memorial day-great time for a trim and a smokin' chicken recipe (literally)

before anything else, happy memorial day! THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR ARMED FORCES PAST AND PRESENT FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE SACRIFICED TO PRESERVE THE FREEDOMS THAT WE ENJOY AND OFTEN TAKE FOR GRANTED.  there are not sufficient words to express the gratitude. 

yesterday i had decided that it was time to give bruno and chaco a trim. bruno sometimes fights me on this and wiggles around, causing it to look like a hatchet job. this means that i have to go back in after the fact to do some trimming. chaco on the other hand is somewhat mortified by the clippers, which makes him stand super still-much easier. so later this evening i will probably attempt to trim up bruno's ears and mustache. i really just wanted to get them ready for summer!

 i know, i like scruffy face better too, but he just gets so much crap in his mane...he was like, "for real? stick to cutting your own hair!" ...rude.

i am also trying out a recipe to see if it will work for a birthday celebration. if so, great! if not, back to the drawing board tomorrow! let's see if this chicken grills up how i want it to, and then if it chills well...(time lapse 2 hours later) OH MY GOODNESS!!!!  wow! i just tried the chicken, and it was amazing...i may or may not have just eaten about3 chicken breasts! oops...i couldn't help myself! it doesn't look like that much when they're in 2 inch pieces! again..OOPS! so i did try to chill a few pieces, and they got cool before i pulled them out and ate them too! triple oops...so yes, i will be getting more chicken tomorrow to prepare! i just don't know if i will be able to use my indoor grill, because unfortunately it smokes...(said it was trying to quit, but i didn't see a patch or nicorette gum, so...i don't know that it was being completely honest). as i was grilling, i had the microwave 'hood fan' on high, and i was blowing the smoke toward it to make sure the alarm didn't go off-i should've closed the blinds, because i'm sure if a neighbor across the way was watching, it might be on youtube... anyhoo. delicious!

in case you want to know the marinade is a simple 3T soy sauce, 3 T brown sugar, 3T white wine vinegar, some garlic salt, ginger, 2t coconut oil, i think that's it...yummers!

i also listened to a book on cd- paint the wind i really enjoyed it more than i thought i would! i think i picked up the book when i was in the fourth grade classroom and i could never really get into it...well, listening to it on cd was a good way to get through it.

so this is what i've been up to so far this weekend- fairly relaxing.

julie

yes, as a matter of fact, we DID cover the sandbox so cats won't poop in it

here goes nothing. hopefully i finish this tonight...i feel like i cannot finish anything i want to finish these days and i leave a lot of things half-done for later. i don't like that, but that's what i feel is happening.

yep, that's my car out there all alone in the evening...why? what do i really accomplish?

and there's the walmart tree again..you know, the one i have to dodge when i get to walmart before school in the morning to get stuff for science class...birds. lots of loud birds up there chit-chatting...i wonder what they're up there talking about. maybe they're trying out the turn-and-talk strategy! hmm...

i think the lady that was waiting by the door for my ride was hoping that i would walk under the tree and get pooped on just to be amused...but i knew better!

then that night i got to stay late for the pta meeting-yea fourth grade! always more endearing outside of the classroom than inside...

had to cut off their faces-didn't want to get the waivers...

well, if you haven't noticed, i did not finish earlier in the week. it is now saturday. i was feeling blah yesterday and exhausted. i was a little less exhausted when i woke up this morning, but definitely not 100%, so i didn't want to trust the breakfast bars, instead, i went to get donuts and kolaches. hmm...i need to get back on my diet of good foods!

remnants of breakfast and the task ahead of us! this is part of the lumber we used to build our sandbox...earth-station...

 it was actually a great day i was there from beginning to end-not bragging. not complaining. just stating the facts. it was neat to see it come together and think about how i was going to go about using the garden for various classes. it would actually be really cool to use the sand box to build a tx map showing the different regions and elevations-hills, mountains, plains, etc...pretty sure that is the only thing i can think of for social studies...move on to science and writing! (reading out there would be great for tutors)...lots of math ideas, but i don't teach math. the composting is cool-i think i am going to help mom and dad build a compost pile at their house so they can use it in their garden...they didn't ask, but i think it'll be a great idea!

we had lots of volunteers today!

special shout outs to volunteers from mattress firm, bank of america, community, teachers, marsh middle school kids (many alumni) great turn-out! and thank goodness the weather was fabulous. the sandbox actually came together rather quickly(once we got hold of a powerful drill-i must get an upgrade!) anyhoo, we got our 100,000 wheelbarrows of sand and leveled it out, and then we crafted a cover that bungees down so that we can keep the cat from using it as a litter box (although, i don't know if feral cats would gravitate to sanitary means of relieving themselves or not...natural instinct? idk and idc -i don't care)  when we finished our sandbox, we moved on to picnic tables, and then to the pond. when we were working the pond, some guy thought he was chief, and kept saying let's do this, let's do that...i gave my opinion, and then i had to walk away. and when i walked away, i was introduced to a man who has an incubator and eggs so we can watch and learn about incubating and hatching baby chicks! so, this may be a fun learning experience for cabell students! yippee!

speaking of incubators, i remember when we lived in HONDURAS, and my friend's father owned a huge chicken business in the land...and so we went to see the whole chicken incubating, growing and slaughtering for packaging process. we had our own personalized field trip. i am one lucky girl! p.s.(even though it's not at the end of the note, so technically not a post script...don't care...we bought our chickens and eggs directly from their home-beyond the large gate)..and what a beautiful home they have! good times.

so, yes, it was a good day, i'm glad i got to be a part of something that can potentially make a huge difference for our students!!

julie

stop already, the sanitizer is gone, don't bother.

let us all take a moment to mourn the loss of a fourth grade team member.

it was a sad day. it was verified that, in fact, ms. arroyo would be moving to 3rd grade. pretty sure she is not thrilled about it, i was very frustrated because i have appreciated working alongside such a wonderful colleague! raquel, here's to you-my hat is off! thank you for being willing to try anything and seeing the silver lining in all! i'm really glad that at least we get to keep you on our hall, almost next door! i enjoy our after-school chats but i shall miss having a lunch buddy!

after school, we were trying to work through what a potential schedule might look like with our interim principal and our assistant principal and what i was writing down made sense in my mind, but i'm pretty sure it looked more like a football play to everyone else (my stroke of genius)

my explanation of how things are currently

as we were coming in from recess, after lunch, the kids always think they have to use the purell sanitizer.so i was sitting there observing this phenomenon, watching them push the lever to try to get some, but it's probably been out for a month, so i said, "it's out! the hand sanitizer is gone, don't bother!" and a split second later, another decided to try the lever, as if by some mysterious miracle, everyone else was just doing it wrong.. i don't understand the obsession.

it's like the dispenser was the recipient of the AGE-OLD joke and had a sign taped on it's back that said: PUSH ME

after i left school today, i had to make a quick stop at walmart. interestingly enough, i got stuck behind a lady who had way too much perfume on (so much that i had to find something to put to my nose to stifle the smell. then on the way out i caught a crazy heavy cologne smell lingering all over the parking lot...ok, maybe just in the car next to mine. (but still). i told my students that i like them to try new things in their writing, like dialogue. then i compared dialogue to perfume and explained that too much of it is not a good thing-it gives us a headache and overwhelms us.

while i was there, i was especially looking for a couple of things. here are a few of the wonderful things i found!

sassy socks!

 i cannot remember who it was that insisted on having sassy socks back when i lived in des moines...i'm pretty sure it was either jory or cindy...but that was one of my missions today-to find some amazing halloween socks! i looked all over the store. i literally went from one end to the other, and finally found them on a rack right near the front (not in the sock section, nor the halloween section, but in the shirt section).

then i found the honeycrisp apples!! i LOVE them, i really do...and i also found the caramel! woo hoo-it is truly fall!

the boys approved of the sander, then bruno said, "wait a minute, you aren't planning to grind my toe nails down, are you?"

the other item i came home with was a rotisserie chicken. well, i pulled off some huge chunks of chicken and came into the living room. then before i knew it, bruno, as quick as lightning snatched off a huge chunk and threw it on the floor then jumped down and began to scarf down the entire thing! i was so mad at him!! i'm so glad there was no one else in the house to witness it. he's soooo in the doghouse with me (only we don't have a doghouse).

alrighty then, if you ever want people to stop listening to your ideas, write them down like football plays.
julie

fowl mouth and super spy lipstick

today i got home and i could hear chaco from the parking lot he was yelling CHICKEN!! CHIIIC-ken chickenchickenchickenchickenchicken.
as soon as i walked into the house, i said, "really?" he looked up at me and said, "momma, chicken chicken chicken chicken.."     "chaco, stop!"  "momma...i have a fowl mouth! get it? get it?? fowl!" witty. i'm sure he sat around all day thinking of that one!

and as you can see, he's been picking up bad habits from his sister, reagan (you may or may not have seen her on FB on 4-20...)

i should probably have a talk with him.

i had to stop by walmart on the way home...i've had drain problems...thank goodness for liquid plumber! now i'm sitting here with wheel of fortune on in the background...my mom and i used to watch wheel together. yes, i'm a wheel watcher! i've had an affinity for word games since i was young. i can pin-point my need to spell correctly to 4th grade in brodhead, wi! one night after church, i had broken my necklace and left it on the table with a note, hoping mom and dad could fix it. the next morning, my mom kinda chuckled and asked how to spell necklace. obviously i had spelled it wrong, and she taught me the correct spelling of the compound word.

and my grandma smith was an avid reader, which helped instill the desire to read and use vocabulary intelligently. i grew up loving boggle! then i found a yahoo game called text twist...which i kinda dominated-i was so obsessed with unscrambling words and mixing letters around and manipulating them to create new words that i was doing it in the car while i drove by billboards, and when i saw ads on trucks...it took a few weeks, but it passed. i actually haven't played in quite awhile. mad gab is another favorite (especially bible mad gab).

so it is not much of a wonder that i have ended up in a classroom teaching spanish and english reading and writing for 4th graders, i guess. (growing up i used to watch cagney and lacey and thought i wanted to be a detective). today was a great day and a relief-because tomorrow and the next day we get our last two state tests out of the way and the pressure is off. now we can teach for fun, because there's nothing looming over us. or at least that was what i thought until today. i was approached by my principal to help one more batch of students on their 'victory lap,' so i will have a couple more weeks of helping out with that exciting adventure, then on to really having fun with my own class!

side note:
if anyone out there has an extra super-spy detective lipstick out there, mine broke.

it's hard to keep tabs on everyone when my spy lipstick isn't working. i'm fairly mechanically inclined, so i took it all apart and cleaned the corroded battery so the circuit would work, but i think one of the tiny wires might need to be re-soldered..i don't have soldering equipment (did that all sound pretty legit? i mean, i know what i'm talking about, but i wouldn't know how or what to heat up!)

alright, i think that is enough for this evening...stay away from the chicken and turkey-it could cause fowl mouth!
jules

p.s. i just got news that someone got her birthday gift of the baby jewelry and i'm pretty sure she liked it almost as much as the dobbit i crafted for her some time ago, using this beastly image as a guide.

my chicken lost his contact

yesterday chaco was sitting on my belly while i was laying down and he said, "momma...i love sitting on your belly; it jiggles like a waterbed."  dogs say the darndest things...

so, how do you teach a dog tact anyway?

ok, i guess it's back to pod runner now that my throat and shins are feeling normal again! i don't want to have waterbed belly!

how appropriate that tbs was showing the wizard of oz last night after all of the tornadoes the other day. so...if a tornado makes 3 touch downs in a city, does it get 18 points? no 'field' goal unless it touches down in the country? i really enjoy the wizard of oz much more after seeing wicked. although the lollipop kids still creep my out a little bit.

i'm not a huge bbq fan. i have to be in the mood (same with chinese food), and today i was in the mood partly because i was privy to a conversation about barbecue last night,but mostly because i had a gift card i won as part of a prize for winning our school's biggest loser competition. i know, right? give someone who's trying to lose weight a gift card to fat. anyhoo, when i unwrapped the sandwich, it smelled like something that had just been blow-torched with gas. did that stop me? no. it tasted a little like i imagine lighter fluid to taste, not that i would know...but the fries were good!

the baked beans were pretty good too!

  ah, schuyler fisk! sunshine just came on my random shuffle! love it! makes me happy! it was random, i didn't realize she was actually an actress as well until the other night i may or may not have been watching reruns of law and order svu...and saw her name in the beginning credits..so i had to look up pictures and make sure i knew which one she was. apparently she was a genius, who made poor choices. disturbing show.

today i stopped at the thrift shop on the way home, and i would like to share some of my finds. some things should just be gotten rid of and not re-sold...

why? did they really think some child would want to hug this thing and give it love?

hair remover...opened...ew.

 i did find some great books though, and they were super cheap! they will come in handy in the classroom.

i just heard something down beside the couch on top of the printer. when i peeked over, i saw my rubber chicken looking for something...the boys said that he dropped his contact. i'm still not quite sure what he was even doing playing on the printer.

once you drop a contact in the printer, it's game over! raise your hand if you know what i mean!

don't be a chicken, and keep your contacts on your eyeballs!

julie

p.s. sorry so random, there is absolutely no transitioning today!! i'm like a tornado!