maybe nancy drew is part elvish...

a little late. i stayed for the pta at school because no one else was able to. it was cute for the first 2 minutes...then it got progressively less cute as the time went on. i would've posted pics, but i didn't have time to get waivers and permission slips. oh, and i didn't take any pictures.

i won't be doing that again anytime soon.

the boys were not happy that i got home after dark and did not leave the lights on for them...so i told them i'm not the motel 6! (but it was wasted sarcasm)

so..tonight i pulled out a long sleeved t because it's so cool out and it was inside out. it made me wonder whose idea was it to EVER decide that seams and stitching had to be on the inside instead of the outside? it's more comfortable to wear the seamless on the inside!

that's the sleeve cuff (i typed it, then deleted it b/c i thought that wasn't a thing, so i looked it up and it IS!)

it strikes me as i sit here looking at my movies, thinking about nancy drew (no lie, i purchased the t.v. series off amazon about 2 years ago)...it strikes me as nearly impossible for a teenage girl to have been able to be involved in as many mysteries as she was and still go to school! unless she's like the girl on law and order, who pretended to be a teenager to stay in the foster care system, until she was caught at 28...anyone else ever wonder how she managed? or maybe she's like the elves on LOTR; they age slower than time as well!

after just reading that, it made me wonder if nancy and the hardy boys had ever met, so i looked it up, and there are a few books out there with adventures for the two of them-i need to get those!!

'seams' like it's time to go b/c eternal youth is not what was written into my script,
julie

i could never win the blind dog-biscuit taste test

 not blind dog, more like blind taste test for dog biscuits.
today i got to school and did some small stuff trying to prepare for class and our afternoon training. i was surprised that our 'share-time' went as well as it did today in class...we actually got around to posting our work! woo hoo!!

a couple minutes into class and ms. arroyo came in and gave me an offering for the boys! peanut butter cookies! (i was going to try one-just to see if it was peanut buttery or not). well, i didn't in class, but i figure surely it's edible, so i tried it when i got home and guess what). it's not as peanut buttery as my fudge, but i told the boys it was so that they wouldn't be jealous.

peanut butter biscuit love

dog biscuits don't scare me...i was dared to try one by a friend a few years back, and it really is just a bland shortbread cookie that looks like a bone and is over baked and under-sugared.

it's like biscotti...only not really.

shout out to my friend xochitl-SHE PASSED HER LAST BIG TEST FOR CERTIFICATION!! YIPPEE!!


and our afternoon training went off without a hitch! (which is always a good thing). it was by no means exciting, but hopefully it wasn't terribly dreadful for all others involved.

hopefully we can put student work on lockers again, because i DEF-initely  posted some work today! (on almost every 4th grader's locker...hmm.)

just because it looks and smells like a peanut doesn't mean it's pleasing to the human palette.
julie

see a kibble, pick it up..all day long you'll have good...reason to sanitize your hands

when i was little the word 'fart' was off the table. we used the word 'stinker.' the conversation would be something like this: did you let a stinker? no. so my question now is, what does that even mean? did you let a stinker do what? you're probably asking, great, where is she going with this? no where, it's just that one of the boys passed gas the other day, and i was trying to determine what phrasing we should go with..fart, stinker, pass gas, flagellate...flagellate is the most correct, but i have never liked that word because it always reminded me of flapping in the lower hind region and that is not attractive. fart is the easiest, but it seems a bit crude..we may just have to go with pass gas.

it was great to have bmayes and reagan down to visit! yesterday we had late lunch at glorias and then i got to use my movie passes from the end of last year! we went to see the help and it was so great! i really did enjoy it. the theater was empty when we got there, so we got excellent seating! and then a handful of people joined us-maybe 20 total. 

i always worry about free passes b/c i wonder what the fine print will say, but we had no problems...and i have one pass left!

 earlier in the morning, b had gone to grab breakfast with a friend, and i was in the kitchen cleaning when i looked down and saw one of reagan's kibbles (she eats a different type of food than the boys).

they're a little smaller and rounder

well, i figured chaco or reagan had grabbed a piece and moved it, because they do that when they eat-grab a piece, go to the other room and eat it...well, i picked it up to put it back in the bowl, and it wasn't hard like a kibble...so i threw it into the toilet and sanitized my hands. the thing is, it was tiny, and so it didn't look like what it was. anyhoo...all clean now.


how 'bout them rangers?!
how 'bout them sooners?!
we were flipping back and forth between the two last night. you must understand that i am not big into college football, so i just picked the team where i have a group of dear friends, and they have become my team...plus i've been there and played around on campus, and thus i have become a sooners fan (not die hard, but if i notice they're playing, they get my hurraay)!

if you see a kibble on the ground...just throw it away.
julie

reagan and chaco meet the management

yesterday was such a long day! parent conferences are brutal. i was caught with one foot in one class and the other in the another (sounds like a song or something).

as the construction draws closer and closer to an end, the old doors are getting ready to come off and the new ones will be installed...how do i know? i'm always at school late and i saw the guys working on the holes for the new hardware. so i put up a note to let the boys know i wanted to keep my door and to please put it inside my room.

STRAIGHT-FORWARD

i hope my request will be fulfilled because they said they would do it for me. now i will have a door to use however i need it. i could use it for art OR a table...or shelves...i love lumber! i'm kinda' thinking it will be art.


saturday a.m.

 ok, i didn't get very far last night because i was cleaning up a little and i was exhausted, and once bmayes got into town, it would've been rude to be on the computer! (mediocre excuses)

i love it when brittany and reagan visit-very chill and relaxed. we do what we want! i'm a little bummed because i'm not 100%- i feel like i'm in the midst of drainage-maybe a cold...i don't even know anymore. my eyes were getting bothersome yesterday and my voice was going at school toward the end.

chaco on the right looks a little bigger than reagan because he is sitting on top of the pillow, but in reality, reagan is a little bigger.

who knows what we'll do today-i would love to take the pups for a walk so that reagan can meet the office staff and  chaco can stop in to say hi-he hasn't been over there in awhile.
//later that same day:..so we went for our walk, and true to form, bruno was in anti-walking mode, so we took chaco and reagan by the office and one of the gals was there and she jumped down from her chair and got on her knees to play with the pups. i've said it before, i have great managers! then we went back to the trail area and after playing for a minute, i let chaco come all the way back home off-leash because there were no other dogs around, and i am happy to say that he did a fabulous job!

alright, because i don't want to be rude, this is where i will close for tonight! back to the rangers!
julie

what do you get when you drink coffe and diet dr. pepper? nothing...just a bathroom break.

i knew today was going to be this kind of a day because i didn't get to bed until after midnight last night trying to finish revising ninety fourth grade expository papers so that my students can understand what revision looks like.

literally picked up the coffee in one hand, took a sip, then picked up the diet dr. pepper in the other hand

for whatever reason, the hot and cold go together, and then the bitter and sweet kinda' go together. anyone with me on this? if so, just nod your head, i'm sure i'll feel it.  i suppose it worked because i am still awake, and i made it through the day. coherently, even!

while i was listening in on a conversation, i heard a couple of ladies trying to figure out what half of 37 was. and after spending a couple of minutes, one of them said to the other, "that's why i don't help my daughter with her math homework...she won't let me." hmm...

and in the mail today i got a letter from fema...they wanted to sell me some flood insurance. apparently they didn't look at the address or realize that when an apt number ends in the 30's, it means 3rd floor! and there's a drought...and the average rainfall is 76 mm/month.

tonight needs to be an early night because tomorrow we have conferences.boo. long stinkin day!

ok, be hot or cold, or i will spit you out of my mouth (that's biblical, but that's what i often tell my drinks as well),
julie

Breakfast in bed would be better than breakfast in the classroom.

alright, this post is going to have to be short! i will start with this- if you have little ones and you like to create fun treats, hollie has added a few fun items to the repertoire. check them out here!

this morning we had our first breakfast in the classroom. tomorrow there will be a new and improved set-up. tweak it until you get it right, that's what i always say...only i say it a little differently-revise, revise revise! anyhoo-today i saw waste. one of my kiddos was made to get in line, but he already ate breakfast, so he had this bag of stuff he didn't even want. boo. i think some of the kids don't understand that milk and yogurt spoil when not refrigerated, because i definitely saw some breakfast bags in lockers that will turn into science experiments if we aren't careful.

lowfat plain yogurt...i'd say yum, but you might believe i meant it.

so today was a rocky first day, but once it changes, it should go much more smoothly.

i did swing by the credit union branch to make my payment today as well, and the lady was super sweet, but a slow talker and way too polite asking all sorts of questions and filling out a form that i could've taken care of in half the time! oh, even though i took a wrong turn yesterday, today i realized that this place is just plain hard to get to-i still had to make a crazy loop around to get onto the correct stretch to get into the bldg. but i made it back just as the students were lined up and walking in...whew!

sad day-ms. arroyo is almost all moved out.

when i got home i went to the mailbox gazebo-looking thing and i was thrilled that my check came from the car pymt i had made on the g6 the day before it got paid off-that will come in handy. as i was walking back to my car, the apt manager was driving away and waving like a crazy lady! it was kinda funny, so now i'm thinking perhaps i need to get over to the office again sometime soon to visit with the gals (it's always good to feel wanted, right?).

ok, it's time for me to revise some papers!
julie

the waves came crashing into my classroom! i'm glad i painted my toenails for the occasion!

this morning i woke up, planning  on going to walmart. contrary to popular belief, i didn't go JUST for the orange toenail polish...my main purpose was cold medication. the toenail polish was an afterthought!

it doesn't look nearly as bright as it is-apt. lighting is ridiculous!

my car payment says it's due today, so i was all in a rush to get to the credit union to pay (new acct, new set-up, not being  withdrawn yet, etc), so i rushed over there during my lunch, battled traffic on 635 like a dragon warrior- UTILA is good at weaving 101...in and out, in and out...then, not knowing where it was, i made a wrong turn (even with the gps) and had to make a huge loop around. then when i finally got there, i was thrilled that i got a great parking spot! only to realize when i got inside that the lobby was closed because it's stinkin' columbus day! boo. (not a halloween boo, either!)

so i made my way back and b/c i was running a couple minutes late, i couldn't stop for lunch. well, i forgot that i hadn't eaten until tonight when i got home and ordered chinese/japanese...dirty knees...i realized that guess what. i was indeed hungry!

while at work, i did get the opportunity to find a home for one of my witch stickers-she'll be around for decades to come (maybe, right?).

no one mourns the wicked...

i know everyone has been wondering how the ocean c.d. has been working out at school-well, today is the day i finally remembered to pull it out of my bag (mostly because i really needed a relaxing something or other). well, it worked out fairly well for me-i'm pretty sure that the students had no idea what it was.

works for me.

it's one of those evenings when i feel like there is something important that i am forgetting. i hate that feeling, because i know it'll come to me (probably 5 minutes too late).

hope you celebrated christopher columbus day by exploring and invading new lands,
julie