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!

dj beatsmith, because pie, cheesecake and cookies don't come without a price

today i was thinking about several things. it is THANKSGIVING, and i am grateful for so many things.

as i went back and read my post from the other day, i realized that it was remiss of me to fail to mention a few things.
#1. WALKING IN THE MORNING
while i said tongue-in-cheek about walking early in the morning, that "i don't hate it," what i should have said was that it's probably one of my favorite parts of the day! what better way to begin the day, than with a friend, exercising and enjoying conversation? hint: there really is no better way to start the day-unless you add in coffee afterwards...
#2. LUNCH-SHARING
one of the best things about this concept is that in the same way that i love to cook and share with others, these ladies do as well, and it's fun to be able to serve in such a way; on the other hand, it is humbling to receive the same gift from others-a good practice.
#3. GOOD THINGS
there truly are so many good things going on at our school. sometimes it is easy to get out of focus and hone in on the things that are not going smoothly or that are frustrating, and that draws my attention away from all of the good things that are happening and the potential for better things. perhaps that needs to be my prayer every morning- i need accountability in this area...fortunately, i have some people who are pretty good at this.

ok, so moving forward. today i was a little worried that i was going to be rather sore from starting podrunner with dj beatsmith (no lie-i couldn't even make something like this up)--thanks to maria for sharing this with me a few years back...the first time i began to have back problems. so, let's try it again and see if i can get back into that habit! it may be accompanied with aleve and ice-packs, but i have plenty of both! anyhoo, i woke up a little stiff today, but not too sore, and today was supposed to be a recovery day, so i just went for the usual walk. it's not nearly as much fun alone.

when i got back to my apt, i got a txt from shea to let me know that T-giving lunch would begin around 1, so that gave me time to take a shower, give the boys a bath (they need a trim-perhaps tomorrow i will groom them), got some cleaning done around the place, and pulled out some Christmas decorations; i failed to decorate last year, and it wasn't ok! so this year i am pulling out the decorations and making it real!
(okay, going to bed, finish this tomorrow...it's 11:30, and if i'm getting up early tomorrow, i need to get some sleep!)

so..it's not super early, but early enough, and this morning doesn't inspire much confidence...but, i'm doing it anyway. i may have to steal a line from ally k: there's no quitting! and just apply it to everything in life-

getting ready to brave the weather-although at least it isn't cold, and of course there isn't any lightening, because safety first, safety last and safety in between!! (i didn't work at kamp for nothing!)

 and why go the extra mile? so that i can actually enjoy doing this every once in awhile without the guilt!

so i was fortunate yesterday to be able to spend some quality time with some dear kamp friends-there's just something about the kamp-connection. i think it's ultimately the memories from lampe, but mostly the sharing of love for God...which is the foundation for most of my closest friendships (whether it's God's love for people that draw me to them, or a mutual love for God and his kingdom and the simple fellowship that lies therein). but i digress...i am so thankful that ally was able to fly shea in and that i got to spend time with them both at a friend's house in allen-the two families took me in like one of their own...and they didn't even make me play catch phrase (for which i am abundantly thankful, although...i may have been able to swing it with this crew) i wrote briefly about my last catch phrase experience here perhaps it isn't all about the game, but the people-maybe i need to play this game with people who aren't super intense...or with three year olds... these two families are dog families, so it was a happy place for all-the boys were wondering what heaven i went to when i returned smelling like lab, bernese, and pit-mix...

i absolutely love these two!! #sillycounts

we did take a walk after lunch to get out of the house and get some fresh air. in particular, we were looking for a very specific bridge that shea had seen on the drive in, to take senior pics. so we walked...then we walked the other way...then it started to drizzle. i actually quite enjoyed it, although in the recesses of my mind, i wondered what my hair was going to do. we got to the edge of the neighborhood and didn't find this bridge, but that was alright, it was a nice walk. so we turned around as the dark was approaching, and made our way back. no sooner did we arrive at the culdesac entrance, when upon looking down, we located the bridge..less than a minute from our starting point. HA! so regardless of the fact that it was dark, it was our mission to get that senior pic... shea, you have to forgive me, i'm your friend...

senior pic from SCREAM. the worst part is that at this point it was too dark to see the bridge, but it was quite the quaint little bridge with brick and columns...trust me..trust shea (although, if i met her in the woods, i might not).

it was good times-i just wish that there were more time. i love and cherish these friends!

now, for real, off to the park and hopefully it will clear up for the lighting of everything good at vitruvian park this evening! hope your food has settled and everyone has made it out of the food overdose! today may life be good because you choose to see the good that is around you!

julie

shmiggledee shmaggledee humdumdee do...dear dr. seuss, thank you.

happy birthday dr, seuss! i was thinking about wearing my grinch socks, but i couldn't find one of them. just saw chaco chewing on it. nice.

i began most of my classes today by telling the students that it was dr. seuss' birthday, he was born in 1904 and now he's dead. i guess that doesn't sound very sensitive...perhaps i could've used 'passed away' or 'no longer with us,' but nope...dead. that's what came out of my mouth! none of my parents volunteered to read-probably because of the whole reading in public thing...they probably didn't realize that we had the book in spanish as well....so i just figured it was going to be me and the kids today, but....WE HAD A GUEST READER SHOW UP!!!

mr. hise, our former principal showed up and read the inspirational classic 'oh, the places you will go!' the kids loved it! thanks again, mr. hise!

after he left, it was back to me reading the lorax to the kids. they were excited because it comes out in movie today. cute book, great theme. a little more substance than green eggs and ham.

they came up with the idea to create mustaches for us to wear while we read the book. they were on a Popsicle stick- cute idea, but too difficult to hold and read at the same time!

then we were supposed to have a meeting for the murals that we are going to be painting throughout our school, but i was the only one who showed up. i almost like it better that way because i was able to make all of the plans myself! not only that, but i didn't interrupt myself or cut me off! i love 1-on-none meetings! anyhoo, we'll be preparing and doing some work at the end of spring break and then we have our volunteers coming on the 24th. good times.

i've already finished almost all of my pomegranate green tea-it was soooooo good!! i am going to the celebration of the bridge that isn't opened. tell you about it tomorrow!

julie