Adventures in Cooking

Today I picked up this cookbook. I have been slowly adding tofu to my diet and it's hard to prepare it in interesting ways with out knowing much about it. So, experimentation with recipes is my task.

I love Milwaukee

Today, I visited one of my favorite neighborhoods in all of Milwaukee: Brady Street. Besides wonderful restaurants and fabulous shops there are just general good vibes. They have an annual festival. "Not in Milwaukee, WI!" you might say. It's true. And for the last six years, they've held a doggie parade. Great Danes, chows, mutts, puppies, doggies and more! Fluffy dogs that can't keep their costumes on. Kitties in strollers. Superdog! And two bees! The parade ended at St. Rita's church with an extra special sermon on diversity and pet blessing.

I love Milwaukee.

Rockstar

I walked into the bathroom stall door yesterday. I have a bruise on my forehead. I am a rockstar.

New Technique

During rush hour traffic, when you are the third car back in a lane that ends after the traffic light you are at, the following ritual will ensure that you are first. Stomp on the gas with your right foot, brake with your left foot and pound your horn while your left blinker is activated. If you do all of these at the same time, everyone will be completely stunned and you will get through the traffic light first.

Vacation summary:

Reported drunk driver after he tried to run us off road. Shop. Spa. Shop. Drink. Shop. Drive. See pretty fall colors change before our eyes. Shout "MOO COW, MOO COW, MOO COW!" Shop. Emit vibes at awful tailgater. Shop. Vomit. Drive home.

Gossip Girl

Apparently people have been talking about how good this show was going to be. These people are wrong.

Setting: Rich high school. Characters: Popular crowd and alternative crowd. Background: Rich girl comes back to town amidst drama.

I want to know who thinks we need another teen drama show. I want to know who cast a woman with crow's feet as a 17 year old. I want to know how I can get that hour of my life back.

Vacation

I get vacation for my birthday. Kari and I will be heading up north and relaxing like it's going out of style. I wish it was now..... t minus 4 days.

Dine Out For Diabetes

Wednesday 9/19, 4p-9p at Pizzeria Piccola in Wauwatosa. 50% of the profits and all of the tips will go to JDRF. Kari will be a server of some sort.

More stuff I love

Everything from Origins

Oops?

Me: You get to sit?
Her: Huh?
Me: You get to sit while the rest of us get to stand? Really? *walks away*
Her: *crying*
Manager: I wish I could be mean like you.

I didn't believe Jackie when she called. I may even have hung up on her, causing her to call me a second time. I wanted to sleep in before starting my office hours. I turned on my TV like she asked me to. When I could finally shut my mouth, the tears came.

And then I realized that 366 women would be reacting to everything. I went to my office and started talking to my hall director. We had the news on. There were emergency staff meetings. Office phones were used for the fifteen or so women to keep trying to reach their families in New York. A prayer service was held in the hall. I heard about another attack in Pennsylvania, but no one could tell me if it was in Philadelphia or not. Classes were canceled. Everyone gave blood. The tears didn't stop.

A girl on my staff finally heard that her folks were fine. We were relieved with her. My friend was still trying to find out if his firefighter father was ok. We cried with him. The Pennsylvania plane landed far away from Philadelphia. I cried with relief.

The news looped the attacks like instant replay. I cried for two whole days. The tears stopped long before the news stopped. Classes began again.

Today, the tears visited once more. I cannot dishonor the memory of our heroes and citizens by not being sad. Nor will I let myself forget.

More MAM

Pictures!

MAM

This is Georgia O'Keeffe's painting called "It was red and pink". It spoke to me today at the Art Museum as extremely wonderful and feminine. I stumbled across it on the top floor of the main museum after viewing the Pisarro exhibit.

On the Pisarro exhibit, I am having trouble separating my feelings for the people at the exhibit and the paintings. The people were rude, arrogant, pushy and obnoxious. The paintings were amazing. The exhibit covered Pisarro's works 1864-1874. It was wonderful to see his transformation from the paintings that society wanted, to painting what he wanted. I couldn't get close enough to read any of the plaques. However, I think he loved winter and hated the industrial revolution. He wasn't afraid to use a traditional technique and a new technique in the same painting. I found the paintings that involved pointilism and wide brushstrokes to be his most genius. I didn't see any of the influence of Judaism, as I thought I would. I know that he grew up in a Jewish home, but was an atheist in his adulthood. I wonder if the lack of influence was a conscience snub to all religions.

celebrate!

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY MONTH!

Belated post

Kari turns one year older and gets new hair!

Things I am in love with

Cute shoes

Calvin Klein rocks my world.

Running shoes?

What a necklace!

Still love this.

Another amazing necklace.

Tasty wine.

Paper, please!

When I go to the grocery store, I choose paper. I know that both plastic and paper can be recycled. I am more likely to remember to put the paper bag in the recycle bin than the plastic bag. So I choose paper.

Today, I purchase a few groceries to tide me over to next big grocery excursion. The bagger picks up the milk and I say, "Paper, please!" as she hovers the milk over the plastic bag. She literally drops the milk, sighs heavily, rolls her eyes, then dramatically digs for paper bags. The whole time, there is a stack of paper bags on the counter. She finds more and throws them onto the other bags, sighs again, and bags my groceries.

Wow, that was some hard work she had to do!

Politics

We should trust a survey of only 2,007 people to tell us how the next presidential election is going to turn out?

What has been happening...

• We hired someone to take over the Deer. He had police experience and seemed genuinely excited. He assisted with five cases in the first week - one of which he initiated. He left his keys in the office the following Monday and has not answered his phone since.
• We announced to the Deer and the Shore that I would be transferring. I've been trying to get to know my new store and still take care of my old store at the same time.
  
• I am trying to run the Deer's inventory. The store has been told that inventory is not a priority, and so has done nothing. They don't get that, right now, I am my boss to them.
  
• I have been performing all duties of the sup at the Deer, and making sure that the boys do their part at the Shore. However, I have to write schedules because Mike-romanage is a doofus. However, my two stores have had about 60 cases so far this month. Probably more.
  
• As excited as I am about Simply Vera Vera Wang, I know more about it than any LP should. But sitting on the calls and communicating LP information to the stores and store information to LPs "gets my name out there."
• And then the internals.
• I worked with two of my peers to present Impact Training. One was on vacation for a week before the training. One didn't come to the training because his basement flooded two days before. I received as much help as one can get from those two.
  
• And trying to find someone for the Deer. Because I will be at the Shore after inventory, but if there is no replacement, I'm sure I'll be pulling double duty for a while longer.

I am being stretched to my limit. I work 8 hours and bring home work stuff to read another 4 at home. I feel close to breaking, but I know I won't break. But, with the holiday season approaching, I might.

Blanket Apology

I'm tired. I am refusing to answer my phone for a while. If that's you calling again, it's not that I don't like you or don't want to hear how wonderful your life is, it's that I need to be by myself. When I can answer the phone without crying, I will return your call.