ugh.....so bored.....so broke, and so bored, what a shit combo! - Lisa

Our TV Sitch

Being limited to broadcast TV sucks in every possible way (ok, maybe not when 'America's Test Kitchen; is on), but it *was* bearable. Sort of. Then I saw a FB ad announcing that the new season of Project Runway starts tonight . . . plus no Doctor Who, no ESPN, no HGTV . . what's the point of even waking up in the morning?

No Zoo, but Lots of Swimming

An afternoon trip to the zoo was aborted when we were stuck in a traffic jam on 894. We detoured to the pool at my in-law's apartment complex & the kids had a blast. Meanwhile an anonymous Good Samaritan left two + boxes of toys & games on our porch. The clear favorite so far? The Lincoln logs, which were spread out over my dining room most of the evening.

Construction Man Dan

I spent the morning ripping out door frames and windows for Alys, a friend who's renovating her house. I will note that *contrary to the vocal opinions of my wife* I not only made it through in one piece, but removed the windows w/out damaging the surrounding tile. I've even been asked by the contractor to return and rip out flooring. So to Lisa I say, with love: pbbbbt. ;)

Lisa and I took a 'nap' and when we ventured back downstairs the house was destroyed. It's not like the kids were a hurricane; more like a hurricane that broke the levees, and the Army decided the city wasn't worth saving and razed it all.  It's amazing how much damage the kids can do when you're gone for three and a half minutes.

ISO

Weird request: 1 - if anyone has an old but new-ish Cricket phone for sale, let me know. 2. If anyone has a copy of the 1997 documentary "Ending Welfare as We know it", hosted by Meredith Vieria, kindly drop me a line. A friend of ours is featured in the film.

I just checked my wall and noticed how cluttered it is w/ Farmville crap. If that annoys you - and it would annoy me - block the FV application (but not my feed). If you can't figure out how to do that, well, then you don't deserve to be on the net anyhow and should suffer through my "Lost Wandering Moo Cow" updates. (repost)

Junie Floods the House

This evening Junie put the stopper in the bathroom sink,  left the water running & shut the door. Eventually it leaked into the basement, and the result was worse than the storm flooding. Whole areas of my basement, including the furnace, some storage, and clothes, were soaked. She's still damn cute tho'.

A Bad Storm

Wicked storms today.  The kids day at camp was ruined, and here at home we have  1/2 an inch of water in our basement, which is a vast improvement over the flooding of '08 & '09. I guess that drainage trench did some good after all. Meanwhile a friend texted to say she had more than a foot of H20 in her basement. This city floods a hell of a lot more often than it did 20 years ago. Sh*t.

Miraculously, most of the water in the basement vanished down the drain w/out my help - another welcome change from prior years. Now all I have to do is get rid of the rest, mop up, wash ~10 loads of clothing that got wet, replace the litter boxes that were soaked, run some errands, and go to work. Easy Peezy Lemon Squeezy.

OK, most of the water that was left has been removed and I'm the second load of laundry. I'm loaning my shop vac out to help a friend, but if anyone in striking distance has a good dehumidifer they can loan *us* for the weekend, please holler.

Hey, get this: MKE rainfall Thurs was 2nd-most on record - 5.79 in. But the *Highest* 1-day total was 6.81 on Aug. 6, 1986. That would be the day I had my tonsils out, a day when St. Francis Hosp's elevator shafts flooded & they lost power during my surgery. A memorable day all around.

Update

For everyone kind enough to ask about my absence from FB - - I couldn't afford to keep TimeWarner so I returned their equipment. For the last two wks we had no TV or internet. Now we have broadcast TV (shudder) & AT&T DSL. The next inevitable step down as my finances plummet: public radio and snail mail. I may just cry.

Wish me Luck

When you're making a cake from scratch for the first time in your life, it's probably not a good idea to do it while you're watching a 2 and a 4 year old. My kitchen looks like Lucy Ricardo just filled in at a flour factory. It's an apple cake, btw. If it tastes OK I'll post the recipe here on my blog.

update: Whodathunk I could make a cake from scratch? Having mastered all the Manly Arts, it seems I'm destined to conquer the kitchen as well. :) The apple cake is out of the oven & looks and smells wonderful. I made it for Friday's dessert so I can't judge the taste yet, but I'm gonna go on a limb & type out the recipe on Slapinions. I can always delete the draft if the cake is hurl-worthy.

The Crazy Neighbor

The cops just left my house.LuLu rode her bike across a patch of grass in front of my neighbor's house (a patch legally city property). He yelled at her, Lisa told him to knock it off, he called Lisa a cunt & threatened to go get his gun, and it was on. No tickets issued, but only because they would have cxl'd each other out. What a f'ing evening.

Swimming, Ponyo non-stop, being threatened that the neighbor was "getting his gun" over a bike track on his lawn (actually the city's), dealing with the police, and fireworks while mosquitos ate me alive and all the kids whined and cried.....all in a days work....I'm exhausted!

I thought we moved into a better neighborhood, but this one is way more headache then my old 'hood :) I'll take Mexican music till all hours of the night over a lawn-bully any day! - Lisa

Facebook

I just checked my Facebook wall and noticed how cluttered it is w/ Farmville crap. If that annoys you - and it would annoy me - block the FV application (but not my feed). If you can't figure out how to do that, well, then you don't deserve to be on the net anyhow and should suffer through my "Lost Wandering Moo Cow" updates.

Creepy

Around noon today on 27th ST our car stereo picked up a slew of unusual FM channels - including about four minutes of DJ chatter from Albuquerque, New Mexico. I didn't think that was even possible outside of a Twilight Zone episode.

2nd Grade

Mrs. Dahl wasn't Mrs. Dahl when the year started. If I'm remembering correctly, she got married that school year. I don't remember her maiden name - Bishop maybe?

I'm in the second row from the bottom, third from my left. My crush Lisa is second from the left, second row from the top. 

Tim Gunn just announced that next season each episode of Project Runway will be 90 MINUTES, not the 60 minutes that's been the norm. Hot dog - IMO, the more PR, the better :)

Farmville

Ok, I'm ticked at Farmville. I had my barn nearly complete and now it says I have only 1 of 10 bamboo (I had all 10), only one brick (I had six), and four nails. WTF?

Packing

We're packing for an overnight trip at my buddy Ervin's house in Rockford. Lauren's (self-packed) bag? PJ's, two My Little Pony's, a sippy cup, and three packs of ramen noodles. Priorities and all.

Farmville

Sure, it's lame, BUT - if anyone could gift me the material to finish my Japanese barn in Farmville, I'd appreciate it.

I hate when someone from work calls & asks me to pick up a shift at the last minute. If I can manage it I'll do it, since I need the $ & don't want to be a jerk, but with 4 kids my days off are committed to one activity or another. Today we're packing for the zoo and may go swimming if the kids don't wig out, so I just turned someone down. Schedule me 100 hours and I'll show, but picking up a last minute gig . . .

Dinner and a Storm

To celebrate the end of one of the worst weeks ever, we took the kids (- Lu) to El Fuego for dinner, sitting on the patio and enjoying the atmosphere. Later, of course, came the tornado sirens and a quick and needless trip to the basement.

Craving

Jeez-us I want a cigarette right now - the craving is just as bad as when I quit four years ago. I miss it.

A Horrible Day

Yesterday: easily, EASILY one of the 5 worst days of my life, literally start to finish. 

Among other things, Lisa's aunt passed away unexpectedly; her body was found ~ two days after her passing, and Lisa and her Mom had to wait two hours with her remains while they waited for the medical examiner. Her death bumped what was already a top 10 worst day to top 3. As for the rest, it'll pass, but I don't feel like talking about it.

Oh boy

The NY Times is reporting that Roger Clemens allegedly paid for PED's w/ $ from a charitable foundation. If true - and there is no evidence beyond hearsay - it would lead to felony charges.

My Solemn Right

I believe it is my right as a Dad to snatch as many toppings from a frozen pizza as I like before it enters the oven.