can't get my days straight! #teacherproblems

i got a message the other day from one of my dear school-friends asking if i'd be up for celebrating my new position on tuesday at 7pm-but the time was not good because i was going to be picking up a mutual friend from the airport at that time...or so i thought. we went through the whole act of rescheduling for lunch..then i got a text from nicolette saying that their flight was running a little late--on monday...my bad. apparently tuesday pm would've been fine. it must be a summer/teacher thing. once summer rolls around, we lose all sense of time and day! so while i'd been told the date, i was thinking the wrong DAY...i need to write these things down! (not the first stupid thing i've done since school let out! i hate making mistakes!)

so monday i did get out to go walk (tried to run a little, but i just couldn't get into it)...then i was able to get over to the car dealership to have two recalls taken care of. which apparently is an important thing. love it when they fix my car for free. and while i was waiting i got a call from someone about next week-he asked me if i wanted to stay onsite at the hotel, or (one of the managers had mentioned i might prefer to stay at home because of the dogs, so i wouldn't have to have to find someone to care for them right off the bat)...not realizing that this would be an option, i immediately took him up on it, because let's face it, driving all the way back up to mo and back in a day-not the most attractive option! although it does sound like the nights will be a little late.

so yes, lunch at the YARDHOUSE was delish! the company-as usual, charming (i appreciate each of these ladies so much)! several great conversations! great to have veronica back in town! and a few serious possibilities for emergency dog-sitting. i want to build up my go-to list because i definitely don't want to wear out their welcome!

each one of these ladies special for their own beautiful and unique personalities! #betterforknowingthem

before lunch, i'd packed almost everything up so that i could just come home and grab the boys for our trip home. on the way up to mo, i had a book on tape that stevie had loaned me-it was really good, once i got used to the guy reading it..when he read the voice of the czech woman, i had a really hard time not envisioning a burly transvestite with a cheap blonde wig...#malevoiceproblems great book, though!

we had a fairly routine drive and slept well. (slept well once we got there, not on the way, mind you!) today we got up and chaco had the opportunity to meet the  chickens-bruno didn't bat an eyelash...chaco on the other hand...had to exert his dog-hood and show who was boss. and yes, he is smaller than the chickens. they also got to meet mac, the collie. mac is less than a year old, so he is a little clumsy, and very excitable. bruno just turns around and walks away or at least out of reach. chaco...hotheaded. he was growling and nipping. he didn't like the big dog getting close to me...or close to him. he doesn't do well with big dogs. i don't know if they scare him, or if he just wants to be the alpha. either way, we need to work on that! i wonder if he would do better when i'm not around.

they're just so tiny in this huge field!!

i went to a couple of stores for some clothing, because i've had to get rid of a lot of mine that didn't fit anymore. #lovecuteclothes

not surprisingly, my dad put up a new target. he's really good about thinking about the things i enjoy doing, and he loves to create and put things together (and you wonder where i get it from!) i'm going to go out there tomorrow and shoot off a few rounds, as i haven't been to a range in dallas in awhile, and i need to keep my confidence up..in fact, when i get back to dallas, i need to set up a day to go with another friend from school who has her chl.

dad doesn't think the ammo will go through...i hope not, but if you recall, the last time we did this, i put holes in the back of the garage! so...we'll see! 

 after target practice, i plan to go down to branson to visit one of my dear friends from college-kristin-i don't get to see her as often as i'd like, but when i do, it makes my heart smile! she is one of those people who always keeps a great attitude, even in the midst of exhausting, uncomfortable circumstances...she inspires me! i was also going to go out to k-2 to visit with trish, mentor and friend. but i don't know if that is going to happen, or not, as things at kamp can get super hectic.. she is another dear friend who has had an impact on helping smooth out some of the edges in the formation of character. we never get enough time!

it is going to be a short visit to mo, because i will be stopping overnight in norman for donuts...i've been craving them for about 2 months now, but conditions have never been optimal to get up for the visit! i don't want to stop at the hurts here in springfield, because i fear i will be the binging donut-aholic and people will think there are deeper issues...20 donuts later-hence i need bmayes, my donut-accountability-partner and then i will have my fix for a bit...and i will swear off donuts until the next time i can visit anna maria island's donut experiment with shea!

have a great night! (p.s. it's wednesday night- looked at my calendar!)
julie

childhood games prepared me for real life!

as predicted, today was in fact a new day...and better than yesterday.

planning period was effective, and everything went smoothly today. we figured out how to use the 'all in learning' scanner bubble sheets! woohoo!! we didn't finish early enough, so tomorrow we are going back to make corrections because there were a lot of misunderstandings about the play and the elements of the play. hmm...but i didn't really care about the misunderstanding, i was too excited about the fact that the bubble sheet worked!! it's the small things.

the only snag i ran into today was my printer. when i print, i've had difficulty with the printer...it would print one paper and jam, and i had to reset, and it would print one more and jam, over and over, but i had to get those bubble forms printed! so finally at lunch i took out the tray, where the jam was happening and a little plastic piece fell on the floor, so i figured out where it went and how to put it back, thinking, "GOT YOU,  little sucker!" and print, and jam again...so i looked on the floor again and saw a tiny spring, practically microscopic. good think i have super-hero eyes! so i spent the rest of my lunch with my needle-nose pliers trying to reconnect the spring in all the right places (there are only two possible places it could go-two ends!)  

for all of you who once played the operation game as children, it was useful for something! that game used to make me anxious because of the buzzing sound...stress a kid out!

that little spring is the size of a small stud earring. it was tricky trickerson!

today i left school as soon as my students were gone, and tonight i'll be working on more clicker-answer stuff for tomorrow...but i HAD to leave to make it to my appointment at the bullet trap! and when i got there, i was informed that my appointment was not scheduled...i was about to be seriously frustrated, but they went ahead and got me in anyway for a personal session.

so, steve, i think his name was, showed me a couple of 9mm, and we went with the beretta and a smith and wesson...i liked the s&w, but i think i might like to check out the glock...after i try it, i'll be ready to make my purchase. not gonna lie, i'm a pretty good shot-consistent. it's from all the bb gun practice. smile.

so, i only had 4 in the 8 zone, and they still count for 5 points. then i had 13 in the 9 zone and the remainder of the box of 50 were in the 10 and X...smile. we started at the short range and he moved it back like they would for the actually test.

so, now all i need to do is sign up for the test whenever they are available.

good release. i need to find someplace closer, though.

chaco looked at the target and was unimpressed. he actually told me that he was a better shot when he lifts his leg to pee...rude. i think that was his way of trying to get me to play at home instead of playing elsewhere. so, tonight we play!

off to play fetch!
julie

jinglin' for attention

first day of december and 81' wow. i wanted to wear my sweatpants and a long sleeved t, but it was much too warm out. we went out to the dog park here at the apt, and the boys were unimpressed...they just sat around and looked at me. there were no other dogs there, and so we started walking again.

we are not very excited about the complex decision to plant these trees. whoever made this choice did not have pets.

these stupid trees are everywhere around here. what a nuisance!

 then these things are laying around everywhere!and they get all caught up and tangled into the boys' fur.

our nemesis

i sneaked over to target this morning because i needed some boots, and a few other items...but the one thing i was hoping to find was not there anymore. once upon a time, they had this awesome coffee table list book for friends to fill in and i should've gotten it then! boo.

but we did see some other fun things that we avoided, but thought were fun:

he cost WAY more than he should've!

i LOVED this! the only problem is that this guy would be difficult to clean after mixing batter

and these rice krispie treats-amazing solution! they come in sheets! who knew!?

 i did not finish all that i planned today, but i suppose that's ok.

tonight we did get down to vitruvian park to see the lights.

the lights were beautiful!!

the choir was wonderful

getting the boys to pose was difficult-they kept getting so distracted!

 the boys jingled all the way...and that got attention! so they were happy..in fact, on the way home, chaco asked if they could wear the jingle collars more often! smile. they did get several comments tonight, so they felt pretty good about themselves.

it really was pretty, and the music was great, and there were a few food trucks out and a few local vendors in outdoor tents, so it was a festive atmosphere- if you live nearby, it's a nice little evening. it'd be even better if they had people dressed like dickens characters, wandering around caroling to people around the park...i mean, they would've been sweating up a storm tonight, but it would've been really cool! by the time i got home i was sweating and i had my lightweight cabell jacket on. amazing weather!

so if you want a little attention this holiday season, wear your jingle collar!
julie

anagrams, target goodies and a wonderful weekend!

it's so nice to have summer school over and done with! i'll miss it. BA HAHAHA! i made a funny...i won't miss it at all! (certain people, but not the rest!) on friday, we had fun and games day, and one of the math teachers was trying to figure out an anagram, so he gave me one to try it. he ended up looking up the answer, but not me! and i wouldn't take any hints either. i was finally able to figure it out

i attribute it to the cross anagram at k wet-thank you kanakuk!

 and the kids had a chance to draw and finish books.

this is a portrait by a third grader...apparently he sees me as an amputee with scraggly hair...but he got the eye color right.

i came home and had to run over to target, where i found some really cool buys (only i didn't buy them...trying not to do impulse buys)

i absolutely fell in love with this clock-quirky like me

and since our doors do not have kick stands, i thought this would be a classy little door stop!

last, but not least, God save the queen-solar powered...she waves! it would be even funnier if she tooted once in awhile.

then i saw this little button in the parking lot. he looked very distressed about being stuck on the sweltering blacktop!

the boys and i packed up on saturday and took off for the wedding! woo hoo!

bruno just chilling out in his car seat

we got to stay with bmayes because her roommate was out of town, the boys were thrilled that they were getting to hang out with reagan and thatcher again. they did fairly well. it was good for me just to have intelligent conversation-thanks brittany!

when we got to the wedding, we were walking in about 5 minutes early, and someone in front of me was fixing her shoe; mother/daughter. she turned around and there was a look of recognition-"jrob!" it was mrs. higgins and sally! sally had just rolled in from kamp. good times! it was a beautiful ceremony for an amazing couple!

this is their save-the-date pic, they are perfect for each other!

not gonna lie, i teared up a bit when lauren walked down the aisle with her brothers on either side. wow. their mother passed away when they were young, and their father passed away just a few years ago, so it was rather emotional! her sister, katie was the maid of honor and is also a dear friend and she and lindsay(one of the other bridesmaids/k2 friend) are quite possibly two of the funniest people i know! the reception was beautiful as well, and there was dancing! in fact one of the most prominent dancers was a little 7 yr old (i am guesstimating...i did not ask her age) this little gal would get right out into the middle of any group she could and pull out her moves-all night long! non-stop. i'm certain she slept like a rock!

the sparklers to see them off were beautiful and bmayes and i wanted to keep an extra, but this older guy came by and took them away from us. rude.

when we got back to the house, the pups were all ready to come out from behind the gate! i was exhausted (because i am a little sick-the sinus stuff really hit me hard!) the bed is super high, so i had to rig up a little stepping method-bruno caught on quickly, but chaco did not. i tried not to get up to go to the bathroom too many times for toilet paper (drainage), because chaco was a mess whenever i got up. he just wanted to get out the door and play with the other pups. all. night. long. he had a quiet whine. then i would pick him up and get him to lay for a little while before he was up again. it was ridiculous. i don't think he slept at all...hence, i really didn't get much shut-eye either!

when i finally couldn't keep them still any longer, we got up. some chloraseptic and green tea and cool enough weather outside was just what i needed to start the day! it was fun to watch chaco and thatcher pouncing around! then we went for breakfast at jimmy's egg.

not my most photogenic pic, but the point is, jimmy's has their own syrup labels...i wonder if they just buy someone else's syrup and keep refilling the bottle with cheap syrup.

when we walked in, i looked around and commented that it kinda' resembled a denny's...bmayes told me later that it actually was a denny's that no one really frequented, but it had been changed into jimmy's egg. the waitress was great and she looked down and asked bmayes if those were chacos she had on and of course we were both wearing ours; she said her daughter was a counselor at a camp and had gotten some chacos and vibrams, blah, blah, blah-she has good taste. i made sure to leave her a good tip (a. because it was breakfast, and i think breakfast servers deserve bigger tips because they are busier and the prices are usually lower than other meals, so % isn't fair...and b. because if she's having to help pay for her daughter's shoes, she's gonna need it!) 


brittany had tweeted that we were there, and a friend of hers suggested two different plates after we'd finished eating, and lo and behold each of us had ordered one of them! great palates have great taste...?

then we came home, and i am so glad that i have a radar detector because there were quite a few popo out there! (i had a hard time writing that, and i'm even having a more difficult time leaving it there! not the part about driving quickly, the part about writing 'popo') anyhoo, when we slowed down and pulled into the apt complex, the boys were ready to be home. i know they had fun, but they knew where they were!

we're home! we're home!

what a weekend!
julie

learned from videos: blood pathogens are just as bad this year as they were last year

today was a good day back to work after a long weekend, and it actually went quite well, despite my late start. i had to tidy up some things because there was a note on my door last friday saying that they would be coming through w/ the fire dept to check on sprinkler heads. i guess this is the pros and cons of apt living...at least they're checking. the only thing is that i don't know exactly which day they'll be coming through-it had the entire week listed. boo.

when i say it went well, what i mean is that i got through my lesson for all six classes (remember, elementary school) and got to lunch on time and during specials watched mandatory videos.

nope, not bamboo leaves..nope, not edward scissorhands making a snowflake...it's sharp objects that can cut skin, spreading blood pathogens! woo hoo!

i then stopped at target on the way home because i needed to get some cheap-o photo albums for a 'project.' and since they were on sale, i thought it necessary to purchase $28 worth of halloween cards. i know, craziness. i don't quite know what was going through my head.

ugh! they were just too cute to pass up!!! cute witches..cute ghosts...cute spiders...what can i say?

oh..did i forget to mention the pumpkin spice candle that smells like heaven (if heaven was full of millions of grannies baking at eternal thanksgiving dinner).

it's not just a pretty candle, folks, it smells great too!

i'm just going to guess that the fire people didn't come today because the boys didn't seem too worked up and they didn't mention strange men visiting with staffers.

well, keep your appendages away from any sharp objects, but if you do happen to perforate your protective gear, be certain to throw 'em out and get new gloves! (that's me, lookin' out for you)!

julie

what did one truffle say to the other truffle? we're rich! we're rich!!

ok, so...summer is dangerous. after i posted last night, i may or may not have had an urge to make caramel-coffee truffles...i know...bad.

i coated them in nuts, powdered sugar, chocolate sprinkles and toasted coconut (only when i was toasting the coconut in the microwave, i forgot to keep an eye on it because i was distracted, and some of the coconut burned and i thought i might have another fire alarm incident)

they are rich, rich, rich. if only they were worth their weight in sugar!

remember how i once mentioned that i am kind of a 'fix-it' person? well, this morning i was so disappointed when i looked at my weak salsa that looked like someone got sick, that i pulled out the tomatoes, onions, cilantro, sea salt and crushed red pepper. surely if i cut them up instead of blending them and add them to what i already have, it will make it better...right?

it worked, i feel like i have redeemed myself in the salsa category

i thought i was going to have to go pick something up from the school today, but i misunderstood-i don't have to go until next monday-good! that gave me a chance to go get something i needed; unfortunately i stopped at target. that led me to many more purchases than were absolutely necessary, but i really like what i got! i am especially enjoying the wireless keyboard-which was on sale. i also finally got a new bag (which is why i got the keyboard-they were in the same aisle and it caught my eye. i figured i might be able to use it at school with my computer there, which is how i validated the purchase.

i hauled it all upstairs and realized that i didn't have my keys-locked them in the car...nice. so i called the main office and asked if any of the maintenance guys were available that might be able to bring a key. what was i thinking? this isn't like a full service hotel. they were all out on maintenance. so i pushed everything up against the wall in hopes that no one would see it. i didn't have the cloaking device to cover it. so i took off on the hike to the main office in 104'. fortunately i had a cold diet dr. pepper in hand-no worries. when i got back, everything was in place-thank goodness! and the spare was where i thought i had left it-double thank goodness!! "mama! is that you?" chaco from behind the gate. silence-maybe if i don't answer he'll think it's the wind or something. and i took off again to see where my keys were.

fingers crossed. i got into the car, and i didn't see the keys in the seat or on the floor or in the ignition..not in the stash compartment-i was starting to sweat a little-oh, but that was just because of the heat-they were hiding in a crack just behind my seat. you must understand, my car is still full of all of my teaching supplies because 3 stories up feels more like the empire state building these days when my hands are full! i returned the spare key and checked for mail (none...maybe it melted).

when i came in, i called to the boys and chaco said, "mama, you missed it! it sounded like the wind or something rummaging through the kitchen drawer!" (i knew it would work..he blames the wind on a lot of things). anyhoo, i went to the refrigerator to get some cold water and this is what i found-kind of funny. let me preface this picture with the fact that my refrigerator has had an issue since i moved here, and i don't want to mess with maintenance or whatever, but it's a cheapy and the water melts from the freezer sometimes, so i have to put a container in there to keep the thing from filling up the vegetable drawers and the bottom of the fridge.

bob, the tomato decided to dive in while it was a pool of water, and then when it turned to ice, he was stuck

the key to success is to not lock the key somewhere unless you have a backup plan....
julie