Lu's Fort

I LOOOOVVE This

Lisa hung up this sign in the bathroom in honor of Junie's precious mispronunciation of it as "bat-room." I hope she never stops saying it that way :)

Fingers Crossed

Glad to read that a baseball strike is almost a near-certainty in 2016, given the behind-the-scenes reaction to Selig and his goons within the player's union. It won't be *about* A-Rod, but he'll be the straw that broke the camel's back. Here's hoping the entire 2016 season is wiped and that it serves as a fitting bookend to Selig's reign of terror.

I'm Furious

A-Rod has been suspended for the entire 2014 season. I'm done with MLB for the year, if not longer. They won't get one dime from me.

18 Days

By my count, the kids have been off for Christmas break (including the two days lost to the Polar Vortex) a grand total of 18 days. We should all be so lucky.

Yakutat on TV

Lisa and I are watching "Hotel Impossible", and lo and behold they are visiting Yakutat, Alaska, home of my good friend Fred Bryan. FANTASTIC scenery, but the lodge/restaurant they are revisiting (having helped it get on its feet a year ago) is . . . .uh . . . yeahhhh. I'I don't think we'll be staying there on any visit to the 49th state.

EDIT: actually, by the end of the show the housekeeping and customer service issues were addressed (again), I think successfully, and it looks like a decent place

Anytime Now

 Yes, yes they are the wind beneath my wings but these kids can get back in school ANYTIME now....i promise to bundle them up (no duct tape this time)

- Lisa

Not Sure the Cold is Worth the Press It's Getting

I've been out and about running errands twice today, and while it's damn cold I have to say, it ain't worth the hype.* 

*the exception being for the homeless, who I hope are in shelters, and the poor souls stuck on a bus stop

A TV Review

Listening to the Centerpieces debate and break down an episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender for the zillioneth time. I've been in college English classes with less insightful, strident analysis. Andddddd, now that I typed that, they are raising their voices and threatening to brawl. Sigh.

You Are My Sunshine

A small wall plaque Lisa bought for YaYa. She used to sing the song to her when she was little and it became Lisa's nickname for her.

Small World

While stocking up at the grocery store for the Freeze of '14 (damnit food prices are rising, aren't they? Gonna have to pick one of the kids to cannibalize soon), I ran into my Godfather's sister-in-law, a woman I used to chat with at BN. It turns out - she had never mentioned it - that she is a '93 grad of Marquette Law, did "poorly" (less than a B) in her first year Contract class WITH THE SAME PROFESSOR I had, and is now a successful lawyer that specializes in contracts. Huh. Small world :)

Cold Day

MPS has closed Monday due to cold weather, extending Christmas vacation an extra day for the kids. For all you West coast/southern people who whimper when it's 50 degrees - we're expecting a HIGH of negative 13F with a wind chill of -22F.

I Don't Blame Them

MPS has closed Monday due to cold weather, extending Christmas vacation an extra day for the kids. For all you West coast/southern people who whimper when it's 50 degrees - we're expecting a HIGH of negative 13F with a wind chill of -22F.

Aint I Pretty?

How would I rate 2013?

2012 SUCKED, so there was little chance 2013 wouldn't improve on its predecessor. Even had the bar been higher, I'd rank 2013 as one of the good ones. Employment was steady, everyone was healthy, we made some improvements around the house, I started law school, and we avoided the 3D's - death, divorce, and dismemberment - always a good thing. I hope 2014 continues the trend, and I hope the year rocks for you and yours. Happy New Year everyone!

James Avery

RIP James Avery, aka Uncle Phil from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". He was 65

The Wrong Use of the Force

Watch your hands mister!

A Saying of Mine

What other people think of you is none of your business. If God wanted you to hear what was said behind your back, he'd have put ears on your ass.

A New Years Card :)

Tenative Plans

Contemplating New Years Eve plans. Narrowed it down to 1of 2 choices: a burlesque show & all night party here in Bay View, or church bingo until the witching hour. 

We are multi-faceted people. 

A: need sitters/sleepover invites for the kids. YaYa is also available as a sitter if you need one (though we usually like to introduce the kids to her and vice versa first). My mother-in-law was going to take 2 kids when we went out of town for the holiday, but $$ has scrapped that. Maybe she'll keep the offer open even while we're in town?

B: there is a family event @ the Domes that starts at 6 & has "New Years" at 9, but it's pricey for what you get, has no booze, & still leaves the actual midnight hour open. Plus we went once long long ago & weren't overjoyed. 

Any other suggestions?

Elysium

Just finished watching "Elysium" VERY good flick, and well worth the rental.

A Crime to Remember

Greatly enjoying the ID network's "A Crime to Remember", a well done and insightful series that follows crimes of the distant past. Within one of its darkest tales, the gruesome "Career Girls Murders" of 1963, a reminder that even the worst aspects of human life carry within it some purpose: the mistakes made during the investigation of that crime led NY to abolish the death penalty and the US Supreme Court to deliver its "Miranda Rights" decision.

A Great Evening

Had a great time at Jeanne's annual Christmas Chuck E Cheese party. With the kids growing older it was a much more mellow, less paranoid event for me LOL and I genuinely had a blast. It was fun to hold Lisa's baby nephew, and great to talk with her cousins. Jaspare was unusually talkative and friendly. A great time and a great gift to the kids - plus Smiley won the gingerbread house raffle!

A Follow-up to the (missing?) follow-up

Not sure what happened to it, but I don't see my follow-up on LuLu anymore. It was a sprained ankle and foot. She was fitted with a walking boot and crutches, but they saw no broken bones on the X-ray. :)

Exam Grades

Remember when I said my contract law final was one of, if not *the*, hardest exam of my academic life? Did you think I was exaggerating, or being unduly modest regarding my performance? Think again. The professor emailed the class the results, which account for 100% of your final grade in the course. Of the 80 questions on the exam, the best score (not mine) was 52 correct, or 65%; the worst was 23 correct, or 28.75%. I notched a 36, or 45%, and thanks to the curve created by this collective ass whupping I received a B on both the exam and the class. This, well, . . . . wow. Lisa dismissed the results of the class as evidence it was designed to scare and weed out the weak links of the incoming class, but either way . . . zoinks!