nye-preparations-safety and security...that's all!

well, it was all over face book in case you missed it, let me wish you a happy new year!

be safe! play nice!

today i had to get out and away from the complex to study, and i had a craving for chili's chips and salsa. so i went over the vocabulary words i had written down this morning and pored over them (about 750 words)...uf. but i got a lot more done there than i would have staying here all day!

have you ever gone into a restaurant, looked at the menu and not found one thing you thought you'd like and left? well, it definitely happened today when 3 people came in and stood up and left about 3 minutes later. hmm...i could maybe understand if you went to an obscure hole in the wall joint that had an ambiguous name and served strange food like armadillo ribs or something, but chili's? you came in not knowing what kind of food you might encounter? pretty run-of-the-mill.

before i left, i ordered the quesadilla explosion to go so i would have lunch tomorrow. after i paid, i left and decided to go to walmart for some small necessities that i needed to make me feel safer-will share those in a moment. but as i got about 5 blocks from chili's, i realized that i had forgotten the to-go bag at my booth at chili's! boo. what a waste of time. i turned around to go get it and thankfully the server didn't laugh in my face! i'm pretty sure the family at the table across from me was wishing i hadn't come back so they could snag it...jerks.

i'm very excited about lunch tomorrow! thank you anna brawner for introducing me to the quesadilla explosion!

when i got to walmart, i knew exactly what i needed, so it was quick-until i got to the checkout line. i went to the 10 items or less, and i think a family was in front of me and they divided their goodies amongst them to avoid the long lines. jerks..must be related to the restaurant family that was eyeing my food....(not really)

when i got home, i was thrilled to finally get my pur filter into the filter-contraption! i just don't have any confidence in the city's ability to treat my tap water well enough for me to want to drink it. i need the tap water for coffee and soda stream, but like i said, can't do it without the purifier!

so, you can see why this is the first product that i purchased that adds to my safety!

the other item is not as much safety as it is security, and i told you about it yesterday.

i did take the last batch the other night, so like i said, it's a necessity to have on-hand when needed!

ok, i've just watched 5 episodes of dog the bounty hunter, and secretly (or not so secretly now), i kinda' like it!

i remember when NYE used to be so much more exciting-at my parents church, they used to have ping pong tournaments, board games, etc. in HONDURAS we used to go out and shoot off fireworks- if i remember correctly, one year some of us climbed the water tower behind my house and took pizza and cokes up and watched all of the fireworks from up there. that was pretty cool.

well, one more dry run of the test tonight and it'll be time to pop the confetti-things!
julie

p.s. in all seriousness, may you have a blessed new year full of fun adventures and wonderful memories!

yo yo ma- rx for relaxation

well, the truth is that i was not planning on posting tonight because i got busy taking a practice test (cd-computerized), and it took awhile (yes, i took the un-timed version, and it still convinced me that i am not quite ready...in fact, it made me feel dumb). so i have decided that as i study more vocabulary i am going to try to incorporate at least one word into the posts from now on.

thankfully i have the musical stylings of yo yo ma to calm any damaged nerves...nothing is as soothing as bach being played on cello...breathe in deeply and let it out-i feel like i should be in a huge velvet-red library in some grandiose mansion surrounded by antique books on every wall, with a strange spectacled man smoking a pipe on a gold-trimmed bench by a window...but i'm rather quite glad i'm not!

for those of you confused, yo yo ma is not a strange rap group with songs about your mom....

today began and ended with more studying-tired of it yet? i am...and so are the boys. as i was bent over reading the preparation guide today, chaco decided that this was how he was going to help me:

ma, don't worry, i got yer back!

i started to deviate and write a card, but then i felt guilty about not studying...perhaps it's because i spent the money on the test and need to be a good steward of that (or perhaps it's the idea that if it's going to leave me impecunious, i should take it seriously so that i don't have to shell out the money i was planning to use on a kindle fire for another test). i cannot believe i'm paying to take a test. i hate tests. why pay to take one?? it seems ridiculous.

last night shortly before i went to bed, i had to take two of these.

good thing i had to use them last night...oh wait, i thought the due date was this year (see, bad at math-me)

i don't know what i ate that caused the problems, but i will say that i am rather impressed... amazed.... fascinated.. RELIEVED at how quickly they worked! i don't know how scientists came up with it, but i truly am grateful. i need to go get some more because that's the kind of thing you want to have on hand, no messing around with chancing it trying to get to the store to buy some (if you know what i mean)...

so, sometimes when i'm sitting here writing these posts, i pretend i'm tom hanks in 'you've got mail.' i use the godfather voice and do the "monday, tuesday, thursday.." line. don't ask why i just shared that with you...it's just a little inside tidbit. don't judge.

big day tomorrow...nope, not really.
julie

in between quantitative reasoning and data interpretation, you will find me, mouth slightly ajar with a blank stare

if i told you i was studying again today, would you think my life was dull? well, right now it is!
i gave the boys a bath, which is always a feat when i try to more than one at a time! bruno likes baths, chaco is not a fan. for chaco, i think it's mostly that he hates the hair dryer at the end. i'm pretty sure the noise gets to him. but once i have them mostly dry, they are maniacs and they run into my room and up onto my bed and bury themselves in the throw blankets. it's actually rather endearing.

after a little more studying and getting my answers wrong, chaco and i took a walk,

it's finally fall at our apartment! (today and tomorrow)

then i dropped him off and i took a longer walk. i went back to my new park where they are still adding to it.

on the way to the park, the branches of this tree were hanging over the sidewalk and they were fuzzy-which at first i thought perhaps pussy willow branch? but then, as i was researching (aka stalling from studying) i found that they are more of a northern plant, so this tree....not sure what was going on.

captivating little water feature (especially on a day as nice as today was!)

and then this massive contraption pollutes the entire view! yuck. it's monstrous! the little white box up there in the intersection has an air-conditioner in it-i mean...it's probably big enough to have a party in.

they also have a 'wildlife sanctuary' on a little island across the walk. but all it had was some dead grass. i don't know how they intend to promote it to the wildlife to get them out there, but i don't envision too much wildlife choosing to cross the sidewalk to get to the little island.

it was pretty empty at the park except for a biker, another walker and a lady reading on a bench. any one of them could have been cia. (obviously just kidding), but do you ever premeditate how you will defend yourself were the need to present itself? today i did. i was thinking about what would i do first if someone approached me with a vicious dog. and the first thought was go for the eyes first then take out the human's knee....(self defense-over thinking things, but better safe than sorry, right?)

well, it's time to get back to the book and reason quantitatively.
julie

math studying...i'd rather have a million and two paper cuts with lemon juice poured on

i know it's been a good vacation when bruno and chaco don't want to get up in the morning. this morning i asked if they were ready to get up and they both groaned and rolled over...bruno said he hates alarm clocks and doesn't see the sense in them. i whole-heartedly agree. they are a necessary evil (but not on vacation).

after playing around with the math portion of the gre, i am pretty sure i am going to tank on this test. i feel like hunting down all of my former math teachers and blaming them. (except for ms. fasquelle...she's the only one who really tried to help me and of course mrs. smallwood my tutor-bless the lady-she had patience with me!)...for the rest of them...i don't even have words.

 i hope i don't need the sine and cosine thing because in my mind those are things you do when you purchase a new vehicle or house...and tangent...well, i'm off on a tangent right now! seriously though, as i sit here looking at problems, they're like a foreign language to me. (a strange, harsh foreign language-not one of the romance languages, either).bruno and chaco offered to help, but every time i mentioned a problem, they made a joke about it. no help whatsoever. and when it came to the answers, bruno kept saying,"b for bruno!" and chaco would pipe up, "no!it's c for chaco!"  if i pass this portion of the test, it will be purely a miraculous guessing game. and i don't say that in false humility like some people might...i really do suck at math. period.

so, remember the tree i got for Christmas? well, i finally got around to looking up what it is going to grow into

.check out the link. it wasn't quite what i was expecting..when i think pine tree, the first thing that comes to mind is:

minus the weird eyes

 i need to transplant it-after reading about it, the seeds are edible cooked or raw, folks. so there you have a great little snack chock full of oil and has a hint of resin flavor..and the young pinecones can be ground for flavoring. (there are some medicinal attributes as well but when they preface it with, we will not be held responsible for..i usually stop reading).


well, i'm back off to studying-i don't want it to be a total waste.
julie

silent night and poor, sad animals

ok, so usually when i make sugar cookies cookies, they don't come out like this. i had three cookie sheets. the first batch was a little bland, the second i rolled in sugar before putting them in (that was the trick i needed). then the last batch i put in took longer. when the timer went off, i looked and they looked like they were barely melting...so i gave about 2 more minutes on the timer and when i looked nothing had changed. i forgot that i had turned of the oven, so i turned it back on and gave it 5 minutes because my science and math are bad, but i figured they had warmed up some and i had no clue how long it would take the oven to get to the desired temp.

well, when i took that last batch out, they looked like snickerdoodles, only i had not added any cinnamon...a little over-done. but that was actually the batch i liked the best! i love when you take a bite and it melts in your mouth! divine-especially with a little coffee on the side!

does it strike anyone else as odd that when they show the ASPCA animal rescue commercial with sara mclachlan they play silent night? and then show all of these sad animals...that is not a sad song...'Christ the Savior is born' playing in the background and then "there is an animal waiting for your help, please call right now." i wish they'd just come up with an original song about animals.

so i was doing some studying this evening

when i heard someone yelling like they were looking for a dog-it was a little muffled, but at first it sounded like max, after i heard the person yell 4 or 5 times, i put on my shoes and a coat to see if i could help (the thought of a lost pet out wandering around...(back to silent night and sarah)...then when i got outside, i listened but i didn't hear anyone, so i went downstairs and didn't see anyone or hear anyone, so i walked around the building and came back up. then when i got inside and took my coat and shoes off, i heard it again, this time it sounded like DAD...looking for dad (which should have been more unsettling than max) but as i listened again it sounded like max, so i put the shoes on and the coat and stepped outside again. i stood in front of the door for about a minute but i didn't hear it again, so i figured i should go back inside because it might seem strange if one of the neighbors came out while i was just in limbo on the landing.

on fb i added the timeline for my profile page and for whatever reason, it is keeping me from posting on my wall from my computer, so i've had to post from my phone-so inconvenient. boo. i am rather unhappy right now with the new feature. oh well.

sleep in heavenly peace...sad kitties and puppies...and everyone else,
julie

if you want to stop a conversation real quickly, just cock your head, act like you don't understand and bark

ok, so bmayes received her package and now i can share those pics i was waiting to share! you kinda have to know brittany to appreciate the gift...she is licensed to practice law in tx and ok (so proud of her!), and is a huge reagan conservative-woohoo! she named her female dog reagan, and her male dog thatcher (after margaret thatcher-one of britain's great prime ministers). so these items were deemed most appropriate:

this is why the asian language confused me...i didn't realize they were fond of margie...

reagan cards and cd of great speeches.

i told bmayes that i was dying to see the actual cards in both decks, and i was really close to opening them and re-sealing them with my shrink wrapper...

and you may or may not remember these little ornament numbers i bought-if the economy gets worse by next Christmas, b, you could always do ELF at the mall. please do that. i will come up to oklahoma for that!

pretty sure santa will make her dump the iphone, but i am also pretty sure she'll beat up the chic that makes fun of santa on Christmas eve.

the boys have been vying for a position on my lap...true lap dogs...the thing is bruno is not one for laying on my lap, he just stands there staring off into space. chaco actually sits or sleeps. so it's been something like this:

they kinda have to cuddle to fit at the same time

or chaco will crawl under bruno and sit half underneath him while he just stands there helping me with my next move on scrabble or something.

when chaco and i went to the office to pay rent, shannon saw him at the door she and mandie stood there telling him to come in and he was doing his little happy feet dance and wagging his nub of a tail until i finally opened the door and let him in. mandie grabbed a milkbone treat and broke it up for him, but he's picky. when we left, he looked up and said, "mama, why don't they have the soft treats? those things are like rocks" and i couldn't help but thinking he was a little spoiled and ungrateful-kinda like my students complaining about free breakfast; i'm not okay with that. so when i told him beggars can't be choosers, he just cocked his head and acted like he didn't understand. (he's gotten really good at that when he wants to end a conversation).

well, i'm off to make some sugar cookies!
julie

may Christ be reflected in your Christmas

if one were a movie watcher, they might determine that monkeys were evil little creatures. indiana jones (raiders of the lost ark), pirates of the caribbean, not to mention the latest planet of the apes, oh, and i almost forgot the flying monkeys on the wizard of oz!...today indiana jones was on and it caught my attention. then when the little monkey eats the 'bad dates' that have been poisoned and dies, they cut to a scene where the camera is above the ceiling fan and you see the blades slowly going around with the dead monkey lying on the floor. why is it that in mystery movies when they shoot from above the fan like that it seems so ominous?

has anyone else been in a house or building where the ceiling fan is wobbly and had the irrational fear that as you slept under it or sat around in that room that the whole contraption might fall, blades still spinning wildly and sever some important artery in your body? no? me neither then...but it was scary.

so i went downtown again this morning and found a place to park and there was a lady sitting on a cement wall, so i went over that way and she asked if i had a couple bucks. i purposely took no cash so that i wouldn't feel bad about not giving out money. so i told her no, but would she like some coffee or a granola bar or something. and she asked if i had anything sweet, so i gave her a granola bar and a bag with some peppermints and butterscotch candies, gloves and crackers. she said someone stole her luggage last night. we sat there for a couple of hours, and during that time, there were several others who came over. some just wanted to talk. one gentleman actually came over and started telling his whole story about his wife and how she is still tied to mama's apron strings at 40 yrs old, and he doesn't get along well with the lady. he said something about some advice his psychic friend had given him: if your wife isn't talking about her, don't you start. if your wife is talking about her, STILL don't talk about her. (good advice even for a psychic). he went on about buying gifts for the ladies in his family because it's all about impressing the ladies...he got that right!

it wasn't freezing out, but the cement wall i was sitting on wasn't heated...it was cold enough to appreciate reheated coffee.

there was another gentleman that came over and again just wanted to chat (and drink coffee..and hey, you got some food over there? smile). he was on his way to memphis to see his mom-coming from las vegas.said he had several teachers in his family as well.

there were a few more who came and went, but there was this one elderly gentleman who asked if i could watch his bags for a minute. having worked for the airlines, the first thought that immediately goes through my head is: no, that is a security risk! never leave your bags unattended and report any suspicious objects! second thought: he trusts me enough to watch every belonging that he has. tall order. well, he was gone for quite a bit and when he came back, he recounted his bags and said he was missing a tote bag. i said, "oh, but you only brought three bags over here." he mumbled something about it got stolen earlier-and i looked at the lady who was still sitting next to me and said, "must be going around." the man sat down and had another coffee, and then he asked if i would like a half of a sandwich, which i had to say no to... and i ended up taking off shortly after that, but i let the lady keep the big aldi bag with some food and extras in it since she her luggage had gotten stolen.

i wasn't sitting down there for but maybe 2 hours, but it is amazing how many people i saw just in that little area who were lonely and had next to nothing. filling the physical needs is one thing, but for most of the people i met today, they needed someone to talk to just as much as they needed a bite or a drink or clothing. how often do we just walk by people or try to avoid eye contact because we don't know what else to do? from now on even if i don't have anything to offer, i still have kind words and a listening ear that need to be available-

here's hoping that your Christmas has been blessed and continues in the same manner!

slow down. don't get so busy that you miss the opportunities that are all around you!
julie

reheating coffee is NOT optimal, but that's why there's sweetener and creamer!

i will admit that when i heard this on the news, i had to chuckle because the news anchor said that a blogger had said best buy deserved this for making fun of santa (especially since i had just written about it the other day! smile). bummer when you over-promise and under-deliver...sounds kinda' like our government these days, no?

so, i went downtown without a real plan tonight, and met a man at mcdonalds who was homeless-i had to stop to use the restroom (too much to drink) anyhoo, on the way out the door i asked him if he lived around there and he said he lived all over the area, especially in an alley on the other side of the street. his name is james and he just got out of jail about a week ago. i noticed he had only a backpack, so i got one of my bags out of the car and offered him a blanket as well. as he was walking away, he turned around and told me his name and asked me to pray for him.

then i continued and ended up in deep ellum and there was an elderly gentleman limping along, so i offered him a bag as well and a fleece blanket and a cup of coffee. (did i mention i got some coffee from starbucks?).

all hail the caffeine goddess 

i wanted to find a spot to park, but it was difficult finding a place to park and sit without looking  a little conspicuous, so as it neared 9 p.m., i decided to give up for the night and tomorrow i will reheat the coffee (and take lots of coffee and sweetener to mask the reheat) and take the cooler down to put some of the goodies in. then i can park and walk and wish people a merry Christmas! nothing like spreading Christmas cheer to people who will otherwise probably not have much of a merry Christmas.

it really was beautiful downtown though.

the fake icicles in the trees were spectacular!

i read a book recently called crazy love and it really made me rethink some things. and i've been seeing this verse over and over recently:
Matthew 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

so, as i was looking for information, i came across this organization called: our calling, which was founded by a man from dts (dallas theological seminary). i am thinking about the possibility of volunteering with them; they seem to have a great mission vision to help the homeless.
 
i hope your Christmas is filled with beauty, wonder and incredible meaning!
julie

i do not love coloring with markers

so, remember how i am having my students publish books-expository text? (but then, how could you forget? i've mentioned it so many times! sorry!)...well, last year i made a book when they did to model and they love reading it (it was about my first haunted house-scary, boo!). this year, i decided to write another for them because i know they will read it, and it's always good to have mentor texts on hand for them-here is a preview (just the pictures, not the writing); i decided to write about my favorite place, the bay islands, and it is dedicated to heidi and margo because they are the two i used to to the cays with!

view from the porch, and snorkeling around the island

fishing (i didn't mention that my friend's mom said that the key to catching the fish was rum and coke...and playing vball with the islanders was a blast!

nothing beats sleeping out on the dock at night listening to the waves lapping against the sand and looking at the stars, and last but not least even on a rainy day, there was plenty to do-with music and puzzles

 so i think the kids will have fun reading again. the thing i really wanted to do was fill the pages with color because what i noticed is that they are afraid to fill the page-their sense of space is not well honed. they had to be done in marker, so don't judge! (and i didn't spend a lot of time on them because i just wanted to get them done-kinda like the santa cakesters i made; when i want to get something done, i am not a perfectionist).

last purchases done today! i found these great fleece blankets at salvation army and i didn't see a price on them, so when i got to the front and asked the gentleman at the register, he said 99 cents...so i went back and got more!

there were 2 in each packet! score.

so i was able to get some stuff together for tomorrow night-this is a part of it...

i was also able to put together these bags of fun-i was really excited that i had so many lakeshore bags-they have the reinforced handles and they are solid.

also while i was at the salvation army, i found this great fleece...it is lightweight, and it reminds me of one that i had awhile back (which has long since been misplaced or left somewhere), so i'm glad i got it washed up and am wearing it-so comfortable! i was looking for something that i could wear with my gray sweatpants...all of my sweatshirts are also gray, which just does not look good together-looks like a coordinated sweat suit (which, i might add,  i do not own).

well, i think i had my pony tail in too tight because i have a headache now, so i am off to get some excedrin,
julie

that schnauzer has a hamster toupee...weird.

december 22 this year is the winter solstice..shortest day of the year-which means tomorrow will be a little longer!

i got a lot done today! but i also spent more than i had planned. when i went to drop off the books that my students are publishing, i saw this sign

no schnauzers...tarantulas, snakes, elvis memorabilia, urns with ashes....please notice the hamster on top of the schnauzer's head.

today i finally got the thing in the mail that i needed to send my last package! woo hoo! so when i opened the package from denver pete, you can imagine my surprise when i saw that the playing cards i had ordered were in some foreign asian language.

and being that i not learned in these languages, i don't even know which country it's even from...but i'm guessing not north korea, because they are not kim jung il cards...sorry, i cannot yet reveal what they are because it will take a few days for someone to receive this, and i don't want to ruin it (just in case that person reads this post). and even once i do share it, not many people will care very much, but you might understand why i was surprised to see the asian writing.

while i was at the post office, i had to wait in the line for the real person because the machine was totally out-figures. and as i was standing in line, a lady with her crazy code gun that looks like a sci-fi weapon kept popping out and saying, "is anyone in line just picking up a package or needing a round date?" i guess she wasn't really popping out-not like a jack in the box or something crazy like that, although it would've been entertaining if she were wearing a silly outfit and popping through the door from different angles like a snl skit...but i digress. i knew what she meant by picking up a package (obvious), but i wasn't quite certain about the 'needing a round date.' my thought was if i need a date, i am not coming to the post office to find him...besides, i don't know that i want him to be round either.

i continued through the line until i was next and i saw this change of address ad,

i guess they are now having yoda help with changes of address-bad economy.

when i got up to the lady, i got what i needed, plus an extra book of stamps, and then i lowered my voice and asked the lady what a 'round date' was. she explained that it was for businesses that just needed something stamped. no mystery there.

now i am home and the boys wanted to show off their matching 'jackets.'

i got them cheap at walmart because i was having a difficult time with chaco's sweater. this one is cool because it velcros in the front and on the bottom. it may take a bit to get chaco used to the velcro- he is not a fan of new sounds.

and right now i am waiting for some coats and blankets to finish in the washing and drying cycles! yippee!!

well, no round date for me tonight...looking forward to the extra minute of light tomorrow!
julie

who keeps eel bones around the house, anyway? no one, that's who.

i don't know about you, but i am somewhat bothered by the best buy commercials-the lady competing with santa and being saucy about it...i feel sorry for santa. is that strange? there is just something about elderly people, and respect...especially santa. i realize it's a commercial. i realize that santa isn.....(tell your children to skip this part) isn't real. but still, maybe it's the underlying theme behind it. the commercialism and competition at the expense of another just to be a winner.

most people know that i am not a crazy-big-jewelry wearer, but i do sport the smaller beads and more practical necklaces. i found some bead jewelry that i actually like the looks of, AND not only that, but it goes to help aids in rowan. one of my friends from kanakuk kamp (where i used to work for many summers), her name is joy (appropriately) and she has a heart for missions-especially in africa. please check out the site here, you might find something that you like, and it will certainly go toward a worthy cause. you know how sometimes there are organizations you are leery of, well, i actually read joy's blog about her time there, and she has some pictures posted in which she is planting trees with the widows and girls there-i am humbled by her commitment to love and serve in rowan. go joy!

new topic. i just saw a drano commercial on t.v. that made me want to watch Lord of the Rings tonight...i guess you'd have to have seen the men with the battering ram. oh, and i am really kinda dying for the hobbit to hit the screens (the rumor is that the trailer will be before the tin tin movies...smile). also seen on t.v. today was charlie's angels, only it wasn't the original angels...so i didn't watch the entire thing (kinda like the duke cousins...just not the same). does anyone really miss the fashion of the 70's?

i would VOMIT if i went to this gym! (and not from over exerting myself)

i had to open the windows today because there was lingering smell of dehydrated onion-which is not good once you're done dehydrating it! well, that has caused bruno and chaco to do a whole lot of barking. so finally i said, "guys, that is not the holiday spirit, you really need to stop now." chaco turned around and said, "but mama, we're saying merry Christmas type things..." and turned to growl again at the slamming car doors below.

and the only thing that really sounded good for dinner tonight was chinese/japanese and homemade eel sauce...only i found out why one of the web sites said it is rarely made at home (because normally it is made by dipping the eel bones in while simmering the other ingredients.)..ixnay on the eel bonesay...so instead i added a hint of citrus. smile. love it! and instead of the usual asian delivery guy, there was a hispanic man, which struck me a little weird, because usually when i go to a chinese restaurant, there are only chinese people working there...keepin' it in the family. so i prepared my plate and whipped out my handy dandy personal chopsticks (made in china and brought back by a friend who went on a mission trip). i love pulling them out to use every once in awhile. they are SO superior to the cheapies that you have to break apart.

yes, as a matter of fact, they do have their own carrying case. deal wid it!

and the fortune cookie-will prove to be true.

i am hoping to do something unique and fun this weekend-it's all about creating new traditions, right?

so, one of the gifts i got this year at school was a twin set of coffee mugs for on-the-go. well, i had one awhile back, but the lid broke and then it got lost at summer school. well, every time i was about to get a new one at bed bath and beyond, i talked myself out of it for trying to be practical. so i had this other travel mug that had a sunken hole, and it spilled on me a couple of times, so maria decided to help me out! love it and use it all of the time!

and the great thing about a twin set is that they always know what the other is thinking!

i also got this great set of utensils (which have the super-power of not melting; they're like shadrach, meshach and abednego in the fiery furnace), which i again have not trouble finding use for (in fact, i used one of the spoons tonight to make my fake eel sauce without the eel)...

the mixing bowl is perfect too, because it pours-pancake batter!

 and a third gift which i have put to use already since being home this break for obvious reasons:

sometimes a kiss just makes everything better.

the 4th gift was the tree, and sweet stationery-which i am prone to use quickly.

tomorrow i will be doing some preparing for this weekend. yea! if anyone is in the dallas area, looking for something a little different to do on Christmas eve, let me know.

julie

no booze for the boys...bruno is the designated gondola driver

ok, so i am waiting for one more thing to arrive in the mail so that i can send off an envelope-i am hoping that it arrives today...fingers crossed! i went to the post office anyway and stood in line to find out that i couldn't get the stamp i needed for my envelopes, so i had to just weigh them and use regular stamps. boo.

i was reading a friend's status and was saddened that they had to put their dog down today. i definitely have had my worries about my pups, but i just wanted to share this really quickly for all or you pet owners out there. i got this magnet last year at Christmas from the vip per insurance people, and i am not big on feeding the boys table scraps, but if you do, please check this bad list.

bmayes, you especially may want to have a talk with reagan...first two items. tell her to lay off the eggnog and the coffee.

plenty of dried cilantro seasoning? check!

thinking about putting a cheese ball together. yum.

i made bruno come with us again today, figuring he might get out to the dog park and play around, but as soon as i took his leash off, he sat by the fence while we walked on in and sat on the little cement slab. as soon as we sat down, he sprinted across the yard to us and jumped up into my lap and crawled up onto my shoulder like a baby. i think we still have a problem. so i put him back in the sling (he rode in it on the way there too), and i heard him saying in a tour-guide-voice, "welcome to the gondola. to your left, you can see bushes. in just a few moments if you look straight down, you might see a little dog-that's my brother chaco...he's not a big gondola fan."

bruno riding in the 'sling'. chaco kept on calling him a sissy and bruno retorted, "oh yeah, look at your sweater!"

ok, somewhere between writing the last paragraph, and this line, i put together my cheese ball mix and it is now chilling in the refri. i have decided that my next kitchen purchase is a full size food processor. i have one of those mini guys and he says, "woah, woah, woah....we're gonna' have to take three trips around in this thing...." so three batches later i finally had all of the mixture combined .

mini processors produce mini quantities.

and as i sit here on the couch finishing up this post, bruno has approached and come up the ramp with his food bowl...perhaps i should NOT have allowed them to watch charlie brown Christmas the other night.

there are some things you just have to process over and over  again,
julie

smells like mexican santa in here....

today i decided i wanted to try hollie's santas. now, i will admit, hers look MUCH better than mine... but that doesn't stop people from eating them!

i obviously didn't have enough red food coloring because the suits are a deep pinkish red...also, i only found spice drops instead of gum drops, and there were no black, so i used black cookie frosting for the belt...and then i took them up to my new taste-testers (they don't know it yet), the managers office, and when i mentioned that they were oreo cakesters, faces lit up-which is a good sign.

i had to swing by the tom thumb down the street so i could get the necessities for salsa, and when i got to the self check-out, i accidentally pushed on the red banana button, but i didn't want red bananas, so the guy had to come and take it off...he said, "red bananas?" and i explained that the screen changed just before i was able to click on the cilantro. so he just went ahead and finished off the rest of my produce-assuming that i couldn't handle it. which is fine because he had all of the codes memorized...which again is fine because if we had been at the airport, i would've schooled him on airline codes-so there!

then i came back and let's just say that my little apartment was a confusing, myriad of smells (using the term myriad as a gross exaggeration), although there were several things going on. santa cakesters, some wonderful scented wax, cilantro and onions creating (once again) a delicious salsa to make my taste buds dance (a salsa dance, i'm sure....), and then there was whatever smell was wafting up from the downstairs apartment...oh, and i might mention that i am now drying cilantro for later use because they sell it by the bush!

Christmas smells in my potpourri pot! yum.

 when i first walked out of my apartment early this morning to take down the trash, i had this note on my door:

very sad that there was a naked cat on the loose out there...i hope they found him.

losing an animal is the worst. i remember when i was young in brodhead and our dog got off his chain and ran off-there had been a fresh snow, so we went looking for him early in the morning before there were too many tracks to follow. he must've been adhd because the tracks were crazy-everywhere...we finally gave up on frisky, in sadness, and i think someone ended up finding him way out by the bait lady. (that was the day i realized i was no nancy drew...i couldn't even find a dog and there were tracks everywhere...but in actuality, there was no mystery, so i shouldn't have given up on the nancy drew dreams; i should have just been reconciled that i would never amount to much of a sacajawea and left it at that).

good night,
julie

strategically moving through addison and the acting portion of the gre

today-the first day of Christmas break! woo hoo! we wanted to wake up late, but had to settle for 8:30..try again tomorrow! i was very happy to be able to finish my Christmas shopping...all i need now is to pick up some manila envelopes and wait for something in the mail. oh, and i have one more picture to develop. remember when i painted the pallet? well, i took the pallet when our interim principal was at our school, and she had asked what i was planning to do with it, so i am sending her a pic of the inspiration and the actual pallet.

these are the canvases i did awhile back on the opposite wall.

i was going to get the pics developed while i was at cvs, but i forgot to bring the usb cord to pull the pics off the phone. boo.

so after i swung by cvs, i planned my moves strategically. first i would stop at the post office, then lakeshore, after that i'd cross the street and hit bed bath and beyond and last stop-over to barnes and noble!

so when i stopped at the post office, there was a line ( even at the machine! imagine that). but surprisingly everyone was acting strange-the holiday spirit had apparently descended upon everyone. isn't it strange how at Christmas time, people are more chatty and willing to talk to randoms in line?

a sweet elderly lady (who knows if she really was sweet, i just like to imagine that most elderly people are) didn't want to wait in the main lobby line, so she asked if the machine dispensed Christmas stamps, and someone in front said they were getting some and would let her know. (i had bought some the other day, but i didn't speak up...because what if the machine was out or they changed them up).

love the stamps!

 so indeed it did still have them and the lady looked at me and asked if the machine took debit cards and when i told her yes, she went on to explain how when debit cards first came out, she thought they were the devil, but now she can't live without it! then she conversed with the lady at the end of the line offering to hold her baby son...heavy baby son, judah...

at lakeshore, i realized how ridiculously over-priced educational resources are. boo. i got a couple of books to assist my students in their grammar and spelling- i wanted to get one that was white board compatible, but it was pricier than i really wanted to go at this time.

thought these might give me the most bang for my buck...(fireworks for my money...not bangs on a male deer-that would just be wrong)

when i got home, the boys asked me to please please please take a nap with them, so i did...reluctantly (right).

when we woke up refreshed, i pulled out the 'where is santa' book. i bought about 4 of them real cheap after Christmas at the family general store a couple of years ago meaning to give them to students as gifts. well, this year, i brought one home so that i could search-i love searches!

find the patriotic yorkie...

and now we are preparing to get our studying going! bruno said he's going to try to help me with the math rules and chaco said he was going to help me work on the acting portion. i explained that the test i was taking had no acting portion and he let me know that i was no fun. so i sent him off to practice the shepherd scene from the Christmas story and he could perform for us later.

hope your Christmas spirit gives you the opportunity to talk to people in long lines,
julie