some pd after the storm

it was fun to get back into some training after irma. cue up first session back... it was good to get to work with pam and michele. you can't please everybody all the time...and i've learned from experience as a teacher that elementary teachers and middle school/high school teachers are just different breeds. they have different perspectives and needs. makes sense. it's always interesting when one session feels like playing with baby sloths, hedgehogs and kittens and another session feels like hellen keller trying to navigate the fire swamp and fire swamp rats... but we did it with a smile and class.

when they really like the colors so they take your numbers...

sharing out

working through reports-around the world

having fun with alex!

then michele and i were off to miami 2 days later. we had a short flight to fll, and met up with joyce and alicia and headed to the hotel-after poncing on one of the two available suv rentals. we found the hotel easily, and tried to check in, but it was too early, so we left the luggage, and went to grab a bite to eat at a little spanish restaurant around the corner. it was nothing to write home about (mom, that's why you didn't receive a letter). then we took the long way to find the training site (because we missed a turn or two or five...) anyhoo, we found it and then headed back to the hotel to do the REAL check-in!

i think a alicia and joyce took advantage of the pool (or at least they had mentioned it), and i took a nap, because napping is my favorite thing!! then alicia knocked (she and michele were in rooms across the hall), and she showed me some of the great little prize bags she'd put together and brought for our participants. i truly did appreciate that because i just don't have items for give-aways, and the participants really appreciated them!

then we all got together and discussed dinner. we went to the same strip mall we'd been to earlier to try the recommended steak and seafood place. it was also mediocre. the garlic toast before-hand was akin to the bread that i leave out to dry for bread crumbs...the kind where when you take a bite, crumbs spew out everywhere and there's no getting them off your black shirt, don't even bother. then we ordered the smashed plantain tostones, expecting exactly that, but what we received were mariquitas de platano...like legit chips straight from the bag. and when they offered tortillas, alicia asked if they were made there, and the lady laughed and said, "no, walmart!" not even lying. the flan and 4leches were pretty good.

we hit up the nearest grocery store for some lunch items for the next day, because we didn't see anything in the area the day before, and knew we wouldn't have a lot of time to go get anything. when we got back to the hotel, the parking lot and the garage were full, which was strange. so we finally found a spot over the river, through the woods, across the prairie...as we got out and started toward the hotel, someone was coming up the stairs and we asked if there was a special event going on. the young lady looked at us with disdain and said, "it's church." as if we should have know they were having services in the hotel.. she almost said it in such a way that she maybe should've gone back to get more love in her heart for others... so i went back to the car to secure a closer parking spot as people were leaving, because we knew we'd be tight on time in the morning.

the following morning, we were up bright and early, and the restaurant didn't open until 7am...we had complimentary breakfast, so we weren't going to pass that up, as there were no real restaurants on the way. joyce and i walked in, and the lights were dimmed, and we stood there for a second until the manager behind the bar doing inventory acknowledged us and just stood there looking at us. we smiled and said we knew it wasn't open until 7, we were 10 minutes early, could we just find a seat and wait til they were ready? he looked at us without saying anything and so i added, "or would you rather we waited outside?" he (not very nicely i might add) said he would prefer that. so we waited.

alicia joined us after getting stuck on the elevator temporarily-just not a great way to start the morning! when she mentioned it to the fella at the front desk, he said oh, it happens. as if it were a normal thing. for the love. then as soon as the clock struck 7, we were at the door pointing at our watches, it was almost like the runners at the beginning of a race, or shoppers at the door on black friday. we got our food from the buffet and scarfed it down so that we could get on the road.

once we arrived, we found a parking spot at the front of the building and people were beginning to arrive..we waited patiently, alicia and michele had a nice little dance-with alex to an 80s song, and then we saw the coordinator and found our way to the room we were to be working in. we got everything set up and ready, but then we had to wait because after people ate donuts, someone came in from the school with bagels and other breakfast stuff, and everyone from the other training came over and they all had second breakfast. michele and i just grinned and beared it...bared it....bore it...waited. once we were able to get started, it went well-almost everyone was new, and so they were able to see how it would benefit them. both sessions went well, and it was great to have alicia and joyce there for the feedback and to provide additional information!

because sometimes ya just gotta' dance it out

cafecito-delectable!

there was about to be some weather at the end of the day, and we were supposed to end at 3:30, but someone popped their head in and said we had to clear the building by 3:00 (it was a church), and so we had to fast track the ending, but we weren't complaining! this was assurance that we would all make our flights home without having to be rushed.

we bid farewell to joyce and michele, then alicia and i found a great little pizza joint before going our separate ways. it was a good trip.

coming up soon-more florida adventures-
julie

post-irma recap donuts, pizza, and keurigs

i'm blaming irma for some of this weight gain...i bought some foods i never would've purchased otherwise! also, since we blamed irma for so many other things, it just seems appropriate.

irma came and went. the night of, while we were at img, the wind was loud, and there were a couple times i was acutely aware of where the boys were in case the roof were torn away with the wind. that said, i can only imagine how loud it would have been at the house!

the next morning, we all piled out of the dorms, and it felt a little like the last day of kamp during summer, cleaning up, loading up and putting mattresses back in their places.

we went back to check on our homes, and realized that i had locked the front screen door, to which i do not have a key (it's glass, so not really a screen...), and the electricity was still out, so i couldn't open the garage door. oops. the only damage outside seemed to be one screen on the lanai. and so we went to shea's and checked it over. the main damage there was the bushes around the house, because the winds formed a wind-tunnel of sorts around the sides. the electricity was out there as well, but it wasn't too hot yet, so i took a nap, and then we saw that the farmhouse was open for business, with wifi, so donuts were on the menu! we went and got donuts to make a couple stops over on the island to give a little sugar-encouragement to a couple families whom shea thought would appreciate it. it was fun hanging out with them- very congenial!

checking out the neighborhood damage-so many trees with shallow roots blown over-fortunately this one missed both houses.

i posted this little guy on my facebook page (please note the banana down here  that looks nonplussed!)

mini donuts!! #sugarsupport

the branches have mostly been blown off of my tree in the backyard, but at least none of the trees were blown over

on the return, we stopped at one of the beaches on longboat key, and got a little video and pics.

this is on the other side of the dunes before walking out to the beach-you can get an idea of water/sand

dear irma, buh-bye. roll closing credits:

then we noticed that there was a pizza place open on the island coming home, so we stopped in and placed our to-go order. we overheard them saying they weren't planning on opening, they had just come to see if the stoves were working and things were in order, and before they knew what was happening, someone came in and ordered a pizza, they said yes (around 4 p.m. and people hadn't stopped walking through the door since, it was now 8 p.m.). this was exciting, as most restaurants were still not open for business, so i'm guessing they made more cash that day than they've made in a long time! we got our order and took it home-it was smelling pretty amazing (especially after all the pretzels, crackers and beef jerky stuffs)! when we got back to the house, the electricity was still off, so we opened the cross doors to get a little wind-flow and set up citronella candles, and just hoping no one would walk in. we live in a pretty safe neighborhood, and to get to shea's you almost have to get lost, so we felt pretty secure. plus there's bruno and chaco, who, while small, make it sound like there are 15 of them when they feel the need.

now i'm trying to remember...i think i had electricity on tuesday...but not until later in the evening. in the morning, we were hoping for coffee, and thought we'd try to power shea's keurig with the adapter in the car (brilliant, right?) yes, well, unfortunately the keurig requires a little extra juice, so we tried to find a plan b. starbucks was still not open.  plan c. i found my 'survival bag' and got the sterno burners out and started heating up some water. it took way longer than is acceptable for any coffee drinker-how did the pioneers do it?! ugh. finally it was hot enough for me to make some oatmeal that 'passed for edible'...and then we let it go just a bit longer to try steeping the k-cups--i would give it a D+. i mean...it was something, and it was caffeinated. and then we may have gone driving around for a bit just to recharge devices and enjoy the a/c...maybe.

we were SO ready to have this coffee experiment work!!

eventually, one of our neighbors was texting with shea and mentioned that there was electricity at her house, which is on my street, so we checked and mine was on too, meaning we were able to get in and get the a/c going...unfortunately internet was still not up. i'm pretty sure it took days to get recuperated on a good sleep. and in the midst, i was trying to plan for a pd in miami. the issue was that we weren't sure about what was happening at our miami site, because our contact had evacuated. so we were planning as if everything was good-to-go, ready to cancel if needed. we canceled our hotel rooms because of the 72 hour policy, and would book later if it were a 'go'.

while we waited to find out about miami, one of the schools nearby confirmed that despite the damage, and chaos, they were still following through with the pd. and this area pretty much took a direct hit, fortunately all buildings were still intact. so i made sure my colleagues knew about it and tried to keep the others informed as soon as i had information for miami!

next up local training- good times!

thankful that with as big as irma was, the damage could have been worse.

julie