Junie picks out a First Communion Dress - May 2nd, 2014

Next year our little Junie is receiving her First Communion, and in longstanding #TeamSlap tradition we hit the after-season clearance sales to pick our her dress a year early. Big sister YaYa went along and snapped these pictures as we hit several stores at the mall.

All the dresses were beautiful, and this next pic aside so was both Junie's mood and the experience!

Here's the winning dress. It was never Lisa's choice, but in her words "after two other daughters, I know enough to know it's not about me. She feels beautiful in it, and that's what matters the most." Personally, although I liked all - or almost all - of the dresses, and certainly all the ones pictured here, I did think this one had a certain panache that fit Junie's personality. 

Afterwards, the four of us dined at Buca Di Beppo. 

Congrats on the dress Junie! I can't wait to see you wear it next spring! XOXO

Friends - Ten Years later

Do you know where you were ten years ago today? I know what Lisa and I were doing. We were glued to our TV watching the series finale of Friends. RIP my sitcom love - we still miss you!

Kramp and Adler

For the past four weeks we've been taking Smiley to voice lessons at a local music studio. He loves it, the teacher seems to like him, and all is well. We'll see if we can afford to continue it once dance resumes in the fall.

An Owl by My Window

THERE IS AN OWL BY MY WINDOW I CAN'T SEE IT BUT I HEAR IT EEEEE 😃 -Yaya

A Recap

1. The second show of the recital went much better, with Lauren proudly remembering her dance and GC/OJ taking the stage for the family dance. 

 2. My last shift at work was one of the most brutal, suffocating, titanicly boring 8 hours of my life. It is a misery that cannot, nay, MUST NOT, be repeated. All blame goes to Thomas G, who apparently thinks bettering the lives of his family is more important than sticking around to entertain me. What a selfish pr**k. 

3. #TeamSlap spent the afternoon at Lisa's Dad's house, emptying and cleaning a spare bedroom for the return of Lisa's stepmom from a care facility. Kudos to all of 'em for busting their butts for no reward but the satisfaction of helping someone else. Good job

Dying my hair. - YaYa (with LuLu and Lisa)

Dancing Soldier

How this recital went

The first show of the dance recital had some ups and downs. Lu forgot her dance shoes at home (situation resolved) but later also discovered she was missing one of her 3 costumes, which scratched the long awaited #TeamSlap family dance with her and YaYa. Junie also fumbled nearly her whole dance. Kudos to our Junie on her honesty though: Lisa gave her an out, blaming a music miscue, to which she responded "That wasn't it. I just forgot everything." They're en route to the second show, which should (knock on wood) go smoother 🙂

At the 2014 Arabesque dance recital - at Nathan Hale High School

Just finished a three and a half hour Civil Procedure final. Wish I'd taken the day off from work, as it was draining.

Farewell Bob Hoskins

RIP Bob Hoskins, age 71

Exhausted. So. . . par for the course

With all the kids but #Lulu - at Marquette School of Dentistry

Relax - it's soap crayon

Oculus

 

Going to see a movie with my dad 🙂 - YaYa

I think I may be over The Amazing Race. It's been two weeks of boorish, childish behavior by Dave after being U-Turned (boo hoo old man - it's part of the game), then the ridiculous new alliance, now the blondes *surprise surprise* come in dead last and are AGAIN saved by a non-elimination leg. Funny how that works. If they were old, fat, male, or black, I'd wager their incompetent butts would be on a plane headed home. At this point, the whole show is B.S.

GusGus ran away - again.

GusGus ran away this afternoon, and an extensive search of the neighborhood turned up empty. Luckily I checked the backyard again (for the 1000th time) and he came strolling up as if to say "What up bro?". This is not a housecat for the faint hearted.

Wlad!

Congrats to Wladmir Klitschko on his 16th consecutive defense of his titles, stopping Alex Leapai in 5 rounds!

What's in a name?

I remember my Mom using this dietary aid in the early '80's. Later in the decade, as we stood on the front porch, I clearly recall her wondering why they stopped selling it. "Mom. . . ," I said. "It's a food called 'AIDS'". A light went on in her eyes and she laughed. Weird what the human mind chooses to remember after a quarter century, eh?

The product's history on Wikipedia

My Boxing Predictions

I'm excited to enjoy two great weekends of boxing! Klitschko defends his heavyweight title this weekend, while Floyd Mayweather takes the stage May 3rd. My money's on both of them retaining their belts. Meanwhile I had the pleasure to watch another Errol Spence Jr fight today, and I continue to predict big things for his future. He's got power, talent, an Olympic pedigree, and a calm, professional demeanor. He's a joy to watch.

RIP Allan Arbus

 A belated RIP to Allan Arbus, the actor who played Dr. Sidney Freedman on M*A*S*H.

I walked the #Centerpieces home from school (YaYa was with friends, LK with Scouts). That was nice, but the day itself is riddled with unwarranted anxiety . . .

I took my Mom to Potawatomi!

I took my Mom to Potawatomi casino for a belated birthday lunch yesterday, and she left a winner!

Stranded right now on 794 with a flat tire while en route to class. Nice timing but better than on Easter I guess.