calendar dogs and making 2014 happen

is it really the last day of the year? it must be because everyone is posting end of the year and new year craziness.

we spent the last day of the year relaxing, reading and enjoying the beautiful weather that today presented.

i love it that this one is truly a lap dog and that he loves sitting on my lap and he actually fits

when we went outside to do our business (they did their business, i just checked the mail), we stopped at dad's wood shop and they went up on the porch and chaco said, "hey, take our picture! this one will be great for a new calendar..you're making one this year, right?" and bruno was just kinda' like... really? is this necessary?

sometimes it takes a minute, but when i can get them to both pay attention, they're pretty good models (this one will be in my new year calendar)

as i look back and reflect on the year, 2013 just kinda' slipped by. nothing spectacular, it just plodded along. 

i want more out of 2014. and that's going to be up to me. i did start by picking up one of these:

i was an idiot and i let mine expire. my bad.

i'm not really dying to go anywhere but back to HONDURAS to visit, really i need to get out to see more of the U.S. we have such a great abundance of beauty that i have yet to mark off my list-makes me wish i had an r.v.

also on my list:
- find a church nearby that i really love and feel a part of.
-there was a homeless group that i was about to get involved in a couple of years ago that i would like to look into more closely.
-more walks with the boys-more dog parks.
-more visits to norman (now that bmayes is back).
-more smiling.
-more laughing.
-more singing, and maybe some dancing in the rain (when everyone else is inside).
-more eating outside.
-more walks at lunch.
-less t.v.
-less social media (that will be difficult)
-more letter-writing.
-more compliments and encouragement.
-less criticizing, more helping.
-more painting.
-more exercising.
-more eating well.
-more leisurely reading.
-more risk-taking.
-less second-guessing.
-less caring about what everyone else thinks.
-more nature.
-visit more museums, plays, and other fun cultural events.
-catch up with more old friends (not that they have to be ancient-old, more like simply reuniting with people who have been special to me at some point in my life).

i'm sure there are more things that will go onto this list, but it's a good start.

move over 2013, there's a new year in town!

instead of just waking up tomorrow and saying, "happy new year!" let's wake up every morning and say, "HAPPY NEW DAY!"

julie

see the beauty in the ice-don't just shiver and curse its coldness.

well, we drove up to mo. to visit mom and dad for the break. we left on monday to avoid bad weather, and it was actually a fairly nice drive. when we got up into oklahoma, it was obvious that an ice storm had passed through. dad called when we were just about halfway through ok, and told me i should probably go the speed limit, because they were talking about cracking down on speedsters...

i figured this might be a good time to be obedient and heed his wisdom. we were in no hurry. in fact, the effects of the ice storm were so compelling that i decided to pull off and take a small side road in the country to get some pictures. i love leisurely trips!

 then we i got back in the car (the boys were hesitant to get out. chaco was like, "look at me. my hair is so thin. i can't go out there, you haven't even gotten me a scarf for the winter! do i look like a husky?) i'm pretty sure anyone who was passing by was wondering what i was doing...don't care.

so we kept going and who forgot to check the windshield wiper fluid? so on the turnpike with no exits in sight, i thought about pulling off, throwing some snow on the windshield and wiping it off...actually i considered the sprite sitting beside me for about a fraction of a second; instead, i would get up near a big truck who was spraying up just enough wet stuff to wipe them, then speed around him until we finally found an exit and bought some fluid. it was magical. i never knew that happiness could be found in a bottle of wiper fluid, and yet there it was.

i did stop in to get chaco his scarf, and that night, we got some ice in buffalo as well, and he was willing to step out for just a moment, but he shivered the entire time. bruno on the other hand, was loving it.

i was riveted by the ice on the trees. it glistened in the sunlight and it kinda' looked like tinsel. the best part was just listening to it talk. the limbs creaked with the weight of the ice and it was fascinating!

the boys were greeted with their own stockings this year-they were pretty excited!

bruno with his squeaky toy giraffe...he set it aside to sniff out the other goodies.

and chaco with his squeaky boar. he LOVES that thing! and i'm excited because he hasn't been able to disable the squeaker.

rare moment when they weren't in checking on the cat.

 they have been very diligent all week long to check on the cat in the laundry room to make sure he was still up there on the washing machine. he's pretty much proven that he's not afraid of them, he just likes to taunt them by sitting still and watching them bark, then if they get close enough, he'll bat at them with his paw and they think he's like mike tyson or something.

it warmed up for a couple of days and so we got to plink around a little. i really wish i could find abundant supplies of ammo for the 9mm-it's a better shot. but dad pulled out his rifle and we played with that too. i don't know how many rounds we went through in all, but when it was all said and done, dad and i went down to look at the wooden stand he had rigged up, and it took a beating...and that was just with the .22. i heard shots in the distance around the 'rural neighborhood' and i'm guessing they were probably shooting at dear targets...not me...mine was a self-defense silhouette-they probably think i am some kind of maniacal Texan (if they saw my plates). sorry kids, that's just how we handle things in texas. (surely a stereotype that we are all walker texas ranger-thank you chuck norris)

i settled in with the book thief because i was intrigued when i saw a brief portion of the movie trailer. i really was a bit clueless as to what it was going to be about, but i couldn't put it down. i really loved the characters in the story-they had such neat qualities.

i received many lovely things this year, and while the heartfelt thoughts behind every gift is greatly appreciated, what made my heart the happiest this year was hearing from friends-that things are going well-that they are happy-that they are feeling blessed in many ways-that family is well and healthy-that memories are being made-these are the things that warmed my heart the most during this season of JOY.

may your blessings be many-
julie

no worries, it's just a crime risk report

UPDATE! THE GRINCH PICS FINALLY CAME!

when they guy took off his mask, he still kinda resembled the grinch. bruno was like, "mom, he's worse than halloween." hmm.

wednesday we had our staff party at that famous italian restaurant that's not olive garden...i'll remember it in a moment...i'm too lazy to look it up. but i had a fabulous chicken parm. on the way to the restaurant, i had to stop and get another Christmas card-writing pen because somehow i lost the other one that i had JUST gotten! what in the world? it was worth it to go through the feeling of getting a new pen all over again. (anyone else with me on this pen thing?) i mean, the pen makes or breaks it!

at one point while at the dinner, i had to use the restroom, and of course there was an italian lesson on the intercom of the restroom in which the tourist was learning how to say some very strange things. and when i turned to go out the door, the door said 'uomini/men'....so i quickly opened the door to make sure, and the outside said womens-that was weird. scary weird.

when i got into my car, i saw a paper under my wiper...uh oh, it looked like a ticket. i AM late on my inspection...and that could've warranted a ticket...

it wasn't a ticket!!! the officer was just trying to help me prevent criminal activity..HIDE RADAR DETECTOR TO PREVENT THEFT.

 MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!

then i got home and my throat was getting that beginning-of-scratchy feeling. so i went to bed at a decent time. when i woke up, it was rough. i didn't even roll out of bed. i called in sick, and went back to sleep til about noon. then i was up for a bit and i went to get cold/flu medication at tom thumb; i wasn't sure what to get so i got 4 different items, plus a thermometer. i didn't think i would need it because i was feeling a little better, but i don't have one, and since i was thinking about it, i might as well get it, right? so i did. and the next morning when i woke up, i was running a fever, so i called in again. boo. 

i missed ugly sweater day on thursday and i missed pajama day on friday. boo, again.

julie

if it's red or green and it's in our home, attack it!

hmm. (that's how i begin when it's been awhile and i really have no idea exactly where to begin). so i will just start with december, how's that? (rhetorical-your input is not valid here).

so, here's the deal. thanksgiving decided to come super late this year. thanks a lot, thanksgiving. (and at this point, you might be thinking, 'i thought she said she was starting with december.' i lied. my blog, my prerogative. unapologetic. but not really...i'm a little sorry...only not much). regardless, i was am grateful for much. i am not going to sit here and list everything that i am grateful for and bore you, but i will say that i did a lot of thinking over that break and what i am especially grateful for ( i just told you i wasn't going to do this, but i guess one word a list does not make...yoda logic...and once again unapologetic-for real this time) is relationships past and present.

ok, FF to december. we tried to get into the swing of things at school, but then we were graced with a snow  ice day that friday and it lasted through to monday, when our 2nd snow day was used up...boo. the only thing i hate more than losing a day to ice is losing 2 days to ice. we didn't get out to do anything. in fact, the electricity went out around 3 am on friday morning and lasted until about 5 p.m. saturday... i was not smiley face icon...i was more grumpy cat icon (if there even is one). we made the most of it. so...i like to be prepared-thankfully i had the emergency radio and was able to crank it for news and music...otherwise, i might have driven the boys crazy. and then we snuggled up on the couch and i wrote some of my Christmas letters.

um, yes, please notice the pen. this is one of TWO special pens i bought specifically for writing Christmas messages. it made all the difference. and yes i made a special trip just before the storm specifically to make that purchase. i'm serious about my pens.

 i pulled out all of my batteries, and then i found my camping stove that uses gel (which burns clean) and when it started to get a little chilly, i opened the hand warmers and put them in my socks and in my pockets. worked like a charm.

i used the little stove to heat up water for coffee-the old fashioned way, and i think i heated up some soup...then i took some of the refrigerator items and put them in the cooler and placed them on the balcony.

i'm pretty sure i'd do just fine in a cabin in the woods.

then monday came. i was supposed to be at a convention that day. when i woke up and watched the news, they were showing all sorts of video of people having difficulty maneuvering about on 'cobblestone ice'. so i decided to wait for awhile and see if it started to melt or look better. i decided to venture out and check it out myself-by delivering some mail to the post office (which was close) those roads were clear, so i felt guilty and decided i should try to make it over to the conference at the gaylord. got caught up a little and missed the afternoon session, so i went down to the exhibition hall and looked around (trying to avoid actually talking to any of the vendors). i did come across this next to the restroom:

hmm...now why would anyone build a non accessible closet...and then announce it? and on a placard none-the-less!! rich people.

the next two days were great because i actually went to some great sessions...okay, two were great, the third one i should have gotten up and walked out, even though the presenters came all the way from singapore; a piece of me is still mourning those 2 lost hours of my life (and i did write a Christmas card at that point...i'm sure layne will appreciate the mention of wishing for a cyanide tooth in her Christmas card).

yesterday when i was at petsmart, i saw a santa, and they said santa would be there til 4. i looked at my watch: 1:30. i rushed home, got out the shears, gave bruno and chaco a trim, and quickly hustled them out the door for pictures (we were running against the clock, i may or may not have left hair trimmings on the floor in our rush out the door-but this was important!) when we got there, there was a lady in the santa costume...well, the boys have never met santa before, and they are pretty perceptive...they now think santa is a lady...so i told them that santa is an elderly lady with lots of testosterone in her system, that's why all of the facial hair. chaco was like, "what? she's a tester of bones? i want her job!" selective hearing.

pretty sure if she were the real santa, she would've told chaco he wasn't getting a cat for Christmas because he was DEFINITELY barking at the little boy who came around the corner. he really doesn't like little kids. i don't know what the cut-off age is.

now they know santa. pretty sure chaco was done before we even started.

then i saw something on facebook that a friend posted about getting pics with the grinch. well, i thought this would be a very good idea. it would help a dog rescue team, AND more importantly, the boys would know the difference between santa and the grinch, and if the wrong one showed up on Christmas eve, they would know which one to freak out about...ok, for real though, i told them that if either of these crazies showed up in our place, they should attack!

we waited in line for a bit and a girl came out of the ice cream shop and rushed over to pet the dogs-let's face it, bruno and chaco just aren't very social. they don't like people in public. if you come to my place, they'll be all over you, otherwise, it's like you aren't even there. anyhoo,when i picked chaco up, the girl ran out again to pet him, and i saw his ears go back...he was good. then she turned around and he barked at her-and it wasn't a nice 'come-back-and-keep-petting-me' bark...it was more of a 'that's-right-you'd-better-turn-around-and-run-and-never-look-back' bark. yeah, so i'm thinking that the cut-off age is right around 4th-5th grade.

it's not the greatest pic, i am waiting for them to send their digital pic-i was moving, trying to get them to look at the real photog.

then we came home and did some photo shoots. we got a Christmas one for next year's card..

we may have to choose between this, santa and the grinch...

and then we went for something a little more sophisticated.

they'd seen a guy on facebook do this with his cats, and bruno was adamant that they would look great. we go to great lengths to keep 'em happy.

well, this is it, one final week of classes until we have a break! i have a few more Christmas messages to finish-hopefully i will find a free evening this week.

 make sure your pets know the difference between good and evil! (and rehabilitated) or just teach them to bark at everything-safer.
julie

she turned on the mic for all TWO of us.

i made crockpot roast beef yesterday. as great as it taste, i was not thrilled to arrive home today to an apt that smelled like..well, roast beef. so i opened the windows and then took the boys for a walk. when i got home, it was still roast beefy. so i threw everything into the dishwasher. there's something strange about my dishwasher...at first i thought it was the classical music on t.v., but when i came into the living room, i realized it was not.

i think there is a tiny man inside my dishwasher conducting a symphony...perhaps he wears a scuba outfit...idk, but it sounds like a musical arrangement of various instruments.

so, saturday i ventured out to find some things; i found myself not happy with the options at walmart-although i still found some things that i needed. so i turned around and went to the container store. i found some great stuff! i was especially looking for an appropriate clothespin-holder-deal for room 109 (i don't even know what to call the room that i 'board' in). 

while i was there, i was looking at the push pins and magnetic strips when a lady approached me with a card and a pen to fill out the card. then she asked me to come see the shelving presentation in 5 minutes. i asked her how long it would take, and when she said 7-10 minutes, and you could win a $20 gift card, i stuck around for a bit. not that i was bothered because it was raining out pretty hard, and this would be a great moment to avoid that.

so i walked over to the shelving area and filled out my card. there was one other lady there besides the lady giving the presentation. yes, if you are counting, that would make two of us plus store lady. and then she did the unthinkable. she turned on the microphone and she began broadcasting. did i mention that there were only two of us? so she began reading her cards and we muddled through. i tried to look like i was really interested and planning on eventually getting something. they really do have some great stuff.

and when it was over, she mixed the cards....all two of them for the drawing and the other lady drew a card. it was mine! woohoo! so i got a $20 gift card which i immediately put to use. and i felt even luckier when i saw that they had the umbra card holders! i have been looking for another ever since the little bungee-elastic on mine broke and i had to re-tie it!!

i had a 50/50 chance..i usually don't win.

i really like this hanging deal with solid shelves-i could think of many uses in a classroom.

my new umbra case with the thumb tacks that were so colorful.

i went from there to the 1/2 price bookstore. i purchased several new mentor texts for writing and reading. i love books! i sat myself down and went through my list of authors and filled up my cart.

most girls treat themselves to new shoes. new clothes. a manicure. a pedicure. i went to the gun range. it's been awhile. i need to go more often. i'm still a pretty good shot; next time i am going to try a couple of different rental calibers. if they don't have too much of a kick i might actually look into getting a .40 or .45 because ammunition is a little easier to come by.

yesterday i was working on some reports and questions with our system. so i was e-mailing our amazing rep from all in learning, and i meant to send some screen shots of the issues that i was having so that he would have an inkling of what i was talking about. i thought i had chosen the 5 screen shots that i had just taken, but i was having 'outlook-difficulties,' and my computer wasn't showing me the attachments that i added. then i got his response:

hmmm...

 apparently i sent this in one of the attachments...

let's not like, he is kinda' cute. (and if you don't think so, you can go ahead and lie anyway)

i think we got most of our issues resolved.

remember how i went to the discovery gardens and purchased some fun plants for school? well, after having the milkweed in the car for a couple of days, i was ready to be rid of the creeper.

totally peeking around the headrest...backseat driver-tickled my ear and scared the crap out of me! and made me think of audrey II in little shop of horrors.

and then when i went to the store the other day, i found myself haggling over 9/10s of a cent. what in the world? no wonder it sometimes takes so long to get what i need and get out.

must-live-more-simply....please tell me it's not just me.

i think the lady next door moved saturday. i'm glad. she was kind of an odd bird. bruno and chaco were talking about her dog. he always growled at them and chaco would start the whole 'hold-me-back' routine, knowing full well that his leash kept him safe. anyhoo, i noticed that their welcome mat is gone, so i'm pretty sure they went with it.

well, it's time for bed-
julie

if i'd had a compass and the coordinates, it would've been no big deal.

well. i'm back. i have not given up, i have just been a bit busy. thanks for waiting around!

to explain what happened today, i have to go all the way back to saturday. so, saturday we had an awesome day working in the garden at our school. it was a big deal because we wanted to make sure it was ready for them to work and learn in. (ok, major thrust to get it done because our Real School Gardens trainers are coming on Wednesday, and we needed it to not look totally in shambles. heaven forbid they call the 'garden cps' on us). 

so, yeah, some weeds had taken over 

teamwork is so much quicker and better than solo work!

look at all of those weeds!!! and that is only the first wheel barrow-ful!

i had gone out a few weeks earlier and spent about an hour and barely finished weeding one bed (not nearly as well as it should have been), and by the end of that time, i was drenched and thought i might pass out. so i was thrilled when 11 of our finest showed up at school to pitch in and give it the ol' team effort! linda's banana cake and the pizza made it all worthwhile, the weather was amazing, plus, i had some great conversations!

the best part is that it looks amazing! looking forward to the cabbage, broccoli, cilantro and garlic that will be joining us soon.

well, i thought it would be good to write thank you notes, so i decided to go up to school early this morning to put them into boxes. on the way to school i had to get fuel and a diet coke. so i stopped at the 7-11 around the corner. then i headed to the school and dropped off my notes and stopped in my room to look up the address one last time. when i got into my car i realized that my phone was not on my hip...uhoh. i thought i had brought it from home. so i looked through my bags and did not locate it.

hmm. i had planned to use the nav system on my phone...it's ok, i took a pic of the directions just in case i lost the signal...oh, guess what it's on the phone...so i went back to the apt to look for it. not in the 3 most likely places i had remembered seeing it earlier. not there. so i went to the 7-11 and the girl at the counter said no one had turned it in, and gave me that 'if-i-didn't-have-17-people-in-line-right-now,-i'd mourn-with-you' look. so i pulled out and decided i remembered just enough of the directions to get there.

well, the truth is: i knew just enough of the directions to get lost and frustrated.for those of you familiar with dallas...the numbers 121, and 114 stuck in my head, so i set off on my venture to the west with about an hour to spare. i was feeling like i had gone a little too far south, so i pulled off to a gas station, because all attendants know the area, and are super helpful, right? well...as a matter of fact, that would be FALSE. 

i purchased a map (for 9.98) and went up to the counter and opened it up and asked the lady where we were and how to get to keller. she folded it back up and scanned it as if she hadn't understood what i wanted (she was a foreigner, but i couldn't understand the accent, and her hair was dyed red, so i don't think she was really irish....); i opened the map back up and looked at her and asked if she knew where keller was and she said no. so i stepped outside and there was a guy out at his big construction truck. 

he wasn't a map-guy either...although he was able to point to keller...good job, big guy. i just needed to know where we were because i DO know how to read a map (we actually did that when i was in social studies class in elementary school); i'm telling you, kids need map skills...adults too. so i got back into my car and my clock was ticking at this point. so i got back onto the interstate, and went back to 635, unfortunately my map wasn't complete-it was mostly fort worth...so when i came south again on 121, i actually went through the dfw airport and exited down south. so i took another exit and decided to get off and try another filling station. this time, there was a young man at the counter-also not from around here. he said, "keller?" and he looked at the frito-lay guy who was stocking the shelf for a little think-pair-share, and that guy had a blank look. c'mon frito-lay guy! you deliver stuff, you should know the area. so finally i just asked the kid where i was, and he said, "irving." great.

at one point i was pretty sure i was glad that there was no one else in my car with me because the thoughts in my head were coming out of my mouth, and it wasn't pretty. (i'm glad there was no speaker on the top of my car like the old, old orange crush commercial). and at about the time i realized how frustrated i was, i had to remind myself of what maria reminds us every once in awhile: why get mad? there's nothing you can do about it; it won't change anything. so true. so true.

as natalie so eloquently put it: i took a tour of the major dallas suburbs today...not on purpose...people without phones are probably the most likely to suffer from road rage.

so i got into my car again and this time i stared at my map for a minute and looked for a cross road 1709 looked good. all i knew was that i needed to be going west first, so i kept the sun to my back and took off. i was so frustrated with all of those cars poking along...without a care in the world...80 would be good here, folks. so interestingly enough, when i finally found 1709, i was able to cut across 3 lanes in time to make a graceful exit. i figured i would eventually find keller parkway-even though it wasn't on my map. 

as i was driving, i noticed kimball. guess where i'd seen that street before. it was the first exit i stopped at the first time around, only a bit further south. if i'd known and simply taken it all the way up, i would've been early to my workshop. as i drove, i noticed, i had passed from euless into southlake. then before i knew it, i saw keller signs. i was in keller! i looked at the road sign, and it had turned from 1709 to southwest pkwy to keller pkwy...i mean, why not? then i saw an address close to what i was looking for, only on the wrong side of the road, so i had to make a u-turn-then i drove right past the place i needed to be, so i had to make two more u-turns to get back to the parking lot, which was full.

yes, there are three u-turns in there, and one of them may have had revving of engine and squealing of tires

it didn't look like a building that would host this training, but i asked a lady carrying a bag of ice across the parking lot and she said it was. when i got upstairs, fortunately i recognized one of the reps, and after i explained why i was an hour late, she said let me get you situated and get you a diet coke. soothing words. 

what a great training! at about noon, natalie showed up, and she, maria and i went to fuzzy's for a little-too-much lunch. on the way back from lunch, i was recounting-to natalie- my story of what had happened. at the end i was saying i really thought the phone was lost, but that i needed to stop by school to check and see if it had fallen in my room or something, otherwise i was going to need to purchase another one. at that point maria did her sales pitch for the iphone, and i said i would probably get a samsung like natalie's-i like my android. to which natalie responded, that she liked hers and probably didn't use it to its full capacity.

so we had an entire conversation revolving around my missing phone making me an hour late to the workshop and very frustrated.

when we got inside and linda had arrived at our table, she said, so you got your phone?

what? how did she know about my phone? linda looked at natalie, natalie looked at me, and then she said (mind you AFTER that whole phone conversation)...."oh yeah, i forgot to tell you, linda has your phone." as linda was handing me the phone. it had actually fallen in the room, and one of our other coaches found it and sent it with linda. what a relief! obviously someone had other things on her mind. smile.

i got home much more quickly, and i know i will be early tomorrow because guess what. they have croissants-real ones, not pillsbury...although those aren't bad either-bacon and scrambled eggs. tomorrow will be a good day. today was a good day, but tomorrow will be even better!

depeche mode coffee and wookies in the restroom?

I learned today that flies in missouri are caffeine addicts. how did i come to this epiphany, you might ask. well. i left an unfinished cup of coffee on the table and came back to it later. the one drawback of being in the country is that there are flies...it's like they all gravitated toward buffalo missouri, curious about the visitor from tx...they must've seen my car plates and registration on the way in...

so, i've been practicing my fly swatting skills-i knock 'em silly and then chaco plays with them until they stop moving. i'm pretty sure he swallowed one or two. but i digress...upon returning to my lukewarm coffee (which is still better than no coffee...), i felt a little chunk pass my lips and spit it back into the cup...it wasn't like grounds that had gotten past the filter, it had legs! so i went to the sink to dump it out, and there was another one! NASTY. it did make me think of the old depeche mode song: fly on the windscreen.

in the beginning, the flies kinda drove chaco crazy...he'd see them flying around and hear them, and get the anxious shivers as he started looking around in his all-vigilant-mode, ready to pounce. by the end, i'm pretty certain that he was actively seeking the flies out.

any time a car slowed down or pulled into the drive, they were at the window...thyey loved it.

i'm not complaining that it was raining...every day while i was in missouri, just stating the facts. yep, it was a wet one-which also made it cooler. when i left, it was 75 degreees, and by the time we'd travelled into oklahoma and just south of the clouds, it had rapidly reached 98. boo. then when we hit texas, it was triple diigits. no flies. i'm pretty sure they don't dig the heat....nor the traffic.

on the way home, i slowed down enough to get a pic of the local park restrooms.this particular one always catches my eye.

 so, here's the story. the first time i saw it i thought, 'hmm. f for female. m for male..what is the w for? wookies?' (pause) 'WAIT A MINUTE! m is for men, w is for women....f is for farmers...er...family' 

this morning i had to wake up earlier than i liked, but i did it. i had a conference for coaches. it was interesting. in the first session i went to, one of the traininers told us to turn to our neighbor and give them the finger...which if you had your back to her and weren't watching her, you might get the wrong idea. poor word choice. she was waving her pointer finger back and forth as if to say no,no,no. i wouldn't really call that giving someone the finger. (and she's not a foreigner or anything, no excuse for poor phrasing).

in another session, they laid out chart paper on our desks, and i may of may not have been doodling cartoon characters. as i was walking out, the trainer said, "i could've watched you all day!"

anyhoo, i definitely got a lot of valuable information from the conferences.

the phrase i am growing a little weary of is: let's put the right tools in our toolbox. i'm not a carpenter...not a plumber...not an electrician. i don't carry a toolbox (even though i own tools)...

so-i was up at my school preparing for the schoolyear today and this guy caught me off guard as i rounded the corner a little too quickly:

i'm guessing that marlon probably put him there as a joke...and to wax the floor.

and after about an hour and a half, i went into the bathroom, and noticed that my hair was pulling an alfalfa. (little rascals)


it's a good look. for norms from now on, instead of taming technology, more importantly will be taming hair.

all in a day.

but the best part of my day to this point has been the zucchini fries that i made! woah. side by side, i would eat these over potato chips or fries every time! and they are super easy! (shake and bake, parmesan cheese in a bag, sliced zucchini dipped in egg, 15 minutes at 450) yummers!

like i said, the best part of my day to this point...only because i did not get to come straight home for a nap! when we were in branson, bmayes suggested a foam topper from amazon for my mattress because i was telling her how uncomfortable i've been recently. so i ordered it while i was at my parents', and it came the day i got back from my vacation! all i could think of all day during my conference trainings was getting back to nap on that mattress!! i wasn't even tired, i just wanted to enjoy laying on it! i can't wait to go to sleep tonight!

on that note, i will be going to bed early tonight!
julie

summer is always too short!

well. finally a little summer vacation. it went by all too quickly!

as soon as summer science discovery camp was over, i had to stick around town for a special introductory meeting for STAND for children-educator network. we had a great turnout for summertime! as a matter of fact, i did speak, but that wasn't the most exciting part (although i felt like i nailed it) the best part-as always was the spread:

you really cannot beat brie with fruit-one of my all-time favs

 of course before the big event, i took the boys for a walk--i love it that i can get on that back trail and walk them without the leash, and that they are pretty good about staying this close.

 the next morning was an early morning because i did not have everything packed in the car as i had planned it out in my head; and we wanted to get an early start! so we were able to get out of dallas around 6:30ish, which got me up to Oklahoma around 9 something. when we got there, for a brief layover (stopped to get bmayes), the boys got out of the car and bruno thought it would be a brilliant idea to roll around in the grass-still full of dew...hmmm.  so when we got around to leave, i'm sure bmayes was relieved to be driving her own car, because as i got into mine, it was 'wet dog'--if o'reilley auto parts sells that as an air freshener, i'll pass!

we left my car and the dogs at my parents house and then went on to branson-kind of a second home!
i probably should have paid more attention to the ratings before i booked the cheap hotel off hotels.com...it was pretty shabby. kinda dark-like vampire dark movie. and the bathtub...i wanted to go to the store for some cleaning supplies. we decided we weren't going to be spending much time there anyway. and bmayes thought the hotel next to us was featured in hotel impossible. i was like..."oh, the one with howie mandell?" because all bald men are howie mandell to me. and she said, "no...i guess he kinda looks like howie...he is bald." so...it's actually anthony melchiorri. and i did look up the episode and the pics..and then i google-mapped it satellite view and as a matter of fact, it WAS one and the same!!

bmayes, we probably should have gone and bothered one of the cleaning folk to just 'get a glimpse' of the newly renovated rooms!

anyhoo...we did get krispy kreme, and were not disappointed (totally worth it to go in and get the hot fresh doughnut as well!)

don't ask, i just liked the display!

 we were under the impression that silver dollar city was closed on monday because apparently they didn't update the schedule on google from their winter schedule...we decided to stop by anyway just in case, and guess what! it was open! thankfully bmayes had worked at kamp and we were able to get in at a discounted rate!

the girl in front of us definitely tried this and looked a little silly

 best ride in the park...powder keg! we definitely went on this one twice.

 we also went on the outlaw run (once), fire in the hole (once-nostalgic-i went when i was really young, and it was definitely more exciting then [plus there weren't sarcastic, annoying teens back then]), wildfire (twice- short line) and thunderation. i was a little nervous every time i had to leave my purse and phone in a cubby...in fact more worried about that than roller coaster mishaps (even after the disaster at six flags about a week prior)

 one of the random things we got to do was just lollygag (who even came up with that word?) around at dicks 5 and dime, which is a little dime store with a little bit of EVERYTHING! i think the little train that goes around the store is somewhat endearing.

 then we made our way over to trish's to drop off a wedding gift for her son, only no one was there! so we left it on the porch. then we went out to kamp to see who was there. on the way down the main drag, we stopped and chatted with diane at the ropes course and were fortunate to be joined by dj who was driving by on some sort of mission.

then we made our way down to chat with trish and had the rare opportunity of catching her at her kamp home with no one else there but Darla muffin (her yorkie); it was so great to sit down and spend some time with her. i know she was busy and had a lot on her mind as they were preparing to go to her son's wedding! (wow, it seems like just yesterday when he was in elementary school reading the lion the witch and the wardrobe!) how time flies when you're growing up!

we then headed up to the dining hall, and didn't eat (there is a reason). we got to see shayla (trish's daughter) and i got to see a former kamper from Egypt-taline! that was a throwback!! how fun!

we went back up the hill and stopped at diane and hank's house to see the work they'd done, and diane gave us the grand tour with emmy-it is grand! i wish they had even more time that they could spend up there!! it is such a beautiful home!

there comes a moment when hunger wins out over everything else, and we had to leave to go to the blueberry farm, because let's be real...you don't stop out in this area without stopping at persimon's!

this is why we couldn't have lunch....cumulobluebus...ah.

 we also hit up mr. gilberti's-best pizza in the area! and we also made sure to get danna's barbecue- i had never had bbq beef nachos before, and i was a little skeptical, but i'm glad i had them! yummers!

bmayes had to get back to ok, so she dropped me back at mom and dad's, and i may have taken a nap. the boys were pretty excited that i was home! and i hear that they make a lot more noise when i'm around than when i'm gone. i chalk it up to the protective factor.

 

so peaceful!

 they quickly found resting spots beside me in the office.

just...wherever.

my dad decided he needed a shop to work in. when he first mentioned building a shop, i thought about the shops I've seen in dallas behind houses-more of a little storage area. so when i saw this little house, i thought, "whoa! i should have him and Rodney build me a house." i don't need anything fancy...just a house.

today he was on the roof outside working on the tyvek, and i will admit, i was a little worried that he was not on a harness or scaffolding or something.

 

 i did stop into the local pet store and make a purchase. i got clippers for the dogs. i got the expensive set. i figure if i pay a lot, i will make sure that i use it. it was a little exciting and a little scary at the same time. little dogs are harder to shave than big dogs. they have such little parts! and of course the model on the instruction manual was an ugly giant poodle. (a little easier than a 5 lb yorkie...).

mom said she saw them scratching and thought they might've gotten fleas from the cat, or the yard. well, i figured i would scare the crap out of those little buggers and they probably felt like those mice in the secret of nimh. anyhoo, today i made the homemade version of flea and tick stuff and gave them a spray and a comb...i haven't seen anything, and i don't think they've been scratching, so...knock on wood!

the lady at the shop was pretty excited about this tool, and she since there was no one else in the store, she showed me all of the tips and tricks about trimming the dogs!

 

we were doing fine until he started wiggling...he may have a little bare spot on his chest that slightly resembles a heart if you cross your eyes and squint...

i am excited about getting home on wednesday, because i should have two important things coming in the mail! woo hoo!

julie