peachy-bakers, cache-takers, training-trends and miami-friends!

what's been up these days? glad you asked!

since the last time i posted, there may or may not have been a donut-truck incident...thanks to shea's suggestion...yes, i will partake. i mean, who wouldn't want to check out peachey's at 8:00 a.m. (not early for me, but early for some). there were to gals in front of us, and the one who looked middle-school-ish, said i had to try the pretzel, so of course, it ended up being a donut and a pretzel to get the full experience! glad i did, because both items lived up to expectations!!

dripping with sweetness!

yes, please, i will partake! the salt after the sweet #allaboutbalance

this cute little outfit began as a family farm business, and they took their shop on the road- it used to be amish something or other, and they made a wise decision to change their name, as food truck drawn by a horse might not go over as well...check them out on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAmishBakingCompany/

that was friday the 2nd. the next day we went to sarasota to pick up shea's running packet because she was brave enough-or got fanagled into doing a half-marathon; funny how that all panned out...so after we picked up those packets, we stopped in sarasota, since we were down there anyhoo. there were about 3-5 caches in the area, so we walked around town, saw one of the parks, and walked the marina area, finding some neat little hides. it felt like we walked 7 miles, but all said and done it was only like 5. ugh, amazing how walking, standing and searching can be so exhausting!

check out these cool historical buildings/houses! cool little finds in sarasota!

i'd live here for a minute!

at the marina on a beautiful day

iconic

at some point during last week, i got some items in the mail: oriental trading pins (the cheapest and cutest i could find)! these will be amazing little trinkets to put in caches far and wide! my e-trex gps also arrived! thank you southwest points!! so it will be fun trying to figure out how to get my maps to download and get things going with that! (i find myself running my battery down on the phone). 

southwest-the gift that keeps on giving!

the flamingos are adorbs, the pineapples are welcoming, and the flowers...well, they're flowers!

friday i got on a flight to miami, where i was meeting jane to then drive down to marathon, in the keys. the flight there was uneventful. i despise the miami airport with every fiber of my being. i stopped to grab a cuban sandwich while i waited, but it was nasty. not all cuban sandwiches are made the same (i loved the panini one we had in key west). then i made my way to the baggage claim, and then on to the rental car pick-up. once jane arrived, we made our way down to the keys. we stopped at lazy days on the way down, and had some sea food stuffs. i'm such a sucker for a good ocean view with a slight breeze!! in fact, it was so breezy that it blew a couple slices of baguette off the crab-dip plate as the server was bringing it to us...only he didn't notice it had happened. so we ended up having to pile it on to get the correct disbursement.

unbeatable dinner view!

the airbnb guy, robert, called and we gave him our ETA, so that his dad could meet us at the place and show us the ropes. we arrived a bit earlier than expected- probably because i have a lead foot, and it was hard not to drive the dodge 300 like a boss. it was dark by the time we arrived, and then siri told us one thing, but there was no place to park, and the house numbers weren't matching up. we must have driven up and down the little street three times before we finally called robert to get specifics. there was indeed an rv in the driveway, as they were renting that space to someone to park. his dad arrived a few minutes later, and finally we were able to get in and it took longer than necessary to walk us through the basics-he just wanted to be a host and took his responsibilities seriously! #proudpapa

unfortunately we only had a few hours there, once we arrived we worked a little to talk things through, and come up with a final plan, and woke up early enough to hit mcdonald's on the way to training. we had to go around twice. the first round we got my meal and all of our drinks, but they failed to order up correctly, and we were missing 1 hot cakes plate, so we made a second trip around the drive through! uf.

the training went off without a hitch! we had another great group-two of the ladies from last time returned, and even though it was basically the same training, they said they got even more out of it, and were now looking at how to apply what we were going over. i love repeaters, because they were serious! everyone else was new, but they were all tuned in, except that one. at least that 'one' wasn't rude, just there for the stipend, i'm sure.

just a little balanced literacy and istation!

we got out around one and stopped at a cute little lunch place on the way back to miami. the staff were super sweet and the inside was adorably decorated. we were able to make it to our hotel by the airport around 5:15 pm. got checked in, and i made a quick change and headed over to hellen's to have dinner with her and jacy. we had comida tipica- i should've gotten a picture, because hellen fixed up the table to be so cute!! from the table cloth, to the souvenirs, to the food! best beans-baleadas, pupusas and taquitos...yea! we sat around chatting, mixed with some laughter, and then hellen pulled out the videos from senior year! ha!!! good times! a little reminiscing goes a long way! can't wait until we can pull together a little class reunion in miami with more classmates when they happen to be up visiting!

ah, these two! familiarity is comfort!

the next morning came early! jane and i got to the airport and took off in good time.

alright, those of you in relationships, enjoy valentine's day! for the rest of us...pizza and netflix! then off to the candy sales aisle before they start putting out the halloween candy!

julie

when the beverage cart gets the best of your coworker...the one time i'm glad i wasn't in first class

alrighty! what a week.

last sunday, as you may or may not know, i flew across the country to pasco, wa. i originally had about an hour and 1/2 layover. unfortunately, my flight out of tampa was delayed and the conx was going to be very tight, so the guy at the counter kinda' ignored what i was saying (because he knew i was correct-we were set to land after boarding had begun for my flight out of denver). he was at least kind enough to move me forward several rows, even though it was a middle seat. the great thing is that it was a couple, so she moved over and i ended up with an aisle.

i had to bust a move to get from gate 17 to gate 55...a rather sprawling airport. and i was slightly winded and sweating, but i made it just as boarding was beginning, as we'd made up a little time coming into denver.  i saw my colleague and she got ready to board-somehow she'd gotten first class; i was pretty far back (it was where the aisles were when i booked!) the flight was rather uneventful until we landed.

upon landing, something flew by me and i barely glimpsed it out of the corner of my eye. my first thought was luggage had come undone and fallen...but whatever it was didn't thud onto the ground. i leaned into the aisle in time to see the drink catapulting down the aisle at an unbelievable speed! a few voices from my area of the plane shouted,"WATCH OUT!" (fortunately no one careened their head into the aisle as it was passing, because i guarantee it would've broken their neck). fortunately no one had any limbs sticking out into the aisle either.  it came to a stop after crashing into the last seat in first class, which happens to jut out into the main aisle where first class ends (embrair 175).

here's the thing. if the top latch is latched, it seems like the thing isn't getting around that top latch...but if it does, and the brake below is down in lock position, the thing doesn't fly down the aisle, right? if the break is on, it falls forward and slides down....sketchy.... 

i was trying to recreate my entrance onto the plane...i'd passed by my colleague, but which seat exactly had she been in? as we were taxiing to a gate, the flight attendants hustle to the incident and once we actually pulled up, we were instructed to remain seated. then i heard my name over the intercom, and i was asked to get my belongings and try to help my co-worker. so we waited and then the wheelchair arrived. first off the plane!! (not the way you want to do it). once we got inside, the airport sheriff was there to take a report, and before he'd gotten all the information he needed, the emt crew showed up and began taking vitals and checking stuff. moments later they hauled her off in a gurney, and another officer accompanied me to get luggage and my rental car. she told me which hospital i needed to go to, and marked it on a map-super helpful.

once i got the car, i had to try to figure out the bluetooth pairing so i could make a couple calls to work. unfortunately it was sunday, and i wasn't sure who'd be available-i just wanted to let someone...anyone know. messages. i left messages. after picking her up, we went to the hotel and checked in- thumbs up, it was very nice and the perfect location! we didn't even have to make a fuel purchase, because everything was within a 2 mile radius! shout-out to all you small towns! 

once we'd checked in, we went to mexico lindo for dinner and it was fabulous! it felt like 5, but it was only like 2:30...the weather was overcast and 30's, and 2:30 looked much later in washington state than it does in florida. this weather makes my boss happy, but not so much my cup-o-hot chocolate. we ended up getting back to the hotel around 4, and i was like, "good night!" (seriously). i took a few minutes to write up an email to let HR and our vp of professional development know exactly what had happened. and i did go to bed rather early.

which led to waking up early-4:30 am early...and when i couldn't get back to sleep, it was nice to have gotten a call to occupy some of my time until breakfast opened! but hey, once 6:00 rolled around, i was in the dining area, making good of the buffet! and writing more of my Christmas cards! i was there until around 8, when my coworker made it down- eye still hurting, and a bit of a headache. so after we finished with breakfast, she went back to make some calls and take a nap. around lunch time, i offered to run out for some lunch and get some supplies for the training. our training was to take place from 4:15-7:15...late night!

i ended up doing the presentation portion of the training, as she was still feeling a little light-headed/sore eye...and she fielded questions and helped individuals. it was a mixed level group, but we had a good session. while perhaps some people do, i rather don't enjoy the set-up in college campuses with the lecture room. the other thing about college campuses is that usually we have a bit of playing around to do trying to get the equipment and sound working!

once we were finished, we made our way quickly back to the hotel and it was time for bed, because our flight was a 5:05 boarding...pretty sure we left the hotel around 4:15. and arrived at the gate in time for breakfast to-go and boarding! uneventful, home by 6!

stay tuned and i'll tell you the tale of the flip-flops very soon!
julie

if i have to do a saturday training, at least it was in the keys!

friday i flew into key west to meet one of my colleagues, as we had a training in marathon. we opted to fly into EYW and drive the short hour north. next time, we may just fly into MIA and drive south, catch the keys from both sides! i'm glad we flew into key west, as jane had been there before on a cruise stop, and knew to find some of the fun spots to visit, so we detoured on in, and parked the car for a bit to walk around and take in some of the sites!

southernmost point!

airport-eyw

statue man blowing his conch shell-should have read more of the history plaque and committed it to memory...

 

it was great to see the repairs and restoration that has already taken place. obviously the first call of duty had been to clean up and work on the tourist-y areas, and evidence of irma in town was minor. it wasn't until you were near the coast, and headed up hwy 1 that you saw the piled up debris and several boats that had be salvaged...and there was plenty of that between key west and marathon. it just takes a bit longer to remove everything when you're on islands with one main drag in and out!

but don't let that hinder you from visiting if you were considering it! the sea food is still delicious, the shops are still up and running, the weather is to die for this time of year!

as we were driving up to marathon, we got a text from one of our very thoughtful colleagues, who is very familiar with the keys. pam gave us several great dining suggestions! the one that we chose in marathon was the keys fisheries. when we arrived, we went upstairs and found a seat, then realized that this was the RAW Seafood bar...well, we weren't in the mood for anything on the raw menu, so we figured maybe we were in the wrong place and made our way back downstairs, where a gentleman pointed us in the right direction. the menu on the wall looked a lot closer to what we were craving!

jane went with the lobster reuben, which was touted as their most popular item, and i opted for the fish tacos. yum! the food was great, and the view was not half bad, either!

the following morning, we got to the marathon high school for the training, and fortunately there was man pulling in and he pointed us in the right direction-we had pulled into the first lot, and it was actually the 2nd lot, in the attached middle school. we got set up, figured out the technology, without any help (they were impressed-we were impressed...each site has their own tech set-up, so you never know what to expect)!

we had a pretty good turnout, and jane began the session, and it ran longer than expected,because the teachers had questions, and we wanted to make sure they had the answers! so i kept looking at the clock to figure out how to adjust my session and what to cut...i started to get nervous, but we ended up making it work and changed the original rotation, where everyone would see each station, to a jigsaw, meaning they would work in their station and share out, and i would provide a debrief for the session. the goal being to not drag them through a long boring powerpoint. we had some good conversation and ended on a good note!

i was a little bummed that we didn't get to do the 'fun' piece due to time! we were going to have a jumble word game throughout the session to tie up each station...no worries, i've saved it for next time!

we did get to end with a sentence stem activity, though, which is always good for our english learners to work on sentence structure!

we ended up getting out on time, and headed back to key west, my flight was a 5:15, jane's a 7:10, so we had time to stop and grab lunch-found parking in front of a delicious little panini shop. we both had the cuban, and the flavors were such a great combination!! hoping to go there again on the next visit! i need to just take a trip down for fun and not work to have more time to explore and play around!

upon arriving at the airport, my flight was delayed, so we ended up having great conversation at the restaurant in the airport- it was great working with Jane to get a different perspective and catch up on the areas that she's been working in! plus, i get a little insight on what's going on in the disd network! looking forward to the next adventure!

the one thing i missed out on because of the training was the Christmas gathering in miami with friends! that was a bummer. i'd already booked my tickets (non-refund), and there was no turning back! planning is everything! (there was an inspirational email about preparing the other day! next time i will prepare to see friends on the front side, or backside of the trip, depending on when it falls!) 

it's december!! still waiting for my Christmas cards to arrive! this one is on the post office, because i tracked it, and ups did their job...i'm going to be very  upset if they aren't in my box tomorrow! dear usps, don't make me come down there!

'tis the season!
julie

some pd after the storm

it was fun to get back into some training after irma. cue up first session back... it was good to get to work with pam and michele. you can't please everybody all the time...and i've learned from experience as a teacher that elementary teachers and middle school/high school teachers are just different breeds. they have different perspectives and needs. makes sense. it's always interesting when one session feels like playing with baby sloths, hedgehogs and kittens and another session feels like hellen keller trying to navigate the fire swamp and fire swamp rats... but we did it with a smile and class.

when they really like the colors so they take your numbers...

sharing out

working through reports-around the world

having fun with alex!

then michele and i were off to miami 2 days later. we had a short flight to fll, and met up with joyce and alicia and headed to the hotel-after poncing on one of the two available suv rentals. we found the hotel easily, and tried to check in, but it was too early, so we left the luggage, and went to grab a bite to eat at a little spanish restaurant around the corner. it was nothing to write home about (mom, that's why you didn't receive a letter). then we took the long way to find the training site (because we missed a turn or two or five...) anyhoo, we found it and then headed back to the hotel to do the REAL check-in!

i think a alicia and joyce took advantage of the pool (or at least they had mentioned it), and i took a nap, because napping is my favorite thing!! then alicia knocked (she and michele were in rooms across the hall), and she showed me some of the great little prize bags she'd put together and brought for our participants. i truly did appreciate that because i just don't have items for give-aways, and the participants really appreciated them!

then we all got together and discussed dinner. we went to the same strip mall we'd been to earlier to try the recommended steak and seafood place. it was also mediocre. the garlic toast before-hand was akin to the bread that i leave out to dry for bread crumbs...the kind where when you take a bite, crumbs spew out everywhere and there's no getting them off your black shirt, don't even bother. then we ordered the smashed plantain tostones, expecting exactly that, but what we received were mariquitas de platano...like legit chips straight from the bag. and when they offered tortillas, alicia asked if they were made there, and the lady laughed and said, "no, walmart!" not even lying. the flan and 4leches were pretty good.

we hit up the nearest grocery store for some lunch items for the next day, because we didn't see anything in the area the day before, and knew we wouldn't have a lot of time to go get anything. when we got back to the hotel, the parking lot and the garage were full, which was strange. so we finally found a spot over the river, through the woods, across the prairie...as we got out and started toward the hotel, someone was coming up the stairs and we asked if there was a special event going on. the young lady looked at us with disdain and said, "it's church." as if we should have know they were having services in the hotel.. she almost said it in such a way that she maybe should've gone back to get more love in her heart for others... so i went back to the car to secure a closer parking spot as people were leaving, because we knew we'd be tight on time in the morning.

the following morning, we were up bright and early, and the restaurant didn't open until 7am...we had complimentary breakfast, so we weren't going to pass that up, as there were no real restaurants on the way. joyce and i walked in, and the lights were dimmed, and we stood there for a second until the manager behind the bar doing inventory acknowledged us and just stood there looking at us. we smiled and said we knew it wasn't open until 7, we were 10 minutes early, could we just find a seat and wait til they were ready? he looked at us without saying anything and so i added, "or would you rather we waited outside?" he (not very nicely i might add) said he would prefer that. so we waited.

alicia joined us after getting stuck on the elevator temporarily-just not a great way to start the morning! when she mentioned it to the fella at the front desk, he said oh, it happens. as if it were a normal thing. for the love. then as soon as the clock struck 7, we were at the door pointing at our watches, it was almost like the runners at the beginning of a race, or shoppers at the door on black friday. we got our food from the buffet and scarfed it down so that we could get on the road.

once we arrived, we found a parking spot at the front of the building and people were beginning to arrive..we waited patiently, alicia and michele had a nice little dance-with alex to an 80s song, and then we saw the coordinator and found our way to the room we were to be working in. we got everything set up and ready, but then we had to wait because after people ate donuts, someone came in from the school with bagels and other breakfast stuff, and everyone from the other training came over and they all had second breakfast. michele and i just grinned and beared it...bared it....bore it...waited. once we were able to get started, it went well-almost everyone was new, and so they were able to see how it would benefit them. both sessions went well, and it was great to have alicia and joyce there for the feedback and to provide additional information!

because sometimes ya just gotta' dance it out

cafecito-delectable!

there was about to be some weather at the end of the day, and we were supposed to end at 3:30, but someone popped their head in and said we had to clear the building by 3:00 (it was a church), and so we had to fast track the ending, but we weren't complaining! this was assurance that we would all make our flights home without having to be rushed.

we bid farewell to joyce and michele, then alicia and i found a great little pizza joint before going our separate ways. it was a good trip.

coming up soon-more florida adventures-
julie

finally january comes to an end, and we can get on with it!

i got the text early tuesday morning, and joined julie to go get our breakfast at starbucks. she needed the extra hands, as sabrina was somewhat incapacitated-so we were looking for some medicine, as well. we got everything we needed, and again saw sketchy activity in the back parking lot near starbucks-pretty sure ju was looking in the rear-view mirror, thoroughly expecting to be followed by a drug dealer in a pick-up truck. no need to worry, we were not gunned down, nor were we followed by any suspicious characters!

we set right to work when we got back to the convention hall, as we were down one. ju took sabrina the meds, and we prayed for a quick come-back! everything got started on time, and without a hitch. sabrina and julie started with the problem-solving process, and set me up to do a quick review of goal setting (settin' a sister up for success)-it went well; although with this big a crowd, the pauses were longer so that folk could get the assistance they required. thanks girls, i really do appreciate the way you set me up for positive successes! you are making me better-

of course, the girls deferred a few questions to lori through the course of the two days, as there were some particular questions best answered by the boss. day two had a smooth flow, as we tweaked it, according to the feedback.

creative cropping- ju said no as i was taking the pic, so i am honoring that request...

we're all just jokers here! (cris, good job setting up the card-collaboration! sabrina had mentioned it, so it was good to see it applied!) 

 lori and i left early, as we both had to get back to dallas (i was to be in waco the next evening). so we got a taxi to the airport, and i don't know if it struck lori as funny or not, but the taxi driver was a hispanic lady in rhinestone blue jeans and an off-the-shoulder shirt...i thought to myself:

 1. she was the wife of the actual taxi driver who was busy in the bathroom and yelled, "hon, can you take the taxi and deliver a couple o' ladies to the airport?" (don't think she lifted a finger to help with the luggage) and the other thought:

2. she reminded me of marissa tomei in my cousin vinny...no matter, we arrived regardless.

we arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare, so we stopped at the restaurant while waiting. i always enjoy free time to sit and chat, and lori always provides great conversation! at one point the conversation went something like this:
lori: if you could live anywhere, where would you live?
me: well...i'd actually considered moving to florida not too long ago (even last year, before this opportunity with Istation came along). 
lori: oh, really?! (pause, think) perhaps that's something the company might be willing to offer a moving stipend for, as florida is a strategic location to have a trainer on the ground there...if you're still interested, i could have that discussion with the 'powers that be.'
me: interesting...well, yes, check into it and let me know!

FF>> (a week or two) an email arrives to the entire training team. of course i respond, but at this point i still had to talk to some people (to convince myself perhaps), and it took a minute to schedule a conversation with our 401k guy.

 anyhoo, this past monday, i knew it was time to either jump in, or not. so i emailed to let lori know that i was in. and about 30 minutes after that, the 401k guy called to set up a time to talk. funny how things work out. and then we set up a time to talk about the logistics of moving. once that was done, everything now will be going at hyper-speed.

i've begun to do some preliminary packing, and planning. hoping that by the end of the month i will have found a place to live in bradenton...and will be moved there by the end of july. i've been dreaming of this since this trip! (more here and here) ...yes. this is where my heart is, and i am ready for the next chapter!

change is the process by which the future invades our lives. -alvin toffler

so there you have it!

all that said, i've kinda' pulled you up to date, but there are still some fun feb/march stories to tell, so those will be on the way!

julie

some meeting, some training, some..duck?

dooo-tee-doooo...so...then came january.

fresh out 'o the gates, we had a tx success meeting of the minds, to go over what this next round would look like. i warned them in advance that i was there as comic relief, so i hope they weren't expecting too, too much on that day. in all seriousness, jane had pretty much laid out a plan, as the changes were not super significant due to course descriptions. that said, we looked over the power point, mixed-it -up, brought in some additional resources, tweaked it a bit, cocked our heads sideways to look at it, then to the other side (kinda' like bruno does when we're conversing and he's trying to understand)...squinted, gave our two cents worth....i mumbled to megan that i was going to the bathroom (not that she cared, or that it was protocol to let her know where i was headed), but she must have heard me wrong... "what? you're going to get a beer?" (funny girl-i think she was projecting what she wished she wanted to do!). so much going on in one little room, and for the first half of the day, there seemed little method to the madness, which tends to drive a kid nuts, but in the afternoon we were able to tie it all up and felt good about what we had and that was that.

FF mid jan-off to abilene, tx with jane s, for my first training of the new year. i drove, as it took about as much time as messing with flights would've taken, and it was a nice drive-glad i did it, as i don't believe i have taken that route before. some nice scenery. we arrived at pretty much the same time, and found a great little chinese/japanese place where she had been before with, i believe she said, nettie. it was delicious.

very good-i would venture to this establishment again

? idk, it's kinda' like a mixture between an asian wait-staff who wants to remain anonymous, and the mysterious marfa lights...?

and it seems no sooner did i return from that training, than i was off to kilgore with ginger. we talked on the phone at length and then met up at HQ to ride together. it was a good trip-always enlightening. she told me about her up-coming vacation trip with her girls (which, i might add, she is currently on-that's how long this has taken me!! and it looks and sounds like she is having a blast and making wonderful memories! so happy for her!) kilgore was a treat-it's all about the restaurants, if you notice. the evening we arrived, we were in search of something, and there really wasn't anything right there in our neck of the woods, so we ended up in longview at a 'cafe' which served hotdogs and hamburgers. don't knock it, the hamburgers were great! and you go up to get your own fixin's...while you wait, you can grab a bowl 'o' beans. and so we did. but the best part was on the way out, choosing a dessert that would seal the deal. i always gravitate toward the caramel/pecan/truffle type. and while i do not recall exactly what ginger ended up with, i do remember coveting it...

we got together in my room and went through the power point to determine how we were going to present the next day and came up with a plan. fail-proof right? right...the day went smoothly and our little group seemed highly engaged...but (say it with me, now) 'there's always that ONE'...at least she was a sweet one. she really had questions about the math, which we weren't addressing, as it is not part of TX Success, but ginger did converse with her separately toward the end.

we came home and the next day i drove out to ft. worth to work with jane s and de An again. it was good times. de an brought starbucks, which is the perfect way to start any day! the one thing i had noticed the night before was that for some reason, the beginner 101 was set for the p.m. and the beyond the basics was set for the a.m. it's hard to go beyond the basics before getting to know the basics...so we did the prelim-who is just here for the beyond, who is here all day? and split them up, as there were only about 4-5 who felt they were not in need of basics, and just wanted to jump into the beyond. jane found a spot to work with them, as de an and i worked with the 101 group. several had been to the fall training, but when it came down to nuts and bolts, the learned new things, as always because there's just a lot of information that usually one time around the block doesn't allow you to take everything in and absorb it! so it was a good crowd, albeit rough, as we were dealing with people unable to install on their chrome-books (the whole update-thing and admin rights to push it from their bldg), so we made do with our ipads! pretty sure i was sweating that day (did you see it, de an? did ya feel the heat?!) 

i'm thinking we did wendy's for lunch because it was close, and subconsciously because they have frosty's...and we may have turned prematurely and puttered around in a parking lot looking for where the maze would connect with our lot. it did not...so back to the main drag to try it again. uf.

and we thought we were good to go in the afternoon, with only one new individual...but after about 15 minutes, it was visible that she was NOT having a good time. de an came over and mentioned it, so i took the lady out in the same area jane had been to go over the 101 (which she had come for-completely unfamiliar with Istation, except that some of her teachers loved it. she was district level, and wanted more information). so we had a little 1-on-1 session, and she left with a whole lot of information, and was able to see what all the hype was about and why her teacher was championing it.

and then we went our separate ways.

but there is another story of january. it's the story of my duck. i'd taken the dogs out walking, and in our pond out back, there was a handsome group of ducks, and then there was one. the one seemed to be a long time with its head under water...i guessed it was catching fish, or just looking at them...whatever.  when we came back around about 15 minutes later, it was with its head underwater once again.

first time

again-hard to see...

FF 1 week. i see the same duck (smaller than the rest), leaning on its side. i think, 'hmm. it must be dead or very sick) but i really couldn't tell because of the shadows.

FF 2 weeks. i see the same duck still leaning on its side, and i'm pretty certain it's dead. at this point, it really was disturbing, and i was wondering why no one else had mentioned it, or done anything about it. so i mention it to the gal up front at our office. i asked her, "are there fake ducks in the pond? because either there is a dead duck, or one of the fake-ys is malfunctioning."  "I don't think so," she replied, "but i'll ask maintenance and have them check on it." FF my walk back i notice that one of the bigger, prettier ducks has come to the wall. and none of them are paddling as a normal duck would, they are merely bobbing...so, yeah. my fake malfunctioning duck.

for the kid walking by, no worries, he's just sleepin.

FF MARCH malfunctioning sideways duck still struggles.

next up, i did have a birthday, and then i went to abq-tell ya' more about that real soon! it's about to get interesting! have a great weekend, and for those of you who are starting spring break, enjoy and be safe!! come back relaxed!

julie

when the newbies get together...we laugh and learn and laugh some more

ok, so that last post..i thought that i'd posted it a couple weeks ago! what in the WORLD?! so, so much has happened since..stick with me kids!

so after a great weekend, we had newbie training the following week on wed/thurs, and that really threw me off days wise, because when friday came around i thought it was thursday all day long until i went to set my alarm for the next morning...i'd even planned my day out and planned to go down to get my background check and finger-printing done...until i realized that my alarm wasn't set to go off for 2 days...but back to the training!

the girls-randi, angelica and deAn (dee-ann) came into town on tuesday, so i met them for dinner and a welcome! so, what better welcome than to satisfy their craving for the cheesecake factory?! sacrifices. dinner was delish-randi and i shared some appetizers; and there was much laughter. but let's not kid ourselves...the salted caramel cheesecake had been becknoing, taunting, singing an alluring, mythical, enchantment like fairies in the enchanted forest of some disney movie since the moment we crossed paths. and it did not disappoint! so rich, so decadent i felt like doing the decadence dance...not unlike extreme with their 80's big hair. the drawback-over-satisfaction hanging out in some area of the body not quite to the stomach cavity-i felt like i should be jumping up and down to try to get dessert to settle. this must end...

we did spend some time in the container store afterward as well, and there was oooohing and aaaahhhhing. i found some stuff i didn't need (always do), and randi was a doll-she got us all sturdy receipt envelopes and name-tag holders. #thoughtful

the next morning began with a short briefing with lori, our version of 'commander in chief' of training, and got our hearts settled. and we received some fun apparel-t-shirts!! sweet! then we worked through some of the learning we'd been receiving with suzanne facilitating, and began going over various reports and explanations, maneuvering through the website. lunch was lovely-whole foods makes excellent sandwiches and chips, and then we delved back into learning and working together. janet was only with us for the day, as she had to take of the next day, but it was great having her with us for the short time as she was able to enlighten and share some stories and tips. and to top it off, we also received these great sweatshirts, which is perfect, because all i currently have are hoodies, and the hoods are sooo heavy!

morning 2- lori was able to join us again to get the morning started, and once again suzanne continued the session as we got more in depth into what we were learning, and more apparel was brought in-this time: oxfords-unfortunately the size left was...XXL. so, no oxford for me. it's ok...save the tears, ya'all! i also got an assignment to go with ginger to cleburne while we were there, so i got that on the calendar. we had a great training session, and it was good to all be together again-shenanigan girls...

not gonna' lie, i love going into the offices and seeing all of the istation art-work! such talented individuals we have!!

hmm...i spy...lori and suzanne!

on saturday, i decided that i was going to do something amazing. i was going to make my own bath bombs! so i looked them up and went to get all of the ingredients, and tried to decide what one would use these for:

security dummies to put by the window...dummies for the car (HOV lane!)...

day of the dead!

while i was there, i got a txt from nicolette, and we ran some errands-i take advantage of friend time even more now that i don't get to see them as often! among these errands we went looking for food to cook for the week...this is not an easy feat when dealing with this one! mostly because she is legit louisiana chick, and she was pretty adamant about the sausage. i get it. nothing beats the original when you are trying to cook a regional dish. and i know how they are about their rice and beans with richard sausage (ree-shard, not like richard simmons). but she did settle on something and was willing to make a compromise-it sure looked good, but i'm guessing next time it will be richards.

oh, and pretty much everywhere we stopped, i was looking around for citric acid. not even kidding, we looked in the baking section, by the epsom salt in the pharmacies, you name it, we looked for it-but to no avail. this was one of the necessities for the bath bombs. i don't know how many times i said, "okay, this is the last place i'll look!" and more on the bath bomb experience later!

next up: cleburne, top golf, labor day and utah
but not tonight!

julie

old news...i'm late..i'm late...for a very unimportant,trivial, blog-date!

friday morning we had a training in tulia, which was a tiny drive from lubbock. it was great driving up there with sarah! we got to catch up and she was able to share the background of the schools we would be working with. although we didn't see any jackelopes, nor any other type of wildlife, a gentleman did later tell us about a his run-in with a bird of prey. he arrived late to the training because this bird dive-bombed him and then went flying up 20 ft and then fell to the ground. he felt so guilty that he was actually thinking about going back to check what kind of bird it actually was. we told him just to pretend it was a pheasant and be done with it-no worries. he didn't return for the afternoon training, so perhaps he actually did go back to check on it...?

doing some station-activities with reports

this one-she makes me smile laugh! truly enjoy working with her!!

the training went well and almost everyone returned after the lunch break, minus that one lady who entered and her first words were: WHAT? THIS IS AN ALL DAY TRAINING?! (body language suggested that her mind was processing some inaudible filthy language) but everyone else was very pleased that they stayed, because we had some really good information about the reports, and they found it useful.

after all was said and done, we made our way back to the airport. my original flight was scheduled to leave at 8:50 pm, but when i got there, i stopped at the ticket counter, and heard the lady say that they'd been on a ground stop in dallas, and the 2 earlier flights hadn't left yet, so i asked her to put me on standby. as was making my way up to the gate, there was a man who was running late, so i told him to chill, the flights had been delayed. he looked at me and said i looked very familiar, so the only things i mentioned were dallas isd and kanakuk (the two places i'd probably have the most contact with the largest number of people). nope, so i let it drop and went to the gate, thinking i wouldn't have to deal with him again. my southwest app said i had a boarding spot (b17), but the lady at the gate said no, that i was on standby and had a boarding spot for the later flight...hmm, ok, whatever.

 the time kept getting pushed back so finally i got a personal pizza and when i went to sit down, the guy i met at security (damon) brought his culinary purchase and sat at the table next to me and began to strike up conversation. so we discussed what he was doing in lubbock-interviewing for a chief IT position with the district. anyone who has followed this blog for a time knows that i do not LOVE small talk. unfortunately i happen to be really good at it, and the conversation kept prolonging itself until finally he finished his food and decided it might be important to go back and check on the flight. i might have been more inclined to keep the conversation going, but guy had a ring..and braces (which made him look 15) so i allowed for ample separation time to try to ensure that we didn't run into each other again. nice guy, but i was out of conversation. the lobby was so cold that i had to go grab some coffee to warm my hands (note to self-start bringing hand warmers).

finally around 7:15 they decided to allow the 2:40 flight to board (they'd already cxld the dallas portion of the 2nd flight and sent them on to nashville).  so i again approached the counter, and the same lady from before said no, i didn't have a boarding spot, step to the side with the other standbys, and wait. and then pony tail agent approached and began to help and started to clear passengers. after she'd cleared about 12 passengers-NONE OF THEM ME...she looked at her list and said into her radio that they were about to clear the last two standbys because there were two no-shows...she said my name and another, and i stepped up and said that's me! i just didn't have the boarding ticket-she said well, you should! here-and printed it. i wanted to crane my neck to look at the other agent behind her who was saying i didn't have a boarding spot (because she was still trying to tell ponytail that i didn't have a boarding ticket) i wanted to wag my finger and say, "shame on you!" from now on--just trust the app. anyhoo, no hard feelings, i got on the flight, and we finally got off (good thing because the later flight, my original, the 8:50 was cxld as well).

as i was walking down the jet bridge, the flight attendant met me at the plane and before she could even say anything, i said, "i have to gate check it, don't i?" she nodded, and had a tag, so i knelt down because i keep my lock and key to lock it up just in case and she was pretty impressed (doesn't take much), and i expressed my frustration, because i would've been on the plane in plenty of time to get a spot that would accommodate my bag, but they screwed up inside. and then i found a middle seat not too far from the front of the plane. after a few minutes, she made an announcement about the bag that they were going to gate check and i waved, she told me they found a spot for it-actually in the overhead right in front of me. am i the lucky one, or what? so i pulled out a card and found the starbucks gift card that i try to keep on-hand for just such occasions, and expressed my gratitude for her listening and making an effort.

upon arrival, the whole thing seemed like a repeat of the previous friday-groundhog day-trainers edition. so once we were finally afforded a gate, and able to deplane (go ahead, say it like tattoo-fantasy island), i was able to get home and once again, driving home at 10:30 pm, exhausted, thinking about people who were probably on their way out for the evening- i was dying to put my head on my pillow!

then saturday i picked up the boys and spent some time chatting with joanne. then we relaxed at home and that evening i got to do dinner with solange and the crowd to give a farewell for her twins who were going off to start college! every time we get together, the group feels a little more comfortable, and it keeps me up to date with my spanish-smile. snuffers fried pickles never disappoint (the taste-buds..they disappoint the scale, and my thighs, but never the taste-buds).

sunday funday consisted in a 6-hour poster-making-marathon with nafia and nicolette. we had a delicious breakfast of blueberry waffles, sausage, hashbrowns and fruit-great company, funny conversations, laughter, and we finished a ton of posters! then i made my way home and was able to help nicolette with some name-tag/ofishally first grade tags-and looking for a special beginning-of-the-year book (which target, walmart and barnes and noble were all out of)...oops. hopefully she was home in time to get a good nights rest for her first day of school!

i hope all of my dallas school friends have had a great start back to school!!
julie

serious about driving, training, eating (especially eating), and good talks; friends whether you like it or not

tuesday morning, so yes, i do get up early, as i am a morning person...early to breakfast, means i have some leisurely time-i'd rather be real early and have that time, than be rushed and all last-minute-y. we took off early enough in a tight little caravan of three cars to figure out a parking scenario in which we didn't have to walk a gazilion and one miles (while i love the old:I'M GONNA BE by the proclaimers, by no means did i have any desire to "walk 500 miles"). so we left the 'seasoned trainers' and randi, angelica and i set off to retrieve the cars and drive around to a central parking location. once we got there, we had to figure out the parking meter app, and accidentally put in the rental car number instead of the license plate # the first hour...but then changed it in the app-hopefully no one came by to scan the cars in the first hour...yikes. we meandered around the campus like we were on AMAZING RACE, and once we found our assigned peeps, we helped them settle in for the morning session.

i was having to be super time-conscious to "feed-the-meter" to add time for our by-the-hour parking app. so i got to hang with joyce for our trainings this round, and while it deviated from our "normal" trainings" (although, what really is normal? thank you very much), there is always something to be learned! we battled the technical difficulties (with the grace of a high-functioning drunk panda bear)...we plugged the podium power in. it went smoothly, but lets be clear, these teachers were HARD-CORE-SERIOUS about their lunch-time...i mean, olympic time-keeper-serious! (but i am too), which led to our NASA-style countdown timer on day 2. i'm sure in her heart of hearts, joyce wanted to stay one extra day and give it a try to see if she could shave off another two minutes, but since our flights had already been booked...ok, maybe not..but back to that first session. once we finished, we channeled our dale earnhardt jr...jeff gordon...richard petty-you pick...and hoofed it over to the other campus. a little rushed, but safe, and smooth. once again, we took our chances to find vip parking...and to our pleasure, they provided parking passes! the parking gods were watching out for us. fortunately we retained our same facilitator for all of the sessions-she was a gem. not even being sarcastic, we could be friends! end day one session two.

driving back to the hotel had to happen, so we knew the hotel was on zuni street...we may have been too..tired (better than lazy, right?) to look up the exact address, so for whatever god-forsaken reason, when you just put in the street name with no address, the gps map takes you wherever it wants to on that street...we had one other car following us, and we certainly took the scenic route because gps maps gonna take you for a ride! eventually we did opt to put the address in and got rerouted to the hotel to drop a passenger and consolidate vehicles. during the scenic route, one of the ladies in the car behind us texted. and alicia asked, "why is she texting us?" my response, "because she didn't want to tap it out in morse-code with the lights." that may have been the turning point of appreciation for my humor with alicia. we share a delicate affinity for sarcastic humor. actually, i prefer to view it as clever, well-timed wit...anyoo, we arrived at rio grande for dinner and 3 from our group were already there, with a table, and they had already ordered apps and requested from our magnanimous leader a special dinner-approval for intentional bonding. smile. it was delicious, and it was especially nice to be able to laugh and get to know the crew a bit.

drove past rei, and certainly wished i could go in! wished i had limitless funds to purchase hiking, climbing, etc. gear and had the time to go out to play!! such a tease!

toward the end of dinner, i received a call from one of my friends from dallas who needed to talk-i could tell something was up on the home-front, so it was an important conversation. #alwaysthereforfriends

when everyone finished, we made our way back to our hotel and i had an opportunity to hang out with three other trainers in the breezeway outside of the rain-it was quality. taking opportunities to get to know everyone better, because who knows when we see each other again. i loved getting to have a little heart-to-heart with julie. you have to understand that we are the same person. ok...not really, but she was julie robinson first at istation; now she is julie k, and i'm the new julie r...which i'm sure is confusing as all get-out to some...but in all seriousness, it's a little comical how much we actually do have in common. she's one i really did want to get to know better, because we were on the light blue team together (remember this); we didn't really get enough time to talk at the conference, but i was really impressed by her knowledge, so (unbeknownst to her...poor, unsuspecting soul) i decided then and there that as sure as the sun rises in the east earth rotates in such a manner as to create the semblance of the sun rising in the east...we were going to be friends.

at some point while we were chatting, julie had to go up to their room to use the restroom, and she came back visibly shaken. (goosebumps and all). she asked if we'd gone up or not. nope. hadn't moved an inch. so when she told us her story, it was like a continuation of the weirdness that had transpired in brian's room. she said she was in the bathroom and heard the distinct sound of the front door opening and closing. she didn't think too much, but started to call out for sabrina, thinking she'd come back up for something...she was the only one with the key-card. no one answered, she repeated, "sabi?" and she said she heard an audible "hi, hi" in a soft, raspy voice...but when she walked out-nothing. ew...got goosebumps when she told us, before she rushed out of the room, she turned around, and said in no uncertain terms, "in the name of Jesus, i command you to leave!" then she rushed down to where we were and asked if we'd been up there- obviously creeped out, because wouldn't you be? great. i signed up for the haunted training trip. i knew before we left that it was not going to be normal, but this? a little warning next time, peeps #notevenhalloweenyet ...but that led into a pretty deep conversation that diverged and branched off into two conversations before resuming into a single flow of conversation again. it really was enlightening, and i cherish that time...priceless.

we wandered off to bed, so that we could wake up the next morning for the next round of sessions. and there were no strange paranormalities to speak of when we woke up the next morning...thankfully so!

julie

the boys went to the casino, i drove. reminded that without God, i suck. thank you.

before school started, sunday night, i was restless and bored. the boys knew it, so they asked if i'd take them for a drive. and so i did! i'll often just take off up the toll road, but this time, i decided that there was really no reason to limit myself and pay for it! so we headed up 35. i wasn't really keeping track of where exactly we were at what time-and i don't think i realized that the oklahoma border was really as close as it was. when the music is good, these things don't even matter. before we knew it, we were at the casino...at that point, i really should've called bmayes and had her meet us in ardmore for a late ihop date--who says you can't act like a college student, years removed? i mean, she is still actively participating in all things college, while playing sorority games, so she could handle it and is probably used to it!

we weren't too far from italy and new york...? the boys didn't understand why they couldn't go in, as they really felt they were prepared for a little black jack after watching my dad play solitaire...i guess to dogs, cards are cards...

school started back up on monday, and i was certainly ready. not so much ready to work, but ready to be around people so that i could appreciate coming home to be alone. does that make sense? tonight i was reminded that i really do like being around people, but really i don't like just being around any-ol'-people, i mostly like to be around certain types of people-people who share the same values...not that i don't like people who don't share the same values and that i won't hang out with them, but the people who actually do energize me, my inner circle (which is small) are those who have a very similar set of beliefs. don't judge.

something else that was brought to my attention tonight was something that i really don't think of very often as often as i should. i think a lot of it is in the messaging, and it was good to humble myself within the message. i am going to agree with one of my friends- there is nothing about me that would be nice, were it not for God. my words, my actions, if it weren't for God, i don't think i'd be a happy person. life is full of too many disappointments to be truly peaceful and joyful without God. i'm so thankful i got to hear that tonight, because sometimes i put more stock in myself and forget that really, me without God = hot mess. thank you.

yesterday was day two of pd with no students, and i was supposed to present for writing, but we ended up with one group. nafia, a teacher and dear friend from my school had also been asked to present. now, i LOVE presenting and doing these trainings, in part, because i am a performer-i remember after a piano recital in 9th grade, my piano teacher approached me and didn't comment on my tantalizing agility and the dexterity of my phalanges...nope, she approached me and said, "julie, a parent came up and said you'd be a great actress with that type of presence." umm..thank you? i wasn't even sure what to say, so i just pretended it was a good thing...but i digress. i do so enjoy being in front of people, but this was an opportunity to let one of my teachers shine and take the lead in a subject area that she truly loves. i was proud to see her flow through it, and there were moments that i was able to help out with certain areas that she was not as familiar with-it was fun, and hopefully we will get more opportunities to present together in the future.

then i ran last night a little over a mile (gotta' keep working on this so that i can be ready for the firefly fun race in march!) but then i continued to walk the three more miles home, and i tried to run again, but my knee said no, so i walked until i was about 3/4 mile from home and i said, "knee, you don't have a choice, let's go!" and so we went, and today i am feeling every single year of my age! yikes. so today is an off day, and i am hoping that tomorrow brings rain so i can blame the rain for an off day..just sayin'.

seriously though, if i hadn't stopped, i could've kept going; my body was able, my mind is weak. but once i stopped, i was going to switch to interval running the rest of the way, but for real, the knee...i must take aleve before my next outing-i'm sure that will help. also i now know that i need to just keep going until i really cannot, otherwise i won't be able to just pick up again so quickly (hopefully it was just a weird night).

the kids came back today, so there was noise. the down side- i cannot jog down the hallway to my room to get what i need, as i have to be a model of all things elementary-school-appropriate. sigh. so fast walk it is.

and...i may or may not have made a purchase that i am super excited about! thank you bmayes! my keurig is great, although recently, i'll have to agree with b, it seems that my coffee has been a bit watered down. so i am really excited about my soon to be new aeropress because in the words of b: ALL THE HIPSTER COFFEE SNOBS SAY AMAZING THINGS ABOUT IT SO IT SEEMS LEGIT. that sold me. see video here. i am like a kid waiting for Christmas...only not really at all. i'm like an adult waiting for a better coffee. much better!

goodnight!
julie