$1.69

Gas is now $1.69. I thought it would spike after lunch due to holiday traveling. Clearly it went the other way. Down. I'm back to bombay sapphires tonics and doesn't it feel good.

$1.79

Gas has now drop 10 cents since my last post. Which means it dropped in two days. If we continuing dropping at 10 cents lets say per week (to be generous) we will be at $1.29 at Christmas, maybe $1.39 because of traveling. Today it is now more than half of what it was this summer. Since people are having trouble buying cars and paying loans i have an idea. Forget that your 401K down, it will be back up after your hair has fallen out. So your now paying half of what you used to for gas. Let's put that money toward your mortgage or your car loan or the new purchase of a car, rather than material things or a to "stimulate" the economy. It will be slow but then the banks can start trusting in the average person and we will be back on track.

Revenge of the gnome

I thought I found all the 40+ gnomes that lived in my dad's house. I was proven wrong. When I opened a box in the storage room labeled "Kitchen" I pulled out a sculpture that Mom had made. "Cool" I thought, "There must be more." So I started unwrapping the newspaper and there in my hand lay Caroline, the ballet gnome; Yule, the Christmas gnome; Val, the valentine gnome; etc. Total gnome count before Monday was 60+. Then I talked to my grandma in Oconomowoc who mentions she has more gnomes for me to take ((since she is moving (which will be a completely different blogpost)). I think my mom was crazy and my dad was crazier for letter her spend $30, even more for each gnome. I have no idea what value they added to everyday life but I have spent over one day trying to sell these creatures on ebay. I'll try to say goodbye but I know that is probably not the case.

$1.89

Gas is now $1.89.

Last Friday it was $1.99 which I didn't think it would hit that mark until the end of the year. Christmas has come early for gas guzzlers. Where will it be by the end the year, lower or higher? I was reading the December issue of Money Magazine which experts said the gas price may drop to the price it was last year...around $2.35. If the experts aren't on, who else isn't? The government. This price drop is a better bailout plan than Bush sending out checks to everyone but the rich.

My question is why is a half gallon of milk more expensive than gas?

My little sister got married

My little sister got married Nov. 1st in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. I don't think I've ever drank, partied and danced four days in a row. Whatever it took, money, stress, coffee we all made it work and it was so much fun. The highlight of the trip was party after the wedding. Most of the wedding party, friends, family crowded into the Tiki bar which had the best DJ ever. Within minutes of a song request the dj would play it. More than half of the bar was guest from the wedding. And most of us stayed to close it down. I also learned that you cannot take an open intoxicant into the car. Which I guess I wanted to do. But by the time I plopped myself into grandpa's big chair I was asleep.

The weather, the seafood, family and friends made for a very good beach wedding.

What a weekend

It was very hard to get up this morning. It could have been that I topped off constant blue moon beer drinking with a glass of red wine. Between gallery night on Friday, a birthday party, cleaning the house, buying pumpkins, cooking at 2am, and the third annual Mike and Gina pumpkin party I think I deserved to sleep in a little bit.

Homework for Republicans

If you haven't read the article in the Rolling Stone about John McCain I highly encourage you do so. If it doesn't change your vote I don't know what will.

Read it here

McCain

what I want to be when I grow up

Since my job at the University isn't very exciting at the movement I started to think of other things I could be.

1. An upholsterer bringing back to life old furniture with fashionable fabric
2. The first COOL woman cycling jersey designer
3. Founder of a green gym, where the equipment generates power when used
4. A designer of high fashion clutches and other bags
5. A photographer for National Geographic
6. An Art Director for a Luxury Travel magazine
7. Head of a nonprofit that helps women find and stay in a job
8. An organic farmer
9. Director of opening movie credits
10. A green remodeling expert

Solving the world's economic problem

Forget everything you learned about supply and demand.

I think that the top persons who make the most money in a company should reduce their pay by a small percentage and give themselves a pat on the back for doing a great job. Then whatever business they are in, they should lower the cost at whatever they are selling by another small percentage. Giving the consumer a better price leaves more money for them to pay their debt or spend on other services and products. Hence helping businesses and consumers. And send all oil executives to Mars, that includes you George W. This is my ideal world.

Cake

My weekend was great. Mike and I like to go to a fish fries on friday nights. So we drove to Pewaukee to a little place called the 5 o'clock club and we had a nice greasy fish fry.

On Saturdays Mike usually does yard work but took the day off to shop with me. We stopped at the Public Market because our friend works for Heavy Rotation, a graphic t-shirt shop. They were having an awesome sale on their shirts. Every shirt $5. I got one and Mike bought 5 or 6 or 10. He has a t-shirt addiction.

Since a furniture store in Racine was clearing out some fabric we made a day of hanging out in in Southern Wisconsin. After picking up a truckload of fabric we had our second fish fry at the YardArm. Their specialty is the "sanddollar". A thin fried potatoe slice sprinkled with cheese. Yummy.

I hadn't been to the Kenosha outlets in two years so I shooooped! I bought two dresses at Banana Republic. One which is replacing the outfit I bought a couple days ago to wear to an event later in the evening. Oh it was perfect a little short but at least it zippered all the way up! Ah fab, so many more stores to go in. Venturing to a newly built area I found white house black market and bcbg. So dangerous - I had to leave.

Tonight our friend Shanel, an amazing creative fabric goddess was putting on a runway showing featuring her new line of clothes. I helped her out with the invite (above) so I got comp tixs to the show. I had my hot new dress one, Mike looked awesome and we were going to my first ever fashion show. The things that Shanel showed were slamming.
I wish I owned at least half of them.

Afterwards Mike and I enjoyed a quiet moment at elsa's. I had the double trouble I'm in heaven chocolate cake. Mike had a BLT. We both had coffee and conversation. And then we crashed.

Ah Sunday the day I've been looking forward to for so so long - It's Packer football day. I wake up earlier than normal for a Sunday. Because I have so much energy I go for my first run since January.

We had some of our friends for the game and dinner. Brought in our cozy house, chocolate cake. I can't wait to finish dinner I just want to bite in no utensils to this jimmy covered cake. It's so good. It really needs to go home with the owner but it's left here. Left to be consumed for breakfast, for a little snack after lunch, right before bed, and whenever I'm upset about the pack blowing it.

this little piggy

I wasn't expecting to have a busy weekend but I did. My very first friend I made in college was Aaron. And if it weren't for him I would have never met Mike. He moved to New York 4 or so years ago. (Grandma you met him in Florida 6 years ago). Every time he comes to town I try to see him. This past Friday a group of us met out at a new bar in the Third Ward called Soho 7. He is one of the most energetic, good natured persons I've ever met.

The next morning I wake up to bacon and pancakes, not unusual for the weekend. But it just so happened to be the day my friends were throwing a pig roast. I think about the poor piggy covered in grease sitting next to my pancake... o your so very delicious.. and I'm going to see your cousin in a couple hours. Did I want to go to the pig roast? No, because I think there were better party themes to have than in honor of a pig. But what the heck all my friends will be there. So I went and ALL my college friends were there. Most are now married, engaged or have babies. One person I didn't even know was asking me about my bags, which I thought was very nice. My new friend Joy showed up and we got suckered into playing old college drinking drinking games. After seven+ hours the pig was done and I wasn't prepared to eat it so I had everything else but meat, plus all the beer I had I was full.

For the past couple months, Joy and I had talked about going to the dance club "Have a Nice Day Cafe" but never acted on it. It's one of those places you know are going are crawling with underage college kids and bachelorette parties. It took one call inviting us to a free beer party and we were there. It felt like high school dance party.

By midnight I was missing Mike so I finally made it back home. It was one of those nights were if you moved while sleeping you'd be running for the nearest receptacle.

By 9am the phone was ringing with an invitation to brunch and my sister frantic about finding a skirt to match her top for her bridal shower. I could have used an hour or two more of sleep. I met my friend Sue at Bean's and Barley, an organic restaurant and grocery store for breakfast. The last time I saw Sue was in December in Chicago so it was good to catch up. Sue and I could have talked for a couple more hours but I was already putting off the drama that would encounter me in West Bend.

If you don't live in Wisconsin, it rained all weekend. So I white knuckled the drive up. I could have used some aspirin because as soon as I walked through the door I have questions being slingshotted from both my grandma and her special friend and because they are hard of hearing they are louder than normal, and they usually talk at the same time.

This is now the second Packer game I missed this year. I am 0-2 while the Pack is 2-0. But I am the maid of honor and I must have a drink during this bridal shower. It didn't help me brush of the night of drinking and dancing but I made it threw it without throwing up. Grandma has a three prong which is like a cane with training wheels but she preferred me to help her up down and around the house. I think my other grandma has it right by drinking a martini once a day.

By 6pm I was back in Milwaukee cuddling up with Mike for the rest of the night.

Socks

Today is the first day I've put on socks since May. I don't like it, but I look back to summer and realize that I've had a pretty awesome summer. Mike has just made a fire and sadly we enter fall, but first a few highlights from Summer:

1. Seeing Amos Lee in Chicago
2. Wearing big summer hats at the market
2. Seeing Jeffery Focult play, twice
3. Moving into Mike's house
4. Hanging out at Pere Marquette Park Wednesday nights listening to live music
5. Seeing my friend Joey in a plaid jacket
6. Finishing the basement into my office
7. Celebrating 1 year since Mike and I have started dating
8. Eating Transfer Pizza
9. Game nights and cookouts
10. A weekend getaway to Shawano
11. Learning that my sister thinks Woolly Mammoths still exist
12. Dragging buckets of water out of Mike's basement
13. Using fresh herbs from the garden for cooking
14. Taking a hip hop dance class with Sara
15. Double date at Noah's Ark
16. Riding in the family's first 25 mile bike ride
17. Partying with the Sara's for their birthday at the ballpark
18. The Fantasy Football draft party where I got drunk before dinner time
19. Saz's sampler platter at Summerfest and State Fair - yum!
20. Standing through 3.5 hours of the best Springsteen concert ever AND hearing him play "Glory Days"

MarcusMonroe.com is live

It's been nonstop work. I just sent a 64 page manual off to print and I'm about to wrap up another 100+ page manual that I've been working on for over a year to the printers. But one of my quicker and creative projects was designing and developing this site for my friend Marcus Monroe. Marcus is an awesome juggler if you get a chance to see him next Summerfest you should.
Visitmarcusmonroe.com

Work Outing

Today we had our first work outing in two years. Two years ago, about 6-8 people went bowling at Landmark Lanes. Today we left it up to our newest student to pick a park to play disk golf. I arrived first, smack dab in the ghetto. According to my map there should be a park building adjacent to the parking lot I was in. This building was the restroom. Then I walked some more I saw hole #1 so I knew I was in the right place all I had to do was wait. A car pulls up - hurray. The window rolls down and some man is trying to talk to me but it sounds like a bad version of Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder, you know the ghetto slang but with some chew in your bottom lip. After the third time of this man apparently asking me something I figure out he is looking for a restroom. Ah ha! I've already located it - right this way. A woman struts out to the restroom. The man, whom I've already learned is from Mississippi get out of the car to talk to me while waiting for his Milwaukee cousin. In one hand is a strawberry wine cooler and the other hand is down by his twig and berries all while asking me where I'm from, where do I work, why am I here. The woman in the bathroom could have hurried it by the time Mr Srawberry Cooler finished is beverage but nope. He finished it, noticed something about my toes - In the middle of me trying to figure out what he was saying he reached down and gently slide his fingers across my toes.

Where are my coworkers?

Finally the woman comes out of the bathroom and I'm too in shock to exchange contact info with my new friend so I wave in shock as they leave.

Enter big white van. This van is moving pretty fast at me and I've seen enough movies to know that this is a kidnapping van and I must move away. So I walk around like I'm a park ranger checking to make tee #1 is where it should be.

Where are my coworkers?

Then something magical happens. Two buff shirtless men jump out of the van with golf discs! Then more jump out! They inform me that they are part of a band from Texas and invite me to come see there show on North Ave. Awesome. Then they ask me where tee #1 is. I put on my park ranger smile and point " It's right over there." Oh they are impressed. They think I know this course, which means they think I know how to disc golf. Then they ask me why I'm there by myself and I feel lonesome and a fool who doesn't know what a disk golf frisbee even looks like.

The shirtless wonders wander off and I'm left waiting again.

After multiple phone calls to coworkers I have numbers to I get no answer. Is this a joke? Should I go home? Should I go back to work?

Finally they arrive. I learn how to play disc golf and by the last hole I learned how to properly throw it.

One of my favorite Youtube videos

I could be telling you about my transition to the west side or my crazy week of work or what a soap opera Favre and the Packers have become. But instead I'll share with you one of my favorite youtube videos. Star Trek cribs:

Great James Brown Video

I started a hip hop dance class to learn some cool moves, but nothing compares to the Godfather of Soul.

The end of my alone time

For the past week and a half my roommate has been on vacation in Ireland. Tomorrow she comes back. It was nice to come home to an empty condo and do whatever I want. Like leave my tea cup out overnight, or watch TV all day or not shut the bathroom door. I could make a meal and not clean up right away and I could turn off the AC when it didn't need to be on. Well I guess I could do all these things anyway but it's nice just to be lazy once in a while.

Yesterday, for example, was a great day to be lazy. I also had the day off work. I got my oil changed at the mini dealership, got my emissions tested and by noon I was home and bored. So I started reading a book my roommate suggested, "The Monster of Florence." I knew this might happen but I just had to finish the book as soon as I got into it. I did break to try to get freelance work done but each attempt was unsuccessful. I don't remember if I ate lunch or dinner, but by 8:30pm I had finished. And I was literally disturbed by the true story. I was alone fearing a serial killer about the condo so I had a beer which somewhat put me to sleep.

So I wil be glad when my roommate comes home. At least there will be someone to hear me scream for help.

My purple wall

In 25 more days I will be moved into the Bf's house. We starting priming the basement, which will be my office/sewing room. I've always wanted a purple wall. So I'm getting in. Not a light lavendar purple, but a deep bold purple, a purple that says lick me.