A Bit of a Mix Up

I took Junie to the ear doctor this morning for a follow up to her ear tube surgery - all good, with perfect hearing! Score! 

OTOH, I came home to multiple voice mails saying LuLu was missing a permission slip for a canoe trip (we'd signed it once but it had been rescheduled). By the time I called the school the class had already departed with LuLuleft behind. We are bracing for a s**tstrom of verbal abuse from my hormone ridden kid.

IT WAS UR FAULT U WHERE AT THE SCHOOL BUT DIDNT COME IN - LuLu

Your'e a brave girl to post that of fb. it will be there foreeeeeeeever - Grandma J

Quote

I found it when looking up what foods YaYa's Muslim friend couldn't eat on her sleepover. "That which is necessary makes the forbidden permissible", Quran 2:173.

In context, it simply refers to a Muslim being allowed to eat pork and other forbidden food if they are in danger of starving or in a situation out of their control.

Out of context, and forgetting  any associated political/religious baggage, that's a pretty powerful quote. A desperate person in a desperate situation is a dangerous entity. 

Gulp

Just finished cleaning the fish tank, and got more than a few mouthfuls of fishy poop water when siphoning it out. Yum. Now, in a touch of irony, I'm watching Catfish the TV show.

Lisa: "I don't want to hear about you and the fish water. You probably have a flesh-eating virus now."

Me: "God willing"

Lisa: "Yeah, the problem with that, Slappy, is that it's never your stomach the virus eats. It's always an arm, or a leg."

Me: {shrugs} "Still be down 70 pounds."

Tonight

Watching a string of Katy Perry videos with the fam.

Also - Lisa and I  watched the Family Guy/Simpson's crosssover tonight, and I thought a lot of it fell flat.  I loved the chicken fight (natch) and Stewie's revenge on Nelsen, but the rest was ho-hum.

The Chestnut Walk

I took advantage of the beautiful weather to accompany Junie on a one hour walk around the neighborhood (3142 steps if my pedometer is accurate). She has it in her head to make Halloween decorations for the house, and Lisa bought her some paper plates and ribbon to get started - it was up to me and LK to get the leaves and whatnot!

First stop was a house I remembered from walking to summer school with her. It has, as far as I know, the only horse chestnut tree in the neighborhood. I grew up with one in the backyard and made wide use of the chestnuts as baseballs, golf balls, puppets, projectiles, and whatnot. She'd never seen one, and found them just as appealing. 

Then we walked to my friend's house, stopping along the way at two rummage sales, then perused the park before heading home. 

I hope this weather holds. I dread the thought of winter on the horizon.

More on Slenderman

Re-watching the 20/20 on the Slenderman case and growing more and more annoyed at the media. Junie - who is SEVEN - watched it and called the girls idiots for believing in a "make believe" character. He has no facial features and f*ing tentacles and lives in a mansion in the woods; c'mon! These kids weren't suckered by a character's portrayal, they were mentally ill or radically dumb.  #wishIdcreateacharacterasremotelyinterestingasSlendermanbeforeIleavethisearth

Amazing Race - on Friday???

WTH is #TheAmazingRace doing on Friday night???? Luckily I saw it and began recording the epic 25th season! Whoo-hoo!

Boom Boom Mancini - Al Ford

I'm watching the Boom Boom Mancini - Al Ford fight from April of '81. As an eerie foreshadow of events to come, the announcers were calling for the fight to be stopped in the 4th when Ray was overwhelming Ford, saying "this is how tragedies happen [in the ring]." 19 months later Duk Koo Kim was dead by Mancini's hand.

The Coffee Cup Salute

I think that the hubbub over President Obama's "coffee cup" salute is much ado about nothing. I don't think he meant any disrespect, and frankly, as Commander in Chief, if he decides the new standard is for the President to return a salute with a wave and a wink, it's his call. We have become hyper-pro-military in this country. It's a natural swing of the pendulum away from the liberal idiocy of decades past, but I detest the venom it produces.

Our Spiders

Come nightfall, the outside of our house is often ceded to a host of huge spiders, some with bodies as large as a nickel. It's been that way since we moved in. They've never bothered us or ventured inside, - and they keep the mosquito population down to zilch. Plus they vanish at dawn and let us 'rent' the backyard in peace. 

Personally, I dig 'em. 

As usual they were nowhere to be seen this morning, but for once they left evidence of their passage. Lulu's bike was covered in webs, and they spun a beautiful web in the bush on our front lawn.

They're Ready!

Our TEAM SLAP shirts are done and in our hands! I need to lose 15 pounds or buy a damn good bra if I'm actually going to wear the thing, but they look sharp as heck. Woot woot!

Good Job Jeter

I will interrupt my strike to say that it was one heckuva great way for Derek Jeter to close out his Yankee Stadium finale. He wouldn't have needed the dramatics if A-Rod had been there to do what he does best, but all the same, good job. I will now resume my strike.

Eric Holder Resigns

Eric Holder has resigned as Attorney General. Good riddance.

We Have a Reader!

I don't know what's got into our #Centerpieces, but this morning both Smiley and LuLu read through the entire walk to school. (Personally, I'd throw up if I tried to read while walking, but they've got the knack.) Best of all was his choice of book - Ender's Game! 

I expect this kind of thing from the #Bookends, but from the #Centerpieces? Wow. And HOT DOG!

A Trip to Outpost

Just back from a shopping trip to Outpost foods, courtesy of a gift card Lisa won at the Bay View bash. With the card we managed to get a small bag of trail mix and an incense stick - and I had to put cash in. #notacheapplace #whereareallthetransfatshewonderedaloud

This . . .darn. . . phone

My craptastic phone is labeling all incoming texts as being sent from New Year's Eve 1969. That, or the Tardis is stranded in the '60's and the Doctor needs my help. Either/or.

It's Not Our Fault

Me on the phone today: "No, we live in Bay View."

Woman: "Bay View . . . is that a suburb of Milwaukee? Because I"m sorry, but I don't see it listed."

Me,: "Well, I guess,* officially*, it's part of Milwaukee. But that's not our fault."

Mr. Hordick

RIP our neighbor Mr. Hordick, a co-worker of my Grandpa Ralph, an employee of my Great Grandpa Iggy, a fan of Louis L'amour, and a frequent buyer of school fundraising items for my kids. You will be missed.

OMG thats so sad ill miss him - LuLu

Aww): - YaYa

Two TV Anniversaries

Friends premiered 20 years ago today. Could there BE a better anniversary to celebrate?

Just as importantly Lost premiered on this date 10 years ago. Apparently September 22nd is a springboard for TV greatness.

Ten Books

Curry L said I have to name ten books that stick with me. I guess the rules are no more than five minutes of coming up with it and tag him and 10 others. I will not tag anyone, as that smacks of heathen communism and, more importantly, work. Continue the meme is you wish. Here is the list

1. Henry and Ribsy

2. If I Never Get Back: A Novel

3.Education of a Wandering Man by Louis L'amour

4. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

5. The Stand by Stephen King

6. To Kill a Mockingbird 

7. The Rookie by Jerry B Jenkins

8. Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

9. Early Autumn by Robert B. Parker

10. any Civil War book by Bruce Catton

Keep it Up!

I'm super proud that I just found LuLu, never a big reader, lying in bed reading an Alex Rider book (by Anthony Horowitz). Sure, she'll tear up an Archie comic and the Wimpy Kid series, but beyond that, it's always been a pain to get her to read. Now she's plowed through the Hunger Games and Catching Fire and moved on to the Rider series. I was so happy to see it I went and picked up an armful of the books from the library this evening. She claims she's being teased at school for reading in her downtime (and that's hard for someone so focused on popularity) but Lu- keep it up baby!

60 Minutes

If you're watching 60 Minutes, good for you. Their story on ISIS is something you should be watching. It was disturbing to see former Sec of Defense Leon Panetta (2011-2013) say that he was against pulling our troops out of Iraq - for fear of exactly what happened in its wake. King Abdullah of Jordan is very articulate and a great interview subject, btw.

Uh oh

Our bank has notified us that our Visa card was compromised in the Home Depot identity theft fiasco. We are not liable for any fraudulent charges (to date, we haven't found any) but our cards are being replaced and the account flagged for monitoring.

C'mon Seattle!

BAM! Denver throws it away. Couldn't happen to a better franchise. 2:12 to ice this Seattle.

UPDATE: Whoohoo! Great end to the Seattle game. (sorry for the temporary jinx there 'hawks fans!)

(I dislike Denver due to the Elway SuperBowl, and I'm a casual fan of the Seahawks bc of Holmgren)

The St. Vincent De Paul Society Walk for the Poor

Today #TeamSlap (minus Junie and Lisa) took on The St. Vincent De Paul Society Walk for the Poor along the Oak Leaf Trail on Milwaukee's lakefront.

Despite stopping for some pictures (and to move a caterpillar out of harms way) we finished the 3 mile course in just over 45 minutes! A fine pace! Smiley, in fact would often run ahead as much as a quarter mile, then double back to us, so he probably did the equivalent of a 4 mile route. 

They ran short of t-shirts and had only one left, and Lu won an epic rock-paper-scissors battle to claim it. The organizers asked for a picture of us at the "summit" of the walk so look for that in future ads for the annual walk. 

Way to go Smiley, LuLu, and YaYa! I'm so proud of you!

LOL

I was driving with YaYa the other day when some water fell from an overpass and splashed on the windshield.

"Aw, it's raining!" she said. 

I tsked dismissively. "That's not rain," I said. "It's eagle pee"

"Nuh-uh," she said. 

It was quiet for a minute. 

"It's not, is it?" she said.

School Picture Day

Lisa and I are trying to get out of here and get to an appointment, but today is school picture day and Lisa is trying to get the girls' hair ready.

Unfortunately, Lu washed out a nights worth of curls and wasted an hour of Lisa's time, so for the first time in years I've tried to step up and do one of their hair. In the end Lu is going to have to wear her hair down, and there are already tears, plus Junie is whining about her (beautiful) 'do . . . sigh. Meanwhile Smiley is chilling on the couch watching the Thrilla in Manilla, which I'd put on before they got up. Lucky him.

Junie's take on Adam and Eve

Just got home from taking Junie to her first "Sunday School" class in preparation for First Communion next year. Her verdict? 

"If I was them [Adam and Eve] I wouldn't've listened to a talking snake. Snakes don't talk. I woulda said 'I'm dreaming or you're the devil'. It was a talking *snake*! Animals don't talk, 'cept parrots. I think they were pretty stupid."

Momma was annoyed

Lisa was irked at yesterday's video (the one where the kids cross the road halfway down the block  due to construction on the nearest corner.). This morning when they tried to do the same thing she came out on the porch and yelled at them. "You want to cross the road, you go a block *that* way and do it," she said, pointing  the other way. "You know why? Because if you're butts get run over crossing here we get nothing. If you get killed in the crosswalk your Dad and I will get millions. Don't be selfish."

Just saying... I was laughing when I said it but there is a grain of truth in it. - Lisa

A Great Tip

To date, the most valuable lesson I have taken away from law school - and I'm not being facetious here - is the importance of giving your electronic files detailed names. I've been prone to saving documents under whatever suits my fancy (a recipe for disaster) and I've learned that even "accurate" file names fail over time. For instance, a .doc file entitled "Lisalettertodoctor" sounds swell, but give it a year or two and you'll see it and wonder "What doctor? About what? WTH?". Nowadays I go all out. My latest assignment? "Rule Synthesis Draft 1 Memo 1 LegalWriting Fall 2014" Pay attention Team Slap. 

75 Years Ago

On this day, 75 years ago, the Soviet Union, allied with Nazi Germany, invaded Poland from the East, forcing the Poles into a hopeless two front war.

Pizza

@ Classic Slice with Lisa

The Neighborhood Kitty

This is a neighborhood kitty that was on my porch just now. I enjoyed a swell ten minutes playing with him. He at up a saucer of milk and has lost his collar since the last time we saw him, but some house in this neighborhood has claim to him.

The Eddie Vedder Coat

I bought this Vedder-esque coat for YaYa, thinking it fit perfectly with her neo-grunge style. She disagrees, mainly because I'm the one who found it, but it looks good on her.

Yesterday was Productive

Yesterday was one of the most productive days off ever. 

*walked the kids to school

* took that online pre-test

*signed LK up for catechism class

*Lisa made a dr appt

*arranged for an estimate on our skylight repair

* picked up YaYa's glasses

*took Lisa to lunch

*paid the mortgage

*ordered our TEAM SLAP shirts

*bought a dryer vent cap, removed the one old one and replaced

* got our entry light rewired

* walked the kids home from school

* Lisa took YaYa to Plato's Closet and to get her ears pierced again

* fine tuned my writing assignment

*watched DWTS

* some more stuff I've forgotten

A Second Piercing

YaYa took her babysitting money and got a second set of ear piercings - something I had promised her, years and years ago, that she could do at this age, [Note that I thought she'd just forget over time. Oops]. Unfortunately, the lady screwed up and pierced her *below* the first one. Because of this error, they had to give her a third set of piercings. So . . . yeah.

YaYa's New Glasses

YaYa's new glasses. Despite her intentionally glum pic, she was super happy to get them and I think they look great!

My New Specs

Here are my new glasses. I think they're swell, a little hipster, a little Buddy Holly.

Core Grammar for Lawyers

I just completed a 96 question pre-test for "Core Grammar for Lawyers" an online course mandated by Marquette. I was warned it would be brutal, and it was. I scored only 73% overall, but placed in the nineties in what I'd call some traditional areas (stuff not involving the proper phrasing and punctuation of citations, etc). Anywho, I tested out of seven subject areas, so that'll ease my load a bit as the semester progresses.

Frank Torre

My baseball strike aside, RIP to Frank Torre, age 82.

Lu has an opinion on Mayweather

LuLu came home from a sleepover this morning and told me she'd watched the Mayweather fight with her friend. That made me ecstatic - what a kid! She then mentioned that she thought Floyd "got away with a lot of stuff", echoing the bull that the announcing crew spewed. *That* made me annoyed again at their jibber-jabber. I have the good fortune to have a copy of the Ali-Wepner fight stripped of the broadcast track (it has nothing but the noise of the crowd and the fight). Oh, if that could be the case for most bouts . . .

Bay View Bash

At  Bay View Bash with Lisa and Smiley

Watching the drag queen revue at the Bash

Found!

Explorers have found one of Sr. John Franklin's lost ships, missing with all hands since being stuck in the Arctic ice in 1845.

LuLu the reader

A (once) rare sight. LuLu with her nose buried in a book (Catching Fire). She's been reading a lot more lately. 

Congrats to the Prince!

Congrats to Prince William and Kate, who have confirmed they are expecting the "spare to the heir". :)

in Which I Rant

I changed my fantasy lineup Tuesday night - Tuesday, for f*ing sure, because it was on break between classes. The new lineup displayed, changes were 'saved' and I did not return to the site until last night. . . to find that my roster changes were reversed. Gronk is on the bench, I have no K in the lineup, etc.

Way to go Yahoo. I did my job. Maybe you should do yours.

#yahoofantasyfootball

Isn't this Fun?

In a waiting room where a little 2 yr old black kid keeps yelling "Shut up n****er" to which his Mom finally replied (after a few minutes) "You want a whuppin on your birthday? You aint gonna go to Chuck E Cheese." Apparently he doesn't like pizza cuz he keeps saying it.

Two Satcho's in the making

Junie playing - well, successfully holding a note . . ish - with LuLu's new trumpet. Lu, btw, woke me up with an ear piercing blast in my ear today.

Good job lk - Grandma J

i told her keep her cheeks not all puffed out but she did not listen - Lu

Isn't that like LK hehehe - Grandma J

The 2014 Food Pantry Charity Walk

This past Saturday #TeamSlap, for the third year in a row, participated in a charity walk for the local food pantry. 

The morning of the walk the kids were not thrilled with the notion, despite looking forward to it for weeks. 

 

YaYa, now a month shy of teenagehood, refused to have her face in any picture. 

Anyhow, soon enough it was time to hit the pavement. This year, for the first time, we took the "long route", the 2.6 mile option. 

Halfway into the walk, I finally got a face pic. Sorta. Kinda. 

Right around the time this picture was taken Lauren and I discussed the possible benefits of buying a Beetle; gas mileage was my point. Hers? "If we were driving in it we could watch people punch each other" [aka "white punch buggie no punch back"]

Lisa was on 'stand-by', just in case one of the kids pooped out and we needed a pickup. It wasn't needed :)

Once we finished the walk - THE FIRST TO FINISH by the way - the food pantry offered participants a sundae bar. The kids dove in. I abstained. 

On the walk home we walked through the road construction nearby, grateful that it wasn't our street that was torn apart by the city. 

 I am disappointed in a number of friends (not just one) who RSVP'd for the various invites that were issued for it and then failed to show. Y'all missed a beautiful day and the chance to do something good for the community. That aside, kudos to the kids of #TeamSlap. I'm proud of you.