i could be a professional refried beans chef...but i'd rather make boys run and do push-ups...more rewarding

i am happy to announce that i will no longer be purchasing refried beans in canned form...why, oh why did it take me this long to realize how easy refried beans are to make???? good grief! so i made some last night and then had some for breakfast this morning with my eggs and thought of a teen-camp i went to with our church when i lived in HONDURAS! i was not accustomed to the idea of beans for breakfast, but i warmed up to it pretty quickly with a little crema!

obsessed!

so, yes, then this afternoon when i got back from school, i may have made a bblt with no bread-that would basically be a large leaf of romaine lettuce, a couple of cherry toms sliced, refried beans, and yes, bacon...don't judge...you probably eat interesting things as well! -it was healthy and delicious! and i will most likely do it again..just not tonight.

yesterday when i got home, i noticed a mud dauber on the side of the apt wall, and i decided to take a picture of the beginnings of her nest...right after she flew straight at me, but i was able to avoid contact, then watch her fly off, out of sight. i wondered how in the world she was going to find this particular wall again (everyone tells me that it's difficult to find their way around our complex...it's somewhat of a maze, and i feel like i have to be on the balcony watching for people when they come over to make sure they don't get lost in the labyrinth), but apparently she had no problem-insects amaze me...now please just even TRY to tell me that God is not an amazing creator to have created these insects with such instincts (amazed by nature)...anyhoo, i woke up and as i was walking out to go to school this morning, i noticed her finished home...just a little 'hole-in-the-wall' type place...

humble beginnings

home sweet home...for a dauber!

 and since i have the boys, and i saw something the other day about what boys need in school....i offered them a choice after they finished their review: go out into the garden and relax in the shade, or go out to the fields out back and run around until they were tired...they made the not-so-surprising choice to go out back and run! it made me smile as i sat there to see them get such joy out of running around, playing tag, racing. then they made their way to the swings for about a minute or two; then i went over and told them that before we went in, they had one last task. they had to run across the field to the far fence, do five push-ups and then run back. they were up to the challenge!

about three of them ended up walking part way back, one of them set a good pace and didn't stop the whole way and wasn't even breathing hard when he got back to the finish-i told him he needed to look into cross-country in middle school, high school and perhaps a scholarship...and of course, i had one that just couldn't quite do it, so as he was getting closer, i suggested a couple of them go help him run it in the last 100 yards, so two of them did-they were very encouraging to him. i smiled-good job guys!

'my other boys'

i will say that the running around certainly worked! they were focused when they came back in, and they were happy-that makes things much simpler!

 when i got home, i was thrilled to see that my jury check arrived...because six dolla go far!

i'm rich! (to be read in target-lady voice)

and i just saw that HONDURAS is set to play tomorrow...i will probably be catching most of the games tomorrow-that way i have an excuse not to go out and spend money...good plan!!

i've come to a slight 'packing stand-still' because i don't know what i'll need to have out for use between now and then! i will end up doing what i vowed not to do...i will be rushing around last minute before we take off to mom and dad's...i have been packing up the crucial items that i cannot do without and want to make certain i don't forget.

i need to clean out the trunk of my car tomorrow to make room for the boys' extended stay at mom and dad's...my tent and camping gear stays there pretty permanently, and i'm pretty sure i won't have a chance to take advantage of it this summer. need space for the boys' baby gates (they don't like me referring to i that way...it's the whole "WE'RE NOT BABIES"-thing), and the pens for them to hang out outside out of dad's way while he's in the shop or whatever he's doing! i need to then sneak them down when the boys aren't looking...operation pack-the-car.

goodnight!
julie

jury duty, the philosopher and..28 DAYS!!!!

the first four paragraphs come straight from a letter that i wrote today while in the courthouse.

as i got off of the DART train (our rapid transit in dallas), i pulled out my jury invitation summons (forced invitation) for directions. a lady saw mine and wanted to tag along with me, so i asked her what courthouse she was supposed to be at, and i tried to keep the look of relief off my face when she said the other one "phew!" she was a chatty, and the worst kind of tag-along you can have is a chatty one, especially if you don't know them because first they try to make it look as if you are bff's, and then crazy things start spewing from their mouth and everyone assumes that you agree with them because you are bff's- guilty by association! you DEFinitely don't get dates that way! (not that jury duty is probably the best place to find a date..12 amgry men)...

when i got there, i checked in, and went to sit down. and after a bit they went ahead and started with the movie orientation a super-imposed clarice tinsley as the hostess talking about the AWESOME experience that being a juror is. and then of course, there were several people who gave their testaments about how amazing it was. the whole time i was thinking, "what? no popcorn???" and uncortunately, i did have to stick around because i met all of the qualifications.

they drew the random lottery and people were herded out of the room. those of us who were left (the 'just-in-casers')were given a little break. "take a break until 10:30," she said. hmm..so, take a break from reading, writing, texting, listening to music, waiting...take a break from serious waiting, to go do some casual waiting so that you can come back and wait seriously again...yep. sounds about right. HAPPY came on, and i wanted to blast it and see if anyone would flash mob...but i thought that might ruin my chances of getting home without a misdemeanor. thank you BRANDY for introducing me to eddy kenzo-loving the album; thanks for posting it on your fb page! (insert smiley emoticon).

and i drank my 2 1/2 bottles of water (i didn't want to break my back carrying more today), so that was rough, as i had no idea how much longer was left. finally around noon, we were given the happy news! and as the lady read down the list, people called out, "HERE!" and exited stage right. one of the people that was called was wang tung perhaps you can understand why for the remainder of the wait, i was singing to myself, "everybody have fun tonight...everybody wang chung tonight!" so as people were saying "here", i was worrying about how i was going to say it when it was my turn....will it be loud? soft? high pitch? should i sing it? indifferent? how can you mess up "here!" i'm sure my "here" was truly remarkable, and if there had been an agent in the crowd screening for an actor to say the word "here," i would have been the chosen one.

then i went to stand in a line to get a work confirmation slip, and a lady coming out recognized me from the elevator and asked if i could say "HERE" one more time...NO SHE DIDN'T! JK! but she did ask if this was the line to get her check. (all of $6), so i told her they would mail it. and then it was back to the DART rail. when i got to west end, i saw the guy i saw back when i went to the avid conference a few summers ago. tyrun.

tyrun is homeless. he buys newspapers every morning (the homeless newsletter of sorts) and then he sells them on the corner-give them away and people make donations; they feel guilted into it after they see the print on the top of the page that says the vendor bought these copies. anyhoo-he stopped me and struck up a conversation. and so...i stood and listened and pretty much didn't get a word in  edgewise. but that's ok, because i'm sure he just likes to have conversation...but here are some of the excerpts:

T: you know, i only talk to pretty people. i don't like talking to ugly people, because phew! they creepy. 
you know, i'm a philosopher. i used to be a drug dealer, and i went to jail and now i'm kind of a pimp. i pimp my newspapers...
let me see your eyes. i can tell if a person is good or not if i can see my reflection in their eyes. you're good.
you know what they say man's best friend is? (me: dog?) ok, ok...flip that around and what d'ya get?  (God) right...see, i'm a philospoher, and things like that just come to me.
people don't like me talkin' to you. they're watchin right now and they don't like it. the police is going to come by after and tell me to stop getting in peoples' face. they don't like it because i'm black and you're white. 
there was more, and fact i kept trying to inch closer to the crosswalk, and he kept getting in my way. i sadly watched the green line to carrollton close its doors and slip away...sigh.

i went home, changed, ate, and then went up to school to grab the potatoes to try to get them down to the pantry. the lady never called me back, so i called again and left message #2. then the fire alarm went off, so i grabbed all of my stuff, including the 38 lbs of potatoes and went on out the door. i took off to find this food pantry, and when i got there, i knocked on the metal door, no answer, so i went to the front, and knocked on the glass door. no answer. i cupped my hands over my eyes at the front door and looked in and saw a man, so i knocked again...no answer...i muttered a few not-so-nice things and decided that if she did not call me back, i was going to find another place to take them...

on the way home, i decided to stop at lowes for some of the hardware that i need for a small project in 109, and as i was leaving, i got a call from the pantry, so i zipped on over there because the last thing i need is for potatoes to start sprouting in my car! she was very grateful, and i was a little ashamed of my frustrated thoughts...i'm sure they are short-staffed and very busy. i know they work very hard to do the very best they can.

now i'm home, and as i look at my calendar, i cannot believe that i have not flipped it from may to june!! what in the world?! as soon as i do, you know what happens-the countdown begins!!!! i think every morning i am going to wake up and do a count dracula countdown like on sesame street-tventy eight! tventy eight days! vahahaha!!! (cue noise machine thunderstorm and lightning)!! yes, that's right! 28 days until i see the mountains and the city i call home! my stomach just did that thing. you know, the ache where you know something is missing and you just want to fill it..that one.

sorry no pics...but while a picture is worth a thousand words, i'm pretty sure my thousand words will paint a picture!
jules

don't mess with my bundt cake and HONDURAS, and i won't have to punch you in the face.

today was another full day. career day, feedback, writing prep, smart potatoes, AWARD, more smart potatoes...and when i got home, i finished smart potatoes...(uy, papa)...

it wasn't a bad day, just a full day. it was productive, and i feel that i was able to get some stuff done, yet there are other things that are undone, that need some doing.  i am proud to say that i got one of the posters up that wendy and i were trying to get up, and one more to go...i would've gotten that one up as well, but there were screws sticking out of the bricks that would've punctured the already frail poster. so  i will speak with the custodian when i get back to school to see if he can help...i may just go get a hacksaw and cut them off-that would be the easiest, and isn't everyone in need of a good hacksaw? yes.

if only i could remember all of the one-liners that were spewing out today when andrea and i were conversing in the morning. they were funny. i laughed. but obviously not funny enough to remember-she even said we should write them down. oops. i needed my go-go-gadget recorder.

smart potatoes...what are smart potatoes anyway? well..we DID grow them at the school. 'nuf said. only not really. the students planted the potatoes back in february or march, and we just harvested them today-over 100 days. the key was staying away from the ants. they did a pretty good job. (i need to go back after the fire ants later). so the students harvested, weighed and sorted the potatoes. they may or may not use the information to create a graph tomorrow. i ended up having to re-weigh all of the potatoes...in grams...on a triple balance beam because accuracy is not a mastered fifth grade standard. anyhoo, andrea helped me out with the first few, and i was going to use the students' numbers until i lifted the bag and realized how heavy it was and that the numbers certainly did not add up.

how did i know? you're talking to the girl that lives on the 3rd floor and has to carry groceries up the stairs..i know the difference between 10 lbs and 25 lbs! so i stayed after our meeting and weighed the remainder of the pots so that i could take them in to the food pantry (which i plan to do tomorrow after jury duty). and the total (if i recall the numbers from school that i jotted on a paper) are about 35 lbs of potatoes from two raised beds. not a bad haul considering last year was pathetic little pea-sized potatoes!

this afternoon we received a prestigious award from real school gardens for the integration of the garden into our lessons and making it part of our cabell culture. that was really neat. it came with a $500 gift, which we will be deciding how to use in the near future! woohoo!!

and during our feedback, my principal told me that if she were the lawyers, she would pick me to be on the jury. fair and impartial...so...i am trying to find a t-shirt and a book that have something super controversial on them...i don't have time for this kind of thing. hopefully they will fill their white-woman quota before they get to me.

and this afternoon, the math facilitator, carol, came in and she is so thoughtful- i feel like she kinda' adopted me as well when my first facilitator flew the coop and went to a different division...but while she was meeting with andrea, she brought us each one of these, and i was in heaven!

MY NEMESIS..MY KRYPTONITE!

you think i jest...no..no..if someone said, "julie, i will give you a NOTHING-BUNDT-CAKE if you let that sumo wrestler fall on your head." i think i might do it...on the other hand, if you said, "julie, i'll give you a NOTHING-BUNDT-CAKE if you fore-go your trip to HONDURAS", i'd probably punch you in the face, take the cake and run to the boarding gate! so, don't do that...i don't like to punch people in the face.

alright, it's bedtime..jury duty comes early.
julie

today some dude got paid $36 to inject decadron into my hip

well, let me begin by saying that tacking on the $96 steroid shot was worth it, because tonight i was able to clean my kitchen (the thought never would've even crossed my mind earlier this morning).

not the best thanksgiving ever. i blame parents for not keeping the kids at home when they are sick (not thankful for that). in the cnn news the other morning, it said that those germs can catch you from 8 ft away! hmm...i suppose i could pull out the ol' laser pointer and sit in the back of my room and have one of the students turn the pages of the book...or mask...i could get one of those germ masks...no contact...instead of talking to me, we'll try writing notes and lysol them. i don't rightly know, but i do know that i do NOT like to be sick.

tuesday morning on the way to school, i thought i felt something a little weird in my throat. went on with the day. then tuesday night when i got home (which i am thankful for), i was exhausted. i tossed and turned all night and kept having to spit into the trash can to clear the throat-gross. then i was finally able to get up just enough energy to get to the living room (the boys were restless), and once i got there, i turned on the electric throw (which i am thankful for). and i slept off and on all day, switching positions, barely hearing whatever was on the television (which i am thankful for).

at some point during the day, i realized that i had left the tres leches from the evening before on the counter, so i threw  placed it in the refrigerator in hopes that it wasn't completely ruined and spoiled. finally around 9 pm, i was too tired to move to my bedroom, but the couch was no longer comfortable, so i moved the coffee table and made room on the floor and pulled throw down with me. (pathetic, i know). finally, once jimmy fallon came on and mind you, i wasn't watching any of it, just hearing bits and pieces, i pulled myself up to go to bed. more twisting and turning, etc.

wednesday night i had strange dreams that i was living in israel, helping them build arms against hamas...strange i know.
 
when i woke up on thanksgiving morning, it was a bit more of switching positions and trying to drag myself out of bed. so finally after being awake for a half hour, the boys convinced me that they wanted to watch the macy's day parade! so we  watched some of the balloons go by and listened to the lame commentary (even being sick, i thought it was lame...or maybe i was hypercritical because i was sick), but (i am thankful for the macy's thanksgiving day parade). 

feeling a little hungry, yet not really feeling up to scrambling an egg, i went for the tres leches. either it was going to be good, or it was going to be bad. at that point, the way i was feeling, it didn't really matter i probably wouldn't even notice a difference. it was still good (which i am thankful for). i watched/selpt through elf-i was hoping miracle on 34th street would be on, but sadly, it was not. i think i got on the internet, but i couldn't sit up long enough to actually do anything.

well, last night, it was nearly impossible to sleep, i must have been breaking a fever because my sheets were drenched, so i moved to the middle and withing 15 minutes-sopping wet.other side of the bed still sweating like a diet coke out of an ice chest on an hot day...did i really just compare sweating to condensation? sorry...being too exhausted, i grabbed a throw from beside the bed and laid it over my sheets and tried to sleep again, deciding this time that i was going to the doctor in the morning.

care now cost more than i would like, but the doc looked in my throat and said, "unless you WANT me to run the swab, i will, but since you pay 80%, i plan to treat it like tonsillitis. i can do that from what i see right now. but i would suggest the steroid shot or pill-shot will work faster, but it's up to you." i just wanted to feel better, so i said, give me the shot.

she also prescribed amoxicillin and 'magic mouthwash,' the generic name for this magic mouthwash = lidocaine. yes, the stuff they use to numb ya up. i'm hoping i don't need too much of that! and hopefully i do not experience the adverse effects of the amoxicillin...if so, i may have to find my own restroom at school...or get a johnny on the spot in my classroom...gross.

great. fortunately i've never had this problem in the past, but i may as well be prepared and get me some of that anti-diarrheal med for just in case!

and i have to submit this to the front office as well, civic duty, you have caught up to me. again. let's not make it a habit, though.

the last one i jurored was in iowa and it was an alleged sexual assault case...

perhaps if i go into it with a gung ho attitude like, "oh, dude, this is awesome! it's going to be kind of a mix between law and order (dun dun), drop dead diva, harry's law and the good wife, right? perfect, because i'm all into that stuff!" 

so, yeah, it's felt less like a holiday and more like 3 days off school sick, with the weekend to try to catch up. boo. 
so tomorrow i have to take the boys on extra walks or something to make up for being so lame.

if the situation ever arises, take the shot- i feel 80% better already!
julie