thoughtful friends = chats, warm fuzzies and squirrel panties..

last night right after i finished my post, i remembered that i had to make food for our early 5 de mayo celebration at school today on the 2nd of mayo...so i drove out to get my ingredients (at 9:30 p.m.); it was a late night.

this morning, one of my friends was so sweet to come in and touch base on the whole masters situation; i don't think i was quite ready to really discuss it, because it prompted some tears-still a little raw. but throughout the day, i think i shook it...it was probably the warm-n-fuzzies and the squirrel panties..

i found that it is much easier to 'put on your big-girl-panties' than to put on the little squirrel panties...

i do have thoughtful friends at work. and later, chatting with maria about entrepreneurship... hmm.the u.s. is certainly in need of more bilingual teacher supplies that are fresh...

tomorrow we have a little field trip to the art museum, which is always a fun little trip. the docents are really good with our kids, and the kids are usually really attentive. and as for me? i love the art museum! and then for the most important part of tomorrow....i know, i've mentioned it all week....

                                       WICKED!!!
i am so excited! i know i've said it before, but i would go every year if it came around to dallas every year! i am mystically enthralled by musicals! i think my love for all things theatrical actually began when i was in elementary school in brodhead, wi....a friend invited me to a play at her church-PETER PAN...(i have no idea why they were performing peter pan at a church.. but they were...perhaps..nope, i got nothing) but i was riveted! i was star-struck with the lead in the play and my imagination drew me right into it all. in fact, i'm pretty sure i imagined that the 'star' and i were bff...crazy, i know.

i'm really excited because one of my old kampers from kamp is going to be applying for the ed policy program! i didn't even realize that she was teaching in the dallas area! i'm so excited because i really do think the world of erika and appreciate all of the hard work that she has put into the program to grow it and create an advocacy experience to help teachers realize the voice that they can have! great job, erika!

 no one mourns the wicked....
julie

batman wouldn't let me finish my work!

i REALLY thought i was going to get more done today than i did...i'll have to work on productivity tomorrow.

this morning, when i finally woke up, dad said that mom was going to make cinammon rolls tonight (prep for tomorrow's breakfast). but, we had to make dinner. well, since he took off to go work on something for me at the shop, i would be making dinner. of course i had all day, so i watched batman begins to give me the motivation i needed to fight evil.

then i had to go to the store to pick up a few items. i would be making fajitas for dinner, because they are easy and good for us. i figure, if they don't like what we're having, perhaps i won't be asked to make dinner again! usually i like my food a bit spicy, and i looked everywhere in the cupboard, but mom and dad don't keep pepper flakes around... the marinade for the steak strips was an interesting concoction, we would have to wait and see!



it was colorful, and tasty enough, but i sauteed so many peppers and onions, that i will be eating veggies tomorrow for lunch (to make up for the too many cinammon rolls i plan to partake of).

as i sit here at the computer i am watching one of my parents' cats (scamper), and he is getting ready to drink his water, but he looks like he's doing the running man, or walking on a treadmill with his front paws...practicing pantomime or something. it's comical, because he is a big, fat, orange cat (bigger than bruno), and only his front paws are moving -not scratching at anything, it really looks like he's 'pretend-walking.'

right before i sat to watch the movie this morning, i heard the windchimes out front and i'm pretty sure i heard part of the chorus of cabaret. reminded me of when i lived in kc, and shawnee mission east had a ROCKING drama dept! they were amazing! (biased because some of our klife kids were a part of it). their performance was phenomenal! it was almost eerie. in the intermission, the performers were milling around with the audience in character asking people to be a part of the political party...and the very end was even more sobering as the schwasticas dropped from the side walls, the back of the auditorium and there was one huge one across the front of the stage, and all you could hear was the marching of boots as the performers all marched around and off the stage. it certainly made a statement and there was silence as we quietly filed out of the auditorium-it left us in a contemplative mood.

as i type that, it really makes me happy thinking about season tickets for the musicals next year! i can't wait to see the lineup!

have i mentioned how much i love getting texts? especially when i am not in town-it makes me feel special! so thanks for the texts- i need to do that more often-just a random text here and there because you never know when someone might just need to feel special!

tomorrow i am making it my mission to get my grading and lesson prep all done while mom is at work and dad is at the shop. i know i can!

julie

whine or cry? whine....wine or cry? wine.

ever had one of those days when nothing really went terribly wrong...in fact, teaching-wise, everything went as planned-home run (third base at least)...but still felt overwhelmed? yep, that was me today, and at one point i just wanted to curl up in fetal position and cry. and it's not even for girl reasons-so not pms.

so, when i came home, i just needed a good glass of wine.

close call, but i probably really needed a good cry (every once in awhile, it just helps..like once a year)

it also helped just to reflect on the beauty of my walk yesterday! i walked for about 45 minutes, and it was fabulous-45 minutes at my pace is a good little walk! i did stop to take a few pics because they certainly caught my attention! why did it catch my attention? well, see for yourselves, TULIPS!! i said it yesterday, i am a sucker for tulips. the man who finds the way to my heart will be sending me tulips or daisies! roses are too seductive and sexy-not my style...whereas daisies and tulips are more friendly and playful!

add in a little fountain, and how can you go wrong??

then i made my way around the park behind the savoye and life was sweet. i went without the boys because they like to stop at any whiff of urine, and i was not interested in stopping, so when i got home, i took them for an extra walk.

the other thing that helped was thinking about the fact that i am going to see wicked again! with friends!

defying gravity!

and i'm planning on doing season tickets next year! woohoo! i'd love to do the symphony...we'll have to see.

this morning, i did take in the coleslaw that i made out of our garden cabbage and carrots, and when i was picking my kiddos up from specials, renee commented on the coleslaw. she first advised me that she was a connoisseur of coleslaw, always trying out different varieties, and she actually went back for seconds! what a great compliment! it was fun to make something with the goods from our garden!

so, yes, this day wasn't terrible, i just, for whatever reason, had one of those moments. this week has to get better.
julie

82 folks...that's when the money runs out...82

 well, a lot has happened, so let's begin with the fact that last thursday during parent/teacher conferences, i had all but 4 of my homeroom parents show up; actually more parents showed up b/c we teach content area, and so i saw some that were not from my hr. the conferences went fairly quickly and i had time for some word games and a little alice in wonderland...

working on a high score.

 then, saturday night, i got to hang out and catch up with some precious friends from kamp who live in the area! loved it!! can't wait to do it again real soon!! our conversation was all over the place, but it was good-it is ALWAYS great to fellowship with close friends.

the burgers here are fabulous!! and the brie...ah, the brie!

 so i decided that it was time to get up a little count-down! it's coming! granted, whoever came up with the current calendar should be fired...i mean, they took away the one benefit of working for disd...the week-long thanksgiving break! boo.

there will be a surprise! (gigi, i will post the surprise when we get to it!)

 yep, for whatever reason, the countdowns make me think of gigi....perhaps it was because she was usually in countdown mode...right? anyhoo, this also made me miss having her here in dallas. i got my musical line-up in the mail...wicked is coming back! actually it looks like a phenomenal line-up!

i don't know that i need to go to all of them (the lion king least on my list), but i am definitely thinking about wicked again, mary poppins and sister act....

 and i know everyone is wondering how science is going. well, i am glad that you asked! tonight i sat here stripping some wire and attaching it to alligator clips to do some circuits tomorrow in class! some of the kids today were working with the little d-cells and wire and kept saying, "oh! i just got shocked!" and i was curious what they were talking about, and it was actually just that they were poking themselves with the prickly little wire...sillies.

 so, yes, it has been a lot of fun-it keeps me on my toes, but i am enjoying really getting them interested in learning and asking questions about it. they seem to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. next year i will be better at it (if i am still able to do it...because i won't be starting from ground zero).

and i was working a little calculator to figure out finances after retirement, and i am just going to have to pass away by age 82, as that is when i will have a shortfall of money...that or become completely self-sufficient in my little cabin in the woods with my animal traps, berry bushes, garden, compost bin, rainfall water collector, burn pile, horse, or solar powered car, river to bathe and fish in...solar powered generator to play word games on...ok, you get the picture.

 

and tonight i would like to just leave you with this one last thought...is it just me or did andrew jackson have a disproportionately large forehead and head in general...brainiac, or alien?  

and at that, we will call it a night-have a good one!

julie