bmayes is not an imaginary friend-we just don't have recent pics, and p.s. my chiropractor thinks i'm funny, so there.

alright...let's see. you are lucky, i flipped a coin and it was between writing letters and writing a post. writing a post won-granted, it was a mental coin and i'm pretty close to up-to-date in the letter-category.

training ended on a good note, and i am certain that everyone was ready for summer! ahem...i'm still working summer school. a resounding sigh echoes through the empty school building...it just sounded good-i'm not at school... next week will be the last of it, then i will stick around for a couple of days so that i can get to the chiropractor again before i'm gone for several weeks.

did i mention that i have an awesome chiropractor? well, it's true. first impressions aren't everything (if you didn't read about the first visit, you can find out more about "bradley" here). seriously, if you are in the dallas area, and thinking about visiting a chiropractor, bri is great! what makes her great, you ask...well, in all honesty, it's mostly that she thinks i'm funny and laughs when i say something humorous-which, let's face it, it happens quite often.

today i wore my vibrams in, and she was like, "cool shoes! you always have cool things!" she was referring to my umbra credit card holder from the last visit...great. now i've upped the expectations.

this past weekend, one of my favorite friends (if i used the word besties, she would fit in that category, but that is not really a word in my vocab-except when i'm being stupid)...so yeah, back to the story, bmayes made an appearance! it was short, but well-timed and much enjoyed! from gloria's, hurt's donuts-hand-delivered, hawaiian ice...ah, good times, good conversation-always! but once again, we failed to get any pics-people are going to begin thinking brittany is an imaginary friend! which would make me feel like anne of green gables...but i digress....TOTALLY real! i found the dreamcatcher that i meant to send as a gag-gift several months ago and i put it up over futon- because everyone should sleep well!

front

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it HURTS! it's hurts. we actually looked them up and they began in springfield-the original, and that is the facebook page i follow (and have had the opportunity to visit), then friends wanted the owner to start one up in norman (which is the first place i was introduced!) and i believe they have opened a third in wichita! i must make the pilgrimage! #hurtsdonutgroupie

SERIOUSLY! if she weren't real, how did i get to savor THESE GEMS!?!  not sure what the green monster is called, but it had andes mints on it, then moving up to Jesus donut (english J, not the spanish j), german chocolate, and my all time fave-twixted sister!! i'm purring just thinking about them, because if i were a cat, that's how happy they make me!

 not gonna' lie, when i realized that bmayes had left, and left her portion of the donuts behind (as she'd met with a friend for breakfast), i was doing a happy dance.

before she left, we went for hawaiian ice-i originally wanted to go to my favorite little shack, but when we got there, it was closed! with no forwarding address!! which led to some googling to see if we could figure out where they moved...but to no avail, so i decided to swing by a little joint down on beltline that i'd driven by several times to see how they were. guess what-they were great! so from now on, that will be the frequented hot-weather shaved ice haunt.

plus, they have prime seating!

 i had to stop to get an envelope to send bruno's records in to the insurance peeps...i got a call from the vet, and they tried to fax them, but the file was too big, their computer too old...so i said i'd pick them up and send them. i did stop by fed-ex to see how much it would cost to fax-um.. $1.25/page! (70 pages); pretty sure my face said it all as i immediately turned around laughing and went to purchase an envelope!

while i was purchasing said envelope, one of the employees-a gentleman walked up to the cashiers on a cordless phone and asked if either of them (late teens) could give directions to the lady on the phone. the girls laughed, and one of them actually said, "i don't give directions. that's what smart phones are for! everyone has them now!" WOW. so i asked where the lady was coming from and i gave her directions (i even pulled out the actual words, EAST, under the bridge, about 1.5 miles) and she was grateful, but for real...our youth is DOOMED!! the day sci-fy movies come true, they're screwed! how in the world are they going to get out of the zombie-ridden town if all they have is the sky and an old-school compass...and if they're lucky, a printed atlas...oooooohhhhh.

i am so glad that i learned how to use a compass, read maps, know what nnw means, and how to get there! thanks dad and geography classes!!

that time i gave directions because the people who actually worked there couldn't articulate where they were employed. the struggle is real.

 and we met our new principal last night-you never know what someone is like or how they are going to be in a leadership position with your staff until they are actually in place working. that's the make or break moment. it was great to have such a good turn out of teachers to meet him and ask questions. but let's be honest...curiosity mostly! so we did go out to snuffers afterward. i haven't been out with friends from school in way too long. i met up with olivia more than anyone else last year, and she wasn't even on staff! welcome back!!

great ladies-fun, authentic, thoughtful! part of the bilingual crew! we are fortunate.

 and last, but not least, please look at the concrete stairs at my apartment. for how long do you think this will be structurally safe?

alrighty then, did i mention that my chiropractor thinks i'm funny? just making sure you caught that.

'night!
julie

nothing says spring break like buffalo, mo...nothing! (seriously)

picture men in colorful garb with feathers in their helmets and flags hanging from their trumpets with the CREST OF JULIE on them, dut-dut-dut- DUUUUUUU! yes, as a matter of fact, it is spring break. it came early for us this year. and i decided to come to spring break USA....buffalo, mo. creature of habit.

everyone knows the truth of the matter...i just don't want to pay range fees. more about that at the end of this post.

but in all fairness, i do love seeing mom and dad and the dogs enjoy the change of scenery. they always travel like champions! (not champions like rocky balboa making weird grunting noises and yelling, "adrian!") 

so we took our time getting it together, and made it to buffalo around 7pm-and i was tuckered out. all i could think about all the way up here was hurts donuts in springfield. yes, i know...pathetic. i didn't stop, but i certainly thought about it! one of my friends lives in sgf, and i was hoping to meet her there for a donut and a cold one (milk), i rarely drink milk-if i need to induce vomit due to poisoning, or if i am having gourmet donuts...so this is truly a special occasion...or will be. if sabrina gets back in time, hopefully we can catch up-if not, i do not fear going stag-welcome to my world! but by jove, there will be a hurts donut to blame for any additional pound-age i may gain.

so, yesterday was sunday-church. i do enjoy my parents' church. it's a comfortable size. i especially enjoyed the message yesterday, because that is sometimes the way i feel lately. spoiler alert: pastor spoke on Jesus. the heart of Jesus. who Jesus was drawn to  and where he would likely be...hint: not in this church, or probably any other church in the city. he was drawn to those who were outcasts, the untouchables of the city. he could be found among the down-and-out. in my world, who would that be? if the essence of being a christian is to have the heart of Christ, are we missing the mark? do i find myself in the places he would be encouraging and caring for the unloving, those we wouldn't consider befriending? heart-check.

we'd gotten there early, so i had a chance to snap a picture of the cross. there used to be a giant glittery cross, but they decided to switch it out. dad worked up some designs, and this is what he loves to do. there are two smaller ones on either side. #proud

 and we were the last ones out of the building (i don't know if it's because of the saying and they just don't want to be least...), so we went out for mexican with the pastor and his wife. it was good conversation, although maybe we were there on an off-day. my fajita wasn't all i had hoped for. it didn't rank up there with my top 10, and it was about 2,000 miles behind el patio in tegucigalpa (is it even still there? oh to have un anafre!)

i was able to get some letter-writing done, which was on my to-do list...i brought all of my writing supplies...you laugh. i seriously chose a selection of cards, and stationery. markers, pens, 3-d glasses, my addresses, writing log, stamps.... all true. this is part of why it takes me so long to pack-trying to ensure that i have everything i need!

and when i looked out, at one point there were like 12 cardinals outside around the bird feeder! whenever i got close enough to get a pic, they'd fly off! jerks. but the birds are everywhere! one more thing to love about this area!

here you can see four red ones and one brown female. 

this morning after breakfast we went into town for some items, stopped at the post office and i mailed a package i've been meaning to send off for about the past 8 months...finally! and i purchased a new roll of stamps because i was getting low. and as it goes, i get a little anxiety going on when my stamps start to get low. i was even calculating in my head how much it would cost to get 10 rolls, 1,000 stamps...500 bucks! (but a thousand stamps...it would last me about 3-4 years. no worries, i only got one roll. BUT, if i win the lottery, i WILL purchase those stamps!!) but for now.

then we went to a little amish community to check out their wares. we stopped into dad's favorite shop-a furniture store. he loves the wood-working! and they did have some rustic furniture. although most of it looked very much like the next piece. sorry, but the lewis and clark collection was rather reminiscent of the alaskan collection...personally, i was taken in by the flooring. they sell this plank wood flooring that is gorgeous! there was nobody in the shop-not a cashier, no one. not that we were purchasing anything, but still that was a little strange.

we went from there, next door to the food shop and i made some purchases.  dad was going around on his own, as he was not interested in spices and flour. he found the deals: 5 butterfingers bars for $1! and 10 kool-aid packets for $1.00! he's the deal-master. when i got to the register, lady was not overly friendly-reminded me a little of the amish in the murder she wrote series-(so suspicious of outsiders). anyhoo, as she scanned the aleve, she said they were 'buy one get one free'! that's a pretty good deal!

they had all sorts of spices! and dried mango..maple syrup and so much more!

when we got home i took advantage of the beautiful day and yes, went out back to shoot. dad is always updating things, so he fixed up the target board and the slugs were dropping near the target, so i picked a few up; the .22s look so small compared to the 9mm. i've been thinking i'd like a 45...but then, i'm also thinking i'd like a motorcycle...

going to town for more ammo tomorrow.

my dad usually goes out to watch when i shoot, and this time when i finished, he was missing one of his hearing aids (those suckers aren't cheap at $2,000 a piece), so needless to say, we were on our hands and knees crawling around trying to find this little thing that was camouflaged in the leaves somewhere! after about ten minutes, i finally spied it-fortunately it hadn't been stepped on! (dodged a bullet!)

i'll be dropping mom and dad off at the airport on wednesday for their flight to fl, where they will enjoy epcot or disney world and then go on a cruise to the bahamas. i really hope they enjoy it! they deserve a fun vacation!

alright, i'm off to enjoy spring break; will likely write again after hurts!
julie

oklahoma- best part of my break, thanks to a long overdue reunion

here we go again!

happy new year! i'm certain it will be a great one with new adventures, fun meetings with friends, and growth. i had no plans or intentions to do anything over this break apart from relaxing and catching up with some reading and artwork. well...i got a text the day after we got off for break from shea, one of my amazing kamp friends, saying that she was going to be in oklahoma for the break!

so, we had Christmas here in dallas,

all dapper in their Christmas best!

and then on the 26th, we went up to oklahoma and stayed with bmayes, another amazing kamp friend-in case you don't follow this blog, or missed the episode from our last visit to norman, bmayes is the proud 'mother' of 2 yorkies (chaco's sister, reagan, and half brother, thatcher). it's always great for them to get together and socialize...and even greater for me to get together and socialize!! 

How do you know when you've reached oklahoma? well, it seems pretty obvious. follow the truck with the native american!

 we arrived to fall-like weather; it was gorgeous! so of course they went out to play first thing.

oh how they loved the yard with leaves!

then lo and behold, the next morning we had no idea, but we woke up to huge snowflakes! it was rather unexpected...none of us are into weather-watching and checking forecasts. hmm. 2 inches of snow out there!

so, of course, they had to play in the snow every chance they got! they even pretended that they had to go pee...and they didn't...you could almost hear them laughing each time.

so on the morning of the snow, it made for a lazy day, but everyone was meeting for breakfast..so eventually we were coaxed into joining for breakfast at cracker barrel, where stories and catching up began with a side of grits and biscuits. then we returned to bmayes' house to see puppies and just hang out for a bit. it's always a little worrisome having so many people around so many-especially friends who aren't used to having small dogs around; little critters have a tendency to get in the mix of things and then they are under threat of being crushed. more anxiety for me than the dogs.

 i don't have the actual photo, but here's a link to the charming pic taken by shea's camera!  http://instagram.com/p/xIMRxQF6yA/ what a fun bunch! yet more of the amazing kamp friends (anyone see a theme here? my kamp friends are pretty stinkin' amazing). i always feel so refreshed after i hang out with these guys!

after visiting at bmayes', everyone eventually headed out to shea's home, where her mom had prepared a delicious 'after-Christmas' spread-it was phenomenal!! then we played a little card game during which we found ourselves laughing harder than we had expected! good times, so if you wanna' know how to get a party started...just let me stand up and tell you...only i probably won't.

and i almost failed to mention that i was introduced to hurt's donuts...and for the love...they will literally hurt you. these donuts..i dream about them. my mouth is watering right now for the twixted...they gave me a new fondness for cake donuts-only they are gourmet-amazingness. twixted, lucky charms, Jesus donut, bacon-maple, choco-crispies, samoa-girl scout cookie....i will cry if they ever go out of business.

back at the bmayes homestead, the boys were making themselves right at home and marking like pros...grr. i wish there were a way to curb that. thanks for putting up with that b! they may have learned some 'bad' habits from the residents-climbing onto tables. chaco figured it out after a few tries. it's probably cuter because they aren't great danes...

thatcher looks on from the table as bruno thinks about doing something sneaky.

i was really excited when shea texted about going to the rock climbing silo...they had some awesome climbing walls in there! i definitely made a decision that i need to get in shape so that i can enjoy doing the things i love doing such as the rock climbing-i did a little research, and there is a gym not far from my place that has auto belay, so i will be partaking in that this year. it will be a good stress-reliever, as well (and likely much-needed).

shea making that reach of faith.

umm...so it's a little tiring.

before we left, several joined us back at bmayes place to play cards and, once again, it was mostly fun...apart from the judgmental gf stick-in-the-mud who came in tow. methinks she doesn't get us. and that's ok, next time, she has a true heads up and can stay home and knit or something.  we had plenty of food for chips and cheese dip, puppy chow, etc. but none of it was eaten because the hursts had gone out for mexican and we'd just gone out for hideaway-phenomenal pizza!! (zero snackiness-it's a word now, deal wit it)

before i left, i made an appointment to switch my cable to a basic-basic plan and get the internet because the service that i had was spotty-bad connectivity and speed. so i had that taken care of today and i am so happy i did! in fact, i cannot believe that i put up with the previous service for so long! it was rough! and then tonight as i was trying to cancel the former service, the lady kept going on and on trying to figure out how she could keep me as a customer, but i was strong. she even called back after the service was dropped. and i then let her know it was too late. no worries-i was polite. i worked in a call center at one time-in fact, most of my life i've been in some form of customer service, so politeness is usually not an issue.

this was the other problem, i was unable to use roku with the other service, so when i set this up today, i couldn't help but smile!

i am dedicating today to finishing some artwork, reading and perhaps a couple of letters. it's been a great break so far- 2 more days to make the most of!

happy new year!
julie