thanksgiving...give thanks for the ñ in the spanish language

long overdue.

sorry about the time lapse. umm...if i laugh randomly at any point, please forgive me, i just put in elf, and i laugh every time! (i wanted to watch miracle on 34th street, but i don't have it).

our countdown is actually down to our last feather, so excited that thanksgiving is around the corner!

we also had our field trip to the environmental center. it was great for our students to learn about soil! then i took them out on the trail and improvised quite a bit...good thing i'd been on the trail before and i remembered some of what the guide had said. we found some scat and i may have gotten a stick to see if there was anything cool in it...but there were just a couple of undigested seeds. science teacher!

anyhoo, a lot going on. i agreed to go to some multi-language trainings and a science multi language training. well, i got my dates mixed up because of thanksgiving being in the middle and all...well. i missed the training this morning, but in all fairness, i had today double-booked...i may have to take blanca's suggestion and get a paper schedule book! today i subjected myself to another group interview at smu with the teaching trust. only this time it was for a policy fellows program. it entails a few tuesday evenings during the spring-if i get accepted.

last week at the science training, i actually picked up several great pointers that will be helpful!

at first glance it may not look like it, but it is an example of weathering and erosion!

we struggled over this common assessment thing that we need for 4th grade, and there was a pretty good one in english, but the problem was that we didn't have one in spanish, so i went ahead and typed the whole thing over again and pushed the translate button, went in and did a quick precursory once-over, and put it in a drop box for my co-worker maria to go over (always better to defer to the native speaker!).

the problem with writing the whole thing in spanish is that i am lazy and i don't like to go into the symbols every time i need to use a ñ = party letter! pronounced en-yea...not yay as some would spell it, but yea as in "woo hoo!" not to be confused with yeah-which is just a lazy yes. people mix them up a lot...i think 'yay' is actually accepted in words with friends, but still, that doesn't make it alright; i mean merriams dictionary doesn't even recognize it! anyhoo, like i said, ñ is a party letter. let's face it, a piñata wouldn't be a piñata without the ñ, and a party with a 'pinata' would fall flat. and another thing, if there were no ñ, i wouldn't wish you a happy new year, i'd be wishing you a happy new anus, which is something i hope i never have to wish anyone!

all of that to say i am lazy-and i'm not even talking about adding the accent marks! (i used to know all of the number codes to put them in manually-back when i used to have to type papers)

huge thank you to xochitl for bringing pecan pie to the thanksgiving potluck at school!! (i mean, after i wrote on the poster requesting it, i was hopeful! seriously even if there were no turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes...if there were just pecan pie, it would speak thanksgiving to me just as much!)

ok, my eyes are wanting to shut, so i must go now.
julie

82 folks...that's when the money runs out...82

 well, a lot has happened, so let's begin with the fact that last thursday during parent/teacher conferences, i had all but 4 of my homeroom parents show up; actually more parents showed up b/c we teach content area, and so i saw some that were not from my hr. the conferences went fairly quickly and i had time for some word games and a little alice in wonderland...

working on a high score.

 then, saturday night, i got to hang out and catch up with some precious friends from kamp who live in the area! loved it!! can't wait to do it again real soon!! our conversation was all over the place, but it was good-it is ALWAYS great to fellowship with close friends.

the burgers here are fabulous!! and the brie...ah, the brie!

 so i decided that it was time to get up a little count-down! it's coming! granted, whoever came up with the current calendar should be fired...i mean, they took away the one benefit of working for disd...the week-long thanksgiving break! boo.

there will be a surprise! (gigi, i will post the surprise when we get to it!)

 yep, for whatever reason, the countdowns make me think of gigi....perhaps it was because she was usually in countdown mode...right? anyhoo, this also made me miss having her here in dallas. i got my musical line-up in the mail...wicked is coming back! actually it looks like a phenomenal line-up!

i don't know that i need to go to all of them (the lion king least on my list), but i am definitely thinking about wicked again, mary poppins and sister act....

 and i know everyone is wondering how science is going. well, i am glad that you asked! tonight i sat here stripping some wire and attaching it to alligator clips to do some circuits tomorrow in class! some of the kids today were working with the little d-cells and wire and kept saying, "oh! i just got shocked!" and i was curious what they were talking about, and it was actually just that they were poking themselves with the prickly little wire...sillies.

 so, yes, it has been a lot of fun-it keeps me on my toes, but i am enjoying really getting them interested in learning and asking questions about it. they seem to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. next year i will be better at it (if i am still able to do it...because i won't be starting from ground zero).

and i was working a little calculator to figure out finances after retirement, and i am just going to have to pass away by age 82, as that is when i will have a shortfall of money...that or become completely self-sufficient in my little cabin in the woods with my animal traps, berry bushes, garden, compost bin, rainfall water collector, burn pile, horse, or solar powered car, river to bathe and fish in...solar powered generator to play word games on...ok, you get the picture.

 

and tonight i would like to just leave you with this one last thought...is it just me or did andrew jackson have a disproportionately large forehead and head in general...brainiac, or alien?  

and at that, we will call it a night-have a good one!

julie

beard cutting...good thing bruno and chaco are not amish..i'd be in big trouble!

sit back and kick up your feet...when i go days without posting, it just all seems to build up.

i'm pretty sure that i've mentioned that i am now teaching science (and a language arts class and a social studies class)...well, science has had a great start so far-the kids seem excited and curious-exactly what i am looking for. i am really going to push thinking and finding solutions this year in science. it is going to be very involved-which means it is probably going to take quite a bit of prep work...yummy.

mass...g....volume...ml...l,w,h,diameter...cm...good times!

and after school on tuesday we had got to stay after until 6-something for our garden design and dine. i'm glad i was there, i just hate giving up precious time-i got nothing done on tuesday-that was frustrating. i guess the exchange is worth it, because the garden will be beautiful, i am sure. i mean we all agreed (somewhat) on a brown gazebo and a covering for the sand feature to avoid cat problems (you know, fecal matter and what not).got a picture of our picture taker-adrian is never in photos because he is always taking the photos. good man.

unofficial photographer/arts partner man/computer fun

the best part was the amazing assortment of wraps and the lemon bars! parents and some students were invited to this afternoon of events and i held my tongue as i watched several of the kids walking  back, not with a wrap...but rather a plate full of brownies, cookies and lemon bars. where is the parental accountability. i mean, the parents did not even care! my parents would have made me put them back or give them away!

ahhh, sweet lemon bars...you made me very, very happy!

and last night, yet again i remembered i had not taken anything out of the freezer, therefore i had nothing to eat...i am weak! curses to the builders of the burger house around the corner! i swear, i salivate when i even think about their amazing seasoned fries!!!! no joke. i feel like pavlov's dog. ri-DICULOUS!

and yesterday as we were talking about our civic responsibility in social studies, one of the boys asked if this picture was a boy or a girl:

i had to answer honestly that i thought it was a girl who got a sex-change...no i didn't; i told him i didn't know. i had been wondering the same thing only moments before he asked.

and when i got home yesterday, i was so excited to get a package in the mail-then i saw it was originally for some man, and i only received it because i am OR CURRENT RESIDENT.

men's advanced clinical degree. perhaps i'll take it to school for the boys coming in from recess...hmm..in a word: ripe.

so...as i was driving home tonight from work (remember how school gets out at 3:15, and we have to stay an additional 45 minutes after school, and i had to stay later to finish other things such as: my literacy bulletin board)..left school at 6:56 and there were a few teachers still in their rooms working. i feel inefficient and not nearly as effective as i like to be. boo. but i digress...as i was saying, on the way home, on the radio there was mention of amish beard cutting-which they then said was being tried as a federal hate crime...so i wrote the words amish and beards on my hand because it was so bizarre that it couldn't have been made up! (total snl skit material). *fortunately i will get few hate comments from amish since they don't believe in the modern convenience of electricity. i looked it up, and it was legit-check it out here.

anyhoo, it reminded me of my summer visits to michigan to visit grandpa and grandma and my cousins up that way. there were tons of amish up north. literally we would pull into the grocery store and there would be a buggy or two parked with its horses in a little shady spot. and we used to go to an amish store out in the country occasionally for amish goods like baked goods, nuts, chocolate...good times. it was from watching the buggies as we whizzed by that i learned about the blinders they use on horses to keep them focused. NEED BLINDERS FOR SOME OF MY STUDENTS!

i've started a new training for the boys because bruno has been barking at anything and everything lately and chaco has been peeing wherever he pleases (i moved their potty pad to a new location, and he's not getting the hang of it every time....)so they are both on their leashes...in the house. that way i can catch chaco before he just takes off and relieves himself wherever...and i can catch bruno before he runs to the window and attacks with a string of verbal slurs at the innocent residents below...but we are having peace tonight; it's working!

ok, you can pack it up and go to bed now!
julie

magic leaves, magic bullet...stickers that are not FOXY

this morning i got up early to take the boys out for a walk and they loved it. we came across a floating leaf and i told them it was magic. "oh, like the magic bullet?" asked chaco. "no, the magic bullet wasn't very magical...we'll have to see about its replacement when it gets here." they were very impressed with the leaf, though.

and for the next couple of minutes chaco was singing from the police: every little thing she does is magic, magic, magic....

 as we were walking, we met a lady walking her terrier mix and we stopped for a moment to talk-teacher from houston, looking for another dog, possibly yorkie...and the boys were cool for a minute, then i don't know what happened but chaco put on his snarl face and got snippy. grr..so we moved on. and when we got back home, i had to turn around and get over to my doctor appt.

when i arrived, i was told i had an outstanding balance..great more $...then i was shuffled into a room i hadn't been in yet. and i waited while i listened to the conversations out in the main room. lots of people talking and planning..i'm glad my walls at my apt are thicker and more insulated than this! anyhoo...i think the doctor might've been running a little late because i sat in there for about 15 minutes waiting...

so, while i waited, i observed scalped glass man.

 and then we agreed that i would get new medication, try aleve or ibuprophen (figure out which one works better for me), and get started with some physical therapy. woo!

so i bought both because i don't really know which one will work better.

 before i stopped at cvs, i stopped by lakeshore to spend some of that gift card from brooke (again, best gift ever!) they were super slow, so every worker must've stopped by and asked me if they could help me. nope. i knew exactly where to look for what i needed. got some great stickers (my summer school kids are suckers for stickers!) but then, i used to be too...my anne frank collection was the world to me...i got a sticker when we went to costa rica that was glimmery and said: FOXY, with a fox tail coming out of the O i think...i didn't realize that it was for a truck bumper and was more of a sex symbol...i thought it was just referring to the furry animal in the woods...back to lakeshore...i also found a great little science kit for about $24-very cool and lots of the stuff we will be going over next year!

the boys are intrigued by science and very excited that i will be teaching it next year! look closely and you will see that this is a card showing how the brain is related to the spine...

 then i went on to cvs and put in my prescription and walked around ...by the time i was called back, i had a handful of stuff that would help me with recovery...chocolate...

and this is the nerve medicine...i forget exactly how it works.

when i got home, i had to call a physical therapist to set something up with them...the part of the script that i loved:

heat massage!!!

and then i came home and took the meds and about a 2 hour nap. i didn't mean for that to happen, but it sure was nice!

when i woke up, i decided i should try to go find some cheap games for fun fridays...so i went to the dolla store and got some connect 4, old maid, go fish, checkers, and mind teaser puzzles...

as i pulled out onto forest, i noticed ms. weekley's car and decided it would be rude not to stop in and see her at pets plus! so i stopped in and chit-cahtted for a minute and looked around the store (because i had never stopped in before), and grabbed a couple of things for the boys-i am excited to try out chaco's new harness! renee was gracious to help me get the best discount possible. thanks renee! the boys said thanks as they were entertained with their new thinking toy!

i stopped by the office on the way home and picked up my package-the magic bullet base has arrived! now i will be able to have a wonderful smooth smoothie tomorrow!! woohoo!

worth it to get a powerful base!

and bruno was fighting with the bubble wrap as i popped them with my feet....chaco went and hid.

it has been a productive day-back to the classroom tomorrow!
julie