chaco pulled one over on the doc!

i was pretty worried the other night when i found chaco acting weird-limping and whimpering in pain when i came back from the kitchen. so we went in to the vet the next morning and while i was waiting for them to bring him back, i could hear them talking (i wasn't eavesdropping if that's what you're thinking...it's just that they were talking loudly and the walls seem to be thinner than my apt). anyhoo, the assistant brought him back in and said the doctor would be in momentarily and left. so i put him down and he started limping around, so i picked him up until she came in.

when the doc came in, she said, "well, we didn't see any signs of the problem that you mentioned." i held my hand up to stop her and put him down again and he again limped around and held his paw up. her face took on a look of complete and utter surprise. she proceeded to tell me that he walked up and down the hall and didn't wince or anything when she was checking him.

i have no idea what the deal was, either he was showing off, nervous or just wanted to get out of there...brat. (not like the glorified hotdog, more like a bratty child). that said, she prescribed some anti-inflammatory medicine, and pain killers. on the way home he kinda' chuckled and said, "woah, did you see her face when she came back into the room and saw me limp? i had her right where i wanted her! i'm tricky mctrickerson, right?"(sometimes dogs just say the darndest things...)

 i gave him the pain killers and anti-inflammatory meds as soon as we got home and i caged him-per the doc's orders. i fully expected that when we got home he would be asleep...but no, he was yelping from excitement to get out and shot out like a jack rabbit into the living room. keep him calm, she said. don't let him jump around she said...apparently she's never had a chaco. he kinda reminds me of amy poehler as Kaitlyn if you watch the link, the part that applies most is from 1:55-2:22 (first he tries to convince me that he shouldn't be left in the cage, and then he runs around in circles when he should be sitting still..ok, not the best analogy; perhaps i was just looking for a reason to include kaitlyn).

he was in his cage again tuesday, and today i left him out and he seems to be fine-we're continuing with the anti-inflammatory meds, but no pain killers. good little buddy.

in other news...we have an 'adult' bathroom near the teacher's lounge, and it has the kind of lock that lets others know it's occupied (like airplane lavs), yet either people can't read or don't know what OCCUPIED means, because they still try to open the door (without even a knock..jerks) that's scary. so i always feel like i have to double and triple check to make sure the lock is horizontal.

so i decided to make sure that it did read correctly when locked...

 one day, not too long ago while i was in this particular restroom, i noticed this little door by the toilet, under the paper towel dispenser...i wondered what it was a door to. i didn't bother to look, because i would rather stick with the story i conjured up in my mind. there is a little bathroom fairy that comes out once in awhile to clean up because the custodians struck up a deal with him. i realize that most fairies are female, but the males are the ones that live in bathrooms...anyhoo. i might try to strike up my own deal to get him to stand guard in front of the door for me...

and drum roll please.....i got a free sample of royal canin. i LOVE getting free stuff-no shame. i figure they jack prices up so high that i deserve it. the boys were really excited about it because this is what they used to eat all of the time until we changed to bil-jac.

please notice how chaco has his ears back and low as if he might be a little guilty for getting called out. well, that's because he got caught doing this:

bad little buddy.

bruno throughout all of this has been great. he's my no drama boy. i am thankful for that because he helps chaco find his balance!

thankful for healthy dogs and hoping to strike up a deal with the bathroom fairy,
julie

calendar dogs and making 2014 happen

is it really the last day of the year? it must be because everyone is posting end of the year and new year craziness.

we spent the last day of the year relaxing, reading and enjoying the beautiful weather that today presented.

i love it that this one is truly a lap dog and that he loves sitting on my lap and he actually fits

when we went outside to do our business (they did their business, i just checked the mail), we stopped at dad's wood shop and they went up on the porch and chaco said, "hey, take our picture! this one will be great for a new calendar..you're making one this year, right?" and bruno was just kinda' like... really? is this necessary?

sometimes it takes a minute, but when i can get them to both pay attention, they're pretty good models (this one will be in my new year calendar)

as i look back and reflect on the year, 2013 just kinda' slipped by. nothing spectacular, it just plodded along. 

i want more out of 2014. and that's going to be up to me. i did start by picking up one of these:

i was an idiot and i let mine expire. my bad.

i'm not really dying to go anywhere but back to HONDURAS to visit, really i need to get out to see more of the U.S. we have such a great abundance of beauty that i have yet to mark off my list-makes me wish i had an r.v.

also on my list:
- find a church nearby that i really love and feel a part of.
-there was a homeless group that i was about to get involved in a couple of years ago that i would like to look into more closely.
-more walks with the boys-more dog parks.
-more visits to norman (now that bmayes is back).
-more smiling.
-more laughing.
-more singing, and maybe some dancing in the rain (when everyone else is inside).
-more eating outside.
-more walks at lunch.
-less t.v.
-less social media (that will be difficult)
-more letter-writing.
-more compliments and encouragement.
-less criticizing, more helping.
-more painting.
-more exercising.
-more eating well.
-more leisurely reading.
-more risk-taking.
-less second-guessing.
-less caring about what everyone else thinks.
-more nature.
-visit more museums, plays, and other fun cultural events.
-catch up with more old friends (not that they have to be ancient-old, more like simply reuniting with people who have been special to me at some point in my life).

i'm sure there are more things that will go onto this list, but it's a good start.

move over 2013, there's a new year in town!

instead of just waking up tomorrow and saying, "happy new year!" let's wake up every morning and say, "HAPPY NEW DAY!"

julie

see the beauty in the ice-don't just shiver and curse its coldness.

well, we drove up to mo. to visit mom and dad for the break. we left on monday to avoid bad weather, and it was actually a fairly nice drive. when we got up into oklahoma, it was obvious that an ice storm had passed through. dad called when we were just about halfway through ok, and told me i should probably go the speed limit, because they were talking about cracking down on speedsters...

i figured this might be a good time to be obedient and heed his wisdom. we were in no hurry. in fact, the effects of the ice storm were so compelling that i decided to pull off and take a small side road in the country to get some pictures. i love leisurely trips!

 then we i got back in the car (the boys were hesitant to get out. chaco was like, "look at me. my hair is so thin. i can't go out there, you haven't even gotten me a scarf for the winter! do i look like a husky?) i'm pretty sure anyone who was passing by was wondering what i was doing...don't care.

so we kept going and who forgot to check the windshield wiper fluid? so on the turnpike with no exits in sight, i thought about pulling off, throwing some snow on the windshield and wiping it off...actually i considered the sprite sitting beside me for about a fraction of a second; instead, i would get up near a big truck who was spraying up just enough wet stuff to wipe them, then speed around him until we finally found an exit and bought some fluid. it was magical. i never knew that happiness could be found in a bottle of wiper fluid, and yet there it was.

i did stop in to get chaco his scarf, and that night, we got some ice in buffalo as well, and he was willing to step out for just a moment, but he shivered the entire time. bruno on the other hand, was loving it.

i was riveted by the ice on the trees. it glistened in the sunlight and it kinda' looked like tinsel. the best part was just listening to it talk. the limbs creaked with the weight of the ice and it was fascinating!

the boys were greeted with their own stockings this year-they were pretty excited!

bruno with his squeaky toy giraffe...he set it aside to sniff out the other goodies.

and chaco with his squeaky boar. he LOVES that thing! and i'm excited because he hasn't been able to disable the squeaker.

rare moment when they weren't in checking on the cat.

 they have been very diligent all week long to check on the cat in the laundry room to make sure he was still up there on the washing machine. he's pretty much proven that he's not afraid of them, he just likes to taunt them by sitting still and watching them bark, then if they get close enough, he'll bat at them with his paw and they think he's like mike tyson or something.

it warmed up for a couple of days and so we got to plink around a little. i really wish i could find abundant supplies of ammo for the 9mm-it's a better shot. but dad pulled out his rifle and we played with that too. i don't know how many rounds we went through in all, but when it was all said and done, dad and i went down to look at the wooden stand he had rigged up, and it took a beating...and that was just with the .22. i heard shots in the distance around the 'rural neighborhood' and i'm guessing they were probably shooting at dear targets...not me...mine was a self-defense silhouette-they probably think i am some kind of maniacal Texan (if they saw my plates). sorry kids, that's just how we handle things in texas. (surely a stereotype that we are all walker texas ranger-thank you chuck norris)

i settled in with the book thief because i was intrigued when i saw a brief portion of the movie trailer. i really was a bit clueless as to what it was going to be about, but i couldn't put it down. i really loved the characters in the story-they had such neat qualities.

i received many lovely things this year, and while the heartfelt thoughts behind every gift is greatly appreciated, what made my heart the happiest this year was hearing from friends-that things are going well-that they are happy-that they are feeling blessed in many ways-that family is well and healthy-that memories are being made-these are the things that warmed my heart the most during this season of JOY.

may your blessings be many-
julie

no worries, it's just a crime risk report

UPDATE! THE GRINCH PICS FINALLY CAME!

when they guy took off his mask, he still kinda resembled the grinch. bruno was like, "mom, he's worse than halloween." hmm.

wednesday we had our staff party at that famous italian restaurant that's not olive garden...i'll remember it in a moment...i'm too lazy to look it up. but i had a fabulous chicken parm. on the way to the restaurant, i had to stop and get another Christmas card-writing pen because somehow i lost the other one that i had JUST gotten! what in the world? it was worth it to go through the feeling of getting a new pen all over again. (anyone else with me on this pen thing?) i mean, the pen makes or breaks it!

at one point while at the dinner, i had to use the restroom, and of course there was an italian lesson on the intercom of the restroom in which the tourist was learning how to say some very strange things. and when i turned to go out the door, the door said 'uomini/men'....so i quickly opened the door to make sure, and the outside said womens-that was weird. scary weird.

when i got into my car, i saw a paper under my wiper...uh oh, it looked like a ticket. i AM late on my inspection...and that could've warranted a ticket...

it wasn't a ticket!!! the officer was just trying to help me prevent criminal activity..HIDE RADAR DETECTOR TO PREVENT THEFT.

 MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!

then i got home and my throat was getting that beginning-of-scratchy feeling. so i went to bed at a decent time. when i woke up, it was rough. i didn't even roll out of bed. i called in sick, and went back to sleep til about noon. then i was up for a bit and i went to get cold/flu medication at tom thumb; i wasn't sure what to get so i got 4 different items, plus a thermometer. i didn't think i would need it because i was feeling a little better, but i don't have one, and since i was thinking about it, i might as well get it, right? so i did. and the next morning when i woke up, i was running a fever, so i called in again. boo. 

i missed ugly sweater day on thursday and i missed pajama day on friday. boo, again.

julie

if it's red or green and it's in our home, attack it!

hmm. (that's how i begin when it's been awhile and i really have no idea exactly where to begin). so i will just start with december, how's that? (rhetorical-your input is not valid here).

so, here's the deal. thanksgiving decided to come super late this year. thanks a lot, thanksgiving. (and at this point, you might be thinking, 'i thought she said she was starting with december.' i lied. my blog, my prerogative. unapologetic. but not really...i'm a little sorry...only not much). regardless, i was am grateful for much. i am not going to sit here and list everything that i am grateful for and bore you, but i will say that i did a lot of thinking over that break and what i am especially grateful for ( i just told you i wasn't going to do this, but i guess one word a list does not make...yoda logic...and once again unapologetic-for real this time) is relationships past and present.

ok, FF to december. we tried to get into the swing of things at school, but then we were graced with a snow  ice day that friday and it lasted through to monday, when our 2nd snow day was used up...boo. the only thing i hate more than losing a day to ice is losing 2 days to ice. we didn't get out to do anything. in fact, the electricity went out around 3 am on friday morning and lasted until about 5 p.m. saturday... i was not smiley face icon...i was more grumpy cat icon (if there even is one). we made the most of it. so...i like to be prepared-thankfully i had the emergency radio and was able to crank it for news and music...otherwise, i might have driven the boys crazy. and then we snuggled up on the couch and i wrote some of my Christmas letters.

um, yes, please notice the pen. this is one of TWO special pens i bought specifically for writing Christmas messages. it made all the difference. and yes i made a special trip just before the storm specifically to make that purchase. i'm serious about my pens.

 i pulled out all of my batteries, and then i found my camping stove that uses gel (which burns clean) and when it started to get a little chilly, i opened the hand warmers and put them in my socks and in my pockets. worked like a charm.

i used the little stove to heat up water for coffee-the old fashioned way, and i think i heated up some soup...then i took some of the refrigerator items and put them in the cooler and placed them on the balcony.

i'm pretty sure i'd do just fine in a cabin in the woods.

then monday came. i was supposed to be at a convention that day. when i woke up and watched the news, they were showing all sorts of video of people having difficulty maneuvering about on 'cobblestone ice'. so i decided to wait for awhile and see if it started to melt or look better. i decided to venture out and check it out myself-by delivering some mail to the post office (which was close) those roads were clear, so i felt guilty and decided i should try to make it over to the conference at the gaylord. got caught up a little and missed the afternoon session, so i went down to the exhibition hall and looked around (trying to avoid actually talking to any of the vendors). i did come across this next to the restroom:

hmm...now why would anyone build a non accessible closet...and then announce it? and on a placard none-the-less!! rich people.

the next two days were great because i actually went to some great sessions...okay, two were great, the third one i should have gotten up and walked out, even though the presenters came all the way from singapore; a piece of me is still mourning those 2 lost hours of my life (and i did write a Christmas card at that point...i'm sure layne will appreciate the mention of wishing for a cyanide tooth in her Christmas card).

yesterday when i was at petsmart, i saw a santa, and they said santa would be there til 4. i looked at my watch: 1:30. i rushed home, got out the shears, gave bruno and chaco a trim, and quickly hustled them out the door for pictures (we were running against the clock, i may or may not have left hair trimmings on the floor in our rush out the door-but this was important!) when we got there, there was a lady in the santa costume...well, the boys have never met santa before, and they are pretty perceptive...they now think santa is a lady...so i told them that santa is an elderly lady with lots of testosterone in her system, that's why all of the facial hair. chaco was like, "what? she's a tester of bones? i want her job!" selective hearing.

pretty sure if she were the real santa, she would've told chaco he wasn't getting a cat for Christmas because he was DEFINITELY barking at the little boy who came around the corner. he really doesn't like little kids. i don't know what the cut-off age is.

now they know santa. pretty sure chaco was done before we even started.

then i saw something on facebook that a friend posted about getting pics with the grinch. well, i thought this would be a very good idea. it would help a dog rescue team, AND more importantly, the boys would know the difference between santa and the grinch, and if the wrong one showed up on Christmas eve, they would know which one to freak out about...ok, for real though, i told them that if either of these crazies showed up in our place, they should attack!

we waited in line for a bit and a girl came out of the ice cream shop and rushed over to pet the dogs-let's face it, bruno and chaco just aren't very social. they don't like people in public. if you come to my place, they'll be all over you, otherwise, it's like you aren't even there. anyhoo,when i picked chaco up, the girl ran out again to pet him, and i saw his ears go back...he was good. then she turned around and he barked at her-and it wasn't a nice 'come-back-and-keep-petting-me' bark...it was more of a 'that's-right-you'd-better-turn-around-and-run-and-never-look-back' bark. yeah, so i'm thinking that the cut-off age is right around 4th-5th grade.

it's not the greatest pic, i am waiting for them to send their digital pic-i was moving, trying to get them to look at the real photog.

then we came home and did some photo shoots. we got a Christmas one for next year's card..

we may have to choose between this, santa and the grinch...

and then we went for something a little more sophisticated.

they'd seen a guy on facebook do this with his cats, and bruno was adamant that they would look great. we go to great lengths to keep 'em happy.

well, this is it, one final week of classes until we have a break! i have a few more Christmas messages to finish-hopefully i will find a free evening this week.

 make sure your pets know the difference between good and evil! (and rehabilitated) or just teach them to bark at everything-safer.
julie

she turned on the mic for all TWO of us.

i made crockpot roast beef yesterday. as great as it taste, i was not thrilled to arrive home today to an apt that smelled like..well, roast beef. so i opened the windows and then took the boys for a walk. when i got home, it was still roast beefy. so i threw everything into the dishwasher. there's something strange about my dishwasher...at first i thought it was the classical music on t.v., but when i came into the living room, i realized it was not.

i think there is a tiny man inside my dishwasher conducting a symphony...perhaps he wears a scuba outfit...idk, but it sounds like a musical arrangement of various instruments.

so, saturday i ventured out to find some things; i found myself not happy with the options at walmart-although i still found some things that i needed. so i turned around and went to the container store. i found some great stuff! i was especially looking for an appropriate clothespin-holder-deal for room 109 (i don't even know what to call the room that i 'board' in). 

while i was there, i was looking at the push pins and magnetic strips when a lady approached me with a card and a pen to fill out the card. then she asked me to come see the shelving presentation in 5 minutes. i asked her how long it would take, and when she said 7-10 minutes, and you could win a $20 gift card, i stuck around for a bit. not that i was bothered because it was raining out pretty hard, and this would be a great moment to avoid that.

so i walked over to the shelving area and filled out my card. there was one other lady there besides the lady giving the presentation. yes, if you are counting, that would make two of us plus store lady. and then she did the unthinkable. she turned on the microphone and she began broadcasting. did i mention that there were only two of us? so she began reading her cards and we muddled through. i tried to look like i was really interested and planning on eventually getting something. they really do have some great stuff.

and when it was over, she mixed the cards....all two of them for the drawing and the other lady drew a card. it was mine! woohoo! so i got a $20 gift card which i immediately put to use. and i felt even luckier when i saw that they had the umbra card holders! i have been looking for another ever since the little bungee-elastic on mine broke and i had to re-tie it!!

i had a 50/50 chance..i usually don't win.

i really like this hanging deal with solid shelves-i could think of many uses in a classroom.

my new umbra case with the thumb tacks that were so colorful.

i went from there to the 1/2 price bookstore. i purchased several new mentor texts for writing and reading. i love books! i sat myself down and went through my list of authors and filled up my cart.

most girls treat themselves to new shoes. new clothes. a manicure. a pedicure. i went to the gun range. it's been awhile. i need to go more often. i'm still a pretty good shot; next time i am going to try a couple of different rental calibers. if they don't have too much of a kick i might actually look into getting a .40 or .45 because ammunition is a little easier to come by.

yesterday i was working on some reports and questions with our system. so i was e-mailing our amazing rep from all in learning, and i meant to send some screen shots of the issues that i was having so that he would have an inkling of what i was talking about. i thought i had chosen the 5 screen shots that i had just taken, but i was having 'outlook-difficulties,' and my computer wasn't showing me the attachments that i added. then i got his response:

hmmm...

 apparently i sent this in one of the attachments...

let's not like, he is kinda' cute. (and if you don't think so, you can go ahead and lie anyway)

i think we got most of our issues resolved.

remember how i went to the discovery gardens and purchased some fun plants for school? well, after having the milkweed in the car for a couple of days, i was ready to be rid of the creeper.

totally peeking around the headrest...backseat driver-tickled my ear and scared the crap out of me! and made me think of audrey II in little shop of horrors.

and then when i went to the store the other day, i found myself haggling over 9/10s of a cent. what in the world? no wonder it sometimes takes so long to get what i need and get out.

must-live-more-simply....please tell me it's not just me.

i think the lady next door moved saturday. i'm glad. she was kind of an odd bird. bruno and chaco were talking about her dog. he always growled at them and chaco would start the whole 'hold-me-back' routine, knowing full well that his leash kept him safe. anyhoo, i noticed that their welcome mat is gone, so i'm pretty sure they went with it.

well, it's time for bed-
julie

if i'd had a compass and the coordinates, it would've been no big deal.

well. i'm back. i have not given up, i have just been a bit busy. thanks for waiting around!

to explain what happened today, i have to go all the way back to saturday. so, saturday we had an awesome day working in the garden at our school. it was a big deal because we wanted to make sure it was ready for them to work and learn in. (ok, major thrust to get it done because our Real School Gardens trainers are coming on Wednesday, and we needed it to not look totally in shambles. heaven forbid they call the 'garden cps' on us). 

so, yeah, some weeds had taken over 

teamwork is so much quicker and better than solo work!

look at all of those weeds!!! and that is only the first wheel barrow-ful!

i had gone out a few weeks earlier and spent about an hour and barely finished weeding one bed (not nearly as well as it should have been), and by the end of that time, i was drenched and thought i might pass out. so i was thrilled when 11 of our finest showed up at school to pitch in and give it the ol' team effort! linda's banana cake and the pizza made it all worthwhile, the weather was amazing, plus, i had some great conversations!

the best part is that it looks amazing! looking forward to the cabbage, broccoli, cilantro and garlic that will be joining us soon.

well, i thought it would be good to write thank you notes, so i decided to go up to school early this morning to put them into boxes. on the way to school i had to get fuel and a diet coke. so i stopped at the 7-11 around the corner. then i headed to the school and dropped off my notes and stopped in my room to look up the address one last time. when i got into my car i realized that my phone was not on my hip...uhoh. i thought i had brought it from home. so i looked through my bags and did not locate it.

hmm. i had planned to use the nav system on my phone...it's ok, i took a pic of the directions just in case i lost the signal...oh, guess what it's on the phone...so i went back to the apt to look for it. not in the 3 most likely places i had remembered seeing it earlier. not there. so i went to the 7-11 and the girl at the counter said no one had turned it in, and gave me that 'if-i-didn't-have-17-people-in-line-right-now,-i'd mourn-with-you' look. so i pulled out and decided i remembered just enough of the directions to get there.

well, the truth is: i knew just enough of the directions to get lost and frustrated.for those of you familiar with dallas...the numbers 121, and 114 stuck in my head, so i set off on my venture to the west with about an hour to spare. i was feeling like i had gone a little too far south, so i pulled off to a gas station, because all attendants know the area, and are super helpful, right? well...as a matter of fact, that would be FALSE. 

i purchased a map (for 9.98) and went up to the counter and opened it up and asked the lady where we were and how to get to keller. she folded it back up and scanned it as if she hadn't understood what i wanted (she was a foreigner, but i couldn't understand the accent, and her hair was dyed red, so i don't think she was really irish....); i opened the map back up and looked at her and asked if she knew where keller was and she said no. so i stepped outside and there was a guy out at his big construction truck. 

he wasn't a map-guy either...although he was able to point to keller...good job, big guy. i just needed to know where we were because i DO know how to read a map (we actually did that when i was in social studies class in elementary school); i'm telling you, kids need map skills...adults too. so i got back into my car and my clock was ticking at this point. so i got back onto the interstate, and went back to 635, unfortunately my map wasn't complete-it was mostly fort worth...so when i came south again on 121, i actually went through the dfw airport and exited down south. so i took another exit and decided to get off and try another filling station. this time, there was a young man at the counter-also not from around here. he said, "keller?" and he looked at the frito-lay guy who was stocking the shelf for a little think-pair-share, and that guy had a blank look. c'mon frito-lay guy! you deliver stuff, you should know the area. so finally i just asked the kid where i was, and he said, "irving." great.

at one point i was pretty sure i was glad that there was no one else in my car with me because the thoughts in my head were coming out of my mouth, and it wasn't pretty. (i'm glad there was no speaker on the top of my car like the old, old orange crush commercial). and at about the time i realized how frustrated i was, i had to remind myself of what maria reminds us every once in awhile: why get mad? there's nothing you can do about it; it won't change anything. so true. so true.

as natalie so eloquently put it: i took a tour of the major dallas suburbs today...not on purpose...people without phones are probably the most likely to suffer from road rage.

so i got into my car again and this time i stared at my map for a minute and looked for a cross road 1709 looked good. all i knew was that i needed to be going west first, so i kept the sun to my back and took off. i was so frustrated with all of those cars poking along...without a care in the world...80 would be good here, folks. so interestingly enough, when i finally found 1709, i was able to cut across 3 lanes in time to make a graceful exit. i figured i would eventually find keller parkway-even though it wasn't on my map. 

as i was driving, i noticed kimball. guess where i'd seen that street before. it was the first exit i stopped at the first time around, only a bit further south. if i'd known and simply taken it all the way up, i would've been early to my workshop. as i drove, i noticed, i had passed from euless into southlake. then before i knew it, i saw keller signs. i was in keller! i looked at the road sign, and it had turned from 1709 to southwest pkwy to keller pkwy...i mean, why not? then i saw an address close to what i was looking for, only on the wrong side of the road, so i had to make a u-turn-then i drove right past the place i needed to be, so i had to make two more u-turns to get back to the parking lot, which was full.

yes, there are three u-turns in there, and one of them may have had revving of engine and squealing of tires

it didn't look like a building that would host this training, but i asked a lady carrying a bag of ice across the parking lot and she said it was. when i got upstairs, fortunately i recognized one of the reps, and after i explained why i was an hour late, she said let me get you situated and get you a diet coke. soothing words. 

what a great training! at about noon, natalie showed up, and she, maria and i went to fuzzy's for a little-too-much lunch. on the way back from lunch, i was recounting-to natalie- my story of what had happened. at the end i was saying i really thought the phone was lost, but that i needed to stop by school to check and see if it had fallen in my room or something, otherwise i was going to need to purchase another one. at that point maria did her sales pitch for the iphone, and i said i would probably get a samsung like natalie's-i like my android. to which natalie responded, that she liked hers and probably didn't use it to its full capacity.

so we had an entire conversation revolving around my missing phone making me an hour late to the workshop and very frustrated.

when we got inside and linda had arrived at our table, she said, so you got your phone?

what? how did she know about my phone? linda looked at natalie, natalie looked at me, and then she said (mind you AFTER that whole phone conversation)...."oh yeah, i forgot to tell you, linda has your phone." as linda was handing me the phone. it had actually fallen in the room, and one of our other coaches found it and sent it with linda. what a relief! obviously someone had other things on her mind. smile.

i got home much more quickly, and i know i will be early tomorrow because guess what. they have croissants-real ones, not pillsbury...although those aren't bad either-bacon and scrambled eggs. tomorrow will be a good day. today was a good day, but tomorrow will be even better!