Sicario

 GREAT movie

Yup

 

A Busy, Busy Day

I spent the afternoon in back to back speech IEP's for Smiley and Junie Got a little contentious during one of them, but we're sick of their progress being sugarcoated. I think the plan that resulted will help. (don't ask for details, if I was going to share I would have  put it here).

 Now grade school conferences, followed by YaYa's high school conferences, dance class, Marquette, work . . . at least I didn't have to shovel though LOL 

update: 

Elementary conference results: Junie "never has a bad day" and is always cheerful, and tests at near a sixth grade level in reading. Smiley is a strong writer who tests above the 90th percentile in math. LuLu, practicing to be a teenager, refused to answer my questions about how she did, and I'll have to get the answers from Lisa later. But she did well enough for Lisa to reward her with a hardcover at the Book Fair afterwards, so she must have done very well indeed

High school conference results: with four weeks left in the term, YaYa is riding five A's and a B, the latter being in her major (theater), which the instructor wrote off as being because she is bored with the introductory curriculum. Three classes - physics, English, and History - want her in AP next year. The history teacher assigns her extra work "to keep her interested" and the English teacher grades her papers "to a higher standard" and says she's already grooming GC for senior level coursework. Four of the six reported she is a joy to have in their class. As YaYanormally refuses to so much as breathe a word of what she does at school (welcome to life with a teenager), I was floored. Great job!

RE: the conference results. I've been telling you for twenty years, I bred for looks and brains. Gotta have 'em both. LOL

My hip hurts from the (PT approved) workout at the gym. Not bad enough to gimp me, but bad enough so I have a legit excuse not to shovel this mess. I don't know what it's like elsewhere in Milwaukee, but there's a dang blizzard out my front window. Sometimes this block is meteorologically freaky; for all I know it's dry as a bone two blocks over.

iSO

 Does anyone have a working VCR they can loan me? I have software to convert our old home movies to DVD but each of the three VCR's we had laying around are kaput and now in the trash.

 The kids suckered me into getting Subway for dinner because our schedule is so hectic. The bill . . .

"I coulda taken you out for steak for this price," I said, exaggerating a bit.

"Who cares? Subway is better than a steak dinner any day," LuLu responded.

Which is why our society doesn't allow minors to vote.

Super Tuesday 2016

Barring a miracle, it's Trump vs Clinton in November. The GOP effort to stop Trump was too little, too late, and failed to address the anger the "common man" felt towards both Washington and the pc police. Sanders tried to ride that burst of anger from the opposite side of the track, but it looks like Democrats want more than just free stuff and empty promises in exchange for their vote. Huh. Whodathunk it?

I'm torn. Support Trump - and I don't buy *all* the vitriol lobbied against him - or vote my conscience and hope this is another Goldwater debacle that rejuvenates the party. Mein Gott, what an election year.

Super Tuesday results (so far):

CLINTON: AL, AR, GA, TN, TX, VA

SANDERS: VT 

#BernOutInProgress

Congrats to Leo for his Oscar win!

 

On my lunch last night I listened to a copy of Jimmy Carter's inaugural address that I'd downloaded to my phone. Even if you went into it blind of history, you'd have to walk away saying the man was prone to sounding defeatist and less than inspiring, even while talking about freedom and human rights. No oratorical style, and a heavy handed reference to biblical passages. I'd grade this a big 'yawn', with points for his generous nod to Gerald Ford.

Harry Potter

Sorcerer's Stone: 

As Smiley and YaYa are big fans of HP, I finally gave the books a chance. Not bad - far better writing than I feared. I would have ate this up as a kid

Chamber of Secrets:

Read this one too. However, Lisa has told me to kibosh my reading until Smiley completes the series. "Don't be *that* ahole" she said, and good point it is.

The Witch

Largely on the word of Patrick M, I took Lisa to see this film. Regretfully, I was bored out of my mind. Visually it was great and the acting was above par, but I couldn't find a story with a microscope. The only other people in the theater gathered their things and left after an hour. All in all, I wish I had done the same.

Cookie Booth!

 Girl scout cookie booth today 1-4 at pick n save on holt... Come stock up and say hi to miss Lauren and her fellow brownies

Diabetic or on a diet? They'll take care of donating then to a worthy cause for you!

- Lisa

The hip pain disappeared completely for ten minutes. Not even the constant ache of the last thirteen months. To celebrate I broke into a Charleston. Afterwards it hurt again, but #WorthIt.

Fuller House

FINALLY! All the old gang introduced one by one to enjoy the audience sizzle, an NKOTB dance number, and they broke the 4th wall to jab at the Olsen twins! Have mercy!

Poodle Skirt Darling

LuLu looking fab on throwback day thanks to Grandma Jeanne and her poodle skirt making skills! Thanks!

Tony Burton

 Tony Burton - aka Duke from the Rocky films (Apollo and Rocky's trainer) has died at 78. RIP

 Salmon patties, garlic and parsley mashed potatoes, and asparagus for dinner. #yum

The Good Dinosaur??

On Monday Lisa took the youngest two and a friend to see "The Good Dinosaur" at 450pm. By 510 she was texting me about the incredibly long wait for the movie to start, and subsequently the inappropriate trailers. When the movie started she realized the truth: they were sitting in the wrong theater. It wasn't her fault (the wrong film was listed above the door) but LOL.

LuLu the Sitter

 LuLu babysat for the kids across the street tonight. Good job kid!

So Says the Junebug

 Junie on eating Peeps Bunnies: "You have to eat the ears first. It's good manners."

The Judge (and a great quote)

This is a solid movie with Robert Downey Jr and Robert Duvall. 

 "Everyone wants Atticus Finch [as their lawyer] until there's a dead hooker in the bathtub."

Lone Survivor

 A fine war movie. Not as important as American Sniper, or as moving, but worth a viewing.

Da HIp

 The hip pain was on full blast when I woke up, like I woke up midsurgery. It was bad enough I took painkillers before I even stumbled to the bathroom. Then I warned Lisa it was probably best to avoid me. I'm a right as*hole when its that bad. She's known me long enough to take the advice.

Someone asked over the weekend why the hip isn't healed yet and it's a comment that's still stuck in my craw. It isn't a damn skinned knee. There was lots of stuff wrong with it, some of which they fixed, some they couldn't, and there's the surgical pain on top of it. Overall its much better - I'm not on crutches am I? I'm working, and going to school, not sitting on the couch - but there's going to be bumps in the road. F, I'm grouchy today.

Wickedly proud of myself for sucking it up and making it to class, although the walking did me no favors.

The Lasso of Truth

 My Evidence Professor just brought up Wonder Woman and her Lasso of Truth. Neat fact: the creator of WW was one of the early inventors of lie detector machines. On the downside, the prof called it a Marvel comic. SMH

The Hills Have Eyes 2

 Not bad. Well, bad. But good bad.