haha

Hi Kim,
Here is my newest blog

Sincerely,
Jules

My Four Legged Amigo

Well last night was a close call with Lo-Lo and the sock. Well I wouldn't call it a sock, it was one of those bottie nylon things that I wear with flats or heels. Well he dropped it for a treat, but then picked it up with the treat and swallowed them both.

Fantastic...

Thank goodness there are numbers to call. Apparently giving a dog a little bit of hydrogen peroxide will induce vomiting. He of course wouldn't drink it, and found it all very suspect. Then Dad suggested soaking something he loves (ie, anything) and then feeding him the food. Hello bread! He ate like half of the bread, and then it started. He vomited like 7-10 times. I completely lost count. The sock (and all of his dinner) came up in try number one. Yes I rinsed the sock and threw it in the washer. But then he kept going, and going. He looked absolutely miserable. We were outside so while he was puking I was rinsing down the front walk and driveway. By 830p it was all over and he was wiped out.


Well I learned that hydrogen peroxide will make my dog puke, and that one should be ready because by the end there will be nothing left.


In other news, he (we) have been attending dog classes. He is now topping the scales at 71 pounds (probably just under after yesterday's puking). We have had three classes so far. He already knew sit, and would occasionally lay down. He is working on wait, drop it, and down. In class he does well when the other dogs aren't being distracting. There are two that just bark constantly, and then the dog he plays with all of the time, SweetPea. One thing I knew wouldn't be a problem was the whole "will work for food" part of class. He will do anything for a snack.

Back to Books

Before I start this blog, my dog has gone crazy. He is currently under the bed making a multitude of odd noises-from a low growl, to this like higher pitched my tummy hurts growl. It is a little ridiculous, and ridiculously cute.


okay focus, reading...

I just finished reading Kathy Griffin's book, "For Your Consideration." I loved it! I thought it was going to be laugh out loud hysterical, but it wasn't. It does have several funny moments, but plenty of serious ones that show just how hard she has worked for her craft. I have seen her live here in Indianapolis, and it was a really really good show. If you don't like vulgar language/stories or stories about celebrities then do not go see her. Her book is not as vulgar as her standup. Then I also read most of "Sh*t My Dad Says." FANTASTICALLY FUNNY BOOK!!!

Clearly by the title you can probably infer that this is not a book for everyone. I found the quotes to be really really funny. Laugh out loud funny, and share to your family and friends funny. If your family and friends do not find quotes from a 74 year old man with no filter (seriously no filter) funny then they will just be offended by the book. I would suggest you get new friends and family, because this shit is funny. It is a mix of just quotes, and then short little stories. They are things that I would imagine you would THINK about saying to your kid, but then would probably never say them. If you want a preview of the quotes here is the twitter page http://twitter.com/shitmydadsays


I have yet to start "Love is a Mix Tape" by Rob Sheffield, but it is sitting here. I am not quite ready for a sad book. However because I can't keep myself from looking at amazon.com I have found some books to add to the list of soon to buys:

1. "Anthropology of an American Girl" this one is like 600 pages so it is clearly an investment of my time.
2. "The Surgeon" by Tess Gerritsen, cop book that is the basis for the new TNT show "Rizzoili and Isles" I love a good murder/cop book, just like I love those shows.


okay well I guess that is my entire list. For some reason I thought it was going to be a longer list...

Changes

Well it is almost August, which for me always seems to signal a new year. My life has seemed to revolve around the school year, and now I just consider it my personal start to a new year. I was blessed to find a job in Indianapolis working at a charter school. I had faith that I would find a job because well I just wouldn't let myself believe anything else. So now in true Juli form everything is somewhat rushed. I start a week from Monday. Akkk! But the perk to moving back to Indy is that I can live with Mom and Dad while moving out of my old place, and then being able to find an apartment that I want to live in. This time Kim is moving in, and I know some of you (okay well the 4 that read this) may doubt us sisters living together I have a solution. 2 bedroom 2 bath. I am hoping to be moved by October.

I am excited to be moving back to a place that has more things to do. Like getting Loki signed up for dog training (I mean owner training) classes. Plus being able to go to dog parks.

Last week I was camping at White Water Memorial State Park. It was a lot of fun. We got rained on a lot (the tent flooded a few times), played a lot of games, and went horseback riding. It was hot and humid, and really really buggy. I got stung by a baby bumble bee. It was in my hair, and when I went to tighten my ponytail I was attacked! Full stinger in my finger. Luckily it was easily removed, and cured with baking soda paste. We played a lot of cornhole, which I am terrible at, and ate way to much food. One day we had Thanksgiving dinner, and it was delicious!

Alright well I need so see what kind of trouble Loki is getting himself into...

Reading Dry Spell

I've been having a reading dry spell. It has been going on for about a month if not longer. I want to read, but I cannot find anything I want to read. I haven't read the fifth Percy Jackson book, but I don't want to read it.

I bought "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" but again I don't want to read it. I got 14 pages in, and haven't moved any further. This really annoys me. Like really really really irritates me. So in response I went book shopping.

I found two books. Thank you Amazon for making suggestions! The first book is called, "Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time" by Rob Sheffield. I thought it was fiction, but it is apparently nonfiction. I am excited to read it. Then I also ordered "Sh*t My Day Says" by Justin Halpern. Also nonfiction, but the little bit I read was hilarious. I am hoping that they arrive before I go camping next week...

Looking back on the past year

A year ago I was graduating college and applying for jobs. Well here we are again... applying for jobs at least. With the exception of the drama of my some of my "colleagues" I had a really great first year of teaching. More laughs than tears (which didn't come until March the tears I mean), more smiles than frowns, and health insurance that stays in effect until August 31, 2010!!

I found the most difficult part of my year was laughing at things that I should not be laughing at...quite a few correctly used "that's what she said" moments. Reading parts of different stories aloud that when read aloud are rather sexual. And I of course start to giggle because sometimes I cannot stop myself.

Discovery Education has a great online streaming selection for different standards or activities. I fell in love with a grammar series called "Dark Marker." It covers the basics, but most of my students needed a refresher. There is one episode about pronouns and the sentence ended up being "Buzz rode (insert noun/pronoun). Hilarity!

My students are really honest with me, which is okay. More often then not I hear things that I don't want to hear. Most came from my male students. Some examples:

"I know he is all man." Said by a male student in reference to another male student.

"I need to take a dump."

"Both of my nuts are fully functioning."

"That book has blow jobs in it!" (my response, "Let's just call blow jobs sex")

I hope I can land another job to have another excellent year with teenagers!

Book Review: Percy Jackson Series

I started reading the Percy Jackson series back in mid March I think. I LOVED THEM!! If you like greek mythology (or kinda liked it) I would suggest these books. The Gods are all there, and they got a make over. The author does a good job justifying why they are in the U.S. and not Europe.

At first I was worried that the books were going to very Harry Potter-esque. They aren't. I think they are better. First of all there are only 5 books, and they are not very long. And the main characters are very different. I enjoy Percy's sense of humor over Harry's lack there of.. also the supporting characters are much more interesting, and have their own subplots.

Like most YA books there are some predictable plot twists, but there are a lot of surprises.

The movie is being released at the end of June. I didn't see the movie, and I heard that a lot of changes were made. Don't they always make a lot of changes?