The Automatic Detective by A Lee Martinez

Finished " The Automatic Detective" by A Lee Martinez; a fun read. I finished it here in a dr's waiting rm on a Nook. Answered several ?'s about the unit. Think I sold one, actually.

The First Day of School 2010

The kids leaving for the first day of the 2010/11 school year yest - Smiley's first day of K5 & his first day at his new school.

OMG....our kids are soooooooo cute! LOL - Lisa

AW soooo sweet, Smiley looks kind of scared. Was he?

Is it the picture or is he almost as tall as LuLu? - Grandma Jeanne 

No, he wasn't scared at all. This was the second or third shot I took, and he was getting antsy. He is less than an inch shorter than Lu, according to their last Dr. visit. 

As proof he wasn't scared, here's a pic ofSmiley on his first day of K5:

Drinking

It is now 403 am. If I am not hungover in teh morning, then I did something wrong.

No More Toddler Beds!

Lisa purchased, transported, and set up a twin bed set for Junie today while I was at work. [thanks!] That means we have a) no more bottles b) no more diapers c) no more cribs [the last of which was converted to a toddler bed for LK a year and a half ago]. All milestones, & all good news - but I must admit I got nostalgic walking thru the baby aisle at Pick 'N Save today.

It's a Wonderful World

I have come to the conclusion that the sight of a woman wearing capri's and open toed sandals is a gift from God on par with sunsets, kittens, and Oreos. Well done Lord, well done.

OMG

OMG.....bedtime could not come quick enough tonight, it's like they are all possessed! - Lisa

A Rough Night

For no good reason I was up until 5 a.m., then woke up for good at 9:30. It is now just shy of 1 p.m., and I am already a right mean ba**ard. It's gonna be a doozy of a day.

Two Movies

Ok, saw the Percy Jackson movie and thought it was top notch. The kids enjoyed it a lot but I don't dig PJ murdering his step-dad after the credits rolled (WTF??- glad my kids had already left the room; don't need them getting [more] ideas). Also saw JLO in "Back Up Plan", which was entertaining and featured a fine supporting cast. Easily her best rom-com since "Maid . . ."

So Excited!

So excited to drop off school supplies tomorrow.....can't wait to have my dining room back! - Lisa

Hair Dye

Lisa's mildly p.o.'d at me (what a novelty, eh?) because she dyed her hair a deep, dark red at my request. Uh, a) she doesn't listen to me about anything else, so y start now? b) it's not *half* as dark as I had hoped, so it's not like she 'caved' to my demands c) it looks hot against her pale skin. C'mon - I work hard to look THIS freakin' hot for her, it's only fair she returns the favor. ;)

A Lemonade Stand Visit

YaYa  and I stopped at a lemonade stand out of sympathy for the kids - no one ever stops and buys any from my kids, may all the passerby's rot in hell. Anywho, it turns out it was run by Quinten, the son of a friend of ours. I greeted him with "Well if it ain't Gracie's little boyfriend" and thereby ensured me bitter stares & silence from YaYa the rest of the way home.

LOL - I was just watching a music video and a fine lady shook her ass to the camera. Smiley had just walked into the room, and seeing the woman on the screen he tugged on my shirt, & with a huge grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye said "Me like that a lot. Play it again."

Weirdo

These kids are weird. Junie keeps trying to play leapfrog but insists on saying 'oink', and Smiley is eating a hoagie roll stuffed with summer sausage, cheese, and whole strawberries.

update: I should mention that within minutes of this post Junie was in the backyard pool in a bikini . . and bicycle helmet. 

lol.... at least she's  finally over the winter boots!!  - Lisa

Quote

"He was looking anxious & worried, like a man who has done the murder all right but can't think what the deuce to do with the body."  - PG Wodehouse

Lisa takes the Kids to the Mall

While I was at work today Lisa brought the kids by to visit, then took them to the mall and treated them to lotion, necklaces & amusement rides before going out to dinner w/ them w/ some of her State Fair earnings. Since Park was excluded from the lotion/necklace party, he got a dollar store snake that will grow to 6X its size when left in water.

So cool...felt good to waste some money for a change. They were really good at the mall, all 4 of them. I heart them. - Lisa

A Wonderful Moment

Driving w/ the family on  dark country road near Union Grove, returning from an errand in Burlington. Justin Beiber's "Baby" on the radio & everyone singing along.

.

Watching 'Dating in the Dark' on ABC. Man I love reality tv!

A Summer Weekend

We had a busy/great weekend. On Sat we drove up to Red Granite WI for a corn roast at a tavern owned by the parents of a friend; my girls got up and did karaoke for the crowd- they're a lot braver/better kids than I was @ their age. Afterwards we drove 3.5 hours in the other direction and spent the night at my buddy Erv's house in IL, arriving at 10 pm and leaving ~ 7pm Sunday. A great last summer hurrah.

The Ghosts of Cannae by Robert L O'Connell

I just finished 'The Ghosts of Cannae' by Robert L O'Connell, a GREAT non-fiction work on the famous battle. Having read it, I say screw Hannibal; give me Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus any ol' day.

"Nooo. . . No u may not use the term 'finger-bang' in your status. Do not make me hit you." - Lisa, minutes ago.

The Killers

Watching The Killers in concert on Palladia. I miss cable.

I love the killers ! Have you seen the KILLERS in london ? That one is one of the best :) =- mu sister K

Yeah, this was at Royal Albert Hall. It was very good. :)

A close friends grandma's funeral was today. What an amazing and blessed family. Her influence on them was palpable. RIP June.  - Lisa

I use Google Chrome as a browser but use Bing for searches. Go figure.

The Searchers by Alan LeMay

My Dad's always said The Searchers is the best western ever made, and I've never found a film that proved him wrong. I just finished the book that inspired it (by Alan LeMay) and it was just as good - in some ways better. Many of the quotes you've seen here recently are from the text, and I think the ending (while more or less the same) is more powerful in print. Very highly recommended.

How Times Change

An episode of The Cosby Show was just on, one from a later season where Theo was already in college. Within the first ten minutes the characters used a typewriter, a record player (!) and had to rush home to use the phone. Savages.