may we go back to may? part 2

not long after the manatee fun, i'd been working together with a couple of experienced colleagues on a new kind of work adventure; we were going to do a mock training at the main office, so there was a lot of collaborating going on! which was necessary, as we are all so spread out! we spent our due diligence working via webinar, and conference calls, and we brainstormed, and we changed directions, and we cut and pasted and edited and laughed, and hopefully there were no tears (except those of laughter)...

alicia and joyce are totally into themes (which is great because i'm not so great at themes, except when it comes to kamp, and it made the day a lot of fun). so we were definitely casino dealers, and the gambling theme was money-chaching!

when we finally got to meet together in dallas for the presentation, we spent plenty of time setting up and getting things as ready as they could be, and in the process, we were provided with great hospitality from michele, and lori (the food was great, from the salads to the pizzas...thanks to the chefs! #furie sorry we were delayed...) 

full room, fully or fairly engaged

our amazing pki team

getting to know the east sales team after hours

someone (lori) knows how to start the day right! #achilles

the team was available on tuesday to help think through things, make copies, ask clarifying questions and ultimately give insights on what had worked in the previous session. and then wednesday, it was off to the races, and went more smoothly than expected. following that session, we also helped with some follow-up on content areas, and with brain breaks and such. sigh of relief when all was said and done that we didn't screw anything up or leave anyone with crazy misconceptions!! smiles. while it was enlightening to do something new and different, and meet/interact with our sales crew, it was also good to head home! #relief

i learned so much!

all fun and games (and nerves and anxiety and hyperventilation)... #cantwaittodoitagain
julie

may we go back to may? part 1

okay, so may was a very full month, although you wouldn't know it by my posts.

the month started out with one of the adventures that i'd been wanting to knock off of the 'things-to-do-list'. i'd purchased a groupon to go snorkel with the manatee awhile back, and i knew it was to expire at the end of may (and with so much going on at the end of may, it was wise to go early on). so we went on may 5th..also known as cinco de mayo, celebrated oh-so-incorrectly as mexican independence day, which it is NOT.

i booked this particular adventure for 8:00 a.m. it was a 2 hr 15 min drive north, and they wanted us there about 45 minutes prior. so i woke up SUPER early and picked up my explorer-in-crime, shea, and we made a pit stop at starbucks when it was finally open! we arrived prior to the 45 minute time-window, but they'd already started the intro video (which was required, to make sure one knows how to treat the manatee, as they are definitely protected [ahem, *cough,cough, alicia]). 

after viewing the video, i managed to put the wetsuit on backward...brilliant. try again. then they sent us off to find the landing where the captain would be waiting for us with his pontoon. after we parked the car, found the office to pay, i had to go back to the car to place the parking stub...all the while, there were 4 other girls on the boat waiting. the captain just didn't seem super nice, but he wasn't my type anyway! once we got out to the springs, we made our way around looking for sightings, when he noticed a dog on a dock barking, and that was our cue to slip into the water and make our way over. there was a large sea cow, and we were all pretty excited. the algae floating at the top was rather distracting, and out of nowhere this dad and his obnoxious little child came splashing across the surface making so much noise that i'm pretty sure made the manatee 'run' to hide (in a swimingly way) ..and i'm sure if the sea grass could've uprooted itself, it would've run too! it's not that i don't like children, i do, but it's more that they were children of someone i don't know which made them annoying. (hey, you either understand or you don't, and either way, it's no skin wetsuit off my back!).

while i was fumbling around trying to make my phone-camera work, inside the plastic water-proof cover, i missed some great shots! (this was when i officially decided that it would benefit me to get a go-pro using points from a travel program) but fortunately shea had her go-pro and got some great shots and video! we moved from that location into another inlet, and there were 3 more in there! of course, who was in the same area as if we were playing cat and mouse, but the other guide with the family of kids...whatever, we did see three more manatee there, and it felt like being jacques cousteau. as the manatee came out of nowhere and swam right beneath me, i was legally able to touch his back (almost couldn't help it, he was so close!). 

we made one more stop at the first spring, and being the first one in, the captain pointed me off toward the spring...unfortunately once i was off, i couldn't hear a thing, and apparently there were a couple more manatee in the opposite direction-which i missed. sad day.

it was good timing, as all of the gentle giants we saw seemed to be on their way back out to the gulf, now that the waters are warming and they can tolerate the temps. i would love to go again in november or december when they huddle in the larger masses. it was certainly a memorable adventure!

from there, we headed back, and stopped in st. pete's on the way home. it was an early lunch because we'd had such an early start. we tried a new spot across from the beach, which had an amazing view...and great food-plus, it may have been the only way to park for 'free'. we had to pay $20 for parking around back, but then you turn around and use the ticket for $20 in food, so it's a wash...BUT because we were on the rooftop, and it was a breezy day, i had pulled my ticket out and it slipped away! i'm pretty sure it was a bit comical as people were watching me chase after what seemed to be an invisible something or other! fortunately i was able to pounce on it (quite literally, it seemed like i was frog-chasing or something-not that i have ever), and the discount was ON!

when we got back into town, we thought we'd hit up the downtown bradenton 'festival', thinking there would be food trucks. there were not. but they did create a guiness world book record for nachos...we did not partake. instead, we went to a mexican restaurant in palmetto that i'd read about in a review, and it was decent.

shea making friends with the table art

and that wrapped up a day of adventure...up next: collaborating for mock training, and when friends come to visit.

(and once again, i've fallen behind- i meant to get this out last month!)

julie

moving...simply moving! (and a little more, but don't hold your breath-very little)

too busy, too lazy, or too distracted? or all three? well, let's take a moment to get caught up.

since february, i've been keeping up with product knowledge and personal professional development webinars. then in march there was a quick trip to /////

DISCLAIMER: i had this page all done and ready to go-except photos, and it all got erased. so if i am missing some details as re-do, apologies. i'm not super happy about it either.

as i was saying, i was in dallas for a quick cohort/team meeting and gathering of minds (notice i didn't say what kind of minds, suffice it to say, all those minds were sound...unless of course they were psychopathic...at that point, it's so well hidden, not being a clinician, i wouldn't be able to separate the wheat from the chaff). ←wait, what??? anyhoo. we had a great group and a great session. there was much information, and a lot of valuable collaboration. i really do appreciate the work that went into it, because i know it isn't always easy to put something together, and there is always that desire to put something together that is valuable to the participants, so KUDOS to lori, suzanne and sabrina! thank you!

we had a great time of fellowship both evenings- first at lori's and then at our coo's. beautiful homes with comfortable atmospheres! 

my flight home? well that did not go as planned. but i made it, and in the end that's what matters!

almost immediately after i returned, it was kicked into high gear to move. i moved on april first, after EASTER service. shea and george, her 'uncle' were a great help putting everything in the uhaul, and then we used that as an excuse to go to the swordfish (which, in all honesty, never needs an excuse). when i got home, i put the lock on the uhaul, and wouldn't ya know it, it was too small. a locker lock. the kind you move a dial to open...but it was so tight that i couldn't double click the top part to get it cleared to open it. so, who do you think went to walmart for a cheap bolt-cutter (which i might add i will probably never use again)...that's right, it was me. when i returned, it took me no less than 30 minutes of struggle (wwe smackdown-ish) to finally get through the lock. then to my dismay, i still couldn't get it off, and had to hammer the lock around to the other side to cut through that part! UF. i may frame the metal cutters, because i threw away the lock. 

the next morning, shea and i got up early and took wembley to the sunrise service on the bay, because he really needed to hear the gospel and worship. it was a nice service, mostly music (which i get because they were having services back at the church normal time), but note to self: next year, please bring blanket, as it is chilly on the water!

shea came over and helped me unload everything into the apt and garage area, before taking off for a previously planned engagement adventure. it was a day or two before i was ready to bring the boys over. once we got here, bruno had some issues in the evening, and once again we visited the emergency clinic. it ended up being a bunch of poop. he just had to get a little enema (why does that always make me think of jack nicholson as the joker-thanks, 80s). poor guy, but it did help immensely.

then the furniture came. it's been a long year living on other people's furniture (the rental house was furnished- i stored their beds, because i brought my own, but other than that, it was all theirs). i LOVE my couch and breakfast nook (perfect size for the apt!) fortunately mom and dad were able to make the journey down to visit mid april. we still had some cleaning, nail-hole-spackling, painting, and furniture re-arrangement to do, plus we took out dead bushes and planted new ones and flowers. i probably did..no, i KNOW i did more than i needed to, but i always learned you leave things better than you found them!

i finally turned in the keys and wiped my hands of that place! so happy to be in the apt...and the boys seem to like the cozy comfort as well! i dropped from a 3 bed to a 2 bed/2ba, and we won't have wasted space...i was considering a 3 bedroom apt, one of the rooms for a study, but it wasn't necessary, and there weren't any available on the first floor, with an attached garage-which was a must.

we like the layout better than the house too,  and the laminate-wood floor better than the porcelain tile...

the good thing is that it's in the same area, just a couple minutes closer to the beach for walking!

alright, that's it for the move...i will probably post tomorrow-just a picture journal to catch us up!
goodnight! julie

peachy-bakers, cache-takers, training-trends and miami-friends!

what's been up these days? glad you asked!

since the last time i posted, there may or may not have been a donut-truck incident...thanks to shea's suggestion...yes, i will partake. i mean, who wouldn't want to check out peachey's at 8:00 a.m. (not early for me, but early for some). there were to gals in front of us, and the one who looked middle-school-ish, said i had to try the pretzel, so of course, it ended up being a donut and a pretzel to get the full experience! glad i did, because both items lived up to expectations!!

dripping with sweetness!

yes, please, i will partake! the salt after the sweet #allaboutbalance

this cute little outfit began as a family farm business, and they took their shop on the road- it used to be amish something or other, and they made a wise decision to change their name, as food truck drawn by a horse might not go over as well...check them out on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAmishBakingCompany/

that was friday the 2nd. the next day we went to sarasota to pick up shea's running packet because she was brave enough-or got fanagled into doing a half-marathon; funny how that all panned out...so after we picked up those packets, we stopped in sarasota, since we were down there anyhoo. there were about 3-5 caches in the area, so we walked around town, saw one of the parks, and walked the marina area, finding some neat little hides. it felt like we walked 7 miles, but all said and done it was only like 5. ugh, amazing how walking, standing and searching can be so exhausting!

check out these cool historical buildings/houses! cool little finds in sarasota!

i'd live here for a minute!

at the marina on a beautiful day

iconic

at some point during last week, i got some items in the mail: oriental trading pins (the cheapest and cutest i could find)! these will be amazing little trinkets to put in caches far and wide! my e-trex gps also arrived! thank you southwest points!! so it will be fun trying to figure out how to get my maps to download and get things going with that! (i find myself running my battery down on the phone). 

southwest-the gift that keeps on giving!

the flamingos are adorbs, the pineapples are welcoming, and the flowers...well, they're flowers!

friday i got on a flight to miami, where i was meeting jane to then drive down to marathon, in the keys. the flight there was uneventful. i despise the miami airport with every fiber of my being. i stopped to grab a cuban sandwich while i waited, but it was nasty. not all cuban sandwiches are made the same (i loved the panini one we had in key west). then i made my way to the baggage claim, and then on to the rental car pick-up. once jane arrived, we made our way down to the keys. we stopped at lazy days on the way down, and had some sea food stuffs. i'm such a sucker for a good ocean view with a slight breeze!! in fact, it was so breezy that it blew a couple slices of baguette off the crab-dip plate as the server was bringing it to us...only he didn't notice it had happened. so we ended up having to pile it on to get the correct disbursement.

unbeatable dinner view!

the airbnb guy, robert, called and we gave him our ETA, so that his dad could meet us at the place and show us the ropes. we arrived a bit earlier than expected- probably because i have a lead foot, and it was hard not to drive the dodge 300 like a boss. it was dark by the time we arrived, and then siri told us one thing, but there was no place to park, and the house numbers weren't matching up. we must have driven up and down the little street three times before we finally called robert to get specifics. there was indeed an rv in the driveway, as they were renting that space to someone to park. his dad arrived a few minutes later, and finally we were able to get in and it took longer than necessary to walk us through the basics-he just wanted to be a host and took his responsibilities seriously! #proudpapa

unfortunately we only had a few hours there, once we arrived we worked a little to talk things through, and come up with a final plan, and woke up early enough to hit mcdonald's on the way to training. we had to go around twice. the first round we got my meal and all of our drinks, but they failed to order up correctly, and we were missing 1 hot cakes plate, so we made a second trip around the drive through! uf.

the training went off without a hitch! we had another great group-two of the ladies from last time returned, and even though it was basically the same training, they said they got even more out of it, and were now looking at how to apply what we were going over. i love repeaters, because they were serious! everyone else was new, but they were all tuned in, except that one. at least that 'one' wasn't rude, just there for the stipend, i'm sure.

just a little balanced literacy and istation!

we got out around one and stopped at a cute little lunch place on the way back to miami. the staff were super sweet and the inside was adorably decorated. we were able to make it to our hotel by the airport around 5:15 pm. got checked in, and i made a quick change and headed over to hellen's to have dinner with her and jacy. we had comida tipica- i should've gotten a picture, because hellen fixed up the table to be so cute!! from the table cloth, to the souvenirs, to the food! best beans-baleadas, pupusas and taquitos...yea! we sat around chatting, mixed with some laughter, and then hellen pulled out the videos from senior year! ha!!! good times! a little reminiscing goes a long way! can't wait until we can pull together a little class reunion in miami with more classmates when they happen to be up visiting!

ah, these two! familiarity is comfort!

the next morning came early! jane and i got to the airport and took off in good time.

alright, those of you in relationships, enjoy valentine's day! for the rest of us...pizza and netflix! then off to the candy sales aisle before they start putting out the halloween candy!

julie

it's official: #newhobbyalert

this past week was the actual birthday week-monday i received many warm wishes throughout the day as i traveled to texas for a training. it was good to be able to meet work with julie k in leander again. we had birthday dinner at chuys, a sweet card with some starbucks love, great conversation, and an early night!

the training was fun because we got to work with many of the educators we'd previously worked with, presenting small group formation and goal setting! they were super attentive and appreciative of the information!

when i got home, i had a couple cards in the mail, and something i'd ordered. and while it's alright to get shout-outs on social media, it doesn't quite beat the good ol' fashioned in-hand card! (although..video/ pic montages from friends are also very high on the list!! ICYMI: hurricane memoires)

warm fuzzies!

saturday we took advantage of the weather, as it was forecast to rain sunday. we went out to mixon farms (thanks, groupon!) because before you can take anyone out to see a new place, you want to personally check it out and give it your seal of approval, right? right! when we got there, we went in to check out the store which was full of all sorts of chachkies...then presented the groupon for a pass-sticker, and coupon for ice creams!

once we got out on the tram, the tour guide, kayla, asked everyone where they were from. this spurred me to talk to the people in front of us because the older woman was from ohio (most people were locals)...so me (who says i don't like small talk...and to be fair, i don't, but i think it's in my blood-thanks dad-and it just comes out like word-vomit. and every time i do it, i think i roll my eyes...when i blink so no one else can tell). ugh.

the small grove

because everybody needs a little vitamin c!

brings new meaning to the good, the bad and the ugly...

we splurged and got them chocolate dipped! 

making oklahomans everywhere proud! (smudge pot is not a drug)

i was shocked at how incredibly soft his skin was! 

well, we finally got off on our tour, and kayla from oklahoma drove us slower than most of us could probably walk. they had several different types of fruit in the little orchard, and she explained that this was just a small plot of land they kept for the tours, but their bigger plot of land was further out east. after several explanations, the smudge pot, and the creek, and several trees that had been damaged in the hurricane, we finally came to the 'exotic animals.' one of the local wildlife education and rehabilitation centers partners with their farm because they have the land and are on the outskirts of town, so they are able to house these animals that can never be released back into the wild. did not realize that there is an animal hospital on anna maria island, but the young man who works with them did a great job telling us all about the animals and their stories-all about being able to tell a great story!

on the way back, pulling around the building, kayla said, "and if you're interested in the self-guided tour, go through this door and back to the black double doors and the tour begins." shea and i looked to the left, and there were several doors on the outside of the building. so when we got off the tram, we went up to figure out which door it was....i looked in a double glass door, and there was an arrangement for some sort of meeting/reception...not the correct door. we checked another that looked like a tunnel leading down some stairs...then shea went to check another and i saw our tour guide walking toward the store, and called out to her to ask where the fruit factory tour was and she said at the back of the store.  OHHHHH! so what we both heard as: through this door was actually THROUGH THE STORE! hahaha!

i'm pretty sure shea tried all of the possible freebie-taster test things...twice (orange juice 4X)- i was about to have to start telling people she was diabetic and just needed to get her insulin. (?) the orange and vanilla swirl ice cream cones were like the creamcicles from kamp-yummers!

after all was said and done, we decided it might be wise to take a walk, so we headed over to robinson preserve, as it's always a pretty good walk, plus there were some geo-caches out there. i learned quickly that i am not as big a fan of the earth-caches, although they would be especially good if you were a science teacher with students, or something of that nature. lots of questions, lots of recording information...i couldn't remember the questions before trying to answer them in the app...

the preserve really has some beautiful areas!

one of the caches disguised as an electrical box-the hint: IT'S ELECTRIC! BOOGIE WOOGIE! (sneakies!)

when we got back from the fairly full day, shea disappeared for a couple minutes, then entered the kitchen with a beautiful 'woods-inspired' box (aka: Christmas trees), which got quickly upgraded when she saw a gift bag hangin' out on the table. i had no clue what to expect, but i was NOT disappointed!! fun gear!!! AND DONUTS!!! (the two go together!) the best kinds of gifts, if we're all honest with ourselves, are the gifts in which we can share in the enjoyment! am i right? duh!

forest themed...

gift-bag-upgrade...

it's official! #newhobby

and this morning we went to find a cache in our neighborhood, then off to lowes to find some ways to create our own...it's about time to take this adventure to the next level and share in the creation! we also made it over to target where i indulged in my other hobby and may have spent the majority of my time in the card section! it had already begun to rain sprinkle, so after 1/2 price sonic drinks, we returned to our separate abodes and i then spent the remainder of the afternoon creating cache-hiding-things, and watching netflix...good times!

let the games begin! did you see the spider? 'bout to be sneaky!!

if you don't have one, get a hobby!
julie

hiking in florida is actually just walking...but hey, still nature.

i arrived home from the baby shower last sunday just before noon, so i came home and took a short nap, and then shea agreed to go out to anna maria island to do some more geocache adventuring...

it was actually pretty cool, there are several out there. the first one we went to  had a beautiful little bay-side view with a park and benches, tennis courts, bball courts, etc. i 'm fairly certain i never would have ventured in to see it, had we not been pointed in that direction. and the cache itself was super creative!

from there we walked to the next one, which was merely .5 mile, i think. not too hard of a find, but no real beauty to speak of, just a little water-logged treasure box.

then we drove to the north part of the island, if you ever visit me here, this is one of the areas we would certainly visit! parked on pine, then walked to the museun...which was closed. boo. so was the dounut shop...double whammy...we then walked up the way and found our first geo-tour 'taking-flight' cache. it was actually pretty cool, because there was a story tucked inside. 2 letters, one was like a date letter, the other an engagement letter, they also left pictures from their wedding, came back and left a picture of the positive on the preggers test-having a baby! we kinda felt like we knew them...very neat! and being a 'taking flight' cache, there was information about the native birds and how to protect them. good cache.

we then had one last one in the area to check out near the beach. it was still too cool to really enjoy the beach, but beautiful views are hard to ignore. so was the burger joint...we smelled them as we walked by, and i hadn't gone shopping for food, so... just gonna' have to put off that complete healthy eating for a minute.

fast forward--nothing major happened this week, since it's the weekend before my birthday, and i have to travel on my birthday for work, shea made sure we did something for the bday weekend- kudos to having friends!! friday night we grabbed dinner at zoe's and then decided to try to find this rolled-ice cream place in the mall...it was somewhat of a scavenger hunt, but we found it! the flavor was fabulous, but it seemed that for the price you didn't receive as much as perhaps a coldstone or a kilwins...

so glad we have one fairly close-by!

great looking presentation, just hard to get started and get the spoon through the roll to eat it...

hmm.. on the board it said: LIKE YOU A LATTE....please note the more appropriate name for my ice cream choice: LIKE THE WAY YOUR (you're) LATE (proof reading is never a bad thing). and please note the name of the shop-it reminds me of the isosceles triangle bit from geometry class.

also, i did finally get my first glimpse of our hurricane video that shea edited and put together, and it's a lot of fun! we watched it yesterday before exploring little manatee river state park, one of the state parks that's nearby. we took the 6 mile 'hike' and of course, i pulled up the app and there were geocaches here as well...so what should have taken far less time took a little longer..oops. at least the weather was fabulous, and the caches were different and interesting! not much wild-life, we saw an armadillo toward the beginning of the hike, then again at the very end back at the trail-head. apparently there was also a dead wild boar near a bridge that we missed (a mom and daughter on the trail told us about it); we figured it must have been recently killed, as there were no vultures, flies, no smell, etc. there were a couple of times the app on the phone didn't go off, so we backtracked to find the sign-in-logs...i think we may have confused some of the other trail-walkers, so we of course did our best to explain.

but first...donuts!! weren't sure about the sausage and gravy donuts, but wow!

found an orange tree in the rough....

found the spikes on the tree...

just shea playing on the furniture

this tree fell during irma, and they had to cut branches to make the trail passable

cache 1 off the beaten trail

cache 2 looked like it was in a mini toolbox

cache 3 was hidden in a hole in the rock...

cache 4 was just a dangler

"amazing the change of vegetation that even a few feet in elevation will produce" said a blogger...umm..could it the land closer to the river have different vegetation than the land further away?

 my knees were feeling the 6 miles-mostly because it wasn't regular flat sidewalk. it was a good hike, i probably out to do this more often than i do, but most of the good state parks in florida seem to be a bit further north, requiring a full day at least to not feel exhausted by the drive to and from. planning. these will require planning.

i felt it this morning, so i lounged for a bit, but the weather got way too nice out to just sit around inside...although i did sit around in my pajamas a little longer than i should have before finally talking shea into getting outdoors too! in tomorrow's edition!

julie