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

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

not wearing flip flops in irma, just flip flopping

ok, time for one more...last night we packed it all up and stayed at shea's. we got our place as ready as we could... we were up pretty late last night, watching an episode of bloodline (which is so cliche-it's about a family resort in the keys..., but to be fair, we had started watching this way before irma decided to grace us with her presence..), and then we had to catch up on the weather... i slept fine-only woke up a couple times, as i knew it'd be a marathon today.

lots of texts, lots of messages. shea made eggs, bacon and hashbrowns-great breakfast, and then we sat and watched the updates. then at some point in time-i'd say around noon, shea got a text from a concerned friend, who works at IMG, in essence, asking her to come up to the school, because she felt it would be a safer haven than shea's house. so here's the deal, the school is in a voluntary evacuation zone, (which basically means-avoid the ocean surge)...so the kids did not stay, they were evacuated to a shelter, just for liability's sake, even though it is probably the safer place to be, as it is rated for cat 4  hurricane winds. i think at that point there was some uncertainty as to what to do about sheltering, so when they asked her to come, we did the smart thing, and she called her dad to ask for wisdom.

so i switched out of the flip flops and into chacos, and we are now in a classroom at the school, the boys are set up, we have a couple mattresses set up, and they have local cable in the classrooms-so we are able to watch the local updates and emergency center. there are other families in the bldg with animals as well, so the boys are reactive to other noises. hopefully they will chill out.

 the wind has been picking up, it is only 4:18, and the worst is expected to come around 2am-ish (i guess that looks kinda' like amish, and i'd be okay with that if it meant pies and home-baked goods and such)... so it could be a long night. i need to go down with shea to visit the sugar gliders, because one of her friends down the hall has a few, and they are adorable!

the lights and electricity just went out for a minute, but then either they came back up or the generator kicked on...that's a plus of being here. alright, well, i think i'll be signing out so that i can actually get this posted. we may slip next door to help the neighbor dispose of some ice cream momentarily!

shea is documenting, so we are getting a play by play on the evening...that should be interesting and fun-

alright. praying for everyone who is impacted. 

julie

sometimes early breakfast is only funny to the ones making it...

so, here's the deal, i would've worked on a post earlier, because i didn't even finish my last story...but i've been so tired the past couple of days, due to unforeseen events, which i will get into later...suffice it to say i was so tired yesterday that i considered laying down on the sidewalk in the middle of a short walk with the boys...truth, i considered it at about three different points around the fountain. and when i went to return the rental car, it was that nauseatingly exhausted feeling. i now know i need more than 4 hours of sleep per night.

but back to finish what i started!

wednesday morning rolled around, and i was still in SAT at julie and kevin's. remember how i volunteered her to make breakfast (which she was more than willing to do, because she loves her boy); so my alarm clock was set for about 5:30, i believe. when i woke up, she was not out of the room yet, but kevin said she was awake, go on in-so i grabbed the guitar from the stand to perform a little early morning serenade-because that's just what you do when there is a guitar at hand! (right?)

i think we may have been a little much for him in the morning-we were messing with his mojo-his routine! and with that, the coffee, and the bacon in the oven; which i just want to say was ah-maz-ing! melt in your mouth #neverfryingbaconagain and somewhere in the midst of waiting on the bacon and packing his lunch, there was some word that was bothersome and for the life of me, i do not recall what it was, but julie seemed to be stumbling over it, so we reduced it to the lowest phoneme possible... "G" and that was probably where the most annoying part was for kevin, because that's when we started laughing and it got silly (needless to say, it's still funny, and will never cease to be).

juan...julie JUAN-love it.

once the boy took off, we actually did sit to do some work-she had some calls to make, and then showed me how to do some things with the padlets. and we had some data to drill into from the previous day. so it was productive time. it wasn't long before we had to take off for the airport-grabbed a bite to eat first, and starbucks- sat in the parking lot at starbucks for a minute while ju looked through her funniest pins and posts and shared laughs. HA! so, i just want to take this moment to say it again, it was a joy to be able to stay with julie, kevin and bella, and 'do life' for a couple days in a family setting. they truly make my heart smile.

and the flight back was not memorable in the least.

once i got back to dallas, it was a fairly quiet couple of days. i met with nicolette on sunday after church and we went to get some doggy things for her boys-who came home with her last week. i took the boys with me, and they got to meet new friends #socialization. we found a bed for the crate, dog food and i think there was something else, but it fails me now. ah, yes!! it was party city-she had to get hair thingy-ma-bobs so they could be thing one, thing two and thing three! i did find something that i HAD to get, only i cannot post that picture quite yet. i may have found a flannel shirt at target too....just sayin'. anyhoo, when we got back to her place, i helped make some vocab flashcards, because that's what first grade teachers do! and then we headed back home.

nicolette with ALL the boys!

monday i went in to the office to make copies for our training on tuesday- of course i did them wrong.  yay, me! and no one was there really, except for cherryl (just not anyone from our dept), so i went in and chatted with her for a minute. good thing when i got to mt pleasant, jane had enough for the first round, so i was planning on going into the office again on wednesday to make some more for the thursday training. tuesday went well-it was a fairly small crowd-although big for what they've had before.

so, wednesday came (it usually does, right? anyone surprised? didn't think so), and i went up to the office, to make those copies, and to make copies for julie for austin, and grab some folders for sabrina, since i'd be seeing them. so that took a minute. suzanne was there, and she had a special gift for me...i now get excited about ethernet cables..what's wrong with me? cutting those pieces for the thursday training was a cruel beating. but hey, done. brian and lori were 'in the house' as well, and busy, per the usual, so i just did the peek in and say hey.

then it happened. wednesday night happened, and it wasn't pretty. more on that tomorrow. yikes.
tell your pets you love them tonight! (ok, your family too)
julie

old news...i'm late..i'm late...for a very unimportant,trivial, blog-date!

friday morning we had a training in tulia, which was a tiny drive from lubbock. it was great driving up there with sarah! we got to catch up and she was able to share the background of the schools we would be working with. although we didn't see any jackelopes, nor any other type of wildlife, a gentleman did later tell us about a his run-in with a bird of prey. he arrived late to the training because this bird dive-bombed him and then went flying up 20 ft and then fell to the ground. he felt so guilty that he was actually thinking about going back to check what kind of bird it actually was. we told him just to pretend it was a pheasant and be done with it-no worries. he didn't return for the afternoon training, so perhaps he actually did go back to check on it...?

doing some station-activities with reports

this one-she makes me smile laugh! truly enjoy working with her!!

the training went well and almost everyone returned after the lunch break, minus that one lady who entered and her first words were: WHAT? THIS IS AN ALL DAY TRAINING?! (body language suggested that her mind was processing some inaudible filthy language) but everyone else was very pleased that they stayed, because we had some really good information about the reports, and they found it useful.

after all was said and done, we made our way back to the airport. my original flight was scheduled to leave at 8:50 pm, but when i got there, i stopped at the ticket counter, and heard the lady say that they'd been on a ground stop in dallas, and the 2 earlier flights hadn't left yet, so i asked her to put me on standby. as was making my way up to the gate, there was a man who was running late, so i told him to chill, the flights had been delayed. he looked at me and said i looked very familiar, so the only things i mentioned were dallas isd and kanakuk (the two places i'd probably have the most contact with the largest number of people). nope, so i let it drop and went to the gate, thinking i wouldn't have to deal with him again. my southwest app said i had a boarding spot (b17), but the lady at the gate said no, that i was on standby and had a boarding spot for the later flight...hmm, ok, whatever.

 the time kept getting pushed back so finally i got a personal pizza and when i went to sit down, the guy i met at security (damon) brought his culinary purchase and sat at the table next to me and began to strike up conversation. so we discussed what he was doing in lubbock-interviewing for a chief IT position with the district. anyone who has followed this blog for a time knows that i do not LOVE small talk. unfortunately i happen to be really good at it, and the conversation kept prolonging itself until finally he finished his food and decided it might be important to go back and check on the flight. i might have been more inclined to keep the conversation going, but guy had a ring..and braces (which made him look 15) so i allowed for ample separation time to try to ensure that we didn't run into each other again. nice guy, but i was out of conversation. the lobby was so cold that i had to go grab some coffee to warm my hands (note to self-start bringing hand warmers).

finally around 7:15 they decided to allow the 2:40 flight to board (they'd already cxld the dallas portion of the 2nd flight and sent them on to nashville).  so i again approached the counter, and the same lady from before said no, i didn't have a boarding spot, step to the side with the other standbys, and wait. and then pony tail agent approached and began to help and started to clear passengers. after she'd cleared about 12 passengers-NONE OF THEM ME...she looked at her list and said into her radio that they were about to clear the last two standbys because there were two no-shows...she said my name and another, and i stepped up and said that's me! i just didn't have the boarding ticket-she said well, you should! here-and printed it. i wanted to crane my neck to look at the other agent behind her who was saying i didn't have a boarding spot (because she was still trying to tell ponytail that i didn't have a boarding ticket) i wanted to wag my finger and say, "shame on you!" from now on--just trust the app. anyhoo, no hard feelings, i got on the flight, and we finally got off (good thing because the later flight, my original, the 8:50 was cxld as well).

as i was walking down the jet bridge, the flight attendant met me at the plane and before she could even say anything, i said, "i have to gate check it, don't i?" she nodded, and had a tag, so i knelt down because i keep my lock and key to lock it up just in case and she was pretty impressed (doesn't take much), and i expressed my frustration, because i would've been on the plane in plenty of time to get a spot that would accommodate my bag, but they screwed up inside. and then i found a middle seat not too far from the front of the plane. after a few minutes, she made an announcement about the bag that they were going to gate check and i waved, she told me they found a spot for it-actually in the overhead right in front of me. am i the lucky one, or what? so i pulled out a card and found the starbucks gift card that i try to keep on-hand for just such occasions, and expressed my gratitude for her listening and making an effort.

upon arrival, the whole thing seemed like a repeat of the previous friday-groundhog day-trainers edition. so once we were finally afforded a gate, and able to deplane (go ahead, say it like tattoo-fantasy island), i was able to get home and once again, driving home at 10:30 pm, exhausted, thinking about people who were probably on their way out for the evening- i was dying to put my head on my pillow!

then saturday i picked up the boys and spent some time chatting with joanne. then we relaxed at home and that evening i got to do dinner with solange and the crowd to give a farewell for her twins who were going off to start college! every time we get together, the group feels a little more comfortable, and it keeps me up to date with my spanish-smile. snuffers fried pickles never disappoint (the taste-buds..they disappoint the scale, and my thighs, but never the taste-buds).

sunday funday consisted in a 6-hour poster-making-marathon with nafia and nicolette. we had a delicious breakfast of blueberry waffles, sausage, hashbrowns and fruit-great company, funny conversations, laughter, and we finished a ton of posters! then i made my way home and was able to help nicolette with some name-tag/ofishally first grade tags-and looking for a special beginning-of-the-year book (which target, walmart and barnes and noble were all out of)...oops. hopefully she was home in time to get a good nights rest for her first day of school!

i hope all of my dallas school friends have had a great start back to school!!
julie

final sessions and old friends (wait. who's calling who old?!)

i am a light sleeper-not bragging...it's just a fact. that said, i did not sleep well tuesday night...but then i usually toss and turn anyway, trying to adjust to a comfortable position (back issues), this was no exception. breakfast came early. i made my way to the hotel 'restaurant' (using the term loosely), and partook of the eggs, potatoes and baby waffles...the main course: coffee. always coffee.

again, alicia led the trek to the campus garage, and we found the building that we would start in with the preliminary meeting of the minds. basically just getting together to debrief...prebrief...chit-chat about how to tackle the day. joyce and i went to find our classroom-easy, it was about 20 paces north. prime real-estate, we were two lefts from the women's bathroom, and one left from the diet dr. pepper machine...like i said: location, location, location. if it were a musical, i'd have been singing this line: "i could not ask for more"-thank you, edwin mccain (skip the love lyrics, and just keep that line)... each room we were stationed in had a different audio/visual presentation set-up...and they were progressively getting more...rudimentary as we went. not complaining...this was good for me. technical issues will always be THE issue-so might as well get as much experience as possible, right?

the first session went off without a hitch, and then we proceeded to our next building, the last session. we polled the audience and 98% were bilingual teachers! my kind of people...joyce dominated with our fearless facilitator (whom we affectionately dubbed melissa) answered all of the district-level questions, of which there were many. what i loved was that in each session, there had been teachers who had piloted the program, and they were able to speak into that a little, with a bit of tweaking about how they would be moving forward with the roll-out this year that would make their lives even easier. i'm sure they will appreciate the automaticity of the monthly ISIP.

and so we ended our last session in a timely manner, and we were thinking we were the first ones finished..not that it's a race, or anything, but nooooo...we got to the parking garage, and julie and randi had beat us (but it's not a race...unless we'd gotten there first). once everyone was there, we bid our farewells to jami and got a quick group pic before going back to the hotel.

the group went to maggiano's that night for dinner, but i was going to be meeting with one of my former college friends (not a former friend..still a friend...formerly in college-you get it). so once everyone took off, i had about an hour and a half to kill, so i took off to explore the neighborhood. as i was making my way up zuni, i felt like someone was following me. no worries, just a girl with a yoga mat. not a threat. it really was a neat neighborhood-older buildings, being revitalized, lots of restoration happening.

neighborhood art-i'd just had this conversation with a friend the other day about loving to see graffiti in different neighborhoods!

i should've gone to see if there was a historical marker or not...beautiful church!

when stacey arrived, we didn't even have to go very far to find the cute little highland area to eat. parking...there were some interesting parking signs with very interesting instructions. i'm sure the city thought they were explicit and clear, but when we pulled over and it took 5 minutes to read the sign, and 2 additional minutes to decipher it...we realized that we indeed could not park there, because it was not a monday through thursday before 5 p.m, even though it was not the third thursday of the month, had it been a saturday or sunday, we MAY have been able to park there...but alas, 'twas not. so on with our search. we decided on one of the first places we saw: three dogs tavern. it looked like a good bet (something to tell the boys about when i got home). great burgers and sweet potato fries (every time..i'm a sucker for the sweet potato fries).

this one!

i could handle meeting up with friends more often!

we had a great time catching up and playing the live trivia game-which neither of us wanted to win, because we truly did not want the prize. after dinner, we checked out that neighborhood-hoppin' even for a wednesday night. very dog-friendly, there were water-dishes everywhere; stacey may or may not have practically stepped in one (dangerous things, they are)! but it gave a good reason to sit on one of the benches, and she got to share a track she's been working on. stacey does open mic nights around town-very talented vocalist and guitarist. took us back to college days when we took a road trip to nashville to visit my brother and we got to record a song she'd written in the studio he worked at on campus. fabulous trip, fabulous memories! oh, nostalgia. how i've missed this one-we were known for our crazy antics.

when i arrived back at the suite, my roomie was already in bed--we really didn't get much quality bonding time, but i'm sure there will be other opportunities. i went upstairs and packed it all up, so that come morning i'd be ready to go. another restless night...some heavy sleepers sleep much more heavily, and hence have a heavy breathing pattern, so i ended up playing my classical music (yo yo ma cello), but still from 12:30 on, i woke up hourly, so finally 5:30 was upon us, and i gave in, took a shower and went to breakfast. upon my return to the suite, my roommate had left for the airport leaving a sweet note-i was sad to have missed her, sabrina and julie because i didn't get to say goodbye; i'd bid joyce and alicia farewell the evening before, knowing we wouldn't see each other in the morning.

final unexplained activity: back to brian's room. strangely when he returned to his room, the murphy bed was down...i suppose it could have been let down by the house-keeper, but why? i mean who would leave evidence of sleeping on the job? (apart from someone who was being paid for sleeping/dream studies...)

fortunately when we got to the airport, the security (please join me in saying it like bon qui qui and if you're not familiar, you MUST watch the entire video-find it!) nothing too exciting on the flight-apart from the fact that it was delayed by a lot, due to the southwest issues the day before. so when i got back, i went to pick the boys up from joanne's-they said they had a great time, and i got a great report on them, as well. they got to meet all of the principals from her feeder pattern, and they were on their best behavior. smile. when we got back to the apt, i felt like a freaking sherpa carrying all of my travel crap and the boys' necessities up to the third floor. #mymounteverest i swear, they have more travel needs than a baby...just different.

home will always feel good!
julie

breakfast and the pocket hose

i still have much 'work-stuff' to do, but i think i will take a break to write in my FUN blog! see, i just finished writing and editing the last of my 3 essays for the master program i am applying for (i only have one piece of information i need to get my paws on, and it will be NO TURNING BACK TIME).  i also just finished completing my blog post for the ed-policy, which i will add a link for when it gets published (not so much because it's amazing-which it isn't, as because it took so long to finish).

today started out a little flusteratingly because i had put the bacon into the pan and started crisping it up when i realized that i had no eggs. boo. so i thought about just eating yogurt and granola...with bacon. when i pulled out the yogurt, i am surprised that lightning did not come from heaven with God's booming voice letting me know that yogurt would be a sinful way of ruining his most blessed creation...but i realized it without all the drama because my stomach did a little flip flop. so i returned the yogurt to the fridge and thought, "hmm...hot tea and bacon for breakfast." then i decided just to break any semblance of a diet early and eat pancakes.

i grabbed the pancake mix and guess what...it wasn't bisquick, and it called for 1 egg...AND milk. well. i decided to go for it anyway and make my pancakes without the egg and without the milk. oh, and i added brown sugar instead of regular sugar too, so there! it turned out just fine, all of you egg and milk lobbyists out there who probably insisted that they put that on their label! i then realized that i had gotten rid of my aunt jemima syrup long ago. but...there was some karo syrup (which i keep for the pups should they ever have low blood sugar). with a little maple and vanilla extract, it was immediately converted into a sort of maple syrup...not bad.

as i type, i am, as a matter of fact, watching hgtv, and the POCKET hose commercial came on, "store it with your garden tools, OR JUST KEEP IT IN YOUR POCKET!" i've long thought these hoses were nifty, but really? keep it in your pocket?? being a soccer mom person (even though i'm not a mom) is one thing...preparedness (even though i'm not a boyscout) is another, but i cannot recall a situation when i've been asked if i had a spare hose in my pocket...pretty much EVER. besides, especially for the men, it just opens up that can of worms to the never-dying joke...'is that a hose in your pocket...or..." (you know you were thinking it).


after taking the boys for a walk, bruno was begging for a trim, so i chopped his furry hair off. said he wanted to look good for nika while she was watching them.

now it's time to get back and see if i can get in to put grades in for my kids-i kept getting kicked out earlier; i hate it when i can't get that kind of stuff done at home because i just never have time to do it when i'm at school. not to worry though, if i cannot get in, i have plenty of other things i need to mark off of my to-do list!

'working-weekends' are for the birds...i just don't know which birds, but i'm pretty sure not the bluebird of happiness.

julie

anagrams, target goodies and a wonderful weekend!

it's so nice to have summer school over and done with! i'll miss it. BA HAHAHA! i made a funny...i won't miss it at all! (certain people, but not the rest!) on friday, we had fun and games day, and one of the math teachers was trying to figure out an anagram, so he gave me one to try it. he ended up looking up the answer, but not me! and i wouldn't take any hints either. i was finally able to figure it out

i attribute it to the cross anagram at k wet-thank you kanakuk!

 and the kids had a chance to draw and finish books.

this is a portrait by a third grader...apparently he sees me as an amputee with scraggly hair...but he got the eye color right.

i came home and had to run over to target, where i found some really cool buys (only i didn't buy them...trying not to do impulse buys)

i absolutely fell in love with this clock-quirky like me

and since our doors do not have kick stands, i thought this would be a classy little door stop!

last, but not least, God save the queen-solar powered...she waves! it would be even funnier if she tooted once in awhile.

then i saw this little button in the parking lot. he looked very distressed about being stuck on the sweltering blacktop!

the boys and i packed up on saturday and took off for the wedding! woo hoo!

bruno just chilling out in his car seat

we got to stay with bmayes because her roommate was out of town, the boys were thrilled that they were getting to hang out with reagan and thatcher again. they did fairly well. it was good for me just to have intelligent conversation-thanks brittany!

when we got to the wedding, we were walking in about 5 minutes early, and someone in front of me was fixing her shoe; mother/daughter. she turned around and there was a look of recognition-"jrob!" it was mrs. higgins and sally! sally had just rolled in from kamp. good times! it was a beautiful ceremony for an amazing couple!

this is their save-the-date pic, they are perfect for each other!

not gonna lie, i teared up a bit when lauren walked down the aisle with her brothers on either side. wow. their mother passed away when they were young, and their father passed away just a few years ago, so it was rather emotional! her sister, katie was the maid of honor and is also a dear friend and she and lindsay(one of the other bridesmaids/k2 friend) are quite possibly two of the funniest people i know! the reception was beautiful as well, and there was dancing! in fact one of the most prominent dancers was a little 7 yr old (i am guesstimating...i did not ask her age) this little gal would get right out into the middle of any group she could and pull out her moves-all night long! non-stop. i'm certain she slept like a rock!

the sparklers to see them off were beautiful and bmayes and i wanted to keep an extra, but this older guy came by and took them away from us. rude.

when we got back to the house, the pups were all ready to come out from behind the gate! i was exhausted (because i am a little sick-the sinus stuff really hit me hard!) the bed is super high, so i had to rig up a little stepping method-bruno caught on quickly, but chaco did not. i tried not to get up to go to the bathroom too many times for toilet paper (drainage), because chaco was a mess whenever i got up. he just wanted to get out the door and play with the other pups. all. night. long. he had a quiet whine. then i would pick him up and get him to lay for a little while before he was up again. it was ridiculous. i don't think he slept at all...hence, i really didn't get much shut-eye either!

when i finally couldn't keep them still any longer, we got up. some chloraseptic and green tea and cool enough weather outside was just what i needed to start the day! it was fun to watch chaco and thatcher pouncing around! then we went for breakfast at jimmy's egg.

not my most photogenic pic, but the point is, jimmy's has their own syrup labels...i wonder if they just buy someone else's syrup and keep refilling the bottle with cheap syrup.

when we walked in, i looked around and commented that it kinda' resembled a denny's...bmayes told me later that it actually was a denny's that no one really frequented, but it had been changed into jimmy's egg. the waitress was great and she looked down and asked bmayes if those were chacos she had on and of course we were both wearing ours; she said her daughter was a counselor at a camp and had gotten some chacos and vibrams, blah, blah, blah-she has good taste. i made sure to leave her a good tip (a. because it was breakfast, and i think breakfast servers deserve bigger tips because they are busier and the prices are usually lower than other meals, so % isn't fair...and b. because if she's having to help pay for her daughter's shoes, she's gonna need it!) 


brittany had tweeted that we were there, and a friend of hers suggested two different plates after we'd finished eating, and lo and behold each of us had ordered one of them! great palates have great taste...?

then we came home, and i am so glad that i have a radar detector because there were quite a few popo out there! (i had a hard time writing that, and i'm even having a more difficult time leaving it there! not the part about driving quickly, the part about writing 'popo') anyhoo, when we slowed down and pulled into the apt complex, the boys were ready to be home. i know they had fun, but they knew where they were!

we're home! we're home!

what a weekend!
julie