Home Again!

We're back (got back late Saturday night, actually). Yesterday we enjoyed our first kid-free day and basically did whatever we wanted (which was taking down the tree and unpacking). Then last night we did a joint dinner with our friends the Fantinis (she made the chicken and bought the other food, and I set the table and made everything to go with the chicken). Woooo! I love those nights.

Watched the Eagles beat the Bills, then played Pinochle and Sleuth (thanks, Chris and Kristin). Sleuth definitely has potential to be a lot of fun, but we're still all working out or recording techniques.

Anyway, pictures of the trip and Christmas morning to come soon.

--End--

Family Vacation

We leave in the morning for Colonial Williamsburg. We'll be there through the 29th. Then it's a stop in Chantilly, VA on the way home. The kids stay with Grandma and Grandpa for a week while Joe and I drive home late on the 29th.

Can't wait! If anybody needs us for anything, call Mom & Dad Schierer or Mom Dugan ... they'll have contact info that can get to us eventually.

I don't know if I'll have e-mail access or not.

In the meantime ...

--End--

Ps. Just received this lovely e-card from Allegheny College. Thought I'd share.

Another Sickie

When Matthew was lethargic and sleepy yesterday, I chalked it up to three nights in a row staying up past 10:30.

Then he "woke up" giggling uncontrollably around 11pm last night. He didn't snap out of it entirely until we kind of shook him and turned on the light. He still didn't seem to know where he was. Ear thermometer registered 103.5*. Called the ped on call and administered chewable Tylenol. That brought it down to around 101* after 40 minutes.

We woke up and rechecked him around 1am. Down to about 100*.

This morning I made the call to stay home with him when it was back up to 103*. And his bones ache.

Poor kid.

. . . . . . .

Afternoon Update: Matthew seems pretty much fine now and had no fever at the doctor's office (naturally!). The site-specific aches and pains he's complaining of and sudden onset of fever with no other flu-like symptoms are upsetting. He's going back on amoxycillin for two weeks and has had blood drawn for a Lyme titer. Remember this? The results will go right to our pediatrician. So we'll see.

Thursday Update: Matthew's back in school today. His fever came back Tuesday night and we kept him home yesterday. Though he was fine all day (low-grade fever 99.5-ish temp). We picked up some acidophilus to help out (antibiotics do a number on his bowels, enough said). So we should be all set for our trip. I don't know how long the labwork will take. So, we'll see.

Final (for now) Update: The labwork all came back negative. So, unless he has further joint pain, no further action is necessary, beyond finishing his run of antibiotics.

--End--

Holiday Sweaters

Do you own one (or more) pieces of festive knitwear?

We've all seen them ... from the subtle sprig of holly on the cuff of a red cardigan (class and understated) to the completely smothered Santa-and-all-his-elves- must-have-thrown-up-all-over this sweater monstrosities. In my line of work ... I've seen hundreds of these things. There something about teaching at the elementary level that causes otherwise perfectly normal adult women to dress themselves in festive garb that would otherwise make them gag.

Now, you can do the sweater designers one better. Hope on over to We Hate Holiday Sweaters and have fun designing your own holiday "masterpiece." Or, just enjoy browsing through others' creations.

WARNING: This is one of those sites that plays music. I know. I can't stand them, either. So, if you're trying to stealth-surf at work, be ready with the mouse to click off the sound.

--End--

Brain Power

Tip of the frontal cortex to my brother. And the differences in our scores may explain a lot about our history of miscommunication. Up for a Meyers-Briggs next, Chris?

I took the left-brain/right-brain quiz and came up with a somewhat unsurprising result. I always have known that I'm a generalist, and that I'm way more left-brained than people usually realize (Joe would swear I'm entirely without logic and reason).

But ... what I didn't know is that my phenomenal cranial powers result in 101% brain capacity!

Seriously, I received 50% left-brain and 51% right-brain. The evenness doesn't really surprise me. Nor does it really reveal anything about my brain usage. There's a more specific breakdown of the results which yields more interesting insight. I'm apparently a very rules and order oriented (knew that), non-creative (wha?) big picture person. And they're not evenly spread results. Very weighted in my strengths.

Left Brain Percentages:
60% Reality based (I wouldn't have guessed this to be true about me.) -- You process information with a firm basis on reality, but because of this, may lack creativity. You are able to easily create or adapt to rules and regulations. For example, you understand the repercussion of your actions. You easily adjust to change in the environment and probably do not become emotionally involved in many tasks.
53% Sequential (Yup, I knew this one. Big time.) -- When you process information you have received, you are able to order it in a systematic, logical order from first to last. You probably excel in spelling and find tasks such as mathematics and following directions relatively straightforward. You also may find enjoyment in making "to-do" lists, checking off items after each task is completed.
37% Linear
20% Verbal
17% Symbolic
0% Logical (I guess Joe is right, after all! And now that I read their description of this characteristic, I think I can agree with it.) -- You may tend to rely on a "gut" feeling to help you make your decisions from the information you have received. For example, you will often choose an answer on a test because it "feels" right, and you may be correct. This is due to the fact of your tendency to look for the whole picture but not the details that create it. You can often start with the answer and work your way back to allow yourself to see the process and parts that create the whole. You may find math problems and science experiments difficult because of this.

Right Brain Percentages:
71% Holistic (Big picture gal, that's me! With excellent visual-spatial skills.) -- You naturally see the big picture first, but may have difficulty seeing the details that accompany it. You probably experience difficulty starting in the middle and working your way to a solution. Your natural inclination is to discover what you're doing before you comprehend any of the parts. However, this method also provides your visual spatial skills that can help in physical arts, such as painting or sculpture, or athletics, from basketball to ballet.
46% Concrete (Why do these keep going back to math problems? Eeew...math. Always loved Geometry, though.) -- At times, you feel the need to see a real object in order to understand it. At other times, you are able to understand a problem on a symbolic level. For example, you may find that in solving math problems, it occasionally helps you to "draw out" the problem in order to understand and solve it.
32% Nonverbal
20% Intuitive
17% Random
16% Fantasy-oriented (Because I'm craftsy people say that I'm very creative. But, maybe I'm not all that creative, after all.) -- You have a low ability to process information in a fantasy-oriented way. You have the tendency to focus on rules and regulations rather than on creative approaches. You generally do not have a problem adjusting to change in the environment. You may lack creativity, but you do not need to become emotionally involved in tasks in order to complete them.

--End--

Odd Inventions

"They" say that inventions arise when someone sees a need and designs a way to meet that need. Some of these fill needs that probably aren't strictly needs. Some of these are just plain weird. Taken from this site. Christmas shopping possibilities for those people on your list who already have everything common and useful.

Anti-theft Coffee Cup
I'm guessing this would be ideal for shared break rooms, where people just sort of keep their coffee mugs on a tray for convenience. I've worked in places like that, but I don't drink coffee...so never had a missing mug. I'd have to think the plug would be a bit weird rattling around in your desk drawer in between cuppas.

Transparent Toaster
I guess this luxury toaster would be handy if you really only ever toast one slice of bread at a time. I wonder if it'd be adjustable for bagels. I'm thinking not. Still, if a particular shade of tan is really your thing, this would be the perfect toaster.



Day Clock
OK, I'll admit I sometimes lose track of what day it is. I have weeks where I'm lulled into a false sense of Thursday-ness, only to remember it's only Tuesday. But, I think I'd feel more than slightly ridiculous having a day of the week clock hanging on my wall.



Laser Scissors
OK, I like a nice straight, even line as much as the next elementary school teacher. But this seems like a rather extreme way to accomplish a fairly straightforward (get it?) task.


Ergonomic Infant Pillow
While I can sort of see the point of a nestly, cuddly-shaped pillow to position and comfort your precious bundle, the "lifelike" hands are totally creeping me out. It looks like the poor baby is about to be crushed by a malevolent Muppet. I wonder if it's available in different fabric colors for various ethnicities.

Phrasebook T-Shirt
I can't imagine the comments one would receive actually using this T-shirt in a foreign land. Probably something along the lines of "Regarde l'idiot dans le t-shirt ridicule. Il pense que nous sommes des imbéciles!" Or even "посмотрите идиота в смешоной тенниске. он думает мы будет дурачками!" Or, considering the tact and awareness of many Americans traveling overseas, "Bloody Yank, we speak English here! We invented it! Wanker. Find your own bloody loo."

--End--

Dead (or not) Celebrities

Today on NPR I heard a bit about Evel Knievel's funeral* and I thought, "Huh. I guess I thought he was already dead. Who knew?"

When we lived in Pittsburgh, one of the morning radio shows (probably 3WS, we listened to them a lot) used to have a call-in contest where they'd name ten celebrities in thirty seconds and the caller had to identify them as living or dead. This quiz always made us feel really stupid and clueless.

And I'm not a dumb or unaware person, really. But I swear, every year when I watch the Oscars** and they do that retrospective montage of actors (directors, etc) who'd died in the past year, there are always a few who make me think, "Huh. Really? Thought s/he was already dead. Who knew?"

Just wiki-ed a bunch of folks and here are some I think I thought were already dead.*** Who aren't! Bully for them! Richard Dawson, Jack LaLanne, Ernest Borgnine, Phyllis Diller, Arthur C. Clarke, Betty Ford, Edmund Hillary, Joseph Wapner, Carol Channing

Way to go, guys!

--End--

*He died on November 30 of lung disease.

** Yes, I know ... you never took me for the Award Show type.

***Dead or Alive? Check whether your favorite celebs are still with us.

Red States v. Blue States

I have not fact-checked this, but found it interesting. Reprinted here for your convenience.* Some nifty cartograms on red states and blue states can be found here.

Dear Red States: We're ticked off at the way you've treated California, and we've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us.

In case you aren't aware, that includes Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and the entire Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.

To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get Elliot Spitzer. You get Ken Lay. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get OpryLand. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom. We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss. We get 85 percent of America’s venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama. We get two-thirds of the tax revenue; you get to make the red states pay their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms. Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines (you can serve French wines at state dinners)

90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools, plus Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.

With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia. We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals than we lefties.

* Mostly. I don't know anything about pot, so I left that part out.

--End--

Geography Quiz

OK, an actually very cool online quiz. Test your geography knowledge (or lack thereof). I made it to the "hard" levels, level 10 I think, but don't remember my exact score. I wish the map were larger.

Enjoy!

--End--

Potential Changes

Prayers requested for some potential changes (for the good) at my job. Things are uncertain right now. Mr principal and I had a very promising conversation yesterday, and I'm hoping things come to fruition.

Thanks!
--End--

Also....

I sent $150 in late pledges received just after I returned from the 2007 Breast Cancer 3-Day. I mailed them in toward my 2008 $2,200 objective. That was .... hmmm .... back in early November sometime. They still haven't posted to my account.

Stupidly, I didn't make copies of the checks before sending them. And they're from people I don't know. I think someone must have heard from someone else, or seen it in the paper or church newsletter or something.

So, basically, two generous and wonderful people are unable to balance their checkbooks because of their outstanding donations. And, I have absolutely no way of telling them or letting the 3-Day know about the currently-missing donations.

Hopefully they will still turn up.

--End--

ps. This post should IN NO WAY discourage you from donating generously to me, yourselves! Hee.

Too Bad, So Sad

Guess all my blogging was just for the "good" of the "world." I didn't win any NaBloPoMo prizes.

:(

--End--

DECEMBER 1!

I did it! Posted every day for November. Yay!

Plus ... it's December 1 ... Christmas party day! Busy and fun (so why am I still up?).

And there's a (slight) chance of snow in the forecast this weekend (yeah, but it'll never materialize).

--End--

Mommy Brag

Just got back from the ice cream party at school celebrating Emily being on the Honor Roll for the first quarter of school. Third grade is the first year they do ABC grades in Millville. Specials are still ESN, and grades below third are ESN for everything.

Yay, Em!

--Heidi

A Fine Line

I've already said, "Merry Christmas" to half a dozen store employees, startling some of them, getting a (generic) "Happy Holidays" in reply from a few. I just love this time of year. I revel in the revelry. I get giddy in anticipation of the kids' delight. My toes curl up in childlike glee at finding the perfect gifts for everyone, especially Joe.

We have a big ol' Christmas tree, lights all over the house (way before all the neighbors, many of whom never even bother hanging lights ... Scrooges!), a giant church-sized Nativity on top of the piano (that no one's allowed to touch but me). The kids even have decorations in their rooms. We have tickets to the Philly Holidays Pops concert, Emily is performing in no less than five concerts between now and December 21st, we'll go to the college's concert this Sunday. We usually drive up into Philly to see the Macy's (used to be Lord & Taylor, but before that (and everyone still thinks of it as) it was Wanamaker's) light show . We'll pop over to nearby Dutch Neck Village for their live Nativity (including sheep, but no camels), and a visit with Santa. We host a Christmas Cookie Exchange party every year for friends and family. And, this year, we're getting into the spirit of an Old-Fashioned Christmas by making many of our gifts, which we'll exchange while visiting Colonial Williamsburg for a week. We cuddle on the couch watching old Christmas classics (and new ones, Elf is a big favorite), drinking egg nog, eating baklava, beefstick, cheese and crackers.

We do it up.

And the kids are already acknowledging and looking forward to some of our particular Dugan-family traditions. They know we always get our tree and decorate on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. They know they'll get special new Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve. They know about the baklava, beefstick and cheese. They ask about the Light Show and Pops concert in Philly (even though we just did those last year for the first time).

But ... where is the birth of Christ in all this? I like to think (am I deluding myself?) that God would approve of the wholesome family closeness we're nurturing. That He's smiling down on my kids' glee and our coziness. We do go to church, and sing the hymns, and pray before meals, and I explain the Nativity scenes as they are all set up all over the house (we have five of them), we read the Christmas story at least half a dozen times in half a dozen different ways. But ... is it enough? Generally speaking my kids look forward to much about this season that has nothing to do with getting presents (although that's usually Matthew's first answer ... when prompted, he does quickly come up with a bunch more things he loves). And they honestly seem to enjoy giving almost as much as receiving.

But ... is it enough?

Would it be right to cut back on all the other stuff and focus solely on the Biblical? Would that be squandering the family-memory-building potential that this season has in spades over the whole rest of the year?

I'm not sure. What we're doing doesn't seem all that dissimilar to our own childhood experiences (except we generally lack the candlelight Christmas Eve service ... we're almost always traveling that night ... I do definitely intend to rectify that soon, but maybe not this year ... the kids don't do that well staying up late). And we both turned out all right, church-going, God-fearing.

Still, it worries me. Parenting "correctly" so the kids turn out for the best worries me more than any other part of my life. I guess it's because pretty much everything else isn't truly all that important.

I'd love anyone else's thoughts on this balancing act at this time of year.

--End--

Curses, Foiled Again!

I just went through my cupboards, pulling out two jelly pans, my two-ton KitchenAid mixer, giant flour and sugar canisters. I went to the pantry for a can of pumpkin and had climbed on a chair to get the baking soda down from the elusive top-of-the-fridge cabinet.

When I noticed the next ingredient on the list.

3 eggs

I have in my house exactly 0 eggs. Let alone 3, let alone the 6 I needed for my annual doubled batch of Granny Kat's Pumpkin Roll.

And I was all motivated to bake tonight, too. So I stacked everything up and left it on the counter for baking to commence tomorrow after work (after a quick detour on the way home for eggs).

Bummed.

--End--

No Time to Blog

No time to blog anything lengthy (though I'm currently mentally dealing with maintaining Christmas traditions, building Christmas memories, planning the "perfect" Christmas experience for the kids while still trying to remember what Christmas is all about and keeping spirituality in focus), because I'm reading The Golden Compass.

Fabulous book ... glad it's a trilogy which means I have two more books to look forward to after this. I highly recommend reading it before seeing the movie (which isn't quite out yet, I think). There's a lot going on in the main character's head and I'm not sure how they're going to portray that effectively.

Anyway, back to my book (on my lunch break).

--End--

Shop 'Til Ya Drop

Today is Shop-a-Rama day for me. Woooo! (actually, there are better ways I can think of to spend my afternoon and evening, but I'm trying to stay upbeat)

Right after I get out of work (2 p.m.), I'm flying low to BJs and Acme for food for our Christmas Party this weekend. I have to be home by not-quite 4 to meet the schoolbus.

After dinner, I'm jetting off to Deptford (the nearest mall of size), about 45 minutes away. I'm shopping for holiday clothes. I have a cute black cocktail-type dress (that has never fit before!) for the Philly Pops concert. But, I need something little less sparkly-glam, definitely longer, but still wonderful to wear to the big Yule Feast at Williamsburg and to a family wedding on December 29.

I'm thinking lots and lots of velvet. One can only hope. Joe has pretty much let me loose. Wish me luck! Trying on dresses can be so rewarding, but also so frustrating.

--End--

Online Quiz

This is quite possibly the Weirdest Online Quiz Ever. I only got 4 out of 10, by the way.

--End--

Medical Updates

Matthew's tick bite has pretty much vanished. A tiny little pinprick scab. Few more days of amoxicillin.

I'm now on Nasonex spray and a "Leva-pak" which is 5 once-a-day levofloxacin tablets.

Hope this finally fixes me.

--End--