... gotta feel it, body takes control, really need it, need it ...

Just in case you didn't already know, there is a new hip joint in Downtown Greenville. I mean - it's not like the place isnt already brimful with excellent places to eat and play and adventure and waste time ... but now we have a dueling piano bar.

Jack and Diane's is a charming little place that is sparsely decorated but becomes surprisingly cozy. Don't let the militant attitude about IDs and the strict capacity count get you down - this place is where it's at! And worth a wait in line if it comes down to it. One of my sweet friends won a private party with free appetizers and cheap drinks for herself and 24 of her besties. I went and dragged along someone so that we could max out the funtimes.

Having never been to a piano bar I was unprepared for the craziness that was about to unfold.

The food was mediocre and fried (but FREE), the drinks were OK (bear in mind I was only drinking draft beer, so no real comment on the strength/quality of the mixed stuff). But the music, guys.

All of the musicians were excellent and on key, and all of the performers were completely inappropriate and potty-mouthed. The songs were great for dancing to, and the performers had us cutting up from the third song. It was like karaoke for the shy - you could belt it at the table with your pals and not worry about the repercussions. The way to get your songs played is to tip generously, and I had no cash monies. But I seriously enjoyed listening to all the other songs that were picked.

One word of warning - don't go there on or near your birthday. You do not want to get serenaded. Not in this day and age, with smartphones and such.

I still feel a little bad for Danny. Poor, poor Danny.

... if you wanna keep me, keep me like you lost it ...

Hopefully I didn't bore you tears with my science-ing. If you have any article topics/suggestions please let me know via the comments/smoke signals.

Today would've been a perfect day to curl up in a hammock outside (under a quilt) and read fiction while drinking Irish coffee. It is delightfully overcast and dreary, and the bright leaves contrast perfectly with the heavy clouds that look like they are carrying in winter. The cold is coming, the animals are quiet. The children, on the other hand, are restless - full of anticipation and fear and senior projects. Excited about family get togethers and more energetic since some fall sports are ending. Fleece lined leggings are very popular amongst the young ladies. The young gentleman are gravitating toward eithermany pairs of pants or huge puffer-coats. I want to wear my leather-bottomed sweater-socks and my yoga leggings and a oversize collegiate sweatshirt. 

None of us are allowed to wear these things at school.

As a way of preparing for winter, I blew my budget on new boots. To be fair, my Intaglia boots that I have worn for over a year that came from zulily have worn out in the heels, so this is a legitimate need.

 My old tan boots, exact.

Similar to my old black boots

More boots were on sale on zulily today from the same comapny. I debated BUT I decided to splurge for real leather ones from Target as they are on sale. They even had wide calf boots (which this runner gal desperately needs). I got brown and the black. I blame Franish for my even knowing these boots existed. At least I didn't get the blanket scarf yet. However, this plaid skirt from Old Navy may prove irresistible ...

I will cut something else out of the budget, I suppose.

I am also soul searching for reasonable Christmas present ideas. I am a crazy Christmas elf (once Thanksgiving is over).

Pinterest is no help AT ALL for the un-crafty who are oddly drawn to attemping to be crafty. 

The coffee-pot banter today revolved around this article and the #breaktheinternet photo series. Even without cable, I cannot escape the Kardashians. Or their butts.

... she blinded me with science ... Aerobic Exercise and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

One teacher, one scientist, and one paper; but how many conclusions?

Today's post is a little bit different, but this type of post will hopefully become a semi-regular thing as the 'she blinded me with science' series. I'm cross-posting with Dr. Kris. Dr. Kris and I met when she moved into my townhouse as a tenant while she was pursuing her Ph.D. in Genetics. She is a fabulous person, and I thoroughly loved living with her. Unfortunately, she was kidnapped by an errant boy-creature whom she subsequently married. I blame Stockholm Syndrome. Anyway, in an effort to class up the joint, I am doing a semi-regular science Wednesday with the good doctor. Prepare yourself for her being science-y and me being my typical irreverent self. If you like what you see, step on over to Housewife, Ph.D

Her content and comments are in purple; mine are in black.

ADHD 101 -

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a condition that affects impulsivity (the ability to control reactions/impulses), perseveration/task persistence, the ability to read social cues, and maturity. Teachers and school staff are likely to be the first people to notice these behaviors in young children. In the early 1900’s, the perception was that these behaviors were due to poor child-rearing. More recent research points to a combination or environmental agents, food additives, sugar, brain chemistry, and genetics as possible causes. ADHD is also tentatively considered to be a dopamine linked disorder, similar to Parkinson's Disease. Lower levels of dopamine are common in children with ADHD. Dopamine is the chemical that activates the reward principle in our brains, helps with hormone release, and has ties to motor control. More discussion on causes can be found at psychcentral.com. Also, students with ADHD have slower – but normally developing brains (see here). This is why many teachers show some frustration with students and their impulsivity and social skills – it can be up to three years behind that of their same age peers. There do seem to be a lot of genetic ties – so you are more likely to be diagnosed if you have an ADHD family member. ADHD is a very commonly diagnosed disorder (at least one student in every classroom across the country), and boys are diagnosed with it more frequently than girls. More data and stats on diagnosis and prevalence can be found here.

What did the authors of this paper in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercies find out about ADHD and exercise? 

This study was based on previous findings that aerobic activity works synergistically with medical therapy (methylphenidate AKA Concerta or Ritalin) for ADHD. Previous work had shown that while about 10%-30% of children with ADHD are not helped enough by medication, adding as little as 20 minutes daily of aerobic exercise in addition to the medication improved attention, cognitive symptoms, and social skills within 6 weeks. This study sought to further our understanding of these improvements by looking for normalization of brain function (measured by functional MRI brain scans) in children who were treated with exercise and medication for their ADHD.

For this study, researchers recruited 35 teenagers (13-18) with diagnosed ADHD who were not currently taking medication. They also recruited 15 normal teenagers. Teens were excluded from the study if they had any history of non-ADHD processing or emotional diagnoses including Axis I mental disorders (depression, bipolar, ODD, many others), history of head trauma, or intellectual disability; or if they had a history of substance abuse. The ADHD teens were then split into two different treatment groups: one group was given methylphenidate and exercise (exercise group), the other group was given methylphenidate and classes on interpersonal skills (education group). The normal teenagers formed the control group.

For both treatment groups methylphenidate was started at 10mg/day. Then based on each teen's response to the drug, the dose was increased over the first 4 weeks to as much as 40mg/day, and then held at that dose for the duration of the study (6 more weeks).

For the exercise group, exercise was done 3 days per week with the researchers. In these 90min sessions teens first warmed up, then did 60 min of aerobic exercise, and finished with a cool down. The aerobic exercise was running, jumping rope, or playing basketball with the goal of keeping each teen's heart rate over 120bpm for the full hour.

For the education group the teens attended 50min classes twice per week. The classes were intended to help teach skills kids with ADHD often struggle with, including how to make friends and how to pay attention. In both groups the exercise or education sessions were continued for 6 weeks (starting after the 4 week period for adjusting to methylphenidat) and overseen by a psychiatrist and a social worker.

The majority of the results of this study focus on a comparison between the two treatment groups after 0, 4,and 10 weeks (i.e. baseline, medication only, and medication + 6weeks of exercise/education). These comparisons were made two ways. First, by conducting a traditional symptom-based ADHD assessment. Severity of symptoms is expressed with a numeric value. A higher number represents more sever symptoms. Second, by having the teens take a Wisconsin Card Sorting test while undergoing an fMRI brain scan. This sorting test works by asking the participant match cards, but with a catch: the participant isn't told in advanced what the matching rules are, but they are told if a match is right or wrong after it's been made. This test is used by researchers and psychiatrists to measure frontal lobe function: strategic planning, organized searching, using feedback, directing behavior toward achieving a goal, and modulating impulsive responding. All things kids with ADHD struggle with. Therefor, an improvement in performance on the sorting test suggests an improvement in ADHD symptoms. Performance can be measured in total time to complete the test or in the number of times the participant tries to use the same incorrect sorting rule (called preservative errors: in psychology "preservative" refers to failing to update behavior based on feedback).

At baseline both ADHD groups had an average symptom severity score of about 25, the control group had and average score of 4 (difference is statistically significant, p-value <0.01). Both ADHD groups had a non-statistically significantly longer time to complete the sorting test compared to the control (46.0 vs 33.6, p-value 0.06), and a statistically significantly larger number of preservative error (13.3 vs 8.1, p-value <0.01).

After 10 weeks both groups of ADHD teens showed improvement in their symptoms and in performance on the sorting test. For the exercise group their new average ADHD assessment score was 9.4, and for the education group it was 14.9. Both groups showed a statistically significant improvement over baseline, and the exercise group showed statistically significantly more improvement than the education group. The researchers do not say if the 9.4 score is statistically significantly different from the 4 for the control group; I suspect that it is (if it was statistically non-significant I think they would point this out as it would mean the exercise teens were "cured"). When looking at their sorting card tests the change in preservative errors showed the same pattern: both groups showed improvement, but the improvement was statistically significantly greater in the exercise group (baseline 13.3 errors, 10wk exercise 7.8, and 10wk education 11.1). In this case the exercise group appears to have achieved "normal" compared to the control teens (8.1 errors). These results were all consistent with previous findings that exercise improves ADHD symptoms.

This research wanted to answer an additional question: did the brain function normalize along with the symptom relief? Many parts of the ADHD teens brain showed less activity during the sorting test compared to the normal teens: right occipital lobe (vision processing), middle temporal gyri (image recognition/memory), right cerebellum posterior lobe (fine motor coordination), right prefrontal cortex (planning/focus/impulse control), right and left parietal lobes (sensory integration). The right limbic lobe (memory) showed more activity in the ADHD teens. One might imagine, based on this, that these teens are struggling to focus on the task at hand (more memory in use, less actual looking at / dealing with the cards).

After the 10 week intervention statistically significant changes in brain activity were seen. For the education group, changes were only seen in the right prefrontal cortex (planning/impulse control) and left parietal lobe (sensory integration). For the exercise group, changes were seen in those two areas and in the right middle temporal gyrus (but not left; image recognition/memory). The changes in activity withing the right prefrontal cortex (planning/focus/impulse control) were statistically significantly negatively correlated with change in the severity of ADHD symptoms and the number of preservative errors. Because this area was less active in ADHD teens, this means that as activity rose (towards normal levels), ADHD symptoms improved.

Based on these findings and the work of other researcher, this paper's authors conclude that aerobic exercise, when combined with medication, improved ADHD symptoms by increasing activity in the prefrontal cortex (planning/focus/impulse control) towards the levels seen in normal teens. Specifically, while they have not found a conclusive mechanism for this increased activity, they hypothesize that it may be related to increased dopamine and oxygenation/cellular metabolism due to better blood flow. The authors say that their study is limited because they did not include exercise only and education only (no medication) groups, so they cannot determine if the effects of exercise are synergistic or additive. They suggest further research to make this determination and see if specific types of exercise are more helpful.

What are our conclusions?

If you examine the criteria used to select/eliminate test subjects, the researchers did an excellent job eliminating co-morbid issues as well as blocking individuals on non-prescribed drugs. The study size ended up being small. Additionally, the study shrank more as subjects had negative reactions to medications and were unable to work out daily and were disqualified (more on that later). The scanning of the brains of the subjects showed what areas of the brain changed after the application of the treatments (exercise showed the best results)--and it was the prefrontal cortex! This is a GREAT outcome. Dopamine is likely a key player in the change as exercise helps to raise dopamine levels! Don’t we all love some dopamine?

Here’s where we get to my more specific questions/concerns. Accepting the science at face value and assuming a larger study would have similar results – I am still not sure how practical the findings of this study are. In as school setting, we have no influence over (and should not suggest) putting students on medication to begin with. We can comment if we’ve seen changes from a child’s dosage changes, but medical decisions are family business. This study started with the subjects all being medicated. Medication does work for some, but I know it does not work in all situations (from personal experience as well as observations). Additionally, the amount of exercise in the test group totaled about 80 minutes a day 3 days a week. Not only was this a larger quantity of time then the soft skills lessons, it is a large block of time for many busy high school students. It would eliminate time for after school tutoring, organized sports, and outside pursuits.

For research-motivated special educators and parents, this study confirms what years of anecdotal evidence have suggested. Kids need to move. People need to move. Aerobic activity helps immensely with focus and helps speed up the lagging prefrontal cortex development. Exercise is something I heartily endorse at meetings and in forming plans for students. It is also an opportunity for parents and students to take ownership of the student’s educational progression. If running, swimming, or basketball is going to help your child succeed, steps need to be taken to make that a priority on the family level. Schools can provide some outlets through team sports/ROTC/PE, but cannot bear the full responsibility. A team sport could provide some of the suggested aerobic activity, such as soccer or cross-country. I will be reading more studies focusing on shorter sessions of aerobic activity or less days of training a week and seeing if the results are similar. Traditionally, team sports are considered to be an excellent way to grow social skills – perhaps it is because of the dopamine and those little blossoming prefrontal cortexes!

It is important here to remember that while schools are mandated to provide learning opportunities to all students, we are also bound to provide all students free and appropriate education and equal access. Equal access does not necessarily mean providing every conceivable resource. So while I think adding more movement at every level would be beneficial for ADHD (and possibly all!) students, it would take a major overhaul of schedules, student expectations, massive amounts of funding and a huge amount of parental support and effort to have movement classes tacked on or added to a school day. I think this is a situations where individual parents and families have a lot of power in enabling their students by encouraging a school sport, or even just buying their child some running shoes. Policy changes won't happen overnight - if this is a direction parents want to see our schools going, we need to hear from them!

I mostly agree with everything said here, but I think that there are policy changes that schools can make that will be good for all kids, and it sounds like particularly good for kids with ADHD. Sara-Liz said, and I 100% agree, kids (people) need to move their bodies. At its very simplest, let's get recess and PE (and art, music, and drama!) into all schools. Especially elementary and middle schools. More time for math and science sounds great (especially to me), but if the kids can't focus because they need to wiggle then it doesn't benefit them and may just make them hate the subjects or think they're bad at them. These aren't changes that one (special ed) teacher can institute; these are changes that need to be made at the district or state level. So while a parent can (and should) make sure his/her child gets the chance to run and move and play outside of school hours, maybe parents of kids in schools with no recess should also start talking about this kind of research with the people who can change school policies/schedules. Adding more "stuff" to the schools' list of responsibilities isn't an easy fix, it's complicated and expensive. And, of course, making time for recess won't force kids to get their heart rates up--the schools can't and shouldn't do that. But we have public school so that every kid has the opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed. If more research continues to find that movement and time outside is important to kids' development, then the effort and expense to ensure all kids have access to some supervised safe outdoor play time will be money well spent. 

References (paywall)

Choi, JW. et al. "Aerobic Exercise and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Brain Research" Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Published ahead of print April 2014. Accessed Nov 5, 2014.

... like thunder, gonna shake your ground ...

Prepare yourselves! Cross-post with Housewife, Ph.D. is in the works!

We actually know each other and aren't just odd internet yahoos together.

Image by Kris B. (CC BY-NC-ND)

I'm in this photo intentionally and not creepin'.

And that dude who wed my former roomie? I supported that whole 'marriage' decision. Be grateful, Mr. Dr. Housewife.

... I'm passive & aggressive. I'm scared of the dark and the dentist. I love my butt and won't shut up ...

Lady Faulk did this, and it looks fun - so AWAY WE GO!

Questionnaire (with alterations) from Stress and Stars who borrowed it from Flora & Fauna

Making: I kinda got introspective and like making lists and am currently a bit of a morbid phase. At the encouragement/suggestion/comment-I-probably-over-analyzed of a delightful person I met at the Greenville Craft Beer Festival I am making a list of what scares me - what really scares me. I feel like I let my fears run me and actually admitting what those fears are helps me to manage my crazy behaviors. Zombies are on the list.

Cooking: This weekend I made one pot pumpkin pasta. I made it my own by using a mix of milk, fat free half and half, and chicken broth as the wet ingredients. I used the whole can of pumpkin, and also used sage, fresh garlic, and smoked salt as my main spices. I cooked it with chicken thighs, and cracked some eggs over the finished pasta. I also sprinkled Parmesan cheese over the top. So, I didn't really follow the recipe in anything but spirit. It was wonderful and messy and I needed the carbs after my long run this weekend. 

Plans for the week include (if I ever get to the store) - Pasta e Cece but I will have to somehow include eggplant because DEAR GOD the amount of eggplant in my fridge. Also these, because LORDY the amount of beets from my cropshare! Beet Hash with Eggs and Beet Barley Risotto with Ricotta.

Missing: DANCING. Blues and Contra and ... dancing. Running kinda fills the void but dancing just fills me up in ways I can't describe.

Drinking: Coffee. Is that even a question? Plain ol’ Starbucks medium roast with Splenda and caramel/marshmallow creamer. By the 24oz serving, naturally. And SodaStream.

Reading: Dune, still. A scholarly article about ADHD and exercise. Too many emails. Biographies of Amy Tan. Also – reading into things. That’s very much a thing.

Wanting: 

This EVERYTHING -

This dress -

This sweater -

 

 Clearly I missed my calling as a librarian/archeologist/Nazi hunter.

Looking: A bit under-slept and windswept. I did remember my mascara and Magical Angela lipstick, so no kids have asked me if I am sick yet. Monday success.

Playing: PVZ2 and Don’t Starve. Send me more game demos on Steam!

Wasting: Time. Not working on my cross-post properly - Sorry Dr. Housewife! Writer's block!

Wishing: That these chairs had butt padding. Geez.

Enjoying: My coffee and a little bit of peace and quiet. The calm before the storm. Dreams of fireside holidays. One of my coworkers telling me what is happening on reality TV because I don't have cable.

Waiting: For the moment I can put on my comfy fuzzy socks and curl up in my bed with Leaf!

Liking: This time that I have to be still. It is odd, but very restful/comfortable/reminiscent of college. And for my acceptance letter.

Wondering: How the hell budgeting and Christmas are gonna play nicely together.

Loving: My two week hot yoga pass to Southern Om. Anyone want to join me?

Hoping: That my tutoring hours go through on THIS pay period. We're talking 26 hours of OT pay here, people.

Needing: New riding boots (my cheap brown ones have holes in the heels). Some extra sleep. More time to read. An extra ounce of patience.

Smelling: The last little handful of my lime and salt popcorn from lunch. Might need to finish that …

Wearing: Knockoff Target Toms, Old Navy fuchsia and white rugby striped sweater and navy slacks, stolen Duke Energy pullover. I am comfy and warm, but look like a bag lady.

Noticing: How much Spanish I have lost!

Knowing: Not half of you half as well as I would like ...

Thinking: About how I am possibly going to make it through this tutoring session and get 7 miles in tomorrow. And the CPI on the half day Wednesday. And how on earth the race on Saturday will go.

Giggling: ... Um. No. Because I am …

Feeling: Judged by my giggling co-workers.

She smiles like the Georgia summer, she laughs with the sound of thunder ...

Forgive me readers, for I have failed to write.  It has been 92 days since I last posted …

And what full days they have been! I have PRed a halfmarathon (02:04:14), started a ‘legit’ training plan for my full marathon in March, cooked many cropshare veggies, installed wood flooring, proctored detentions, took up tutoring, attempted at-home car repair, become a mint addict, researched sofas and applied to a second MEd program …

Fall and winter are usually times of feverish activity for me. But sometimes there are things that make us come to a full stop. Not the rolling stops that drove my fella and my father crazy when they were teaching me how to drive (stick and automatic, respectively). Not the momentary stop when you cross the line and look at your time. Not the stop when you notice someone on the street and have to stare just a second to confirm their identity.

I had a physical full stop two weeks with my ankle twist and a similar emotional full stop shortly after.

The physical full stop was due to silliness (tailgating) and hubris (I thought I could skip). I had ice baths I cried through, an x-ray to confirm that nothing was broken, and nothing seemed to  ease the drive to GO-GO-GO that I had welling up in me. So I sat. And I filled my intellectual time. I took on some challenges. I read books. I became grumpy. I became restless. My ankle healed (mostly), I was able to run again, and I found some comfort in my normal routine - until I hit another full stop that couldn’t be fixed with prednisone and an ankle brace. The emotional full stop.

It wasn’t until that point that I realized I was racing through my days, checking time off like so many to-do list items. I have the kind of job that rewards the checklists, the hoops jumped through. I am a social creature who sees how much nonsense I can pack into a weekend – even if it means I can’t enjoy it all. Even if I can’t INVEST in it all. Days are so much more than a collection of minutes. Life is so much more than working to get to the weekend. And it is too short. Much too short. I wish I could rewind the wonderful pre-fall days and get back those sun-dappled afternoons. I think of the letters I haven’t sent, the students I passed in the hallway, the conversations I haven’t engaged in. If I stopped there, life would be so bitter and aching and full of untapped possibility that I would drown.

We are experiencing a change of the seasons. We gained an hour, it is darker sooner, the air is crisp, red cups are back and there is more time to reflect. I am choosing to focus on quality time and experiences. I cannot possibly do everything, and I need to stop trying to. I need to focus on what I can do, and do well.

Does this mean that I won’t be socializing and running and cooking and planning? No. But it may be a season of saying ‘no’. To needless business, to sleepless nights, to pointless efforts, to holiday madness that is meaningless and trivial. It is also a ‘no’ to ruminating on sadness and old wounds.

It is ‘No’vember after all.

While there can be much happiness in ‘YES’ – right now I am embracing ‘no’.

... yo, sound the bell - school is in ...

It is about THAT time. Stores are selling out of composition books, teachers are getting rosters and class schedules, and loving friends are volunteered for hours of pencil sharpening. New clothes are being purchased (although I am still not allowed to purchase any cardigans).  Nights cuddling with my lesson plan book are in my near future.

This will be year three for me – which means no more evaluations or induction. Training wheels are off. I have some basic plans in place. I have a feel for what works and what really REALLY didn't. I know (most) of the people I am working with. I have my running/early morning routine MOSTLY down. There are changes with how I’ll be spending my days (split between more teachers/teaching more students) but basically I’ll be doing what I did last year. 

I don’t talk about students or work on my blog with any real frequency. It is not due to a lack of love for what I do – trust me, ask me about the state of things in education and you cannot shut me up – but for the reason that my job and my personal life need a little (or a lot of) separation.  The summer is a glorious time where I don’t have to juggle the two.

This week and last week I had a few meetings and emails to prepare me for the impending ‘real world’. Then I took a little last minute trip to the Holy City to see McLain’s family and babysit. We stopped in Columbia to see my aunt and check in on her business ventures and new location! The Box Lunch and The Happy Cookers/Chocolate Nirvana Bakery & Café have moved to a new location close to Fort Jackson and should be open soon! My cousin and I got a photo by this awesome mural they have on the outside of the building they moved into. The kitchen is amazing and they have about 8 Kitchen Aid stand mixers.

After a visit and tour we hopped back on the highway to Charleston. McLain booted me out of the car at MUSC to spend some time with Mrs. G – who is working on a project about getting rats drunk and neurons or whatever (it’s a lot fancier than that). I was in her wedding last year and she and her hubs are super cute and super happy. She and I were roomies in college and needed a long block of girl-time. She whisked me away to Bon Banh Mi for lunch – which was beyond amazing. I got the five spice pork sandwich and was blown away. Then Mrs. G and I walked around and caught up and I got the lab tour.

One thing I love about big cities is walk-ability. I got finished up at the lab and then walked to where McLain and I were meeting one of HIS college buddies (now a Fancy-Pants Dr. Dude) and his wife. We got dinner at Virginia’s on King. The fellas both got the fried chicken and Mrs. Fancy-Pants and I got BBQ sliders and bouillabaisse, respectively. We all split the tomato pie as a starter. For real, authentic soul food that isn't swimming in grease with an upscale feel, this is a good place to go. The locals know it too – the tables were busy! Mrs. Fancy-Pants and I shared love of many things – including desserts. We had both heard glorious reviews of Kaminsky’s and because we had lighter dinners dessert was in order.  It was a short amble to the dessert bar, and we got a table. The menu and bakery case are daunting. McLain got an Irish coffee with his key lime pie, Dr. & Mrs. Fancy-Pants got the marshmallow chocolate cake, and I got (at the recommendation of our delightful waiter) the toll house pie.  I usually avoid sugar, because it makes me spiral into sugar-craving-central for the next … forever. This pie was worth it

It was a pecan-pie/chocolate cookie/brownie hybrid. Oh my word, y’all. Just … say yes. And my choice was the best - even though the other choices weren't shabby.

The next day was devoted to childcare for McLain’s niece. She is adorable! She was also in a new place without mommy or gam-ma. It was raining and she was sad. She was my little snuggle-bug all day. I learned that potty-training is hard, a twenty-two pound kiddo gets HEAVY after a while, and that I am not ready for that level of responsibility on a daily basis. We ordered awesome pie from Baroni’s Pizza – they make their Italian sausage in-house and self-medicated with the most decadent pint available and True Blood after the wee one was in bed. Like adults. 

On the way back into Collegetown, we stopped off to visit my grandparents in Summerville. We got lunch at Pug’s Tavern and we got great burgers and cocktails. My grandparents are pretty peppy for late 80’s, so they were very happy to see us. When we got home, we cooked more crop-share veggies and I self-medicated a little with more ice-cream.  What’s a four day running break without some over indulgence?

Rant of the week, using GoT (Joffery) to make a point: Preparing to be a Help Meet - The King Part 1 & Part 2

Growlers of the week: Bell’s Oberon, Westbook White Thai, Westbrook Gose