beware bandits in bandanas...thugs with hidden mugs

when i came home the other day, there was a paper in my door (and every other door). that paper informed us that a resident was robbed at gunpoint last friday in the east phase (my phase). he wore a bandana across his face, underneath his eyes...i thought that was old western stuff. he must've just gone to see the lone ranger and decided that this was acceptable attire.

all i can say is: don't bother coming to me for money, i'm a teacher. and i don't carry cash-especially when i'm walking my dogs. that said, obviously i am paying too much to be in a gated apt complex. ask me again why i wanted to get my chl.

i cannot believe that next week is the last week of science discovery camp! it has gone by rather quickly. we shall see if they have learned anything when they take the post test...hopefully it hasn't been just fun and games-hopefully it's been learning without realizing it!

although i know it was fun because they kept coming...and the 'vice principal' asked if her middle school son could join us to help out in the class (she was tired of him lounging around and not doing anything); so i said sure he could come and help out. i don't know that he was a ton of help, but she said that he went on and on about 'ms robinson this and ms robinson that" so that's a good thing. apparently i reminded him of his teacher in middle school..she must be AWESOME.

anyhoo, that pretty much means that in about a week i'll be on vacation finally! cheap (but fun) trip to branson with bmayes to see friends and play...i know, it's not disneyworld or the beach, but when you're amongst friends, it doesn't matter where you are-you make memories! can't wait-i haven't really spent time with friends since school got out.

i have been recording murder she wrote-i just think angela lansbury is such a classy lady! anyhoo, they play these over night on the hallmark channel, so as you can imagine, the commercials they play are laughable...light up pillows for kids and the cat's meow toy. i actually kinda want to get one for my parents' cat. i think he'd get a kick out of it-and he could definitely use the exercise.

i know i'm probably killing all of my facebook friends bc i've been sharing a bunch of posts about recipes and tips recently from an awesome source so that i have them handy. yesterday i used one of the posts about carpet cleaning, and then today i made the pizza bites recipe-i will be keeping that recipe! yummers!

so easy! canned biscuits, pepperoni, cheese, eggwhites, parm, italian seasoning! boom!

then i had a crazy craving for something sweet-so i made some roasted almonds and pecans. super easy, just takes a little patience. delish!

 

 and i took the boys in for their dental cleaning the other day-they have to have anesthesia, and chaco has reactions, so they cannot do that and the vaccinations on the same day, so we'll have to go back on tuesday. and the vet said bruno had gained 3/4 lb, so we have to cut back on treats. so i changed up our treats a little, and they still love it.

celery is a pretty cheap go-to.

so, let's review. masked robber better watch out for me because i am enraged about the ludicrous amount of money i am paying to stay in an apt that has weak security. science camp has been amazing, but i cannot wait to be done. i love new recipes and tips...and the boys are fine with being on a diet.

julie

if i had binoculars, i would live in my own little diorama

cane's won again. on the way home i kept thinking i could make it all the way to my apt to make my own dinner...but i don't know what happened; must've been the rain. HAD to be the rain.

so it's been awhile. i guess i kinda imagine myself in a confessional (not that i'd know what that is like, as i am not catholic, but i've seen enough movies...) i might start out with something like, "forgive me blogger, for i have not blogged..." i don't know where it would go from there, but i don't think it would be pretty.

so. school ended. on the last day of professional development, we had the privilege of a training with real school gardens. they began with a drum routine that sounded like a sacrificial interlude from the gilligan episode with the head hunters...luis loved it.

there was a time when i really wanted to purchase a jembe drum

 but the instrument that caught my eye was the rattle...even from a distance, i recognized the beads on the outside. they were the beads that we used to pick off of weeds in costa rica to make bracelets. there was a specific little park that we would go to and then you had to pull the threads of weed out. i was so excited about it! good memories!

amazing weeds!

 we proceeded to have a great training. i think i was a little aloof because i had agreed to move to 3rd grade to teach and so i was going through the training with the 3rd grade teachers. well, that morning, i was asked if i was interested in becoming the reading coach at school. so you must understand that i had run through several emotions at that point. i wasn't as involved as i should have been, but i hadn't accepted the offer at that point, and i wasn't really sure how i felt about anything.

i called my parents and then i had a conversation with lorraine, our former reading coach (who has since accepted a vice principal position-congrats lorraine!). i then went through the arduous process of applying for the position of reading coach. i'm excited because i know it will be a growing and learning process.

the next week we began training for summer science discovery camp. the training went well. i'm going to refrain from saying to much about the actual summer school portion, as i was under the impression that i would be able to stay in my classroom...and i ended up having to move out of my room. but i didn't have anywhere to go, so i had a makeshift classroom on the stage. mood lighting. one side of the 'room' was in the depths of despair-a huge shadow of gloom and doom encompassed them. i had to rig up an easel-using a ladder and duct tape. 

 in fact, one boy's mother actually made him ask me if we were going to be in there for remainder of the summer. i told him he could let her know that we would be moving into a classroom after the first week. it was a long week and i was bitter; but i don't think it was too evident...the kids were having fun.

we have actually covered a lot of information, and i am pretty sure they got it. most of them will be in 5th grade next year, and i have been fortunate to have 5 of my former students. 

i'm pretty sure the 'mouse' in this diorama cannot hear...disclaimer: i am not responsible for teaching them to draw..only teaching them about ecosystems and food chains...and they GOT that!

other than that, we've been very low-key, playing it cool. i have been going to the shooting range-which has been fun.

today we went to the environmental center for a mini field trip. we got to pull out the binoculars and do some bird-watching. i had a blast. i had more fun just looking into the little wooded area-it felt like i was in a real live diorama with 3d trees and such. i realize that sounds silly, as in real life these things are 3d, but when you look through binoculars, everything is so much cooler!!

oh, did i forget to mention that we have trainings that we have to attend with the science camp...well, today the song that kept running through my mind was fugees killing me softly and when he suggested a warm up activity...it was more of a death-warmed-over activity. i thank him for trying, but i'm pretty good at hooking and engaging my students. and today i was counting down because i had some errands to run.

i've also gotten together with some other educators who are excited about ensuring that we have effective teachers in every classroom-and working toward a goal of ensuring that voices our voices are heard and we have a seat at the table when it comes to legislation concerning our students. we can either react to what happens to us, or we can be proactive and help guide the conversations and actions that are in the works. i choose the latter. in essence, this is an extension of what was brought to light in our ed policy program.

good day!
julie