sassy socks say a lot about you as an individual

it's that time of the year again! i get to wear my sassy socks(basically any holiday, or otherwise conspicuous design) and this year, i invested in some halloween earrings-good call! they are a hit (at least with me! every morning i look at myself in the mirror and smile at the little candy corn earrings and say, "hey! cute earrings!!"). i would like to attribute my fondness for sassy socks to cindy, my comair manager. she would wear decorative socks and that stuck with me, and i began looking for them whenever i thought about it. you don't have to be a teacher to wear fun socks, but it certainly doesn't hurt!

bruno joined in and brought his halloween toy..but he didn't really want to play-i think he does that just to get chaco up and jealous, because he won't play with me, and as soon as chaco comes running with his own toy, bruno proceeds to jump up into his spot to lay down. well-played, bruno. clever you!

this past weekend i decided that it was time to go ahead and switch over to my fall wardrobe. i chose black pants/blue shirt. this "allowed" me to go shopping. so i went to ross (a first go to for the basics) and found only 3 pair of black pants that i liked, that fit, so then i decided to check in at target-not much there...so finally i decided to make my way out to the outlets in allen. unfortunately with all of the construction, i got distracted and missed the exit, so i had to take the next one which wound around in a strange fashion near a cemetery, and just took the service road to the back entrance of the outlets, which actually put me right at the store i wanted to be at! found my last pair of pants and some blue shirts! spent more than i planned, but that's alright, as i will not need to do any clothes shopping until perhaps spring. yay!

i also had to get black shoes...as brown shoes with black pants is frowned upon...

unfortunately it's taking a bit longer to break in the shoes. i may or may not have used duct tape to hold cotton ball cushions in place today so that i wasn't limping around with blister heels! it's okay, though, don't worry, you need not be embarrassed for me: I HAD ON MY SASSY SOCKS!!

at least it was purple duct tape..doesn't that get some sort of fashion-points?

tuesday we were finally able to have our playground dedication! it was long overdue, but it was very nice. jeri did an excellent job jumping on it and getting everything ready-decorations, invitations, emails...the perfect people were present to make the moment special for mrs. connelly. we are beyond fortunate to have been the beneficiaries of her generosity! our students love their playgrounds!

dr. hughes was there, as she was actually one of the key factors in helping make the connection. and of course, she asked if i was going to the catch up and read event, at northpark mall- eisman jewelry. then i also received the email from catherine saying she hoped that i would attend. you've seen it here. i've written about it. i do NOT love events. i do NOT love small talk. i can do it- i'd rather not. that said, i went tonight to the event; it's probably best to go to these things so that people can speak with real teachers and disd personnel so that they understand the importance of the cause. reading is important.

the catering was lovely-they were little bite-sized teases, so really, it was almost like i didn't actually eat anything! me to girl: what's this? girl: it's a thinly sliced french baguette with gruyere cheese and a smoked ham. lady next to me after girl leaves: so...grilled cheese and ham.

upon leaving (i stayed super long..for me), i was presented at the door with a sweet gesture-a gift bag with beautiful jewelry sold at the store, and a container of jewelry cleaner with a cloth. which is super coincidental. just this morning, i was looking at a necklace charm and my ring that are looking dull, thinking, gosh, if only i still worked at montgomery wards in the jewelry dept....where that woman threw the purse at me...

love the cleaning cloth-it's magical!

earlier today-this morning i had to go to another training for teacher excellence initiative. and on the way back, i was able to meet with a friend for lunch at fuzzy's to try their fish tacos. to be 100% honest, i was extremely underwhelmed. especially after the sand dollar! dude..even MINE are better! but the weren't bad, and it was really more about seeing carla than being a restaurant critic! i absolutely covet friend time, and although we live in the same area, we don't see nearly enough of each other! so we basically only got to share briefly, the saying "in a nutshell" well... we're talking about a hazelnut. (smallest nut in the mixed nut section-umm...don't look that up in images, just trust me).

stella dot. i've mentioned my friend brandy before-she is a breast cancer survivor- one of brandy's friends did an event in her honor and donated proceeds toward research for breast cancer, and so, while i am not a super-trendy jewelry person, i did find a little plaque-charm that was customizably (yep, made that word up) engraved, so i decided it would be appropriate to engrave NMBG, and for those who receive letters from me, that is how i close out my letters. i LOVE it-perfect size! and i had the perfect necklace to couple it with my kanakuk cross. perfect and for a worthy cause!

cutest little packaging!

nothing matters but God!

the cross has tennis shoes hanging on it, as kanakuk is a Christian sports camp. 'kamp' 

i'm sure everyone is wondering what has been happening in the cabell garden. well...let me tell you! the only thing going on right now is pumpkins in one bed, and peppers, mint, lemon-oregano, russian kale and lavender in another. we had a group of high school volunteers from shelton come to help us get the garden in shape for students and teachers to begin using again as an outdoor classroom. several have, but now it's really ready and we can get classes involved in the planting and maintenance! 

green baby pumpkins!! how cute are they?! 

also in the garden, we have been having electrical problems, which means that in essence, the pump has not been working to filter the pond. i have made requests and sent emails regarding this, and i am afraid to go out there, for fear that i will see a bunch of floaters. the gold fish are fairly hardy, but breathing is essential...so, i will try one more time-if it does not get resolved this week, i am considering ridding the pond of fish and having a give-away in plastic bags. i am not fond of fishing them out with the net and disposing of them. and i really don't think teachers will use it as an opportunity to discuss the cycle of life. yuck. 

and i'm pretty sure this is the culprit. the breaker won't flip all the way, but then...the district electricians know this because they came out to look at it. i don't know why it wasn't fixed...band-aids. boo. but when i looked in there, i got a kick out of the 'secerity' label! please watch this video to see why it tickled me so much! (pay close attention at 1:30!)

and to top it off, this week i received some very fun mail from two very dear friends, and for that i am grateful! 

such a fun 'dia de los muertos' card! thanks b!

laura sent me some fun mail as well, and the book about miss rumphius was perfect! what a special thought! i SO want to live in my house by the sea (ocean), and make the world more beautiful! thanks, laura!!

 yesterday afternoon when i got home, i took the boys for a walk because it was barely beginning to sprinkle, and they were dying for a short walk, so i grabbed the umbrella and we set out around the pond. chaco was a sissy. he kept stopping and looking up and finally he said, "hey, if you want to get around this pond, you might want to pick me up right now. i can't see. the rain is getting in my eyes." so whiny. anyhoo, i picked his little damp, muddy self up and tucked him in like a football. bruno on the other hand was leading forward and actually enjoying the rain. bruno would be comparable to a mountain man, chaco would be the gq metrosexual. when we got back to the house they ran around to every cloth covered surface to dry off. and later that evening chaco found this spot on the couch (which is not typical for him; he usually curls up beside me under a blanket), but the look on his face as he put his nose down between his paws was just too much. #theyownme

i love him. 

 time to rest up for another busy week!
julie

oh yeah, water? well i can drink more of you than i can.

today was totally training. first i went to the staar training...it was pretty much the same one that i went to in november. but i stayed just in case there was anything i had missed the first time around. i took my water with me and drank a whole lot-it's almost become a strange obsession...ok, more like an individual sport...personal competition...

then i had destination imagination training; that was supposed to be from 6-9, but our group got out early! woo hoo! which is good because i had a lot to do at home tonight. i have to get snacks ready for tomorrow's staff development, and i have to go over some papers and the like.

when i left, i allowed the dogs free reign of the apt. when i got home, i wanted to change into my comfy socks that i had brought up from the car and left on the couch earlier. well, when i came in and set my stuff down, i located one on the floor. so i picked it up and i looked everywhere for the matching sock. i even asked the boys where it was and they gave the "what are you talking about" look. so i put the one sock in the laundry room, and when i came back out into the living room, guess who was playing tug-of-war with the other sock? (hint, bruno and chaco were the only other ones here)....

these were my Christmas socks-now they're my valentine's socks!

well, i'm done, because as i said, much to do still.

julie

stop already, the sanitizer is gone, don't bother.

let us all take a moment to mourn the loss of a fourth grade team member.

it was a sad day. it was verified that, in fact, ms. arroyo would be moving to 3rd grade. pretty sure she is not thrilled about it, i was very frustrated because i have appreciated working alongside such a wonderful colleague! raquel, here's to you-my hat is off! thank you for being willing to try anything and seeing the silver lining in all! i'm really glad that at least we get to keep you on our hall, almost next door! i enjoy our after-school chats but i shall miss having a lunch buddy!

after school, we were trying to work through what a potential schedule might look like with our interim principal and our assistant principal and what i was writing down made sense in my mind, but i'm pretty sure it looked more like a football play to everyone else (my stroke of genius)

my explanation of how things are currently

as we were coming in from recess, after lunch, the kids always think they have to use the purell sanitizer.so i was sitting there observing this phenomenon, watching them push the lever to try to get some, but it's probably been out for a month, so i said, "it's out! the hand sanitizer is gone, don't bother!" and a split second later, another decided to try the lever, as if by some mysterious miracle, everyone else was just doing it wrong.. i don't understand the obsession.

it's like the dispenser was the recipient of the AGE-OLD joke and had a sign taped on it's back that said: PUSH ME

after i left school today, i had to make a quick stop at walmart. interestingly enough, i got stuck behind a lady who had way too much perfume on (so much that i had to find something to put to my nose to stifle the smell. then on the way out i caught a crazy heavy cologne smell lingering all over the parking lot...ok, maybe just in the car next to mine. (but still). i told my students that i like them to try new things in their writing, like dialogue. then i compared dialogue to perfume and explained that too much of it is not a good thing-it gives us a headache and overwhelms us.

while i was there, i was especially looking for a couple of things. here are a few of the wonderful things i found!

sassy socks!

 i cannot remember who it was that insisted on having sassy socks back when i lived in des moines...i'm pretty sure it was either jory or cindy...but that was one of my missions today-to find some amazing halloween socks! i looked all over the store. i literally went from one end to the other, and finally found them on a rack right near the front (not in the sock section, nor the halloween section, but in the shirt section).

then i found the honeycrisp apples!! i LOVE them, i really do...and i also found the caramel! woo hoo-it is truly fall!

the boys approved of the sander, then bruno said, "wait a minute, you aren't planning to grind my toe nails down, are you?"

the other item i came home with was a rotisserie chicken. well, i pulled off some huge chunks of chicken and came into the living room. then before i knew it, bruno, as quick as lightning snatched off a huge chunk and threw it on the floor then jumped down and began to scarf down the entire thing! i was so mad at him!! i'm so glad there was no one else in the house to witness it. he's soooo in the doghouse with me (only we don't have a doghouse).

alrighty then, if you ever want people to stop listening to your ideas, write them down like football plays.
julie