a great taste!) all sorts of firsts this summer.

i left her with the chili, and when i came back, it was completely gone. she said she enjoyed it so much she actually drank the rest of the soup from the bottom of the dish...(kay, if you dumped it down the sink because it was too much, my feelings wouldn't be hurt, so be honest!) actually, i believe her because she had just cleared out her sinuses right before i walked in. tomorrow we try something new.

on the way home today, the person in front of me was using hand signals, so i thought maybe their signal lights were bad. but the brake lights were working...then after a few more turns, he starts to use the blinker. boy was he lucky i had learned my hand signals early as a childhood biker! i think it was back in brodhead, and as i recall we had bike issues. sometimes they'd get stolen. we always registered them down in the basement of the police station with officer tulia (i think that was her name-i vaguely recall, but she used to come to our school and do safety stuff, and when we moved to costa rica, we gave her our cat because she lived on a farm and said they would take her).

and remember how i was talking about the bird i thought might be a mocking bird yesterday? there were also a couple of other birds watching him be a jerk (i hope they find the water, although if they don't, i was walking down the stairs this morning hearing the fountain in the pond out back thinking i could put up a bird sign pointing them around to the back of the building...oh, the competition.) not that i would know, but i think the other two birds might have been turtle doves (there were two of them, just like the song says) i mean, i did get a bird-watcher patch in brownies for going on a bird-watching trip...and i had this cool little green book with pictures of all sorts of birds- i loved the oriole for the brilliant color!

when i got home, i let the boys out and then ran to the store and when i got home, they were waiting for me...

are they pathetic or what?!

 so i told them to go get ready for their 4th of july pic, because i found props!

they do so well when there are treats involved...they've got the sit and stay! so photogenic!

bruno said, "i'm thomas jefferson!" and chaco laughed and said, "fine, i'll be john adams...where's the wig and fake teeth?" they love watching the documentaries with me, i'm so proud that they pay attention!

my boys are patriots,
julie