green secrets and harness amplification

last night when i went to bed, i found one of the hidden rawhide chews..under my cover...oh, silly chaco.

they woke me up early today, so we went for a walk because it was like 80' out. we walked by the dog park because big dog was in there, and when we got up toward the playground, we saw children running over toward the sidewalk, where there was another walker with a boxer. bruno looked up and said, "can we please cut across the lawn?" so we did to avoid the children. and we went through a breezeway toward the ponds and around the office, and by the time we got up toward the office, the boxer and his lady was already up there. the boxer was showing interest in the boys and so she had him sit, then as we walked by, he couldn't control himself and he lunged forward to play, but of course it scared the boys because they didn't know big, scary, so we kept going and the boxer was dragging his lady-she had very little control-he was obviously stronger than she was. so  we walked as fast as we could until we were out of reach.

one of my friend wasn't sure what kale was, so i thought i would take a pic because it's so good for you and i hear it's fairly easy to grow your own...hearty kale!

looks like many other greens-

let me quickly outline the benefits of kale for those who are not familiar:high concentrations of antioxidants-cartenoids and flavanoids-proven to aid in prevention of bladder, breas, colon, ovary and prostate cancers...also contains a wide variety of vitamins and minerals that boost cardiovascular health and detoxify the system. the longer it sits, the more bitter it becomes..smaller leaves will be milder and more tender.

swiss chard-(for visual, click here) significant amount of fiber and protein-helps regulate blood sugar levels after consumption. excellent source of vitamins c, e and k, beta-carotene, and manganese. offers a load of antioxidants.

flax seeds-nutty, crunchy, king of Omega-3 fatty acid, offer healthy dose of fiber and contain organic compounds that help lower cholesterol and strengthen bones.

chia seeds- mayan strength seed contains protein, carbs, fat and fiber, making it an ideal energy booster! high in omega3 and omega6 fatty acids, helping the body stabilize blood sugar and slow carb digestion. also a good source of iron, calcium and zinc.

sesame seeds-packed with nutrients. helps lower cholesterol, prevent high blood pressure, protects body against liver damage. great source of calcium(bone development, reduce risk of colon cancer), anti-inflamatory, arthritis fighting  copper!

the above information is from the nutriblast pocket nutritionist- i got it special with my magic bullet and i love it because it has a lot more information about fruits, other greens and other boost seeds and nuts.

 

today was relatively lazy..we may yet make a trip to petsmart to see about collars. we got a few things done. i was able to make some more green chicken chili (a recipe which i have shared with several-love it), i poached some chicken for later use in the week, and froze 2 breasts (chicken breasts of course)...

i also looked up those cabins i was thinking about staying in , when we go to our family reunion (the ones i mentioned yesterday...well, they would have been great-$35/night, up to 6 people, right there at the park! already reserved. boo. so i looked up some hotels and their ratings and found one that i think will serve our purposes...now to see if mom and dad can get a discount through their membership! i wish we didn't have a stupid training thing at the beginning of august, right in the middle of my plans. that sucks.

so we didn't find any collars that fit at petsmart, so we made our way back to pet plus, and found the matching collar! and the gal who helped us, when she saw what i was doing said, "that's brilliant!" well, i am an elementary school teacher for dallas isd, you learn how to get creative!

you can see where the collar and the harness are connected.

bruno is a little stubborn about getting in the car, then when he realized where we were going he was at ease

but sadly neither store had patriotic collars...what is wrong with this picture? i guess we will just have to find our collars online.

green dreams....

julie

fun friday and plans that are making me reminisce! lisa lisa and the cult jam...where did all the good music go?

oh fun friday! it was fun for me all day long knowing that classes were smaller and that the kids were going to be playing games in the afternoon- which they enjoyed...then their afternoon arts person came in and they have changed from drama to visual arts. they are a little bummed because they were playing and being crazies and now they have to sit and use their brains...

at lunch, i sat with my friend and worked on some quick healthy eating ideas. she kinda' wrinkled her nose when i mentioned avocado. that made me laugh because i used to feel the same way growing up (when we had the huge productive avocado tree and we gave away paper bagfuls of great, ripe avocados every year)... today for lunch i had made a quick guacamole dip with my homemade salsa, so i took it down for her to try and i could tell she really did not want to, but she was a sport and she knew i wouldn't do her wrong...she said, "ok, that is the first time i have tried guacamole, and it wasn't bad!" and she even took a second bite...ummm, i told her to imagine this on chicken breast...maybe she'll buy into it and give it a chance. smile.

today was a sticker day. i offered stickers to finish the assignment and it worked! that was easy...

tonight is another lord of the rings night. i just feel it. i learned that one of my coworker friends has the same taste in t.v. shows-very unique flavor...heroes, the cape, lost, once upon a time, grimm....crazy!

visiting bilbo baggins!

there are 3 rawhide chews out right now, but my youngest has gone and hidden 2 of them so that he can monopolize on the one that is visible. who IS he?

and i read something in the dallas board highlights about:• Accepted a donation from IBM valued at up to $36,399.86 to support the Kidsmart Program at William L. Cabell Elementary School.
wow! dr. hughes has been very instrumental in making friends with the right people at the right time! she has said that she is a really good beggar. i don't know exactly what the kidsmart program is, but i am really excited if it helps make our kids smart...hopefully it's kid smart and not kid's mart...know what i mean? ok, just kidding. because i was curious, i looked it up; go back and click on that link and you can find out more about it...lucky preK..get excited angela!

i started getting excited about next wednesday as i was driving home today!

thanks to the church on the corner for being patriotic!!

i must go to the pet store and see if there is any patriotic collars or not...that may be a custom order. i also need to get a collar that matches up with the harness that i just got because it is just a little too small for chaco, so i realized that all is not lost if i can find a matching collar it will hook in and be just the right size!

clearly, he loves it! it's the whole fire...i'm tough look.

i love it when the 15th falls on a sunday and we get paid on friday! i have a wedding to go to on the 14th! then i'll come back to dallas to finish physical therapy; i was planning on going up to see mom and dad that week, but i will have to wait. we will get to go up to iowa for a family reunion that i wasn't thinking i would be able to go to, but now i am very excited about seeing everyone! i am going to check on renting cabins at the state park- that way the boys could stay there in the air conditioning or come down and meet everyone for a bit. smile. we'll see...i will try to call tomorrow to see about reservations and such. mom has a big family-she is one of 10...so there are lots of cousins and babies i do not know any more...

when we were in 9th grade and my family was in iowa (on furlough), i was visiting and went to babysit with my cousin stacey..while we were in the front yard, people would drive by and one car the guys were staring and she yelled, "SHAKE YOUR HEAD, YOUR EYEBALLS ARE STUCK!"  and i thought that was pretty clever, so i held on to it and filed it away for later use. that was the year that lisa lisa and the cult jam was big and lost in emotion was a big hit! (so i may or may not have just played it and am still listening to it right now...great memories!)

alright, it is time to say goodnight and prepare for a simplistic weekend!
julie

magic leaves, magic bullet...stickers that are not FOXY

this morning i got up early to take the boys out for a walk and they loved it. we came across a floating leaf and i told them it was magic. "oh, like the magic bullet?" asked chaco. "no, the magic bullet wasn't very magical...we'll have to see about its replacement when it gets here." they were very impressed with the leaf, though.

and for the next couple of minutes chaco was singing from the police: every little thing she does is magic, magic, magic....

 as we were walking, we met a lady walking her terrier mix and we stopped for a moment to talk-teacher from houston, looking for another dog, possibly yorkie...and the boys were cool for a minute, then i don't know what happened but chaco put on his snarl face and got snippy. grr..so we moved on. and when we got back home, i had to turn around and get over to my doctor appt.

when i arrived, i was told i had an outstanding balance..great more $...then i was shuffled into a room i hadn't been in yet. and i waited while i listened to the conversations out in the main room. lots of people talking and planning..i'm glad my walls at my apt are thicker and more insulated than this! anyhoo...i think the doctor might've been running a little late because i sat in there for about 15 minutes waiting...

so, while i waited, i observed scalped glass man.

 and then we agreed that i would get new medication, try aleve or ibuprophen (figure out which one works better for me), and get started with some physical therapy. woo!

so i bought both because i don't really know which one will work better.

 before i stopped at cvs, i stopped by lakeshore to spend some of that gift card from brooke (again, best gift ever!) they were super slow, so every worker must've stopped by and asked me if they could help me. nope. i knew exactly where to look for what i needed. got some great stickers (my summer school kids are suckers for stickers!) but then, i used to be too...my anne frank collection was the world to me...i got a sticker when we went to costa rica that was glimmery and said: FOXY, with a fox tail coming out of the O i think...i didn't realize that it was for a truck bumper and was more of a sex symbol...i thought it was just referring to the furry animal in the woods...back to lakeshore...i also found a great little science kit for about $24-very cool and lots of the stuff we will be going over next year!

the boys are intrigued by science and very excited that i will be teaching it next year! look closely and you will see that this is a card showing how the brain is related to the spine...

 then i went on to cvs and put in my prescription and walked around ...by the time i was called back, i had a handful of stuff that would help me with recovery...chocolate...

and this is the nerve medicine...i forget exactly how it works.

when i got home, i had to call a physical therapist to set something up with them...the part of the script that i loved:

heat massage!!!

and then i came home and took the meds and about a 2 hour nap. i didn't mean for that to happen, but it sure was nice!

when i woke up, i decided i should try to go find some cheap games for fun fridays...so i went to the dolla store and got some connect 4, old maid, go fish, checkers, and mind teaser puzzles...

as i pulled out onto forest, i noticed ms. weekley's car and decided it would be rude not to stop in and see her at pets plus! so i stopped in and chit-cahtted for a minute and looked around the store (because i had never stopped in before), and grabbed a couple of things for the boys-i am excited to try out chaco's new harness! renee was gracious to help me get the best discount possible. thanks renee! the boys said thanks as they were entertained with their new thinking toy!

i stopped by the office on the way home and picked up my package-the magic bullet base has arrived! now i will be able to have a wonderful smooth smoothie tomorrow!! woohoo!

worth it to get a powerful base!

and bruno was fighting with the bubble wrap as i popped them with my feet....chaco went and hid.

it has been a productive day-back to the classroom tomorrow!
julie

a ten-year century and nose holes that don't work...

today i was exceptional. i know. who says that. well, when you're switching it up with some fun reading practices learned at a marzano training, you really cannot go wrong! the kids loved it, i was being observed, and they really understand women's suffrage and alice what's-her-name...

it didn't start out that way...when i got to school, i had to get some butcher paper from the roll, and as i tore off the first paper and walked over to put it on top of the copier, i banged my toe into the copier. ouch. you'd think once was enough and that i would be more careful and aware the next time. i was, but i still proceeded to do this TWO more times! what in the world? and the 3rd time, i knew from the feel and the sound that i had broken my nail and made a mess of things. i was excited to get back tot he classroom to clip it with my nail clippers in my purse. when i went digging for it, it wasn't there. i had taken it out again. so i ended up using scissors...figuring it would do until i got home (i mean, i had gotten it bad-there was a big chip out of it and i ddin't want to cut any children accidentally).

music was interesting today...some of our students thought mississippi is in dallas, others said africa, and several said south america. and apparently several believe that brazil is a continent..oh geography, what has happened?

in one of my afternoon classes, one of the girls said, "my nose holes aren't working." i thought i misunderstood her, so i asked her to repeat that, and she said the exact same thing. hmm..i asked what she meant, and that's exactly what she meant. i told her the better way to say it: stuffy nose.

yesterday we had visual arts with mr martinez, and we did faces-he was teaching them symmetrical and asymmetrical (only he spelled it wrong...he also managed to tell them that a century was 10 years...we have some un-learning to do)...

tomorrow i have my doctor-follow-up appointment. i am praying that there is something that i am not doing that i can do to feel better, or that they have a magic cure. i just want to get back to doing the things i love to do! (like sleeping through the night...) pretty sure i'm excited about 'sleeping in' a little. and i am also thinking that i got out of spray painting those trash things. whew! dodged a bullet...don't worry, carol, i'm pretty sure she wouldn't be tacky enough to ask a sub to do it (and if she does, just say no and thank you)      

day off tomorrow! yea!
julie

mustard greens...your name is so deceiving...

well, today i wasn't sure whether my student teacher would show up or not (because i had e-mailed telling her she didn't have to-but i was hoping she would). i got called to the principal's office and thought i might be in trouble, but i wasn't-thank goodness, she just wanted to talk about the weather! (wait, when have kay and i ever sat down to talk about the weather?! but it's true.) so, after picking up my kiddos a little late, we got to the classroom, and brooke wasn't there. then she walked in right as breakfast was coming in the door. yea! it's always more fun with another adult in the room!

i had gotten a fun gift of some classroom type supplies that i thought she might be able to put to use, so i pulled it out and she had gotten me a thank you card and a gift card to the greatest teacher store ever-

i am the luckiest teacher ever!

remember the day i talked about getting a sprinkles cupcake?  well, i'm glad i forgot to go, although, on the way home today, i remembered and decided to head over that way and half-way, i decided that it would be even better to stop by nothing bundt cakes instead-closer and even more delicious! i remember gigi telling me it was off royal, so i gps'd it, and drove up preston, then i wasn't really exactly sure where it was, but i needed to stop in to central market for some swiss chard. well, i was in the parking lot after making the purchase, and my phone kept telling me it was to my right. i looked around and didn't see it. i went to the window of celebrity cakes and looked in (like one of those norman rockwell paintings with the little kids) only to realize it was not the right place. i got back in my car and went across the intersection and looked in that shopping area...not there...went back, looked again...it was in a small strip right facing preston road-strangely located if you are unfamiliar...back me up, gigi. but i finally found it as i pulled out onto preston one last time! red velvet, you made my day!

ahhhh!!!!! angels singing halleluiah!

at some point during the day, we were talking about salsa and mango salsa came up, so tonight, i bought a couple more mangoes to try it out because i just ran out of salsa. it was missing something, so i added some cumin, salt, basil....it's all good.

and i got my chard for morning shakes-in case you are not familiar...

they have red stems-love the taste, it is a favorite.

 i got a lot because it freezes well for the smoothies. i tried mustard greens the other day. big mistake. i thought, 'well, everything else i've tried in the greens lately has been ok, kind of nutty, or green-ish tasting....not so with the mustard greens. surprisingly, they taste a lot like...mustard. ew. mustard and strawberries. not a good combo. i took a bite of a leaf before throwing it in, and spit it out and threw the rest away. nas-tay!

and note to self, i have GOT to take the Christmas music out of my phone because driving around in 105' and a random saxophone rendition of 'i'm dreaming of a white Christmas' comes on...aargh. first of all, to me, Christmas is the most romantic season of the year. Christmas music on a cold winter night with snow flakes drifting down-romantic. umm...romantic Christmas music when i have sweat beads on my brow is in no way romantic- taking it off tonight so that i don't ruin it for this winter.

the boys have rawhide chews and chaco keeps getting it and going up to bruno and saying, "no, you can't have it. stop trying to come after it..." and fake growling with his little tail wagging and turning his back to bruno. bruno doesn't even want it, but he'll pretend to grab at it just to humor chaco. then when chaco looks away, bruno looks up at me and says, "was that good? i didn't really want it, but i want him to leave me alone." such a good brother!

now i need to review my lesson because apparently i am under the microscope tomorrow,
julie

women's rights...i guess they had the right to look like my piano teacher. that's crazy.

i am convinced that the QT off forest and josey is a little slice of what hell might be like...on any given weekday morning at 6:50...yard-workers hell. it is impossible to get in and out of due to all of the trailers.

as i was putting student work up in the hallway, one of the male teachers came out and said, "oh, if you have extra work that you want to put up here on the bulletin board, you can!" (the bulletin board that the t.a. put up...) i'll shuffle through my stuff and see if i can come up with anything.

today we are beginning a week study on women's rights-suffrage. it will be an interesting week. we shall see what they learn! i will say that as i was going through the book, i came across some homely looking ladies. i need to make sure my students understand that the main idea is NOT that women used to look like men.

sorry to whomever's great great grandma this may be, but looks like a dude to me.

it actually looks a little like one of my former piano teachers...

the same t.a. that put up the bulletin board came to borrow the hot glue gun of ms. alexander to glue the same teacher's art projects for thursday...so not wanting to be the 'fail-teacher', i stuck around after school to finish hot gluing the ones in my room. ugh. they stank because of the leftover rank milk smell. nasty.

i really dislike glue guns. the little wispy string fly-aways drive me nuts.

the sculptures

the class numbers in one of our classes dropped quite a bit today. not that i am complaining...

tonight i am excited about american ninja warrior...i know, i know...what? well, the husband of one of my former kampers might be on it tonight! he made it into the top 30, now to see if he moves into the top 15! woo hoo! (he worked at kamp, and he was actually on american gladiators a few years ago!)...exciting!

anyhoo..hoping your great, great grandmother was more photogenic than some of the women's suffrage heroes.
julie

which would make a better playmate...wasp or cockroach? neither.

another great morning walk...except that one of the neighbors on the trail had his dogs out romping with no leash, and they came rushing at us, chaco was a little anxious because both were bigger than him-one was a german shepherd...the guy came running up and apologizing. as we were walking off, he said, "they're really cute." talking about bruno and chaco..i think he was fumbling, just trying to smooth things over since his dogs weren't on leashes and he didn't want to get reported or something...

chaco just looked up at him in disgust and shook his head, "pfsh. jerk." i looked at the guy and said, "it's ok...he was talking to your dog, not you." (i didn't really say that to the guy, because i'm pretty sure he didn't hear chaco mumble under his breath.)

when we got back home, we saw a huge wasp hanging out on the sliding door-outside...in fact i just looked up and he is still there right now.

ew. i don't understand why he doesn't just go and find his little honeycomb nest to hang out in.

and just a bit later, the boys were standing at the glass door looking at something and getting excited. "mama! come look! can we go out and play with it?"

it was a cockroach! he was a giant!!

double ew! i hate cockroaches. filthy ugly dirty!

"no, bruno. no, chaco! i will NOT let you be playmates with that filth! you're not even in the same phylum!" "but ma..." "NO! he can play with the wasp...at least they're in the same class!"

they watched him for awhile, but then they became disinterested. not long after that, bruno found the spot where i had spilled my green shake yesterday (i had cleaned it up, i just hadn't run the carpet cleaner yet) and he started rolling around in it. i decided i needed to immediately take care of that. it didn't clean up as well as i had hoped that it would. boo.

then i decided i needed to grab some groceries...48 items for $120. grr...but while i was there one of my students from last year showed up, "ms robinson!" it was eric. i'll have to tell my student teacher on tuesday! her last day was technically last friday, but she offered to come in on tuesday to help out since we are supposed to have visitors then. it's always good to have moral support-she has been great. anyhoo, she thought eric was so funny-unique. she'll get a kick out of that.

tomorrow...week 3! let's get it done!
julie

magic bullet, why you not so magic today?

when we woke up this morning, i decided to take the boys out for an early walk because we didn't get out last night (it was still 90' when we went to bed. boo), so the temp had dropped to 83 by the time we were ready to go. there was only one other person on the trail, so it was a great walk-apart from the beginnings of sweat beads. and then we ran into jessica on our way toward the office, so we went ahead and stopped in to chit chat.

while i was there, i grabbed one of these, because things just haven't been the same without mandy and shannon.

my opinion counts!

komo and jessica are great, but it just isn't the same. i was thinking that as i drove by to get my mail just the other day...and you can just feel a difference in the personality when you walk in. well, we left the office and as we were walking past the pool, i looked down and saw what looked like an egg or a marble or perhaps a large bead...

when i picked it up, it was a fruit or seed from a tree-the size of an eyeball...weird, but very cool-looking!

when i got home, i threw all of my ingredients into my magic bullet, and pushed down to turn it on, but there was no response. hmm..maybe the plug. i replugged it. nope. reset. nope. so i threw the ingredients into the blender (which was fine, but it just didn't blend as well). so i called the customer service # and they said to cut the cord and throw it away, and they would send out a new base-3 to 5 days...so i have to use the blender until then.

i use it daily-every morning, this is my breakfast.

so i decided to pull it apart and see if there was anything keeping it from starting...perhaps kink in the wires...i don't know, but i took it apart...most people would just throw it away, but i am not most people. funny, i never really considered myself one of those look at everything tinker people, but i hate to just throw away and waste things. boo.

then after i had a really good tasting (albeit not-so-smooth) un-smoothie, i sat it down on the foot rest and accidentally bumped it over-all over the carpet. i had only gotten about 1/3 into my belly...grr. what a mess. i'm going to have to break out the steam cleaner for this one.

i think i might still have some nerve problems because there is still a bit of discomfort..hopefully we can get some good news when i go in to the doctor this week. it's GOT to get better than this.

oh, and that sprinkles cupcake i was going to treat myself to...i forgot all about it. but that's probably ok.
julie

i'm cool with art out of trash, but c'mon, in my classroom?

so today our arts integration person was something else...bless her heart (just gave myself the license to complain). we have a combined classroom of almost 30 kids. well, she brings in a boat-load of trash and asks the other teacher if he might be willing to rinse out some milk cartoons she pulled from the trash earlier this morning. (gross). then she started passing out the trash so the kids could create something out of the trash.

cool idea, just not enough time or space. she kept leaving the room to find more trash, the glue gun, etc. then it was time for the kids to clean up and once again she was MIA, so i had to head that up as well. and the kids didn't get to hot glue anything. the gal says, "in your free time, you can supervise the kids and let them glue their things together..." i don't think so. no law-suit for me please. and then the kicker, "...and hopefully i can get your teachers to help me take the sculptures outside next week and help me spray paint them black..." umm..i'm sorry, in what free-time would you like me to do this? and....really? do i look like i am wearing or have an art smock anywhere in this room? and lastly, i'm pretty sure there was nothing in my face that was even vaguely hinting at the fact that i remotely wanted to have any involvement in this? didn't think so.

a little blurry, but you get the idea-today's crazinesss made me realize that i really prefer order with the sporadic organized chaos.

cupcake wars commercial just really made me want a cupcake...if i make it through tomorrow and finish all of my fluency testing (can you believe they are having us do a dra type testing at the beginning and end of this 5-week summer school? how tragic), i might just have to get a sprinkles cupcake...just sayin. i spent all day on those things today-fortunately i still have brooke around helping out with the students--she was great. need to come up with something good to keep the kids busy tomorrow while i finish up the last of the testing!!! boo.

so, in preparation for tonight's game, i am actually listening to garth brooks' the thunder rolls. inspiring. it actually reminds me of my aunt beth. when we were younger and garth was quite a bit younger too...she was not yet married, and she took me with her to the pool hall and of course garth was playing in the background and that was pretty much my first encounter with him. this song and friends in low places. hmm. good times. i think that might have been the night she went on a first date with her now husband of many years.

it's kinda coincidental, but i think the first time i heard billy ray cyrus and achy breaky heart was in sioux city as well-with my cousin, at a small rodeo-fair on a crazy muddy evening. ah, sioux city, how many wonderful memories you have afforded me! i love to revisit the past!

good times. i need to try to get my lesson plans done before the game begins, because last week i was trying to do both at the same time (as well as playing words with friends...) and that just really wasn't healthy, not to mention, i don't know if my plans even made sense!
julie

ok...so i bought the diet coke. BUT i DIDN'T eat the "chocolate!"

well, this morning i was going to bypass qtrip and not get a diet coke, but then right as i was getting ready to pass it up, something came over me and i swerved in, under the false pretense that i should get fuel while it's still at 3.19...and yes, i got my diet coke-justifying it by saying to myself that my student teacher is only with me a couple more days, and she always has one, so it's tempting. so when she's gone, i will be drinking only water. hold myself to it.

when i got to work, it was important to get started as quickly as possible on my assembly line. when i was younger i remember going to the gm factory with my dad and my brother to visit one of the members from our church, and so i got to see an assembly line; when we were in HONDURAS we went on field trips to the coke factory and a towel factory. many of our students have not gotten to enjoy field trips like this. so i got it all set up and the first class was a trial run. it went really well. i gave them the assembly line experience, and now i am pretty sure that they understand what an assembly line is.

unfortunately i was too busy making the line belt go around and didn't have time to whip out the ol' phone camera...but i have made a replica so you get the basic idea...

very basic franken-ford

it was actually the perfect thing to be doing today, as we were observed. i have no idea what the lady who was observing was thinking, because she did not crack a smile at any given moment....didn't seem like a very happy lady. but guess what.(you don't need to guess because guess what...did it again, did you catch that? because I'M GOING TO TELL YOU!) i do my best work under pressure! in fact, i may have mentioned it before, but when i used to take piano lessons in council bluffs, we had a recital, and afterward, the piano teacher told me that one of the guys in the audience said i needed to be on t.v. acting, not playing piano (not that i wasn't good at playing piano, just that i carried myself more like an actress..could also be that i wore my black skirt, white shirt and insisted on a bow tie with a black blazer..oh, the 80's)

while i was getting my stuff around and ready to go, the drama lady was in my room with my kiddos doing some chanting and marching and other loudness, and i had just come back from the restroom. there seemed to be a foul stench in the air, and i was thoroughly hoping that it had not followed me from the restroom, and as i was walking toward the door, i saw something on the floor that looked like mud, so i got closer and i wasn't quite sure. it looked a little like something chaco and bruno might have left behind for someone to smear on the floor. (it was smeared, not in a neat little, easy-to-pick-up package). and sweet crystal got one of the boys to help her clean it up with some lysol wipes. i am not quite sure what happened--some visitors had been with us earlier, so i don't know whether someone pooped themselves, or just wiped their shoe, but i certainly hope it was the latter!

if it doesn't smell like chocolate, don't eat it.
julie

comfy shirt for some intense nba watching

i haven't felt very blogg-ish lately...perhaps it's just from being a little tired. so, i am going to try to finish this one today. (i said to myself last friday).

ok, so let's try this again. i wasn't feeling very well for a couple of days-my doctor just prescribed another steroid pack-hopefully it does the job-today it has begun to feel better. cross my fingers.

i am very excited about the nba finals tonight...after going to a thunder game with shea, ally and katie, i must say that i have become a thunder fan. i do not have a t-shirt yet, but i'm sure i can remedy that situation. sorry robin, but i'm pretty sure that i was cheering for the thunder when they played the mavs...i have friends in miami, as well, and as much as i love ya'all and wish you the best, i am hoping for some rumbling up in here! so to truly enjoy the evening, it's time to put on the comfy shirt...i just recently noticed that my favorite shirt is starting to wear thin...

pretty sure this was an old kamp trade-best shirt ever!

so, thankfully, there is a small teacher work room right across the hall from my room. someone began a painting in the bathroom, and it just looks hideous. i forgot to take a pic..

call it a hunch, but i think people have difficulty turning off the lights and fan...3 signs..isn't that a little overkill?

my student teacher's evaluator came by today and she found out i am a bilingual teacher and she looked at me and said, "we're always looking to hire bilingual people if you're ever looking!" she went on to mention some people she knows who are making about 120k translating. hmmm......

after school i stopped by the post office to pick up a piece of certified mail, but when i got there, it was not available...apparently my 15 days had passed by and they sent it back. boo. i have no idea who it was from, nor what it was. i guess if it was really important, they will try again.

curious...but i will lose no sleep

last night i was looking through a magazine that mom and dad left behind. apparently they live in dallas county (so if i were ever enticed to move back up toward mo., i could still be in dallas. smile)...i must say, i do love the outdoors up that way-always something to do.

hopefully not all of the men up there wear skirts and fight with swords and sticks.

looking forward to going up to visit at the end of summer. me and the boys might be staying in the pop-up trailer while they're remodeling. smile.

and tomorrow for my third grade class, we will be re-creating an assembly line so that the students can experience it and really go away understanding what it is! i'll try to take pictures if all goes as planned! many kids are sent to summer school because they are behind in reading, writing and/or math. this year is no exception! woah. i am praying that none of them live anywhere near the cabell vicinity.

that said, i think a storm is a brewin...thunderstorms likely,
julie

every year i ask myself, "why am i teaching summer school again?"

where to begin? so much has been going on this week!

on monday i went up to cabell with plans to help robin (one of my coworkers) go through some cabinets as we went through our science curriculum for next year...and got paid for it! (or will on some check off into the future..i didn't think we would). then i stuck around and worked on some painting, but didn't finish, so i had to go back on tuesday.

my t-shirt...painting is messy for me...i like people to know what i've been up to.

i was very thankful that ms. tesfai showed up to help out because she is good company-especially for that kind of a project! got most of the cafeteria done, but there are still some finishing touches around the bldg. i felt so bad because just after i finished, i was pushing the cart with the paints back toward the art room. i saw the little lip on the floor by the gym  doorway, and decided if i got the cart going fast enough, perhaps i could push it right over! (feeling a bit evil kenevil) well. in my mind it was masterful. in reality there was an abrupt stopping of the vehicle, with a loud thud as several gallon cans of paint flew from the cart-thankfully only one bust open and spilled with streaks flying across the room and hitting the chairs and table piled up in the hallway.

tony, our awesome custodian came around the corner because he heard the great attempt and rescued some of the spilled paint and made me feel much relief by saying, "no worries, we're stripping the floor later anyway."

wednesday we had our first of a 2-day training for summer school. it was a pretty good training. except for the 2 men that somehow always ended up near my table and insisted on talking and being a distraction. by the last session the second day i was really fed up, and when it was my turn to present something, i stood up and waited and the presenter looked at me and i had almost everyone's attention, so finally i said what i say with my students, "i'll wait. until you're ready." i think it finally sunk in that i was waiting for them and i wasn't about to be talking over an adult. (teachers are the worst about this).

on friday we worked at our summer school-meetings all morning, setting up in the afternoon-between grade-level meetings. third grade is the grade that is going to be closely monitored this summer, and we have lots of kids in our 3rd grade....we divided kids into classes, maxing at 23 students per class and we have sections 3A through 3M....i believe we may have to make smaller classes-which might move us into sections 3N and 3O...nothing like a little chaos!

oh, and i was going to be in a gen ed class, but now i will be teaching bilingual.

so, we finally got everything pretty much figured out. smile. then when i got a minute, i ran to the bathroom and after washing my hands, i stood in front of the hand dryer waiting for it to come on automatically...then i realized it was one of those with the button...manual hand blowers...we're so spoiled.

so used to the automatic ones!

when i got home from school, we took a walk and chaco decided to hide behind the bushes. he really thought we couldn't hear or see him...i mean, besides the fact that he was on the leash.

shhhh...

then i saw on facebook that one of the recipe books i was interested was available for free download! woohoo! (i didn't realize i could download it without a kindle, but my friend carol was a hero and posted to let me know)

i'm excited to try some more of the goodies in this book!

and so last night, i definitely bought the necessary ingredients to make some amazing breakfast bars! and they are delicious even as a snack!!

i know it doesn't look like much, but it is figs, dates, dried cherries, etc...yum-o!

yep, we have a frog theme.

now i need to finish some lesson plans because i finally finished the last part of my door for summer school!

julie