what do you do? no, like i'm a driver, i DRIVE, what do you do? REALLY?!

remember where we left off? i'd just gotten back from pbi (west palm beach). now that that's out of the way. ju had asked if i might drop her off to pick up a rental car in dallas. well, duh! my life! i think acts of service is one of my love languages (that i give...i am also very good at giving quality time because that is the one i receive the best)..i've tried very hard to get better at noticing what people receive and try to meet those-if you are not familiar with the five love languages, i highly recommend!! the book is great, and here's the quiz! if you want to really connect with people (anyone) this is key!

but i digress...so we went to get the shuttle, and i missed the apparently epic stumble-up-the-stairs...depth perception, ju!! she biffed it-let's blame it on the luggage being top-heavy and throwing her off balance. regardless, smacked her shin and hand (left a mark) and the shuttle driver-pat? kinda' mumbled to ask if she was alright, but didn't lend a hand or make an effort to help with the bags...first day on the job? crack addict? not sure...a little slow. anyhoo, i gave my ticket to the driver and the driver looked at it and said the number. there were others on the shuttle as well, which was probably a good thing because the driver was awk-ward-as-all-get-out. (notice that i have not assigned a sex, as we were a little uncertain? see how i did that?) yeah, so anyway...we were the last ones off, and we kept seeing people give tips, without really being helped, and by the time it was down to us, i wasn't going to, but then in the back of my mind, i was thinking, "shoot, if i don't, will i look racist? or if this person is indeed on some illegal, mood-altering narcotic, i don't want ju to get a shiv in the kidney" i even looked at julie and was like:do i? don't i? of course she was biased, as she was almost hospitalized for the aforementioned mishap...not really, but i'm a sucker, so i doled out two dolla. (you think i jest...) and then wouldn't you know it, this person who was pretending to be a mute the entire 20 minute ride got a second wind and became a chatty chat chatterson...i wasn't trying to start a conversation, because julie had someplace to be, but (now we know it was a girl) she asked a question and i thought it would be rude to be short.
she: what do you do?
me: i'm a trainer.
she: no, i mean, like i'm a driver, i DRIVE. what do YOU do?
me: (scratches head and tilts to the side)umm... well, i'm a trainer. i TRAIN people. on a computer-based reading program. 
she then starts asking all sorts of questions trying to understand. eventually telling us she went to school in louisiana or something like that, when julie told her she went to college at baylor, this lady got ALL excited and started getting passionate about her friend who played ball there. we were finally able to tear ourselves away without an embrace (julie looking at her wrist, as if to be keeping time). 

we were able to avoid traffic for the most part, and i hope she was able to get to her bro's house in time to see her nephew and not run into too much traffic going to meet up with her friend, who just happened to be in town as well.

(sorry ya'all, get the popcorn and settle in, there's more! i mean, that could've been the post in and of itself, but nooooo, i've gotta go and tell you everything!)

on saturday i went furniture shopping with one of my friends- we hit up nebraska furniture mart just to make sure that's NOT what she wanted! and after looking at several couches and taking pics to get a second opinion from mom, we left with a better understanding of what she did not want. most of them were comfortable, and me, the least particular person in the world, didn't get it (not a 100%). i will say this, she'd been talking about a particular couch from pottery barn for the past 9 months, so i had an idea that she wouldn't settle. and she shouldn't-her heart was already set. if you're going to pay money for a big-ticket item, you should get what you really like! so we ended up at pottery barn and she did find the one she wanted! i'm moral support, and i really do like the one that she chose! party at her place in 8-10 weeks!!

after going in on sunday and making the final purchase, i came home and prepared for my trip du jour- monday i'd be taking off for miami-coveted time with sabrina. if you recall, i got to spend a day with her in magnolia about a month or so back-not nearly enough time, so i was really looking forward to this because i'd get to observe in two separate venues. and i was a little anxious, because i was going to get to meet dr. campbell, from ucf. i kept hoping that i'd make the cut with her (always good to have your clients like you, right? exactly! best behavior!) 

so i'll get into that a little more tomorrow, but i will say that i was delighted to find sabrina at love field and i sneaked up behind her at the airport to surprise her, and just kept thinking, "i hope that's her!" as i walked up behind her and you know how you walk up behind someone and cover their eyes and say "guess who?!" well, i DIDN'T think she'd probably appreciate having some stranger in the airport put their hands over her face, but it was something like that...again, i was hoping for the love of all that is good that i did indeed have accurate recall the back of this head! praise Jesus, it was sabrina!

it's always a good flight when you're among friends! (can i say that figuratively-not metaphorically...as there really isn't a metaphor, but there really weren't a lot of friends on this plane so to speak and it would really be hard to be surrounded by one person...and now i'll shut up about that, just know that this is one of the things i appreciate about southwest when i'm traveling with friends-we can sit together and enjoy the trip-and we did! whew! did that tire anyone else out??) we looked at the power point and then played word games-she introduced me to my newest addiction- alphabetty. curses. what do you MEAN i have to wait 2 minutes for a new life?!

so that was that, and when we got to fll, we rented a car and headed for the first part of the trip to miami for our adventure. (by now you know that everything with me is about some sort of adventure, and if an adventure doesn't happen, we're going to make that trip to the grocery store into a freakin' adventure! i didn't grow up watching indiana jones for nothing!)

our rental convertible...lori, that's covered by our rental agreement, right? not really, we had a dodge durango with a personality crisis...almost a diva about stoplights. 

patience, more coming soon.
julie

spring break part 1: st armands, anna maria donuts and the tree graveyard

i'm sure you are all wondering: what in the world is julie doing now?! so, i'll tell you!

so...i was a little worried on friday night, when i hadn't heard from nicolette, because she had agreed to take me to the airport for my spring break trip, but i'd not been able to touch base with her, because i had to leave early to drop the boys off with mom and dad...and then when i did text her (around 7:30pm), i didn't hear back; i was worried about a delayed messaging, or that she might have had something come up last minute...but at the same time, i didn't want to keep texting and drive her nuts--#nottheannoyingperson so instead, i thought of a couple of different possible scenarios just in case. you can imagine my relief when i got her text the next morning around 4:30, asking what time she should come over.

and then on the way to the airport, i (always the one to be too literal and mess up directions by actually looking at the finer details of the signage-and analyze them) steered us wrong..fortunately the airport toll-area has a u-turn station, because we definitely passed up the first entrance to AA terminal C- #mybad. beyond grateful for the ride.

the flight itself was nothing out of the ordinary-got in a little coloring, and everyone around me pretty much zonked out-love the early morning flights! (i may have started with a little snooze as well). then i watched a little bit of the movie a guy sitting kitty-corner (nic, it really is a variant defined in the dictionary!) from me, because it had sub-titles, and seemed to be an oldie.

upon arrival, i was greeted by my personal greeter/driver, with a sign, no less!

i even moved closer to try to get a good angle on the sign- JROB! she did a great job pretending not to know me #jobopportunities

 my vote was to come straight back to the house and see the new place, and get started on unloading and sorting through her items that were in a storage pod. i love the new place! what a beautiful home! so we got the kitchen supplies out and sorted through them-washed a couple of loads and shea hand-washed several pieces, but now everything is in its place, and she can figure out what else she needs! the best thing we found: the QUESADILLA MAKER!!

and we opened the patio pieces! 3 pieces of choice furniture-the LEGIT OUTDOOR HAMMOCK, the bench (until the couch arrives), and the fire-pit...life is good and the place is coming together! this thing is going to be great for sleeping outdoors at night...just sayin'.

it's big-which means it's just right!

 and of course, the first things that she ordered had already arrived-and some of her friends who live in the same neighborhood had come by to help get the pool floats ready and mount the t.v. before i got here-

are these two great, or what?! they still need names, but it's like a stinkin' amusement park! 

 when we finished doing most of this, we took the short trip to st. armands and walked the loop, grabbed a little dinner and mojitos at the columbia- beyond filling and delicious! we tried a new salad with artichoke hearts and avocado-yummers! i will need to be stocking up on some of those for my own salads! we found the spice store (not that it was ever lost, or we didn't plan on going there anyway, because we did!) and of course, we had to hit up the samples at the nut shop-i love all of the samples! shea may or may not have eaten 4 malt balls...but that's nothing, because she saw an old lady grab a handful; proud of that old lady, LIVIN' the LIFE!! and while we were there, we saw that crazy lady with too many dogs!

there were about 7 or 8 of them, and she drew a crowd. they were so well trained

DAY 2
we decided to go hammocking-to find the perfect hammock-set-up! but first, of course, we had to stop at the donut experiment on anna maria island! always a must. so we got our amazing donuts-fresh and light--again, the donut machine and process reminded me of the homer price story we read in elementary school-a classic!  omg, the raspberry, though... and just walking down to the pier was the most relaxing thing; i could do that often. bad day? walk the beach/pier, it changes everything! it changes the mindset, and without exception, soothes the soul.

i haven't craved donuts in awhile, but there they were-we will go again!

not an easy feat in flip flops-

shea, the animal whisperer-this pelican was a star

then we took a short drive to longboat key, a turn-off into a neighborhood where there was a beach access that led to a trail where, as shea said, the perfect setting for a movie! we made our way through the trail to the "tree graveyard" as shea dubbed it so perfectly. there are so many trees downed on their sides with the roots sticking up. we found one spot to set up, but it only fit one hammock.

excellent place to set up 

and then we found a place to hook up both hammocks! the second spot was a little more difficult, but we did it (and by we, mostly shea-she's become a hammocking expert) some tall boys came by to offer help-but by then, it was almost all done, so we used them to take pics the next time they swung by!

while the place was perfectly ideal, we really needed to get the hammocks up a little higher, as about every 7th or 8th wave was big enough to break against the bottom of the hammocks-they're nylon, no big deal, but the water is still a little cool! so after being beaten by the water for awhile, we pulled it in and went for a walk around the point to where the boaters were partying by the bridge/near the sandbar, until we stepped in some prickly spurs, and had to pull spikes out of our feet-not the most pleasant part of the walk! then we got back to our stuff and laid out to get some sun (as if we had not already gotten some).

we'll have to keep working to get the perfect beach pic, bummer.

traffic was backed up-good thing there wasn't an emergency evacuation! when we got back, we ran some errands and grabbed some grocery necessities. salmon and veggies for dinner! delish! and a movie!

yum! hard to find the veggies you like in the quantity you desire at a restaurant-sometimes it's just better to make them yourself!

 let's see what today will hold!

 julie

game night and 'ya got some spare change?' turns into almost a full tank of gas. well played, jrob

last saturday i went to game night at natalie's and since i got there first, i got the grand tour! her husband, steven, is so talented! he makes beautiful furniture-which they showcase throughout the house. LOVED IT!

before everyone got there, i noticed a little puppy sleeping on his bed under the coffee table...i knew he wasn't real, but everyone likes to touch things, so i went to 'fake-pet' him under the chin (because i'm pretty sure i can even win over a fake dog)...and his head pretty much swung away from his neck, as if on a hinge; i asked natalie about this, and she informed me of a slight mishap with some young family members. good times.

he was sleeping so peacefully that even a swinging neck couldn't wake him.

 the food was spectacular, and then we got to the games! it was fun getting to know the spouses a little better!

i have realized that no matter how many times i try to like catch phrase and give it a chance, it just doesn't work for me. i'm pretty sure it's the countdown timer that irritates the crap out of me. anyhoo, we also tried cranium (which i do enjoy), but i'm pretty sure everyone else got bored with it. then we moved to balderdash, which was very fun-i love that one as well, and we ended up back at catch phrase before the evening was over.

i think i'm more into games like pictionary, word games...apples to apples..volleyball...regardless, we all had fun! 

when maria walked in, she gave me  an awesome magazine, which i have read through, and may consider subscribing to. and then her husband gave me this awesome keychain, which i immediately put on my key-biner.

some great articles!

partly to see what people say! great conversation starter!!

 sunday night i had my last reading assignment for ed-policy...but that doesn't mean i will stop looking for more information about education reform. once you start, it's addictive. it will be neat to watch and see how what we've learned evolves.

tuesday night was our final meeting-apart from our culminating event. it was a great session, and as much as i sometimes dreaded losing a tuesday night, it is always so worth it! i always leave enthusiastic about the possibilities for change.

this afternoon i stopped at target to get some items i needed, and when i was walking the cart through the parking lot toward my car, i saw an older african american gentleman walking away from another lady and pushing her cart to the corral. i tried to avoid eye contact as he approached me because i thought, great, he's going to ask me for money too. and sure enough, he held out his hand where he had some change and asked if i had any change, because he needed gas for his car, they were trying to get back to duncanville, just need $5 etc. well, i didn't have any small bills nor did i have any coins. i had just gotten a $20 while i was in the store, but i got it for a reason...

i looked to see if i had any change in my purse, and avoided looking at the $20, then i looked at all i had bought, and thought how petty of you not to help him put $5 into his car. what's $5? 

so i pointed to the gas station and said, meet me over there with your car and i will pay for your gas. at first i don't think he believed me, but he started walking and i drove over to meet him there. well, when i got there, he was walking up, his wife was on the other side of a busy street (beltline), and it took her an awfully long time to get through traffic and pull in. i'm sure the gas attendant people were wondering what i was waiting around for.

i grabbed two waters and at the last moment, i decided that $5 wasn't enough, and paid for $40 worth of fuel for the couple, gave them the water and wished them well. it just seemed like the right thing to do. i don't know what their circumstances were, but i do know the story of the good samaritan...and i just got paid...you know how some people grow up and say, "i sound like my parents!" well.. i didn't have to say much, but i'm pretty sure  i can say(proudly), "i act like my parents." 

i don't know how many times they have done things like that in order to help people out, knowing they will never be paid back for their kindnesses. there is not a more powerful lesson, and i couldn't love and respect them more! thanks mom and dad!

julie