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

things that make me happy: diy hair, stamps, flowers, green screen, and istation cake

home. once we got home, i had to quickly get a picture, lest i forget. angelica and i were talking about her grandson and she said she flat-irons his hair because it is super curly. so i suggested getting a brazilian blowout...and the obvious,"they're just so expensive!" so i explained how i've been doing mine for the past year (once every 3-4 months), and it really isn't that difficult, just a little time-consuming. so i promised i'd let her know what product i used.

i was really excited when i went to the post office, and i'd received letters from two of my aunts-kim and mindy! it's always just so good to hear from them, and to know what is going on with the family up in iowa. it especially felt like Christmas in July, because mindy had seen one of my facebook posts back on april 29...i was down to 1 stamp...well, she must've known...i must have been emitting my anxious "i'm-almost-out-of-stamps" vibe...strong enough to be felt from iowa! you do the math #imawriternotafighter (line from michael jackson the girl is mine, had he been thinking shakespeare)

i dropped one of my friends off at the airport with her mom, and got to meet with another friend later at kona grill, because we hadn't gotten together since summer school. it was really great to snack on sushi, and catch up! then of course we went into the mall and made our way strategically to 3 stores to find the products that she was in need of and i escaped unscathed! we did get a great historical lesson regarding how the perfumes were made and how they layer, and how many actual molecules went into the making of each fragrance...and yes i actually found one that i really liked...just sayin..this man loves his job! #pasionateaboutscents

i also put it on my shopping list to grab some flowers from the store. the boys love flowers...

this work week started out (as usual on monday-yesterday [two days ago now..this is what happens when i procrastinate]), and when lori walked in, she came bearing someone new! she introduced us to her friend lori (not a typo), who will be joining us at istation! so here's what i'm thinking. from now on, we should start hiring people who share names of current trainers and then pair us all up whenever possible so that it makes it really easy on the participants! it also makes for a great cover-up....oh, that was the other julie, not me...

 i spent part of the day with toni, visiting some of her TACKLE SUMMER SLIDE campuses. it was great to get out and see the kids working with tutors and enjoying their time on istation. we made our way back to the istation tower just before lunchtime, and i joined suzanne and deane, who has finally been freed from the chains that bound her...and was doing the on-boarding process, so i got to sit in and when lunch rolled around we had a casual lunch in the war room (where all of the important battles are waged...). it's always a good idea to take every opportunity to get to know people as well as possible!

besides, hard to beat turkey-wrap pinwheel sandwich bites, pita chips with hummus, and the cinnamon-crumble bites. and i kinda' screwed up and took too many pita chips-they just came out of the bag too fast, to my horror, and i don't know these people well enough to be manhandling pita chips and putting them back in the bag, having them wonder if i washed my hands or not! so...i zoned out of the conversation for a minute, thinking through my dilemma. i was going to have to be creative about rationing this little scoop of hummus. so i mixed it up and used the veggie dip (meant for the carrots), intermittently and it paired well with the pita chips. i was very proud of myself when i was able to finish that last chip... those cinnamon bites, though...addictive! yikes!

when toni returned, we finished our rounds, but i forgot to go up to get my new id badge pic...but that morning, i did get the exciting news that i will be training in florida (one day...but at least i get to see the palm trees, right?) so an overnighter- i'm going to try something new with the automatic feeders-separate the boys so that bruno doesn't eat chaco's food and give chaco a reason to write mommy dearest memoirs.

then tuesday we had an office field trip, so i got there a little early. when i pulled into the underground garage, it seemed so dark. when i turned the car off, it was too dark to see what i was doing. that was strange-i don't remember having this sensation previously. when i got up to the lobby area, i looked around and there were a bunch of people sitting around. "hmm," i thought, "all of these people here for an interview?" then i saw some familiar faces--and realized that the lights were out. i made my way toward the first floor restroom, because the elevator was out. then i realized that the bathroom was pitch black. just as i was preparing to use my phone flashlight, with visions of cave-spelunking, the lights came back on. when i got back to the elevators, people were still waiting around for the elevators to begin running. they were fine on the other side (floors 1-12), but the express to the upper floors were a little sketchier...and we may or may not have heard someone in one of the elevators who'd gotten stuck when the electricity went out-20 minutes...

once the first run up was ready to go, i was intent on going up-not a worry, lisandra was not as sure, but bless her willingness to take a walk on the wild side! she was thinking claustrophobia, and what if... i had been on a netflix adventure binge for a minute, and so my mind went to the panic-room mode, and if i were stuck in an elevator, what would jason bourne do?  but there were no hiccups, which is good, because we were about to have kiddos coming for a field trip! the cool thing is that i got to go through the tour-which i hadn't done yet, so it was fun to go through and see what happens with the students! the group i was with-silly and antsy, but no more so than any other group of 2nd graders! at one point, the kids were told about tiger, the office dog, and they were asking about him from that moment on, wanting to get a glimpse of our mascot..i don't think we saw him once, but would not stop asking where the dog was (one track minds!) my favorite part of the entire tour was definitely the green-screen room! the kids loved it, and the walls were padded (not for crazies), which gave the kids a chance to scream at the top of their lungs once. it was still a little loud in the room, but no one really heard them from the outside.  the bottom line-they had a blast!

if i were a super-hero in space...this might happen. 

if i were just a normal semi-normal person stretching out in front of a regular green screen, though...this might happen.

masks of the characters-students got to choose their faves

it really is a fun field trip-highly recommended! very fun, because they have been interacting with these characters and now they got to see how everything comes together!

afterward, toni and i went out to another site- i've loved tagging along with her, because we've been able to have some great conversation time.

so today, we got to go out to one of the sites toni has been working with, and i got to meet ms. nutall, one of the dallas isd board members. she is a treasure, and she has been working with students during the summers, to help curb summer slide. they have an impressive support system. we also went to the boys and girls club and today was their celebration! i love that we were able to be there-these kids were so great!

over the top cute!

so that kinda' sums up the past couple of days, and it's going to start getting a little crazy up in her.

blessings-
julie

out of the ordinary...if it's not challenging, why do it?

memorial day weekend-i hope everyone had a chance to take the time to show appreciation for those who have given everything in order that we may live in the country that we do, in the way we do. truly appreciative.

as the weekend began, i got a text that suggested to: do something out of the ordinary. it's so much easier to fall into the routine. but it stuck with me when i woke up saturday morning. after having no 'takers' for climbing at the silos, i decided that it would be a great day to take a daytrip to go hiking. so i looked up texas state parks to see if there was something suitable, and settled on caprock canyon state park. having been a fourth grade teacher, i learned all about the various regions of tx, and i've not been to this region. i was excited to explore this area. 

texas boasts 11 different ecological regions, and i am wondering if it might be wise to get a year pass for the state parks-there are so many, it should be on my bucket list. i didn't realize the drive was going to be so long, but i should have expected that the state patrol would be out... thank goodness i took my trusty, little friend along!

saved me from at least 5 tickets!

the one thing i forgot to do, which in hindsight was foolish, was that i didn't let anyone know where i was going...oops. and on the way there i was thinking, at least i'm wearing my heartlight ring, and i have a custom tattoo on my foot which would be an identifier...

upon arrival, i wasn't sure exactly where to go, so i stopped at the visitor center and paid my $4, and got instructions. then i took off in search of my starting point...after about 3 wrong turns, i finally located the parking spot i was looking for. 

got my map and 'do not feed the bison' sign. 

 it was about .5 miles to the entrance of the trail i was looking for. i got a late start, so i had to take a shorter trail (about 2.29 mi), but it was the only one marked 'very challenging,' and if you're going on a hike, a normal hike would never do...especially if you drove almost 5 hours to get there! it was the john hayne's trail, and it was beautiful!

getting there

the loose rocks made the jog back a little treacherous, but i'm like a mountain goat (similarity being in the sure-footedness, thank you...)

and a bit of this to get to the top

friendly monument on the way

thankful for the markers, as not all that looks like trails are necessarily trails!

and the views...

i knew my limits, drank plenty of water and did not approach the bison...i failed to tell others where i'd be, and absolutely did not wear a helmet. next time i will get 4 out of 5, but you won't catch me with a helmet on.

the red trail-i didn't have time, but i wanted to go to the fern cave

i did jog a bit of the trail on the way back, and it was invigorating...i was only able to do so, because i kept drinking my water. they asked that we carry a gallon, and all i had were h2o bottles, so by the time i'd gotten to the top end of the trail, i'd drank quite a bit of it, and it made the carrying sack a bit lighter. when i got to the bottom end of the trail, i started jogging the .5 back toward the car, and i heard a girl at the foot of the trail (resting in the shade with her bf and dog) say, "it's almost 100 degrees out here." i think she was alluding to the fact that it was ridiculous to be running in the heat-

 it was a beautiful hike, and while i enjoyed the alone time, this type of hiking is much more enjoyable with friends-i certainly would've welcomed any of my former kampers, counselors and even friends who just wanted to get out and enjoy nature, but such was not the case this time-perhaps next time a planned trip, take the tent, have a campfire...an easy getaway. but i think next up may be caddo park, and kayaking among the mangroves. a different beautiful!

 the rest of the weekend was pretty normal-except for one other thing-but that's another post.

this week has flown by like a derailed train. too much going on.

we had a retirement party for two phenomenal staff ladies. Mrs. Pleasant and Mrs. Barrett. these two ladies have been such assets at cabell! they bring joy and passion! they will certainly be missed!

thank you for your commitment and dedication! it has been an honor!

 we've also had our awards ceremonies and such; i've been busy trying to work on some summer school curriculum/materials/planning and preparing so that our teachers who have so graciously agreed to work summer school are not overwhelmed by the district's less-than-impressive summer readiness 'curriculum'. i have spent way more time on this than is acceptable...and i cannot imagine the headache it would have been if it were left to the teachers to come up with everything on their own (printing, making copies, creating classes in the different tech software, etc). it doesn't help that we cannot be on our own campus, due to remodeling, and hence we don't have all of the pieces to the puzzle yet, but we start next monday. #wingingit

fortunately, the garden has started showing some blooms, and that makes my heart light:

passion fruit

 it has been so busy this week, in fact that it seems almost unreal that tomorrow will be the last time i say goodbye to our fifth graders on the cabell lawn-i'm sure there will be another post on that later, but i haven't had time to process that. even tomorrow, i will have to arrive to school early in order to get things done that i have overlooked and things that i didn't even realize needed to be done. with that, it will be a long day, so i will now get some sleep.

 julie

be silly, be fashionable, be alive!

it's been a good week-a busy week. we had a group come in to give us a formative observation with some great feedback. the whole procedure was valuable, and i am thankful that everyone involved, especially the focus groups were so  honest, because that is the only way that we grow and challenge ourselves! so valuable!

yesterday was read across america, and we had a great volunteer turnout! it was also dr. seuss' birthday! and i had the rare opportunity to don a pretty spectacular cat-in-the-hat outfit, thanks to nicolette, who had no intention of wearing it herself, and offered to bring it for me to wear. the students had a great time, and that made the day pretty spectacular. 

i also took a minute to go out to the garden (which i have not really had much of an opportunity to do lately), and i saw the flowers, that i planted a couple of years ago, blossoming-that was pretty cool, because the grounds crew usually chops them down! i also took the shears out to chop up the plants that were invasive and taking over the pond...it was a bit of a task. i began pulling, and before i knew it, i was struggling with roots and all sorts of heavy overgrowth. it was a bit of an undertaking, but don't worry, i cleared it all up, and the fish are still alive-they are probably pissed at me for taking away their hiding places...it's okay, i hear they have 5 second memories! so i need to check on them again tomorrow to throw them into the compost bin..the plants, not the fish.. (when i am actually dressed appropriately); they will be great for the compost, because the silt that came from the pond will be so good in creating rich soil!! i'm such a nerd. but that seriously makes me smile! i've been wanting to extract some of that from the bottom of the pond for awhile now!

beautiful, right? 

i wish computers were scratch and sniff, because these are so aromatic!!

and i was amazed by the fun that is happening in preK! everyone needs to go by and visit their centers! the nasa station rocks, the campsite-rocks!! it's such a fun atmosphere for our kiddos! way to go amanda and marlon! you are making memories for these little ones! 

houston, we have no problems!

planetarium, hello!

i wore a dress again today, and while i was upstairs, one of nafia's girls said something really cute. she said, "ms. robinson, ms. hamilton is making you fashionable!" i like being comfortable, but i will admit, it's been fun mixing it up. smile. 

is it strange to say that i know things are good because i've actually been writing letters again? when i write letters, things are good. that said, i am still not back into a good sleep habit-i have been staying up later than normal...maybe that's just my body preparing for spring break, as shea is a night owl...? part of being in a good place involves knowing that spring break is around the corner, but an even bigger part of the equation is surrounding myself with people who make me laugh, who make me think, who just value hanging out...these are simple things, but they are the things that make the difference. i've said it before-community is everything...living life in color, choosing to be positive, supporting others however we can, that makes me feel alive. it's good to be alive--take a minute, and think about it...what is it that makes you feel alive? pursue that!

julie

i LOVE happy!

for starters, i hope that your day has been great! until recently, i was not familiar with the happy song by pharrell, but there have been a couple of references to it recently (brandy, sheryl and wendy-who played it during an assembly and apparently our students weren't too familiar with it either)....so i downloaded it, and wouldn't ya know it, it does make me happy. smiles all around! music has a way of moving your soul! (or mine at least!)

i had to take two walks the other day. one for the boys, and one for me. so on my own walk, i took a path i was unsure of...the sign said that it would be completed in the summer of 2014, but i took it anyway, in hopes that maybe..just maybe it would have been completed! well. it wasn't. i got all the way down to the bridge (in a somewhat deserted area, where there was graffiti all over the place..sketch)...so i looked to see if there was any way to traverse the bridge, or even the creek...but alas, the way was blocked and impassable.so i turned to return on a mission to get back to the beaten path without having to use my mad ninja skills. best part of the whole thing was the patch of flowers that i found!

i found a colored hill the other day on my walk and when i got closer, i noticed these, so i veered off the path and got a closer view. they were beautiful!

i don't know why i was thinking about it today, but on the way home, i stopped to drop some post cards off at the post office, and i was thinking about something from a book i read years ago. it was the story about a college student who had cancer and his mom wrote the book about him. this mother was a student of her son. she got books about what he was interested in and made a point to have some point of reference so that she could talk with him about things that were interesting to him.

that stuck with me, and as i think back to it now, i really want to get better at that. i want to be a student of people. to understand more about what drives people-and to be able to share in that and celebrate it! people matter, therefore what matters to people matters.

julie