hmm..how can you help me? and what of that lightning storm under the table?

today we had a meeting at school and it actually went really well. i am getting excited about this year..slowly but surely working myself back into the idea of a new school year!

i am going to request just a little bit of latitude as i throw out a plug/request for my school. if you do not have school-age children, please consider helping me out in two ways: the first is box tops-clip and send. easy. the second is upc labels from the following products: most things bic, any variety pop secret popcorn, pepperidge farms, almost all post cereals, several magazines (time, people, southern living, cooking light, health and real simple), campbells and chunky soups,  glad storage bags and containers.  if you can do this for me, send the labels and box tops in an enveloped addressed to julie robinson at 12701 Templeton Trail, Dallas, TX 75234-our school.

the other way to help is to log onto the site and register with those reward cards used at kroger, tom thumb, albertsons, dillons, safeway, jewel-osco, price choppers...the list continues if you don't see one that applies to you...anyway, the school is WILLIAM L CABELL ELEMENTARY zip code 75234. 

look! i got us started! 13 points! woo hoo!

you have no idea how much help this would be for our school!!

i see lightning outside! which reminds me. this morning, while we were at the training, we 'tamed our technology' (because everyone knows that wild, rabid, ready to pounce technology is dangerous and quite easy to tame in mere seconds). anyhoo, after putting our phones on silence, someone's phone kept flashing through their pocket, and it looked like a little thunderstorm in the shadow of the table. funny stuff.

then we were going over protocol and being consistent across the grade levels-very important, but i couldn't believe that we spent that much time discussing bathroom procedure and how to put the toilet paper in the toilet...yep we discussed everything. there's valid data for consistency across the board, so it should be good.

then when i went upstairs to see if my classroom was ready, there was a stripper on the floor...along with some wax...the custodians were stripping and waxing the floor...the floor. they were stripping the floor and waxing it. that's better. and of course, my room was not ready yet, they say friday. hopeful. i know the school is going to be open this saturday and next week, so i will be going in to make sure things are in order.

alright, have an incredible night!
julie

the neighbors are moving...may the next set be decent and respectable.

well, it looks like it's supposed to be a long night...so says the wap weather ap...thunderstorms..it's been in the triple digits, which means prime conditions for tornadoes and hail...hopefully not, but i went ahead and got it prepared.

hmm..tub or closet?

yesterday the boys were begging for a fort, but i decided it might be just as fun to build a tower/nest.

they seemed equally happy and inquisitive, but the novelty has worn off, and now they haven't touched it since yesterday-time to clean up.

today has been ridiculous. i've been trying to focus and get some things done, but chaco has been barking non-stop. finally i looked out in the breezeway to see what was going on, and saw that apparently the neighbors are moving. good. i think they're the ones that were smoking and sweeping their butts under my mat (cigarette butts, mind you)...not only that, but the other day when i was going down the stairs, there was a wad of gum that someone had spit out and someone else had stepped in it and strands were trailing down the stairs (i'll bet that person was p.o.'d).

all of their stuff is still out in the breezeway, so the boys are going to continue to bark and make sure i know what amazing guard dogs they are while the neighbors are encroaching on their space. boo. if they don't finish soon, they and their stuff is going to get wet!

so the cigarette butts, the gum...then as i was walking on the trail, other people have left trash, bags, wrappers, etc. it really disappoints me...makes me angry. i wish i could live someplace where everyone had the same values as i do...and went to sleep at the same time as i do and didn't let their dogs bark in the middle of the night...leave things better than you found them, you don't have to go to sleep when i do, but you really should be respectful and have a noise limit! grr.

so...today i ate the outside edges of the brownies i made last night...i used to not love the outer edges, but cindy, my former manager at comair gave me some good insight. she said it was her favorite part, so today i understood why. don't get me wrong, the soft part is good too, but there is something extra special about those outer edges. 

i'd like some pizza right now, but they don't deliver single slices. i guess i'll just have to whip up some tuna. boo.

here's to hoping for no hail and no tornadoes,
julie

UPDATE***
as soon as i posted this, bruno up and decided that he actually did want to get back up in the nest and play with his treat...

the treat fell, and he looked down, torn between the treat and wanting to put the effort to get all the way down there to get it, so i got it for him..good mama.

 so, i may leave it up for another day.

found another pallet...let's get creative!

last night i finally turned off the t.v. and took some time to read my book about project based learning-very good read, helpful as we enter into this new year-especially for the science! i cannot wait to get started! so this morning i left the t.v. off for a bit and pulled up the curriculum guide to check some things out and begin making some decisions.

something different-now i need to start preparing materials

 then after i'd finished feeling slightly productive, i turned the t.v. on again, and sure enough, the olympics were still on, and i got to watch...wrestling. gross. so i switched the channel-not much on, so i naturally divert to the news. that got old, so i decided that i really needed to take action on the brilliant idea i had going through my head right before i went to sleep last night. i was thinking about how i really could make some great artwork. and my thoughts kept going back to using pallets. i made sure to write it out before i fell asleep and forgot it! (note to self: must get mini recorder for bedside).

so i figured i would stop by school to see if they had any available...

they did! the only problem is that it barely fits in my backseat!

so i got it home and drew up some quick mock-ups of some of the ideas that were going through my head last night before i fell to sleep. they are rough ideas of possibilities, but i decided instead of leaving it see through like the last one i did last time for my headboard, to put a canvas across the back (it would be kind of like a shadow box) and paint it to contrast or compliment. remember, it will be about 3ft by 3 ft 10 inches...so, here are some possibles...which style-ish (even if not exactly-these are marker, the actual product will obviously be painted) do you like best?? please post comments, because i seriously would like some feedback.

#1 Spiral and straight combo

#2 off-centered daisy

#3 giant partial rose

#4 ocean/sunset-ish

#5 random

#6 colorful more geometrical lines

i'll probably keep collecting pallets and make some more...i was actually thinking it would be cool to make an over-sized coffee table-using glass or plexiglass over the top, and drawer-like legs at the corners-or ends- for storage...

thank you ikea...great ideas

anyhoo, lots of ideas, wish i'd had them a little earlier in the summer. boo. oh well.

well, back to looking at some plans for starting up school again...
julie

our summer fun-very simple laser pointer

i decided that this week i am a very boring individual. "here, here," said the boys in unison. so i pulled out the laser pointer today for chaco and we played for a bit. it's one of his favorites...as soon as i pick it up, he starts looking all over the floor for it to come on. then i run all over the apartment with it to give him a little workout while bruno watches on and yawns, putting his leg out every once in awhile hoping to trip chaco up.

hi, laser dot.

if i leave it in one place for too long, he starts to dig at it.

we've played a little with the frisbee, a little with the squeaky toy...walks, but they won't play with toys outside-they are too distracted by everything else. i'm a little hesitant about letting them play in the grass because the winter was so warm that not all of the fleas got killed off...jessica (down at the office) said that one of the other residents was having flea problems. ok, not the resident, her dog.

i've been taking them on 15 min walks in the mornings, but yesterday, i took my own walk off to the park without them because it was above 100', and i was out for an hour-not good for little dogs who won't drink from the doggie fountains. anyhoo, it was great coming up the incline and not being tired or winded or even thinking about it as in the past. it's a gradual incline and i don't know if you can even really tell from this picture.

it's a pretty little walk, except for the annoyingly loud portion that goes by the construction site for a huge apt bldg going in-smells like downtown san jose, costa rica.

on the way back i took the long way around the pond, and the ducks were protesting the heat as well...and they still haven't cleaned out all of the algae. gross.

bottoms up!

they had the right idea-maybe i should just grab my bathing suit and go out and enjoy the pool tomorrow.

tonight we might just go down to the vitruvian park-it's supposed to be rhythm nite-see what the boys think about music at the park. if they don't like the tunes, we can just walk around the park. they call it vitruvian nites-i saw a banner the other day, and wish i'd known about it sooner! thursday nights are food truck nights...hmmm guess what i'm doing tomorrow night!?

i'm excited for my mom and dad-i mentioned that they had moved to mo. well, answer to prayer-mom got a job in her field (no, she isn't a farmer), anyhoo, she started this week, and will be doing some driving, but she seems excited about it being something a little different from before. i hope it ends up being enjoyable and full of stories, and not too stressful.

they live near the niangua river. if i ever moved back up that way, i would get a kayak! that is the big problem with dallas-not much outdoors around here to enjoy.
later-
julie

so hot my car has to wear shades...

another boring day...it's saturday, and i need to go to the big store, but i decided i would wait until monday when people are at work. what is the big store? it's where adults go to buy major appliances...i need to look at some washers and driers. i've been renting them from my complex and they're kinda terrible. i have way over paid by renting them all this time. anyhoo...i need to look into that! (any suggestions of where to purchase that might have installment plans?)

i took the boys for a walk and we stopped at the office, and i had to ask jessica some questions, but i didn't get all of the answers i needed, because there were some other residents coming in and i didn't want to keep her, so i'll go back tomorrow-important things to finish discussing. they'll be looking for leasing agents i think, because one of the gals (whom i may have mentioned...a little on the snooty side) is no longer here.

i am thrilled that one of my friends (a former kamper) is moving to dallas, and i now have someone who will go to the midnight showing of the hobbit in december!!! woohoo!! i am beyond excited! i mean, i would've gone alone, we all know that wouldn't stop me, but it's just more fun with a friend to discuss points afterward!

tonight i had to stop at burger house because i was craving it...it was so hot i had to put the shades up while i waited in line! heat heat please go away...

perhaps i should invest in getting the windows tinted

 and here's another little blast from the past                                                                                   

feathered hair was all the rave...this was in our first apartment in costa rica.

up on the wall you can see a partial of an art project-a dancing senorita. that guitar-still have it. in fact, my parents had me bring it back to dallas with me this trip. and believe it or not, it's still in tune! i got it in 83 and it's as good now as it was then! this was the apartment where i felt my first earthquake tremor-things actually fell off the shelves! that was 5th grade. so many great memories about costa rica. 

in our training, the trainer mentioned an insect project from when she was in 5th grade, which really made me remember ms. gonzalez, my 5th grade teacher and the same project! only, being in costa rica, it was easy to find crazy looking insects-i had quite the variety from walking sticks to leaf bugs, beetles, etc. it was pretty amazing! good thing peta wasn't around down there!

i got to see my 

first smoking volcano

first inactive volcano

first parrots

first ox cart

first pops ice cream

first 4-square game

first monkeys owned by civilians

first time someone stole something from mom (chicken from her purse-not sure if i told that story...it was on a crowded bus)

first candy with kahlua inside

favorite friend: amy porter. more about her another day.

friend i would randomly meet up with 5 or 6 years later: milagros castro. after i moved to HONDURAS, we had a basketball tournament in el salvador with international schools from various central american countries. i was the token gringa, and being such a novelty, everyone automatically thought i must be a star bball player-could be that my hair is so blonde they figured i must be related to larry bird...anyhoo, we were at a restaurant when a girl randomly walked up and said, "julie!" and then introduced herself as my old friend from costa rica. i don't recall whose team won the game when we played them. i tried to pretend like i had a great time in el salvador, but we stayed with random families, and the gal that i was staying with didn't seem very excited about having me there. so i was like bruno on that trip-pretended it was great fun, but basically i endured it. the fact is the best part about that trip was meeting up with milagros again and catching up.

julie

boring days force me to bring up the past

so good to sleep in again today! ahhh. only a few more weeks left. boo. so i'm just going to enjoy them and do what i want! today i wanted to make those fig/date/cherry/nut bars-soooo stinkin good! but i was missing figs, so i went down to the store and had to get a few other things as well. when i was walking out to the car, i realized that i noticed seams. yep, i had put my shirt on inside-out. nice. trend-setter.

when i got home, i was trying to think of how to get the boys to try the antlers i bought on our trip...well, i tried boiling them in chicken broth and water to see if maybe the smell would soak into the marrow so they would find it tantalizing...it was novel for a moment, but it didn't last long-we shall see if they go back to them or not.

i did cut a chewy braid of beef pizzle (? not sure) and here's what chaco did:

i hate uploading videos on this thing-takes so long! 

we didn't do much else today besides peruse houses online and wish we had money for down payment, closing costs, etc...rent is going up again and it is outrageous-i am paying way more than this place is worth! (especially having no updates in the past 6 years). the boys were ooohing and aaahing at the backyards.

i did find some old goodies while i was at mom and dad's-the pictures have stories behind them, so i may only share one or two per post.

notice the athletic physique and the running shorts

 when we lived in kc, i was in kindergarten, and i think i may have shared this story before-not sure...maybe only with my students. we were at a church picnic, and there was a tornado slide. the adults were cooking the food and conversing-as parents do, and we were all playing. well, i climbed the ladder of what was the tallest tornado slide ever...this one was comparable to mt.kilimanjaro-said the kindergartner who barely cleared the fence line. anyhoo, by the time i got to the top i was exhausted and a little short on oxygen because of the thinning atmosphere, but i managed to shout out that i was coming down. i thought i heard my voice echoing in the valleys, but it was a different message, thus it couldn't logically be an echo. the message was: don't come down, we're coming up! so i took a step back down, but my foot missed the rung, and i feel to the ground with the world swirling around me-it was somewhat like one of those kaleidoscopes that you spin and see different colors and shapes-somewhat psychedelic. i recall being in the car with mom and dad on the way to the doctor. i recall him giving me a sling that was "special" i was used to seeing the white ones...so this one was a little embarrassing.

Add caption

and this was from one of the times i dressed like a clown i guess i thought all clowns were fat. i know better now, but i remember one summer day the library was having a special event and they had a clown come down and read a book, so there were kids from all over town flooding to the library dressed like clowns (walking, biking, etc). there was to be a prize for the best clown. i was certain that i was going to win this one. i had a hawaiian shirt on for the event, i wasn't there for the story, i was there to win a prize. well, needless to say that when one of the caudwell twins won, i was deflated. (my life might've taken a whole different twist had i won). and as you can imagine, in my mind, there was no gracious winning. they were two years older than me, in my brother's class. their mom was a kindergarten teacher. even at that age, my little mind thought it was political and that the librarian and the clown were probably in cahoots and knew their mom, the teacher...maybe they had kids in kindergarten and so they voted for leslie, or was it lisa...i don't even know, like i said they were twins...identical. i was miserable all the way home-sweating make-up from the summer heat...boo.

there you have it...on boring days like today, you get stuck with my memories!
julie

in our training, i became a mini video producer, (after therapy, and enduring the foundations yesterday)

yesterday i went to the physical therapist and he prepared some new exercises, then he said he didn't need to see me again! if i have any questions or concerns, i can call. he also said i don't need to go back to my neurologist because it would be a waste of my money. good.

may i not have to see another one of  these in a loooooong time!

at least this set doesn't take as long as the other set!

after receiving that good news and almost skipping to my car and clicking my heels, i headed over to the city hall to exercise my rights as a US CITIZEN. i believe voting is important.

there was actually a really cute guy in the parking lot with fact sheets about one of the candidates....forgot to check if he had a ring or not. boo.

 then this morning, i had to get up early for training. i am excited because we're getting some sweet materials afterward.i was reminded today that we have a two days prep before school starts this year, and one of those days is for a convocation about 45 minutes away. boo. those things kill me. reminder-take a book.

training binder-50 lbs....

when i got home, i used my indoor grill and grilled me up some sirloin-along with portabella caps and spinach...not bad for the first time, i expect it to be much better next time!

so thankful for an indoor grill with 107 heat

---------------------
sorry, i meant to finish last night and get this thing posted! today's training was much better than yesterday-more engaging. how can you go wrong with treats?

ahhh, coconut sorbet! recycle the coconut shells for women's intimate apparel.

 now i need to go find a couple of those websites we were playing on today and have some fun. i am especially excited about animoto! the kids will love it! i probably need to get busy working with prezi and some of the other ones in the next couple of weeks so that i can teach the kids. (actually they probably know more about it already than i do!) i don't know if it will work or not, but here is the link to my video on the boys (if you watch close, you'll see thatcher he looks like a lion with his eyes closed, getting a suntan)..i don't think reagan is in this one-i'll have to get a subscription to make longer videos.
julie