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Slapinions

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Tuesday, January 29, 2008
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Wednesday, January 30, 2008
January 2008
The Tet Offensive - 40 years later
J-Land Photo Shoot #127
A follow up on our efforts w/ AOL Journals
Crazy Day, a worrisome furnace, a physical and a Big Red Dog
Some Shots of Lauren
Three shots of our living room and a chance to show off some of my wife's work
Where's an editor when you need one?
My Wife's Artwork for Catholic School's Week 2008
OMG! (and please excuse all the !'s)
Jackson Browne, Eddie Vedder, My Mother-In-Law and the Glory of Working Speakers
I need help with the About Me section
J-Land Photo Shoot #126
Heath Ledger, Fred Thompson, and Courtney Love (but not in that order)
A not-so-brief intro to Slapinions
So you think you know cold?
Man that sucked
Packer Prayer
Update on Smiley
AngelCakes Surgery
Roughly 1400 words of nothing in particular
Alright, onto my preferences in the primaries.
RBI Production Average
The Giants win the pennant . . er, the Divisional Playoff!
To All AOL Journalers
Buddy Holly's Widow is at it Again
MLB Obscenity Document - LANGUAGE WARNING
Packers 42 Seattle 20 and Much Misc.
On Baseball this fine January morn
Eek - a brief return to politics
Monday
The House on Nostalgic Ave - How we spent New Years Day 2007
The Language of Dude
My Gals
A silly little memory
A brief Word
New Years Eve 2007 Lisa and the kids
Smiley's Ears - Update
BigFoot
NFL WildCard Weekend
RIP Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus
The Inaugural 2008 SleepOver
Quote of the Day (Language Advisory)
« January 2008 Archive
Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Crazy Day, a worrisome furnace, a physical and a Big Red Dog

Here's a few pics of the girls as they prepared to depart for school today during Catholic Schools Week.

Today was designated as "Crazy Day" and we took full advantage the opportunity to not hunt and peck for uniforms and matching socks. Not seen in the pics are their mismatched shoes.

 

Smiley got in the act too.

It certainly seemed crazy to be having school in the first place today, with temperatures of -4F,winds of 20 mph, and a wind chill approaching -40F. Many of the Catholic schools in the area are closed - most I think - but ours stays open whenever (Milwaukee) Public Schools give it a go, and so school was in session. Nevermind that MPS is insane and is making thousands of kids wait on bus stops in this weather.

 The wife asked if we should keep the kids home. Heck no, I said - it’s a warm building and a warm meal (we drop them off so there was no bus issue) and that ‘warm building’ was something I couldn’t guarantee here.

You see, at about 5 am I was woken up, in my cozy bedroom on the second floor, by the knock-knock-knocking on my chamber door of my basement furnace.

I headed downstairs thinking of that Dad from A Christmas Story “who closed the damper!"and wondering what magic he had to keep his furnace going. For those who don’t know, my furnace is age-old, certainly older than me.

Me? No clue. So at 6 in the morning I called my friend the Socialist, who said he’d be over in 20 minutes. He arrived promptly and fixed it almost as quickly, lubricating a drive shaft in what he called the ‘squirrel cage’. Maybe, just maybe, we can still hold off on a new furnace until next fall.

Once again Socialist has proved his worth and his loyalty, and I thank him.

 * * * * * *

YaYa and LuLu both had shots yesterday, and YaYa had a comprehensive physical. She weighs 47 pounds and stands 48 inches tall (“You’re almost a square!,” the nurse said) and is in good health.

Her eyesight didn’t come out that great though. It was 20/25 in one eye and 20/40 in the other and she was referred to an eye doctor. Not a big deal, seeing as both her parents wear glasses (I started in 1st grade), but there was some thought she was tanking the test for shi*s and giggles. She’s never shown signs of bad eyesight nor complained about it.

 “Are you sure? Do you have trouble seeing at school?“ my wife asked.

 “No,“ she answered. “Well, sometimes I can’t see the spelling words on the board, but that’s it.”

Oh, well, as long as it’s not affecting something important like your education kid.

 * * *

Lisa ran out of gas on the way home from the physical, and in a bad neighborhood no less, as she missed her original freeway exit. Just wanted my gallant rescue on the record. That’s all. :)

 * * *

I missed A.I. last night but gobbled up four episodes of Family Guy split between several stations. Lisa was laughing because as soon as one episode ended I’d holler “turn on channel 57, Family Guy’s on!”

Sure, I’m doing my usual binge, no doubt followed by a sharp purge in the near future, but for now Family Guy makes me burst out laughing time after time.

Obnoxiously, no less.

Here's a clip of the 'over' sketch from the episode where Stewie and Brian buy a home.

* * *

 I took my measurements on November 11th as my current weight-loss effort started and again last night. Despite a bad week here, the evidence was pretty clear.

 I lost 2 inches in my chest and stomach, an inch in my thighs, a half an inch in my waist, etc.. Last I checked I weighed in at 342, down maybe 30 from my 2007 highpoint.

 I can’t see the difference, although my clothes no longer feel like a girdle. The trick is to keepup the effort and push forward.

 * * *

Re: Clifford the Big Red Dog “Clifford grew so big the Howards’ had to leave their home . . “. That’d be the f*ing day.



slapinions at 8:50:00 AM CST Blog about this entry
This entry has 5 comments: (Add your own)
  • #5 Comment from silverdoe64 
    1/31/08 7:20 PM Permalink
    Greetings from balmy Minnesota!!!  (figured I'd lurked long enough!!) We had -25 yesterday morning w/ school two hours late because of cold weather!  I think my furnace is still groaning...LOL @ Clifford!!!  
    http://journals.aol.com/silverdoe64/yathink/
  • #4 Comment from fremoris 
    1/30/08 6:54 PM Permalink
    Dan,

        Yeah, I can appreciate your comments about your furnace.  The last year I spent in Wisconsin (La Crosse), we had a 20-day stretch when the temperature never got above -12 F.  The furnace ran like a scalded dog, without stopping, for the duration.  When it finally shut off, it stood in the corner, bent over, panting, with its hands on its knees.
        I'm a Fond du Lac native.  So I have some notion about your Wisconsin winters.  I'm glad I'm here in Ohio for that reason.
        p.s.  Nice looking youngsters!

    Uncle Bill
    http://journals.aol.com/fremoris/Rosarium/
  • #3 Comment from sdoscher458 
    1/30/08 12:56 PM Permalink
    Oh I don't miss that bone chilling cold of the greater Northeast...now in Florida if it goes below 50 I think oh...it's chilly. I guess I am turning into a heat seeking iganua..lol. I also remember fighting with an old clanker of an oil burner, that sucker almost did me in...it backed up or something and blew black soot all over my first floor in my house...yuck. Anyway good luck with yours...be well, Sandi
  • #2 Comment from midwestvintage 
    1/30/08 9:45 AM Permalink
    Thats when my furnace decided to break down last year, the absolute coldest month of the year.  Darn things but hubby fixed it and its still going, knock on wood.  Great job on the weight loss.


                    Julie
  • #1 Comment from gdireneoe 
    1/30/08 9:20 AM Permalink
    Say it "ain't" so...you boys and your cartoons...:::sigh:::...

    Congrats on the weight!  You go! ;)  C.