dj beatsmith, because pie, cheesecake and cookies don't come without a price

today i was thinking about several things. it is THANKSGIVING, and i am grateful for so many things.

as i went back and read my post from the other day, i realized that it was remiss of me to fail to mention a few things.
#1. WALKING IN THE MORNING
while i said tongue-in-cheek about walking early in the morning, that "i don't hate it," what i should have said was that it's probably one of my favorite parts of the day! what better way to begin the day, than with a friend, exercising and enjoying conversation? hint: there really is no better way to start the day-unless you add in coffee afterwards...
#2. LUNCH-SHARING
one of the best things about this concept is that in the same way that i love to cook and share with others, these ladies do as well, and it's fun to be able to serve in such a way; on the other hand, it is humbling to receive the same gift from others-a good practice.
#3. GOOD THINGS
there truly are so many good things going on at our school. sometimes it is easy to get out of focus and hone in on the things that are not going smoothly or that are frustrating, and that draws my attention away from all of the good things that are happening and the potential for better things. perhaps that needs to be my prayer every morning- i need accountability in this area...fortunately, i have some people who are pretty good at this.

ok, so moving forward. today i was a little worried that i was going to be rather sore from starting podrunner with dj beatsmith (no lie-i couldn't even make something like this up)--thanks to maria for sharing this with me a few years back...the first time i began to have back problems. so, let's try it again and see if i can get back into that habit! it may be accompanied with aleve and ice-packs, but i have plenty of both! anyhoo, i woke up a little stiff today, but not too sore, and today was supposed to be a recovery day, so i just went for the usual walk. it's not nearly as much fun alone.

when i got back to my apt, i got a txt from shea to let me know that T-giving lunch would begin around 1, so that gave me time to take a shower, give the boys a bath (they need a trim-perhaps tomorrow i will groom them), got some cleaning done around the place, and pulled out some Christmas decorations; i failed to decorate last year, and it wasn't ok! so this year i am pulling out the decorations and making it real!
(okay, going to bed, finish this tomorrow...it's 11:30, and if i'm getting up early tomorrow, i need to get some sleep!)

so..it's not super early, but early enough, and this morning doesn't inspire much confidence...but, i'm doing it anyway. i may have to steal a line from ally k: there's no quitting! and just apply it to everything in life-

getting ready to brave the weather-although at least it isn't cold, and of course there isn't any lightening, because safety first, safety last and safety in between!! (i didn't work at kamp for nothing!)

 and why go the extra mile? so that i can actually enjoy doing this every once in awhile without the guilt!

so i was fortunate yesterday to be able to spend some quality time with some dear kamp friends-there's just something about the kamp-connection. i think it's ultimately the memories from lampe, but mostly the sharing of love for God...which is the foundation for most of my closest friendships (whether it's God's love for people that draw me to them, or a mutual love for God and his kingdom and the simple fellowship that lies therein). but i digress...i am so thankful that ally was able to fly shea in and that i got to spend time with them both at a friend's house in allen-the two families took me in like one of their own...and they didn't even make me play catch phrase (for which i am abundantly thankful, although...i may have been able to swing it with this crew) i wrote briefly about my last catch phrase experience here perhaps it isn't all about the game, but the people-maybe i need to play this game with people who aren't super intense...or with three year olds... these two families are dog families, so it was a happy place for all-the boys were wondering what heaven i went to when i returned smelling like lab, bernese, and pit-mix...

i absolutely love these two!! #sillycounts

we did take a walk after lunch to get out of the house and get some fresh air. in particular, we were looking for a very specific bridge that shea had seen on the drive in, to take senior pics. so we walked...then we walked the other way...then it started to drizzle. i actually quite enjoyed it, although in the recesses of my mind, i wondered what my hair was going to do. we got to the edge of the neighborhood and didn't find this bridge, but that was alright, it was a nice walk. so we turned around as the dark was approaching, and made our way back. no sooner did we arrive at the culdesac entrance, when upon looking down, we located the bridge..less than a minute from our starting point. HA! so regardless of the fact that it was dark, it was our mission to get that senior pic... shea, you have to forgive me, i'm your friend...

senior pic from SCREAM. the worst part is that at this point it was too dark to see the bridge, but it was quite the quaint little bridge with brick and columns...trust me..trust shea (although, if i met her in the woods, i might not).

it was good times-i just wish that there were more time. i love and cherish these friends!

now, for real, off to the park and hopefully it will clear up for the lighting of everything good at vitruvian park this evening! hope your food has settled and everyone has made it out of the food overdose! today may life be good because you choose to see the good that is around you!

julie

100LoveNotes, lunch-fun and social emotional learning

tuesday night. deep breath as i prepare to simply enjoy the thanksgiving break!

so many things. today was the fourth day of getting up early to go walking with an accountability partner-and i don't hate it! early on the weekends, but even earlier on weekdays (meaning i am up by 4:40-reminiscent of working for the comair and having to get up in the wee hours to prep the planes!) so yes, good start-i need to force myself to get up for the remainder of the break (hard to create a habit if it gets interrupted mid-stream).

i inadvertently became a part of a lunch-share...only because i kept nicolette from getting veggie burgers one evening, so i offered to take sauteed veggies because i had an abundance. what beats food and fellowship-although truthfully it's mostly just food because we all have lunch at different times. it makes my heart long for the times we had meals together in 4th grade with gigi...and going to her house to cook fun meals. miss my friend!! i truly do enjoy cooking and sharing-as well as not cooking, and just enjoying! (and i think the world of these two, they have become the friends i've been missing over the past couple of years).

i'm very excited about a new resource that we will be using on our campus. i am helping roll it out with our 4th grade reading classes first, and once we figure it out and get going with it, we can share it with 3rd and 5th grades. (i really think olivia and susan will benefit from them, but there is so much going on right now, that i think we will have to push it for january, regardless of how good it is).  i love it because it lends itself to close reading and text sets/units. i really am beside myself, and i am thrilled that nafia is equally excited about the possibilities that it presents! to see a teacher excited about a resource that i believe in is reassuring, because the truth is that if a teacher doesn't see the value in something, it is very unlikely that they will appreciate or use it. i think i built up the case! i am looking forward to see what all can be done with it!

i am super excited about the beanbag that i have acquired, as well-thanks to olivia and solange for picking them up (i didn't leave school until very late); note to self-bring cash monday!! they are oversized and very comfy! apart from the never-ending group text that went from beanbags to starbucks to jeans back to beanbags and smiley emoticons...i am a terrible group-texter and i wish that i had the app to make me appear to be involved in the text, but actually be in stealth mode.

so, yesterday i spoke of letters and such, and today i was basically ushered out of the classroom when i went in to offer assistance in preparation for the computer diagnostic assessment...they were in the midst of something super secret! so it really tugged at the heartstrings when i was presented with a sweet note from a student and a super sweet note from the teacher, one of my friends. it meant a lot. the idea was spawned from the reading of an article about 100 love notes-(this isn't the exact one that i read, but it is the same story) how cool is that?! i love that she got the students involved, because at that age, it often takes some prompting to think beyond oneself...this was a great practice for them-social emotional competency. #100LoveNotes

i felt pretty special-as an instructional coach, we don't get many of these.

 and it just got better to hear about one of the morning meetings that blossomed from an authentic moment of gratitude..the students were saying what they were grateful for, but then they went a step further at the request of a companion, to say why they were grateful for the person next to them-difficult to receive if you aren't prepared! we love hearing these things, but could it be because of doubt and lack of exposure to hearing such things that it is difficult to accept? we should do these things more often. we certainly should express ourselves more freely, without fear of how it will be received...because who really cares?! and like one of the girls said (and i paraphrase from a paraphrase....) : we should say things like this more often because you never know when someone isn't going to be there, and you won't have another chance...wise words! i find myself living vicariously through my teachers, and i love it!

that's how i will be spending part of my day tomorrow-letter-writing because i have time and nothing to make me feel guilty! no distractions-i need to get back on track with the letter-writing! i would've started tonight, but i had to get my hair did...by myself- i didn't want to pay alejandro huge money if it was something i could do on my own...so we will see if the quality is close. i was happy with how long his brazilian blowout lasted, so we shall make a comparison...it was half his cost..now i can tip myself and spend that $ on something more fun! and i do have several things in mind.

thanksgiving is just around the day-corner, and i am excited because one of my friends will be in town, so i will get to hang out with her and another dear friend, who lives in the metroplex, but as far away as possible. and this weekend the lighting at vitruvian begins and i think it starts off with some live entertainment-i love what they do down here in the addison area.

alright, it's time to sign off so that i can get up at a decent hour to walk/jog? tomorrow (if i actually jog, i deserve a cookie!!)
night!
julie

grateful...that's all.

sometimes God brings people into your life to make himself more evident and more known. interestingly enough, he has his perfect way of doing this, and sometimes it's through the most unlikely unexpected people in the most normal of situations. for this i am thankful.

shortly before going to inacol, i went out with some girls from work and we had the craziest of conversations. within the conversation, we discussed church, which was what led to this post. so when i said i texted a friend, i actually texted an acquaintance, who has since become a friend-which i am going to attribute 100% to God and his great wisdom and grace. every once in awhile i meet people outside of kamp, whom i truly wish could have experienced it because they would fit in, hands down...prime example. these are the times i wish my worlds could collide because i hate that friends from both realms don't get the opportunity to appreciate each other, as i know it'd be a freakin' awesome get-together!!

but i digress...living in dallas over the past three years has not been easy, and certainly not much fun. when alisha and bmayes moved away...and the oklahoma crew dispersed, life became much more solitary. while i do need alone time to recharge, when there is absolutely no one apart from the boys, it was getting old, monotonous and borderline melancholy. so the idea of having people around to play with-who actually enjoy several of the same things-makes all the difference.

like i said before, God has a better understanding of what i need than even i do...and he has used it to draw me closer to him. how, you ask? well...i'm a little ashamed of the fact that ever since i moved over to this side of town, and further away from lakepoint, i haven't found a church. i'd visit a few here and there with nika and bmayes from time to time when b was in town, but nothing that ever stuck. and once she was gone, and nika was super involved in a megachurch (which really didn't appeal to me at the time--remember that outgoing introvert thing?)...i really had no desire to go looking on my own. so, finding someone who really does desire to go, who loves music and worship, and who really desires to know God more is a godsend. here's to exciting new adventures-both church and non-church related! 

not only that, but an added bonus: exercise accountability, and trying new things!

yes, please, on a bed of spaghetti squash!

thank GOD my grandma didn't look like this! but also, thank God i've been introduced to this hot chocolate, because it is so like the chai tea i used to sit in the garage drinking while watching the storms roll in! nostalgic.

that said, it was an added bonus to be able to get to spend some time with nicolette and nafia during our time at inacol. i expect that we will be having some authentic conversations and fun adventures in the future!

by the pool-trying to get work done...

so...about a month ago, i agreed to take on a project to help work with curriculum, standards and alignment for a group that is working against the clock to try to pull together some college courses for education. i agreed because of the allure of doing something challenging, and making some money at the same time. the problem is that i didn't realize how involved it would be, and i had little context and zero direction-i came to a point at which it was really consuming me. every time i was with friends and wanting to be fully present, this burden was weighing on my mind. it was so difficult for me to swallow my pride, in part because i didn't want to let them down, after offering to take it on.

the truth is, i felt under-qualified and without having someone close to bounce ideas off of and get immediate in-the-moment feedback to point me in the right direction, i was beyond overwhelmed-especially because i hadn't taken into account how busy things would become over the next few weeks. i bowed out of the project, and in almost the same moment that i hit the send button, my heart and head were just a bit lighter. i knew it was the right decision.

i need to begin making choices from the lens of: life is short-moments count, friendships don't just happen-they are built by intentional acts and people are important-which i want to be so apparent after interacting with others, but sometimes i fall way short (opportunities for growth!).

with only one more day of school before the thanksgiving break, i look forward to spending time with friends-if it all works out as planned. i am thankful for much. i have much more than i need or deserve. one of the gifts that i am most thankful for is the gift of written communication. i speak not of blogging, mind you, i speak more to the art of the handwritten letter. i have said it before, and i say it again because my thoughts have not changed on this: there is nothing more endearing than a handwritten letter, as it holds so much authenticity! i do not write to receive letters, i write to reveal myself, so when i do receive such treasures, my heart melts a little, because it's the sharing of self-i absolutely loved being on the receiving end today-again, God in his wisdom-

one from a kamp friend, one from a classmate. #happyheart

may gratitude overwhelm you as you realize how blessed you are-
jrob

thanksgiving was great, but Christmas will be even better

today was a good day. i got to see a really cool product that makes me think about a myriad of possibilities! i saw a similar product awhile back, but we were not able to procure it; i've been thinking about it ever since! so today, when we met with a representative face-to-face, it was really exciting to take that off the back-burner again. it's a video/professional development tool that i'm super-excited about!

so, thanksgiving was great times with mom and dad. i was hoping to visit with a few friends in the area, but i wasn't feeling that great- i had sinus, head cold...something that required a box and a half of kleenex...and a methodical mix of sudafed, sinus-cold meds, cough syrup, allergy meds and diet coke... still a little congested. (This is why Christmas will be better-not sick)

the boys were really brave with the cat this trip-as they barked from behind the fence. but once tiger came out, they were yipping and barking like little girls. and tiger just pretty much ignored them. 

on the way home, there was a little accident that held us up for about half an hour right as we were getting back into town. that's the worst! so while we were waiting, this big guy was in front of me, so i couldn't really see a thing. although, there was a miniature door on the rig. there is just something almost magical about miniature doors-what i would give to see a little elf or a fairy jump out of there!

and then behind me, i was mentally high-fiving the driver of the pick-up back there for blocking off the jerks that try to get ahead of everyone and cut in just because they are idiots. 

see him back there? well played, pick-up, well played!

and then when i picked up the mail, i realized that apparently the postman doesn't know alida. oops. i guess last name might have been helpful..address perhaps?? hopefully the second time around it hits its mark!

and i was thrilled that these were in the mail- i LOVE MAIL!! Christmas cards are fun because i love seeing family pics! letters are the BEST-because keeping up is just that link that keeps it real! thank you amber, karla, heidi, jory!

and i am going to post this because i should've done that last month, then i will post again because some really neat stuff is going on right now-but it'll take a minute to get it all thought out!

goodnight! Christmas break has begun!!
julie

late-night drivers get the bearclaw!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

i wasn't completely decided on tuesday morning if i would go ahead and make the drive to mom and dad's after school or just wait until wednesday. i woke up in the morning and thought i would delay until wed. morning. then as the day progressed, i decided that i would go ahead and just make the drive after school. so i got packed as quickly as possible and we were on our way by 5. the traffic out of town is always ridiculous, though, so it took an hour longer than i would have liked. 

one thing that has become abundantly clear is that i should probably not do long trips like that when it gets dark so early because by the time i hit joplin, i was starting to fade-which left me with about another hour and 15 minutes..it is amazing how one doesn't even realize it when the fading begins! i found myself imagining things scurrying across the road, and trying to look out to the side to see what it was(to no avail) or not realizing that my speed has hit 95, as the radar detector goes off and i see lights stopping a car in front of me-thankfully i was able to slow in time to not fall victim to the ticket i deserved. at this point i was on the final stretch and i thought, no problem, 10 more minutes, but i'm pretty sure i rolled in, eyes glazed. but we made it in by midnight, safely and got to bed by one. i am officially no longer a late-night person! 

i'm glad we left early so that we were already here this morning!

we woke up to huge snow flakes clumps, but they melted away almost as soon as they fell. sadly we didn't get outside early enough to get any good pics. the boys were largely unimpressed. "it's just soft rain and now i'm wet and cold." that was chaco.

nothing beats mom's homemade bear claws fresh out of the oven! yummers! 

you cannot see the yummy goodness inside, but trust me, the pairing of dates, chopped cherries, and walnuts, topped with a sugar,walnut topping...quite a holiday tradition for us.

it's been a very relaxing day! i got the opportunity to do a little target-practice today in the backyard-fortunately i was able to find my ammo a few weeks ago at a great rate! love not having range fees!!

my mom got a tablet-android. i am so proud of her! as i was looking at it today, i noticed that it was on 4g, and she said last night that it used their wifi. that surprised me because i never knew they had wifi-when i've been here before, i haven't been able to get on with the laptop. so i pulled out my chromebook and there were no available networks, so i went in to look at their equipment, tried a couple of different numbers because i couldn't figure out the id to add a network. they had a router, and a usb connection...so i told them they might want to ask their saleswoman (who knows my mom's password by heart) where to find the id number.

so they went in earlier and it took awhile, but they were due for an upgrade in equipment, and they got what they needed to upgrade their technology. we got in and figured all of that out, created passwords and now i can work from any part of the house-sweet. (by no means am i an expert in technology, but i will take a challenge and run with it and usually figure out what i need to know). 

when i finally came back to the living room and settled in, chaco came up onto the couch and began pawing at the cushions. i couldn't figure out what he was trying to find, because there shouldn't be anything down there. so i thought he was crazy. finally, i pulled out a cushion so that he could see there was nothing. he continued to paw and get down in the crevice, so finally to keep him from damaging the couch, i reached down to show him there was nothing. i felt something i thought might have been a treat and pulled it out. then i realized it was poop. cat poop. (my dog at some point in the evening had gotten into the litter box and dragged out that which is taboo, and guarded it in a safe place so that he could go back later for snack). my reflex was to drop it, and then bruno picked it up (in his mouth, as that is how dogs usually tend to pick things up)...i had to pry it from his little jaws. since when is hardened cat droppings a delicacy? since never, that's when. must pay closer attention to what the boys are doing-especially when they are quiet and out of sight for any period of time.

alright, i leave you to enjoy THANKSGIVING! (at least those of you in the u.s.).

thankful for so many things!
julie

thanksgiving...give thanks for the ñ in the spanish language

long overdue.

sorry about the time lapse. umm...if i laugh randomly at any point, please forgive me, i just put in elf, and i laugh every time! (i wanted to watch miracle on 34th street, but i don't have it).

our countdown is actually down to our last feather, so excited that thanksgiving is around the corner!

we also had our field trip to the environmental center. it was great for our students to learn about soil! then i took them out on the trail and improvised quite a bit...good thing i'd been on the trail before and i remembered some of what the guide had said. we found some scat and i may have gotten a stick to see if there was anything cool in it...but there were just a couple of undigested seeds. science teacher!

anyhoo, a lot going on. i agreed to go to some multi-language trainings and a science multi language training. well, i got my dates mixed up because of thanksgiving being in the middle and all...well. i missed the training this morning, but in all fairness, i had today double-booked...i may have to take blanca's suggestion and get a paper schedule book! today i subjected myself to another group interview at smu with the teaching trust. only this time it was for a policy fellows program. it entails a few tuesday evenings during the spring-if i get accepted.

last week at the science training, i actually picked up several great pointers that will be helpful!

at first glance it may not look like it, but it is an example of weathering and erosion!

we struggled over this common assessment thing that we need for 4th grade, and there was a pretty good one in english, but the problem was that we didn't have one in spanish, so i went ahead and typed the whole thing over again and pushed the translate button, went in and did a quick precursory once-over, and put it in a drop box for my co-worker maria to go over (always better to defer to the native speaker!).

the problem with writing the whole thing in spanish is that i am lazy and i don't like to go into the symbols every time i need to use a ñ = party letter! pronounced en-yea...not yay as some would spell it, but yea as in "woo hoo!" not to be confused with yeah-which is just a lazy yes. people mix them up a lot...i think 'yay' is actually accepted in words with friends, but still, that doesn't make it alright; i mean merriams dictionary doesn't even recognize it! anyhoo, like i said, ñ is a party letter. let's face it, a piñata wouldn't be a piñata without the ñ, and a party with a 'pinata' would fall flat. and another thing, if there were no ñ, i wouldn't wish you a happy new year, i'd be wishing you a happy new anus, which is something i hope i never have to wish anyone!

all of that to say i am lazy-and i'm not even talking about adding the accent marks! (i used to know all of the number codes to put them in manually-back when i used to have to type papers)

huge thank you to xochitl for bringing pecan pie to the thanksgiving potluck at school!! (i mean, after i wrote on the poster requesting it, i was hopeful! seriously even if there were no turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes...if there were just pecan pie, it would speak thanksgiving to me just as much!)

ok, my eyes are wanting to shut, so i must go now.
julie

hope you had a thankful thanksgiving...rather than a thoughtful thinksgiving

so, i forgot to tell about yesterday-mom and i went shopping and we found the 'as seen on t.v.' store. and i got a couple of things. my favorite purchase today was this:

you can easily understand why i HAD to acquire this little number!

then tonight for dinner, it was my choice, and i thought mom and dad should experience sushi. well..good thing dad wasn't too hungry, because he wasn't a huge fan. he has a hard time with the seaweed wrapping...he mentioned that it was like having a wet rag in his mouth. mom was ok with hers, but it wasn't her favorite. i was in tears trying to hold in laughter as she was struggling with the chopsticks. she was laughing too, so it wasn't like i was being rude and laughing at her, we were sharing a moment. i haven't laughed that hard in a long, long time! thankful for my parents!


today we went to denny's for breakfast-love it that it's open on thanksgiving.we had quite an enthusiastic server and she seemed happy to be there on thanksgiving day.


we found out that bruno doesn't like walking in branson any more than he likes walking in dallas. must figure this out. and dad took chaco for a walk, but chaco would start going in one direction and then change directions making certain to stay within eyesight of the door to the rooms. not used to doing anything without mama.


for our thanksgiving meal we had...(drum roll) carne con queso dip, with pecan pie for dessert! smile. and since we've been watching football we had to have afternoon popcorn. mom isn't as big of a football fan, she's been playing solitaire and some word puzzles.(like mother like daughter with the word games). she happens to be really good at text twist as well (the yahoo word scramble game).

good thing it's thanksgiving instead of thinks-giving...i mean how different would it have been if the indians had given the settlers/pilgrims a piece of their mind instead of the food.'let me tell you what i'm thinking! i'll give ya my thoughts.' .



because it is thanksgiving, i feel like i should mention things i am thankful for. well, that would be a long list, and the truth of the matter is that i believe a thankful heart should be a never-ending condition. i could say one thing i am thankful for every day for the rest of my life and never run out of things i am thankful for. today i could just start with family, health, a job, friends, the boys, and an incredible GOD who never stops providing and showing his unfailing love!

dissecting puppy waste to ease my mind...ew.

oh praise the real Jesus (not the jesus who married juanita and works at the tire repair shop)! it is friday and dallas isd is giving me a week off for thanksgiving! i guess they think we have a whole lot more to be thankful for! (which we do). so to celebrate, i called in a togo order from chilis. traffic was terrible, and then people were doing one of the things on my top 10 'i hate that driver because' list.

blocking the intersection. jerks.

yesterday afternoon when i got home, i had an empty diet coke bottle on the couch, and bruno grabbed it and started playing with it (i don't need to buy expensive toys, they have great imaginations). well, after a bit, chaco took over and before i new what had happened, he had abandoned the bottle (sounds like he was stopping an alcoholic problem) and he was sitting by me chewing on something and when i looked down at him, he had already eaten the other half of this:

no, not shark teeth! it's the band that goes around the rim of the bottle lid.

i began to get worried. i was imagining it getting caught in his little intestinal tract or something, or that if he tried to vomit it back up it might cut his esophagus. i was worried when we went to bed, and he had not passed it by this morning when i went to school. so it was in the back of my mind all day at school. then when i got home, i saw that he had pooped (and not eaten it), so i picked it up and i may or may not have dissected it with a toothpick to see if the plastic thing was there...i never ever would have guessed that dissecting poop would be a form of extreme relief. but i was SO relieved to see white bits of plastic!! whew! dodged another one! he must have insides made of steel...maybe he's a robot yorkie...uh oh. mavis better not have sold me a robot! i wish he were more discriminant about what he eats, though..


only put things in your body that you know you can pass!
julie