moving...simply moving! (and a little more, but don't hold your breath-very little)

too busy, too lazy, or too distracted? or all three? well, let's take a moment to get caught up.

since february, i've been keeping up with product knowledge and personal professional development webinars. then in march there was a quick trip to /////

DISCLAIMER: i had this page all done and ready to go-except photos, and it all got erased. so if i am missing some details as re-do, apologies. i'm not super happy about it either.

as i was saying, i was in dallas for a quick cohort/team meeting and gathering of minds (notice i didn't say what kind of minds, suffice it to say, all those minds were sound...unless of course they were psychopathic...at that point, it's so well hidden, not being a clinician, i wouldn't be able to separate the wheat from the chaff). ←wait, what??? anyhoo. we had a great group and a great session. there was much information, and a lot of valuable collaboration. i really do appreciate the work that went into it, because i know it isn't always easy to put something together, and there is always that desire to put something together that is valuable to the participants, so KUDOS to lori, suzanne and sabrina! thank you!

we had a great time of fellowship both evenings- first at lori's and then at our coo's. beautiful homes with comfortable atmospheres! 

my flight home? well that did not go as planned. but i made it, and in the end that's what matters!

almost immediately after i returned, it was kicked into high gear to move. i moved on april first, after EASTER service. shea and george, her 'uncle' were a great help putting everything in the uhaul, and then we used that as an excuse to go to the swordfish (which, in all honesty, never needs an excuse). when i got home, i put the lock on the uhaul, and wouldn't ya know it, it was too small. a locker lock. the kind you move a dial to open...but it was so tight that i couldn't double click the top part to get it cleared to open it. so, who do you think went to walmart for a cheap bolt-cutter (which i might add i will probably never use again)...that's right, it was me. when i returned, it took me no less than 30 minutes of struggle (wwe smackdown-ish) to finally get through the lock. then to my dismay, i still couldn't get it off, and had to hammer the lock around to the other side to cut through that part! UF. i may frame the metal cutters, because i threw away the lock. 

the next morning, shea and i got up early and took wembley to the sunrise service on the bay, because he really needed to hear the gospel and worship. it was a nice service, mostly music (which i get because they were having services back at the church normal time), but note to self: next year, please bring blanket, as it is chilly on the water!

shea came over and helped me unload everything into the apt and garage area, before taking off for a previously planned engagement adventure. it was a day or two before i was ready to bring the boys over. once we got here, bruno had some issues in the evening, and once again we visited the emergency clinic. it ended up being a bunch of poop. he just had to get a little enema (why does that always make me think of jack nicholson as the joker-thanks, 80s). poor guy, but it did help immensely.

then the furniture came. it's been a long year living on other people's furniture (the rental house was furnished- i stored their beds, because i brought my own, but other than that, it was all theirs). i LOVE my couch and breakfast nook (perfect size for the apt!) fortunately mom and dad were able to make the journey down to visit mid april. we still had some cleaning, nail-hole-spackling, painting, and furniture re-arrangement to do, plus we took out dead bushes and planted new ones and flowers. i probably did..no, i KNOW i did more than i needed to, but i always learned you leave things better than you found them!

i finally turned in the keys and wiped my hands of that place! so happy to be in the apt...and the boys seem to like the cozy comfort as well! i dropped from a 3 bed to a 2 bed/2ba, and we won't have wasted space...i was considering a 3 bedroom apt, one of the rooms for a study, but it wasn't necessary, and there weren't any available on the first floor, with an attached garage-which was a must.

we like the layout better than the house too,  and the laminate-wood floor better than the porcelain tile...

the good thing is that it's in the same area, just a couple minutes closer to the beach for walking!

alright, that's it for the move...i will probably post tomorrow-just a picture journal to catch us up!
goodnight! julie

remember when i used to be consistent?

alright, so...here goes nothing.

i realize that i have been remiss in my blogging efforts-oops. i've had a few people give me the 'just do it' speech. the worst thing is that so much time has passed, and so many things have happened, so this will be a picture/comment recap for the most part for perhaps the next two rounds in order to get caught up. and i will try to keep it in chronological order as much as possible!

this was the boys' last walk in our apartment complex before they went to hang out with mom and dad in mo, so that i could get things packed and cleaned up without worrying about entertaining and working around them-it was so strange to not have them around!

one of those times i hang out with nicolette and a short trip to get a mani turns into a full day-not complaining because i got to eat my last nami food truck meal at klyde warren park, and it was a perfect day!

...and what better game to end with, than scrabble!

 then i got to hang out with this group of ladies who make me laugh-so many times we had to laugh so we didn't cry! not pictured: joanne-who had to leave early, but i am SO glad she was able to join us, as she has played such a huge role in my growth while i was at Cabell, and a dear friend after! (i'm certain the boys would go crazy if they could come to your house again!)

after the few choice goodbyes, it was time to travel. let's be real, i was a little nervous about towing the car, but dad said i could do it, so i believed him! the entire time i kept mumbling to myself 'pull through only, pull-through only' to remind myself not to get stuck, because you can't reverse that junk!

truth is, i felt pretty cool parking with the 'big-guys'...until i opened my door and smelled urine in the lot-i'm almost certain there must have been some uncivilized men who were too lazy to go inside to use the restroom and just did the back porch relief....ew. 

the boys didn't get to travel with me, as they were still with mom and dad, but i did keep bruno's moose on the dash (i strategically asked my parents to keep bruno and chaco long enough for me to settle in, so that they could drive them down and fall in love with my area!)

and i pulled 'rattle-a-gator' in from the car to be my guard-alligator. it worked. 

finally i arrived! day one!! 

 the first sunset-document everything, right? it was beautiful sitting on the piling right off bradenton beach.

luckily before shea took off, we did a good walk down coquina beach to the jetty-perfect welcome back!

and a quick visit to the pet store to visit puppies! i think we checked out like 3 or 4 to play with-kinda like a library! shea has puppy fever!

once shea took off for her two week trip to amazing places, i got out to the beach to begin my morning walks routine. i'm working on my identification skills and trying to learn the differences between the gulls and terns, the cranes and the herons, the ibis and the other white birds...yikes. and it's going to get worse in the winter, because of all the migratory birds! ayayay!

morning walk looking east over the bay at the sunrise-you have to walk back into the neighborhood (which is literally 1 or 2 blocks)

this has become my favorite place to go park my car between cortez beach and bradenton beach because you can park and still see the ocean! heart! so i bring my coffee and partake at the beach while preparing for the morning walk. walks vary, depending on my mood. 

love this little entrance to the beach with the ever-popular sea-grape vegetation lining the dunes

when i opt to walk the park, the trail runs parallel to the beach, so i get glimpses as i go, but i can go at a decent pace, as it's a paved path, and on sunday early mornings, there is a fun little booth/market place...

i LOVE our bike racks (we live in manatee county, market, market, market!)

at the south side of the park, there is a small entrance to the bay, and across the channel is the hammock beach...

also at the south side of the park-beautifully landscaped with short palms.

i'm trying to get the timing right so that i don't get caught waiting for the drawbridge! but on my walk i usually cross the drawbridge into longboat key, because the have a great sidewalk-system, for walking!

view south from the drawbridge (hammock beach)

view north from the bridge-the south end of the park

i will say that i am so glad i finally made it to florida and that it worked out to make the move and continue working with istation! my dad was telling me about one of their church friends who suggested that i probably wouldn't like it for long, because of all the bugs, the heat and humidity, etc. i laughed a little. it reminds me a bit of HONDURAS, as the vegetation is similar, we have the pichetes (tiny lizards), i'm used to bugs (although i don't love the gnats and mosquitos, they haven't been as bad as expected this year), the heat-nothing compared to sps! and humidity doesn't scare me...and it has been rainy and stormy since i've arrived-much like rainy season in sps...again, not new, in fact comfortable. i wasn't too excited that two separate storms blew down two separate palm trees that i had to cut up into 4 ft or less segments so that yard waste peeps would haul them off! i was here for about 2 weeks before mom and dad were able to come down to visit and bring the boys to their new home! i will have to share how the move-in went, as it is a 'furnished rental.' start asking yourself how it was furnished...i'll let you think on that and get back to you!

coming soon: summer visitors, summer trainings, summer conference, other fun stuff, and then we'll start to get back on track! thanks for coming back, i'm trying to be better!!

say a prayer and send good thoughts to those on the texas gulf, and the areas inland dealing with flooding...we'll see what the aftermath leaves tomorrow- sad face emoji.

it's good to be back! much love!
julie
jrob
jules
juan
hey you

finally january comes to an end, and we can get on with it!

i got the text early tuesday morning, and joined julie to go get our breakfast at starbucks. she needed the extra hands, as sabrina was somewhat incapacitated-so we were looking for some medicine, as well. we got everything we needed, and again saw sketchy activity in the back parking lot near starbucks-pretty sure ju was looking in the rear-view mirror, thoroughly expecting to be followed by a drug dealer in a pick-up truck. no need to worry, we were not gunned down, nor were we followed by any suspicious characters!

we set right to work when we got back to the convention hall, as we were down one. ju took sabrina the meds, and we prayed for a quick come-back! everything got started on time, and without a hitch. sabrina and julie started with the problem-solving process, and set me up to do a quick review of goal setting (settin' a sister up for success)-it went well; although with this big a crowd, the pauses were longer so that folk could get the assistance they required. thanks girls, i really do appreciate the way you set me up for positive successes! you are making me better-

of course, the girls deferred a few questions to lori through the course of the two days, as there were some particular questions best answered by the boss. day two had a smooth flow, as we tweaked it, according to the feedback.

creative cropping- ju said no as i was taking the pic, so i am honoring that request...

we're all just jokers here! (cris, good job setting up the card-collaboration! sabrina had mentioned it, so it was good to see it applied!) 

 lori and i left early, as we both had to get back to dallas (i was to be in waco the next evening). so we got a taxi to the airport, and i don't know if it struck lori as funny or not, but the taxi driver was a hispanic lady in rhinestone blue jeans and an off-the-shoulder shirt...i thought to myself:

 1. she was the wife of the actual taxi driver who was busy in the bathroom and yelled, "hon, can you take the taxi and deliver a couple o' ladies to the airport?" (don't think she lifted a finger to help with the luggage) and the other thought:

2. she reminded me of marissa tomei in my cousin vinny...no matter, we arrived regardless.

we arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare, so we stopped at the restaurant while waiting. i always enjoy free time to sit and chat, and lori always provides great conversation! at one point the conversation went something like this:
lori: if you could live anywhere, where would you live?
me: well...i'd actually considered moving to florida not too long ago (even last year, before this opportunity with Istation came along). 
lori: oh, really?! (pause, think) perhaps that's something the company might be willing to offer a moving stipend for, as florida is a strategic location to have a trainer on the ground there...if you're still interested, i could have that discussion with the 'powers that be.'
me: interesting...well, yes, check into it and let me know!

FF>> (a week or two) an email arrives to the entire training team. of course i respond, but at this point i still had to talk to some people (to convince myself perhaps), and it took a minute to schedule a conversation with our 401k guy.

 anyhoo, this past monday, i knew it was time to either jump in, or not. so i emailed to let lori know that i was in. and about 30 minutes after that, the 401k guy called to set up a time to talk. funny how things work out. and then we set up a time to talk about the logistics of moving. once that was done, everything now will be going at hyper-speed.

i've begun to do some preliminary packing, and planning. hoping that by the end of the month i will have found a place to live in bradenton...and will be moved there by the end of july. i've been dreaming of this since this trip! (more here and here) ...yes. this is where my heart is, and i am ready for the next chapter!

change is the process by which the future invades our lives. -alvin toffler

so there you have it!

all that said, i've kinda' pulled you up to date, but there are still some fun feb/march stories to tell, so those will be on the way!

julie

the neighbors are moving...may the next set be decent and respectable.

well, it looks like it's supposed to be a long night...so says the wap weather ap...thunderstorms..it's been in the triple digits, which means prime conditions for tornadoes and hail...hopefully not, but i went ahead and got it prepared.

hmm..tub or closet?

yesterday the boys were begging for a fort, but i decided it might be just as fun to build a tower/nest.

they seemed equally happy and inquisitive, but the novelty has worn off, and now they haven't touched it since yesterday-time to clean up.

today has been ridiculous. i've been trying to focus and get some things done, but chaco has been barking non-stop. finally i looked out in the breezeway to see what was going on, and saw that apparently the neighbors are moving. good. i think they're the ones that were smoking and sweeping their butts under my mat (cigarette butts, mind you)...not only that, but the other day when i was going down the stairs, there was a wad of gum that someone had spit out and someone else had stepped in it and strands were trailing down the stairs (i'll bet that person was p.o.'d).

all of their stuff is still out in the breezeway, so the boys are going to continue to bark and make sure i know what amazing guard dogs they are while the neighbors are encroaching on their space. boo. if they don't finish soon, they and their stuff is going to get wet!

so the cigarette butts, the gum...then as i was walking on the trail, other people have left trash, bags, wrappers, etc. it really disappoints me...makes me angry. i wish i could live someplace where everyone had the same values as i do...and went to sleep at the same time as i do and didn't let their dogs bark in the middle of the night...leave things better than you found them, you don't have to go to sleep when i do, but you really should be respectful and have a noise limit! grr.

so...today i ate the outside edges of the brownies i made last night...i used to not love the outer edges, but cindy, my former manager at comair gave me some good insight. she said it was her favorite part, so today i understood why. don't get me wrong, the soft part is good too, but there is something extra special about those outer edges. 

i'd like some pizza right now, but they don't deliver single slices. i guess i'll just have to whip up some tuna. boo.

here's to hoping for no hail and no tornadoes,
julie

UPDATE***
as soon as i posted this, bruno up and decided that he actually did want to get back up in the nest and play with his treat...

the treat fell, and he looked down, torn between the treat and wanting to put the effort to get all the way down there to get it, so i got it for him..good mama.

 so, i may leave it up for another day.

me want food.

well, 5:00 comes early every morning~but i'm never tired until i get home in the evening. so this working out in the morning gig has been good so far. i've only been following the 'caveman-ish' diet since monday, and i'm really surprised that i am not really craving sugar-nor diet coke!

i thought about taking a pic of the cover, but who wants to see perfect bodies that have probably been airbrushed? anyhoo, please notice the last line: enjoy your next 31 days! really?

i forgot to mention this earlier!
my parents are planning to move to mo! they are excited about this new adventure, and i am excited that they are moving a little further south, away from the bitter cold winters.i know missori has cold winters, but nothing compared to the harshness in iowa. mostly, i'm glad because it will be a shorter drive to visit and help them out with the 'fixing-up' of their new place....they'll be near springfield, which is fun and familiar for me!

today we had our practice writing test (part 1), and i'm a little worried. when we were getting toward the end, the electricity went out and the fire alarms went off, so we had to file out. good timing. fortunately it didn't last long.

and....tomorrow i get tamales!! no worries, i am taking some to the apt. office on the way home tomorrow night~ i feel like recently they have become my 'go-to' conversational source. ah, a good mix: humans who love my dogs, try my food and laugh at my jokes. (and remember my name...my students don't even remember my name half the time!) one of them did confess today that she knows most of the residents' dogs' names, but the actual people...mmm not as much.

well, my eyes are about to shut themselves, so i'm calling it a night (shortly),
julie