fun friday and plans that are making me reminisce! lisa lisa and the cult jam...where did all the good music go?

oh fun friday! it was fun for me all day long knowing that classes were smaller and that the kids were going to be playing games in the afternoon- which they enjoyed...then their afternoon arts person came in and they have changed from drama to visual arts. they are a little bummed because they were playing and being crazies and now they have to sit and use their brains...

at lunch, i sat with my friend and worked on some quick healthy eating ideas. she kinda' wrinkled her nose when i mentioned avocado. that made me laugh because i used to feel the same way growing up (when we had the huge productive avocado tree and we gave away paper bagfuls of great, ripe avocados every year)... today for lunch i had made a quick guacamole dip with my homemade salsa, so i took it down for her to try and i could tell she really did not want to, but she was a sport and she knew i wouldn't do her wrong...she said, "ok, that is the first time i have tried guacamole, and it wasn't bad!" and she even took a second bite...ummm, i told her to imagine this on chicken breast...maybe she'll buy into it and give it a chance. smile.

today was a sticker day. i offered stickers to finish the assignment and it worked! that was easy...

tonight is another lord of the rings night. i just feel it. i learned that one of my coworker friends has the same taste in t.v. shows-very unique flavor...heroes, the cape, lost, once upon a time, grimm....crazy!

visiting bilbo baggins!

there are 3 rawhide chews out right now, but my youngest has gone and hidden 2 of them so that he can monopolize on the one that is visible. who IS he?

and i read something in the dallas board highlights about:• Accepted a donation from IBM valued at up to $36,399.86 to support the Kidsmart Program at William L. Cabell Elementary School.
wow! dr. hughes has been very instrumental in making friends with the right people at the right time! she has said that she is a really good beggar. i don't know exactly what the kidsmart program is, but i am really excited if it helps make our kids smart...hopefully it's kid smart and not kid's mart...know what i mean? ok, just kidding. because i was curious, i looked it up; go back and click on that link and you can find out more about it...lucky preK..get excited angela!

i started getting excited about next wednesday as i was driving home today!

thanks to the church on the corner for being patriotic!!

i must go to the pet store and see if there is any patriotic collars or not...that may be a custom order. i also need to get a collar that matches up with the harness that i just got because it is just a little too small for chaco, so i realized that all is not lost if i can find a matching collar it will hook in and be just the right size!

clearly, he loves it! it's the whole fire...i'm tough look.

i love it when the 15th falls on a sunday and we get paid on friday! i have a wedding to go to on the 14th! then i'll come back to dallas to finish physical therapy; i was planning on going up to see mom and dad that week, but i will have to wait. we will get to go up to iowa for a family reunion that i wasn't thinking i would be able to go to, but now i am very excited about seeing everyone! i am going to check on renting cabins at the state park- that way the boys could stay there in the air conditioning or come down and meet everyone for a bit. smile. we'll see...i will try to call tomorrow to see about reservations and such. mom has a big family-she is one of 10...so there are lots of cousins and babies i do not know any more...

when we were in 9th grade and my family was in iowa (on furlough), i was visiting and went to babysit with my cousin stacey..while we were in the front yard, people would drive by and one car the guys were staring and she yelled, "SHAKE YOUR HEAD, YOUR EYEBALLS ARE STUCK!"  and i thought that was pretty clever, so i held on to it and filed it away for later use. that was the year that lisa lisa and the cult jam was big and lost in emotion was a big hit! (so i may or may not have just played it and am still listening to it right now...great memories!)

alright, it is time to say goodnight and prepare for a simplistic weekend!
julie

nobody tosses a dwarf....not the beard!

alright, so we did, we watched the fellowship of the rings on thursday night and then last night, lo and behold the sequel two towers was on t.v. and bruno said, "stop! we have to watch it, it's destiny!" so we did. and i just have to say, gimli is my favorite-such a comic relief in this series!
favorite gimli line is when he's running and trying to keep up with legolas and aragorn
Gimli: [out of breath] I'm wasted on cross-country! We Dwarves are natural sprinters, very dangerous over short distances. 
and then: keep breathing, that's the key, breathe. 
and today the third movie in the sequel was on: return of the king and chaco piped up this time and said, "we HAVE to watch it- i need closure." i didn't think he even knew what that meant. and even though we've watched it many times, i went along with it because i was so impressed.

so while the boys were watching, i was partially engaged because i was spending time downloading music.

this morning as i woke up, i had just dreamed that people were on the news saying that some group had invented or discovered manna and i thought to myself, 'no way. you cannot invent manna, it was something that God sent to the Israelites...you cannot just invent it.' and they were showing a clip of exploding or collapsing a cave and what they were calling manna flying out. and then i think i must have moved and redirected the dream because i don't recall an ending. i'm sure you really don't care about any of that, but it was just one of those dreams.

once we were up and around, i pulled out the rubiks cube because the boys were a little curious about it. they were very intrigued by the whole solution thing. chaco was bummed because i told him he really wouldn't be able to solve it without thumbs. i need to pull it out more often because i almost forgot one of the steps and i've gotten a little rusty.

thank you katie for teaching me the ways of the cube!

this evening i made a simple version of caprese tartlets that i'd seen on the food network. they are so easy, yet taste so good! thought i would share.

start with your bread slices-one slice makes one little tartlet. cut off the crusts and save them (i like to snack on them with the cream cheese dip)

flatten the slices so that they're a little doughy-i use the bottom of  a plate

fit them into the muffin tin and set them aside until the cream cheese is ready

with a fork mix basil, garlic salt, and pepper until creamy. then spoon a dab into the bottom of the tartlets and pop into the oven until crispy, take them out promptly so they don't burn.

add a thin slice of mozzarella cheese and a thin slice of tomato

if you like balsamic vinaigrette, feel free to drizzle a bit on top of the tartlet. enjoy!! again, super quick and easy and delicious!

alright, i have to call my parents and see what they're up to-have a blessed weekend!
julie