Easter brunch, splashing in the rain, lobster rolls- fortunate

so much going on. i have fallen behind because i have multiple irons in the metaphorical fire. let's see, how about we start with my favorite thing-yesterday i met up with my friends for lobster rolls! we did the curbside pick up thing (from different cars), then drove out to longboat key to eat them and just enjoy the bayside view from a restaurant parking lot. this was the first time mermaid's pies and produce has been open for several weeks, so it was certainly a treat!! please ask how many times i have driven by and looked for the open sign! and here's the best part- a friend had seen that i was going, because i had post something about it, and he venmo'd $ to enjoy my treat!! #randomactsofkindness #COVOD19-style now to pass along the kindness!

best lobster rolls around! 

it had rained almost all of last week, after a long dry spell. in fact, so dry that there had been a burn ban in effect for quite some time...in fact the pond out near my parking lot looked like two big puddles, it was that dry. it has since filled in quite nicely, as it seems we are moving into some rainy season activity. also, some of the first turtles have begun laying nests.

ah, the rain!

so last week i went out for a walk and parked by the little maritime museum in cortez and walked over the bridge toward my favorite beach park because there is still no parking there, and beaches have yet to open. as i was walking down gulf drive, there was a large puddle in front of one of the motels and that was were i was walking when it happened. it was still dark out, but there were street lights...and i had on a bright coral long-sleeve, apparently not bright enough. an 18-wheeler, going much faster than necessary, hit that puddle like he had every intention to see how high he could make the puddle fly. i got soaked, and i my immediate reaction was to yell some unseemly things that should never be repeated. for an instant i considered returning to my car (i was about halfway through my walk, sopping wet, and a bit chilly), but i kept going...partly in hopes that the driver would have stopped ahead with engine problems and i might be able to get off a good throat punch and knee to the groin... i was driven for at least the next 7 minutes. then as approached the park, the sun was rising, and i was rewarded with the most beautiful sunrise! and a bit further down, i had to stop and take in the beach view, since it's been so long! then i made my way back to where i had parked, thankful that my car hadn't been towed.

gorgeous, no?

on the way home i walked on the opposite side of the street, but there's the puddle lake

i forgot treats, so they were not up for Easter pics...i'm sure everyone has experienced this with their families as well.

and for Easter, i listened to an online message and watched a special, then went over to do brunch with my friends shea and patrick. i took some mini brie/gruyere/carmelized onion quiches, and they had put together some eggs, bacon, and the 'piece de resistance' KANAKUK KAMP CoffeeCake! amazing!

YUM!

we caught up for a bit, then i went home for a bit to take a nap, before reconvening with 3 other friends to do an egg-hunt with snacks, chit-chat, social distancing around the pool, and then patrick's homemade noodles with pesto! yummers! good to see the crew-safely.

did you notice how there are 4 separate stations to sit at?! #playingbytherules

the past few weeks have been an inspiring time to create my own cards and stationery because, as we know, i like to write letters, and at this time, the store really doesn't have much that suits my needs! plus, it's been a great outlet to use some pent-up creativity! (much inspired by a video that one of my friends shared with me!).

these are a few-i've already sent a few others out...spread the joy!

in other news, there have been some fun video conferences for work and play. and this afternoon, i was inspired to try whipped coffee-one of my friends posted a pic of hers, and i've had something saved because i'd been meaning to try it for quite sometime. i happened to find some instant decaf, and thought, 'JACKPOT!" because this meant i didn't have to go to the store! but unfortunately when i opened it, it had all disintegrated/melted together...something, but it was definitely not good. gosh, how long had i had that canister, yikes! so i did in fact have to go to the store...and in my hurry, i parked the car and realized that i had forgotten my debit card at home...(zero motivation to go back), so i fished around in my coin jar, and had $2, so i opted for the dollar general next door to get a mini-jar of instant coffee to do this thing!

 i made the first batch and spooned it over some iced-coffee- not bad...but i wasn't convinced. so i followed it up with a second batch and spooned it over coconut milk. i was pleased with the result!

again, i am grateful. thankful to have a job, a place to lay my head, my boys, friends, food, a sense of humor...i am fortunate and i don't want to take any good thing for granted.

i hope your weekend has been everything you needed it to be!
julie

school's out...summer school's in...living for the three day weekend

tomorrow begins week 2, the final week of summer school. my mission was to help prepare our fifth graders for the THIRD re-take of the state-test...well, ironically information came out this week from our education commissioner stating that our 5th graders would not have to retake the test, due to 'vendor reporting errors.' so... i guess that means we'll have a little more fun this week week with our reading instruction-planning some socratic seminar-type discussions because they'll love it!

this three day weekend has been welcome, as i have used much of it to finalize my presentation for my interview this week. i am really, quite looking forward to it--in fact, i wish i could video it with a swivl- yes, it's going to be THAT good! 

last weekend i had the honor of attending a graduation luncheon for the twins-it was lovely! i really enjoyed spending time with solange and marisol outside work. it is really hard to believe that solange's babies are graduated! it seems like just yesterday they were in 5th grade, grappling with the language and learning...they have come so far and she has SO much to be proud of! they are both so well-rounded both academically and socially!

wonderful company!

this weekend, i did work a little on the running effort, gave my hair another treatment, and then today i had the joy of meeting with stevie, as she was traveling through on one of her road-trips to drop of furniture for built-by-stevie -she is so talented! i was hoping to go to klyde warren park and visit the food trucks, because there's such a great variety (nammi!!) but as we arrived, it began to rain! and it didn't look like it was going to stop, so we opted for kyoto sushi...only when we drove by, it was CLOSED ON SUNDAYS! so off we went to rock and roll sushi...and guess what? CLOSED ON SUNDAYS! strike 2 (technically 3, but only 2 for sushi...) so we went to mockingbird station to check out reikyu...and we were the ONLY ones there! is there an unwritten rule that i don't know about concerning sushi on sundays? it was delicious and we had great conversation, so i have no complaints about driving around! and by the time we finished, it was sunny out again, and we very well could have gone to KWP. another day!

hollywood roll! edamae! stevie!

on the way home, i found myself driving through a deluge..thanks, tx! good thing i have such amazing windshield wipers! anyhoo, i got home and was literally here for about 5 minutes before the power went out! ugh. and it started to get dark...so i pulled out some candles and looked for the flashlight...looked for a small lightbulb to hook up to my battery, but alas, all i had were the 60 and 100...boo.

teaching 4th grade science came in handy...if only i'd invested in the tiny flashlight bulbs!

the worst part was that i was almost out of coffee, so i may or may not have pulled out the camping gear-to light up the kerosene and make some camp-coffee. no lie. fortunately it didn't come to that. but what i did notice is that my ceiling is spotting-which means there is a leak in the roof...which in effect means that as soon as i report it, i will probably have maintenance workers in my apartment this week. triple ugh! this means i should probably figure out what to do with all of my school mess!

in other news, i DID, in fact clean out and almost organize the laundry room! yea, me!

so i think this is where i bid you adieu, and prepare for tomorrow-
julie

travel and world views

time at my parents was relaxing, as usual. we had a good time just being together-we always do. puzzles, t.v. and projects. while i was home, mom asked if i would eat the cranberries...i suggested making a cranberry salad and what i would add to it. she looked at me and said, "who did you come from?" my parents aren't super adventurous when it comes to food...you may or may not recall the time i got them to go to get sushi with me...that won't ever happen again. but back to the point, it was good to be with them.

favorite parents ever!

the day before i left, i was able to make it into nixa to get my chacos (the actual flip flops, not my dog, thank you kristi!) and visit with robin, chris's wife, their daughters, and martha, the rees matriarch (smile). it was good to catch up, as i feel like every time i'm in town, time just flies by and we never get to touch base. the weather was a bit treacherous that evening, and there were all sorts of warnings, as the rain was ridiculous. in case you need background, we were on the mission field together with the rees family, and carmen was probably one of my first and dearest friends when we arrived to tegucigalpa. and chris and david, my brother were besties too. can you say that about guys? too late...i guess i can.

the next morning, i made my way home in a full 8 hours of rain. yea. the dogs were troopers, because we couldn't get out to walk at any point-the rain was stupid. i had to get home for a dental appt. that was scheduled for today, and it's good to be home.

travel. it is the best time to think (at least when i'm not mentally-or verbally making harsh comments about rude drivers around me...hopefully the boys don't pick up on my bad habits). anyhoo...i've been reading a book: generation me, which mentions bobos in paradise, which i own and have been meaning to read-now i am even more inclined to read it...but it really is interesting, in that it explains a lot about behavior that i notice, but had never really thought too deeply about.

one of the things mentioned is that the culture has changed to being a very self-centered culture, deciding what's good for 'me,' and the basis of decisions comes from a self-determined set of principles. while this is evident everywhere i look, it seems like such an ill-founded concept.

it made me think about my world views, and i have come to the conclusion that pretty much all of my world views are founded within scripture.

wisdom: from the time i read/heard the story of king solomon being asked what one thing he wanted and it would be granted to him, he chose WISDOM...i knew that was important. also james 3:13-18
keeping promises: let your yes be yes, and your no be no- james 5:12
work ethic: whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men...col.3:23
service: though i am free and belong to no man, i make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible I cor. 9:19
humility: do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. phil. 2:3-4
peace (personal): through following God's laws- great peace have they who love your law and NOTHING can make them stumble psalm 119:165
peace-making: let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. rom. 14:19
friendship: actually, all of these things fall into the idea of friendships and relationships, but the stories that stuck in my mind from sunday school were the friendships of david and jonathan, ruth and naomi, Jesus, john, peter...
edification: therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. I thes. 5:11
generosity: the macedonian churches who gave generously even in their difficulties II cor. 8, the widow who gave what she had
sexual immorality: I cor. 6:12-20

i could go on and on, but the point is, my world views come from a higher standard. not having a higher authority on your basic principles seems problematic. am i where i need to be by these standards? by no means!  i have work to do in every area, and i'm okay with that...the bigger point is that i have these principles embedded in my heart, and i know that it is by the grace of God and nothing that i can do to reach further and continue to grow!

ok, so i need to finish this book so that i can move on to bobos, recommended by my dear friend nika, years ago!

and another weekend begins-no damp spirits here!

rain. boo.

FORTUNATELY, we're not afraid of the rain!! nothing can dampen our spirits! i met shea at her house, and waited as she packed up what we would need for the weekend. her roommates had their baby, and the last thing we really wanted to do was be in the way while family was there and they were trying to settle in with baby!

it actually worked out well that shea had animal sitting appointments. so on friday and saturday night we would be staying in st. petersburg, in a beautiful condo with an amazing view of the bay! but before we would get there, we had to grab dinner. this was the one area that we decided to try something not on the 'list.' shea has this great list of eateries and entertainment, but not as much, yet, for the st. petersburg area, so we put our eating experience into the hands of yelp. where would it lead us?

we ended up at station 9, because it sounded like a fun little spot. it was another little burger joint with a huge selection of burgers! we had very similar burgers, and they were pretty amazing! i had more burgers on this florida trip than i've had over the past 4 months in dallas-but they were perfect! it was cold with the air on and having just come out of the rain, but we were able to overcome the discomfort of the cold-over-comers that we are. TOTALLY WORTH IT!!! i mean...the aesthetics of the knife-game over!

burgers for real people!

 how do you cleanse your palate after gourmet burgers? the only thing i can think of is kilwins! back by popular demand! now just to find it. so we drove around in the rain looking for kilwins (deceptively disguised because the front of the awning said: CHOCOLATES, FUDGE, ICECREAM with the KILWINS name on top of the awning at an angle, difficult to see in the rain), it took longer than expected to locate! but through perseverance and dedication.. more perseverance.. excellent google skills, we located it, and now to find parking on this busy little strip! apparently everyone on the peninsula had decided that due to rain complications, they would go to the movies-aargh! after a few minutes, driving around about a 4-block radius, we found a spot near a park and then walked over in the light drizzle, through swampy grass-no worries!

we may or may not have entered the ice cream shop and purchased 2 pints of mixed ice creams...i mean..maybe. shea ran back to the car to pull it around, while i protected our frozen assets-our investment! with just a little bit of rain, the paper bag was subject to disintegration...i had to be very careful-in my mind, i may have dubbed myself: PROTECTOR OF THE MIXED PINTS. 

when we arrived at the condo, i met mushka (sp?) the skinny, drunk, black cat. he really was super sweet, he just needed some love and attention and a little tuna...ok, a lot of tuna! i was given strict orders to not wake shea up at an ungodly hour (which translates to anything before 8:30/9-ish), so although it was raining outside, it was still a great view. i had some coffee and watched the clouds rolling by and jotted down the events of the past few days so that i would be able to write them up. when shea came out, she brought her go-pro to try to figure some things out-time-lapse, particularly; not quite figured out, we decided to go for breakfast.

rainy and still beautiful!

if it doesn't bother the birds, why should the rain bother us?!

 the rain was not letting up-oh well. off to the sea horse, in pass-a-grille for breakfast! i didn't ask where the name for the area arose. is it because it's so small that if you walk more than 400 foot in any direction down main street, you'll 'pass a grille'...or because the homes are so close, you could look over your neighbors fence and if you were in need for your little cookout, "hey, neighbor, could you pass a grill?" umm....well, none of these sounded quite right, so i looked it up, and the story can be located here. oh, and p.s. if you go more than 400 ft in either direction from the middle of main street, you'll be in the ocean on one side, and in the bay on the other! i understand it has been known to be called the shortest main street in america at one time...

the sea horse was an excellent call for breakfast, though, we split blueberry pancakes, half-order of biscuits and gravy, and a sausage omelette- it was just too difficult to choose! again thankful for sharers! and afterward, we walked around the little stretch to see what all was there-not much, apart from the little crossover suv that looked like an alien foil ship; seemed like a hazard for other drivers with the reflection from the sun! fortunately for our retina, there was no sun-YET!

we were hoping for farmers market to get a few of the necessities for grilling at the beach with lo and mitch, but unfortunately it was rained out, so publix, it was...and of course i would have to use the restroom while they were cleaning it-he did a way thorough job, as i had to wait impatiently for him to finish-by which time most of the shopping had actually been completed.

we kept praying for the rain to clear out-because grilling in the rain is nothing like singing in the rain-even with friends. and as promised by the weather service, it was indeed clearing. we got to the fort desoto state park, and saw the electronic sign informing that there was exotic tree removal going on. shea was certain it said exotic animal (although to be fair, she was glancing/driving). so we drove out to the northern-most part of the park and found lo and mitch waiting. it was SO good to see lo again after way too many years, and a pleasure to finally meet mitch. unfortunately, they were, in fact, removing exotic trees-or rather they had already removed them. sadly, that was where we were going to put up the hammocks. devastation. we unloaded by the shelter and talked for a bit over beet humus, carrot humus and chips. i wasn't sure about the different flavors, but surprisingly pleasing to the taste-buds! good call, lo and mitch!

they showed me the stumps that had long been their area. sad day-all of the good hammock trees-GONE! and to what end? apparently it was supposed to stop the erosion that the trees were causing-when they were originally planted to stop the erosion in the first place. australian pines...like i said, sad day. we ended up finding some evergreen shrubs that were big enough and strong enough to support the weigh of the hammocks! it was a fair little area, and we were able to watch a couple of guys out doing some kite-sailing-that looked like a lot of fun!

 anyhoo, we set up (are you getting the point that it was relaxing vacation?), talked and laughed. then shea pulled out the paddle board and caught some shots with the go pro-i mean, this is exactly they type of thing it was made for!

from the comfort of a hammock-make due without the australian pines!

don't be deceived, it was rougher than it looks!

shea and lo-roommates reunited!

 after a few hours, the water was beginning to slowly creep up onto our beach. we kept an eye on it, but stood our ground lay our ground (lay being the past tense of lie) and before heading in to grill by the shelter, it was necessary to try hanging the three hammocks horizontally in a stacked formation. with these crazies in them! good times-

mitch did the man-thing and got the fire started, while we pulled out the veggies and shrimp and skewered them up. we'd chopped the veggies earlier and shea proved that not only can she PLAY soccer (by the way her co-ed team just won their championship trophy for this weekend's game), but also she would make a formidable soccer mom-she thought to bring plates and forks-utensils are a plus!

look at those skewers and mushrooms!

"let's pretend we're really grilling." because this looks like a candid shot of really grilling, right?

you can't hurry grilling...but you can make it more fun, just add friends!

all we could do was hope and pray that everything would finish cooking in time, as the park closes at sun-down and we were dancing dangerously close to that fine line, you've probably heard the lyrics "you can't hurry love," well, i wouldn't know too much about that, but i DO know that you can't hurry chicken and shrimp- not if you want to avoid freakish digestive failures. chicken-almost ready! pretty sure lo and i were both a little worried about salmonella. the sun went down, and...along comes a truck speeding across the grass-the park ranger had to let us know it was time to leave. and of course we were doing our best to make it look like we'd been packing up and preparing to leave. so he went to tell the one last family that it was time to leave, and sat in his truck waiting for the last car to pull out. can't believe they weren't willing to extend the hours due to the rain delay! my understanding is that shea is habitually one of the last visitors to help shut the park down-why should this day have been any different?!

sunset

shea had a plan- so we wrapped everything up in the foil and stored it in the brand new cast-iron skillet to christen it, and moved our party to the marina, not too far off, where shea was certain she'd seen picnic tables before.. mitch and lo followed us to a gas station where we turned in and drove around the parking lot toward the back warehouse area, and i'm sure they were wondering where in the world we were taking them, then we all saw it-the picnic tables! sigh of relief-and the food was delicious and conversation exciting-so fun to hear about their plans and all that is about to happen for them! i pray all moves along smoothly!

we've given the skillet its first flavor! 

and we're not quite done yet-more to come!
julie

symmetrical egg arrangements...wait, is that thunder? in your living room?

so..tuesday was day 1 of our state test and i was monitoring for 4th grade. i'm glad the air was on-i was worried that it would get super hot for the people upstairs. unfortunately, there may have been over-compensation. i was so cold...(EVERYBODY): how cold WERE you? 
-if it had been any colder, my blood would've coagulated
-if i accidentally knocked my hand against a table, a digit probably would've fallen off
i was actually imagining all of the things in the room i could use to build a small fire in the middle of the room: base-boards, tables, shelving, books, paper..and then my mind wandered and i began to calculate how long i could survive if i depended on the fire provided by the consumable products in the room..brrr.

yes, testing will do strange things to you.

i decided to be prepared today when i walked in. i had my space heater, jacket, coffee...and to make my morning complete, someone brought in special edition dunkin donuts-spring edition!! crowned with a peep! straight up, i should've just eaten bowl of sugar cubes...but this was much prettier!

cute...but not on my diet...i shouldn't have, but i did! and i don't feel that bad about it.

 peeps..Easter..eggs...

i do like my eggs. please tell me that there are those of you who do the same thing i do; i'm not ocd, but i do like to leave my eggs balanced...symmetrical if possible. sometimes if there is an uneven number (because i usually eat one egg), i either scramble an egg to mix into the boys' food-which they love, or i pull out a quantity and boil them so i have an even number...anyone? no? hmm..me neither...

yes, i play around until i get the right combo

 i couldn't refrain, i had to get basil plantlings because i didn't want to wait for the seeds to sprout! and i decided to plant them today-i'm so excited!

fresh pesto!!

 today i made a little detour to the store to get some colorful planters for the garden. and while i was there, i was planning to get a fan to cut down on the air-conditioning, and i found the perfect one-it's more of a blower than a fan-i loved it! but there wasn't another in stock-only the display. the lady with purple hair said they ordered 3 more and she expected them in 3 days (apparently 3 was the magic number). while i was at walmart, i saw one of the downstairs neighbors (the one whose twin fell out of the window awhile back...)..she had also come up to borrow my phone one time when hers was not charged and she had to reach her boss because her husband was late (you're welcome for all the background info)..so i saw her with the twins, and i smiled and gave a small wave and she looked at me like i was a complete stranger (maybe it's the hair cut)...and of course, it never fails, i saw them around every turn there-after. ugh. i think sometimes she doesn't recognize me even here at the apt complex when i see them in the parking lot.very odd.

i must have some type of invisible sign or something, because she came up to borrow my phone, the neighbor next door(who has since moved) asked to borrow baking soda once to make carrot cake, the guy neighbor across the hall-strange one-asked to borrow one tomato, and the new girls across the hall, one sister knocked to borrow a charger for her iphone because her sisters had locked her out (when i met her sister a couple weeks later, she said that was strange 'because we usually leave an extra key under the mat.' i found it alarming that she told me that...they probably tell everyone that, and then have a nanny cam set up somewhere in the breezeway to see who looks under their mat for a key) is it just me? it kinda' makes me laugh, but at the same time, it makes me wonder if i'm just overly cautious and independent, because i don't think i would knock on any of their doors for any of those reasons.

i cannot get to sleep without some background noise. i have a great cd with ocean waves that i fall asleep to every night, and lately it has been skipping a little, so i knew i needed to get a noise machine-which i had written down on my hand (so that i wouldn't forget or lose the note). i had seen one before--so while i was there, i asked the kid in the electronics dept and he said no, maybe in the camping dept...he asked a lady and said i was looking for a machine that makes animal noises; i don't think i explained very clearly exactly what i was looking for....well, needless to say it was not in the camping dept, so i set out toward the potpourri and music scapes easy listening- i didn't see it, but the young man caught up with me at the end of the aisle and said, "there you are! good!! here's the machine!" exactly what i was looking for!

i'm so excited...i kinda want to take it with me everywhere!

 it may or may not be raining in my living room right now...with a little thunderstorm....then it stops and all of a sudden i'm on the beach. then as i'm walking along the beach i find a small tributary which as i follow it becomes a bubbling brook. finally the boys and i lay on our backs and stare at the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling and listened to the crickets- it's been an adventurous, evening in my living room!

 g'night!
julie

start pedaling, said the bike...stop yankin' my chain! i yelled back...(in my mind)

i'm tired. i need to get my sleep tonight-tomorrow is a long day of art museum/field trip and parent conferences at night. ew.

this morning we woke up to crazy thunder and some rain and lightning. very very frightening....(not really). but i decided to wear brown shoes with my khakis instead of my chacos because i didn't want wet cold feet today. well, the shoes i had were cheap and the inside pad that your foot sits on was sinking below where it was supposed to down into a hole in the heel of the sole. it bothered me like the pea under the mattress with the princess and the pea...so when i got to my classroom, i cut an eraser to size and filled in the hole so that it didn't bother me as much! janky fix, but it worked! i'll have to share the pic tomorrow because i left the cord that hooks up to the computer at school. boo.

today i came home to the gym at the apt, and there were lots of men in there using the weight machines, so i looked and the elliptical machine was out of order (glad the sign was on it because last time, it squeaked with every round)...and on of the 3 treadmills was not working either...and 2 people were on the other two. so i got on the electric stationary bike and the pedals felt kind of like when the chain comes off the gears....well, i kept trying to set it and the screen kept flashing to start pedaling. in my head i was shouting at it, "I HAVEN'T STOPPED YOU DUMMY!"  and so i kept pedaling and some guy got on the bike next to me and started on it- he went for a few minutes to warm up, and then he went to the weights and i was still pushing random buttons the whole time thinking that i was doing something wrong. i'm sure he probably wondered what i was doing and when i was going to start riding the bike. and i'm sure everyone else in the gym was thinking i didn't know how to work the bike because it was beeping so much and turning off and back on.... finally i switched bikes and instantly i was riding and feeling the burn-the piece of equipment i was on had been out of order as well with no sign...apparently our equipment needs some maintenance.

then i came home and threw some chicken, quarter of a cooked sweet potato, some kale and a little spice into the food processor and made some chicken salad-it was actually better than i expected!! before i did that i threw some asparagus into the oven to cook. well...i kinda' forgot about it until i smelled it quite awhile later. when i pulled it out, the tips were crispy (which is fine because i actually like the texture, and the stalks were soft and easy to cut through). and i'm not gonnna' lie, just gonna' put it out there: i almost licked the spices off the baking sheet it tasted so stinkin' good!!!!

anyhoo, that's what i got tonight!
julie