This year I’ve taken SO many senior portraits. The yearbook editor to photographer pipeline is real.  - YaYa

Go Vote!

Happy Birthday Yaya!

happy birthday bestie boo - LuLu

20 years and 364 Days

i can not wait to have my first ever sip of alcohol this weekend (j/k) -YaYa (her 21st birthday starts in 21 minutes)

Someone

someone you know has had an abortion. if you’re pro life and insist that nobody in your circles have, consider that they just might not feel safe telling you 🤷🏻‍♀️  - YaYa

Wrong Number

Why I get 10 calls from the Milwaukee county jail and I couldn’t figure out who tf it was till I answered FINALLY and he’s like oh shit wrong number - YaYa

Stress

i keep having to consciously unclench my jaw I know I’m stressed but damn -YaYa

True Crime Fans

I think some true crime fans are unable to identify the real devastation caused by some of these people that y’all fawn over. An interest in true crime shouldn’t overrule basic human decency.  

It makes me sick to see people comment “one of my favorite serial killers” under the new Dahmer movie posts like…. Y’all. Have some tact.

- YaYa

people simping over ted bundy and saying they wouldn’t mind being killed by him😬. like what. imagine having absolutely no self awareness to what your words mean - LuLu

The Grasshopper (free) (not so outdoorsy) Picnic

Should you search through this site, you'll find that many - not all, but many - State Fair weeks I would take some combination of the kids on a Grasshopper Picnic; so named because we would usually share a Little Caesar's pizza in Whitnall Park, and finish by catching a jar or two of grasshoppers that we released in our yard. 

Alas, this year, three considerations have affected this outing;

1. I maintain a glorious array of bird feeders, and bringing the grasshoppers home would be ensuring their quick demise at the hands, er, beaks, of my pretties. 

2. I'm planning on going to the Fair tomorrow, and the kids work. 

and 

3. When I drove by a field this week and suggested it as a location, LuLu called it "more like a tick picnic."

Hrmph. 

So, improvisation. Today all the kids who live at home were working, but Junie and Smiley had a few hours free around noon. Alas, Smiley made plans for coffee with a friend, so Junie and I went to a small, local Italian grocery store that has a hot food counter, and bought some vittles. 

A cup of chili and a dark rye roll for me, chicken tenders and potato wedges for her. Oh, and she bought me an oatmeal raisin cookie and apple juice. 

We ate in the car and talked about the Aubreys (band of the great Finn Wolfhard) and the upcoming school year, and the siblings. What I remember best is her shock when I told her I sometimes stopped at that store for lunch when I had a morning class at Marquette. The idea of me having a life independent of their memories remains largely theoretical for all of them, I think. 

Afterwards we bought some school supplies and visited YaYa for a bit. 

Anyway, *maybe* we'll pull off a catch-and-release genu-wine Grasshopper Picnic. But if not, this was mighty nice too.

Monkeypox

If you get monkeypox the cdc is recommending an isolation period of 2 - 4 weeks.  I could imagine this situation getting worse because plenty of people are simply not able to leave work that long!! Workplace accommodations should really be happening - YaYa

Honey Buns

I had a honey bun phase when I was like 9 and I stg I just can’t eat them any more it’s sickening. YaYa

Another classmate lost

losing childhood classmates can be difficult and it seems to be happening a lot lately. gun violence is especially difficult for me to hear about and i hope everyone is taking the time they need. peace to the families, sincerely YaYa

Voyage on the Great Titanic

One of YaYa's self-described favorite books of her childhood. 

A Gift

These are the Polish headrest covers YaYa gave me last month. 

Sonic

I’m currently obsessed with the mini brand surprise bags at Sonic. The mini drinks fit in the mini cup holder they have 😭  - YaYa

They Did

my report cards really said “she needs to stop reading her own books in class” for years. - YaYa

A Statement from YaYa

Long, emotional post because I can:

For the past three years I’ve been struggling to feel content or productive within my major of study @ UWM. I’ve had to really reflect on my academics and why I’ve been struggling to progress in a field of study that I’m clearly very passionate about. 

Theatre has been my life for a long time. I can’t remember my life without it and I can’t see my future without it, either. Studying theatre every day since 2015 (thanks, public arts-centric education) has been amazing and I’ve learned enough to feel concrete in my love for the art form. I feel so strongly towards theatre education and the benefits that youth receive from it, but the program at UWM just wasn’t enough for me. 

Intimate class sizes (usually about 4-12 students) seemed so ideal in the beginning but I’d come to dread seeing the same people in each class every day. And not because I don’t like the other theatre ed students - but because it felt very repetitive and stagnant. 

Because of the pandemic, my experience shifted and I was involuntarily removed from tech crews, the campus dorms, and more. It felt like everything I knew was uprooted in a matter of weeks- and though I had hoped I would regain my footing and drive, it never happened. Between the lack of accessible online courses in the theatre ed program and the lack of variety, it just wasn’t working for me.

It took me a long time to come to this conclusion because I love theatre education, period. I’ve been hurting because it stings to accept that I’m moving on. 

But I think it’s for the better.

Today I’ve officially declared a new major of study, Community Engagement & Education. I think this will be a great fit for me and I’m excited to see where it takes me. My path towards higher education hasn’t been linear and it’s been difficult to acknowledge at times. But when I get that degree- and I WILL get there, a few years later- I’ll feel proud. 

As (Doctor) Taylor Swift said: “Part of growing up and moving into new chapters of your life is about catch and release. What I mean by that is, knowing what things to keep, and what things to release. I’m trying to tell you that losing things doesn’t just mean losing. A lot of the time, when we lose things, we gain things too.”

A one year old YaYa, and a Lisa 8 months pregnant with LuLU

My YaYa's blog - Age 8

 From August of 2009: From PrincessYaYa's blog:

"we had to go too the fire darpartment becase i got a braslet , we triyed to get it off but it got tighter and tighter and soon my hand went purple! they cut it off then we (stacey & I) got a candy bar . I got butter finger Stacey got a rice crippey treat ,yumm . i was cool threre so cool!"

Mountain Dew Flaming Hot

Mountain Dew flaming hot, found @ pick n save on holt. Get ‘em before they go on eBay… again… for $25+ - YaYa