GREAT play on Sunday Night Football on NBC! But I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't know, since you're watching it too .. . . oh, wait? Are you on Time Warner Cable? Are you still subject to the blackout? Aww, poor bunky. Switch to U-Verse already, ya Neanderthals. ;)

The BVCC Food Pantry Walk

This morning my daughters and I took part in a charity walk benefiting the food bank at the local community center. It was the first real test of my knee since tearing my ACL three months ago, and I am pleased to report that there wasn't so much as a hint of pain :) 

Junie lasted all of about .3 of a mile before throwing a fit, but luckily I had Lisa on standby and she drove and picked her up. YaYa, LuLu, and I finished the walk on our own, and had a nice entertaining conversation along the way.Then it was a nap, Mass, and soon dinner with friends here at home . . .

25 Years of Hangin' Tough

25 years ago today the monumental NKOTB album "Hangin' Tough" was released. Please, bow your heads in awe of the occasion. :)

A - drafting Peyton Manning in my fantasy draft was not my worst idea ever and B - of the 19 members of the part-time law school program two have already dropped out

Geese on Parade

Racist Bus Driver?

This!

30 Years Gone

30 years ago,on the night of 9/2/83, I crawled into bed beside my Grandpa. I woke up the next morning and discovered that he'd died next to me in the middle of the night. 

Without question, it was one of the most awful - and pivotal - days of my young life. It was never about the manner of his death, but about losing HIM. In many ways his loss shaped who I was to become.

It's hard to believe that today marks THREE decades since that morning, but time has a habit of marching on and leaving both the good and the bad in the distance.

 RIP Little Grandpa, and thanks for the time we did have together!

Junie = Tough

Junie just came down the stairs. "Guess wat? I stepped on a piece o' glass, and it got stuck in my foot but it's ok cuz I got it out myself." We were about to rattle off a standard "That's nice honey," when she brought out the paper towel she'd used to wipe off her foot. It had a fair amount of blood on it, like that of a minor nose bleed. She dug out a chunk of glass and cleaned it up herself without so much as asking for help, much less crying. For a six year old, that kid is one bad a*s b**ch. :)

Sad but True

Sad but LOL (and true): We went looking (just looking) at new washers today, and time after time Lisa walked away from a model in disgust. "What's this 'made in America' crap? We don't know how to build things anymore. Where's all the good Chinese stuff?" she said.

Tommy Morrison

RIP Tommy Morrison, age 44, a former Heavyweight champion and star of "Rocky 5". He's had HIV for years, but the cause of death was not yet announced.

Rabbit Food

We just finished a dinner of fresh vegetables and salad . . I don't know what to say. It was lettuce and green things for dinner. For DINNER people. WTH???

What's this "we" crapola?! You refused to eat...it was me and the kids that sat down to veggies and salad for dinner, and it was delish! - Lisa

I had two bowls! - Me

Neighbor Drama

The neighbor's teenage son went a little haywire and started smashing the ceramic pots on his Mom's porch. Lisa told him to knock it off, he mouthed off to Lisa and walked towards her,  I got  in his face and said some things, etc Turns out he's angry because he knocked up his girlfriend. Boo-hoo. Now you wrecked your Mom's porch, pissed off your neighbor, got your neighbor's 300 pound husband in your grill, and, oh yeah - your girlfriend's still pregnant. Well played kid.

Lemonade!

My kids have a lemonade stand in front of our house. If you are living in or visiting our area, and are unwilling to see the dreams of a six year old girl ground into the mud, then please - STOP BY.

Update: They scored about $10 bucks, divided 4 each to the Bookends, 2 bucks to Smiley.

KAL Flight 007

30 years ago this weekend the Soviet Union shot down KAL Flight 007, an unarmed 747 passenger flight that had wandered into their airspace. All 269 people aboard were killed, and their bodies never returned to their loved ones. I remember this happening, and I remember asking my Mom permission to stay up and watch Nightline because I thought there was a good possibility we'd be going to war. To the passengers and crew murdered by what truly was an Evil Empire, RIP.

The First EVER day of Public School for the whole of Team Slap!!!

Ok, I posted it way late. But better late than never!

Caveat: Junie attended a public montessori school in K3, and Smiley was in a speech program at a public school for k3 as well.  But *as a family* this is an inaugural day!!

Seamus Heaney

Seamus Heaney, the great Irish poet that I had the pleasure to hear give a reading, has passed away at 74. RIP :(

Halloween 2012

Here's some pictures from last Halloween (Oct 27th, 2012)

(This is YaYa writing by the way)

I went as Katniss from Hunger Games- I still had my cast at the time. Lulu went as Tragedy Ann. Note that my dad made the wig- just yarn and a knee-sock. It looks just as good as the one that sells for $18.50.

 Smiley went as a ninja- not the traditional one, obviously. Junie- smiling happily with her make-up on- went as Cinderella. 

After we went to school, we put our make-up on and headed to the Halloween Hoopla- a party that we attend every year. 

 Junie, playing a game. She must have won it ten times. 

And there I am- dancing Gangnum style, even with my cast on.  And here I am practising my archery at home. 

The next day we went trick-or-treating.

Junie, her bucket filled with candy.

  LuLu and her friend

  It was a great Halloween!

An Update on the Thumb

I think my thumb looks a lot better. Yes, I agree with Lisa that it looks like a Home Ec student sewed it,and there's blood blisters and the busted wiggly nail blah blah. BUT I really do think its healing. I object strongly to Lisa saying it looks "gross" and that helping me change the bandage was going to "make her throw up".

 Uh, I watched four vaginal births and was forced by our culture to call the sight "beautiful" - which, I assure you, it is not - so I think she can deal with looking at a busted thumb. :)

Another Writer Here?

Between work/marriage/family/home/law school I don't have time for much, and I fear that Slapinions was feeling neglected. Sooooo . . . I have offered co-author duties to YaYa, who will fill in on *family* events as requested while leaving the occasional rant and review to me. She was awfully squeamish her first time out of the gate, but I've seen the kids writing: once she's past the jitters, she'll put out nice, readable copy for y'all. :)

Ivan R: Oh wow YaYa has a big responsibility now. You know what they say "With great power comes great responsibility" she's always been good on writing she would always write more than me during class time because I like writing too but no one in my family likes writing but me so I'm not sure if what I write is good or bad haha

Lisa: Ivan, that's a spiderman quote...awesome :)

Ivan R: Indeed it is I'm surprised you knew that:)

My First Day of Law School

My first day of law school is officially in the books :)

Two thumbs up! . . . Oh, sorry. - Fred

A-Rod's line

A-Rod yesterday: 2-4 with a walk, a home run, and 1 RBI.

650!!

Congrats to Alex Rodriguez on his 650th career home run!

I wrecked my thumb!

When I went to start the lawnmower this morning the starter cable broke loose and spent all its stored energy slamming into my hand. I broke my left thumb in multiple places, got three stitches and a tetanus shot. My thumbnail was black by the time I got back in the house, and there was some talk of removing it to get at a cut beneath it, but they let that be, to which I sincerely say "Whew." They still said the nail will probably fall off, which icks me out.  

How'd the kids take the injury? While I was stemming the bleeding Smiley asked me to burn him a CD,  Junie wanted to know if she could wear a pink batting helmet in lieu of a bike helmet, and YaYa argued with me before she'd loan me tape to wrap the gauze, then stressed that she wanted it back "the minute" I was done. Good Christians I'm raising LOL

On Miley Cyrus

I'm not sure what's up with people hating on Miley Cyrus' VMA performance. Sexually explicit? Sure. But hot, and entertaining, and the last time I checked she's over 18 and can can prance around in a tan bikini and twerk to her heart's content..  I think she 'wins' for most memorable act of this year's show. As to the 30 second N'SYNC reunion - why bother? I've had yawns that have lasted longer. I rate that as a fail.

update: Ack. I must be growing more tolerant in my middle age. It's one thing for people on FB to dislike Cyrus' performance and give their two cents on their page - that's fine - but the string of condescending/derogatory/insulting/virulently hateful comments that have been left on public FB accounts (news feeds, etc)  is nauseating.

This earns your ire? Not violence in Chicago, the collapse of Detroit, or the working poor; no, a *partially clad woman* is a your bellwether of the End Times.

Worst of all are the comments from  men I know would be happy to insult her and call her a slut -- and then sleep with her and go home to their wife. Enjoy your hypocrisy America.

She's laughing all the way to the bank! - Lisa