trick the youg-uns! oh deer (12 deers of Christmas)

yesterday was my first official full day of vacation. it kinda' started before that, as i got cards in the mail and a goodie packaged from the team at the home office in dallas. YUMMERS! fun tradition. i explained to suzanne that while it did not arrive in the prettiest of fashion (i think the only intact piece was the lemon bar), it made me feel like i had more...by the piece-count...and it really didn't matter, as the taste was not hampered! also packed in there was a sampling of chex-type-mix-ish, and a home-crocheted (that is not crotch-eted, it's crochet-ed...) dish scrubber from one of my colleagues-so thoughtful! let's just say it was a great effort to make holiday cleanup more festive! trick the young-uns, that's what i always say! (disclaimer: never said that before in my life, but i kinda' like it and you should expect to hear me saying it more often...if i can work it into a professional development, it's on! challenge accepted...surely there's a powerpoint slide for that...no? hold my rootbeer).

oh what fun it is to scrub!

yes, so that was the beginnings of fun, then after shea's atlanta/memphis fiasco flight, we went for one last beach hurrah, and seafood at the ole salty dog! good times!

 then it was home to finish packing. it had to be an early night because traveling mornings start early: 5:30 alarm!

the original plan was to stop in chatanooga and stay at a hotel, using points from southwest. well, their i-hotel voucher system is not top-notch in my book. i had a devil-of-a-time trying to get it booked, but i did find a baymont inn and suites that looked nice, pet-friendly, near the hwy, at the base of lookout mountain...sweet! i didn't have the actual voucher printed out, but i had the confirmation number and screen shots of the reservation, place, address, etc. put the address in my google maps and we were off!

i'd packed the car mostly the night before, so i put the boys' harnesses on, and of course they were thinking long walk, so i took them on a faux-sunrise walk...halfway down the block and turned around to take them back and get them in the car...trick the young-uns, that's what i always say! anyhoo, it worked. fueled up, and off to the races by 7. unfortunately not early enough to avoid the traffic melt-down in tampa near i-4...hot mess. of course it didn't help that it was a foggy morning- patchy, but heavy in areas. 

once we started getting close to chattanooga (around 6:30-ish), i began looking forward to chilling out with the boys and enjoying some quality hotel time. (is that even a thing?) it was dark, the fog continued up through georgia and into tennessee, and it was misting almost the entire trip- in spurts.

it was just kinda' meh all day.

this wouldn't bother so much, but any time i stopped for a bathroom break, i figured i should let the boys out to stretch as well- it was wet everywhere, so their little paws got wet, and since their bellies are so close to the ground, they were in need of drying off after every outing. eesh. and chaco hadn't drank all day-he doesn't when we travel, so i figured they were ready. upon nearly arriving, there was a huge traffic back-up, so google took us in a round-about way to the address she was given. when we arrived, there was no baymont inn. i was slightly mystified...so i pulled into an auto-store parking lot and began looking; this is what i found:

HMM... permanently closed caught my eye...

at that point, i wasn't sure exactly what the plan was to be, so i got on the i-hotels website, where i'd booked the reservation, and sent them a message-letting them know that the baymont inn i'd booked at was closed. there was a number to call, but it is in the UK, and has different time, etc...so message was the option. at that point, i just asked them if they could reissue another voucher. and, being short on patience and thrifty, i had zero desire to find another place to stay that was pet friendly, and have to shell out a bunch of money, when i was expecting to not have that expense.

 so i took the boys to wendys, peed, got a baconator jr. meal and a frosty (because how can you not)...then took the boys under the awning of the ace hardware store next door to 'walk'...finally bruno relieved himself near a bale of hay, and chaco then decided it was ok as well (number 1, if we're all on the same page as far as potty-ratings go, no pick-up necessary). then we went back to the car, i dried them off and sat them in the trunk, while i rearranged their travel space. if we were going to shoot for the moon and keep going, i was not going to make them stay in their kennels. so i removed to door from the bigger kennel and faced it to the middle, collapsed chaco's kennel and folded it up, pulled out the dog blankets and dog bed, and they had a little doggie motel in the back seat. i plugged in mom and dad's address and we were on the road again!

i'd been listening to true crime podcasts most of the way, and continued for a couple more hours before switching to music. eta: 3:30 my time. uf. i called mom to let her know about the change in plans, and told her i wasn't sure exactly when i'd arrive, because if i got tired, i planned to stop at a rest area to take a nap, so if they could leave the door unlocked and i'd just let myself in. it really was a good plan, and as i drove, i kept wondering when i was going to start getting tired...as you recall, i'd been up since 5:30, and if you know me, i'm not a late-night girl...that said, midnight rolled around, and i was still doing alright. got out of tennessee, making our way through kentucky, and i don't think i saw a single rest-stop after about 80 miles from chattanooga...then we hit illinois-which threw me for a loop, my geography hadn't prepared me. but it was only for literally 2 minutes, so we must have hit the southernmost tip of IL, and if i'd blinked, i would have missed the three signs saying leaving kentucky welcome to illinois welcome to missouri!  (6 states today, ya'all! and not the tiny delawares and new hampshires...) it was that quick and a couple of bridges! from there it was mostly back road.

google was taking us by way if poplar bluff, through "be-sure-to-get-gas-before-entering" land...because once you hit those back country roads, you may or may not see a gas station, and at 1-2 am, the likelihood of it being open is slim! as i drove through poplar bluff, i reminisced of the time trish and i drove there from k-2 for a dear friend, julia's wedding! good times! i thought about julia, as we've since lost touch-she was a great letter writer, and always included quotes. i started thinking about how to get a letter to her to see how she's doing...offer some encouragement... i realize that's so random, but so were my thoughts last night!  as i was speedster-ing junction tt, h and o, i was hyper aware, trying to be preemptive should a drunk teen or college student  be traversing these backroads; should the need arise, where would the least damage occur if i were to swerve off to avoid oncoming traffic? ...all too aware of the many losses. (sad-face-emoji)...and there to slow me down were deer. the first buck was stepping delicately onto the pavement on the other side and stepped back (it didn't help that there was still a bit of fog). all told, i would come across 12 deer. (like the 12 deer of Christmas, my true love gave to me...minus true love-and that there just made me think of the princess bride...this is getting out of control as deer in MO have nothing-nada to do with one of the greatest movies!) there were 2 singles, i'd love to have been able to hook them up, play cupid.. but one was in kentucky, the other in missouri...so distance would be a thing, and as they have hooves, communication via usps would not be an option, so i scrapped that idea...then there were about 3 couples...late night rendezvous, and the best was the group of deer (4 doesn't make a herd in my book, so i'm sticking with the lame choice: group); there were 4 of them, probably a party or a game of jenga...or perhaps planning on how to takeover the world (i'm sure gary larson, the far side comic genius would've known, but i'm not well-versed in deer behavioral analysis). 

travelling for Christmas and Thanksgiving always brings back memories of being in the backseat sleeping and waking in the dark little towns with their decorations glowing in the night, sometimes the magical flurries were floating...good memories!

only instead of snow, fog

it was a pretty awesome manger up on the hill

i still got it! (if 'it' is the stupidity that makes you go longer than you should, i don't really think that's anything to brag about, and in all fairness, i don't really want 'it')

anyhoo, i wasn't sure which side of town i'd be arriving on, but it was just in time, as the gas light came on...i should have enough fuel to last me the next few days, traipsin' about town.

today, i'm beat. my body will probably catch up by the time we leave. and i got an email message from the UK ihotel people saying: yes, we have your confirmation for comfort inn and suites, you should be set for the 19th. (it's the 20th dude. and i reserved a room at the baymont inn-ya' should've let me know that it had changed ownership since whenever you first started doing this hotel voucher business. keep up... and whatever you're smoking, just...stop).

hope everyone is having safe travels (even if it's just traveling from one room to the next)!
jrob

kinda feels like an oofos commercial

look, i know i just posted an entry today, but i'm not sure if i'll get around to posting again before i visit the folks! so double session! it's kinda like a BOGO (buy one get one), only it doesn't cost you a thing! does it get any better than that? i submit: it does not!

i got home tuesday at a decent time, and then wed-fri were relatively slow. i was able to get in a little pd of my own, and get my expense report in...i held onto it for a minute, hoping for those last minute expenses from pasco to show up, but alas, it's only after you've submitted the expense and it's been approved that the others come through. not that anyone really cares or is following this line of thought, so moving on-

on wednesday evening, i took one of my friends to the airport for her family Christmas (i think she was focused on getting some good Christmas pics with her pup!) and she was supposed to return today, but atlanta went and had a power outage-the worst! fortunately she wasn't caught there (that would be a nightmare)! but i'm sure it's not much more fun in memphis, especially if you get the short straw and don't get the lucky hotel room (they are limited); still better than being stuck in atl! no good can come of that!

anyhoo, what the above paragraph means is that i was stuck adventuring by myself. so i did. i'd seen an event on bridge street-out on the island by bradenton beach. so i figured i'd go down and park at coquina beach, and walk to bridge street (about 1/2 mile) and see what i could see! it wasn't quite what i was expecting...there were a smattering of booths set up, and the music stage was getting ready-some of the senior crowd were sitting in the chairs under the awning. but the weather was amazing, so who cares! fortunately the post office was right across the road, so it wasn't a total loss-yes, i'd brought the last of the Christmas post cards to make a drop! i then wandered down to the pier to see if i'd missed anything. i had not. that was it. so i went into the souvenir shop to get a little something i'd been thinking about, and made it back to the beach.

there's a resort that is completely tarped and it looks like where's waldo, only without as much mystery...or it's going above and beyond to win the HOA award for most festive and dressing like a candycane..?

Christmas trees at the pier

my kind of december! this agrees with me!

they had a BOGO, so i couldn't pass it up, now i'm officially ready for visitors! 

it was a fairly slow day, which was surprising for a saturday in the mid-low 70s! i was able to set up my hammock in the perfect spot- near a lifeguard stand, near the bathrooms, near the concession stand, near the volleyball court, near the ocean! (come visit, i'll share the spot!) the trees were just a little too far apart, so fortunately i had extra straps in my trunk (as i have 4 hammocks back there...again, come visit, i have enough hammocks to share!)...anyhoo, i made it work, then i listened to a great podcast called: TRUE CRIME HISTORIAN; i heard about it while listening to BEST CASE/WORSE CASE...the guy reads old crimes from multiple sources and follows them through several clippings/articles...it's great because they are focused in the golden era of news-writing when they crafted stories, not just straight up facts...comical at points, although he's not a comedian.

anyhoo, it was warm enough that i did get a bit of a sunburn on my face. so i went back today-again great weather, upper 70s...and although it was a bit busier, i got my same spot! i really like this area, because it's the perfect spot for an all-day outing-i already mentioned the amenities, there is also a picnic table, several australian pines if you need to get out of the sun, and grills for lunch! (the only thing that could make it better would be if it were pet-friendly).  on sundays from november-july they have a market as well, so there is plenty to looky-loo through. i usually put on my sunglasses to not make eye-contact, that way i don't have to pretend i like something or am interested.

once i'd gotten enough sun, and enough ocean to last me through the Christmas vacation, i decided to check the wares. wouldn't ya' know it...there was an OOFOS tent! what?! i've seen their ads plenty on my facebook page, and i had JUST asked if any of my friends had a pair. now...i'm not a big shoe person. i don't own a closet-ful of dress shoes...my money is spent on chacos, tennis shoes and now oofos.

sharp looking...i could probably wear these to work...ok, only the work from home portion..

super thick soles

the design is so comfortable!

just look at the contour! it takes the pressure off the front of the foot

can you kinda see where that blister is forming?

let's back up just a second. yesterday i got to my last straw, where flip-flops are concerned. i am a flip flop girl now. i'd purchased a pair awhile back while visiting shea, and i'd gotten used to them (adidas, cushion-y, pillow-soft) and love them...then back in may, when i met julie k and pam in fort meyers for a training, i stopped at target to get a cheap pair. well. they last me until yesterday. that mile to and from bridge-street..murder she wrote...my feet were murdered; i got the worst blister on my pads...on the way TO the event, coming back was worse! them there flippers go out in the trash tomorrow. hence my need. so i spent more than i should, but when i got home and wore them for awhile, it felt like walking on clouds! LOVE! when i tried them on, they were a perfect fit on my feet! i can't even begin to express my happiness!! i may even try to wear them as long as possible up north because that's how much i like love them! (if i were in 4th grade, i'd have drawn hearts all around that)! 

anyhoo, that's what's up. if you want to make your feet happy: oofos!
julie

when the beverage cart gets the best of your coworker...the one time i'm glad i wasn't in first class

alrighty! what a week.

last sunday, as you may or may not know, i flew across the country to pasco, wa. i originally had about an hour and 1/2 layover. unfortunately, my flight out of tampa was delayed and the conx was going to be very tight, so the guy at the counter kinda' ignored what i was saying (because he knew i was correct-we were set to land after boarding had begun for my flight out of denver). he was at least kind enough to move me forward several rows, even though it was a middle seat. the great thing is that it was a couple, so she moved over and i ended up with an aisle.

i had to bust a move to get from gate 17 to gate 55...a rather sprawling airport. and i was slightly winded and sweating, but i made it just as boarding was beginning, as we'd made up a little time coming into denver.  i saw my colleague and she got ready to board-somehow she'd gotten first class; i was pretty far back (it was where the aisles were when i booked!) the flight was rather uneventful until we landed.

upon landing, something flew by me and i barely glimpsed it out of the corner of my eye. my first thought was luggage had come undone and fallen...but whatever it was didn't thud onto the ground. i leaned into the aisle in time to see the drink catapulting down the aisle at an unbelievable speed! a few voices from my area of the plane shouted,"WATCH OUT!" (fortunately no one careened their head into the aisle as it was passing, because i guarantee it would've broken their neck). fortunately no one had any limbs sticking out into the aisle either.  it came to a stop after crashing into the last seat in first class, which happens to jut out into the main aisle where first class ends (embrair 175).

here's the thing. if the top latch is latched, it seems like the thing isn't getting around that top latch...but if it does, and the brake below is down in lock position, the thing doesn't fly down the aisle, right? if the break is on, it falls forward and slides down....sketchy.... 

i was trying to recreate my entrance onto the plane...i'd passed by my colleague, but which seat exactly had she been in? as we were taxiing to a gate, the flight attendants hustle to the incident and once we actually pulled up, we were instructed to remain seated. then i heard my name over the intercom, and i was asked to get my belongings and try to help my co-worker. so we waited and then the wheelchair arrived. first off the plane!! (not the way you want to do it). once we got inside, the airport sheriff was there to take a report, and before he'd gotten all the information he needed, the emt crew showed up and began taking vitals and checking stuff. moments later they hauled her off in a gurney, and another officer accompanied me to get luggage and my rental car. she told me which hospital i needed to go to, and marked it on a map-super helpful.

once i got the car, i had to try to figure out the bluetooth pairing so i could make a couple calls to work. unfortunately it was sunday, and i wasn't sure who'd be available-i just wanted to let someone...anyone know. messages. i left messages. after picking her up, we went to the hotel and checked in- thumbs up, it was very nice and the perfect location! we didn't even have to make a fuel purchase, because everything was within a 2 mile radius! shout-out to all you small towns! 

once we'd checked in, we went to mexico lindo for dinner and it was fabulous! it felt like 5, but it was only like 2:30...the weather was overcast and 30's, and 2:30 looked much later in washington state than it does in florida. this weather makes my boss happy, but not so much my cup-o-hot chocolate. we ended up getting back to the hotel around 4, and i was like, "good night!" (seriously). i took a few minutes to write up an email to let HR and our vp of professional development know exactly what had happened. and i did go to bed rather early.

which led to waking up early-4:30 am early...and when i couldn't get back to sleep, it was nice to have gotten a call to occupy some of my time until breakfast opened! but hey, once 6:00 rolled around, i was in the dining area, making good of the buffet! and writing more of my Christmas cards! i was there until around 8, when my coworker made it down- eye still hurting, and a bit of a headache. so after we finished with breakfast, she went back to make some calls and take a nap. around lunch time, i offered to run out for some lunch and get some supplies for the training. our training was to take place from 4:15-7:15...late night!

i ended up doing the presentation portion of the training, as she was still feeling a little light-headed/sore eye...and she fielded questions and helped individuals. it was a mixed level group, but we had a good session. while perhaps some people do, i rather don't enjoy the set-up in college campuses with the lecture room. the other thing about college campuses is that usually we have a bit of playing around to do trying to get the equipment and sound working!

once we were finished, we made our way quickly back to the hotel and it was time for bed, because our flight was a 5:05 boarding...pretty sure we left the hotel around 4:15. and arrived at the gate in time for breakfast to-go and boarding! uneventful, home by 6!

stay tuned and i'll tell you the tale of the flip-flops very soon!
julie

the tradition will just have to wait!

this week was pretty busy for everyone- Christmas cards came in, and i've gotten a bunch off in the mail- another batch ready to drop, and hopefully finishing off tomorrow as i travel! i got several made as cards, and some made as postcards...i wish i'd spent the extra for more cards, because making the postcards personal was rather time-consuming! and the other time consuming part is that i don't just sign them, i actually write on them, which i suppose isn't customary, but i can't refrain; it's who i am.

i did make it to the beach a couple of mornings, and perhaps over-dressed...it's good that i parked in the middle and was able to shed some layers mid-way through! love seeing the decor and lights around the area- this is near bridge street, right off bradenton beach. 

and what i'm super excited about is that i had my 'final' appt for the bridge on thursday- and they didn't have to do any numbing needle-work! after that part was done, we had a comprehensive "what's next" meeting- those x-rays and film-torture equipment...there has to be a better way! anyhoo, the dentist proceeded to explain the next steps-not exciting. but good to know the bridge to nowhere is now complete!

i've been super excited about the BOAT PARADES, and was very much looking forward to going tonight-a first! i even mentioned it in most of my Christmas letters...well, i'm devastated (on a small scale) that they were all cancelled due to impending 'inclement weather!' yikes and sigh... let's see if it actually happens, or the weather peeps were overly cautious. perhaps instead we'll have hot chocolate and make gingerbread houses. UPDATE: we did indeed make gingerbread houses, and we also had our own little 'bird-boat parade' which we thought was pretty impressive! and p.s. not inclement wx, perhaps inclement boating conditions, but the weather was not frightful.

because when else am i going to wear a hat?

and the cancellations just kept rolling in!

shea is the HOA nightmare neighbor

tomorrow begins a new week, and i'm off to washington state, where i'll meet up with a colleague to train on monday. we both return home on tuesday because it is a later training on monday, and we won't be able to get home until the next day. i am not excited about the weather awaiting us in wa. ugh. but hopefully we'll be able to find something fun to do to entertain the morning before the training!

if i have to do a saturday training, at least it was in the keys!

friday i flew into key west to meet one of my colleagues, as we had a training in marathon. we opted to fly into EYW and drive the short hour north. next time, we may just fly into MIA and drive south, catch the keys from both sides! i'm glad we flew into key west, as jane had been there before on a cruise stop, and knew to find some of the fun spots to visit, so we detoured on in, and parked the car for a bit to walk around and take in some of the sites!

southernmost point!

airport-eyw

statue man blowing his conch shell-should have read more of the history plaque and committed it to memory...

 

it was great to see the repairs and restoration that has already taken place. obviously the first call of duty had been to clean up and work on the tourist-y areas, and evidence of irma in town was minor. it wasn't until you were near the coast, and headed up hwy 1 that you saw the piled up debris and several boats that had be salvaged...and there was plenty of that between key west and marathon. it just takes a bit longer to remove everything when you're on islands with one main drag in and out!

but don't let that hinder you from visiting if you were considering it! the sea food is still delicious, the shops are still up and running, the weather is to die for this time of year!

as we were driving up to marathon, we got a text from one of our very thoughtful colleagues, who is very familiar with the keys. pam gave us several great dining suggestions! the one that we chose in marathon was the keys fisheries. when we arrived, we went upstairs and found a seat, then realized that this was the RAW Seafood bar...well, we weren't in the mood for anything on the raw menu, so we figured maybe we were in the wrong place and made our way back downstairs, where a gentleman pointed us in the right direction. the menu on the wall looked a lot closer to what we were craving!

jane went with the lobster reuben, which was touted as their most popular item, and i opted for the fish tacos. yum! the food was great, and the view was not half bad, either!

the following morning, we got to the marathon high school for the training, and fortunately there was man pulling in and he pointed us in the right direction-we had pulled into the first lot, and it was actually the 2nd lot, in the attached middle school. we got set up, figured out the technology, without any help (they were impressed-we were impressed...each site has their own tech set-up, so you never know what to expect)!

we had a pretty good turnout, and jane began the session, and it ran longer than expected,because the teachers had questions, and we wanted to make sure they had the answers! so i kept looking at the clock to figure out how to adjust my session and what to cut...i started to get nervous, but we ended up making it work and changed the original rotation, where everyone would see each station, to a jigsaw, meaning they would work in their station and share out, and i would provide a debrief for the session. the goal being to not drag them through a long boring powerpoint. we had some good conversation and ended on a good note!

i was a little bummed that we didn't get to do the 'fun' piece due to time! we were going to have a jumble word game throughout the session to tie up each station...no worries, i've saved it for next time!

we did get to end with a sentence stem activity, though, which is always good for our english learners to work on sentence structure!

we ended up getting out on time, and headed back to key west, my flight was a 5:15, jane's a 7:10, so we had time to stop and grab lunch-found parking in front of a delicious little panini shop. we both had the cuban, and the flavors were such a great combination!! hoping to go there again on the next visit! i need to just take a trip down for fun and not work to have more time to explore and play around!

upon arriving at the airport, my flight was delayed, so we ended up having great conversation at the restaurant in the airport- it was great working with Jane to get a different perspective and catch up on the areas that she's been working in! plus, i get a little insight on what's going on in the disd network! looking forward to the next adventure!

the one thing i missed out on because of the training was the Christmas gathering in miami with friends! that was a bummer. i'd already booked my tickets (non-refund), and there was no turning back! planning is everything! (there was an inspirational email about preparing the other day! next time i will prepare to see friends on the front side, or backside of the trip, depending on when it falls!) 

it's december!! still waiting for my Christmas cards to arrive! this one is on the post office, because i tracked it, and ups did their job...i'm going to be very  upset if they aren't in my box tomorrow! dear usps, don't make me come down there!

'tis the season!
julie