good self and bad self just need to learn to get along!

can you believe it? ONE WEEK!!!!!! (ok, enough of that)

ok, i have a quandary...this hasn't happened in like...EVER! good self and bad self are at odds and not talking. stick with me, i need to get this resolved before vacation begins, or we're going to have problems!

it all started while i was at school and good self, which we'll just call GS for short- obviously, and appropriately bad self is then dubbed BS (karma, bad self!); but i digress...GS went out to the garden to check on everything and found the garden to be very giving after a 3-day weekend and some rain! i took a variety of veggies into the building to clean, and then decided that i should stop by tom thumb grocery on the way home for  cauliflower and a jalapeno.

this was the big deal-minus the okra....please note that the toms on the plate are going to ripen, but i did arrange them in color-scheme green to orange-ish. good job, GS!

so i stopped at the store for my cauliflower and jap, and i was drawn like a moth to the light...it was almost as if i was in a trance when BS reached out and opened the freezer door containing the tiramisu gelato. i will admit, i almost didn't even catch it!

when i got home, i couldn't even get it into the freezer before bad self was lifting off the top and digging in. good self kept putting the top on, but BS kept saying, "no, it's uneven...just one more bite". finally i was able to get it into the freezer...for 5 seconds before i had to pull it out to see if it still tasted good. i'm not even joking around about this. good self said, "you've been working so hard, don't ruin it now!" and bad self just guffawed and said, "i guess you'll be doing burpees until 2am, eh?" (bad self is a jerk). 

so, here's the truth, even though it's breyers, and not real italian gelato, it is still 50,000 times better than regular ice cream. if you couldn't tell, regular ice cream is not the way to my heart. i never should have tried this stuff. now i understand how it must be to get addicted to crack after the first time. i completely underestimated the power of gelato.

don't be deceived, this wasn't where i finished...this was pretty much the first bite...

in other business, when we were walking around the complex the other day, i was thankful that it is such a pretty area. blessed by the beautiful landscaping and the fountains in the various ponds. 

crepe myrtles

but then there are the cons...there is so much poison ivy lining the back path that i can't let the dogs roam-they are too curious.

poison ivy...if you need a reminder to recognize it, put your hands on top of each other, palms up-that's the middle leaf, then move right hand right, and left hand left, and there are your outer leaves.

 the other issue i have is that my mud dauber friend, has decided that she needed a two bedroom instead of a one-bedroom she had in the previous post. i'm not impressed. ok, i am actually a little impressed, because she did that rather quickly!

just needed a little addition.

 and back to the garden, today i was super excited when i found that the canary melons are growing! they will obviously not be ready before i leave, but i am hoping that they will need an entire month to ripen and be ready for pickin!

this is exciting! i know there are at least 3!

 the one thing that i didn't get a picture of due to low battery, was the cucumbers! WHAT?! they won't be ready before i leave either, but boy are they cute! i know, i sound like a proud mother-i will post pics tomorrow! they really are kinda cute. (i think i counted 3)...if they are anything like the tomatoes, we will have an abundance!! seriously, i left on thursday and had picked until there were no more red, or blushing tomatoes, and go back to the pic you saw at the top-all of those were out today!! ridiculous, i tell ya!

we also had okra-i did post that one on fb and instagram, and mentioned that i really don't know what to do with them, although i HAVE had them fried (in HONDURAS with a missionary family from the south, and also at the classic lamberts cafe in ozark, mo)! the problem is i don't have the energy to bread and fry okra this week..a couple of friends offered up some great ideas-i will have to wait until i get back to try them-i gave them to jason, our custodian, because i am certain that his mom knows exactly what to do with them!


well, like i said before, good self and bad self had better start acting like a well-oiled machine, because i'm pretty sure i'm going to need a little bit of both of them over the next month!
 i'm sure i'll wake up tomorrow morning and they'll be bff again!

julie

i could be a professional refried beans chef...but i'd rather make boys run and do push-ups...more rewarding

i am happy to announce that i will no longer be purchasing refried beans in canned form...why, oh why did it take me this long to realize how easy refried beans are to make???? good grief! so i made some last night and then had some for breakfast this morning with my eggs and thought of a teen-camp i went to with our church when i lived in HONDURAS! i was not accustomed to the idea of beans for breakfast, but i warmed up to it pretty quickly with a little crema!

obsessed!

so, yes, then this afternoon when i got back from school, i may have made a bblt with no bread-that would basically be a large leaf of romaine lettuce, a couple of cherry toms sliced, refried beans, and yes, bacon...don't judge...you probably eat interesting things as well! -it was healthy and delicious! and i will most likely do it again..just not tonight.

yesterday when i got home, i noticed a mud dauber on the side of the apt wall, and i decided to take a picture of the beginnings of her nest...right after she flew straight at me, but i was able to avoid contact, then watch her fly off, out of sight. i wondered how in the world she was going to find this particular wall again (everyone tells me that it's difficult to find their way around our complex...it's somewhat of a maze, and i feel like i have to be on the balcony watching for people when they come over to make sure they don't get lost in the labyrinth), but apparently she had no problem-insects amaze me...now please just even TRY to tell me that God is not an amazing creator to have created these insects with such instincts (amazed by nature)...anyhoo, i woke up and as i was walking out to go to school this morning, i noticed her finished home...just a little 'hole-in-the-wall' type place...

humble beginnings

home sweet home...for a dauber!

 and since i have the boys, and i saw something the other day about what boys need in school....i offered them a choice after they finished their review: go out into the garden and relax in the shade, or go out to the fields out back and run around until they were tired...they made the not-so-surprising choice to go out back and run! it made me smile as i sat there to see them get such joy out of running around, playing tag, racing. then they made their way to the swings for about a minute or two; then i went over and told them that before we went in, they had one last task. they had to run across the field to the far fence, do five push-ups and then run back. they were up to the challenge!

about three of them ended up walking part way back, one of them set a good pace and didn't stop the whole way and wasn't even breathing hard when he got back to the finish-i told him he needed to look into cross-country in middle school, high school and perhaps a scholarship...and of course, i had one that just couldn't quite do it, so as he was getting closer, i suggested a couple of them go help him run it in the last 100 yards, so two of them did-they were very encouraging to him. i smiled-good job guys!

'my other boys'

i will say that the running around certainly worked! they were focused when they came back in, and they were happy-that makes things much simpler!

 when i got home, i was thrilled to see that my jury check arrived...because six dolla go far!

i'm rich! (to be read in target-lady voice)

and i just saw that HONDURAS is set to play tomorrow...i will probably be catching most of the games tomorrow-that way i have an excuse not to go out and spend money...good plan!!

i've come to a slight 'packing stand-still' because i don't know what i'll need to have out for use between now and then! i will end up doing what i vowed not to do...i will be rushing around last minute before we take off to mom and dad's...i have been packing up the crucial items that i cannot do without and want to make certain i don't forget.

i need to clean out the trunk of my car tomorrow to make room for the boys' extended stay at mom and dad's...my tent and camping gear stays there pretty permanently, and i'm pretty sure i won't have a chance to take advantage of it this summer. need space for the boys' baby gates (they don't like me referring to i that way...it's the whole "WE'RE NOT BABIES"-thing), and the pens for them to hang out outside out of dad's way while he's in the shop or whatever he's doing! i need to then sneak them down when the boys aren't looking...operation pack-the-car.

goodnight!
julie

why do i even bother making a list?

i wasn't sure how much i'd be posting before my trip because i don't want to keep repeating the same things (ie: I'M SO STINKIN' EXCITED TO SEE PEOPLE I DON'T GET TO SEE EVERY DAY...or every 23 years, be that as it may be)...

so, i was holding out for something interesting...anything remotely not sleep, eat, drink, repeat...

i did get the opportunity to teach poetry to 9 fifth grade boys the other day...that was interesting. at least the two poems that i had were boy-subject matter-something about a spooky rainforest, and another about a round-up. they have been surprising me...once i pit them against each other in teams, they are actually talking and reasoning with each other about the answers that they chose and trying to justify their answers (which is great for me because it gives me more insight to be able to explain afterwards if they choose the wrong answers)..so it has been good, and even if they retain just a couple of the key things that we have discussed, i know it will help them be more successful.

i might see if any of them are interested in getting parent permission to stay on the last day for a couple of hours to work in the garden, then we can end by harvesting some tomatoes, onions, 'the' jalapeno, and make some salsa-i will of course make them read the recipe and follow the easy instructions, but it would be a fun way to end summer school!we'll see...

i wish there were a place that had kiosks for the items that i need and NOTHING else! for example, i needed luggage tags, locks, cucumbers, bacon, squash, zucchini, eggs and nuts. did i stick to my list? no. if there had been kiosks for those individual items like...along the road, near a park r something..i would not have been tempted to purchase 2 boxes of ammo (when you have to make the man go through all that work of walking over to unlock a cabinet, how can you just purchase one??) listerine strips...nail polish..polish remover, cards, umm...i could go on, but you get the idea. even with a list. modern conveniences are detrimental to my bank account.

i bought them, but i have little faith-especially since i used to work for the airlines, and whenever i'd crawl up into the luggage compartment, i would collect tons of broken locks that had come off the luggage.

great backdrop, i kno...props to the photographer..why thank you! so i did take the inserts out and make my own-customized!that's how i roll...(i don't really roll, but i do like to EAT rolls!)

the saving grace disclaimer is that the cards are funny, and the ammo will go quickly at mom and dad's (besides, my membership at the shooting range expired, so i need to brush up).

i stopped by the pet shop, and i was somewhat amused when i saw this..yes, that does say: LIVING terrarium plants.

reminds me of the creepy scene in the little mermaid with the shriveled mermaids under ursula's spell...i suppose a pet shop is not the place to get plants...

ok, tired eyes...time for bed!
jr

17 and a half, but who's counting? and sidenote-i hate working out. just wanted to put that out there.

did i watch the world cup games today? why, as a matter of fact, i did! i don't watch sports on tv like i used to. i had a streak when i was an avid american football watcher (pro, not college), but i have lost interest in that-mostly because of the ridiculous fame and fortune piece, and the ludicrous amount of money they make and the terrible role models that so many of them are.

that said, the fact that so many of my friends are into futbol, i have decided that it is something that i am willing to get back into. it goes with the idea of being knowledgeable about the things your friends and family are interested in so that you can have intelligent discussions or at least know what is being talked about. ;) the only game i'm truly interested in is when HONDURAS plays. call me biased...it's ok, do it! i AM BIASED! and just for the record, if the US goes up against HONDURAS,  guess who i'm cheering for? hint-i'll be yelling in spanish...

now. so...17 and a half days...but who's counting?

yes, self portrait! that's why i am not a police sketch artist...because real suspects are not cartoon caricatures...

 with summer school we have 3 day weekends, so today i took advantage of that and exchanged a pair of pants i purchased the other day...they had a tiny little bitty fray, and it was in a slightly compromising location. i thought about DIY repairing it, but then i thought, "self, c'mon, you just spent money on those, you shouldn't have to do anything to them..." so i talked myself into driving back up to allen to return them-it's such a drive, at least i had good music to listen to! i tip my hat to natalie for doing the drive for so long and to destree who drives from even further every day....God bless them! i couldn't do it (i did for a bit, that's why i moved).

today it was a good thing i am not married, because i went in merely to exchange and walked out spending more than i had planned...quite a bit more. oops...how does that even happen??? i am not a fashionista...i do not LOVE to dress up..in fact, i don't even really LIKE to, but i will and i do when the occasion calls for it; i'm so much more a athletic shorts, tank top and chacos gal-if there were a quiz for most appropriate job, i would be a KANAKUK sports counselor for life...it works with my preferred style! so, it was surprising that i spent that much time even looking and trying things on.

this morning before i went, i watched LONE SURVIVOR. i was expecting it to be pretty vicious, and the title is pretty much a spoiler alert in and of itself, you know that all but one was going to die. it was the ending that got me. i absolutely loved the ending-it was touching. the tribes that have a 2000 year old code of honor to safeguard an individual from his enemies and protect him at all costs. that blew me away.

PASHTUNWALI (the code)... if only more people subscribed to this code on a personal basis-physically, emotionally, spiritually...as a Christian, shouldn't this be a code that resonates with me? i dare to say that it should; at all costs. it's easy to think that i would do that for friends and family, but would i do that for a stranger? (a little self reflection is in order).

so, as i am preparing for travel, i am packing several different bags-some for HONDURAS, some for mom and dad's, certain things that will go with me to nashville...one for the boys, and one for va/md- STOP THE INSANITY!! (only, not really, bring it on!! oh marathon summer! I'LL TAKE YA!) i had some questions for sheryl, so we took care of that last night and this morning-what would we do without facebook and email?? i don't 'chat' on fb much, but questions have been a great excuse to chat! not that i need an excuse- i just don't do it very much-although, i will say it always makes me smile...i guess that's the great thing about communication, it can be a great source of joy.

and i just finished a workout. i did not want to work out. i hate it.  but i made myself do it. every time i have to force myself and talk myself into it...there is never..nevah, evah, EVAH a time that i think, "wow! i can't wait to work out!" (it's JUST. SO. MUCH. WORK!) but i do it-not because i love it (we just went over this) i do it only because i know that it...wait..i don't really know why i do it... but i suppose just knowing that i should do it makes me feel better about doing it.only not really. i just wrote that to try to convince myself, i think.

i'd much rather be bruno, who regardless of where we are doesn't mind looking a little lazy...oh to be more like my dog!

wouldn't it be great to be in public and just lay down wherever you wanted to-don't mind me, just resting. i'll move again when i;m good and ready, and not until!

alrighty then..i'm going to go ahead and spend the rest of the evening pretending to be bruno, only with a good book!
jules

dick and jane...not for fifth graders.

ok, well. summer school has begun. yes. 10 boys and 1 girl. note to self: when working with fifth grade boys, it is best to refrain from using analogies of dick and jane and spot at the park. immature fifth grade boys giggling. so i played it off as, "what? what's so funny?" (crickets) why are dick and jane the first two names that popped into my head???? so anyhoo, i changed it to richard (at least i didn't say mary jane).

once we got past that, today went a little more smoothly.

i went clothes shopping today. i think i still have 'fat-kid-syndrome.' when you gain weight, then lose weight and continue to think of yourself as bigger than you actually are. and then there are the different stores that have size discrepancies.. it's amazing how you can be one size at one place and 2 sizes bigger at another...hmm. sketchballs.

and then when i stopped by target, i had a pretty small list. i was actually going to replace my water filter, but i put it back (for now, i decided to wait until i really need to replace it-soon) so what did i do, i turned around and spent about the same amount in cards...who am i?! they are mostly bday cards-funny ones...but i am NOT afraid to cross of "birth" and just wish everyone a happy day! no shame here.

almost 19 days folks!! what you have to understand is that it has been about 23 years since i have seen many of my friends..(16+ since I've seen my cousin)...are we still friends? absolutely, but let's face it, huge hugs and physically seeing each other kinda' solidifies the deal and makes it bearable to rely on social media and letters until the next time!

i got home from the shops and tried on the clothes to make sure they still fit....they did!! and when i looked in the mirror (i am not a vain person), i may have dialogued with myself. "girl you look really nice. good choice!" sometimes as a single gal, you just have to indulge and give yourself positive talk, but let's not go overboard, ladies.

when i got home, a book had arrived in the mail-love it! sometimes i give my books away, and then i have to replenish them (which i don't mind at all! sharing a good book is like sharing music, which is like sharing a little piece of your soul!) anyhoo-very excited to start in on this series again! and when i got up to my door, there was another package! this time from dayspring-love. i was so excited to dig in and see what i had ordered in person! perfect! i got some art work that i am very excited about! more on that at a later date!

and now it is time for bed-
goodnight-dreaming of 19 days from now, because that marks the beginning of vacation!!
jules

procrastination just took up so much of my time today!

today i have been procrastinating. but i had a good reason. (no i didn't) (YES I DID!) (no, i guess i really didn't)....i cannot...CANNOT be trusted to go into barnes and noble to get just one item. it's true, i am the one-item-failure.

so i decided to try it at petco and once again, BIG FAT FAIL. although i did find some really cool toys and chaco hasn't ruined his yet! it's been all of an hour since i brought it home. give it time. as i was at the checkout, petco has their little snack bar for dogs, but it smelled good enough for humans...look at these! i was tempted until i saw the fly.

i mean...chocolate chip cookies? i'm IN!!!

upon checking out, the cashier girl was a chatty, and she asked what kind of dogs i have.
me: yorkies
chatty: oh, i want to get a schnauzer or schnauzer mix, they do adoptions through a rescue here. i think they're the coolest! especially the mixes because they have the coolest names, like schnitzu, schnorkie,  i could even name it whatever the mix name is if it's cool, like schnack russell...i would be like, this is schnack. and people would say, "snack?" and i'd say no! SCHNACK! 

yes, that conversation really happened. i'm sure she practiced it in the mirror at home and uses it as her go-to conversation line. thank goodness there was someone behind me and i was able to leave without incident.

before i hit up either of these stores, i had to stop at radio shack to see if they could help me with my phone. for some reason my 4g was not working (remember when i had a pager...and no clue what 4g was because it wasn't in existence...wow, i'm older than i would like to admit!) so when i walked in, i wanted to take it over to the young black guy who was stocking things, because i figured he'd be able to help me better than the elderly white gentleman at the counter, but i went up to the counter because i wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt since he does work at a technology store...the A/C was perhaps too cold because his nose was at the dripping point, and i kept worrying that it was going to fall onto my phone, but just in the nick of time, he raised his hand to wipe it off and continued to swipe across my screen. in my head i was racking my brain trying to think if there was anywhere that i had sanitizer. unfortunately i switched bags, and left the bigger little one in the other bag. and i had used the last of the vial-sized two days ago, when i was down for jury duty.

he ended up having to take it back to someone in the back and they were able to get it re-installed-apparently it was a really easy fix- i just had to pay my bill. i didn't realize that i had it connected to the card that i had to cancel, so i immediately got that taken care of-no worries, i will not have to pull the pager back out.

part of the procrastination period included some letter-writing, which is nothing out of the ordinary, i tried to make it a marathon; pulled out a bunch of addresses and got started, but i have SO many more to go! i have so many little things to do, and 3 weeks within which to do it, so i really probably ought to pull out a whiteboard and start making a list and crossing these items off! (i learned that one from Dr. Hughes; and it works!) 

tomorrow after our first day of summer school, we have our kick-off for personalized learning, so i am guessing we will have a little better idea of what we will be looking at over the next few months of exploration. feeling a little like jean luc picard going boldly where no man has gone before-star date 2020...i know, i could've use cptn kirk, but his uniform was ugly.

alrighty then, time to get back to planning..tomorrow comes too early.
jules

wrapping up the school year like a burrito! terrible simile.

 before i left for school this morning, i had to retire chaco's favorite toy. i replaced it with a treat, but he's the one who will go for the squeaky toy before the treat, so it was a very somber moment...but he just wreaks havoc on every toy i have ever given him. his sharp little teeth...he has a knack for finding the squeaker and incapacitating it within moments of receiving the toy. grr.

sorry buddy...you did this to yourself, and it's going to hurt me more than it hurts you (financially anyhoo because i'll have to get you another one or feel guilty for life)

 at school, (last day) i tried to work on summer school plans, and let me be completely honest...i thought i'd be able to focus, but seriously, who was i kidding?? i have been so stinkin' distracted by the mere fact that i will be in HONDURAS in oh....24 days!! WOO HOO!! are my bags partially packed sitting in my living room? yes. problem?? didn't think so!

let's see. the tomatoes have been amazing and new ones are ready every day! so i've been picking them to allow them to ripen-I cannot believe how much tastier they are than any other tomato i've ever eaten. ok, I have garden-bias. deal wit it!

today i did pull pretty much everything from the garden for my salad. the only thing i brought from home was once again, the cheese, flax, and a little bacon (left over from brkfst this morning). so i added a raspberry vinaigrette that i have at school, and from the garden: tomato, onion, fennel, basil, mint, swiss chard, red lettuce, and a couple of snow peas (which are almost non-existent...it's getting too hot for them). i helped andrea pull together some stuff for her salad as well. it was delicious!!

love!

i ate outside and enjoyed the vitamin d from the sun! as i was eating, there was a strange consistency of something in my salad, and i thought perhaps it was a bug (no big deal) but the second time, i was wondering what in the world it was, so i spit it out and it was, as a matter of fact, my bacon. i had forgotten that i had included the bacon! i'm starting my chaco tan.


being that today was the last day of school, i finished some projects that had kinda gotten started and had not been finished quite yet. for example, i finally got he last orange sticky poster from hell frame up on the brick wall. the pencil file cabinet finally got spray painted in a classy BLACK. i was able to rig a yafa block and attach it to the wall so that the books on cd in their special packaging would fit nicely, and then i worked on some of the summer school stuff.

as for the file cabinet, i had it outside to be painted and there was a slight breeze, so i picked some grass and dropped it to see which direction it was blowing so that i would know from where to spray. that's all fine and dandy(whatever dandy actually means), until the breeze changes directions. so...yes, i did come inside a little darker...from afar, it looked like perhaps i was a little more tan, from a little closer, i looked dirty, and from very close you could see the speckles of black paint. and that stuff doesn't just wash off. fortunately i had some thinner type solution here at home. yikes.

then after school, our principal walked in with one of our AFs (coach facilitators). carol had 2 little black cases in her hands, which she presented to us and i was immediately aware if what i was holding and i was so excited! i didn't take my hands off of it..i may have cradled it and caressed it like a baby...so excited to use the SWIVL during summer school!! hopefully we will be able to use the TORSH app at some point as well!

and the choir of angels sang a resounding, melodic, "AAAHHHHHHHH!!"

by the way have i mentioned that i am having a hard time focusing on anything unrelated to vacation? and the crazy thing is that i say i am distracted by all things HONDURAS, but let's look at this again-i am also going to see my brother and his fam, spending quality time with my parents, and them visiting my cousin in VA and my superhero in MD. :) umm..best summer ever-yet? i think yes! so theme songs for this summer for me? there are a few: best day of my life, good life, happy, brave...for starters...i'm certain i will be introduced to some new flavors!

THE NEXT DAY

saturday...one of the best things about going in to work today (stupid snow days) was that on the way there, i didn't have to worry about any school zones. so yes, one can even find a semblance of happiness when going to work on a saturday!

as i sat at my desk, i had the space heater on- it was 92 outside, but with the AC, my feet were like goldilocks and couldn't get it right...they were too hot or too cold. i think my feet have menopause...but only when i'm at work.

 after work we had a last get together at chuy's. it was good to sit with friends and celebrate some of those who would be leaving this year and moving to the next phase. it is hard to lose great teachers, and even harder when they have become friends.

another great thing that happened today was finding this earring that i thought had gotten lost. it must have fallen out into my clothing when i changed my shirt at school and then out of my clothing when i got into the car. i'm so glad i found it there, because i was rather worried that i'd never find it!

made by our incredible art teacher, who will also be moving on to a new phase this coming year-best wishes, renee!

NO MORE PENCILS, NO MORE BOOKS! NO MORE TEACHERS...DIRTY LOOKS! remember that one? good thing our students don't-or they might actually get dirty looks! so with summer school around the corner, i want to make sure that the students i have don't feel that way and we can make it as enjoyable as possible and have some fun! i truly believe that if we can have some fun while learning, they might not even notice that they are learning! so, that will be my goal.

alright, time for bed!
julie

jury duty, the philosopher and..28 DAYS!!!!

the first four paragraphs come straight from a letter that i wrote today while in the courthouse.

as i got off of the DART train (our rapid transit in dallas), i pulled out my jury invitation summons (forced invitation) for directions. a lady saw mine and wanted to tag along with me, so i asked her what courthouse she was supposed to be at, and i tried to keep the look of relief off my face when she said the other one "phew!" she was a chatty, and the worst kind of tag-along you can have is a chatty one, especially if you don't know them because first they try to make it look as if you are bff's, and then crazy things start spewing from their mouth and everyone assumes that you agree with them because you are bff's- guilty by association! you DEFinitely don't get dates that way! (not that jury duty is probably the best place to find a date..12 amgry men)...

when i got there, i checked in, and went to sit down. and after a bit they went ahead and started with the movie orientation a super-imposed clarice tinsley as the hostess talking about the AWESOME experience that being a juror is. and then of course, there were several people who gave their testaments about how amazing it was. the whole time i was thinking, "what? no popcorn???" and uncortunately, i did have to stick around because i met all of the qualifications.

they drew the random lottery and people were herded out of the room. those of us who were left (the 'just-in-casers')were given a little break. "take a break until 10:30," she said. hmm..so, take a break from reading, writing, texting, listening to music, waiting...take a break from serious waiting, to go do some casual waiting so that you can come back and wait seriously again...yep. sounds about right. HAPPY came on, and i wanted to blast it and see if anyone would flash mob...but i thought that might ruin my chances of getting home without a misdemeanor. thank you BRANDY for introducing me to eddy kenzo-loving the album; thanks for posting it on your fb page! (insert smiley emoticon).

and i drank my 2 1/2 bottles of water (i didn't want to break my back carrying more today), so that was rough, as i had no idea how much longer was left. finally around noon, we were given the happy news! and as the lady read down the list, people called out, "HERE!" and exited stage right. one of the people that was called was wang tung perhaps you can understand why for the remainder of the wait, i was singing to myself, "everybody have fun tonight...everybody wang chung tonight!" so as people were saying "here", i was worrying about how i was going to say it when it was my turn....will it be loud? soft? high pitch? should i sing it? indifferent? how can you mess up "here!" i'm sure my "here" was truly remarkable, and if there had been an agent in the crowd screening for an actor to say the word "here," i would have been the chosen one.

then i went to stand in a line to get a work confirmation slip, and a lady coming out recognized me from the elevator and asked if i could say "HERE" one more time...NO SHE DIDN'T! JK! but she did ask if this was the line to get her check. (all of $6), so i told her they would mail it. and then it was back to the DART rail. when i got to west end, i saw the guy i saw back when i went to the avid conference a few summers ago. tyrun.

tyrun is homeless. he buys newspapers every morning (the homeless newsletter of sorts) and then he sells them on the corner-give them away and people make donations; they feel guilted into it after they see the print on the top of the page that says the vendor bought these copies. anyhoo-he stopped me and struck up a conversation. and so...i stood and listened and pretty much didn't get a word in  edgewise. but that's ok, because i'm sure he just likes to have conversation...but here are some of the excerpts:

T: you know, i only talk to pretty people. i don't like talking to ugly people, because phew! they creepy. 
you know, i'm a philosopher. i used to be a drug dealer, and i went to jail and now i'm kind of a pimp. i pimp my newspapers...
let me see your eyes. i can tell if a person is good or not if i can see my reflection in their eyes. you're good.
you know what they say man's best friend is? (me: dog?) ok, ok...flip that around and what d'ya get?  (God) right...see, i'm a philospoher, and things like that just come to me.
people don't like me talkin' to you. they're watchin right now and they don't like it. the police is going to come by after and tell me to stop getting in peoples' face. they don't like it because i'm black and you're white. 
there was more, and fact i kept trying to inch closer to the crosswalk, and he kept getting in my way. i sadly watched the green line to carrollton close its doors and slip away...sigh.

i went home, changed, ate, and then went up to school to grab the potatoes to try to get them down to the pantry. the lady never called me back, so i called again and left message #2. then the fire alarm went off, so i grabbed all of my stuff, including the 38 lbs of potatoes and went on out the door. i took off to find this food pantry, and when i got there, i knocked on the metal door, no answer, so i went to the front, and knocked on the glass door. no answer. i cupped my hands over my eyes at the front door and looked in and saw a man, so i knocked again...no answer...i muttered a few not-so-nice things and decided that if she did not call me back, i was going to find another place to take them...

on the way home, i decided to stop at lowes for some of the hardware that i need for a small project in 109, and as i was leaving, i got a call from the pantry, so i zipped on over there because the last thing i need is for potatoes to start sprouting in my car! she was very grateful, and i was a little ashamed of my frustrated thoughts...i'm sure they are short-staffed and very busy. i know they work very hard to do the very best they can.

now i'm home, and as i look at my calendar, i cannot believe that i have not flipped it from may to june!! what in the world?! as soon as i do, you know what happens-the countdown begins!!!! i think every morning i am going to wake up and do a count dracula countdown like on sesame street-tventy eight! tventy eight days! vahahaha!!! (cue noise machine thunderstorm and lightning)!! yes, that's right! 28 days until i see the mountains and the city i call home! my stomach just did that thing. you know, the ache where you know something is missing and you just want to fill it..that one.

sorry no pics...but while a picture is worth a thousand words, i'm pretty sure my thousand words will paint a picture!
jules

don't mess with my bundt cake and HONDURAS, and i won't have to punch you in the face.

today was another full day. career day, feedback, writing prep, smart potatoes, AWARD, more smart potatoes...and when i got home, i finished smart potatoes...(uy, papa)...

it wasn't a bad day, just a full day. it was productive, and i feel that i was able to get some stuff done, yet there are other things that are undone, that need some doing.  i am proud to say that i got one of the posters up that wendy and i were trying to get up, and one more to go...i would've gotten that one up as well, but there were screws sticking out of the bricks that would've punctured the already frail poster. so  i will speak with the custodian when i get back to school to see if he can help...i may just go get a hacksaw and cut them off-that would be the easiest, and isn't everyone in need of a good hacksaw? yes.

if only i could remember all of the one-liners that were spewing out today when andrea and i were conversing in the morning. they were funny. i laughed. but obviously not funny enough to remember-she even said we should write them down. oops. i needed my go-go-gadget recorder.

smart potatoes...what are smart potatoes anyway? well..we DID grow them at the school. 'nuf said. only not really. the students planted the potatoes back in february or march, and we just harvested them today-over 100 days. the key was staying away from the ants. they did a pretty good job. (i need to go back after the fire ants later). so the students harvested, weighed and sorted the potatoes. they may or may not use the information to create a graph tomorrow. i ended up having to re-weigh all of the potatoes...in grams...on a triple balance beam because accuracy is not a mastered fifth grade standard. anyhoo, andrea helped me out with the first few, and i was going to use the students' numbers until i lifted the bag and realized how heavy it was and that the numbers certainly did not add up.

how did i know? you're talking to the girl that lives on the 3rd floor and has to carry groceries up the stairs..i know the difference between 10 lbs and 25 lbs! so i stayed after our meeting and weighed the remainder of the pots so that i could take them in to the food pantry (which i plan to do tomorrow after jury duty). and the total (if i recall the numbers from school that i jotted on a paper) are about 35 lbs of potatoes from two raised beds. not a bad haul considering last year was pathetic little pea-sized potatoes!

this afternoon we received a prestigious award from real school gardens for the integration of the garden into our lessons and making it part of our cabell culture. that was really neat. it came with a $500 gift, which we will be deciding how to use in the near future! woohoo!!

and during our feedback, my principal told me that if she were the lawyers, she would pick me to be on the jury. fair and impartial...so...i am trying to find a t-shirt and a book that have something super controversial on them...i don't have time for this kind of thing. hopefully they will fill their white-woman quota before they get to me.

and this afternoon, the math facilitator, carol, came in and she is so thoughtful- i feel like she kinda' adopted me as well when my first facilitator flew the coop and went to a different division...but while she was meeting with andrea, she brought us each one of these, and i was in heaven!

MY NEMESIS..MY KRYPTONITE!

you think i jest...no..no..if someone said, "julie, i will give you a NOTHING-BUNDT-CAKE if you let that sumo wrestler fall on your head." i think i might do it...on the other hand, if you said, "julie, i'll give you a NOTHING-BUNDT-CAKE if you fore-go your trip to HONDURAS", i'd probably punch you in the face, take the cake and run to the boarding gate! so, don't do that...i don't like to punch people in the face.

alright, it's bedtime..jury duty comes early.
julie