ah, my little coconut bread! my friend, how i've missed you!

so when asked what was the best thing to come out of coronavirus 2020, i will be able to say: PAN de COCO! i've always been slightly hesitant to do breads because...i don't know...yeast? flour? ew...i do not love the feeling of sticky dough on my flesh. gag. but oh my. i suppose you just have to weigh out the pros and cons and figure out some good tips and tricks, because: HOW HAVE I NOT MADE THIS BEFORE NOW?!😍 alright. thank goodness i made a half-batch, because i would make myself sick eating it! yes, so in making a half batch, of course one must halve all of the ingredients...i'm just bad with fractions, so what did i do? i may or may not have pulled up Istation Math Teacher Station and used the digital tools to figure out my measurements. #dontjudge if you are still in school, life lesson: this is a real life math scenario! #stayinschool (only you can't...covid19)

i'm just gonna' say it, we have the coolest math tools and the math instruction would've helped me, ask ms. smallwood...

i was pleasantly surprised (ok, fake surprise because i'd recvd a tracking e-mail) when my istation t-shirt arrived at the front door! woohoo! then when we walked to the mailbox, i had a package in the box, and a key to get a package from the bigger mail lock-boxes! the smaller package contained a 'creamer' that kinda' does taste like birthday cake, and the bigger package was my #1 from Hunt a Killer series! (i'd received #2 and #3, but the first one hadn't come, so i couldn't begin). i will be looking forward to this one! there is still a half-finished mystery over at shea's because we all go busy last fall and never found a chance to get back together to finish.

t-shirt: we've got your back, birthday cake creamer-yes! who doesn't want to celebrate their birthday year round in the form of coffee?! and to hunt a killer, because it's good to keep the brain sharp...and you never know when you might need them skills #murderino #ssdgm

i probably shouldn't have tried the prymal coffee creamer, because it was already 3:00pm and it may affect my sleeping pattern...yikes. oh well, it seems like such a minor...(until 2am rolls around and i'm wide awake). but it IS delish, so well-worth it. i think the serving size is 4 tsp, but i only used 2 in an over-sized cup, and it was plenty, so don't let that calorie count scare you!

**danger alert** i may have just had another coconut bread roll** i.can't.stop.myself.

and today was the 2nd company-wide "virtual happy hour" via ZOOM. last week and this week- it has been an interesting experiment! it's fun when you are in a breakout room with people you know and converse easily with...it is a little awkward when you know almost no one in a room, but a good chance to get to know people and what they do..kinda' like looking at the brady bunch of work colleagues and wondering, "hmm...which one could be a potential serial killer...or who would make the best serial killer...or who would play the best serial killer in a movie..." i mean, there's a lot of routes you could go! next week maybe the internal question will be: WHO in this breakout room: who would be the MOST likely to survive a quicksand pit? escape headhunters? (sorry...gilligan's island). anyhoo, it was good to see my people! even if it meant being on the computer for an extra hour...maybe next week we start an hour later on friday. i also think i need to come up with a list of questions or silly anecdotal things to talk about because dead space is seems like a virtual faux pas. 

i was hoping that my mermaid's pies and produce would be open, but they seem to be closed- i may swing by tomorrow just to double check! they make the best lobster rolls in the area, and i am a huge fan! they are also well known for their award-winning pies! i've tried a variety of slices. my favorite to date has been the coconut creme!! LOVE! i need to order their brie and caramelized onion quiche, because it's been awhile, and i know what i like!! they seriously do have the best lobster rolls! i don't even bother with the seafood festivals for lobster rolls anymore, because sometimes you go someplace and nothing really compares! they do the traditional as well as the ct style -hot with melted butter, both on toasted roll- large chunks of lobster- always freshly made. #hugefan

look at the size of those lobster pieces!!

if they are not open, i will probably make some shrimp and scallop coconut thai soup again, because that stuff...woah! i may make enough to take a taste over to shea and patrick. we'll see if that works. 

this morning i did get up early and went for that walk- i have been lazy the last couple days. so today i drove over to cortez village and parked at the park/museum and walked through the neighborhood (cute little fishing neighborhood), and then across the drawbridge and down the main beach sidewalk, barely into the park before i had to turn around and come back. well worth it, and a nice different change of scenery!

he was getting ready to fly away, then he sensed that i wanted a pic, so he put his wings back for a minute, gave me the sideways glance..the "get-on-with-it" glance, and once i'd taken my shot he flew off! love me some pelicans! (mostly because i don't own a dock, so i don't have to deal with pelican poo).

not sure what this weekend will hold, it may be very chill. i may be going to the store to get more flour, skim milk and whatever else i need to make more bread- bread that i will share.

i was awake SUPER early this morning, and i was thinking about the things that we take for granted, and my list was so simplistic yesterday. truth is, even our 'poverty' got NOTHIN' on some people around the globe. when i lived in HONDURAS, we would visit some of our churches out in the smaller mountain villages, and they would take us to their one-room home with dirt floor where they keep their dishes in a suitcase in a corner..i don't even remember how many brothers and sisters lived here with the parents, but one room. how can they social distance?...obviously not every family was this 'poor', but those experiences have never left me. i have AC, washer, drier, two t.v.s (i'm single...), cable, android, 2 work devices and 3 personal tech devices, a go-pro, camera, more than 2 pair of shoes, more than 5 outfits, a refrigerator, stove, microwave, multiple kitchen appliances i seldom use...and that's just the tip of the iceberg...please just take a look around your home and think about the 'things' that you have that you take for granted. the reason it even hit me was because it is easy for me to 'shelter in place' i can buy food and freeze it or preserve it...i have running water and electricity...i can cook food...i can wash my clothes and take showers...I CAN WASH MY HANDS 50 TIMES A DAY... again. be grateful that you are even able to read this on the internet on whatever device you have...for that matter, be grateful that you can read! you are richer than you know.

blessings-
julie

what do a/c, ilympics, thinglink and check engine lights have in common? me.

yesterday i went in to do paperwork and get all of the necessities taken care of...and learn about benefits. i pulled up just as the others were pulling in-they had flown or driven in and gone to lunch. i left around 1:40, and got home around 6 pm and it was super warm, making me think i'd forgotten to turn the air back on when i'd returned from mo...so i went to turn the ac on, and it made all the right noises, only there was no air coming out. this could not be good news.

so i turned up all of the fans. it was pretty bad by the time we got ready for bed! if i didn't have my bed fan, i would not have made it through last night-how did i ever make it through life in sps?? anyhoo. i was just slightly less than miserable, and the boys were panting as well-it was rough for them. this morning, when we woke up, it wasn't much better. i made a red-neck air-conditioner (bucket of ice cubes with a fan blowing into it) before i left. unfortunately, i know the boys were distressed, because when i got home, i saw they had vomited bile and almost diarrhea (don't ask, trust me on this one; i'm just glad the potty pad was down).

on a bright note, maintenance did come, and fix the air, in fact, they removed the old 80's thermostat, and replaced it with a brand new model, which i am hoping will save me money in the long run on electric! my bills have been outrageous! also, they fixed the lock to the balcony door...it may or may not have ever worked...but i'm on the third floor, so it really didn't phase me. but when all is said and done, better to get it fixed while they're here than forget and have to pay for it later. last item on the agenda-paint the ceiling. hopefully they come back to get that taken care of tomorrow, because it looks terrible!
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i arrived at the doubletree for the conference right on time, and dropped my belongings off in the main hall, before making my way up to the 21st floor-i am pretty sure i gained weight just thinking about breakfast on the way up in the elevator! yum! so i got to sit and chat it up and get to know different people on the training team. because so many were on the conference call during the first interview, they recognized me before i was able to make connections. but it will come together soon. when i got back down to the main hall, i was writing my name on a name-tag when a gal walked up and said, "go ahead and make one for me too. jane." and it wasn't the jane i know, so it was kinda' funny. she later said my writing was much better than hers, and she liked the way i did mine. she is a trainer as well (and we share a very similar humor, in fact our stories from the back of the room certainly added spice to the luncheon). a very unique and diverse group.

kinda' want to take the cutout with the istation icon home...i do NOT need any silly stuff #justsayno

assigned seating! with goodies!

had to break out the awesome wick-away/sports pull-over to stay warm (it actually looks good!)

the conference this year is ilympics-style:

we had an excellent keynote speaker, commander mark mcginnis. a navy seal with much to say about leadership and team. excellent talk, and strangely, i found myself with tears in my eyes a couple of times (and i'm pretty sure it wasn't meant to be a 'touching' talk)...i think just the overwhelming-ness of realization of how much those in uniform really do sacrifice!

i ate entirely too much.

and when we went to the various trainings, i was wishing i could bottle up the cold air to bring back to my apt. for real, though..taking a jacket tomorrow and some hand warmers, because it's winter over there! even with coffee in hand...#needmukluks

when we reached the end, it wasn't really the end-just a transition to the istation building, where they had drinks and appetizers waiting. i wasn't into the drinks being offered, so i settled for a couple bottles of water, and after participating in the chatter for a bit, i was 'summoned to the principal's office.' i'd already had a heads up. lori just wanted some assistance and feedback, because she thought it'd be cool to try the thinglink, like the one i'd used in my presentation! #proudmoment can't wait to be a participant!

really? why didn't i know about the rain?? but from 21 floors up, it looked fabulous!

and here i was worried that somehow i was going to be cast in alexander's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, as on the way to the conference, my engine light came on-ugh. is it just a coincidence that it is happening only a week after i took it in for recalls? hmm...seems so suspicious. last thing i need-especially now, as i will probably be driving quite a bit. (surely nothing a doubletree cookie won't cure, right? ok, somehow buns-o-steel seems so completely overrated this week).

please check this out to get a small taste of one of the reasons i am thrilled to be a part of istation!

thankfully when i got home, i walked into a room, much cooler than the one i left this morning! i will be sleeping comfortably tonight. #grateful  we really don't know how good we have it. think of some of the modern comforts and conveniences that you take for granted and must take a moment to be grateful!

julie