To the unknown person who donated the coffee maker to the Value Village, which I purchased 2day for $3: Sir/Madam, I salute u. No castoff this, no 'best fit for the rubbage heap but donate it 4 the write-off'. I can see the love u had for it, the care u took in maintaining it. Even on the shelf it shone like a glimpse into the Hereafter, so spotless my efforts to 'clean' it were superfluous @ best. Well done.
Published writer, compulsive reader, Old School Whovian, Match Game enthusiast, NKOTB fan, data hoarder, and - surprisingly, given that list - married with four kids. Welcome to my take on life, fatherhood, entertainment, and whatever strikes my fancy. Enjoy!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
A 3rd Grade Photo from 1983
An old classmate posted this picture, dated June 7th 1983, on Facebook. I'd completely forgotten about this get-together in the intervening years.
I'm in the second row from the top, wearing a lovely red-white-and blue shirt with horizontal stripes. In those days I wore a newsboy hat, or a white leather cap that my Grandpa gave me, so the Brewers hat doesn't jibe with my memory. It's a shame I didn't recognize the value of my fantastic hair at that age. I would never have worn a hat and wasted the God-given gift.
The woman in the picture was Mrs. Kusch (sp?), my 3rd grade teacher, and at the end of the year she invited the entire class to her home. It was certainly a more innocent time, as I can't imagine a teacher risking the liability today. I don't remember much of the day. I have a flash of hurrying through her kitchen, and of actually posing for the picture, but that's about it.
Man, its 27 years later and I have a third grader of my own -yikes!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Proud Dad
[wipes tears of pride from my eyes] Smiley just brought me a copy of Dr. Who magazine and asked me to read it to him while he ate lunch. "umtimes I 'ared, umtimes I not" he said. The other day the family watched "Lazarus Experiment" (great underated ep.) and he was petrified but stuck it out, even as he said to me "I ave night'ares tonight, it your 'ault"
It's Paczki Day!
Today is Fat Tuesday, the last hurrah before the solemnity of Lent, and here in Milwaukee Fat Tuesday means Paczki.
Although they look like a jelly donut, the Polish treat* is made from a very rich dough that contains eggs, fat, sugar and (sometimes) milk. A small amount of grain alcohol is added to the dough to prevent the oil from soaking in when it's deep fried. While certainly denser than a traditional donut, the influence of French chefs during the reign of Poland's August III made the dough much lighter than it reads in print.
Inside the paczki a fruit filling - prune, raspberry, apple, lemon, cream, etc - and the outside is sprinkled with sugar or iced.
This morning I stopped at the neighborhood bakery - an Italian one, but Milwaukee-fied enough to promote paczki's. I picked up two dozen, with 18 of those being shipped off to my parent's apartment.
Enjoy your Fat Tuesday!
* (pronounced PAWNCH-kee or PONCH-kee but some speakers pronounce the word as POONCH-kee, PUNCH-kee or PANCH-kee)
Although they look like a jelly donut, the Polish treat* is made from a very rich dough that contains eggs, fat, sugar and (sometimes) milk. A small amount of grain alcohol is added to the dough to prevent the oil from soaking in when it's deep fried. While certainly denser than a traditional donut, the influence of French chefs during the reign of Poland's August III made the dough much lighter than it reads in print.
Inside the paczki a fruit filling - prune, raspberry, apple, lemon, cream, etc - and the outside is sprinkled with sugar or iced.
This morning I stopped at the neighborhood bakery - an Italian one, but Milwaukee-fied enough to promote paczki's. I picked up two dozen, with 18 of those being shipped off to my parent's apartment.
Enjoy your Fat Tuesday!
* (pronounced PAWNCH-kee or PONCH-kee but some speakers pronounce the word as POONCH-kee, PUNCH-kee or PANCH-kee)
Sleeping LuLu
Aren't you supposed to sleep on a sleepover? I guess not. Just a few hours after her sleepover ended, Lu was fast asleep on the loveseat.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Beans and Rice and No Nightlights
Red beans & rice + sausage for dinner, then an hr of the most scuffles ever recorded among the kids. It was like Wrestlemania Slapczynski.
But good can come from bad.
As they were all nuts anyhow, we picked today to break Junie of sleeping w/ the room light on. She slept in the dark from birth to 2, then picked up the habit when she moved 2 her own rm. 2night: darkness. & a lot of crying. It might be a long one
More Facebook Feb 3rd - 5th
Feb 3rd: I liked Lost, but we learned little other than the ID of the Smoke Monster. The Abomb worked to create a seperate timeline, but I'm not buying the 'everythign would suck anyhow' storyline (not the case for the hundreds of dead, no?) . . .and that's that. Jack's broken, so this season will be about his redemption.
* (from the UrbanDictionary.com)Dan - A man of unusual humor, consistently finding strange, and lewd comments amusing and/or entertaining in a way as to prevoke violent and uncontrolled outbursts of laughter
* re: a news article about how two of the Duggar children saved a little girls life A tip of the hat to the Duggar children. They were raised well.
* "The time has come to lip-sync . . . FOR YOUR LIFE! And remember - don't F**k it up!" How is it that Rupaul's Drag Race doesn't get more press? Watch the show already.
* I'm sick of all the cliched sob stories on American Idol. Every contestant grew up poor and unloved, had cancer and got knocked up with a Martian baby while working three jobs. At this point I know longer buy any of it at face value. I want proof - birth certificates, payroll records, hospital bills, sworn affidavits. Otherwise, STFU and sing.
Feb 4th (in response to a CNN link detailing how the DNA of newborns is collected by the government If you RTA, you'll note that the DNA collection is government mandated and often done without parental consent or even notification. In many states the DNA is then stored by the gov't indefinitely. Only in states like TX and MN do you have the option of demanding the destruction of the sample.
(posted by my Uncle George) Whoa, was that Smiley I saw at 3 pm running to Lisa's car with no shirt or shoes?!!
Me: [hangs head w/ shame] yes. I was heading into the shower when Lisa called to ask me to bring out LuLu's Daisy vest, so I sent Smiley in my place. It was a five second trip outside - how was I to know you'd be driving by? And in my day, not only did we go outside in winter without shirt and shoes, we thanked our lucky stars we had pants - and we walked three miles to school each day too!
Uncle George: I should have known that it ran in the family!
Feb 5th: On his weekly Project Runway blog, Tim Gunn called Milwaukee native Anna's piece "one of the lowest points in the history of the show". Ouch. It's a brutally honest blog and worth a read.
The last of the Bo tribe of India passed away.
* The producers of Lost have announced the date of the series finale: Sun May 23rd, with the 24th therefore being a day of mourning.
* Smiley's IEP was this morning, and the news was largely posititve. Details to follow over the weekend on my blog.
* Our neighbor (the good one) just surrendered his Harley and had it towed away. He lost most of his income in '09 w/ the P. Cudahy fire. I went out to talk to him thinking the bike was going in for repair & he couldn't speak beyond telling me the bare bones . . Shitty. He's a good joe.
* Just got a(nother) rejection letter from an editor. It's a shame many come via email nowadays. If they still came exclusively by USPS I'd have enough to wallpaper the hallway.
* Jon Gosslin is willing to let TLC film the kids, provided they drop the legal action against him.
* LuLu's sleepover is not going well. One girl is already homesick and called home, and despite massive amounts of food they all claim to be starving. Plus a few kids brought their Nintendo DS's (!), which has created a schism in the group btwn the have and have nots. I think we'll do one kid over @ a time from now on.
(One girl did go home, and one was picked up TWO HOURS late. Other than that, it went OK)
* (from the UrbanDictionary.com)Dan - A man of unusual humor, consistently finding strange, and lewd comments amusing and/or entertaining in a way as to prevoke violent and uncontrolled outbursts of laughter
* re: a news article about how two of the Duggar children saved a little girls life A tip of the hat to the Duggar children. They were raised well.
* "The time has come to lip-sync . . . FOR YOUR LIFE! And remember - don't F**k it up!" How is it that Rupaul's Drag Race doesn't get more press? Watch the show already.
* I'm sick of all the cliched sob stories on American Idol. Every contestant grew up poor and unloved, had cancer and got knocked up with a Martian baby while working three jobs. At this point I know longer buy any of it at face value. I want proof - birth certificates, payroll records, hospital bills, sworn affidavits. Otherwise, STFU and sing.
Feb 4th (in response to a CNN link detailing how the DNA of newborns is collected by the government If you RTA, you'll note that the DNA collection is government mandated and often done without parental consent or even notification. In many states the DNA is then stored by the gov't indefinitely. Only in states like TX and MN do you have the option of demanding the destruction of the sample.
(posted by my Uncle George) Whoa, was that Smiley I saw at 3 pm running to Lisa's car with no shirt or shoes?!!
Me: [hangs head w/ shame] yes. I was heading into the shower when Lisa called to ask me to bring out LuLu's Daisy vest, so I sent Smiley in my place. It was a five second trip outside - how was I to know you'd be driving by? And in my day, not only did we go outside in winter without shirt and shoes, we thanked our lucky stars we had pants - and we walked three miles to school each day too!
Uncle George: I should have known that it ran in the family!
Feb 5th: On his weekly Project Runway blog, Tim Gunn called Milwaukee native Anna's piece "one of the lowest points in the history of the show". Ouch. It's a brutally honest blog and worth a read.
The last of the Bo tribe of India passed away.
* The producers of Lost have announced the date of the series finale: Sun May 23rd, with the 24th therefore being a day of mourning.
* Smiley's IEP was this morning, and the news was largely posititve. Details to follow over the weekend on my blog.
* Our neighbor (the good one) just surrendered his Harley and had it towed away. He lost most of his income in '09 w/ the P. Cudahy fire. I went out to talk to him thinking the bike was going in for repair & he couldn't speak beyond telling me the bare bones . . Shitty. He's a good joe.
* Just got a(nother) rejection letter from an editor. It's a shame many come via email nowadays. If they still came exclusively by USPS I'd have enough to wallpaper the hallway.
* Jon Gosslin is willing to let TLC film the kids, provided they drop the legal action against him.
* LuLu's sleepover is not going well. One girl is already homesick and called home, and despite massive amounts of food they all claim to be starving. Plus a few kids brought their Nintendo DS's (!), which has created a schism in the group btwn the have and have nots. I think we'll do one kid over @ a time from now on.
(One girl did go home, and one was picked up TWO HOURS late. Other than that, it went OK)
Vince Gibbens
Want to feel older than your years? It's been 15 years since WISN and Fox 6 anchor Vince Gibbens unexpectedly died of a heart attack in 1995. Remember all the on-air memorials at the time? Yikes. Fifteen Years.
Jenny Jones on Match Game
There was a Future Celebrity sighting on Match Game this morning. Jenny Jones, future talk show host, appeared in today's 1978 episode and won the grand prize. Interestingly, she stated she was born in Bethlehem (Palestine) to Polish Catholic parents.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Valentine's Day!
Happy Valentines Day!
Last year at this time Lisa made Smarties Valentines treats that looked like old propeller planes. They were wicked, but of course I failed to get a picture. This year we went a little more basic, making bags of what I've dubbed Angel Chow. We made bags for each student and teacher in their classes.
Lisa melted white chocolate, added red food coloring, and coated coco-puffs with the gooey goodness. She then sprinkled them with pink jimmies, and we formed an assembly line to bag them and tie each with a purple curling ribbon.
Last year at this time Lisa made Smarties Valentines treats that looked like old propeller planes. They were wicked, but of course I failed to get a picture. This year we went a little more basic, making bags of what I've dubbed Angel Chow. We made bags for each student and teacher in their classes.
Lisa melted white chocolate, added red food coloring, and coated coco-puffs with the gooey goodness. She then sprinkled them with pink jimmies, and we formed an assembly line to bag them and tie each with a purple curling ribbon.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Happy Valentines Day!
What'd I get my wife for Valentines Day? 8 hrs home alone w/ four kids while I worked. But on the way home I did pick up 2 'Heart' pizzas from Papa Murphy's for dinner.
Were they good?
We wouldn't know. Our oven tanked so we couldn't bake them.
Then Junie wizzed all over the dining room and the bathroom.
And then . . . lol . . . moments ago, while cleaning off the dining room table, I tried to toss a plastic bowl into the sink from a room away (yeah, I know). Naturally I missed not only the sink but the doorway. It ricocheted and knocked Lisa's favorite painting off the wall and onto the floor, atop a pile of buttered noodles Junie had dropped. . . . Is it Monday yet?
Good times, good times.
Oh My Got
The Junie is running around saying "Oh my Got" this morning & ignoring our efforts to switch to "Oh my gosh". I don't understand where she gets it. I'll swear like a drunk trucker, but I almost never use the Lord's name, even for that kinda stuff. Which isn't to say I'd be ok with her saying "you m.fer" - at least until she's four. Three at the earliest
Facebook Feb 1-2nd.
Feb 1st: I kinda dig the smell of skunk - from a distance. We drove by a skunk spray the other day and I mentioned this to Lisa. She said nothing for a moment and then quietly said "You know, there are a lot of things wrong with you."
regarding an article dealing with home invaders who kidnapped, raped and killed: "'Punishment is the way in which society expresses its denunciation of wrongdoing: and, in order to maintain respect for law, it is essential that the punishment inflicted for grave crimes should adequately reflect the revulsion felt by the great majority of citizens for them.". - Lord Justice Denning. These men deserve nothing less than death.
* Bumped Family Night up a day this wk. L supervised homework & worked on valentines cards w/ the kids while I made mock chicken legs and mashed potatos (ckn breast for me and L). Then, after dishes, L played scrabble w/ YaYa, while Smiley & I played memory & watched Wizards of Waverly Place w/ LuLu. Then Ginger went and... rubbed blue toothpaste all over the bathroom and herself, so we cleaned her up and sent her to bed.
My buddy Tre responded that toothpaste was better than poop. He jinxed us. A few days later she had an accident and smeared the stuff all over her window, door and wall. Thanks Tre!
* **** Tune in to NBC tonight @ 1235am ET to catch NKOTB performing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon! Check local listings for more info.**** It was a good, strong performance.
* Catholic scholar and mystery writer (the Father Dowling mysteries) Ralph McInerny has died. RIP.
I went on a bit of an Andy Kaufman video spree at this point. I'm not even a Kaufman fan, but I was in the right frame of mind.
Feb 2nd (regarding Sen. Harry Reid (D) taking undue credit in a Black History column: If they cared at all, his own people should've told Reid to STFU. Like he needed to look like an ass to the African-American community - again.
* "The future of American space exploration came into question on Monday as President Obama released his 2011 budget. . .The plan leaves many open questions about the future of U.S. space travel, includingIF AND WHEN NASA will EVER build rockets of its own again, when astronauts will return to space and in what kind of s...pacecraft." Shortsighted, and a betrayal of our children's future.
* WTH? Reuters ran an article on 'back door' taxes - allowing current credits to expire, increasing the tax burden w/out press or actually 'raising' taxes. Now, it's pulled, reading only "The story Backdoor taxes to hit middle class has been withdrawn. A replacement story will run later in the week".
* It's a huge night for TV. American Idol, Fringe, Dirty Jobs, the start of season 2 of Rupaul's Drag Race, a brand new Duggar episode, and of course my beloved Lost. It's a shame I'm in such a deep, dark depressive funk or this just might rank as one of the greatest nights EVAH.
regarding an article dealing with home invaders who kidnapped, raped and killed: "'Punishment is the way in which society expresses its denunciation of wrongdoing: and, in order to maintain respect for law, it is essential that the punishment inflicted for grave crimes should adequately reflect the revulsion felt by the great majority of citizens for them.". - Lord Justice Denning. These men deserve nothing less than death.
* Bumped Family Night up a day this wk. L supervised homework & worked on valentines cards w/ the kids while I made mock chicken legs and mashed potatos (ckn breast for me and L). Then, after dishes, L played scrabble w/ YaYa, while Smiley & I played memory & watched Wizards of Waverly Place w/ LuLu. Then Ginger went and... rubbed blue toothpaste all over the bathroom and herself, so we cleaned her up and sent her to bed.
My buddy Tre responded that toothpaste was better than poop. He jinxed us. A few days later she had an accident and smeared the stuff all over her window, door and wall. Thanks Tre!
* **** Tune in to NBC tonight @ 1235am ET to catch NKOTB performing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon! Check local listings for more info.**** It was a good, strong performance.
* Catholic scholar and mystery writer (the Father Dowling mysteries) Ralph McInerny has died. RIP.
I went on a bit of an Andy Kaufman video spree at this point. I'm not even a Kaufman fan, but I was in the right frame of mind.
Feb 2nd (regarding Sen. Harry Reid (D) taking undue credit in a Black History column: If they cared at all, his own people should've told Reid to STFU. Like he needed to look like an ass to the African-American community - again.
* "The future of American space exploration came into question on Monday as President Obama released his 2011 budget. . .The plan leaves many open questions about the future of U.S. space travel, includingIF AND WHEN NASA will EVER build rockets of its own again, when astronauts will return to space and in what kind of s...pacecraft." Shortsighted, and a betrayal of our children's future.
* WTH? Reuters ran an article on 'back door' taxes - allowing current credits to expire, increasing the tax burden w/out press or actually 'raising' taxes. Now, it's pulled, reading only "The story Backdoor taxes to hit middle class has been withdrawn. A replacement story will run later in the week".
* It's a huge night for TV. American Idol, Fringe, Dirty Jobs, the start of season 2 of Rupaul's Drag Race, a brand new Duggar episode, and of course my beloved Lost. It's a shame I'm in such a deep, dark depressive funk or this just might rank as one of the greatest nights EVAH.
Friday, February 12, 2010
What a Night
Got home from work @ 9.
Lisa & I then had to deal with Junie who picked last night to scream, stomp her feet, & refuse to sleep in true 2 yr old fashion. We left her in her room to chill out, but that took 5 HOURS, lasting until 3 a.m.
Then we woke up @ 6:45 to YaYa screaming like she was under attack. Y? "Where'd you put my school clothes?"
@#^&%
The Marquette Basketball Team visits the School
Before I forget: a few weeks ago my two oldest came home ecstatic that the Marquette basketball team visited their school. YaYa was impressed by Robert Frozena, while LuLu thought Jimmy Butler (who gave her an autograph) was the nicest guy in history.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
This isn't an Improvement
Want to knows something crappy about the new FB? Say there's someone you don't want knowing your business, but you have a mutual friend. When ur friend comments on *your* post, it shows up on her wall. That means ur business is out there for the world to see. Not a huge deal, but annoying
The Snowstorm of Feb 9th and 10th
This past Tues/Wednesday featured a pretty decent snowstorm. I don't have the final tally but original predictions were for 10 to 14 inches of 'lake effect' snow, and I think we came close. School was never cancelled, and the roads were never very bad (by Milwaukee snowstorm standards), but it was still a chore to clear it all. Not so bad in the early stages, as the temperature was mild and the snow light and dry, but in the evening the wind picked up and this morning, after the storm, the temperature dropped.
These are a few pictures Lisa took while I was clearing the alley. I love this first picture:
These are a few pictures Lisa took while I was clearing the alley. I love this first picture:
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Throwback: 3rd Grade
Dated June 7, 1983. I'm second from the right in the second row from the top, wearing a Brewers cap and an a red, white, and blue polo LOL
It was the end of 3rd grade, and our teacher Mrs. Kusch (sp?) invited us all out to her house for the day.
New Zhu-zhu
I just showed Smiley an ad for the new generation of Zhu-Zhu pets and he freaked out. He started hopping up and down and sounded like he was going to hyperventilate. Man he loses those toy hamsters!
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