for only two labels, you can drastically change a life (drama queen, says who?)

quiet. peaceful. classical music. wood wick candle crackling. Christmas lights glowing in the background. finally a restful evening with nothing pressing to think about. i figure i will give myself week one to do nothing but enjoy company and give lots of love and attention to bruno and chaco.

what a whirlwind of a week! i went and got a gift in case i got jingled...i didn't get jingled, but no worries, i now have a stocking stuffer for mom. smile. just what she needed too...

i'm quite certain my room has been in shambles all week. ok, let's be honest, it's been in shambles since i started teaching science  ...so  i have difficulty finding a spot for everything, shoot me.(with really soft nerf ball pellets only, please). wednesday was the day for published books to be in and ready to go; to my detriment and stress, i am a softie and allow 'late-ies' to come in. i hate to deny anyone a chance to publish a book and have something they can take pride in having finished...every year i say i will have it ready to go early and every year i am staying after school on the day i should be jetting off for break.

 i finished my box top and labels for education posters to put on the walls in january when we return. we will be having a contest, so anyone who reads this blog that is not a teacher at my school, please feel free to send me your boxtops and labels for education!! [cue up mclachlan melancholic music and depressing captions] i know you want to be a part of helping my deprived students who have never heard of pizza enjoy the nutritional value it will bring to them. for just two labels a day, you and your loved ones could help provide pizza for desperate and deserving children....ok, perhaps i like embellishing....but the posters really did come out nicely (why do we say they came out nicely? they weren't birthed...they didn't come out of anything-except the laminating machine, but that was after the fact...maybe it's just turning the word outcome around and trying to colloquialize it?)

our kids aren't as familiar with labels for education, i hope it goes well...

i was smart enough to get them laminated this time!

 tuesday night there was a knock at my door, and so i went to the peek-hole thingy and looked out-the lights our in the breezeway was very dim. it looked like a lady, but i didn't recognize, so i called out, "who is it?!" to which she responded, "your neighbor!" so i hastened to open the door and in that instant as i was unlocking and opening my door, this is what went through my mind: what if it isn't really my neighbor? that would be the classic line to pull. what if this person has someone standing on the other side of the door just out of my line of sight, ready to ambush me?! and my body tenses up ready to fight..then i saw that it actually was my neighbor and she needed baking soda, so i went back in and gave her a box (i had more, and it's cheap).  well, the next day i came in from a walk with the dogs, and she had left a little bag with a cupcake on my door knob. CARROT CAKE! the one thing i haven't ventured to bake. i just never have any carrots around. (i don't love carrots- i kinda choked on carrots when i was younger because i chewed one into a million pieces when i was trying to enact the tip from school about chewing 5o times before swallowing to help your digestive system)...

yummers

add that to the goodies brought in by a parent

how cute and festive are they?!

 umm..then there was the morning  had to get up early to purchase...peppermint hersheys kisses..what? no, i did not type that in the smallest font possible so that no one could read it...don't judge. but i mention that only because the parking lot was full of refugee birds...apparently they couldn't find any available trees...or they were all looking for work..or maybe they thought it was 'black bird friday'...i don't know, but it looked somewhat like a scene right out of a horror movie.

yes, those are all birds, and they were not afraid.

 i was getting other things too-my gift for the white elephant party! well, it wasn't really a white elephant party, although hanging out with white elephants in a room might be slightly entertaining, it was a work party with a white elephant gift exchange. that was a lot of fun-and a little shout out to natalie because she did a fabulous job organizing a fun and interactive exchange for the game. snaps! i ended up with a lovely candle, which i am very fond of! in fact, i have been wanting to get a wood wick candle for a long time, but hadn't found a scent i liked-i love the fact that the wick crackles!

deck the halls

and yesterday as i was walking by our beautiful poinsettias that were decorating our hallway at the entrance, i was thinking that maybe chaco had stopped by to visit.

but i'm pretty sure it was just over-watered.

 and today was our school winter-break party. i'm fairly certain that all of the students shop at the same store, because i had multiples of the same cupcake, and i was 'excited' to receive each one. (no exclamation point). and of course since i didn't get the books packed up in time, i couldn't call the ups guy for a pick up at school, so i had to take them to the ups store- so i had quite a load to get to my car. i am SO glad i invested in a dolly!

see the door in the background? well, it closes and locks behind you. my jacket slipped off of the pile and the sleeve got stuck in the door. so i had to get the load down the ramp and go back up to try to pull it out of the door. at first it wasn't giving, and i thought i might have to wait for someone to happen along, but i persevered and tried one last heave-ho and it did pull loose.

 that was the first time i left school. then i got down to the stop sign and decided i had to go back to give my principal a card i had made because by jan, it would be out-of-date, and i hate to waste words! so i went back up to my classroom and found the card and took it down. then i left and got half way to the ups store when i realized that i did not have the ups return labels for the boxes, so i had to turn around or pay for the shipping myself...i went back one more time and fortunately another teacher was on her way out and i was able to tap-pound loud enough to get her attention..back up to my room to get the labels and finally off for the last time-no ifs, ands or buts about it-i don't care what i forgot, i will make do...because i am truly like mcgeyver....ask anyone. in fact, ask my student who forgot a serving spoon for the fruit today. i made her a ladle by cutting a plastic cup to size.

when i got home, i was thrilled to find mail-real mail! from my dad and from one of my favorite people residing in wyoming! bmayes got me the best tshirt EVER! it is so stinkin comfortable! AND it is the same color as an old tshirt i used to have that i out-lived. it's a terrible thing to lose a shirt in its prime of life...no owner should outlive a great shirt.

it's a beaut! i can't wait to wear it every day for the rest of my life! not really...but i wish. i wish i had 365 of them and worked at a mountain hiking resort and i could wear it every day!

 tomorrow i set out to clean my car out and pack it back up. hopefully get started on my vacation.

blessings to all, and don't forget, for just two labels a day, you can make more of a difference than you know...
julie


                  

no grinding for that one, he's jerky...and then i went to the hobbit

i wish i'd spent more time yesterday cleaning up around the place...i'd better not procrastinate too much today-this is the season for guests! i did get some reading done yesterday from my class. i shouldn't read so far in advance, because inevitably, i will forget most of what i read and will have to re-read before our next session!

then i took the boys in to get their nails clipped. the lady got me to upgrade to a 'grind,' which is like a filing. well...when i came back for them, she nodded her head to chaco and said, "no grind." apparently he was jerky...not a jerk, just a little skittish. bruno did fine. neither of these revelations surprised me.

and on the way out, i found it necessary to get a small early Christmas gift for them

this should last as evening treats until we go to mom and dad's...i bust them out when bruno starts barking at neighbor dogs.

i also went to see the hobbit this weekend...i know thanksgiving is over, but i am thankful for jrr tolkien, peter jackson and the hobbit! love-ed it! you have to know that when i was a youngster, we had a picture-story book of the hobbit, so i have loved it for a long time! then when i was in college, i took a jrr tolkien/ c.s. lewis class as my capstone (i took two capstones because i could-the second was in art and architecture of the Christian church-which was really interesting; but alas, that is another story altogether).

i loved the way they started the story and tied in the lord of the rings-very well done! note to self...never have dwarves over for fancy dinners. i knew it was a two part movie, but i had forgotten about that, and was disappointed when it ended. now i am going to have to go back and reread the book-Christmas break. of course, let's be real, part of the allure of middle earth is the majestic scenery! oh to live in rivendale!!


mountains and waterfalls are magical to me! i've also always been intrigued by angel falls. i was jealous of the old man and the little boy in the movie UP. perhaps it stems back to when i was young and we went on camping trips with mom and dad-one summer while we were camping, we saw a few neat waterfalls. there were also a couple sets of waterfalls in the mountains that i got to see when i lived in HONDURAS. enthralled.

and i know everyone was wondering what i was dreaming about last night...well, i remember being in china. i have no desire to visit china...ever. it must've been the story about chinatown and the earthquake of 1906.

we heard flipped classrooms in our policy class, and i had never really heard about it before, so i was looking into the concept yesterday, and it was very appealing to me.  i need to see how many of my students have access to the internet at home, and perhaps try it out with social studies or science. i may need to try to see if there are any grants out there through which i might be able to get some cheap tablets that kids can take home to use-they just need to be able to get internet access to watch videos. i think it would be more valuable to do it for reading and writing, but i need to take baby steps. there is another interesting site that talks about it here.

well, it's time to stop procrastinating and enjoy the remainder of the weekend!
julie

i wish encyclopedia brown could have solved the mystery of the pungent air in my classroom today!

today was a very good day...i don't know why, i just feel like it went very smoothly. EXCEPT for the part where there were like 8 kids coughing and blowing noses and i could almost see the germs floating around in the room. and when the 2nd group entered my room, for some reason, there was this strange smell in my classroom that i couldn't place. but it was very strong, like a soap or lysol smell; basically strong enough to overwhelm the room and give me a slight headache.

i still have no idea where the smell was coming from, but it was starting to air out by this afternoon when school was out. i wonder if it was the sub next door. i mean, not that she smelled, but maybe she sprayed something and it wafted through the ceiling tiles...i know, grasping at straws. not that it really matters.

ok, so yesterday i was reading to my students because it was the 12-12-12 reading initiative. so i decided on something i could read in about 15 minutes that wasn't a picture book, yet had some closure. i decided on one of my favorite throw back books from when i was in third and fourth grade: ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN! i explained to them who he was and how i had enjoyed the books and how after each mini mystery, they could turn to the back after trying to solve the mystery and find the answer to the mystery and see how ENCYCLOPEDIA solved it.

well, the story i read had something to do with a boy who performed a 'stupid-human-trick' of being a human blizzard by shaking the dandruff out of his hair...so i explained what dandruff was and what a blizzard was, and one of the students shamelessly said, "oh, like this!" and proceeded to pull a 'breakfast club' over his desk-which i immediately halted. i don't think any of the other kids really thought anything of it...until he went to sweep it off his desk toward the girl in front of him who had a face of horror and she moved backward to avoid contact...

after school i had to swing by walmart to get something...to jingle...just in case. always get something that you yourself might enjoy, or keep the receipt...same with white elephant! anyhoo, while i was there, i saw this pair

i had seen them outside and thought they looked bright because of the sunglasses i had on, but when i took them off, they were even brighter! i suppose it's a great recognition device

when i got home, i found a Christmas ornament i had to work on for a friend that i'll be sending to her with her Christmas card...it looks something like this:

i found an angry/serious face pic which worked wonderfully.

merry mouse...

it's a little ornament book with several different fun pics. the good thing is that i can post it here because i'm pretty sure she does not read this blog!

i got home today and chaco said he wanted to do something fun this weekend, so we may walk down to the vitruvian lights again-he rather enjoyed that...he asked about wearing Christmas lights with a battery pack...we'll have to see about that.

alright, stay away from blizzards if you are inside and there are no blizzard conditions!
julie

testing, kisses, and pub ed (as in a pub and education)

so yesterday was our first writing assessment-composition writing. the night before i wrote the word 'kisses' on my hand as a reminder. i had to swing by walmart so that i could pick up hershey's kisses, as i had run out of peppermint and cherry cordials...hopefully no one saw my hand; i mean, what would the neighbors say?!

well, i got a later start than i had anticipated, and at 6:56 on my way out the gate, i was debating whether i really needed to go or not. i didn't make up my mind until i reached the turn to school and kept going straight- once again thankful for the local neighborhood walmart. just to find that when i got there, i only saw the cherry cordials...i frantically searched the aisle. no luck then i noticed one of those plastic candy canes and against my better judgement, i bought them even though i was mostly paying for the stupid candy-cane container, to receive a fraction of the love. boo.

and when i got to school, it had slipped my mind that we had our test, and it had also slipped my mind that that evening was Pub Ed. luckily i left the lights on at the apartment and their favorite t.v. show: sounds of the season. i think they're trying to memorize songs to give mom and dad a concert when we visit over Christmas.

since we had the testing, i was relieved that i had gotten the kisses. i was able to put a mixture in my pocket and then randomly pull them out so that i would be surprised by whichever one i pulled out. i mean..50/50 chance, i know, but i still feigned excitement and surprise. i amused myself...deal wid it.

when 5:30 finally rolled around, natalie, one of my 4th grade counter-parts at school, had decided to go with dallas, another co-worker and me. so we took off and then we located the west end pub and found our group...front and center-we were amongst the first to arrive-best seating!

it was actually interesting conversation because we had some community members in our group-a gal from dr. pepper (i should have asked her if she had any connections to a diet dr. pepper IV...as in you put it in the bag and let it drip) and we had a guy from CIS (communities in schools). our conversation revolved around changing demographics in dallas and what could be done or if there was a good approach. then right before we were preparing to leave, a board member had joined our group, but i think natalie and i totally missed that conversation; but dallas was sucked in, and it really sounded interesting after he told us about it...unfortunately, we had kinda' decided on a time-which we had already passed...so natalie and i had our coats on, standing in dallas' eyesight so that he could bow out of the conversation at some point, and as we were standing there, there were a couple of video games. i guess, what pub doesn't have a good video game? 

ANIMATED VIOLENCE MILD....so, i guess you don't have to drain the blood, skin it and hang it to make venison.

 and today was a very normal day. we finally think we've come up with our next comprehensive test. that's a good feeling!

then this afternoon as i was looking through some old practice tests, i got my keys (the ones hanging around my neck) stuck in the file cabinet hole. nice.  so i worked frantically to dislodge it-as i would need it to lock and unlock my door...plus, i didn't need tony, our custodian walking in, seeing me stuck in the file cabinet. i suppose need be, i could've slipped out of it, but i finally tugged hard enough to free the key!

nothing to see here...keep moving.

 well, that's all i got,
julie

there was a troll on the bridge...no wait, it was just a homeless man throwing rocks

half day! LOVED IT!

we were just at the point of getting ready to pack it up and leave when our 'head of security' (the nurse) came over the intercom and advised of a lock down. i thought, "this is silly..." then i figured that it was not a drill, so i began looking for local breaking news to see if there was anything going on in the neighborhood. nothing showed up, so we sat. then they came on the intercom and said students who rode the bus could make their way down to the bus...so i had one and basically i pushed her out the door and locked it behind her...God speed little grasshopper...may you get to your bus. whatever you do, don't come back knocking on the door, b/c i will NOT let you in!

when it was finally over, we were informed that there was a man on the bridge throwing rocks at people and not letting them pass. first thought that came to mind: THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF. that homeless dude was the troll.

then we had a bday celebration and training. we went over our data, and we have a long way to go to bridge the learning gap with this group. i've never shied away from a challenge, but i fear there are not enough building materials for this bridge to span this broad chasm.

this ed-policy program through the teaching trust is very interesting you can check out their blog post about it here if you're curious to know what it is about. while we were there, they made an invitation to something called pub-ed this monday evening at the west end pub. my understanding is that it is an invitation to educators which will involve discussion about issues, solutions, dialogue...it will be interesting to hear different opinions. urgency is key.

i left right on time today, and it felt good! i went to the office and picked up my package-i LOVE vistaprint!
my 'stuff' came in!

classroom calendar!

mouse pad

Christmas cards!

i was very excited about this package! in fact, i've already finished 3 cards! and so the weekend begins.

julie

YOU tell your own story, don't trust anyone else to get it straight.

today we had a field trip-which went smoothly. i think the students got more out of it because we read the book and did a comparison...the dallas children's theater always does a spectacular job.

like the wolf, you must tell your own story, you cannot trust others to tell it accurately

 then when we got back to school, we worked on a social studies lesson about the play, and then we began working on a play about the original 3 little pigs story. i told them it was a competition and we will be choosing the best scenes and piecing them together to hopefully perform a play for other sections...we will see how that turns out- i am optimistic that they will finish it tomorrow.

last night was the kick-off for the ed-policy fellows group. there are probably about 25 of us in this group. there were several others present as well, including community members from the district, and others who were invited to learn more about the teaching trust, so we got to meet several new people...networking. i need to get better at my name memorizing.

i really wanted to meet senator florence shapiro. i have been receiving her quarterly news feeds, and she was quite interesting. we basically had a session about story-telling...using personal narrative to challenge others.

the food was delicious and the coffee and brownies were spectacular!

and the best news is that they are feeding us dinner every meeting! woo hoo!  i have a lot to learn.

today my dad's Christmas present came in the mail...i kinda' want to use it myself. just the other day i heard a mother at the store tell her daughter, "we don't buy things for ourselves for Christmas, we buy things for others!" i don't think the little girl liked that idea very much...but i feel kinda' like that little girl.

i'm also currently waiting for my new calendar to come in...along with a mouse pad and some Christmas cards...LOVE vistaprint!!

jeans day tomorrow!
julie

if i hadn't gone to cane's, i wouldn't have been blessed...

so...i shouldn't have discussed fast food with maria today after school, because at the mere mention of cane's, it's over. game over. on the way home tonight, i tried to turn on vitruvian way to go home, but my car kept going right up to beltline and into cane's. good grief.

so a car was right in front of me in line and they had shoe-polished on the back window: two from galilee it took them an awfully long time at the window, so i had plenty of time to memorize what was on the windshield...and i also noticed that the person had a little maltese because it kept poking its head out the window, and i thought of gigi's boys. but i knew it wasn't her because a. she lives in cali now, and b. she would NOT be driving a minivan...

so when i finally got to the window and pulled out my debit card, the gal at the window was wagging her finger and at first i thought she was saying: no, we can't accept debit cards because our machine is broken...but then she said, "that lady just paid for your order!" it feels so good to be the recipient of that kind of a blessing! i'll have to keep the chain going...

hands down, best chicken fingers around.

so. i checked out the web site. it's a Christmas musical, and it looks quite amazing. so go back and click on the link if you are looking for something family-oriented for Christmas and live in the dallas area-it's free.

anyone watch revolution on monday nights? very interesting sci-fi futuristic-type show...hmmm...well, check this out!

so...it's built to use against our enemies. hmm...doesn't china somehow always steal our technology and use it for themselves? in all of the spy movies and such, doesn't the highest bidder always ultimately get what they want??

and then i saw another article and i honestly thought the same thing when i watched the dark knight..

interesting article, captivating movie.

tomorrow night is the first of 6 long tuesday nights spread out over the next 6 months. i am excited to learn about education reform policy-it should be very enlightening! i'm still a little unclear as to what exactly they are hoping that we do with the learning, but it should be a sort of adventure.

no more talking about food after school.
julie