how can books be exhausting? and why are tiny vegetable so stinkin' cute?!?

what a week!! even though it was short because of memorial day, it was long! how backwards is that??

we had our end of semester tests this week, and that was grueling...then i worked with some of the students we were worried might need to be in summer school. then on wednesday, we had our birthday celebration-beach theme. we were not lacking food!

happy june/july birthdays!!

they were better hot...at home~

 also this week:
leftover spongebob cupcakes...i was so proud of myself for refraining 3 times! dangerous walking into the break room!

they looked so inviting!

i reasoned olivia out of eating one...

..but andrea was a different story, the baby made her do it!! (which is fine, because she's been watching what she eats, so a little sponge bob once in awhile...

then there was the fire alarm, for which we all had to exit the building...and i happened upon some child's jacket-the only reason i took these pictures is because i was proud to be holding something made in HONDURAS!!!

i'd much rather purchase something made in HONDURAS than something made in china or anywhere else!

and this week after school i found myself out in the garden a few times. i had to check on the crops! things are growing!! i haven't been tending to the tomato plants as i should have from the beginning, so i finally got around to some pruning. on thursday, i noticed that one of the beefsteak tomatoes had just blushed (that's what happens when you compliment the tomaters...they are so humble). so i set it in the window of 109 to see if it ripens up over the weekend, or if i picked it too soon...and then the next afternoon, there was a perfect cherry tomato that was ready-so, i had to see if it passed the taste test...it did!!! that's a testament to our tomatoes, because i have never been a huge tomato fan, but this one was so tasty!!

this one was delicious, and there are tons more just waiting to ripen!!

and then there was the morning that i went out and found this little cutie! i love little mushrooms! they remind me of little umbrellas!

 and the swiss chard is growing! i definitely cut a few leaves to use in a green shake this morning and it was great-the leaves were smaller than the ones i usually get at the store, so they were more tender-love it!

swiss chard is so pretty!

the jalapenos should be ready soon! i LOVE using japs in my salsa and some of my chicken dishes!

and let's hear it for this little cutie!! i mean mini bell pepper?!! i know i've said it before, but i really love tiny things!!

on monday, we have our career day in the morning, and then in the afternoon our fifth graders will come out and help harvest the potatoes. i am hoping that we don't have too many ants! that could be a problem...but i pulled two plants from different beds, and they provided several decent sized, cookable potatoes! woo hoo!! i can't wait to see how they turn out!

on friday afternoon, we were finally getting around to sorting through a load of books that were donated by a partner school that has adopted ours! they are really great books, too!! one of their students organized a book drive and they were able to gather over 700 books!! so guess who had the joy of going through them and sorting them into reading levels. yep, i helped our librarian, our principal, our math coach and our cis rep...it was a long day! and we are not done yet! my neck was so stiff after day one! we still have some sorting to do...sort of...heehehe. thankfully today when i woke up, nothing was sore!

this morning i was able to attend a great demo of torsh! this is a really awesome product that basically allows you to video yourself and document comments to improve what you're doing-it works in conjunction with swivl. both are pretty amazing products and could really revolutionize the way we reflect on what we are doing! if i were a teacher, i totally would have wanted this! even now as a coach, i would love to use it for myself to get better at what i do-i need it! the cool thing is that i should be able to use it during summer school to try it out! groovy!

julie

memorial day-great time for a trim and a smokin' chicken recipe (literally)

before anything else, happy memorial day! THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR ARMED FORCES PAST AND PRESENT FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE SACRIFICED TO PRESERVE THE FREEDOMS THAT WE ENJOY AND OFTEN TAKE FOR GRANTED.  there are not sufficient words to express the gratitude. 

yesterday i had decided that it was time to give bruno and chaco a trim. bruno sometimes fights me on this and wiggles around, causing it to look like a hatchet job. this means that i have to go back in after the fact to do some trimming. chaco on the other hand is somewhat mortified by the clippers, which makes him stand super still-much easier. so later this evening i will probably attempt to trim up bruno's ears and mustache. i really just wanted to get them ready for summer!

 i know, i like scruffy face better too, but he just gets so much crap in his mane...he was like, "for real? stick to cutting your own hair!" ...rude.

i am also trying out a recipe to see if it will work for a birthday celebration. if so, great! if not, back to the drawing board tomorrow! let's see if this chicken grills up how i want it to, and then if it chills well...(time lapse 2 hours later) OH MY GOODNESS!!!!  wow! i just tried the chicken, and it was amazing...i may or may not have just eaten about3 chicken breasts! oops...i couldn't help myself! it doesn't look like that much when they're in 2 inch pieces! again..OOPS! so i did try to chill a few pieces, and they got cool before i pulled them out and ate them too! triple oops...so yes, i will be getting more chicken tomorrow to prepare! i just don't know if i will be able to use my indoor grill, because unfortunately it smokes...(said it was trying to quit, but i didn't see a patch or nicorette gum, so...i don't know that it was being completely honest). as i was grilling, i had the microwave 'hood fan' on high, and i was blowing the smoke toward it to make sure the alarm didn't go off-i should've closed the blinds, because i'm sure if a neighbor across the way was watching, it might be on youtube... anyhoo. delicious!

in case you want to know the marinade is a simple 3T soy sauce, 3 T brown sugar, 3T white wine vinegar, some garlic salt, ginger, 2t coconut oil, i think that's it...yummers!

i also listened to a book on cd- paint the wind i really enjoyed it more than i thought i would! i think i picked up the book when i was in the fourth grade classroom and i could never really get into it...well, listening to it on cd was a good way to get through it.

so this is what i've been up to so far this weekend- fairly relaxing.

julie

field day-the race that turned into the eternal relay, new chacos and 2X proud alumna!

You know that it's the end of the year when field day comes around! and you know you've been a part of field day when your eyelids and every other part of your body feel sticky-dirty. so yesterday was field day and it was perfect weather! not too hot, no rain and a slight breeze-couldn't have prayed for better weather! my first group was third grade-they went fairly smoothly and without incident. we found that 10 minutes was way too long for spoon races...and so we had to manipulate the event and turn it into the never-ending relay: keep going! the winner is the student who is the most tired when time is up!

then came kindergarten. i kinda' gave up with them...no matter how many times i said, "no holding the tennis ball!" it faded in the breeze. kindergarteners aren't into rules. little cheaters.

then came prek and second grade and we were so ready to be done! i think they had fun, although they weren't out for very long (per grade-level). one of the teachers said it wasn't long enough, so i responded that if we'd had actual volunteers to help run the events, we might have been able to have more events, but when no one is willing to step up, whatcha get is whatcha get...sorry. maybe talk to your parents about volunteering next year instead of just standing around watching. just sayin....

i had so much stuff, and i didn't want to take it all inside..but i forgot my car keys. so i left my chair and cooler by the car, hoping that no one would walk off with it. when i got back out after school, i'd almost forgotten that i'd left these out there! most of the other cars were gone, but there were my belongings intact!

who knew?!

 we found out that our school was one of the 8 chosen for the exploratory phase of the Personalized Learning program! WOOHOO!! this basically means that we will have this next year to work with a team from the district to plan, visit and glean as much knowledge and vision as possible to prepare for next year, when the PL teams will be implementing personalized learning on their campuses. it is an exciting time, and i cannot wait to learn more and for our teachers to learn more!

it is especially exciting because the middle school that our students will feed into was accepted into this 'incubation period' as well! this means that we will be working closely with them, which will be really good for our students!!

so today i went to rei because of the memorial day sales...and i got 20% off! i needed to get a new pair of chacos. i have a pair that i need to send in to get re-soled, but i don't know if i will get them back before my trip. so these were exactly what i needed.

as you can see, the tread has been worn down on my first pair. they even have a long crack across the bottom. i'm excited to get them back, because they are my simple black.

today i was excited to watch a video of my high school (this one is partially in spanish), as it is their 60th anniversary. there is not enough i could say about EIS to do it justice..i learned so much there, and not a day goes by that i don't think about this beautiful campus nestled at the foot of the mountain, and friendships that continue to this day.  i also just saw a blog post by The Heritage Foundation about my college; although it is a small college, it is huge with heart! it is one of those campuses that is so beautiful and unforgettable! the first moment i stepped onto the campus, i was in love. and truthfully, i was blessed beyond measure with the friendships that i made there! humble, genuine and simply put: just what i needed! -SO PROUD TO HAVE BEEN A PART OF BOTH OF THEM!!!!!

it's a great night to be content!
julie

DON'T MESS WITH MY MELONS! and part 2 of mandolin slicer

this morning when i went out to the garden, i was looking at the canary melon plants and i decided to pull out the clippers thinking, "i'd better cut the weeds around the plant so that when the district grounds crew comes in, they won't cut them down." And sure enough, the district guys came today. i was actually thinking about putting up a little sign: DON'T MESS WITH MY MELONS! but since it's an elementary school, i just wasn't sure how appropriate that might be.

well, this afternoon after they were done, i took a lady out there to show her what we had in the garden currently (as they are wanting to help us create a second garden area). while we were out there, i almost started crying because the 'professional weed-whackers' chopped down our thriving passion fruit vine (WHICH I MIGHT ADD, HAS PAVERS SURROUNDING IT AS IF TO SAY: DON'T CUT ME DOWN, I'M ACTUALLY HERE ON PURPOSE!). i was pissed. i'd almost forgotten about that and right now, i thought about it and my heart is racing again. i mean...maybe i need to go out and stand guard every time they come.

it makes me want to spit. and when i say that, i mean spit a venomous poison that turns one into a statue or something...is that a bad thing? then don't mess with my melons and vines! oh the vitriol-almost as bad as my road rage (i really have to mind my p's and q's when people ride with me, because i don't suffer stupidity from below-average drivers).

on a brighter note...that passed fairly quickly-there is no black cloud over my head (even though i will hunt them down)...ok, for real though. on the way home, i decided to stop at home depot for a little tomato trellis action because they are OOC-out of control~then i went up to get my inspection and when the guy checked me out (not like that...when i had to pay up), he said, "you really got your money's worth on that last sticker-surprised you didn't get pulled over sooner!" he was really surprised when i told him i merely got a warning.

then i stopped up at sprouts to get cabbage and bacon. two obvious staples..c'mon! for real though, i thought that was all i needed-bacon for me, cabbage for coleslaw. i was wrong. when i got home and looked at the recipe for the cabbage salad, i was missing like 5 or 6 items, so around 8 pm, i went out to get those items. and proceeded to make this epic salad.

'why?' you might ask. well, i tried to avoid eye-contact and walk the other day, but she is really good at tracking people down (she might have mohican blood in her). The official-unofficial party organizer accosted me and asked me if i would participate in a birthday celebration for our nurse. i agreed because, well, i'm just a fool like that. she's been trying to get me to make this salad since the first time that i made it..it's the end of the year, and i'd hate to let her down.

don't get me wrong, i understand why she wanted it...it's good. it's REALLY good. in fact, i kinda' wanted to eat a whole bowl of it tonight..and i'm not talking some wimpy little rookie soup bowl..NO-NO. i'm speaking of something bigger...more like a witches cauldron. i wanted to eat until i was so full that an animated cartoon-character-belch was produced, and then i'd stretch my arms way above my head with an exaggerated yawn and fall to sleep for 100 years, like rumplestilskin! ONLY...if that happened, i'd miss my trip to HONDURAS, and that would be tragic! so i wisely chose not to have any. ok, maybe one bite to make sure it was presentable...alright, i scooped out enough for three spoonfuls, and it was magical. 

everything was going so smoothly. until i forgot how sharp the freaking mandolin finger slicer is.

 in case you are wondering how sharp it is, let me remind you here! (not for weak stomachs). anyhoo, you'd think i would remember (my pinky still has a white scar in that entire area). but no worries, for everyone eating tomorrow-i watch enough chopped to know that as soon as i felt the nick, i had to wash it up and put a bandaid on and get out the knife to finish up! the health inspectors would give mean A+. just sayin'...(until they saw chaco stirring and tossing the salad).

and voila, another afternoon of my life-done!

julie!

i LOVE happy!

for starters, i hope that your day has been great! until recently, i was not familiar with the happy song by pharrell, but there have been a couple of references to it recently (brandy, sheryl and wendy-who played it during an assembly and apparently our students weren't too familiar with it either)....so i downloaded it, and wouldn't ya know it, it does make me happy. smiles all around! music has a way of moving your soul! (or mine at least!)

i had to take two walks the other day. one for the boys, and one for me. so on my own walk, i took a path i was unsure of...the sign said that it would be completed in the summer of 2014, but i took it anyway, in hopes that maybe..just maybe it would have been completed! well. it wasn't. i got all the way down to the bridge (in a somewhat deserted area, where there was graffiti all over the place..sketch)...so i looked to see if there was any way to traverse the bridge, or even the creek...but alas, the way was blocked and impassable.so i turned to return on a mission to get back to the beaten path without having to use my mad ninja skills. best part of the whole thing was the patch of flowers that i found!

i found a colored hill the other day on my walk and when i got closer, i noticed these, so i veered off the path and got a closer view. they were beautiful!

i don't know why i was thinking about it today, but on the way home, i stopped to drop some post cards off at the post office, and i was thinking about something from a book i read years ago. it was the story about a college student who had cancer and his mom wrote the book about him. this mother was a student of her son. she got books about what he was interested in and made a point to have some point of reference so that she could talk with him about things that were interesting to him.

that stuck with me, and as i think back to it now, i really want to get better at that. i want to be a student of people. to understand more about what drives people-and to be able to share in that and celebrate it! people matter, therefore what matters to people matters.

julie

travel plans..check! put that in your pipe and smoke it...george did!

***spotty internet connection-i think i will have to change vendors when i return! i wanted to post this last night, but i couldn't get pics to upload, and then when i did, they wouldn't save...grr.

 so between finishing the post last night and right now, i was practicing with the timer on the camera-remember the new camera? well, i got some lens filters and a battery and an sd card with a greater capacity-i will try not to take more than 2000 pics while i'm on vacation...hmm.

so it took while i was trying to pick up chaco-note his ears are back. he was yelling at me...something about being used for commercial purposes, and that if he wasn't going to get paid to be a model, he didn't think he should offer his services for free... jerk.

oh my goodness!

i've been thinking about this post all day!! i am still smiling. let's begin with the fact that i have not been a big skyper nor have i hung out in google very much...that said...it may become a more common occurrence because seeing and hearing my 'little sis' in HONDURAS last night just about made my heart burst open! i am dying to meet her family and honestly, even if we both had laryngitis and couldn't talk (not likely), it'd be ok because proximity is everything! just to sit in the presence of an adored friend would be enough! but we know that won't be the case-time cannot fly fast enough!

my near future includes some of my oldest and dearest friends. even writing that gives me this strange ache of endearment that reaches to the very core of my being-which may sound strange, but
that's ok; i hold my friends from this era of my life in very high esteem-i was the one who was different and it would've been easy to not fit in, but i was accepted unconditionally. that is something that you cannot put a value on, and i am excited to rebuild some of those friendships-so to those with whom i have been able to be in touch with recently, please know that you are priceless to me!

so for now, the plan is beach, ferry to roatan, a few days in roa (hopefully seeing a dear friend there as well), then back to san pedro sula. hopefully while at the beach, i will be able to see another precious friend who has moved there. (i am going to be dreaming about coconut bread and coffee from right now until i arrive). while in sps, i hope to see some of the old haunts, and what all has changed.

then there is a strong likelihood that i will be headed out to copan with kika (we became instant friends in 8th grade when i had difficulties with the zipper on my uniform skirt after gym...she's my favorite cow, i'm pretty sure i'm still her favorite pig)...i am super excited to meet her kiddos and her husband! hopefully we'll get to visit with the parental units as well!

it feels good to have some of those plans and details checked off-again, as i type this, i am smiling from ear to ear and i cannot believe that i'm going home! if there are things we miss out on this time around, it will be ok, because as i said before, this won-t be a one-time adventure.

so i may have gone out today and made some 'must' purchases. understand that these aren't one-time-use purchases...i am already thinking about the next!

the suitcase is nicer than any i've invested in before...there are just so many stinkin zippers everywhere!

this was a key piece that i wanted to get because it's smaller-since i won't be toting a gun around, it will be perfect...i love that it is reinforced with wire-it reminds me of a bus ride back from a restaurant one night on a bus, when a man cut my mom's purse open and stole something out of it..(the chicken she had wrapped up to take home) and she had no idea until we got home. so yeah, there's that-no one be takin my food...

  i finished registering for jury duty-boo. time to get the princess leia outfit ready. (thank you tina fey). last week of school...ugh.

and last but not least, let me share with you the curious george big book that we received. my principal gifted hers to me- thank you dr. hughes! nothing beats original george, smoking a good pipe!!

 

i LOVE the smell of a good pipe-i don't know why, but the old corn-cob pipes just smell so sweet!

so. with that i bid you farewell,
jules

postcards, warnings and dinner puzzles!

 so, you saw the garlic in the prior post, and when i cut them down to size, and wow..they were PO-tent! someone may have described the smell with these words: it smells like raw fajitas in here!
perhaps i shouldn't have prepped them at school-i understand they could be smelled all the way down the hall.

 oh! and yesterday morning i was stopped by a cop in a school zone. i was not too excited about that. i wasn't speeding, and i knew he didn't have his radar on (thank you, radar detector), so when he walked up, i pulled out my chl license and drivers license and handed them to him. he said that my inspection was out of date (which it was)...i very much dislike inspections-we didn't have them in ks and ia, only 26 states do, and i now live in one of them...curses. so i looked at him and pulled out parts of 3 different stories (all true)...it was a lease, i refinanced to purchase, they sent tags that say truck, it's not a truck, so i don't know if they're the right tags-so i didn't put them on...he stopped me and said he was just going to give me a warning-get it inspected. so...i don't know the science behind it, but one of my friends once said that cops dig chicks with their chl... ¿sera? could it be??

today we had an INTERVIEW for personalized learning. if you aren't sure what that is, you can find some information here and here. i really hope we make it to the next round of this process, because i can't think of a better way to teach kids!! i really don't know how it went, but we will find out sometime next week! and because i had this meeting, my friend and coworker, olivia went to another meeting that i was supposed to attend. i owe her big...i hear there was traffic...and i know she had to leave a little early because she had something later this evening-what a team player!!! THANKS OLIVIA!!

 so i probably didn't mention that i purchased some special bowls for the boys. they've been really weird about eating their food lately, which is why i bought these puzzler bowls. i was smiling in the other room tonight while they were eating,  because they were so engaged with their meals! it slowed them down, so bruno couldn't scarf his, and chaco wanted to eat every morsel because it became a game! problem solved!

when i got home today, i found my postcard in the mailbox! woohoo!!  my friend juan pablo sent it from his visit in el salvador- i love mail, and i especially enjoy the stuff that comes from afar! how fun that it came on juan pablo's birthday! so,thanks for thinking of me jp! i salute you!

HAPPY BDAY JPH!!

and speaking of mail. when i lived in HONDURAS, i loved getting mail (this was before much emailing was happening..in fact i think in our computer class, we were learning how to make an character move down and across the screen with DOS....). well, back in the day mail took forever! guess what...i got a msg on facebook like two days ago from a dear friend who said she just received a letter postmarked march 24-hmm..obviously some things just never change! so we had a little conversation because i just sent another letter with information in it that is kinda time sensitive since it mentions that i will be coming to visit; basically i needed her to get it before i get down there! 

and that kinda wraps it up i think. for now.
nite-julie

just a little garden stuff

ANOTHER LATE POST-i meant to post this last night, because i am getting ready to work on another for later this evening!! stay tuned!

fortunately it has been raining a little around her. this bodes well for our garden! i'm glad i planted the snow peas, but i fear that they will not last too long due to the heat-i must get a shade cover (they don't like heat)...sadly i think the vines that are up right now may be on their last sprouts. good while they lasted!

so, here are some pics that i took today-it was a little overcast, so don't mind the lighting! m.s. (mid script...i wanted to say p.s., but you can't really put a post script in the middle of the letter, as it might feel rather out of place) these are first pics from my new HONDURAS cam! (yes, the camera i have deemed necessary for my trip). smile-

i love the handles on our shed!

hopefully these guys will be producing by the time the kids get back from summer break!

i'm watching the chard closely because it would be great to use in a green shake!

beautiful mint-for mint tea!

and i think the garlic is now ready!

nenufar! and the bridge that leads to nowhere behind the pond.

we love showing off our garden! i am looking forward to a great opportunity that has been presented to us-we have a couple of ladies from a partner school who are interested in helping us build an extension to the garden on the other side which would be accessible to the community and closer to our early childhood classrooms! woohoo!

that's all about the garden....for now!
julie

don't let the cockroaches love on you!

***I MEANT TO POST THIS LAST WEEK***
i'm all over the place tonight-

we have a kindergartener at our school who sometimes requires an escort to her classroom, lest she get distracted. today, i was on duty. she explained how there had been cockroaches on the floor when she was going to the nurse yesterday...dead cockroaches. begin monologue: i don't know why people kill cockroaches. they're really friendly, they just crawl all over you because they just want to love on you. and they have babies. i don't know why people try to squish them. they could be pets.
 so...there was that.

later when i went by one of my teacher's classrooms, she was frustrated, because her kids were laughing about homelessness and not taking it seriously...so i may or may not have taken a moment to make it real for them. i took just a moment to explain how very few people are fortunate enough to never have to worry about the roof over their heads-i got to tell them about some of the folks my parents' church used to work with...from the white lady with the doctorate, who was great with numbers to the black gentleman who carried himself with more dignity than many homed people i know....they listened and got pretty serious. while i am not big on giving money to people on the corner, i do carry granola bars and water... i think it is so important to teach our kids that there is no one who is undeserving of respect and dignity.

i'm going to do everything i can to keep electric costs down this summer-the blower fan will help, and the bedfan finally came in!! i set it up last night, and i was amazed by how cool it was even on like 'super-low' mode! so i should be able to save $ this month that way... so the bedfan..i wish i had one of these at kamp-i probably mentioned that already, although now they have ac...i am one of those people who likes to sleep with a heavier cover over me-security? maybe it keeps the monsters out? i don't rightly know why... you know the lead aprons they put on you for dental xrays and such? well...is it strange that these have a soothing effect on me? no, i do not own one, but i do know how much they cost...if i could have a lead comforter...ok, maybe not.

 best way to save on electric, though? just not be here. check! HONDURAS, it'll be good to see you again! one of the details i just got wrapped up the other day? camera. i am going to need something better than my phone and the old olympus if i'm going to start visiting friends and beautiful places again! i should be able to pick it up on friday. woo hoo!!

a detail that i will have to work on is getting someone to go out to the garden while i am away because it should be going strong at that point! i just saw that the cucumbers are starting to come out, the pumpkin, watermelon and canary melon are starting to poke through and the tomatoes are starting to show! 

obviously these potatoes weren't quite ready-i accidentally uprooted them, but all of the other plants are much larger and getting ready!

 the other day when i took the boys for a walk, we came across someone with a yorkie, so we stopped to chat, and all was well at first, then chaco got territorial and so we took off and went to the dog park, and i told him that if he kept being snippy with other dogs, no one was going to want to come to play with him. well, that threat didn't work because he basically turned back and said, "don't care-i don't like any of them anyway! not one!" then he turned back and said, "unless reagan and thatcher come..then i'll play nice!"

so he's a little stubborn..spoiled...whatcha gonna do?

 time for bed-just so you know, i don't agree with little girl- i don't think cockroaches are friendly...

julie