chaco thinks he needs a talent scout now....

oh blessed friday! it's good to be sitting in my own living room relaxing.

i know i work with 2nd language learners when most of my students seem to think that inanimate objects have feelings of desire or "want." i hear it almost every day. "ms. robinson, my pencil didn't want to sharpen." and i feel like asking how they know what their pencil wants...but today i decided it was time to put it in a visual:

just do it mr. pencil, it will be alright, you want to be a sharp guy, right?

it's also time to make a count-down for our bathroom bulletin board! that was gigi's job. but someone put up a note today, so i will tackle that this weekend.

walking around the school today i saw another self portrait...i think this kiddo fancies herself a superhero...

it's going to be a beautiful weekend..a little cooler than the past couple of days, but 64 isn't bad for feb.

the boys saw that i had a calendar made and chaco looked through the pics and kept saying, "mama! that's me!" "i know it is, chaco." "i'm a MODEL! you can call me sean o'pry." i looked at him, and i cocked my head (which they totally understand-they invented it), "what are you talking about?" and he just smiled and said, "ma, calvin klein...ralph lauren...versace???" so i just nodded and went along with it, "yeah, um, how about i stick with calling you chaco."

and in other interesting news, i was on high alert and worried last week because whenever i went to the bathroom it was bright yellow like a highlighter! and i was afraid that i was sick without knowing it or something, so i googled it. and much relief- multi-vitamins. who knew? fortunately whoever wrote the article did! i just started using a more expensive multi-vitamin and fish oil vitamin, so that's what i get...hopefully that isn't the only effect it has on my body.

have a blessed weekend!
julie

80's in february....feelin' hot,hot,hot (gloria estefan and the miami sound machine, right?)

what a beautiful day today turned out to be! i cannot believe it's february! (why does it have that weird r after the b?)

80! woah!

today i met the two women who are in charge of the program that i have applied for-they were at our school meeting with my principal, because she will be helping them out a little this spring. that was exciting and interesting!

i had a meeting after school and i couldn't wait to get home! i stopped by the office, but my package had not arrived. i did see the mailman putzing around, taking his time at the other mailbox round, so i knew it would take forever for him to reach mine, so i didn't wait around.

i decided to take the boys out to the dog park, and once again, it was packed! bruno does pretty well about meeting others (at least smelling them), but chaco is still a bit snippy. he really doesn't like others in his face. he said it was their breath, but i think he's just a little scared.

how fun was it to pull up to the mailbox round for the 2nd time today and see roses in bloom! even more fun, was to see the mailmen were past my box!

when i opened my mailbox, there it was! it was almost like charlie finding the golden ticket! the key to the package postal box! so i went to the box and there it was...my package i've been waiting for! the office was closed, so i couldn't go show them-tomorrow.

love my calendar!

i am so glad that i got the address labels as well!! i am so tired of writing my address on every envelope i send out!

well, off to finish labeling envelopes to go out first thing in the morning!
julie

will power is overrated, but i held out for the tshirt

today was quite the day! i HATED getting up early. plus it was raining. so i took my car to drive across the street (literally) to the school where destination imagination (di) was. when i pulled up th the turn left lane, the light never turned and there was a huge long line on the other side-nobody was letting anyone in. jerks -all of them! so i peeled out and found a place to u-turn and go back to my apt. and i walked over as quickly as i could because i was a little late.as quickly as i could because i was a little late.

so, when i got there, i was like the 3rd or 4th in the score room, no worries. and we just basically waited around for the longest time before we could start inputting scores. i was fortunate because i chose the right random computer! our teams finished first! which meant i got to go home earlier than i expected! there was quite a bit of wait time-wish i had taken a book or something. i did think to take some stationery, but i didn't realize i would run out after writing about 6 letters..

i am actually quite proud of myself- i was in a room full of chocolate, chips, diet dr. peppers and diet cokes, but i stuck to my water, and almonds for a snack...and they even brought in shclotzky subs-but i ate my salad.sigh. i can't wait to get to the weight i want to be at! anyhoo, when i was out on a bathroom break, i heard a voice yell, "miss cabell!" and it was dr. jones! our former interim principal! fun to catch up really quickly. but the best part of the day was that i got a free t-shirt! with a robot on the back!

cool shirt, right?

forbidden places...that's where we were-no entry! (the lady next to me was reading this book)

and this is what i was doing most of the day-data entry. i am one fast 10-key-er! pretty sure i astounded everyone with my skills!

 so when i got back to the apt, i went to target to get some cheap jeans and i was hoping to find a cool puzzle or something for our co-worker who is laid-up for a couple more weeks. well, i found the jeans, but not the puzzle...i also found some wind-pants, brown socks (which i had been needing), avocados, strawberries and truvia....oh goodness. then i took off for barnes and noble.

when i got there i found a rubics 360 which i'd like to take out of the box and play with myself before giving it away...but i won't. i also found a book i've been wanting to get for awhile now. i finally had time to get out and get it and i have a weekend without much to do; i am so excited begin reading it asap!

 on the way home, i was behind another elantra, but it was a different year, and here was my train of thought: hmm. that must be a boy car. he isn't nearly as cute as utila! i wonder if people know how to pronounce that? i hope they aren't pronouncing it like 'you-tila'...i hope they say, 'ew-tila' (like ew gross...); celestial drive! woah, i can't wait to get home and have some green tea (celestial seasonings tea)! after that, i'll have some coffee. that new stuff i got tastes so good it's almost like a hint of coconut or marshmallow at the end!

 needless to say, it was a good ride home!
julie

hulie beat up the rolling cube handle...and had to get a new one.

i am so glad today is friday! i needed it! only i didn't tell the boys (and they haven't learned how to read the calendar yet)because i will be gone most of the day tomorrow. so our weekend will just start late-and instead of the three day weekend that everyone else is enjoying, we'll make the most out of our sunday and monday!

ups-person has not delivered my calendar yet, so i'm a little bummed. i checked the tracking and it arrived in mesquite at 6.45 p.m...so if they deliver tomorrow, i'll be out all day-and i don't know if i'll get back in time to catch them at the office or not because sat. and sun are their early nights. grr.

this morning i made my frequent early stop at walmart to grab something for a coworker and i got some pens for the kids and a great new sharpie PEN for me (that doesn't bleed). so when i got to school, i used a knife to carve notches into the pen so that i will recognize them and hopefully deter the students from 'permanently borrowing' them.

you can kinda see the notches-you can certainly feel them...ok, maybe YOU can't because it's a computer, but  you get the idea

i've been using the sharpie all day and i love it! i was skeptical, but it really doesn't bleed through!

after school i had to go get bindings to bind some student books that they made (school didn't have any in stock). while i was at office max, i decided to go ahead and get a new "stuff" cart...a rolling cube to put my junk in. they seem to have cheap handles with plastic innards. the first one i had last me a long time before the handle went arthritic on me, so i got a new one. it also had handle problems, which i may have made worse by my foot trying to coax it to extend to its proper height...not so gently. today i used the broken handled one (although i had to tape the tar out of it so that i could pull it; i probably had more in it than i should've). 

while i was picking a cart, a store associate came up to help and noticed my cabell jacket and said his sister goes there. so i asked who his sister was and when he told me, it was one of my students from last year. that started a whole conversation. when i finally got up to the cashier, i was searching for my rewards card, and since i couldn't find it, i had to fill out a new one. i wasn't going to, but the cashier kept saying it'll only take a minute. so to make him shut up, i just filled it out. when i got home, i was supposed to go in and register or something, and of course when i accessed it, he input my name as Hulie. great.

enjoy the long weekend!
julie

'demon fish'-80's pop band or book by an author with bad galmour pics?

let me begin by saying i am so sorry, those of you who link to this blog from facebook-somehow my settings got messed up and none of my posts were showing up for others-i don't quite know how that happened.


today has been long. but not bad. we had our field trip to the nature museum today, and it would have been really fun if i were there with friends! but, alas, i had 17 students to be in charge of.

we got to watch a great show about force and matter and the kids loved it. i loved finding a brochure about speakers for their shark exhibit. check out this one:

the picture caught my attention and i couldn't help but think that it really fit the book title...i could see her being the author of "demon fish."

then we watched the movie in the imax dome-loved it! it might've been a little over the kids' heads, but that's ok, they loved the prehistoric marine reptiles! by the time we got to do lunch, it had still not warmed up and the wind was blowing....and we had to eat outside. boo. (thanks gigi). then we went back in and enjoyed the hands-on exhibits for the kiddos.

this was the mucus display, and it accurately portrays what has been going on in my head, nose and throat over this past week.

LAST PAYMENT ON MY CITI CARD TODAY!!! now only one more to go and the last bit of a student loan! it feels good!

i also tried the spaghetti squash today and i actually enjoyed it as much as the zucchini! i loved prepping it last night because it was so much fun to shred!! cool stuff!

i walked into the office today hoping that my package had arrived, but it had not. the package, being my calendar. so i am hoping that it is in tomorrow's delivery. i walked in at a good time because they had one of the 'annoying tenants' in trying to get his way about something that was obviously not an option.

and tonight was my phone interview with smu, it seemed like it went fine, but only time will tell...i'll know how well i did if i move on to round 3, i guess. i wasn't too nervous, but i don't know how great i am at thinking on my feet, either.

may your field trips in life be without all the children!
julie

central market...enticing-perhaps. heavenly? not quite.

today was a good day-everything went as planned! i was able to get quite a bit done! and we had our plc today, which went well- it's always a relief when those things go well.

then when school was over, i jetted out pretty quickly to get over to central market!! woo hoo! as i was driving there around 4:50-ish, the thought went through my head: what if all of this traffic is headed to central market?! uh-oh. i was relieved when i turned onto preston and they continued going straight! i turned in and there were police officers to guide traffic, which made me wonder where in the world i was going to park if there was a necessity for policemen. (they were probably offered doughnuts if they stuck around). anyhoo, i looked to my left and there was a parking spot just for me!

when i looked out  my window, they skies parted and a bright light from the heavens shone all around and i think i heard :AAAAAH (but only the first syllable of the alleluia chorus, which i am sure is due to the mere awesomeness). so i got went in and found some great little goodies. some things i needed and some things i was hoping i'd find-i found the coconut oil and the coconut flour!! i also had to get coffee and grabbed some green tea. this particular store was a little cramped. rather small, but it still has quite a bit to offer.  i found what i wanted, so i wasn't disappointed. there weren't any real freebies that late in the day, but there was a sample lady, only it was something that's not on my list. so when i got back to my car, i looked back at the store and realized that it had not been the skies parting, it was merely a small wispy cloud blowing over. and it there was not actually light pouring out from heaven, it was the reflection of another car in my rearview mirror. and as for the beginning of the alleluia chorus...it was only a frustrated driver who couldn't find parking.  

not bad, just not heavenly..i need to check out the whole foods down on forest (i haven't been to that one)

i shared some zucchini 'pasta' today and it was a hit! woohoo! good food is just plain good!

today i saw this self portrait and it made me smile. i have no idea who it is, because i have NOT seen a little boy nor girl at our school who actually looks like this (thank goodness)

if i saw this boy, i would probably hide my hands in my pockets for fear that he might go for a digit.

and last but not least, i finally got my package sent off to nina!! that is satisfying! i cannot wait for her to get her surprise!

hope your day has been a grand-opening kind of a day...only that the right things are opening.
julie

cacao-the seed of chocolate...the essence of valentines day...take off the o and that's what you'll feel like if you eat too much.

well, i made it through the day! being a teacher means lots of things, but on valentine's day it means you earn a treasure trove of chocolates and other goodies. none of which is on my diet. so i packed up a bag and gave it to marlon, our janitor and i brought the wonderful lindt truffles back for shannon and mandie-i thought they would appreciate them. i did pretend i was super excited to get everything, though! it does make one feel special to receive love in the form of candy-the thoughts behind it were received in full.

there was more, this is only half of the box...

and i had one student who was especially thoughtful- i love tulips! i was so happy to see them after being bummed about all the fun candy!

precious

and tonight's romantic celebration is a little t.v., drying zucchini to prepare it for cooking and a little coffee. i know, i know, it's almost too much to handle!

i am thrilled about tomorrow! it's payday and more importantly, the central market on preston and royal is scheduled to open tomorrow!! i am so going! maybe there will be some special kind of grand opening gimmick...fingers crossed! i'm sure it will be an adventure for the books!

and today the dogs caught a little winged animal and started playing with it and then it was laying motionless on the ground. i got a little closer and saw that it was actually cupid. sad day...cupid is in poor condition, but he might recuperate...bruno said he wants cupids for snack from now on. grr.

hope everyone is feeling loved, or at least satisfied by chocolate...
julie