thanksgiving was great, but Christmas will be even better

today was a good day. i got to see a really cool product that makes me think about a myriad of possibilities! i saw a similar product awhile back, but we were not able to procure it; i've been thinking about it ever since! so today, when we met with a representative face-to-face, it was really exciting to take that off the back-burner again. it's a video/professional development tool that i'm super-excited about!

so, thanksgiving was great times with mom and dad. i was hoping to visit with a few friends in the area, but i wasn't feeling that great- i had sinus, head cold...something that required a box and a half of kleenex...and a methodical mix of sudafed, sinus-cold meds, cough syrup, allergy meds and diet coke... still a little congested. (This is why Christmas will be better-not sick)

the boys were really brave with the cat this trip-as they barked from behind the fence. but once tiger came out, they were yipping and barking like little girls. and tiger just pretty much ignored them. 

on the way home, there was a little accident that held us up for about half an hour right as we were getting back into town. that's the worst! so while we were waiting, this big guy was in front of me, so i couldn't really see a thing. although, there was a miniature door on the rig. there is just something almost magical about miniature doors-what i would give to see a little elf or a fairy jump out of there!

and then behind me, i was mentally high-fiving the driver of the pick-up back there for blocking off the jerks that try to get ahead of everyone and cut in just because they are idiots. 

see him back there? well played, pick-up, well played!

and then when i picked up the mail, i realized that apparently the postman doesn't know alida. oops. i guess last name might have been helpful..address perhaps?? hopefully the second time around it hits its mark!

and i was thrilled that these were in the mail- i LOVE MAIL!! Christmas cards are fun because i love seeing family pics! letters are the BEST-because keeping up is just that link that keeps it real! thank you amber, karla, heidi, jory!

and i am going to post this because i should've done that last month, then i will post again because some really neat stuff is going on right now-but it'll take a minute to get it all thought out!

goodnight! Christmas break has begun!!
julie

when i dress up, people don't usually say 'you clean up well,' they just laugh at me...rude.

i should have planned my time better while in misourri. i have so many special people in the area, yet i spent most of my time at mom and dad's doing school work and just relaxing...

today reminded me of how i need to do better at keeping up with friends! it was a joy and a breath of fresh air to hang out with kristin today and meet her kiddos! they are quite the crew, and i love watching her in their teachable moments!

i meant to get a pic of us today, but here is one of our more memorable moments in college...

not a special event...we just wanted to dress up for dinner...at the steak house.

 when did i start taking myself so seriously? time to have fun again! there is nothing more wonderful than catching up with old friends!

and unfortunately i didn't have time to go to my friend's home to put up the welcome home banner because i had to meet mom and dad in ozark for dinner at lamberts! they had never been there to eat, so they had a treat! i only finished one of my pieces of chicken because they overfeed you with southern cookin'! hot rolls thrown right at your face so that if you miss it, at least it falls on your table.. yum.

and my new friend, who will be making random appearances on the blog...robert de masmines the knight. he met tiger and the mouse tonight.

tiger was unimpressed and told him to put his sword away...(is anyone quoting the office right now?)

but he dominated the mouse!

if i hadn't made plans to come to misourri, i would have gone to austin with others from the fellows cohort on ed-policy reform-it looks like they had a great time and got a priceless experience first hand! the best opportunity for teachers to make a difference in policy is by telling our story to influence the policy makers, or becoming policy-makers ourselves. i cannot wait to hear about it next tuesday! check out pics of what they did here!

so, up bright and early tomorrow to get home at a decent time. next time i will plan more accordingly and give my friends the heads up to see if we can't work out some get-together-time!

pray for safe driving tomorrow!
julie