two weeks of random busy-ness which is ending in a new netflix series

well, april is here. this means that the year is winding down. it has gone by rather quickly, and i know the next 30-some days will fly by! mixed feelings about that, as it is the end of another chapter in my life! let's label that chapter: cabell. it has been a fun chapter, and i will take more time to write a brief synopsis...but today will not be the day for that.

the past two weeks have been busy. but they have been good. last saturday, i woke up and it was a beautiful day, so i went for a short drive-driving tends to clear my mind like walking does (only without the benefits..must begin walking again!), and when i got home, i took the boys out, and then i was reminded in an email that there was a street fair of schools at w.t. white. so i took off to show my support for about an hour. i don't necessarily love going to these types of things, but fortunately i usually see people i know and am fond of-this was no exception; we have some great feeder pattern peeps! stephanie and wendy are among the people i cherish most in this feeder! always encouraging and funny/sarcastic/funny.

the boys-they have loved walking in the late afternoons! 

don't know what i'd do without the witty support of this one!

wendy-i'd pick her to be on my team every game-mvp!

then sunday i spent the day with a friend just getting things done that needed to get done. quality time-check. watched miracles from heaven- if you haven't, i highly recommend stocking up on your kleenex stash! the day was riddled with good conversation-i don't mind small talk with friends, in fact, that's where i learn about some of the interesting facts that shed a little light on people. it's small talk with strangers that kills me. it's been a journey learning about and appreciating the differences in our personalities, styles and even philosophies on friendship-which comes from difference in personality. so many of my friends have been so similar to me, that it has been fun to grow. it's learning to appreciate that sometimes it's the combination of similarities and differences that make life fun. it's the unique perspectives that broaden my horizons and understanding of people.

i had the opportunity to do coffee with another friend after work one day last week, and it was a good chance to just talk about future plans and school-i left to use the restroom and when i came back, the lady at a table not too far from us was talking about how she was the assistant principal at a charter school and finishing up at the teaching trust. it's a small world...and educators like coffee!

shout outs to maria and nicolette for their courageous efforts with the cheerleaders at the pep rally! our students are not super animated and energetic, so they needed some prompting, but by the end, they were getting into it....they just need a little more exposure and practice! (mrs. de la guardia also participated as a cheerleader, and nafia, ms. graves, crystal and rosa were all in a great little skit to pump the students up). takes me back to high school-some of my friends were cheerleaders, and i love them dearly, but i never had the slightest desire to be in cheerleading; i was always on the sports team-basketball, volleyball and one year of softball. had they offered soccer, and four-square, i probably would have been in those as well!

also shout outs to xochitl and olivia for their work with the girls' soccer team! the first game was last night, and the girls put on a valiant effort for only having had one practice-they will get better as they practice!

afterward, we went to trinity groves-first time i'd ever been there, and i loved it-love the area! (note to self, would love to explore the area more). we were out later than i had originally expected, and the boys were none too happy when i got home! but as always, they forgave me! that's what i love most about them.

today i decided that it was imperative that i get some scents from bath and body works to freshen up the place. and since they had a special (don't they always) i went ahead and got several different light/fresh scents to see which one works best for me!

#smellsgood

and as i came back and checked my mail, i had not one, not two, but THREE (count them...3!) letters from friends!! the best part is that they came from three friends from very different periods of my life-one from a high school friend, one from a kamp friend (former kamper), and one from one of my dear college friends. for a letter-writer like myself to receive letters is a big deal! i usually get them few and far between, but when they arrive, it means the world! and did i mention, today i got 3!

and i leave off with the fact that it's a 3-day weekend due to our inclement weather day, which means that in essence today was a freebie! i have been watching netflix instead of t.v. recently (i might as well cancel the cable and stick with local channels and the offerings of netflix, hulu, amazon prime and all that roku offers)...i finished catching up on grey's,  so after one of my friends mentioned parenthood, i remembered how much my friends loved it when it was on primetime...and decided to give it a chance. after watching the second episode, i'm hooked-my friends have good taste.

 hope your weekend finishes strong!

julie

choosing gratitude and re-finding that forgotten enjoyment

ok, so here we are-almost halfway through january.

i need to get up to oklahoma soon to visit with bmayes, because it's been entirely too long. unfortunately this weekend-which would have been a great long weekend to play, she is unavailable...so another weekend it will have to be. that leaves this weekend open for adventure-not sure exactly what that will entail...spontaneity has never scared me! (watch me sit at home, watching t.v. or old movies...gah!) heaven forbid.

i have to go into the dentist once again the day after mlk jr day. mo' money (outta my pocket). it's all good-gotta' get this done and over with.

anyhoo, the other day, i received a very thoughtful gift, and i am pretty sure that i could have filled it all up in one sitting, because i have so much to be grateful for...i am a fortunate person- gratitude is a choice..and i choose it!

#friendsaremyfavorite

 yes, i am grateful for friends... adventure seekers, comfortable friends-[read: i could sit and read or color or just watch t.v., drive for hours, sit on the balcony, or just run errands and be perfectly content], lovers of God, transparent hearts, world-changers[even if it's just your corner of the world], lovers of fun, laughers, food lovers, eclectic music connoisseurs, new-thing-triers, encouragers, lighthouses, solid rocks, listeners, a needed shoulder in rough times, truth-speakers, advice givers...and so much more (lookin' at you bmayes, shea  nika, ally, nicolette, stacey k, brandy, stevie, carmen, erika, sheryl, trish, jo anne, laura, carla, hellen, carrie) <tip of the iceberg, there are so many others i can add too this list..and in another post, i will catch some of the people that i may not have mentioned here, because i can never completely express my gratitude for those friends who have chosen to enter into my life and stay for a bit. again, i am fortunate. i am grateful. to you i raise my glass, because while i try to be, i am not always on my "A" game...in fact sometimes i fail miserably. thanks for sticking around when i do.

i am guilty of not writing many letters as of late- i was doing so well, and then something happened and i have obviously fallen behind...so sorry! the great thing is: i received the perfect stationery to write on, and i will be getting back at it soon! my bad. i have also added to my card-arsenal...so there's that. now just to get the motivation. sometimes i can make a letter out of pretty much nothing....like looking out on the balcony and seeing bruno throw a piece of poop up into the air...for attention #truestory... but lately the ordinary and mundane are so much so, that this passtime which i love has not brought the enjoyment that it usually does...i think it may be kind of like when the lord spoke to haggai, because the people were like: oh...no, we don't want to do that, we're not feeling it...we really don't want to build the temple..the house of the Lord... and God was like...um. what? you have time to do this and that and make good for yourselves, but you don't have time to build my temple? (jerks), and they were like: just not feelin' it. and HE was like: whatevs, just DO IT. commit yourselves to do it, THEN i will give you the desire, after you make the commitment-when it's the idea of doing it because it's the right thing to do...then, i will give you the joy. so yes, i just need to suck it up and get back to what originally brought so much joy not only to me, but to building the kingdom-with the gifts i have been given.

again, thanks, because this is what i needed to kick-start one of the things that i am actually pretty good at. 

 what are the things in your life that you used to really enjoy doing, that now just seem a littleblah?  my challenge to you is to man up/ woman up, whatever, and just do, find your enjoyment again, because life is not meant to be lived in black and white. color. it's time to re-find that which brought color into your life! RE-FIND YOUR ENJOYMENT!

in other news, it is going to be a busy few weeks, both at school and...at school.

choose gratitude, there is so much to be thankful for-find it!
julie

grateful...that's all.

sometimes God brings people into your life to make himself more evident and more known. interestingly enough, he has his perfect way of doing this, and sometimes it's through the most unlikely unexpected people in the most normal of situations. for this i am thankful.

shortly before going to inacol, i went out with some girls from work and we had the craziest of conversations. within the conversation, we discussed church, which was what led to this post. so when i said i texted a friend, i actually texted an acquaintance, who has since become a friend-which i am going to attribute 100% to God and his great wisdom and grace. every once in awhile i meet people outside of kamp, whom i truly wish could have experienced it because they would fit in, hands down...prime example. these are the times i wish my worlds could collide because i hate that friends from both realms don't get the opportunity to appreciate each other, as i know it'd be a freakin' awesome get-together!!

but i digress...living in dallas over the past three years has not been easy, and certainly not much fun. when alisha and bmayes moved away...and the oklahoma crew dispersed, life became much more solitary. while i do need alone time to recharge, when there is absolutely no one apart from the boys, it was getting old, monotonous and borderline melancholy. so the idea of having people around to play with-who actually enjoy several of the same things-makes all the difference.

like i said before, God has a better understanding of what i need than even i do...and he has used it to draw me closer to him. how, you ask? well...i'm a little ashamed of the fact that ever since i moved over to this side of town, and further away from lakepoint, i haven't found a church. i'd visit a few here and there with nika and bmayes from time to time when b was in town, but nothing that ever stuck. and once she was gone, and nika was super involved in a megachurch (which really didn't appeal to me at the time--remember that outgoing introvert thing?)...i really had no desire to go looking on my own. so, finding someone who really does desire to go, who loves music and worship, and who really desires to know God more is a godsend. here's to exciting new adventures-both church and non-church related! 

not only that, but an added bonus: exercise accountability, and trying new things!

yes, please, on a bed of spaghetti squash!

thank GOD my grandma didn't look like this! but also, thank God i've been introduced to this hot chocolate, because it is so like the chai tea i used to sit in the garage drinking while watching the storms roll in! nostalgic.

that said, it was an added bonus to be able to get to spend some time with nicolette and nafia during our time at inacol. i expect that we will be having some authentic conversations and fun adventures in the future!

by the pool-trying to get work done...

so...about a month ago, i agreed to take on a project to help work with curriculum, standards and alignment for a group that is working against the clock to try to pull together some college courses for education. i agreed because of the allure of doing something challenging, and making some money at the same time. the problem is that i didn't realize how involved it would be, and i had little context and zero direction-i came to a point at which it was really consuming me. every time i was with friends and wanting to be fully present, this burden was weighing on my mind. it was so difficult for me to swallow my pride, in part because i didn't want to let them down, after offering to take it on.

the truth is, i felt under-qualified and without having someone close to bounce ideas off of and get immediate in-the-moment feedback to point me in the right direction, i was beyond overwhelmed-especially because i hadn't taken into account how busy things would become over the next few weeks. i bowed out of the project, and in almost the same moment that i hit the send button, my heart and head were just a bit lighter. i knew it was the right decision.

i need to begin making choices from the lens of: life is short-moments count, friendships don't just happen-they are built by intentional acts and people are important-which i want to be so apparent after interacting with others, but sometimes i fall way short (opportunities for growth!).

with only one more day of school before the thanksgiving break, i look forward to spending time with friends-if it all works out as planned. i am thankful for much. i have much more than i need or deserve. one of the gifts that i am most thankful for is the gift of written communication. i speak not of blogging, mind you, i speak more to the art of the handwritten letter. i have said it before, and i say it again because my thoughts have not changed on this: there is nothing more endearing than a handwritten letter, as it holds so much authenticity! i do not write to receive letters, i write to reveal myself, so when i do receive such treasures, my heart melts a little, because it's the sharing of self-i absolutely loved being on the receiving end today-again, God in his wisdom-

one from a kamp friend, one from a classmate. #happyheart

may gratitude overwhelm you as you realize how blessed you are-
jrob

travel plans..check! put that in your pipe and smoke it...george did!

***spotty internet connection-i think i will have to change vendors when i return! i wanted to post this last night, but i couldn't get pics to upload, and then when i did, they wouldn't save...grr.

 so between finishing the post last night and right now, i was practicing with the timer on the camera-remember the new camera? well, i got some lens filters and a battery and an sd card with a greater capacity-i will try not to take more than 2000 pics while i'm on vacation...hmm.

so it took while i was trying to pick up chaco-note his ears are back. he was yelling at me...something about being used for commercial purposes, and that if he wasn't going to get paid to be a model, he didn't think he should offer his services for free... jerk.

oh my goodness!

i've been thinking about this post all day!! i am still smiling. let's begin with the fact that i have not been a big skyper nor have i hung out in google very much...that said...it may become a more common occurrence because seeing and hearing my 'little sis' in HONDURAS last night just about made my heart burst open! i am dying to meet her family and honestly, even if we both had laryngitis and couldn't talk (not likely), it'd be ok because proximity is everything! just to sit in the presence of an adored friend would be enough! but we know that won't be the case-time cannot fly fast enough!

my near future includes some of my oldest and dearest friends. even writing that gives me this strange ache of endearment that reaches to the very core of my being-which may sound strange, but
that's ok; i hold my friends from this era of my life in very high esteem-i was the one who was different and it would've been easy to not fit in, but i was accepted unconditionally. that is something that you cannot put a value on, and i am excited to rebuild some of those friendships-so to those with whom i have been able to be in touch with recently, please know that you are priceless to me!

so for now, the plan is beach, ferry to roatan, a few days in roa (hopefully seeing a dear friend there as well), then back to san pedro sula. hopefully while at the beach, i will be able to see another precious friend who has moved there. (i am going to be dreaming about coconut bread and coffee from right now until i arrive). while in sps, i hope to see some of the old haunts, and what all has changed.

then there is a strong likelihood that i will be headed out to copan with kika (we became instant friends in 8th grade when i had difficulties with the zipper on my uniform skirt after gym...she's my favorite cow, i'm pretty sure i'm still her favorite pig)...i am super excited to meet her kiddos and her husband! hopefully we'll get to visit with the parental units as well!

it feels good to have some of those plans and details checked off-again, as i type this, i am smiling from ear to ear and i cannot believe that i'm going home! if there are things we miss out on this time around, it will be ok, because as i said before, this won-t be a one-time adventure.

so i may have gone out today and made some 'must' purchases. understand that these aren't one-time-use purchases...i am already thinking about the next!

the suitcase is nicer than any i've invested in before...there are just so many stinkin zippers everywhere!

this was a key piece that i wanted to get because it's smaller-since i won't be toting a gun around, it will be perfect...i love that it is reinforced with wire-it reminds me of a bus ride back from a restaurant one night on a bus, when a man cut my mom's purse open and stole something out of it..(the chicken she had wrapped up to take home) and she had no idea until we got home. so yeah, there's that-no one be takin my food...

  i finished registering for jury duty-boo. time to get the princess leia outfit ready. (thank you tina fey). last week of school...ugh.

and last but not least, let me share with you the curious george big book that we received. my principal gifted hers to me- thank you dr. hughes! nothing beats original george, smoking a good pipe!!

 

i LOVE the smell of a good pipe-i don't know why, but the old corn-cob pipes just smell so sweet!

so. with that i bid you farewell,
jules