Cleaning up from Christmas and getting decorations up for Soonerdaughter’s 15th birthday tomorrow. She’s still on liquid diet, so we’re going light on the snacks, but these are teenage girls we’re talking about (Soonerwife and I shot down the co-ed sleep-over idea in about 4 seconds) so there’ll be lots of the usual fare. FSM help me, they’ve got a Twilight marathon scheduled.
I’ll be playing Star Wars The Old Republic and The Walking Dead video games and staying out of the way. What post-holiday fun are you lot after?
Cassidy
Woohoo! Working.
shelly
Be afraaiiid!
*****
Just made a batch of Bread and Butter pickles. Have never been able to find out why they’re called that. (Except for the Google repetitions that it’s cause they were as common on people’s table during the Depression as bread and butter.z0
cckids
Oh Jesus, Twilight. I’m forever thankful that my daughter had read much, MUCH better stuff by the time the Twilight books came out, because she was ground zero for them, age-wise. She read the first one because everyone was talking about it, and was/still is just appalled by how bad it is. She has a visceral hate for Bella & her “guy-centric” universe.
The movies, sad as they are, are, incredibly, much better than the books.
Reflect on that, if you can.
Mustang Bobby
Playing Solitaire, watching some stupid movie with Tom Hanks saving the Vatican on TV, and wishing I hadn’t finished the crossword puzzle so quickly.
cckids
Also, happy B-day to Soonerdaughter! Good on you & her, keeping things on a normal keel through this diagnosis & process has to have been hard. Best wishes for a better year to come.
The Dangerman
I don’t recall any co-ed sleepover invites when I was 15; these kids today!
schrodinger's cat
Happy Birthday, Soonerdaughter!
and Caturday Kittehs for everyone.
Baud
Might I suggest that you let someone else hold on to your service revolver until the danger has passed?
raven
Watching the Illini get beat by fucking UIC! They average 28% shooting and are hitting 67%!
GHayduke (formerly lojasmo)
Happy birthday, young Ms. Sooner!
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
They’ve been doing some kind of drilling/cutting/welding at the apartment building next door for the last two weeks and OMFG IF THIS NOISE GOES ON MUCH LONGER IMMA CUT SOMEONE! So I should probably go run some errands or something.
YellowJournalism
Happy Birthday, Soonerdaughter.
Cleaning up from the holidays. We don’t take our tree down until after Ukranian Christmas, partly in honor of our Ukranian friends and partly because of laziness. (Also, I love Christmas trees and ornaments, so it’s sad to see them go in storage.)
I got a new couch for Christmas that’s being delivered on Monday. Yay!
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
Obligatory Twilight links:
Twilight
Breaking Dawn
MikeJ
@Mustang Bobby:
Saturday is the best xword day of the week. I start with the LA Times because even though they progress through the week, even on Saturday they’re competitively easy. Next, Newsday’s Saturday stumper, probably the hardest puzzle I do. And finally, NYT for a cool down.
Cassidy
Go out and watch the fights tonight Sooner. Drink some beer and eat some wings. Restore hormonal balance.
geg6
Lazing around watching some special about SNL on VH1. Don’t know yet what we’ll be doing this evening. John won’t be home until about 8:30pm, so no way am I cooking and holding it until that late. We’ll probably run out and grab a bite when he gets home. Or maybe I’ll get a bottle of wine and order in some Chinese. Hmmmm. Chinese sounds good.
Anything good on tv tonight?
ETA: Happy birthday, Soonergirl!
gelfling545
Getting new internets on Monday. On Christmas day with 11 iPhones in the house and the new Roku, things got a bit fraught.
I’ll be heading out in a couple of hours for my nephew’s annual Polish dinner: golubki, pierogi, kielbasa, capusta – yum.
Monday night is my sister-in-law’s annual lasagna dinner & Wednesday is the birthday dinner I do for my sister: crepes with assorted fillings & sauces & buche de Noel for her birthday cake. Then I probably won’t eat again until Feb.
Mustang Bobby
@MikeJ: Thanks!
Baud
BTW, SG, I read somewhere that all the states have caved on issuing IDs to gay servicemembers. Is that true?
geg6
@gelfling545:
Yum is right. Those are very common foods around here and, though not my own ethnic background, some of the foods of my youth. Lots of Eastern Europeans around here.
geg6
@Baud:
Yeah, I think I read that over at Benen’s place.
TooManyJens
Just finished running 9 miles. Oh, sorry, you said “fun.” We’re going to go pick up my daughter from her sleepover with my in-laws, and the rest of the day will probably consist of reading and playing computer games.
Baud
@geg6:
Probably where I caught wind of it also. Benen’s a beast. Too bad his stuff is now buried in MSNBC’s site.
Gex
My friend is recording her comedy CD at the Joke Joint in Lilydale, MN. I’m going to both shows.
Also, any MN Juicers who like comedy should go check out the show.
TooManyJens
@The Dangerman: We had them on New Year’s Eve when I was in high school (late 80s). A friend had unusually tolerant parents.
Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)
Wrapping up my vacation with a snasty virus. Still would rather be dealing with this than a Twilight marathon, though.
Suzanne
We are up in the Bay Area for a week. Forgot my medication due to packing insanity and drama yesterday. I am across the street from the future “Apple Campus 2”. Spawn the Younger pissed all over herself yesterday on the plane, and had to fly from San Diego to San Jose without pants. And be carried through the airport in that fashion. My MIL is oppressively dull.
Citizen_X
So, what’s Okie for “Quinceañera?”
Yatsuno
@geg6: I saw something about that too. I think all the states gave in and only Oklahoma is being the asshole here.
Two days ago? Four steps? Screw that. Length of the parallel bars. Twice.
geg6
@Baud:
He really is. Amazing output. And I don’t even want to talk about that atrocity that is the MSNBC website. An absolute travesty. And on every device.
Baud
@Yatsuno:
“We can rebuild him. We have the technology.”
geg6
@Yatsuno:
Wow. You are doing awesome! You’ll be 100% in no time at all. Work hard at the PT. That’s what made my John’s recovery from the double knee replacement surgery so quick.
elmo
Happy birthday Soonerdaughter, and I know what massive SUCK it is to be on a liquid diet as a teenager. I had impacted sinuses and could stand no pressure whatsoever on my teeth.
mellowjohn
going to jamaica just ahead of the bottom dropping out of the temps here in chicago. (51 here this afternoon, -2 predicted for monday morning.)
Baud
@mellowjohn:
Hope you’ll use your nym while in Jamaica.
Dead Ernest (Thought Wrangler)
Happy Birthday S. Daughter and (significant anniversary for her too) to S. Mom.
Wonder what was going through your minds for the first three seconds …memories of your own Ferocious Fifteens ?
raven
@mellowjohn: Last time I was there was when Elvis died!
IowaOldLady
Surrendering my attempt to play a Blue Ray disc on my desk top via Flixster because apparently my moniter is connected in a way they don’t like. Screw it. Ordered a Blue Ray drive. I needed it anyway.
I read the first Twilight book and was bored. Also offended by the claim that the creepy stalker boyfriend really loved Bella when he disabled her car and then watched her sleep.
chopper
been up since 3:45 with a pissed-off teething baby. woo hoo.
lamh36
ugh. twilight. blah. glad my sisters were never into that series. I’ve never been made to watch them thank heavens.
it’s rainy here in Baton Rouge & I’ve got a hankering for some Tex Mex so my sister and I are supposed to go get some to eat and also finally go see the new “Mary Poppins” movie…Saving Mr Banks with Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks. I’ve said it before but Mary Poppins is one if my fav Classic Disney movies so I’ve been waiting to see it since seeing trailers for it.
Tommy
Co-ed sleep over. Seems like a “nice” idea, but as a dude I recall what I was thinking when I was 15. And you might have raised a better daughter then I was around, but I know what they were thinking.
Amir Khalid
My one contact with Stephenie Meyer’s oeuvre was the move of The Host. I have never seen a work of fiction so sloppily conceived, or so utterly preposterous. I imagine that what MAD calls the Toilet Saga is no better.
I don’t believe in begrudging others their tastes. But I do trust young Miss Soonerdaughter is getting herself exposed to better things too.
Dead Ernest (Thought Wrangler)
@Yatsuno:
Big Hurrah’s for your spirit!
Keep in mind, slow & steady wins the race.*
*the sad, essential basis for All the ‘weekend warrior’ complaints I see is that after about age 24, (really!) fitness programs need to have distance run, or pounds lifted, etc. increased very minimally and over time to be safe and effective. Otherwise, ‘Hello Pain.’
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@lamh36:
I think you’ll like it — G and I both did. Tom Hanks is more a version of Walt Disney than a perfect impression, but the supporting roles are really well-cast, especially Jason Schwartzman and BJ Novak as the Sherman brothers.
Just make sure you know where your DVD of “Mary Poppins” is before you go, because you’re going to want to watch it right afterwards!
Tommy
@lamh36: Baton Rouge. Red Stick. I so miss not living there any more. Born there when my father got his PhD in 1969. Went to get me my MA there years later. There was no question of where I’d go to college. Baton Rouge. LSU.I so miss the place.
Dead Ernest (Thought Wrangler)
@Suzanne:
Have her hold Spawn the Younger on her lap for awhile. Have videocamera at the ready.
Soonergrunt
@Baud: This article has an update as of 12 days ago.
OKGUARD got around it by no longer issuing ID cards at State HQ, which is the only state-owned facility that was issuing ID cards. All the other Federally-owned OKGUARD facilities, including one about 10 minutes drive from State HQ, are issuing cards to anyone eligible under Federal law.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@TooManyJens:
My friend in high school had a co-ed after prom party, but we were pretty vigilantly chaperoned. It was during the height of paranoia about teenage drunk driving (and to be fair to the parents, a couple of kids at our school had died that way the year before) so I think it was a way to make sure we didn’t get up to worse shenanigans.
(For the most part, the chaperones were the pesky younger siblings, which every teenager knows are the worst and nosiest chaperones possible.)
Baud
@Soonergrunt:
LOL.
It’s like gay cooties. We can’t let it touch the state!
ETA: Legal condoms!
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
Also, too, thanks to the magic of the Internet, I am now coming to you from a communal table at Le Pain Quotidien, where I am enjoying a prosciutto, fig and pear sandwich.
Tommy
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): I joked about what I was thinking when I was 15. True. But I should also note that my household was an “open” household. You could come to my house and feel safe. There was often a lot of kids in my household. I am as little “strange” and my parents didn’t matter other kids in my household like me.
Ruckus
@geg6:
Had a co worker who had both replaced in her late 40’s. She was back at work in 2 weeks, happy as a clam. But she had such bad knees that she had to walk with 2 canes before the surgery. Recovery pain/pt for her was nothing.
You have to want it to be better and understand that it is and will be much better than before.
@Yatsuno:
Not bad, not bad at all.
MikeJ
@Citizen_X:
Wedding reception?
geg6
@lamh36:
I’m a little leery of the movie because I know it is so far from the real story. But I think I’ll definitely be catching it on Netflix when the time comes.
I know I’ve slagged on Disney and musicals a lot here, but Mary Poppins will always be a favorite of mine. First, because I love, love, love Dick Van Dyke. Second, Julie Andrews is great (except for Sound of Music, which is one of the musicals I detest). And third, it was the first movie my mother took me to that was in a theater and was just the two of us. I’d seen other films, but they were always at the drive-in because my parents had six kids and it was cheaper to pile us all in a car and take us all at once than to go to the theater.
TooManyJens
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): “Not getting up to worse shenanigans” was the rationale behin our NYE parties too. Looking back, I can’t say it was a bad call.
gogol's wife
@Mnemosyne (iPhone):
Can Jason Schwartzman actually act? I’ve only seen him as Louis XVI, so the answer seems to be No.
I wish I could see that PR interview with Kseniia Sobchak without having to pay for it.
lamh36
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): was just thinking to mysel that I may have to go out an buy Mary Poppins, but then realized that Disney may not have re-released it on DVD again. which would be kinda stupid marketing-wise since this movie is out now
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Ruckus:
My older boss has her knee replacement scheduled for mid-February. A couple of people have told her horror stories, but most people are telling her exactly that — the recovery is long, but if you work hard at the PT, it’s a HUGE difference.
gogol's wife
The Democrats and Obama are spamming me something fierce today. It’s annoying.
Villago Delenda Est
It took 4 seconds? You two are getting old and slow. Do not imagine, for a moment (or four) that Soonerdaughter has not seen a possible opening there.
Soonergrunt
@Dead Ernest (Thought Wrangler): That was the length of time it took to calm down, look at my wife, and see that she agreed with me and then say “while you are very mature and trustworthy, I don’t know any of these boys or their parents, so we’re going to take a pass on that idea.”
She looked at her mother’s face and didn’t even wait for an answer, rolled her eyes and said “OK. FINE” with the MOST put-upon expression.
ruemara
@Yatsuno: Dang, son! Leave some health for everyone else. Pics of the epic legs!
I have two hours of coding class to get through and two more hours to spend on my very much nearly due article. Then, I’m pretty much running all my higher alts through LK raids for shits, giggles and gold, slapping on my tank spec and armour and trying some cata raids on solo. Why? Lulz /the challenge. Please use your nerd to english translator for that sentence. I suppose making dinner will happen too. Hoping I get to rent some movies too.
@mellowjohn: Please send some ackee. & Saltfish. & Guineps. & Ting. & Breadfruit. & Soursop. & Star apples. or just all me to tag along in the suitcase.
Baud
@efgoldman:
Thanks!
geg6
@Mnemosyne (iPhone):
John was 63 when he had his. He was walking without any help by 3 weeks. He was 100% at 5 weeks. They told him that was ridiculously fast for his age. But he was at his perfect weight (which has a big effect) and he did, literally, a five to six hour workout every day religiously.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@gogol’s wife:
He can, though so far my favorite role of his is as a voice actor (in “Fantastic Mr. Fox”). But, more importantly, he can play the piano and learned to play it the way Dick Sherman does, which really helps his performance.
@lamh36:
The 50th anniversary disk should be available — I know they were giving it away for some promotion.
@geg6:
It’s not really all that far from the real story — if anything, there’s probably more interaction between Walt and PL Travers than there actually was. And she really was kind of a nasty person for the most part, at least to the songwriters and screenwriter. Emma Thompson said in a BBC interview that she almost felt bad asking Dick Sherman about it because he still got teary-eyed remembering how mean Travers had been to him. Plus, her disdain for the film sometimes depended on the audience she was talking to.
The stuff with her alcoholic father is probably exaggerated, but it’s also presented as her rosy memories of him, not necessarily “the truth.”
One summary of the movie I’ve been telling people is, “Walt Disney has to work with someone who’s impervious to his charm,” and it’s pretty fun to see Walt’s frustration as he tries to figure out how to manipulate her.
dmsilev
Alternating between work (I have a manuscript draft to read and comment on, and revisions to a different one which have to be integrated and then resubmitted to the journal by Monday) and revisiting an old RPG friend (the iPad version KOTOR was on sale for $5 last week and I couldn’t resist).
In a little bit, my parents and I are heading out to my brother’s place for dinner with him, sister-in-law and niece and nephew.
Tommy
@Soonergrunt: But there is a happy thing. I am the preppy guy. My friends in high school not so much. I was the “strange” kid and my parents let those folks come to my house. My house what where you could play D&D and nobody would laugh at you. Or read books.
rikyrah
Just finished working overtime today, and I did chores during the holiday, so once I get home today, all I will do is veg until Monday morning.
rikyrah
@efgoldman:
You are talking about Benen. I LOATHE the change to Maddow’s site. It sucks
Phylllis
@lamh36: I believe they’ve re-released it–a 50th anniversary edition.
MomSense
@shelly:
That first Twilight movie was like a two and a half hour calvin Klein fragrance commercial.
scav
Silence.
brilliant silence.
Southern Beale
A guy in Michigan accidentally shot himself in the ass while trying to pay for his items at Home Depot. He reached for his wallet and accidentally grabbed his handgun instead.
Licensed carry holder, of course. Most responsible ever, etc. etc. No charges filed because, you know, that would be wrong.
? Martin
@efgoldman: We’re employing the same approach. I’ll get my daughter laughing and then berate her for being the worst pissed off tween ever.
RandomMonster
Learning Dreamweaver. Thrills galore!
Southern Beale
If y’all want a laugh, the Kingsport TN “best of the blotter: curious calls to 911” recap of 2013 is hilarious.
A favorite:
and …
Southern Beale
Went to CostCo today and was horrified to discover they no longer carry our dog food. It’s been “deleted from the system.”
I’m so screwed.
Southern Beale
@efgoldman:
Thank you.
By the way, I found my belly button.
:-)
geg6
@Mnemosyne (iPhone):
Since I, too, am impervious to his charms, I suspect he’d have had trouble with me, too. And maybe be seen by others as a nasty person. I cut her some breaks on this particular episode since I, too, think Disney was a cheap shuckster.
Soonergrunt
@efgoldman: The trick is to know when it’s important enough for her to make an issue of it. This was clearly an “I don’t think they’ll agree to it, but I can at least ask and see what happens” kind of thing.
That doesn’t mean that she wasn’t going to give us the “put out teenager” routine with both barrels though. That was a forgone conclusion.
ruemara
@Southern Beale:
At some point, existence is live action satire.
raven
@Southern Beale: We had that happen and ended up ordering from Chewy. We got two bags and weaned Lil Bit to something we could get.
Howard Beale IV
The Twin Cities is getting ready for a 50-degree temperature delta in the next 24-36 hours.
I picked up a Omega Juicer and will be hitting the first of the year with some serious juicing activity to try and get healthy.
Anne Laurie
@MikeJ: I thought ‘baby shower’, but I was trying to be polite…
gogol's wife
@Southern Beale:
Stop & Shop has “discoed” my favored olive oil. I was not best pleased. I know, it’s not as bad as dog food, but damn.
Howard Beale IV
@Southern Beale: Gaah.
An accidental discharge carries the same weight as an accidental pregnancy-I.e.-there is none.
Why isn’t there a Mothers’ Against Accidental Discharge?
raven
@gogol’s wife: And Sam’s stopped carrying the giant boca burgers!
Gravenstone
So I just adopted a couple of cats, who are currently exploring the joint and trying to decide if I’m evil or simply untrained help. They’ve been fed and the tom will actually get close enough for scritches from time to time.
For as long as the link is live, these are my new overlords.
gene108
I have stumbled my way into Facebook games and have wasted most of the day on them.
The funny thing is they have points, where you cannot get past them and then try to entice you to spend money for more lives and such, but all that does is make me take a break and come back once my lives have recharged.
Seems like a self defeating strategy to make money, because all it does is force me to take breaks instead of spending all day non-stop on Facebook, like was playing World-of-WarCrack, when it just came out.
Baud
@Gravenstone:
How wonderful. Happy day!
Howard Beale IV
@Gravenstone: Congrats for being added a new staff to to your feline fiefdom.
Gravenstone
@gene108: I quit playing Zynga games on FB, because of their insistence on those microtransactions to get beyond basic game play.
gene108
@Gravenstone:
I almost quit Farm Heroes Saga (makers of Candy Crush, similar type game) but somehow managed to get past the level I was stuck on.
I’ve wandered into browser RPG/Strategy type games. I’m wondering how long I can last before I got destroyed by the folks, willing to fork over money for upgrades. So far not as bad as other browser/RPG/Strategy games I’ve run across, where you can’t make it past the intro without having to pay them money for resources.
Howard Beale IV
@raven: I saw some grade A rants from a vet who was 100% against Blue Buffalo simply because they wouldn’t disclose their formulation to them.
As my Ozzie hasn’t turned his nose to it, it must be OK-anything to get away from the iron-fisted Nestlé cabal, I’m all-in.
Howard Beale IV
@Southern Beale: That WestJet Youtube vid is over 33 million views.
PurpleGirl
@Gravenstone: They are cute, love their colors.
Jay C
@Southern Beale:
You don”t call 911 for that… You have to get in touch with Navel Intelligence!
StringOnAStick
@Howard Beale IV: Blue Buffalo allowed our cat to lose a couple of pounds while still being ‘free-fed’ (she gets freaked out if the dish is empty). She’s more playful and her coat looks better, so I don’t care if a vet is feeling left out of the info loop – our 12 year old is acting like a bouncy, happy kitty again!
WereBear
@Gravenstone: My, they look marvy!
A trick I do is to lie on the floor. To literally put ourselves on their level is something they find impressive.
Howard Beale IV
@StringOnAStick: Even since I switched Ozzie over to the Blue Buffalo Wilderness formulation he’s gotten a much more floofier coat-and for a Persian, that makes a huge difference, Even his stool isn’t as obnoxious as it was when he was on Iams. Ozzie is also a free-feeder, and he hasn’t gotten into a diabetic state, which seems to be more prevalent with corn-based grains, completely forgetting that cats are obligate carnivores.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@StringOnAStick: You would think that a house full of rescues, three of whom I know for a fact were starving when they were picked up, wouldn’t be picky, but mine have all turned their noses up at anything other than Blue Buffalo and Royal Canin. And since I’m trying to get them off of grains, Blue Buffalo it is.
The bulk of their calories come from canned food, Fancy Feast Classic, but fights break out over the empty food dish if there’s no dry left out.
satby
Happy Birthday to Soonerdaughter!
HRA
I am doing private duty nursing to get G well again after a hernia operation yesterday. If that is not enough, I have been literally drowned in a family feud for days before, yesterday and today by phone calls and texts wanting me to agree with all of them. I would say it is not the worst holiday I have ever experienced and admit it is dang close to it. My own annual dinner celebration will most likely never happen this year. It’s too sad and I am worn out. Why did I ever think having 4 teenagers at the same time was once the most difficult of times.
Happy birthday to Sooner girl.
OGLiberal
I’m interested in what kind of meds the GI prescribed. Our 7-year old son had a recent positive Crohn’s diagnosis. He had two flares this year but the first was accompanied by a rotovirus and C-diff infection so couldn’t definitively diagnose as Crohn’s. Second flare was accompanied by nothing and all tests pointed to the evil Crohn’s. Cortisteroids did wonders on the flare – and his appetite….he’s now way overweight for his age/size, but losing a bit each day now that the ‘roids are no longer in the mix. (after being frighteningly underweight mid-year) Management meds seem to be doing well but early yet – we’ll see. It’s a bitch of a disease so feel you and your daughter’s pain.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@HRA:
Can you tell the feuders something like, I’ll get back to you when G is off the pain meds and then conveniently forget to get back to them? If there’s a gruesome/gross milestone you can use instead (I’ll email you after G has his first normal bowel movement and we know he’s out of danger), so much the better. Even the most narcissistic feuder will be reluctant to hear about your loved one’s bowel movements just to make you take their side in the feud.
Talentless Hack
Me? Painting the downstairs bathroom. It needs painting badly. The problem is, the she-Hack knows I want to paint the bathroom, so naturally, she wants to change colors even though there is more than enough paint to retouch everything in the same color, not spend more money at Lowe’s, and not have two more cans of leftover paint to go with the dozen or more already gathering dust in the basement. I give her until Tuesday, then I go ahead without further input.