new mantra: find a quarter, pick it up...kid who lost it, you're out of luck.

if i have spelling errors tonight, please feel free to overlook them, as my eyelids are heavy. it has been a super long first week. who knew that sitting with the students during lunch every day could take that much out of you! ok, maybe it was actually the long busy week and weekend before the first day, and the long day with meet the teacher, and trying to get things right that actually made it so exhausting.

routines, routines, routines. i am so thankful that this is a long weekend, because i have some things i need to create to really make some of those routines work better.

and when i got back to school, here is the poster that they have up:

really? why didn't they do this last year? what a joke, we did so well as a school last year!! jerks. oh well.

one morning i was walking down the hallway and saw a penny on the floor. now, everyone remembers the chant: find a penny, pick it up; all day long you'll have good luck. (but only if the penny is on heads, ya?) well, i didn't pick it up, penny shmenny...i was waiting for bigger and better...like a 5 spot maybe? because let's be honest, a 40th of that penny goes to the government...which would leave me with what, part of lincolns hairdo? well, since no bills showed up all day long, when i saw this quarter in the parking lot, i DID pick it up! we're in a recession yo! besides, i'll need it to go with a dolla if i find myself in a diet coke panic at any point! (hasn't happened yet, but one never knows).

i remember when i was younger (like 3rd-4th grade young) and my friend nathan and i would go down to the gas station down the hill and check for change from the phones-yep, remember when you could pop in a nickle or a dime to make a call?! well, we would always scrounge hoping that someone hadn't checked for the change after hanging up, or the change slot in the coke machine-the old ones that had the glass bottles that you pay the money, then open the door...well, once i got older, i would leave some change once in awhile to make the day of a kid, but not these days! sorry kids, tough luck!

new mantra: find a quarter, pick it up...kid who lost it, you're out of luck.

i did pretty good this week with my meals, and water drinking-i've gone through almost my first 5-gallon at school. i forgot my drink receptacle today, so i had to pull out my RED SOLO CUP!  and so all day long i was singing to myself, "let's have a party!" i remember being on a huge toby keith kick-thanks, jory!  anyhoo, as i was walking around with my RED SOLO CUP!  i was wondering what is the significance at school of the colored solo cups, because i know they have certain messages on the college scene....well, when we got to the cafeteria and ate with the kids, i was reminded that in elementary school-cabell at least-the RED SOLO CUP! means shut up. be quiet at least and eat your food!

then today, the day we were supposed to be able to leave early, there was a retirement party for frank, our hard-working, always willing to do whatever is needed custodial staff:

i wish i were retiring! i'd take the boys down to utila or roatan and live it up!!!

in fact, this week has been so tiring that i had not gotten over to get dog food, and the boys were looking hungry last night, so i had some of the food i was using for chaco when he was littler with the liver issues, and i put some of it out. they looked at me like...really? but they ate a little of it. then i felt bad, so i gave them some chicken i had just poached, which they really liked. so tonight we went over to petsmart to grab a small bag of food. which led us to the greenies, and on the way toward checkout, we found frankenstein...it was a must.

"aw, hey mama! thanks! i love our new franken-ball-squeaky thing!"

"in fact, i love him SO much that i am going to rip the stitching out of his mouth and kill his squeaker!"

the boys are very happy that it is a long weekend as well. it has been a rough week on chaco. he has not liked me leaving every morning. #anxietyattacks! we're just going to sleep in and enjoy it. (reminds me of the commercial with the lady who needs glasses calling in the 'cat' [raccoon] "please come snuggles with momma!")

hope everyone enjoys this labor day weekend! wear those white shoes one more time this weekend and then put them away!

julie

i hate first days and i hate supplies!

i'm BEAT!

between last week and today, i feel like i haven't stopped physically nor mentally. i.am.tired. boo.

today went semi-smoothly, even though i do not feel like i was on my game, nor was i 100% as prepared as i like to be. but we made it through the day! tomorrow will be more productive. i'm sure of it!

today i walked into the library and it was switched ALL around! i like it. also, prominently displayed is our principal, dr. hughes in a disd poster..i signed up for my library days-can't wait to see what they will hold.

.this must have been on dr. seuss' birthday.

 and i left at a decent hour today, and am very thankful for the new walmart neighborhood mart place near school. i had to grab some produce to get back on track!

the cashier was an older lady and she said, "have a great day! if you can't sleep tonight, come on back, we're open all night!" oh, marketing. nothing beats insomnia like going to walmart, i suppose.

yesterday it took forever for me to finish my lesson plans. the worst part was that i was doing a lot of procrastinating. while it was raining out, i dumped my cooler and got some bleach to clean out whatever had grown in it over the summer...then i cleaned off the table in the breakfast nook and moved it into my room...and i did some laundry...was about to bake some angel food cake when i realized i didn't have an angel food pan, nor did i have two loaf pans that were the right size...yep, i tried everything, but the responsible side of me made me do it. we even went as far as to practice different poses for a birthday picture for bmayes! so the boys were definitely part of the problem!

they've gotten pretty good at posing. (before we took these pics, they were holding signs: WILL POSE FOR TREATS

and all day at school today i was wishing for chocolate. in fact i was kicking myself for not getting any while i was at 7-11. then i forgot to get any while i was at walmart this afternoon...so finally i was digging in my bag for my usb cord, and there was a bag of peanut m&m's that i didn't eat at the training last week and had forgotten about! it was better than finding $5 in a coat pocket!

well, that's all i got. time to rest up so we can go again tomorrow!
julie

if i had a voodoo doll of the carpet guys,i would put them in a van and make it drive to my apt to do my carpet.

well, i got up early this morning and went through the apartment getting everything off the floor-chairs, bean bags, dog stools, stairs and ramps...moved shelves and chairs, etc. i had made an appointment for the carpet guys to clean my carpet today. i was so tired after i got everything picked up that i really didn't want to run errands or go up to the school to set up, but...i had to.

so, first stop, lowe's-we had to get some insulation stuff to put over the green/blackboard (why did they make blackboards green? so confusing for the kids!) in order to use it as a bulletin board (not sure what kinds of bulletins we're going to post...) i put the boys in the cart and in we went! i couldn't leave them at home because i was told it would be better if they weren't here while the carpet was being cleaned. chaco said he really liked the cart because it was like a roller coaster. i don't know how he figured that because he has never been to an amusement park.

weee! do it again! do it again!!

then we headed over to the school to make sure the room was set up. well, some of the stuff was done, but i really couldn't do things i really wanted to do because the file cabinets were in the middle of my room, and the extra table hadn't been brought up for my project-station...boo. so i pulled out the drill and hung the insulation-styrofoam and the small white board for objectives. then i moved the smart board to the center and hung all of my fadeless paper (thank you, lakeshore!) the boys did really well, but i forgot to take treats and toys. i know they were bored, but it was too unfamiliar to really get comfortable, so they are now exhausted.

tony, my head custodian arrived around 3, so my file cabinets got moved and he brought up my table! woo hoo! snaps to tony! i was thinking about pushing it across the floor because i was so frustrated-that would've really irked him i'm sure. they work so hard to clean and wax the floors. and they look great.

my new class computers were installed and ready to go as well. i think one of the techies saw my prize box and opened one of my student prizes. i was not amused. really? leave the wrapper in clear view? and that's not the only thing, it's like blatant disregard-they left all of the wrappers from the computer items on the floor as well as their twisty ties, etc. like they took the component out and just threw their trash on the floor. rude. unimpressed.

if he'd thrown it away, i wouldn't have even known.jerk, one less prize for my students.

after tony came in, i was able to organize the rest of my room. it's looking good..ok, it's a start anyway. i reused one set of border from last year because there are just some borders that are worthy of recycle!

they guy on the right reminds me slightly of animal from the muppets..(you might have to cross  your eyes and squint a little)

i was hoping i wouldn't have to go back tomorrow, but i have so much left to do. barf. i also need to figure out if i can get the carpet guys to come on thursday. (they only come on tues and thurs) i suppose i could bring the dogs up to my room and put them in their exercise pen...and check up on them during breaks. if they cannot do it, i may have to just suck it up and pay for it myself to be done on a saturday. i don't want to have to take a day off school to deal with it.  morons. if they'd just come when they were supposed to, my life wouldn't be ruined!!

oh, i have to go tomorrow anyway because we have new computers coming in the afternoon...it's a one-time-deal. hope my carpet guys aren't the ones distributing computers...

julie

p.s. i am weak. i wish this joint weren't on the way home...i must turn on vitruvian way before i reach it from now on...

must.have.resolve. burger house is not your friend...but they have amazing burgers and fries!

vanilla is better as ice cream than as a shot, and unpacking standards is much more involved than unpacking a suitcase!

so...went on a walk yesterday morning in the beautiful 70's weather and we were in walking-heaven.

had to get a pic-they had a neat look about them, and it reminded me of something.

when i lived in costa rica for a year (5th grade, when mom and dad were going through language school), chris (girl) and i used to go to a little park and she showed me these weeds that you could pull the 'berry' off and pull the stem out along with some fibers that went through the middle of it, and make them into beads for bracelets and necklaces. i thought it was the coolest thing ever!

we also made cookies at her house one time and i distinctly recall her setting out the vanilla for the dough. well, i guess i'd not made cookies with mom yet, because i looked at the vanilla and thought, "hmm..i like vanilla!" (ice cream). i may or may not have taken a small swig while chris was looking the other way and gagged a little. no worries, i never did that again.

back to yesterday-we went up to the office later in the afternoon to say goodbye to jessica our office girl. sad day. the boys have grown quite fond of her because she loves to get down and play with them.

then i ran some errands-had to swing by lakeshore to pick up borders and fade-less paper! and the best part was when i got up to the counter and paid with my gift card, i only had a balance of like 1 dollar and change!!

and i learned that one of my friends-mere- who is not a teacher recently joined the cult out in cali so she could become a laminating queen! welcome aboard, i'm sure your sister is proud! (she teaches, right? do they have one of these in la-the state?)

of course, since i had only spent $1 and some, i obviously had the misguided notion that i was rich and lucky, so i crossed the street to bed bath and beyond. fortunately i knew exactly what i needed and i did not tarry. 

remember how i brought another pallet home? well, it took awhile but i decided on a design; it was probably the most time consuming one i could choose because i had to tape it out and move tape and what not, but i think i like the result. all that's left is to paint the back boards-there are 5. i am trying to decide what color to paint them. i thought white at first, but i am now leaning toward yellow, green, blue, orange and red-or white...any thoughts? then i think i'll sign it on the 2nd board from the right at the bottom (red, white and blue-gotta' love this country!) it took about three evenings (because i had my wide brushes at school, and was alternating between two, which meant waiting until they were washed and dried to re-use. i finally broke down and went to get some yesterday).

and this morning i was kicking myself (all the way out of bed) for saying that i would go to this curriculum alignment training-thing down in south america...ok, well...south of hwy 30...(i've told you a hundred and fifty million thousand times not to call me an exaggerator)

it would have been REALLY cool if i had actually looked at the time instead of assuming (love that word) that it would start at 8 am. and of course i left early to have a cushion for being lost or having traffic...i did end up having to stop at quicktrip to put air in my tires

well, needless to say, i got there early. best seat in the house. i chose the back corner. it was actually a really good training. all kinds of terms were thrown around-align the curriculum, unpack the standards, create dol's...if you ever get to go, do it! susan walker provided an excellent presentation.

cute tables.

at one point we had to get up and go into the hall with a mixed group of people and come up with lists about a section we read from a packet, and the instructions were to come up with as many points as possible. and we were off to the races. and when we were told to stop, we counted them up and then read them off out loud for the group. well, my group had the most, but some lady from group 4 had the audacity to look at me and say "it's all about quality." blah blah blah. in my mind i was thinking, "we still won, yo!" and then we were given a prize for winning-added bonus!

i would not have been so excited were i not teaching science this year!

so, all in all it was a good day and i learned some things. the problem with learning things and liking them and knowing in my heart that they will improve my practice as a teacher is that it is always something that is going to be time consuming and a slow, long process! grr, but in a good way?

julie

movies and shaved ice...still summer!

well, i went to see two documentaries in the past two days. i found both to be very interesting and i learned from them both.  if you get a chance to watch either of them or both, i would. you may agree or disagree with them, but i think there is knowledge to be gained. yesterday i went to see runaway slave- i found this one particularly riveting because it was a gentleman who used to be a naacp activist, doing some searching. lots of facts and figures.  and today i went to see 2016. both were very intelligently put together. 2016, while interesting wasn't exactly what i had expected. DON'T KNOCK 'EM TIL YOU SEE 'EM. can't have intelligent conversation about it until you see them.

i don't think i'll be able to go to another movie for awhile. i get nauseous because of the cinematography...my eyes can't take all of the movement on the big screen-i get headaches...i'll have to perhaps not go again until december when the hobbit comes out! (wait for it...)

wednesday we had our 2nd day of meetings and i think we ended on a pretty good note. it should be mentioned that solange invited us all over to her home for a delicious meal.

what a gracious hostess-a moment to share time together outside of school.

yesterday, after seeing runaway slave, i decided to see about purchasing another handheld saw-if you recall, i sent the first one with my dad, figuring he would use it more than i would. well, i decided i really want to make a bench, so i am going to get another. so i stopped into the store i originally purchased from and they didn't have it. so i ended up having to go to amazon.com.

i also stopped at lowes and got some paint (in the trial size), and while i was waiting, i roamed the store and happened to find 1. peg board and 2. shower board, which the guy offered to cut up into 1 X1 -24 squares for classroom mini-whiteboards. and it left me with a 2 X4 slice to use at the front of the classroom.

and today i sat down and made payments for xrays, physical therapy, car registration renewal, and most excitedly, i paid off my school loan-only one major debt to take care of. whew! almost there! speaking of money, i was excited to hear about a one-time $700-ish payment in november! already thinking about how to use that.hmm..

oh, juan williams is having a special on sunday night about schools/teaching in America (fixing our school-solutions that work) it looks very good. it will be on the fox network at 8 central time.

i have not visited my shaved ice place nearly enough this summer! so yesterday i made a point to swing by arapaho and hillcrest for some tiger's blood and cream, my all time favorite! it's in an albertson's parking lot, and it seems like a decent neighborhood-perhaps next time i'll get the shaved ice and take a walk...

i don't know if velvety ice is a thing, but that's how it is!

not much else for tonight-enjoy the weekend!!
julie

hmm..how can you help me? and what of that lightning storm under the table?

today we had a meeting at school and it actually went really well. i am getting excited about this year..slowly but surely working myself back into the idea of a new school year!

i am going to request just a little bit of latitude as i throw out a plug/request for my school. if you do not have school-age children, please consider helping me out in two ways: the first is box tops-clip and send. easy. the second is upc labels from the following products: most things bic, any variety pop secret popcorn, pepperidge farms, almost all post cereals, several magazines (time, people, southern living, cooking light, health and real simple), campbells and chunky soups,  glad storage bags and containers.  if you can do this for me, send the labels and box tops in an enveloped addressed to julie robinson at 12701 Templeton Trail, Dallas, TX 75234-our school.

the other way to help is to log onto the site and register with those reward cards used at kroger, tom thumb, albertsons, dillons, safeway, jewel-osco, price choppers...the list continues if you don't see one that applies to you...anyway, the school is WILLIAM L CABELL ELEMENTARY zip code 75234. 

look! i got us started! 13 points! woo hoo!

you have no idea how much help this would be for our school!!

i see lightning outside! which reminds me. this morning, while we were at the training, we 'tamed our technology' (because everyone knows that wild, rabid, ready to pounce technology is dangerous and quite easy to tame in mere seconds). anyhoo, after putting our phones on silence, someone's phone kept flashing through their pocket, and it looked like a little thunderstorm in the shadow of the table. funny stuff.

then we were going over protocol and being consistent across the grade levels-very important, but i couldn't believe that we spent that much time discussing bathroom procedure and how to put the toilet paper in the toilet...yep we discussed everything. there's valid data for consistency across the board, so it should be good.

then when i went upstairs to see if my classroom was ready, there was a stripper on the floor...along with some wax...the custodians were stripping and waxing the floor...the floor. they were stripping the floor and waxing it. that's better. and of course, my room was not ready yet, they say friday. hopeful. i know the school is going to be open this saturday and next week, so i will be going in to make sure things are in order.

alright, have an incredible night!
julie

the neighbors are moving...may the next set be decent and respectable.

well, it looks like it's supposed to be a long night...so says the wap weather ap...thunderstorms..it's been in the triple digits, which means prime conditions for tornadoes and hail...hopefully not, but i went ahead and got it prepared.

hmm..tub or closet?

yesterday the boys were begging for a fort, but i decided it might be just as fun to build a tower/nest.

they seemed equally happy and inquisitive, but the novelty has worn off, and now they haven't touched it since yesterday-time to clean up.

today has been ridiculous. i've been trying to focus and get some things done, but chaco has been barking non-stop. finally i looked out in the breezeway to see what was going on, and saw that apparently the neighbors are moving. good. i think they're the ones that were smoking and sweeping their butts under my mat (cigarette butts, mind you)...not only that, but the other day when i was going down the stairs, there was a wad of gum that someone had spit out and someone else had stepped in it and strands were trailing down the stairs (i'll bet that person was p.o.'d).

all of their stuff is still out in the breezeway, so the boys are going to continue to bark and make sure i know what amazing guard dogs they are while the neighbors are encroaching on their space. boo. if they don't finish soon, they and their stuff is going to get wet!

so the cigarette butts, the gum...then as i was walking on the trail, other people have left trash, bags, wrappers, etc. it really disappoints me...makes me angry. i wish i could live someplace where everyone had the same values as i do...and went to sleep at the same time as i do and didn't let their dogs bark in the middle of the night...leave things better than you found them, you don't have to go to sleep when i do, but you really should be respectful and have a noise limit! grr.

so...today i ate the outside edges of the brownies i made last night...i used to not love the outer edges, but cindy, my former manager at comair gave me some good insight. she said it was her favorite part, so today i understood why. don't get me wrong, the soft part is good too, but there is something extra special about those outer edges. 

i'd like some pizza right now, but they don't deliver single slices. i guess i'll just have to whip up some tuna. boo.

here's to hoping for no hail and no tornadoes,
julie

UPDATE***
as soon as i posted this, bruno up and decided that he actually did want to get back up in the nest and play with his treat...

the treat fell, and he looked down, torn between the treat and wanting to put the effort to get all the way down there to get it, so i got it for him..good mama.

 so, i may leave it up for another day.

found another pallet...let's get creative!

last night i finally turned off the t.v. and took some time to read my book about project based learning-very good read, helpful as we enter into this new year-especially for the science! i cannot wait to get started! so this morning i left the t.v. off for a bit and pulled up the curriculum guide to check some things out and begin making some decisions.

something different-now i need to start preparing materials

 then after i'd finished feeling slightly productive, i turned the t.v. on again, and sure enough, the olympics were still on, and i got to watch...wrestling. gross. so i switched the channel-not much on, so i naturally divert to the news. that got old, so i decided that i really needed to take action on the brilliant idea i had going through my head right before i went to sleep last night. i was thinking about how i really could make some great artwork. and my thoughts kept going back to using pallets. i made sure to write it out before i fell asleep and forgot it! (note to self: must get mini recorder for bedside).

so i figured i would stop by school to see if they had any available...

they did! the only problem is that it barely fits in my backseat!

so i got it home and drew up some quick mock-ups of some of the ideas that were going through my head last night before i fell to sleep. they are rough ideas of possibilities, but i decided instead of leaving it see through like the last one i did last time for my headboard, to put a canvas across the back (it would be kind of like a shadow box) and paint it to contrast or compliment. remember, it will be about 3ft by 3 ft 10 inches...so, here are some possibles...which style-ish (even if not exactly-these are marker, the actual product will obviously be painted) do you like best?? please post comments, because i seriously would like some feedback.

#1 Spiral and straight combo

#2 off-centered daisy

#3 giant partial rose

#4 ocean/sunset-ish

#5 random

#6 colorful more geometrical lines

i'll probably keep collecting pallets and make some more...i was actually thinking it would be cool to make an over-sized coffee table-using glass or plexiglass over the top, and drawer-like legs at the corners-or ends- for storage...

thank you ikea...great ideas

anyhoo, lots of ideas, wish i'd had them a little earlier in the summer. boo. oh well.

well, back to looking at some plans for starting up school again...
julie

our summer fun-very simple laser pointer

i decided that this week i am a very boring individual. "here, here," said the boys in unison. so i pulled out the laser pointer today for chaco and we played for a bit. it's one of his favorites...as soon as i pick it up, he starts looking all over the floor for it to come on. then i run all over the apartment with it to give him a little workout while bruno watches on and yawns, putting his leg out every once in awhile hoping to trip chaco up.

hi, laser dot.

if i leave it in one place for too long, he starts to dig at it.

we've played a little with the frisbee, a little with the squeaky toy...walks, but they won't play with toys outside-they are too distracted by everything else. i'm a little hesitant about letting them play in the grass because the winter was so warm that not all of the fleas got killed off...jessica (down at the office) said that one of the other residents was having flea problems. ok, not the resident, her dog.

i've been taking them on 15 min walks in the mornings, but yesterday, i took my own walk off to the park without them because it was above 100', and i was out for an hour-not good for little dogs who won't drink from the doggie fountains. anyhoo, it was great coming up the incline and not being tired or winded or even thinking about it as in the past. it's a gradual incline and i don't know if you can even really tell from this picture.

it's a pretty little walk, except for the annoyingly loud portion that goes by the construction site for a huge apt bldg going in-smells like downtown san jose, costa rica.

on the way back i took the long way around the pond, and the ducks were protesting the heat as well...and they still haven't cleaned out all of the algae. gross.

bottoms up!

they had the right idea-maybe i should just grab my bathing suit and go out and enjoy the pool tomorrow.

tonight we might just go down to the vitruvian park-it's supposed to be rhythm nite-see what the boys think about music at the park. if they don't like the tunes, we can just walk around the park. they call it vitruvian nites-i saw a banner the other day, and wish i'd known about it sooner! thursday nights are food truck nights...hmmm guess what i'm doing tomorrow night!?

i'm excited for my mom and dad-i mentioned that they had moved to mo. well, answer to prayer-mom got a job in her field (no, she isn't a farmer), anyhoo, she started this week, and will be doing some driving, but she seems excited about it being something a little different from before. i hope it ends up being enjoyable and full of stories, and not too stressful.

they live near the niangua river. if i ever moved back up that way, i would get a kayak! that is the big problem with dallas-not much outdoors around here to enjoy.
later-
julie

so hot my car has to wear shades...

another boring day...it's saturday, and i need to go to the big store, but i decided i would wait until monday when people are at work. what is the big store? it's where adults go to buy major appliances...i need to look at some washers and driers. i've been renting them from my complex and they're kinda terrible. i have way over paid by renting them all this time. anyhoo...i need to look into that! (any suggestions of where to purchase that might have installment plans?)

i took the boys for a walk and we stopped at the office, and i had to ask jessica some questions, but i didn't get all of the answers i needed, because there were some other residents coming in and i didn't want to keep her, so i'll go back tomorrow-important things to finish discussing. they'll be looking for leasing agents i think, because one of the gals (whom i may have mentioned...a little on the snooty side) is no longer here.

i am thrilled that one of my friends (a former kamper) is moving to dallas, and i now have someone who will go to the midnight showing of the hobbit in december!!! woohoo!! i am beyond excited! i mean, i would've gone alone, we all know that wouldn't stop me, but it's just more fun with a friend to discuss points afterward!

tonight i had to stop at burger house because i was craving it...it was so hot i had to put the shades up while i waited in line! heat heat please go away...

perhaps i should invest in getting the windows tinted

 and here's another little blast from the past                                                                                   

feathered hair was all the rave...this was in our first apartment in costa rica.

up on the wall you can see a partial of an art project-a dancing senorita. that guitar-still have it. in fact, my parents had me bring it back to dallas with me this trip. and believe it or not, it's still in tune! i got it in 83 and it's as good now as it was then! this was the apartment where i felt my first earthquake tremor-things actually fell off the shelves! that was 5th grade. so many great memories about costa rica. 

in our training, the trainer mentioned an insect project from when she was in 5th grade, which really made me remember ms. gonzalez, my 5th grade teacher and the same project! only, being in costa rica, it was easy to find crazy looking insects-i had quite the variety from walking sticks to leaf bugs, beetles, etc. it was pretty amazing! good thing peta wasn't around down there!

i got to see my 

first smoking volcano

first inactive volcano

first parrots

first ox cart

first pops ice cream

first 4-square game

first monkeys owned by civilians

first time someone stole something from mom (chicken from her purse-not sure if i told that story...it was on a crowded bus)

first candy with kahlua inside

favorite friend: amy porter. more about her another day.

friend i would randomly meet up with 5 or 6 years later: milagros castro. after i moved to HONDURAS, we had a basketball tournament in el salvador with international schools from various central american countries. i was the token gringa, and being such a novelty, everyone automatically thought i must be a star bball player-could be that my hair is so blonde they figured i must be related to larry bird...anyhoo, we were at a restaurant when a girl randomly walked up and said, "julie!" and then introduced herself as my old friend from costa rica. i don't recall whose team won the game when we played them. i tried to pretend like i had a great time in el salvador, but we stayed with random families, and the gal that i was staying with didn't seem very excited about having me there. so i was like bruno on that trip-pretended it was great fun, but basically i endured it. the fact is the best part about that trip was meeting up with milagros again and catching up.

julie

boring days force me to bring up the past

so good to sleep in again today! ahhh. only a few more weeks left. boo. so i'm just going to enjoy them and do what i want! today i wanted to make those fig/date/cherry/nut bars-soooo stinkin good! but i was missing figs, so i went down to the store and had to get a few other things as well. when i was walking out to the car, i realized that i noticed seams. yep, i had put my shirt on inside-out. nice. trend-setter.

when i got home, i was trying to think of how to get the boys to try the antlers i bought on our trip...well, i tried boiling them in chicken broth and water to see if maybe the smell would soak into the marrow so they would find it tantalizing...it was novel for a moment, but it didn't last long-we shall see if they go back to them or not.

i did cut a chewy braid of beef pizzle (? not sure) and here's what chaco did:

i hate uploading videos on this thing-takes so long! 

we didn't do much else today besides peruse houses online and wish we had money for down payment, closing costs, etc...rent is going up again and it is outrageous-i am paying way more than this place is worth! (especially having no updates in the past 6 years). the boys were ooohing and aaahing at the backyards.

i did find some old goodies while i was at mom and dad's-the pictures have stories behind them, so i may only share one or two per post.

notice the athletic physique and the running shorts

 when we lived in kc, i was in kindergarten, and i think i may have shared this story before-not sure...maybe only with my students. we were at a church picnic, and there was a tornado slide. the adults were cooking the food and conversing-as parents do, and we were all playing. well, i climbed the ladder of what was the tallest tornado slide ever...this one was comparable to mt.kilimanjaro-said the kindergartner who barely cleared the fence line. anyhoo, by the time i got to the top i was exhausted and a little short on oxygen because of the thinning atmosphere, but i managed to shout out that i was coming down. i thought i heard my voice echoing in the valleys, but it was a different message, thus it couldn't logically be an echo. the message was: don't come down, we're coming up! so i took a step back down, but my foot missed the rung, and i feel to the ground with the world swirling around me-it was somewhat like one of those kaleidoscopes that you spin and see different colors and shapes-somewhat psychedelic. i recall being in the car with mom and dad on the way to the doctor. i recall him giving me a sling that was "special" i was used to seeing the white ones...so this one was a little embarrassing.

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and this was from one of the times i dressed like a clown i guess i thought all clowns were fat. i know better now, but i remember one summer day the library was having a special event and they had a clown come down and read a book, so there were kids from all over town flooding to the library dressed like clowns (walking, biking, etc). there was to be a prize for the best clown. i was certain that i was going to win this one. i had a hawaiian shirt on for the event, i wasn't there for the story, i was there to win a prize. well, needless to say that when one of the caudwell twins won, i was deflated. (my life might've taken a whole different twist had i won). and as you can imagine, in my mind, there was no gracious winning. they were two years older than me, in my brother's class. their mom was a kindergarten teacher. even at that age, my little mind thought it was political and that the librarian and the clown were probably in cahoots and knew their mom, the teacher...maybe they had kids in kindergarten and so they voted for leslie, or was it lisa...i don't even know, like i said they were twins...identical. i was miserable all the way home-sweating make-up from the summer heat...boo.

there you have it...on boring days like today, you get stuck with my memories!
julie

in our training, i became a mini video producer, (after therapy, and enduring the foundations yesterday)

yesterday i went to the physical therapist and he prepared some new exercises, then he said he didn't need to see me again! if i have any questions or concerns, i can call. he also said i don't need to go back to my neurologist because it would be a waste of my money. good.

may i not have to see another one of  these in a loooooong time!

at least this set doesn't take as long as the other set!

after receiving that good news and almost skipping to my car and clicking my heels, i headed over to the city hall to exercise my rights as a US CITIZEN. i believe voting is important.

there was actually a really cute guy in the parking lot with fact sheets about one of the candidates....forgot to check if he had a ring or not. boo.

 then this morning, i had to get up early for training. i am excited because we're getting some sweet materials afterward.i was reminded today that we have a two days prep before school starts this year, and one of those days is for a convocation about 45 minutes away. boo. those things kill me. reminder-take a book.

training binder-50 lbs....

when i got home, i used my indoor grill and grilled me up some sirloin-along with portabella caps and spinach...not bad for the first time, i expect it to be much better next time!

so thankful for an indoor grill with 107 heat

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sorry, i meant to finish last night and get this thing posted! today's training was much better than yesterday-more engaging. how can you go wrong with treats?

ahhh, coconut sorbet! recycle the coconut shells for women's intimate apparel.

 now i need to go find a couple of those websites we were playing on today and have some fun. i am especially excited about animoto! the kids will love it! i probably need to get busy working with prezi and some of the other ones in the next couple of weeks so that i can teach the kids. (actually they probably know more about it already than i do!) i don't know if it will work or not, but here is the link to my video on the boys (if you watch close, you'll see thatcher he looks like a lion with his eyes closed, getting a suntan)..i don't think reagan is in this one-i'll have to get a subscription to make longer videos.
julie