So here's the short of it, 
We're in Tampa. 

And here's the long.

Today was a travel day.  We caught an Allegiant flight out of Knoxville.  The Allegiant days/dates from Chattanooga just didn't work with the schedule we needed, so we just drove up to Knoxville to leave.  Myra and Milko flew in from Philadelphia, so by the time we arrived, got out luggage, and rented a car it was almost time to pick them up at the airport!  Tampa has one of those cell phone parking lots, so we just waited there for a few minutes and then before we knew it, it was time to pick them up.

It was just a short ride to the hotel.  We had worried about whether or not we'd be able to find the room because of the Republican National Convention.  Now, they are all gone and the hotel is just as quiet as it can be.  But there are still lots of decorations and lots of Republican reading materials lying all about the lobby.  I picked up some of that stuff for Mom to read.

Pennie's boys with their families joined us for dinner at a little restaurant/bar that is just across from our hotel.  It was sure nice to get in some good visiting with them.  All the younger kids are just growing so much!

Tomorrow we'll have another good day of visiting.  I'm  really looking forward to it.

For now though, I'm heading to the bed

So here's the short of it, 
I feel pretty good about today. 

And here's the long.

First of all Thank you Mom for making dinner tonight.  It was really nice since there was so much to do tonight.  And green beans that had been on the vine until just a little while before dinner --- how much better can it get than that!

Work was good today.  Had a chance to visit with two principals who are good colleague friends and talk about the direction they are taking with their special populations and how I can help support their goals.  Got some headway on a big report I have to figure out how to get as well.

It's a short week for me.  I'm taking a day of personal leave tomorrow.  Alan and I are headed down to Tampa for the weekend.  Myra and Milko will be there as well.  And we'll see all of Pennie's kids and grandkids.

So I'm chucking down a couple of Moon Drops and headed off to bed.

So here's the short of it, 
Somehow this week seems that it's already been 7 days long!

And here's the long.

I think I slept a bit better last night for having ingested a homeopathic dose of Arsenicum Album, Chamomilla, and Coffea Cruda!  I'm going to use a couple of those moon drops again this evening!  

And that's a really good thing because this is only Wednesday and it already seems like it's been 7 days since Monday.  Someone on Facebook said that from the start up of school until Labor Day is always the hardest part of the school year.  I don't know - but that could be the case.  There's lots of stuff to make happen.  Often it's a wonderful time, but sometimes not so much.

This evening my young neighbor boy helped me harvest tomatoes and water the herb garden.  I thought his Mom knew where he was (he told me so), but she didn't and he was late for dinner.  I'll have to call her from now on so I don't get him in trouble.

For now, I'm sucking on a Moon Drop and will be crashing to sleep in just a few - so nighty night!



 

So here's the short of it, 
Moon Drops.

And here's the long.

I'm going to go and catch the sandman here in just a few minutes.

I've been having a bit of my usual trouble turning off my brain and getting sleepy or to sleep early enough to make my mornings easy.  So I've got some stuff called Moon Drops a homeopathic sleep aid.  We'll see how they work.  I didn't read the ingredient list before I bought them and I'm not very familiar with homeopathic remedies.  But I thought it worth a try.  So I'm taking Arsenicum album.  According to Wiki -- yes, yes, I know it's not reliable in research - but it's a quick and easy start -- anyway, according to Wiki it's one of the fifteen most important treatments in homeopathic medicine.  I know about the Chamomilla - I drink it as a tea from time to time and it's a well known mountain remedy as well.  But I've never really heard of it used homeopathically.

All of the ingredients on the ABC of Homeopathy website except the Valeriana have to do with calming the mind!  And that is exactly what the problem is.  And then the Valeriana has to do with excessive jerking of the limbs!  I'm not sure I do that at all, but we'll see.  I'm about ready to head off toward the bed and see just how well the Moon Drops work.

So here's the short of it, 
To my friends and family... 

And here's the long.

I'm holding my words tonight. The political conversations swirling around the Republican Convention are testing my tolerance.

I imagine that when the Democratic Convention happens it will test the tolerance of some of my more conservative thinking friends and family as well.

I'm glad that in our family we have enough other things in common that we can avoid conversing about politics most of the time.

So here's the short of it, 
Heading into the work week feeling better than yesterday.  

And here's the long.

I guess all that sleeping I did yesterday paid off. I sure feel better today!

However, as I look back over this day, I can't figure out what in the world I did with all the time I had.  Got the groceries in. Did a bit of cooking to put up lunches for Alan. Did NOT make dinner as Alan had a meeting to go to.

Well, tomorrow I'll sure know what I've done all day long - it's back to the working week.  Thank goodness for tomorrow I don't have to worry about ending the day without knowing what I've done.
I've got quite the list to get done tomorrow.

I'm heading off to bed pretty soon.

So here's the short of it, 
Weekend Nap ...

And here's the long.

This morning I was up and at 'em and got a few things done.  I took Mom, Joyce, and Frances over to the Brainerd Market at Grace. They sure had fun looking at all the wonderful stuff and everyone came home with something! Frances got a few vegetables and some pullet eggs.  I didn't know about pullet eggs before.  Frances told me she likes them because they're from the young ladies!  I looked them up and found a really interesting article here.



Joyce found the Niedlovs stand and took home a hearty loaf of bread.

They went to have an early lunch without me because I had a bunch of stuff to get done.  It was nice to have them here for a visit.


By lunch time, I was really, really tired.  I thought I'd just take a little nap - something I rarely do.  I ended up sleeping almost all afternoon!  I'm wondering if I might have a little bug.  I'm not thinking I'm going to have any trouble sleeping tonight either!  Maybe I just needed a really good nap today.

So here's the short of it, 
Time with The Sisters tonight. 

And here's the long.

Mom's two sisters, Joyce and Frances are here.

For the last several many years, Mom and her two baby sisters usually get together for a weekend about this time every year.  They've all had another birthday so they like to have some time to celebrate.

Uncle Bob drove down with them last night, and they've all had a good day together.  This evening we had dinner with them - Papa John's pizza and Mom's pound cake with lemons and raspberry sorbet. After dinner and some visiting, we spent some time editing a Reunion Reflections piece that Joyce had put together soon after our VanSant Family Reunion was over.  It was a fun time as we all sat around and jabbered and thought and changed up the first draft.  I like working with others, because we all sharpen each others axes!

Hopefully we'll get to spend a little time visiting again tomorrow before they have to head back to Kentucky!

So here's the short of it, 
Neighborhood Night...

And here's the long.

I live in Brainerd.  It's one of the early "suburbs" of Chattanooga, and it's been a wonderful place to live, raise a family, well - call home.

Tonight was the annual meeting of the Belvoir Neighborhood Association. We heard a review of the year.  Lots of stuff happening in the neighborhood.  Then we had an opportunity to elect our board - our area representatives and our officers.  We did a couple of updates to the bylaws as well.  So I suppose I think of this as government at a very local level.  It's really nice to live in a neighborhood where there is interaction among the residents and a structure to make good things happen for the neighborhood.

One of the things we heard about tonight is the Pavilion Project which will be built in the Triangle Park.  Here's a great blog post about it from David Barlew who is the architect.  It looks like this will be built in this coming year.  I'm really excited about that.  We also had an update on the bluebird trail. It was established in 2008 I believe and our report tonight said that we are close to fledging 100 birds.  It was a particularly hard year for the birds this year because of the heat.  John McGirk who is the brains behind the bluebird trail really worked hard to save the babies.  Several of the bird houses got blue ice on the outside it the heat of the day and a neighbor tapped to supplement the parents hunting by feeding meal worms about every two hours.  Tonight in the presentation, Bud Hickey one of our founding members had gotten a picture of one of our very own bluebirds perched on one of our neighborhood bluebird markers. It was just beautiful.  We have two bluebird boxes on the circle.  One of the boxes was in distress.  One of our neighbors and I pitched in to help with the mealy worm feeding and we helped save one of the three babies in that box.  It was fun to watch it fledge!

So here's to organizing on a local level and working with neighbors to bring good things to the neighborhood!  And in the most basic way democratic government at work.

Watch this video 

BELVOIR ROCKS!

So here's the short of it, 
Gardening with friends. 

And here's the long.

Tonight as I was pulling into the driveway from work my next door neighbor was standing at the end of the driveway waiting for me.  It was the middle child.  He's about 6 years old.  "Miss Lynn", he says, "can we work in the garden tonight".  Now those of you who read this blog with any regularity have heard me talk about how nice it is to have Sophie making me go for a walk every night.  Because there are many nights that I would not walk but I feel like I must go walking for Sophie.  And tonight it was the same thing in the garden.  I wouldn't have spent a moment in the garden if that little fellow hadn't leveled his gaze right at me and made me feel like I needed to get those boys into the garden.

I got into gardening clothes and shoes and headed out the back.  The two older boys came over and we harvested a bunch of tomatoes.  The Cherokee Purple are really bearing right now.  And they are SO good.  The Celebrity and the TFI's are coming along, but none are ripe just yet.  We got a nice bunch.  I was eager to share with them, but even though the boys are so excited to help, they don't like the tomatoes and don't eat them.  I think that's pretty funny.  Their Mom came and joined us about the time we were finishing up in the tomato garden.  Cute little 3 year old brother was with her.  We were just headed to the back patio to put the tomatoes on the patio table.  We worked for a little bit in the herb garden, and the boys harvested several herbs to take home for cooking.  And it turns out that they really like the herbs.  That was fun for them.  I can give them a pair of scissors and just let them "give the herbs a haircut" and they can do it independently.  Even the little 3 year old had a hand at cutting some basil for his Mom.

So it was nice. I hadn't intended to do any gardening tonight, but I did. And I'm glad I did.

So here's the short of it, 
Happy Birthday Emily!!

And here's the long.

Today is Mom's birthday!

How wonderful it is to have her here just down the road and around the corner from us.

She's seen lots of changes in her lifetime - from a childhood in mostly rural areas of Kentucky, helping on the farm, learning to can foods, and make her own clothes -- to an independent woman- driving back and forth to Lexington for graduate classes, becoming a respected educator, to traveling with her husband across Europe -- a woman who learned to ride a horse as a young girl, and watched the first man land on the moon from a television in her home.

She is so amazing - she still has a garden and cans beans and tomatoes.  She's very active at church - not only attending, but serving as an elder, working with the Christian Education Ministry, and staying active in the senior group, as well as the women's group.

She's a great role model for me.  I hope as I approach that age Mom is, that I have her energy and drive.

Happy Birthday Mom!!  Love you SO MUCH...

So here's the short of it, 
Back at it today!

And here's the long.

This was an early morning.  It sure does get the week off to a big start to have a really early meeting on a Monday!  I always think about my colleagues who work the early shift all the time.  I'm really glad that I don't work that schedule any more!

We are doing counts this week.  Student-Teacher ratios. When I got to work, my eyes were glued to the computer screen and my butt was glued to my chair.  Geez!!!  I'll be glad to get that piece done.

Have I ever said on this blog that I love my job!  I feel like the work I do has a positive impact on kids and even when it's details that aren't the most fun in the world.  So I'm ready to get up and do it again tomorrow.

So here's the short of it, 
Facebook is bringing out the grammer and spelling cops!

And here's the long.

Every once in awhile on Facebook someone makes a post about how much they dislike it when people make errors with grammar and particularly homophones. So this is my take on all that.

All language has as its purpose communication.  The history of the written language and particularly spelling and grammar standardization has always fascinated me - I suppose I'm just a bit of a language aficionado.  Here's a website that explores one small facet of it. But you know, there is nothing about the misuse of your and you're or to and two that bothers me.  I really don't even think that the ability to spell or misspell potato has much to do with intelligence.

For some reason spelling and grammar is really easy for some people to learn. And for other people it's (or is that its -- oh, I know) really difficult.  From time to time I see this funny piece on Facebook about math.  And I know that for some really intelligent people the difference between to and too and two is just as confusing.  I also know that some people that I love very much don't know the difference between homophones or how to do a math word problem either. And I still like to hear about how they are doing on Facebook.

Before cultures had written language, I imagine that there was something else that people used to stratify themselves.  I wonder what it was.

You see I don't really care if people get their commas right or if they use the right homophone.  I'll have to admit that when I go to the grocery store and see the sign in the aisle that says "can goods", I still cringe just a bit - so in some way I understand the angst of the grammer cops.  But, I'm even more fascinated at how the language changes - and leaves us behind if we don't come along willingly.  I don't know what social media will do for changing our language or our standards.  Now that "publishing" is available for everyone whether they have an editor or not, I can only imagine that there will be some changes - and that lots of people won't like it.

But I like it that people have found their voices and are courageous enough to post a grammatically imperfect status.

So here's the short of it, 
At the Brainerd Farmer's Market today. 

And here's the long.

Mom and I went to the Brainerd Farmer's Market today.   We try to go most Saturdays.  It's a good way for us to get into the habit of buying locally. We got there probably 30-45 minutes after opening at 10:00.  My egg lady from Hoe Hop Farms was already out of eggs!  She indicated that there was another vendor there who had eggs, but I decided to wait.  I did buy a half loaf of the wonderful oat bread that she bakes.  She also inspired me to start making my own granola.  I've friended Hoe Hop Farms on Facebook and perused the photos.  I like the way the Laying Hens are housed and the feed they get.  And they sure do taste wonderful.  Alan asked for scrambled eggs for dinner tonight and he commented on how good they tasted.  I've only got a very few more. I'll have to stretch it out til next weekend, or stop by the Main Street Market on the way home from work on Wednesday night.

I love all the vendor booths at the Brainerd Market.   There are several booths with seasonal produce, a couple of booths that specialize in meats, and then a couple that feature homemade soaps, lotions, lip salves, etc.  Usually there's a couple there with a hydroponic tower of herbs, letuces, etc.

Today the young man pictured was at his family's booth. He was real cute, so pleasant, and such a good salesman. I swiped his photo from the Brainerd Farmer's Market Facebook page.  He sold me some apple and peach pies for dessert one night this week.

Grace Episcopal Church took on this project as one of their ministries.  I'm really grateful that we've got a church in our neighborhood that see's the importance of an endeavor like this.

So here's the short of it, 
I'm pretty grateful that the week is over and there's a weekend!  

And here's the long.

Today just flew by and I didn't get everything done that was on my list! But, I did make it through the week and checked the boxes of most of the really important things.

I'm very excited to have a couple of days when I don't have to get up and report to work.  A couple of days should be plenty of time to get me ready to head back on Monday! But for tomorrow the alarm is off!  The breakfast will be leisurely - if it's not raining the Brainerd Market will see me, and Mom if she wants to go - and in the afternoon, I'll eagerly climb onto Kelly's massage table!

That's a great Saturday and then family dinner on Sunday will just get me in a good frame of mind for another week at breakneck speed.

Love my job!

So here's the short of it, 
Science Technology Engineering and Math - STEM

And here's the long.

Today I had a chance to visit with a few kids from the new STEM High School that's opened in Chattanooga.  It's opened with 75 9th graders and will add a class of 9th graders for the next three years.  I'm really excited about the possibilities.

The school is using the Flipped Classroom model for teaching.  In a normal classroom the teacher lectures and then gives the students homework to do on their own at home away from where they might be able to get teacher help.  The Flipped Classroom model has the students watch the lecture at home for homework.  When they get to school, they have the "homework" or "school work" as it will be now.  The teacher is there as a coach and the kids get to have more opportunity for one on one help.  That sounds pretty interesting, huh.  Well, that's not all!  Every week, the students take an assessment based on those "homework" lectures or readings that they had.  The assessments don't count toward their grade - they are used to place the students in a "skill level", for the next week.  Those students who score "advanced" on these assessments will have an opportunity to move into a group of students who are working on projects based on already having an understanding of the material.  Those who need more practice have an opportunity to work in a group with other students who are needing support to learn the skill.  This just makes too much sense!

The kids had only been in school for three and a half days, but they were eager to share their perceptions about the school.

They especially like the use of technology!  They all were issued an iPad and they are really using the technology!  They are using EverNote and Edmodo for communication.  The kids got their schedule for the first week by logging onto EverNote and finding their schedule!  And their assignments from teachers come from their Edmodo accounts.  They really liked that.

I think I'm going to get to spend a bit of time there for a few weeks.  I think I'll like that. I really look forward to seeing how things go.  Right now I think it's great!

So here's the short of it, 
Happy Kindergarten to you!

And here's the long.

We are halfway through the first week of school.  All the schools I've been in so far this week seem to have opened with no problems.  It's a fun time!

Several of my Facebook friends and family have little ones starting Kindergarten this year.  It's holding true to form that the nervousness and expectations of tears is mostly from the Moms not the kids!

There's even a book now called The Night Before Kindergarten..   Now how great is that.  A book to read to your little guy/gir)l before that big day going off to Kindergarten!  I see the same thing in our buildings as from the Facebook crowd.  For the most part the kids are ready for this; it's the Moms (and sometimes Dads) who are a bit nervous and hesitant to leave their little ones in the hands of that next bigger world.

And I guess I should write the Night Before Kindergarten for parents.  If you have a kid and you're reading this - remember that as much as your kid's teachers will love him or her - there's this.  They'll have them for a year.  They are yours for life.  Advocate, advocate, advocate!!!

So here's the short of it, 
We have fairies in the neighborhood!

And here's the long.

I've always known that we live in a magical place!  Our neighborhood, and especially our little spot in the neighborhood is a really special place. Tonight when Sophie and I went out for our walk, we found evidence of magic going on in the neighborhood.  In a neighbors front yard, we found a fairy ring!

Growing up in southeastern Kentucky, we were heavily influenced by the mythology and folklore of the British, Irish, Welsh, and Scots.  And there were certainly were stories of fairies and elves and other such people.  I heard about them from my parents, but always in a fictional tone of voice.  The stories were fun and entertaining, but I don't think I ever really thought they believed in them. They certainly believed in retelling the stories and keeping the legends alive.  On the other hand I encountered many folk who really did believe that these creatures were alive and well in the mountains of Kentucky as well as back in the old country!  For them, the fairy rings were just another piece of evidence that they were real.

The department of agriculture explains that fairy rings are caused by the outward expansion of the germinating spore of mycelium.  To me the notion that some magical creatures were dancing in the yard and left behind the evidence is a good story.  Maybe some of that good magic will make it's way all around the circle and we'll all have good fairy luck!

So here's the short of it, 
First Day of School!

And here's the long.

I've heard nothing but good things about the first day of school from all across the county.  And my colleagues are in there already getting problems solved!  For the next few days,  I'm headed out to spend the morning in schools.  I really like being in schools and seeing kids and teachers in those really early days of school.  There might be a few tears in the Kindergarten hallway - but most of them are parent tears, because the teachers have those kids loving every minute before you know it.  And there's nothing like seeing an 11th grader or 12th grader who knows that the time is drawing close. They've got this.  They know what they need to do and in those first days, I can just see it in their demeanor.  

So here we go!  It will be a great year!

So here's the short of it, 
Imagine

And here's the long.

I'm sitting here watching the closing ceremony for the Olympics.

I was out of the room for a bit and came back in to see John Lennon singing Imagine.  I was pretty confused for a couple of seconds there.  It took a little bit for me to realize that it was a video clip of him.

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do.
Nothing to kill or die for
...
Imagine all the people living life in peace.

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world.

O dear, that sounds a bit like a Hippie Peace Freak doesn't it.
I wonder sometimes.....  How many of us would have to want that to make it happen.

So here's the short of it, 
I got some stuff done around the house today!

And here's the long.

Often there are so many errands I have to take care of on the weekend, or other demands on my time that I'm not home very long at all without the routine of the stuff that has to be done.  But today I had some extra time and Alan was working outside.

I really like having that kind of time!

I also had breakfast with my cousin Mia.  We met at City Cafe and ate and talked for a good bit.  It was a really nice visit. She moved here about 6 years ago.  I really never imagined when I moved to Chattanooga all those years ago that I'd have relatives living here!

I also brushed both the cat and the dog!  Now the cat usually doesn't want me anywhere near her with a grooming tool.  But she was very cooperative today!

So all in all this was a good day.

So here's the short of it,
Had a great visit with little brother and wife tonight.

And here's the long.

Steve and Pat are overnighting with Mom on their way to Pat's 40th high school reunion!  I told her that there was no way she'd been out of school that long because I sure wasn't that old and she's much younger than me!

Anyway, they stopped to overnight with Mom and so we had a nice visit.  Mom made a wonderful garden supper.  Corn, green beans, and cucumber and tomato salad and salmon cakes.  From the stories she's told over the years I believe that Salmon cakes were something that her mother made fairly often when she was growing up.  I know that they often didn't have meat unless they had recently slaughtered a hog or had a chicken.  But there was a country store near their house and so once in awhile, Grandma would buy canned salmon and make salmon cakes or salmon patties.  We had them once in awhile when I was growing up -- but probably not as much as we have them now.

Alan came a little late for dinner, but we had a great visit over our dinner.  Mom is such a great cook and it's always a bit like being around the kitchen table where we had so many meals when we were growing up.

Steve and Pat are going to Victoria, British Columbia for their wedding anniversary and are going to have a couple of days in Seattle!  That will be such a nice trip for them.  I was able to share a couple of my favorite places in Seattle - so maybe they'll visit Pike Place Market and the Freemont Art District.  I'll be eager to hear if they are able to visit either of those places and if so how they enjoyed it.

It was really good to get to see them!

So here's the short of it, 
Yes, I'm still watching the Olympics.

And here's the long.

Latvia won bronze in Men's Beach Volleyball!

They played Netherlands while I was at work today so I didn't get a chance to see the contest.  But Liga sent me a text saying that she and Valdis were having lunch and watching!  We were all excited about them making the medal competition!  (Note the very Latvian s at the end of the male names!)

Latvia's Janis Smedins (L) and Martins Plavins in action against the Netherlands (Reuters)

Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/Latvia-wins-Olympic-beach-volleyball-bronze/tabid/1697/articleID/264936/Default.aspx#ixzz236gv83Yo

Now I'm watching the women's platform diving.  I remember when Liga and Valdis got interested in diving...  We spent about 3 years doing practices and meets, and they were both quite good.  There was even one winter when they took lessons from a locally well known diving coach.  I was petrified after they started doing things more complicated than a forward pike or forward flip.  I'm watching the women dive from the 10 meter platform and I wonder how in the world their Moms  managed all that tension!  I was really glad when the kids decided that they really weren't that interested in diving any more.  

A young woman from Malaysia just won a medal.  And she just spoke to a reporter in English.  I'm so impressed that young people all over the world are willing to learn and speak English.  I'm also so impressed any time I meet young Americans who are learning a second language and are willing to try and speak it. 

I'll probably watch a bit more track and field and then it's off to bed for one more work day this week!

So here's the short of it, 
Today was our system-wide in-service.

And here's the long.

Teachers have been in school all week doing training, working in their rooms (or in case of our teachers, trying to find a room, a closet, or a corner of some room they can use), getting schedules organized, making contact with principals (those that are itinerant).  But today about 30 of our staff members who work with our intellectually gifted students got to come together for a bit of training and time together.

I always enjoy the teachers I work with.  They are absolutely some of the best and most creative teachers around.  They - well most of them also don't hesitate to speak their minds and it's awesome to watch them network and help out a friend in need.

I felt good about our time together today.  I'm lucky.  This is good work with great people.

So here's the short of it, 
The days are taking the shape of school days now.

And here's the long.

Everything is in place.  The kids are scheduled into classes; the buildings are clean as they'll be until this time next year; and the teachers have their plans made.  We've got another couple of days of training and then the kids will arrive.

I love the beginning of school.  It's such a reminder for me that we really do have a chance to start over at many points in our lives.  I don't know of many kids at all that don't start the year with high hopes that this will be the best year ever.  Teachers too, you know.

So here's to new starts -  those new beginnings. Here's to the belief that every day, every moment, we have a chance to start again.

So here's the short of it,
The Olympics mesmerize me.

And here's the long.

In my late twenties when I was newly single and living on my own, I didn't own a television. I didn't miss it.  I don't really remember what I did instead of watching the tube.  I was writing then and refinishing furniture, and who remembers what else.  I'd been without a television for probably two years and hadn't really missed it at all.  Then it was time for the Olympics - and I went out and bought a little black and white television so I could watch.

I've always loved the Olympics - I like the events, but more than anything I'm inspired by the athletes.  The commitment and the stories of how they came to their sport and the grueling training they do to get to the competitive level that allows them to compete against the best in the world are what pull me in.

I've always been most attracted to the athletes who overcome some odds to get there.  I'm still mostly attracted to those stories.  But I'm also intrigued by the story of the Queen of England's granddaughter - there's just something about anyone who takes on that challenge level and then chases it as far as it will go!

Tonight I watched the Latvian Men's Beach VolleyBall Team defeat Team USA.  Now that was hard to watch - but if someone is going to beat the USA, I'm all for having it be Latvia.  Liga was really excited!  I guess we won't get to see them in the semi-final since they'll be playing Brazil - we'll just have to google it I suppose!

I'll watch a little bit more and then head off to bed before they shut off the coverage.

So here's the short of it, 
I like our tradition of Sunday night family dinner. 

And here's the long.

Tonight Valdis and Kalie were able to join us for Sunday family dinner. Liga had asked for chicken and mashed potatoes, and Mom had green beans from the garden.  And our Purple Cherokee Tomatoes were just wonderful!

The chicken was especially wonderful.  And Liga was documenting ever step so we can repeat it.  Everyone was complimentary.  I thought it was juicier and tastier than any chicken I've made in over a year.  Maybe it was just the chicken - or maybe it was having Liga insisting on basting it fairly frequently in the last 30 minutes of cooking.

Of course the best part of family dinner is the family.  Mom makes it almost every week unless she's visiting with other family out of town.  Liga almost always makes it - even if she's working a weekend, she can run over on her dinner break.  Valdis isn't always able to come, but he tries to be here as often as possible, and often brings Kalie.  Once in awhile we'll have others join us, but that's the usual crew.

So Hurray for Sunday night family dinner! And another Hurray for making a pretty good chicken!

So here's the short of it, 
Why is my ear still hurting?

And here's the long.

I'm faithfully taking my antibiotic.  My ear is still hurting.  What's with that?

Liga started feeling awful at work and I convinced her to come over for soup and to spend the night.  This morning I looked at her throat with a flashlight and just insisted that she go to a walk in.  It was strep - the bad kind.  She's also on antibiotics.  She looks pale and feels horrible.  I don't look pale, but I was so tired that I took an afternoon nap today.  I'm hardly ever able to take a nap - so I think it's probably an indicator that I'm still sub par!

I'm done for the day.  I convinced Liga to stay and let me "take care of her".  Of course she's really keeping me company by staying here.  We are going to just veg out and watch the olympics for another little bit then have a nice sleep.

So here's the short of it, 
Hurray for the weekend!

And here's the long.

Pretty productive day at work today.  And when it was over - the weekend was here!

I'm so glad to have the weekends.  And tonight, Liga is here to spend the night.  She wasn't feeling well all day today, so I made her some Matza Ball soup and got her over!  We are just visiting and watching the olympics.

I'm feeling lots better, but my ear still hurts some!  I'm ready for this to be well.

I've got a busy and full weekend, but My, Oh My, I am glad for a weekend!

So here's the short of it, 
It's officially started!

And here's the long.

I wasn't in a school building today, so I really missed the excitement of the teachers returning to school to begin preparation for students to arrive. But I could feel it in the air.  Our department is still trying to fill a few last minute vacant positions.  Once we get that done, we'll all breathe a sigh of relief.

Our work today focused on what we need to do to "close the achievement gap".  Tennessee got one of the first waivers from NCLB and so now we've got to figure out how to do it the Tennessee way. I don't think I've got the answers, but all of us have some ideas.  Wonder if someone could design a computer program to take suggestions from all the educators and feed them through the program and have some kind of programmatic suggestions come out?  Wonder.  

I know some amazing teachers, wonderful administrators, and great support people.  We could figure this out.  I really think we could.

I'm already starting out the year with a couple of large headaches to deal with - but I swear, I'm going to focus on the good.

So here's the short of it, 
Well, I'm much better. 

And here's the long.

I still have a bit of an ear ache, but I'm much better than I was yesterday!  The antibiotic must have started working, but I'm still a bit swollen. Last night I could barely stand to brush my hair because the skin all over the left side of my head was so sensitive and painful - that's mostly gone.
I think I'll sleep a lot better tonight too.  Last night I was a bit restless.

One of my co-workers was formerly a nurse.  She thought I should have gotten ear drops as well as the antibiotic!  So tonight I'll put some kind of drop in before I head to the bed.  I put a piece of cotton in my ear canal today.  Of course it muted my hearing a bit, but I think it helped calm the hurt today.

If I get as much improvement tomorrow as I had today, I'll be in really good shape.