Deadline

We rented and watched Britany Murphy in 'Deadline', in large part because I wanted one last hurrah with my late, great List of Five-er. It was a boring movie w/ a bad script, and while she looked super fine in her crack-a-licious way, at the same time she also seemed very sickly. It might have been the character, but IMO and Lisa's, there was a certain sheen of "Time's Running Out" on her face.

I'm a Hero lol

Wanna feel like a hero? Take a call from ur daughter saying she was using Walgreen's phone because Mom ran out of gas & lost her phone & I have to pee but McDonald's locked their bathrooms & we're stuck & it's dark & I have to pee real bad. Then ride to the rescue & have the kids clap & cheer & call out your name. Think they'd feel the same if they knew they were stuck cuz I'd been too lazy to stop for gas earlier?

Easter Egg Dyeing - 2010

On Good Friday, as has been our tradition since 1998 (a full three years before YaYa was born) we dyed Easter eggs with the children in our life. We try to do this between noon and 3, as during those hours we prohibit the use of TV, radio, computers, and the like.

This year it was (only!) my four kids and my niece, a low turnout but one that was perfect on what felt like a very busy, very hectic day.



No, it isn't red-eye. That's just Ginger in a bad mood.





Smiley made some elaborate and quite beautiful eggs, one's that really caught my eye.





Here's YaYa's example of choice:



LuLu's:



And their cousin's beautiful egg:



Back to Ginger for a moment.



Lisa was surprised by something quirky Ginger did. Time after time she recreated the same pattern on her eggs until we had a small collection of assembly line creations. Most were then snatched up and re-dyed by the other kids, but Lisa saved a few to show the camera:



Final tally: some six dozen eggs. Not a bad haul for twenty minutes of work, and the tradition was kept alive for another year. The Easter weekend had begun!

 At work I met a customer who claims to be a psychic. She came up to me and said my aura was 'brilliant' and 'stood out from across the store' and that I was a 'very old soul' who had lived 'many, many lives'. It's a shame I don't believe any of that schtuff. For once, it was nice to be complimented for something other than my looks and intelligence. LOL j/k

9 By Design

Watching "9 by Design" on Bravo, a reality show about two home designers in NYC who have six children and another on the way. It seems like a fun family and a loving marriage, and their design aesthetic is very sharp. It's well worth watching.

A Night of TV

Dear Lord it's like the perfect storm: DWTS, American Idol, Lost, Glee, V, 19 Kids and Counting- all new, all tonight. I can hear the Black Eyed Peas in my head: Tonight's gonna be a good good night . . .

DWTS - sad the yummalicious Edyta is gone, but what a great hour of dance. AI - boring. Tim was good, Andrew needs to go. What's up w/ Ryan? He's jacked up & rude lately. Glee - great reset episode, bringing the core character conflicts back into play. Love the Vogue clip. Lost - like the Hurley stuff, p.o'd at Desmond for f'ing up Locke in the flash-sideways. 19 Kids - love when the Duggars and Bates get together.

Dinner at Landmark

It looks like the crash that killed the Polish President was another casualty of history. He was on his way to commemorate Katyn, where 22,000 Poles were gunned down by Soviet secret police in WWII. The Russians have been assholish about it, and there is talk that demands to divert from the airfield were viewed as a political maneuver, not a safety issue.

Oops

Here's a comical Danny-esque moment, but courtesy of Lisa: She went out to the van, then sent the kids in saying the battery was dead. Oh, she was furious - all that $ we'd spent and now the alternator or battery was kaput! After a few minutes tho', I realized the keys she'd handed me, the keys for the van . . *weren't* for the van. Once I went out w/ the right ones, it purred like a kitten.

Quote of the Day - March 31st.

I took the family out to Taco Bell for dinner yesterday. I don't care for the place, but the kids do and after all, the whole point was to celebrate LuLu and YaYa's report cards. I was worried on the way there; they'd been getting on my nerves in the 24 hrs prior. But the kids were well behaved so afterwards, on the spur of the moment, we took them to the lakefront. Sheridan Park, to be precise, the spot where I proposed to Lisa many moons ago.

It's a long, steep walk down the paved trail and there was some mild grumbling, but once we were on the beach the kids loved it. Oh, I wish I'd had a camera with me. It was one of those rare - very rare - ten minute periods when the family is together, no one is acting up, and we're all happy to be together. We collected rocks on the beach, took a few steps in the (frigid) surf, and sat on the concrete pier overlooking the water. Grand. Even better: for whatever reason, the walk back up was easier than the trip down.

Once we were back in the park proper the kids played on a playset, until YaYa announced she had to use the restroom. I few minutes later, with her swearing she was about to wet her pants, I gathered up the troops. LuLu was sitting atop part of the playset.

"C'mon," I said. "Let's go"

"Why?" LuLu said.

"'Cuz your sister has to pee."

"So take her over there [to the pavilion]"

"I did," I said. "It's locked."

Lu sighed and rolled her eyes. "Then uhhhhh, why doesn't she just go behind the bush and pee? It's what I would do."

It was my turn to roll my eyes. I helped her down.

"You're a classy chick Lu," I said. "Pure class."

 We have two fully functioning vehicles!!!!! - Lisa

Dan went to pick up the van from the shop, which we haven't been able to use in months. AS HE PULLED IN, the escort failed. UGH....are we forever destined to be a one car family?!! Atleast this one car can fit the whole family...sigh. - Lisa

 The school play is over. Felt a lot like dance recital weekend for YaYa and I. We both needed that because we both miss dance! Next year, maybe play weekend and recital weekend both? Can we handle it?! LOL - Lisa

Life is Hard

 Finally FINALLY got our van's transmission replaced after five months!! Of course, good w/ the bad, as I was pulling into the shop my Escort went belly-up. I had to push her in from the median and leave her in the parking lot. Lisa's bummed, but the way I look at it, that car was in need of work for a bit - 'twas nothing but the Grace of God that she held out until that moment. That'll do pig. That'll do.

As Jim and Pam are checking into their room: "And as of this morning, we are completely wireless here at Schrute Farms. As soon as we find out where Mo hid all the wire, we'll get that power back on." - The Office

The Tripods Trilogy

I just finished reading "Pool of Fire" by John Christopher, the last of his Tripods trilogy. It's a fitting conclusion to the series, and, IMHO, a stronger and more tension filled effort than the second book. Grade: A

The Epic of Gilgamesh

I've finished reading the Epic of Gilgamesh, a poem written ~1750 B.C. in what is now Iraq. It's the tale of a heroic king who arrogantly angers his gods, who then strike down his only friend and equal. It is a story of friendship and loss, of the value of living life to the fullest and, perversely, of the futility of human life. Powerful stuff, even from a distance of 4000 yrs.

"Have you ever paused to compare your own blessed lot with a fool's?/Can't you see how fortunate you are?/ [in grief] You have worn yourself out through ceaseless striving/you have filled your muscles with pain and anguish/And what have you achieved but to bring yourself/one day nearer to the end of your days?" - The Epic of Gilgamesh Book X

"Only the gods live forever. Our days/are few in number, and whatever we achieve/is a puff of wind. Why be afraid then/since sooner or later death must come?" Epic of Gilgamesh Book III

Caption under a pic of the USS Arizona, from the 1941 Army-Navy Game program booklet, dated November 28th 1941 - a week before Pearl Harbor - : "A bow on view of the U. S. S. Arizona as she plows into a huge swell. It is significant that despite the claims of air enthusiasts no battleship has yet been sunk by bombs."

 Make-up Goddess!

Congrats to Duke and Coach K! Hot Dog! I'm only sorry Tenn couldn't outlast MI State, but man those were two great games (even if my viewing was interrupted by the Smurfs, Yo Gabba Gabba, and Caillou). I'll go on a limb and predict a Duke/MI State title, w/ my allegiance going to Duke.

Got kids? Come see [ ] Academy's show THE JUNGLE BOOK , today @ 1:00....free, but donations appreciated. Concessions and flowers available.

Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor

 Every yr or two I'm drawn to studying the battle of Stalingrad, and it's that time again. I just finished Beevor's 'Stalingrad', a solid study of the battle that emphasizes the Kessel over the horrific urban warfare of Aug-Nov. Of course the Wehrmacht needed to be stopped, but the 6th Army deserved a better fate than what awaited them in Stalin's hands - & they certainly deserved a better General than Paulus.

Hair Dye

In addition to my earring, back in place after yrs, I also used Lisa's hair dye to highlight my hair Thurs night. It adds body & dimension to what was already a stunning display of God's workmanship. I *wanted* to rough up the goatee by dyeing it blood red or growing it long enough to split and double-braid, BUT . . I guess, like my proposed Match Game logo tatoo, that's it's just *too cool* for Lisa to handle.

The Kids Choice Awards

Michelle Obama just won a Kids Choice Award on Nickelodeon. I find it odd that the award she accepts for a health and fitness program . . . is a Blimp.

My Dad and I went to YaYa's play tonight and she did great - a lot more lines than I thought she'd have! Good job baby girl!