be silly, be fashionable, be alive!

it's been a good week-a busy week. we had a group come in to give us a formative observation with some great feedback. the whole procedure was valuable, and i am thankful that everyone involved, especially the focus groups were so  honest, because that is the only way that we grow and challenge ourselves! so valuable!

yesterday was read across america, and we had a great volunteer turnout! it was also dr. seuss' birthday! and i had the rare opportunity to don a pretty spectacular cat-in-the-hat outfit, thanks to nicolette, who had no intention of wearing it herself, and offered to bring it for me to wear. the students had a great time, and that made the day pretty spectacular. 

i also took a minute to go out to the garden (which i have not really had much of an opportunity to do lately), and i saw the flowers, that i planted a couple of years ago, blossoming-that was pretty cool, because the grounds crew usually chops them down! i also took the shears out to chop up the plants that were invasive and taking over the pond...it was a bit of a task. i began pulling, and before i knew it, i was struggling with roots and all sorts of heavy overgrowth. it was a bit of an undertaking, but don't worry, i cleared it all up, and the fish are still alive-they are probably pissed at me for taking away their hiding places...it's okay, i hear they have 5 second memories! so i need to check on them again tomorrow to throw them into the compost bin..the plants, not the fish.. (when i am actually dressed appropriately); they will be great for the compost, because the silt that came from the pond will be so good in creating rich soil!! i'm such a nerd. but that seriously makes me smile! i've been wanting to extract some of that from the bottom of the pond for awhile now!

beautiful, right? 

i wish computers were scratch and sniff, because these are so aromatic!!

and i was amazed by the fun that is happening in preK! everyone needs to go by and visit their centers! the nasa station rocks, the campsite-rocks!! it's such a fun atmosphere for our kiddos! way to go amanda and marlon! you are making memories for these little ones! 

houston, we have no problems!

planetarium, hello!

i wore a dress again today, and while i was upstairs, one of nafia's girls said something really cute. she said, "ms. robinson, ms. hamilton is making you fashionable!" i like being comfortable, but i will admit, it's been fun mixing it up. smile. 

is it strange to say that i know things are good because i've actually been writing letters again? when i write letters, things are good. that said, i am still not back into a good sleep habit-i have been staying up later than normal...maybe that's just my body preparing for spring break, as shea is a night owl...? part of being in a good place involves knowing that spring break is around the corner, but an even bigger part of the equation is surrounding myself with people who make me laugh, who make me think, who just value hanging out...these are simple things, but they are the things that make the difference. i've said it before-community is everything...living life in color, choosing to be positive, supporting others however we can, that makes me feel alive. it's good to be alive--take a minute, and think about it...what is it that makes you feel alive? pursue that!

julie

chaz sends wen and fun finds in the compost pile

what a whirlwind of a week!! busy, busy, busy! i'm pretty sure i was home late every day. from staff meeting monday, special initiative meeting tuesday, purchasing orders for audio books wednesday, Stand for Children strategy meeting thursday and finishing some work in the garden yesterday.

much of this week was used trying to use some of our budget to stock our literacy library with audio books. i will admit that i was very excited about getting audio books, because i remember when i was little (before kindergarten) following along in the read alouds with a...wait for it....RECORD PLAYER!!! yes, it's true, my two favorite books were scooby doo and the abominable snowman, and rudolph. later i would add dumbo to my list, but with scooby doo....it just never got old! every time they caught the old man villain, i was like, "yay! they caught the bad guy!....again!" oh the wonder of children!

so, i was thrilled about getting the audio books, because i think it will bring reading to life for our students!

then yesterday was an exciting day at school because our school was chosen for 'trees for threes,' in which the dallas mavericks came out to our school (as well as a load of volunteers and some master naturalists) and planted several trees. the students were almost as excited as the teachers... the cheerleaders took pics with some of the students and staff. one of the guys that got his pic with them will probably be smiling all the way into next week! good times.  

this was the actual planting of the trees-very good info-now i am 'tree-planter-certified'

and the cheerleaders were there as well, so we got a pic from them signed for one of our avid teacher fans!

after school, i went out to the garden to get a few things done, and i wasn't sure if i was going to get rained on or not. i did. but just a few sprinkles! so i didn't get done what i had hoped to get done, but i did get a surprise as i was putting something into the compost pile. i noticed some plants growing out of it. guess what kind of plants-forget guessing, i'll just tell ya-POTATOES and spaghetti squash!!

i had thrown some of the potato starters into the pile because they had gotten all moldy and i figured they were rotten. well, lo and behold, they were sprouting shoots, so i carefully dug out about 6 plants and replanted them, hopefully they will grow and produce! i checked on the snap peas that we thought had perished with the harsh winter, but after cutting away the dead vines, they are beginning to thrive again!! woo hoo!!

 then i got sidetracked by the other harvests and cut some cilantro, rosemary, mint and parsley. yes, we have a garden for chefs! i feel as though i'm learning so much about gardening that i could probably grow a garden that i could survive on and save a lot of money with! i think i'm starting to appreciate this garden-business more and more! i am getting so excited for our summer crop!!

you can imagine my shock at finding these sprouts in the compost pile!!

there was really too much for me to take home, but i had to trim the cilantro so that it wouldn't start to flower

oh! i almost forgot the other thing that happened this week...i was again watching t.v. last weekend and got caught up when i saw a commercial for wen hair products...yes i did.  and my hair product from "CHAZ" came on wednesday...and it's not really shampoo-it's more of a conditioning cleanser...ok, shampoo that doesn't lather? anyhoo, the smell alone is worth it! almond mint makes me smile deep inside my being! i will be sure to keep you informed of the progress. it's supposed to keep me from having to wash it every day, but in reality, i LOVE the smell so much that i really kinda want to wash it two to three times a day!! (oops).

i went ahead and told bruno and chaco that CHAZ sent their newly formulated shampoo as well.

so...sometimes i get bored. i kinda feel like one of the characters from the twc commercials...nothing good can come of boredom, can it? well. last night, i may have gotten bored. so i found my good scissors and went into the bathroom and cut my hair. i've never been obsessed with my hair, so cutting it myself doesn't really scare me...and i never did it when i was a little kid, so i'm making up for lost time. as long as i don't go too short on the first round, i can trim it up to make it work. and i haven't had to yet, but if it got real out of control, i would still have something for a stylist to work with.. ok, ulterior motive- i may have also wanted to cut it so that i don't have to use as much of the 'shampooless shampoo' so that it'll last longer!  ...plus, when i let my hair grow out, i always forget how much quicker and easier it is to wash short!

 i have just a little more detail trimming to do..:)

so.that just about covers this week.

urban crust has the best bathrooms in town!

i finally went and got a new chi, and straightened my hair. i miss straight hair! i love my hair straight because it's so much more manageable!

thursday came around, which meant gigi was in town, and we made plans to meet at a groovy little place in plano (one of their old favorites) URBAN CRUST. it was worth the drive! they had a wonderful rooftop area.

i had to stop in the restroom on the way up, and i was very impressed! it was beautifully decorated!!

this is inside the stall...i mean, classy.

 it was good just to be together to hang out and catch up and all while eating some amazing pizza! good times!

miss having this mug around campus!

then yesterday at school, i may have contributed to our collective for the powerball-let's go cabell! and so i went to the website to read frequently asked questions, and if you have not, you have to because it is really funny!!so of course, in my mind, i've figured out all sorts of creative ways to use the money!

after school, i went out to the garden and started to layer the 2nd compost bin, because they had thrown all of the leaves into one bin without putting any nitrogen components...so it just had the carbon. that will take forever to decompose. so i took out some of the items i had been saving up in my room (which were beginning to smell rather ripe)....and today i am feeling it in my shoulders! boo.

this morning i had to take the boys in to get their nails clipped again, and of course, it goes without saying (yet i will say it anyway)...as soon as we entered, i was already having to look for the nearest cleaning supply station. bruno. and then again...#2, while we were waiting for chaco. when chaco was done, they paged us to bring bruno back. when we reached the groomer door, there was another dog, and he was marking the door from the inside. the owner didn't see it, so i waited until she turned around to go in so that she would know it was her dog, not mine and clean it up. (my plan worked!)

the lady turned around, saw the mess and asked for paper towels, then started cleaning; she opened the door to get what had seeped under and the dog walked out into the petsmart and then she had to go running after her dog, and i slipped in and traded bruno for chaco. when we were all done, we went out and bruno decided he wasn't interested in going anywhere and just laid down.

not impressed with the heat

i took them fro a walk when we got back, and bruno said, "i'm done. it's summer, and it's too hot for walks in texas. unless you get me an airconditioned ball to walk in, i am not interested in going for too many walks this summer. i would like to just be a lap dog and lounge around on the couch." maybe we will have to settle for airconditioned car rides...

then i left and did some shopping for some small things i needed, but i couldn't find some of the things i was really looking for. i did find these things:

i LOVE little things..here's a little cup of joe.

i love sock money pin...

and when a creepy doll says make me your friend...hmm.

on the way home, i saw a little smart car, and this was so creative!

see the wind-up key on the back?!

and then i remembered i received a flier in the mail for teachers to get $1000 off on the purchase of a smart car...a play on teachers and smart, i'm sure...no way my friend. i don't think i'm looking for smart next time...i think it will be adventurous next time!

julie

i'm not as lucky as my friends, but i CAN get my dogs to lay down and be quiet!

let's see...i need to back up a couple of days. last week we had a couple of days off because of our unused inclement weather days; love me a mild winter! so a group of gals from school made some plans to go up to winstar in oklahoma. after coming home to take the boys out and play for a bit, i met up with the girls at the hair and make-up party-so fun to be pretty for a night (smile).

who are those hotties??

we may or may not have taken the long way around, even after the security guy (with sarcasm as thick as molasses) told us to take three lefts...someone (who can remain nameless), piped up-NO WAY! there's no way that we'll get there if we take three lefts! that doesn't even make sense! i can see it right there!! so instead of the 3 lefts (which pretty much takes one around the block), we went right a few times and avoided the closed road and after a few jaunts and turns we did  wind around to end up in front of the hotel!

when the reservations were made, we were under the impression that there would be a roll-away bed...when we got there, we asked the bell-boy-man and famous last words, "sure, i'll go check on that and bring it right up..." so we took off, and had dinner, then went down to 'see the world' starting in london, i believe. we ended up in rome or china and played blackjack. then at the slots, i watched as lindsey put in $1 and turned it into 64! woah! and natalie was so funny at the slot machines-she was so excited about them until she realized that she was getting swindled! so she turned around and used her last 20 at the blackjack table and won back everything that she lost!

the sad thing was that as we looked around, there were several people there who really looked like they should have been using that money to pay for milk and bread...

guess what! when we got back to the room, the bed was NOT there! huge bedroom, and they had the audacity to tell us that it was a fire hazard...jerks. so the beds (being queen) were not really big enough to comfortably accommodate all of us, so we called down and they brought up some comforters and we created a pallet on the floor. it was actually fairly comfortable-i should have slept with my head to the other end, though, because the drapes wouldn't close, and there was light streaming in-i don't sleep well with light, and of course, i didn't bring my sleep mask that i don't have...and around 5:30 ish, someone's (cougholivia) alarm went off...perhaps to get ready for school...and it was fitful sleep from there (which was fine, because i would come home to sleep anyway). and thank goodness xochitl did not have car-sickness there or back!

it's always fun just to get out of school and see people outside of the confines of the school building-that's when things get real.

i got to catch up on a couple of movies on thursday, and then on friday i worked with the boys on some laying down and not barking...we're getting better-need more treats!

focus..stay down.

when i came home, i saw that the lawn people had come and they were leaving leaves in bags all over the place...something must be wrong with me, because i didn't think 'awesome, fresh lawn.' no, i thought, 'i need to snag one of those bags for the compost pile at school!' and so i went to get my mail, and as i pulled toward the gate, there were a couple of bags, so i decided to let the two cars behind me pass by so i could nonchalantly heft a bag into the trunk of my car quickly before anyone noticed what i was doing...not like they'd stop me or anything...and trying to be all smooth and what not, i got it over the lip of the trunk, and then it got stuck, so there i was trying to shove-stuff it in there.

yesterday, i saw an ant crawling around in my car...'that's weird...' i thought. it didn't even dawn on me that he'd been hiding in that bag, waiting to make his move...in fact, i would've forgotten all about the bag of leaves had i not opened the trunk yesterday morning when i was hoping to see my cart there, but it was not there-i was slightly disappointed because i couldn't use the bag of leaves to cart my books and such in, now i had to carry them. unless i could get that freakin' ant and his buddies to help me out...

just grab one, everyone's doing it!

but the best part about getting home was that my new long sleeve-t was waiting for me!! bmayes! it is AMAZING!! it's so soft-new favorite! (even though i cannot wear it this summer in tx...unless of course i blast my a/c for that specific purpose...)

not everyone can say they have a moose t-shirt! i absolutely love it!

 on saturday, i was planning on going to a birthday celebration, but i don't know if it was something i ate, or stress, or what, but i was wishing that i hadn't left my immodium ad at school. i was picturing exactly where i left it...

thank goodness, EASTER morning brought good news! celebrating a risen SAVIOR-nothing beats that! and then an EASTER meal...of homemade chips and salsa...

blessed,
julie