jack rabbits, enrollment forms and enough sodium for a small country (of teeny-tiny ant-sized people who have no taste buds)

saturday i got a text from nafia, and she, nicolette and i got to go do some errand-running to find some essentials for her cousin's bridal shower. good times! i love going to hobby lobby for anything, but this was a fun little task, and we were able to find the necessities to help pull off a very creative gathering! and then we stopped by bath and body works to get a little gift set for the event in question. and i was able to stock up on more smelly things for my smell-diffuser-thing and for my car. love the scents!

touched base with sarah on monday to make sure that everything was "a go" for thursday and friday before making the flight out to lubbock. took the boys into the vet early tuesday morning (i always drop them off around 7 to get them set for their comprehensive and dental cleanings, thank you banfield). due to the fact that banfield is located inside petsmart, i always say a little prayer that i will make it all the way to the back of the store before one of the boys (usually bruno) does his business in the store...i mean, i usually walk them around for a bit outside, but they are tricky..they always wait to get in the store and smell what the other dogs have done. jerks.

then in the afternoon i made my way into the office because i needed to speak with our HR vice president. i wasn't sure how to play this one..and not because she's scary, in fact, the vp of hr is fabulous...it's more that i'd been putting off the inevitable. so i stopped in and talked to lori first, trying to get up the nerve to go in and talk to her to see how bad it was going to be...so lori took the edge off by buffering while providing the introductory "here, do something, julie's blonde." (ok, i know that wasn't what she said, but that's what i heard mostly because it's what i was thinking in the moment!). i was dreading this more than the dentist, because i'd been over-thinking it for too long, and avoiding the unavoidable. and we all know that when you do that, it just sits and simmers on the back burner and the brain just makes it even worse!

it was a relief to know that we were within compliance, and i wasn't going to have too severe of consequences...paperwork. just paperwork. so that was good to hear..chills just thinking about how good it was to hear! music to my ears (good music, none of that toddler screamo-crap i referred to in the previous post!) so my duty is to contact the dentist to make sure they are a part of this in-network plan...unfortunately, the receptionist is a little ditzy, but so nice, that it's hard to be upset with her...one of those "bless-your-heart"s. 

yesterday i dropped the boys at joannes because it was going to be a longer trip, and she said fudge was wanting to party,

this is them when i dropped them off at joannes for a visit-they were pretty excited to get there!

then i went to the airport, in my flipflops, in the rain. (didn't think that through)...and arrived in beautiful 80 degree, light breeze weather in lubbock. after i called for the shuttle, it only took about a half hour for him to arrive. cool. then, as we pulled out of the airport, something caught my eye in the shade of the trees...jack rabbits! i can't say that i've actually seen them in person! i'm sure that if i keep my eyes open, at some point i may also see a jackelope...c'mon sarah, let's see if we can't find one on the way to tulia tomorrow!
                                            
so, i'm staying at the overton in lubbock, and it is a very nice hotel,

but the walls seem thin, or something because i can hear laughing in the room next door and full conversations of people walking down the hall...maybe the hotel in leavenworth really did shoot the supersonic hearing beam through my ear...(although more likely, it may just be some of the elderly visitors speaking loudly due to loss of hearing, who really knows #notgoingtoask). there are two things that are minor-there is a noise in the bathroom from the vent-like the wind is causing it to open and shut. no problem, last night, i just turned on the cello music...tonight, i will leave the light on because it is connected to the fan and the noise stops-it will just be white noise, and if i close the door, the light won't be an issue. the other 'bother' is that the t.v. always reverts back to the original LUBBOCK SPECIAL channel, so i have to do some flipping of channels to get back to the station i was watching if i turn it off at any point. (i mean, it's the little things...who needs finger cramping from playing with the remote unnecessarily? NOT ME!!)  

today's session canceled and apparently wanted to reschedule last minute, so i went down to the restaurant for a leisurely breakfast and took my notebook with me. i probably should've just gotten the buffet, but i'd seen the menu up in my room and had my mind set. in the room i was thinking blueberry pancakes with a side of egg...i ended up getting the waffle. who am i? anyhoo, the meal arrived and i decided i needed some salt on the eggs, so i reached over and grabbed the salt while looking at the pepper shaker and noticing that it was a grind mill pepper-shaker, so my instinct (ok, learned behavior...i know the difference) i tried to ground the salt-thinking about my sea salt shaker at home, and the freakin' top came right off, leaving a heaping pile of NaCl all over my perfectly done eggs. not being one to make a big deal of things, i was in an obscure booth, so i tried my darndest to wipe the eggs off. to a casual observer, one might think i was petting the eggs, and they remained too salty, so i tried to eat them with the syrup-still too salty (not the same mix as caramel and sea salt-my fave!!)nope, so my next try was to pour some of my water on them, giving them a little bath, in hopes that the ice water wouldn't ruin the warm egg-effect. i still like the yolks a little runny. it worked, but it was not ideal. and as soon as i moved the eggs to the waffle plate and finished the eggs and the waffle, i poured the water from the egg plate onto the waffle plate in order to hide any traces of the situation, as the water mixed with the syrup...

ay-ya-yai...(not sure, but in my head, that's the way i pronounced it maybe with a little more flair and some other words you may or may not recognize)

not my smoothest breakfast adventure...but i can guarantee lesson learned! besides, it was granular salt, duh, of course you don't grind it otherwise it'd be the consistency of powdered sugar.

i did get this in the mail before my flight, confirming that i had made the first status mark! go me.

 and in other news, i found out that the coffee shop will open tomorrow just in the nick of time for me to grab a latte to go at 6:15 on our mission to tulia. good times, i'm certain of it.

why the coffee shop sports a poster of factoids about armadillos, i am uncertain.

tomorrow will come early, so i must iron my pants and get some sleep-gotta' be my best version of a shadow tomorrow!

julie

apparently fire alarms in the airport don't count, but it's okay, it wasn't even real #crywolf

after returning from corpus, i had the opportunity to attend a training in crandall, tx, to observe georgia. where's crandall, you ask? glad you asked, i didn't know either. it's just south of seagoville and two shakes past the silo by the brown cow, whose best friend is the bearded pygmy goat. then right at the big tree and straight past the water tower and then when the lady in the google map says it's on your right, keep going about 1/4 of a mile more or you'll end up at the admin building and lose about 3 minutes trying to figure it all out! and when you do finally enter the middle school, if you're me, your first intuition is to look for visual clues that might lead to a diet coke vending machine...and when you notice that it's on a dolly, chained up, not plugged in, you just have to dig deep and resign yourself to drinking the 2L of water that you brought, because you know deep down that you are probably already on caffeine overload.

one thing i feel i'm getting pretty good at is jimmy-riggin' projectors to connect with the computers...so many great opportunities to practice! #madmcgeyverskills georgia was spot on-she was great with our group and for the amount of time that we had, she was able to impart a wealth of knowledge to get these teachers on their way to a successful beginning!

the next morning i arrived at the airport and met up with suzanne and de an (DeAn.not dean...) and shortly after we were semi-settled and they were going to grab a small something or other, the fire alarm went off in the love field terminal. much more soothing than our migraine-inducing-shrill-as-a-three-year-old screaming alarm at school...it was like the difference between a toddler-screamo band and yo yo ma with a soothing piece from bach...we all just kinda' sat around looking at each other (everyone in the concourse) as if to say, "if you stay, i'll stay..." but rule-followers that we are, suzanne, de an and i dejectedly gathered our bags and moved slowly-like eeyore, making our way, just hoping that someone would stop us and tell us it was all a fluke...and on cue, as we reached the edge  of the gate area, a lady's voice came over the gate intercom to a lobby full of irrefutably indifferent people. in a frantic voice, she said, "DON'T FREAK OUT! stay, it was a false alarm." needless to say, her voice was the only thing that was freaked out. everyone had pretty much tuned out the calming beeps. i'm thinking, if it were my place, i'd play something like "THE ROOF, THE ROOF, THE ROOF IS ON FIRE!" and do a laser beam show pointing to the nearest exits with an intermittent shrill alarm (because i like the idea of at least something shrill...mostly because it sounds like krill..and krill oil is good for you and doesn't stink near as much as fish oil..dude, if i keep getting off track like that, i'm never going to finish!) so we finally got on the plane, and the lady and gentleman across and behind me were talking (i don't endorse eavesdropping, but sometimes people just talk a little too loudly, and more often than not, it's blog-worthy...)
he: did you hear the fire alarm? (duh. unless she was deaf, or had malfunctioning cochlear implants, she heard it, genius)
she: yes, i work at a hospital-it happens all the time and we know it's not a big deal, so that's what i figured.

please note the lack of "freak-out"

A. this is terrible! 2 highly public areas where your employees doubt the integrity of the alarm system that is in place to alert you to save lives...yikes. B. note to self: be sure to travel with chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers from now on to ensure against fire, because God knows that the moment when i'm craving s'mores and have all the fixin's on hand, there's never a fire in sight when i need it...#preparednessisprevention

at one point during the flight i thought about using the restroom, but there was a man. a larger man. and he was in there for the duration of "no woman, no cry" (bob marley), dubbed the longest reggae song--in all transparency, i wasn't listening to it at that very moment, but i do remember dancing to it at a party near utila on jack-o'neil's cay a long time ago, and wondering if it was ever going to end, and how much longer i was going to have to keep up this charade with this boy i didn't know, burning calves and perspiration...i don't exactly remember, but i have a vague notion that at about minute 6 i may have leaned in and excused myself for a restroom break...ironic. aaaaaand there i go again..meds, please...and i don't even take meds. focus...all that to say i thought long and hard about dry hot dry deserts that are DRY for the rest of the flight, and thanked the restroom gods..and the architect of the mci airport that there was a restroom directly outside the gate area.

i really used to like the kansas city airport. perhaps more as a k.c. resident, because it was easy to get in and out and the parking was easy...but now i'm thinking i may have to agree with suzanne, not much space...corridors akin to the birth canal...BUT the PARKing!! #torn #theverdictisstillout

siri was in a mood. suffice it to say that she took us totes backroads. past the "secret-area-prison", and to a house of a man mowing his lawn. it'd be one thing if we'd put in the memo that we were running from the law and needed a crackhouse hide-out...so we used a different device and got to our hotel, but only two of the rooms were ready, so we went to eat at the metropolitan steakhouse near the pretty prison. and the waitress that took our pic was telling us the story about the buffalo that were in the pasture across the hwy (inter-state trading of buffalo...fostering program? idk); anyhoo, she said they are really cute when they frolic in the springtime. remember my frolic on the beach last spring (pic about halfway down)? #frolicfail yes, i'm sure my frolicking was not unlike what i imagine of the baby buffalo, although they are way much cuter.

(machine gun kelly, 'bam' morris, and michael vick were all held there)

whaddya mean you can't see them? they're the obvious brown clumps..hellooooo.

-apparently on loan from another state

• check into hotel 

  

  apparently without knowing it, i had ordered the room that shoots a radioactive beam through your ear to allow for super-human auditory functioning...i opted out and kept curious fingers away from the button of doom.

• take nap
• meet for dinner at marfields
• order southwest burger (sans the southwest...NO AVOCADO! boo-curse this shortage)
• post-dinner entertainment: exploration

those of you who know suzanne may know that she is all about the exploration-which is great because i do too. "there's a picture of the bridge in my hotel room bathroom-it must be significant." "okay! let's go over the bridge!!" we did. no marker. no historical plaque. nothing. so anticlimactic.

hence we turned around and came back and decided to go back to the hidden prison on the backroads. suzanne slowed down enough to snap pics-there were men out playing baseball, and i'm sure we weren't obvious, or anything...a fine-looking african american male pulled off a flexing pose and i think that pic may be on suzanne's phone-i gave him a thumbs up as we pulled away and hoped that we weren't violating any kind of law...flashbacks of charlie's angels circa 1976- angels in chains...i have no desire to end up in a woman's prison being hosed down by a fire hose!! 

on the return to the hotel, there was a cemetery that we stopped at because one of the clusters caught suzanne's eye. we found the mound with tiny headstones all around in a circular pattern, with a cherub in the center. there was no description, no plaque...(must be a leavenworth thing)...we left, and about 1000ft, suzanne was still wondering about it (pitbull, i tell ya. get ahold of something and don't let go!) seriously tough i appreciate the sense of curiosity. i have another friend who is very similar. so we pulled an evil knieval u-ie (i imagine, or did he only do stunt jumps?) anyoo, she'd seen a woman at the office watering flowers, so we were on our way back to ask her about it. we found out that it is called infant mound. very ingenious name. we also learned that they had a facebook page, which de an found and started reading some of the recent posts about loved ones...not depressing at all! #stoptheinsanity

after a good night's sleep (at least for me..suzanne will tell a different story), we arrived at the site at 7am...ghost town-not another soul in sight! great parking, though. finally the lone janitor saw us, opened up and let us go, as we'd come the day before and knew where we were headed. nice guy! quite the traveled fella-military. it was a smooth set-up, and we were ready for the marathon event. 1 hour and 20 min is not really ideal when trying to give crucial points about getting started~but suzanne was a rock star and took the task head-on for like..6 sessions; i'm pretty sure de an clocked her doing 70 mph at one point...hard to recall what's been said from one session to the next in this kind of setting, but the participants were very attentive, even the largest group, which we thought was going to be an issue-they were great. they seemed very appreciative for the responsiveness and preparation that allowed them to dig in and would ensure a great implementation. hopefully there will be an opportunity to return to help them get a better understanding of reports once they get going.

once we'd arrived to drop off the rental, i was really hoping that the shuttle driver wouldn't get to my bag before i did, so that i wouldn't have to tip him, but that one...he was a spunky one, and he practically grabbed the bag out of my hand...spunky little man (i kinda wanted to punch him in the face for being such a pushy little guy-but i suppose that's how he makes his $..so i reigned in my kick-boxing-angry-woman persona and gave him his money). i left the other two ladies to check their bags-i don't mind lugging around the carry-on (i've traveled too much and had too many incidents), so off to the restroom, and then i sat to eat my yogurt prior to getting into the line for security. while i was sitting there, i noticed a young lady with three children, who when she saw me, nodded and smiled (she was on the phone) and so i stealthily looked to my right to see if she was smiling and nodding to someone beyond me, or if she'd mistaken me for someone else. once she got off the phone, she walked up smiling and said, "JULIE ROBINSON! Aimee Minnich-marshal and i got married; i recognized you immediately, as i see your posts and such on facebook!" we very briefly caught up, and she introduced me to her adorable kiddos, and then they had to go find their ride. aimme was one of the k-life kids when i volunteered with klife in kansas city! what a small world-random coincidences! (i need to stay awake and expect more-life is full of them if we keep our eyes open!)

and after i got through security, i found my gate area and suzanne and de an, there was no seating, so i stood there for a bit until a lady next to suzanne stood to go to her gate; then we found out that our flight had been delayed eveyn more, so i went to change in the bathroom to get comfortable. i got some nasty looks from a couple of ladies when i walked out of the stall...and i was so ready to go PINK!(so what)..i know, so mature. anyhoo, we made our way to find some grub...after venturing through a strange passageway we learned that everything in that area was closing down for the evening, so we made our way back, and the mexican joint (not like a doobie...) was packed, so we went to the pork and pickle for a bite. and as we were seated, we got the text that the flight we were on cxld, so suzanne went to get her charger from a random she'd loaned it to (very trusting of her), and i took out my computer and made the call to reschedule for the morning flight for the three of us. by the time i finished, suzanne had returned, and she got on the phone to hold three hotel rooms at a nearby hotel that shuttled...set. relax, eat. and then i got another text as soon as our bills came. this one saying that flight xxx was scheduled to board and depart at 8:35pm. look at watch, 8:30p.wait, what? so we rushed down, and the other two hadn't received the text, so the lady at the counter said go to the podium to check for your boarding pass! when i got over there, they had my name, checked me off and told me to get on the plane, but they didn't have suzanne's or de an's...i had to shake the "no man left behind" mentality...i'm not even in the military! (besides, if it had been one of them, i would've wanted them to leave!) so i got on the plane and found a seat toward the back-an aisle seat, none-the-less!! fortunately suzanne and de an hung around and were able to take last seats as well!

it wasn't a long flight home, the 'long' was in the fact that once we were cleared to land, there was still an AC on the runway, so we had to pull back up and do another spin of the loop before landing, and once we actually landed, there were no gates open. so we waited for a bit and every 15 min. the pilot came on for an update-at least there was no wind-noise, so we could hear him at this point. 3 gates were about to come open, and we were 6th on the wait...this was worse than being on wait at the restaurant...i kept thinking about the emergency rafts that pop out over the wing, and how nice it would be just to evacuate that way. out of courtesy, once i got off, i waited for the others, even though i knew that they would probably go to the baggage claim first, so we parted ways and as i turned left, as always, there was the statue of the ranger-( i must just look up at the wrong moment, but every time it makes me chuckle because there is something inadvertently lewd about it). eeeee.

arrived home at midnight...midnight at the oasis (just a little favorite) time didn't matter, just happy to be home!

julie

apparently fire alarms in the airport don't count, but it's okay, it wasn't even real #crywolf

after returning from corpus, i had the opportunity to attend a training in crandall, tx, to observe georgia. where's crandall, you ask? glad you asked, i didn't know either. it's just south of seagoville and two shakes past the silo by the brown cow, whose best friend is the bearded pygmy goat. then right at the big tree and straight past the water tower and then when the lady in the google map says it's on your right, keep going about 1/4 of a mile more or you'll end up at the admin building and lose about 3 minutes trying to figure it all out! and when you do finally enter the middle school, if you're me, your first intuition is to look for visual clues that might lead to a diet coke vending machine...and when you notice that it's on a dolly, chained up, not plugged in, you just have to dig deep and resign yourself to drinking the 2L of water that you brought, because you know deep down that you are probably already on caffeine overload.

one thing i feel i'm getting pretty good at is jimmy-riggin' projectors to connect with the computers...so many great opportunities to practice! #madmcgeyverskills georgia was spot on-she was great with our group and for the amount of time that we had, she was able to impart a wealth of knowledge to get these teachers on their way to a successful beginning!

the next morning i arrived at the airport and met up with suzanne and de an (DeAn.not dean...) and shortly after we were semi-settled and they were going to grab a small something or other, the fire alarm went off in the love field terminal. much more soothing than our migraine-inducing-shrill-as-a-three-year-old screaming alarm at school...it was like the difference between a toddler-screamo band and yo yo ma with a soothing piece from bach...we all just kinda' sat around looking at each other (everyone in the concourse) as if to say, "if you stay, i'll stay..." but rule-followers that we are, suzanne, de an and i dejectedly gathered our bags and moved slowly-like eeyore, making our way, just hoping that someone would stop us and tell us it was all a fluke...and on cue, as we reached the edge  of the gate area, a lady's voice came over the gate intercom to a lobby full of irrefutably indifferent people. in a frantic voice, she said, "DON'T FREAK OUT! stay, it was a false alarm." needless to say, her voice was the only thing that was freaked out. everyone had pretty much tuned out the calming beeps. i'm thinking, if it were my place, i'd play something like "THE ROOF, THE ROOF, THE ROOF IS ON FIRE!" and do a laser beam show pointing to the nearest exits with an intermittent shrill alarm (because i like the idea of at least something shrill...mostly because it sounds like krill..and krill oil is good for you and doesn't stink near as much as fish oil..dude, if i keep getting off track like that, i'm never going to finish!) so we finally got on the plane, and the lady and gentleman across and behind me were talking (i don't endorse eavesdropping, but sometimes people just talk a little too loud, and usually it's blog-worthy...)
he: did you hear the fire alarm? (duh. unless she was deaf, or had malfunctioning cochlear implants, she heard it, genius)
she: yes, i work at a hospital-it happens all the time and we know it's not a big deal, so that's what i figured.

please note the lack of "freak-out"

A. this is terrible! 2 highly public areas where your employees doubt the integrity of the alarm system that is in place to alert you to save lives...yikes. B. note to self: be sure to travel with chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers from now on to insure against fire, because God knows that the moment when i'm craving s'mores and have all the fixin's on hand, there's never a fire in sight when i need it...#preparednessisprevention

at one point during the flight i thought about using the restroom, but there was a man. a larger man. and he was in there for the duration of "no woman, no cry" (bob marley), dubbed the longest reggae song--in all transparency, i wasn't listening to it at that very moment, but i do remember dancing to it at a party near utila on jack-o'neil's cay a long time ago, and wondering if it was ever going to end, and how much longer i was going to have to keep up this charade with this boy i didn't know, burning calves and perspiration...i don't exactly remember, but i have a vague notion that at about minute 6 i may have leaned in and excused myself for a restroom break...ironic. aaaaaand there i go again..meds, please...and i don't even take meds. focus...all that to say i thought long and hard about dry hot dry deserts that are DRY for the rest of the flight, and thanked the restroom gods..and the architect of the mci airport that there was a restroom directly outside the gate area.

i really used to like the kansas city airport. perhaps more as a k.c. resident, because it was easy to get in and out and the parking was easy...but now i'm thinking i may have to agree with suzanne, not much space...corridors akin to the birth canal...BUT the PARKing!! #torn #theverdictisstillout

siri was in a mood. suffice it to say that she took us totes backroads. past the "secret-area-prison", and to a house of a man mowing his lawn. it'd be one thing if we'd put in the memo that we were running from the law and needed a crackhouse hide-out...so we used a different device and got to our hotel, but only two of the rooms were ready, so we went to eat at the metropolitan steakhouse near the pretty prison. and the waitress that took our pic was telling us the story about the buffalo that were in the pasture across the hwy (inter-state trading of buffalo...fostering program? idk); anyhoo, she said they are really cute when they frolic in the springtime. remember my frolic on the beach last spring (pic about halfway down)? #frolicfail yes, i'm sure my frolicking was not unlike what i imagine of the baby buffalo, although they are way much cuter.

(machine gun kelly, 'bam' morris, and michael vick were all held there)

whaddya mean you can't see them? they're the obvious brown clumps..hellooooo.

-apparently on loan from another state

• check into hotel 

  

  apparently without knowing it, i had ordered the room that shoots a radioactive beam through your ear to allow for super-human auditory functioning...i opted out and kept curious fingers away from the button of doom.

• take nap
• meet for dinner at marfields
• order southwest burger (sans the southwest...NO AVOCADO! boo-curse this shortage)
• post-dinner entertainment: exploration

those of you who know suzanne may know that she is all about the exploration-which is great because i do too. "there's a picture of the bridge in my hotel room bathroom-it must be significant." "okay! let's go over the bridge!!" we did. no marker. no historical plaque. nothing. so anticlimactic.

hence we turned around and came back and decided to go back to the hidden prison on the backroads. suzanne slowed down enough to snap pics-there were men out playing baseball, and i'm sure we weren't obvious, or anything...a fine-looking african american male pulled off a flexing pose and i think that pic may be on suzanne's phone-i gave him a thumbs up as we pulled away and hoped that we weren't violating any kind of law...flashbacks of charlie's angels circa 1976- angels in chains...i have no desire to end up in a woman's prison being hosed down by a fire hose!! 

on the return to the hotel, there was a cemetery that we stopped at because one of the clusters caught suzanne's eye. we found the mound with tiny headstones all around in a circular pattern, with a cherub in the center. there was no description, no plaque...(must be a leavenworth thing)...we left, and about 1000ft, suzanne was still wondering about it (pitbull, i tell ya. get ahold of something and don't let go!) seriously tough i appreciate the sense of curiosity. i have another friend who is very similar. so we pulled an evil knieval u-ie (i imagine, or did he only do stunt jumps?) anyoo, she'd seen a woman at the office watering flowers, so we were on our way back to ask her about it. we found out that it is called infant mound. very ingenious name. we also learned that they had a facebook page, which de an found and started reading some of the recent posts about loved ones...not depressing at all! #stoptheinsanity

after a good night's sleep (at least for me..suzanne will tell a different story), we arrived at the site at 7am...ghost town-not another soul in sight! great parking, though. finally the lone janitor saw us, opened up and let us go, as we'd come the day before and knew where we were headed. nice guy! quite the traveled fella-military. it was a smooth set-up, and we were ready for the marathon event. 1 hour and 20 min is not really ideal when trying to give crucial points about getting started~but suzanne was a rock star and took the task head-on for like..6 sessions; i'm pretty sure de an clocked her doing 70 mph at one point...hard to recall what's been said from one session to the next in this kind of setting, but the participants were very attentive, even the largest group, which we thought was going to be an issue-they were great. they seemed very appreciative for the responsiveness and preparation that allowed them to dig in and would ensure a great implementation. hopefully there will be an opportunity to return to help them get a better understanding of reports once they get going.

once we'd arrived to drop off the rental, i was really hoping that the shuttle driver wouldn't get to my bag before i did, so that i wouldn't have to tip him, but that one...he was a spunky one, and he practically grabbed the bag out of my hand...spunky little man (i kinda wanted to punch him in the face for being such a pushy little guy-but i suppose that's how he makes his $..so i reigned in my kick-boxing-angry-woman persona and gave him his money). i left the other two ladies to check their bags-i don't mind lugging around the carry-on (i've traveled too much and had too many incidents), so off to the restroom, and then i sat to eat my yogurt prior to getting into the line for security. while i was sitting there, i noticed a young lady with three children, who when she saw me, nodded and smiled (she was on the phone) and so i stealthily looked to my right to see if she was smiling and nodding to someone beyond me, or if she'd mistaken me for someone else. once she got off the phone, she walked up smiling and said, "JULIE ROBINSON! Aimee Minnich-marshal and i got married; i recognized you immediately, as i see your posts and such on facebook!" we very briefly caught up, and she introduced me to her adorable kiddos, and then they had to go find their ride. aimme was one of the k-life kids when i volunteered with klife in kansas city! what a small world-random coincidences! (i need to stay awake and expect more-life is full of them if we keep our eyes open!)

and after i got through security, i found my gate area and suzanne and de an, there was no seating, so i stood there for a bit until a lady next to suzanne stood to go to her gate; then we found out that our flight had been delayed eveyn more, so i went to change in the bathroom to get comfortable. i got some nasty looks from a couple of ladies when i walked out of the stall...and i was so ready to go PINK!(so what)..i know, so mature. anyhoo, we made our way to find some grub...after venturing through a strange passageway we learned that everything in that area was closing down for the evening, so we made our way back, and the mexican joint (not like a doobie...) was packed, so we went to the pork and pickle for a bite. and as we were seated, we got the text that the flight we were on cxld, so suzanne went to get her charger from a random she'd loaned it to (very trusting of her), and i took out my computer and made the call to reschedule for the morning flight for the three of us. by the time i finished, suzanne had returned, and she got on the phone to hold three hotel rooms at a nearby hotel that shuttled...set. relax, eat. and then i got another text as soon as our bills came. this one saying that flight xxx was scheduled to board and depart at 8:35pm. look at watch, 8:30p.wait, what? so we rushed down, and the other two hadn't received the text, so the lady at the counter said go to the podium to check for your boarding pass! when i got over there, they had my name, checked me off and told me to get on the plane, but they didn't have suzanne's or de an's...i had to shake the "no man left behind" mentality...i'm not even in the military! (besides, if it had been one of them, i would've wanted them to leave!) so i got on the plane and found a seat toward the back-an aisle seat, none-the-less!! fortunately suzanne and de an hung around and were able to take last seats as well!

it wasn't a long flight home, the 'long' was in the fact that once we were cleared to land, there was still an AC on the runway, so we had to pull back up and do another spin of the loop before landing, and once we actually landed, there were no gates open. so we waited for a bit and every 15 min. the pilot came on for an update-at least there was no wind-noise, so we could hear him at this point. 3 gates were about to come open, and we were 6th on the wait...this was worse than being on wait at the restaurant...i kept thinking about the emergency rafts that pop out over the wing, and how nice it would be just to evacuate that way. out of courtesy, once i got off, i waited for the others, even though i knew that they would probably go to the baggage claim first, so we parted ways and as i turned left, as always, there was the statue of the ranger-( i must just look up at the wrong moment, but every time it makes me chuckle because there is something inadvertently lewd about it). eeeee.

arrived home at midnight...midnight at the oasis (just a little favorite) time didn't matter, just happy to be home!

julie

i'm not the only one who wonders about the little peanut nub

sunday afternoon found me flying to corpus christi. i grabbed something to eat on the flight, and then found a seat near the gate. as soon as i got my stuff set down and settled, i turned to the right and saw someone waving at me with grand gestures-it was cris! so i gathered my belongings and went over to where she and ginger had congregated. (can two congregate? it just seems like such a small gathering). anyhoo, while in houston, the girls wanted to grab lunch, so having already eaten, we split one sandwich, fries and chips/queso between the three of us-just a snack. i'm pretty sure that either we were there at the same time, or we missed neddy and jane s by mere moments. (saw something on facebook). 

there were some great children and grandchildren swapping of stories, and as we lined up for the short hop to corpus, ginger had a fun face-time with one of the babies! so fun to see the joy that the grandchildren bring!

i love that cris and ginger knew the lay of the land, and had been there before! once i had spilled my coffee and we'd gotten our rooms upgraded from a king size to two queens...hotel issues-did i ever mention that one of my duties when i was at c of o was working at the old hotel for a couple of weeks? true story, so i get it, that the front desk needs verification that the cleaning staff has finished cleaning and prepping rooms! it was also great when i knocked my perfect cup of coffee and it spilled all over the lobby...again, they couldn't contact housekeeping...so i was trying to ward people off and help them detour around the lake-o-coffee, with pretty much everyone who walked by mentioning how great it smelled...and it did! but we finally made our way to our rooms and had a few minutes before we were to meet in the lobby with tina, a former trainer in corpus.

the view from across the street to the hotel

bay area hotel 

where we had our amazing shrimp with tina

a view from the back side of the restaurant

it was great to meet her and we grabbed dinner in the bay at a little restaurant with some live music and a little floating dock. when by the ocean, you don't turn your nose up at seafood, and so we had a little taste of cathy's delicious pecan-crusted shrimp! and the topper was the key lime pie slice that we all delved into! mouth-wateringly good! got to see tina's grandbabies- she has the cutest pics of their tea-party...what a great idea to have fun tea parties to learn table etiquette as a pre-cursor to joining at the big table with the real dishes! love it!

evening walk on the bay

after dinner, we were able to enjoy a short walk by the water. it was a little windy, so it would've been perfect if we'd had a cape to follow suit-and recreate red-cape nation by the bay! i saw jane's pic in the white-sands! loved it-we need to do more of this, and it would've been the perfect setting!! hindsight, note to self-buy the cape!

enjoying the breeze and the sunset with ginger and cris

when we went to set up for the training, ginger was getting crazy "if i start flashing and vibrating..." oh yeah, she'd just sat her phone down and asked me to monitor and push a button if it did those things. it's really fun trying to get everyone situated when they need devices-and no one brings any (while we had verified, i think there was a gap in communication back to participants...summertime!), so this is when we try to figure out how best to accommodate and move forward-double up-double down! some people went to grab their laptops during lunch..we ended up with a short lunch, so the first option was out, and we ended up at the original whataburger because it was only 789 paces to the east...did you catch it that this was the ORIGINAL whataburger?! yes, it's true! i think i forgot to mention it about JAX, but when we were in florida, neddy and i were talking about whataburger, because i was surprised that they'd made it to florida..kinda like the 9-banded armadillo...we looked up the origins of said fast-food establishment, because i was fairly certain that it was texas...and i was right-corpus christi-so as you can imagine, it was a grand culminating excursion to bundle all of these thoughts and feelings about whataburger together-AT THE ORIGINAL!!

if you gotta be famous for something, why not the original!?! (did i mention?)

needless to say, it was a short, fast lunch, which required tums afterward! and then the participants dove in, hands on, and played with the data and reports! cool thing: the sales rep, carl was available, and he came in for a bit to observe the training and meet some of the teachers and admin in the area who were using it. good times! i am pretty sure this region 2 office has one of the best views of any of the education service centers (ESCs) out there!! we got off to the airport in time to make our flight; granted, there was a moment at which the car may or may not have caught air and caused sparks on landing as cris, aka: daisy duke, was intent on making good time-it was as if we were runnin' from the law! ok, perhaps i embellished, but hey, we made it and the security man  was like the honduran security checkpoints...making us roll the window down and open the trunk...it felt so third-world..and that was just to get into the rental car lot! fun fact, he found the button to automatically close the rear door-we obviously didn't look hard enough and had been forcing it closed, working against the hydraulics..like wrestling with an alligator only with no teeth and no scales...and not violently thrusting around...so...not like an alligator at all, really.

before we started out, i noticed that our pilot had an easy button...

i know you can barely see it, but that red button there on the console...easy button.

not sure what this means about his flying skills...but i will say that every pilot so far has not been able to speak loud enough for anyone to understand their monologue once the bird is up in the air and there is air-noise..this plane is not a buick lucerne. sigh.

once we got on the plane from houston to dallas, i chose a seat next to a young man who was traveling unaccompanied minor. we'll call him tyrone for the sake of calling him something, because i didn't ask his name, but he looked like a tyrone, and i really like that name. i sat down and settled in with my serious face, until i recognized that he looked a bit anxious, so i changed my face, and started some small talk about summer, school, used to be a teacher, etc. big step for me-even with a child-it automatically opens one up for additional future conversation. we were having a good conversation...looking forward to a leisurely flight to dallas, as the podium-man at the gate said it wasn't a full flight, which more often than not, means extra leg-room, because no one in their right mind purposely chooses a middle seat.

no sooner did this mentality set in, than the girl. the girl stopped and looked at the middle seat, and asked if she could sit there. i wanted to say, "not a full flight...i'm sure there's an aisle or window seat further back!" but what came out of my mouth was: sure. then i hesitated, thinking she was going to find a spot for her large rolling-bag-carry-on (you know, the ones that don't fit under your seat?)...but she didn't go looking, she merely stood there waiting, so i stood to let her in and said, "are you sure the bag will fit under your seat?" "yeah, i got it" HMMM. i was interested to see what magical chant she had that was going to make this happen. nope. she managed to wedge it in by her feet and try to get her feet/legs comfortable behind it. snug. the boy by the window gave me a withering look-he was enjoying our conversation as well.

 then the flight attendant with the bright pink lipstick mad the announcement about nothing around your feet, and i don't know, maybe my new seat-mate just wasn't listening, but it didn't phase her. i was reaching down to put something in my bag (the one that actually fit under the seat), as the flight attendant was getting nearer to make her checks, so i immediately sat up abruptly to ensure that she could see the obvious faa violation, and sure enough, she did! she told the girl, "you're going to have to store that." so i unbuckled and stood up. the big girl got a little huffy and heaved the bag into my empty seat and looked at little hot-pink lips and said, "well? where do i put it?" and pink lips got sassy to match the attitude and said, "you can strap yourself to the wing and carry it in your lap, for all i care!" oh, wait...that was me-in my head...actually, she looked at the girl and said, "you're going to have to find an overhead bin". the girl looked a little bewildered and i just kinda' looked down the aisle at the male attendant past hot lips and gave him the A-LITTLE-HELP-HERE look...he motions that there is some space toward the exit row. so the girl grudgingly made her way down with all the ease of patti from gilmour girls (my latest netflix obsession)...she lumbered toward the exit shoving and coaxing her bag into the overhead and made her way back, obviously not locating an empty aisle or window seat. she was none-too-talkative...and i was pretty certain that she didn't put her phone in airplane mode, as she was texting on the final approach (i was totally planning to hold her responsible for any interference with the nav system).

before she had arrived, my little friend had said, "i do have a question. is flying boring?" the more boring, the better, son! he had nothing to do but listen to his music, so i tore off my pages of writing and gave him my notebook and pen so that he'd have something to do, and i told him to write everything he did in houston, and how he felt...and that he had to give his mom a huge hug and tell her how much he missed her when he arrived to sacramento! i actually had a question that i'd been contemplating, and i was going to ask my little friend what he thought...what would you call the little piece of peanut that is tiny and sometimes falls off..i decided on nub. then i was thinking about it last night at past midnight, and someone else had been thinking about this as well (great minds...wandering minds). landess from huff post wrote an entire article about it...and she called it a nub as well!! yay me!

then i deplaned and went straight to the wait area for the parking spot and saw a familiar face waiting for her shuttle-de an had just returned as well, so we exchanged a hello and she was off!

upon arriving home, i had a conversation with my scale which when i stepped on it the first time registered "E" (error, not empty) and the conversation was riddled with alliteration: eventually everyone endures episodes of exasperation, even ewe! i looked at the scale a bit sheepish and said please...it's YOU...calling me fat? scale: i didn't say heifer, i said ewe. ME: can't pull the wool over my eyes! i know where you were going...so i am going to have to start being more intentional and aware of my nutritional surroundings when traveling. just because there is a per diem, i don't have to use it all!

and when i stopped by the po box, i was able to pick up my mail and i had a sweet thank you note from andrea with some addison event coupons, and a card from brandy-made my day, and i felt pretty awesome!

love being me-love what i'm learning
julie

whose child created the interstate/road system in houston anyhoo?

wednesday morning, i had to get up early so that i could get some creamer for coffee. i spent the morning taking pictures of receipts and making some changes in plans...instead of staying in town-ish on friday, i was going to be flying to houston for a different training. that evening i messaged an old high school friend from HONDURAS, who now lives in houston to see if there might be a possibility of getting together...the response was overwhelmingly positive! once i arrived, i was going to meet up with her and friend/s for dinner, and then spend the night at her place. something to look forward to (apart from the training itself).

and now let me back up. that afternoon i was fortunate enough to participate in (and by participate, i mean listen in) on a live webinar. i'd listened to most of the recorded webinars, so it was especially fun to listen to one live! lori does a great job with these-very animated. in fact, i was thinking at one point that she would be a great d.j. and if she d.j.'d for a station that played music i enjoyed, i'd totally listen to the traffic-talk...but then of COURSE she'd be a d.j. for music i enjoy...right? and if not, i'd call in and say, "hey! play music i like, or i will have to switch stations!" 

so the plan was to get to houston around 7:05 and meet indi at the restaurant, but alas, my flight was cancelled and i rescheduled for the later flight. i didn't arrive until late, and they were done with dinner by that point, so i must made my way to her place, and when i arrived, it was a little dark, but i was pretty sure i was at the correct address, so i called, and she told me to meet her at her house. i told her i had arrived, but wasn't sure which house, or where to park, then turned the car lights back on. she said, "oh! it's you! i'm in the truck in the driveway, park under that tree!" (which is exactly where i was!) and before i knew it there was a figure running down the middle of the road, and i couldn't get out of the car fast enough!! good thing it was 11:20 and there were no cars in sight, because there was a huge embrace in the middle of the street! it was SOOOO great to finally get to see each other in person after all these years! we went in and i got to see the beautiful remodel, and i unofficially met her sleeping son-meaning: don't wake a sleeping football player who needs to get up early!

photo cred-indira selfies! has it really been so long??? 91 seems forever ago! but at the same time like just yesterday!

between her looking for a letter that she'd written, and grabbing some water, we got to talk and catch up before crashing on a most comfortable bed! i really wish we'd had more time because we barely got to the tip of the iceberg! i've missed this girl-nothing is quite as comfortable than being with friends that you've grown up with and known for ages-and that was exactly how i felt! thank you indi for just being you! can't wait to see you again!! the alarm didn't go off at 5:15, but i am light-sensitive and my body has this internal clock thing, so at 6:10-ish, i checked my clock because i could feel the sun coming up, and i jumped out of bed and was thankful that i had packed the way i did, because my outfit for the day was all rolled up and all i had to do was pull it out, put on some mascara and pee....then i threw everything into the carry-on and rushed downstairs, and gave indira a huge hug and goodbye, again,wishing i had more time! (never long enough)...and then i sped off to try to avoid traffic!

let me just say that i hate the routes in houston...i missed a turn and had to reroute more than once...it seemed to me as if some children had been asked to join the planning team and been given the task of drawing some roads and then the engineers looked and said, "it is good" and began to draw up construction designs...for real though. yikes.
         
and then some of the drivers...lets not even go there.

but i did make it to the training on schedule, and was thrilled when sabrina pulled up! this meant i was in the right place, and she hadn't given me a bogus address just to pull my leg! good way to start!

we chatted for awhile as we waited for the unlocking of the doors so that we could make our grand entrance. upon entering, we put our stuff down, i found the perfect place from which to observe and take notes. there was a spattering of participants settling in, so while she was working with the projector and sound system, sabrina asked me to pass out several handouts--my workout for the day. (working out my fingers-counting pages and meticulously maneuvering the phalanges as to not acquire any paper cuts-mission accomplished!) 

i thoroughly enjoyed observing sabrina, and seeing how she runs her training. it was very fitting. she did a great job keeping the crowd engaged and having them jump right in! very personable, and comfortable with the crowd. it really was a great group that showed up for the training, especially considering that it was the last friday of their summer break! the best part was hearing some of them say that it was so great to finally get training, as they have been using the program, but had never really had training, and it was more or less a compliance-thing.

lunch was lovely- due to the fact that we were pretty 'out-there' and we weren't sure what was going to be available, we looked on 'aroundme' and found a denny's--but it started to seem very far, and sabrina was cool with whatever, so at one point i said, "how 'bout we stop at the second restaurant we see from here?!" she was game, so we ended up at sonic-when in doubt, a route 44 goes a long way #comfortdrinks

i loved the drive because it was 'get-to-know-you-better' time. i love that she is so tight with her family and loves them so much! proud mama, with every reason!

great trainer-i see friendship in our future!

sporting the hawaiian shirt she purchased for her son-which i really think she might have to rethink and keep for herself-it's totally her color! 

the after-lunch crowd is always a doozy-same crowd, carb-loaded...snoozy.(as after-lunch p.d. always is because no one builds naptime into the agenda these days...) so it took some work to get past that initial after-lunch zombie-state, but once she got to the goal-setting, people started to perk up because this is something they were really interested in...well, most people...of course there is always that one table (there was at my school too!) and yes, this was no exception-the "we-didn't-go-over-that" table...and of course i looked at my notes and, yep, verbatim, we had gone over that...and of course that table gets the looks from everyone else, nodding their heads and saying, um..yes..we did..i know. sometimes it's hard to listen and multi-task at the same time, and it was ok, because they already knew the information; they were just doing their job of being the reminders to make sure that we went over it.

once all was said and done, i'd gotten answers to my questions, and after getting a couple of pictures, we parted ways. i loved observing sabrina, and i'm sure i'd pick up something new each time. i had to take off to make sure that i arrived at the airport in time to return my rental.

on the way back, part of the route was toll. i wasn't sure exactly how to do this, i should've asked prior to departure...when i saw the sign that said: LAST EXIT BEFORE TOLL, EZTAG ONLY/VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED...what does that even mean? prosecuted? sounds awfully harsh! water boarding... bamboo shoots/fingernails...why can't they just say you'll get a bill in the mail? (?) so i got on the service road and the lady in my phone maps kept trying to get me prosecuted! so i pulled over to a gas station, worrying about my time, and finally called the car rental to ask them about all of this toll-shenanigans...they set me straight, and basically said i was equipped  my car was equipped with tags on the plates, and to just roll on through, they'd send a bill...and i'm sure they will. so i did just that, and please let me tell you that the trip from our training site to the airport was where my child-map theory came from. i mean...it was ri-di-cu-lous!! puh-lease. but eventually i did make it to the airport and realized that my flight was actually an hour later than what i thought...this was good, because it meant i had time to grab some grub-thank you, peppercorn ranch burger, you blessed me more than you know. (burrgers, burgers-i think my life is about finding the perfect burger).

once i landed in dallas, i was driving home at 9 pm, thinking, "welp, everyone else is just leaving home to enjoy their friday night, and here i am ready to go home and settle in!" also in my thoughts was that my friend b.mayes was at the dixie chicks concert in dallas! (jealous) and i later saw on facebook that my boss was there as well, enjoying the festivities! (hope she doesn't mind the reference as boss, it's just so much shorter than the vice president of professional development...lookin' at you, lori!) and then of course i thought what if they were sitting near each other...then i saw something about hatin' on the karaoke-ers and immediately hoped they were nowhere near each other. not that i think bmayes would've involved herself in too much crazy loudness...or would she?

it's good to get home to the boys-i'm certain they were sad while i was gone, but they were immediately excited to see me when i walked in the door...too bad i couldn't say the same for the flowers...

up early-ish for breakfast at breadwinners at northpark, because that's what you do when friends are in town! it was great to meet sarah and her friend as well. it's always good to catch up, and there was a lot of catching up to do! something fun- b and sarah stayed at the double tree, and saw the istation building! (i mean, not as fun as like..a ferris wheel, or pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey fun, but it's all relative!) on the way home, i found myself behind this car, and i couldn't help but think that it looked like a character in a video game that lost a life//game over...

note the Xs in the eyes...

the rest of the day was somewhat productive...wait that was today...i meant for today to be much more productive! the most productive thing i did today was finish another letter and receive a call from sheryl who had just received a letter! (we never know how long it's going to take for international mail to reach its destination!) and talks with sheryl are always animated-touching base with her is always enlightening, and they change quickly, especially when you have teenagers! love the real friends who never change, just the circumstances...the love is always there #thosefriends

so tomorrow i will wake up early, as i am going to be taking off on the 1:00...so i need to get to bed!

sleep with the angels (many of you probably already are)
julie

ah, florida, our time-much too short

this weekend i had one last chance to hang out with one of my friends before summer ended and she had to go back to school. we had quality bonding time over an excessive surplus of teaching materials and other stuff, but mostly teaching supplies. we sorted and arranged, and sorted some more...and threw away, and sorted some more...there was much purging of supplies! so now to see what her school will let her use, and to 'teacher-supply-graveyard' with the rest! it's probably best that she doesn't have storage at her place! (detrimental to one's mental stability). amidst all that, there was a necessity to make sure torchy's was still located in the same place, and about 5 hours later, a need to ensure that the twisted root on smu blvd was up to snuff with their shakes...i'm happy to announce that they are!

all this inspired me to spend some time on sunday clearing out some things at my place! i still have a way to go, though. ugh.

i got the boys' automatic feeders set up, and put up their pens so that they were separate and bruno wouldn't be eating chaco's food! pretty sure they knew exactly what was up.

feedandgo!

then i made my way out the door a little early so that i could grab kolaches and a donut for breakfast, as i didn't want to smell like bacon all the way to florida! halfway to the shop, i couldn't locate my phone-not in my purse, not in my computer bag. i obviously needed it, even more than kolaches...so i made a sharp u-turn,"ONLY NOT SHARP ENOUGH!" the curb laughed at me! i may have spouted out some colorful diatribe, letting the curb know exactly how i was feeling! concrete sarcasm..the worst! as my passenger tire crashed against the curb, i envisioned the tire exploding or slowly leaking on the way to the airport...and the axle buckling...thankfully this was not the case. the silver lining was that my bag slid off the car seat, exposing my phone! (phone was so embarrassed!). at the expense of nearly handicapping my car, i was at least able to redeem the moment by indeed getting my breakfast. and i still arrived to the airport early, although that did not translate to the flight arrival into JAX...flying through MDW was a little lame-such limited sitting space! grr...

neddy and pam had the opportunity to get well-acquainted with the JAX airport while waiting for me, because there was lightning, which basically involved some flying around in circles and waiting and ramp agents not being able to access the ramp (fortunately i didn't have to worry and wait because i didn't check anything)...at least driving around JAX isn't like Labyrinth with David Bowie-AKA: DFW under construction. ew. and when they pulled up, neddy was serious on the phone, she had no intention of driving, so me, it was...in the rain, making intelligent conversation (idk, maybe not intelligent, but at the very least, i was able to articulate what i was thinking). 

once i had settled quickly into my hotel room (handicap accessible, wide doors, bars on the wall in the bathroom, lots of space..), i was going out to look for the vending machine...i'm guessing there is a candid camera or something, because there were no vending machines. boo.

such a misrepresentation!

please note there are two 'peep-holes' sooo...in case of hobbits

we decided to go eat at the landing, upon the suggestion of a co-worker. we found parking just as it began to rain, with a little lightning off in the distance, and i'm fairly certain that pam would have beaten FLO-Jo to the covered entrance of the landing, #shehoofedit ...while neddy and i were a little less terrified-probably could've brought in the cast of singin' in the rain. we weren't sure what to expect when we entered, but we didn't expect it to be so dead. we found the food court-only fast food, and it wasn't what we were looking for, we prefer slow food. we saw american grill, and ventured outside to get to the entrance, but it was closed-which was strange, as we'd seen a group of people around a table downstairs eating. oh well..the only other thing we really saw that was open was hooters, and that really wasn't an option.

always thinkin' bout tom hanks!! 

so we took off in the opposite direction and found moxie's, which pam had looked up. it was a farm-to-table joint, and the food was magnificent!

the girls suggested chicken livers as an appetizer-that was a first! yummers.  and then on the way back to the hotel we stopped at cvs for tums (a necessity for my travel bag, as of late). when we returned to the hotel, i went up to look over the presentation with neddy and got a basic idea of what the day would look like. we were both excited that the presentation would be in spanish!

breakfast was a hit! the norm-coffee with some eggs, sausage and fruit on the side. we made our way to the site after grabbing the "goody-to-to-bag". of course we arrived on time, and wouldn't you know it, EVERYBODY ELSE DID TOO!! limited parking out front forced us to seek parking in the back, where there was ample space. as we walked across the campus, it was slightly reminiscent of academia los pinares, where i went to school in tegucigalpa...minus the mountain, awesome classmates, cool weather and green uniforms...ok, it was the pine tree. the pine tree reminded me of ALP. 

we located the room, got the equipment set up and ready to go (lacking only internet). we were completely ready for the all-spanish presentation. ends up they all spoke english just fine, and one participant- the instructional coach was straight up blonde-which OBviously means she can't speak spanish, right? (i OBJECT!) but still. she didn't, so  everyone was great with the spanish power point/ english presentation. it went really well, and they were so excited thinking about the possibilities and how this would cut down on time and help them plan, group and differentiate all in one fell swoop...or perhaps two fall swipes? (insert audience laugh/applaud sign here). accolades!  then we had to switch rooms, mid-training-unexpected (flexibility is necessity). and we may have craftily commandeered time that really wasn't ours...when given an additional 30 minutes, neddy figured out how to take 90...just keep them so engaged that they really don't lock eyes with the group they were supposed to be joining-it was apparent that they knew they were getting more from what they were learning about the program with neddy so they could use it for planning well.

lunch was d.c. and snacks. we met with admin, which was slightly delayed, due to the fact that they had to deal with a brand new just-off-the-plane-luggage-in-hand-i'm-here-on-your-doorstep-what-now new teacher. remember what i said earlier? flexibility is necessity! so, when they arrived, they'd already heard from the teachers in the previous session how impressed they were, so they were excited to hear what istation brings to the table from their vantage point! it was a very productive/positive meeting/training time.

once all was said and done, we said our goodbyes, and at some point we were talking scuba diving masks. don't know. anyhoo, neddy and i google-mapped our route, stopping somewhere in between for fuel. it was not the correct location. sketch...there was no card reader at the pump, so we went into the store, and the guy in the window, cage, security thingy said it was cash-only, and i'm pretty certain the guy walking passed me cursed at me in his mumble-voice. mmmm. we made our way to the other side of the interstate, and crazy enough, it had a card-reader! we were confusing the heck out of the google maps lady. she started sounding a bit cross, until finally we got back on 95. eventually we arrived at the airport-turned in the rental and made our way to security. the lady at security looked at my ticket and said, "oh! you go down this middle line!" because it was business select...the thing is, security was a ghost town, and i felt a little silly going through the 'fast-lane' when the guy going through the regular line arrived to the tsa agent at the exact same time. yep, it went quickly. and at that point, i was ready to eat my own left thigh, i was so famished #firstworldproblems ...fish tacos! good-but not TIDE TABLES in bradenton by any stretch of the imagination! our flight was about 30 minutes late-delayed due to wx/lightning...ramp closed...this is not a good precedent to start-people are going to start talking! anyhoo, good thing the DAL flight was delayed as well, so i was able to make the conx home! thankful!

11:50 pm, laboring up the 3 flights, i had to verbally remind myself to lean forward, lest i fall over backwards, negating all forward progress...plus, that would just be a moronic thing to have to explain...

good day!
julie