Mushrooms

I love mushrooms. I mean really love them. So, my curiosity could not be quelled when a tremendous variety popped up in our back yard this fall. There were at least five different ones sprouting, generally near the woodlines.

I took photos and brought them inside to do some computer research. Bringing actual specimens in seemed like a bad idea, as my luck would be that touching certain ones would be deadly.

I quickly learned there is no such thing as easy mushroom identification. I took the one most promising and researched the heck out of it. The other I assumed was a puffball, and was right.

The Puffball

There are lots of tiny ones that went bad in the yard. For puffballs, if you don't get them at just the right time, they turn to spore dust inside and aren't edible. The one I had last night was baseball sized and perfect. Tasted a lot like a morel. They are solid white all the way through. Like slicing into a sturdy marshmallow. For big ones, you can grill slices and make them like personal pizzas. Mine was not that big.

Chanterelles

This was tough.

There are chanterelles,

false chanterelles (not poisionous, but not tasty nor particularly agreeable to some), and

jack-o-lanterns (poisonous, but not deadly) that all look similar.

The color did NOT look like a jack o lantern (more orange), but the "gills" did. The big problem is that chanterelles have "general" looks and growing behaviors, but there is a HUGE variety in looks and the growing behaviors are more "guidelines."

Once I was pretty sure it wasn't a jack-o-lantern, I decided to eat three and see what happened. No real issues. They could be false chanterelles, but they were really tasty. I don't think Chris was convinced.

Last night I went out and pick more, and quickly realized our woods are FULL of them. I tried six and no issues last night or today.

So, tomorrow night I'm picking more shrooms!

Less than two weeks to go

I had to buy a watch. I don't wear a watch, and hate the cheapo one that's gotten me through previous vacations. The face is hard to read. So, I took a leap on another cheap watch online that has a better face. As much as an atomic watch would've been cool for travel, the ones I looked at in my price range were quite ugly.

I also bought a sleep mask for the plane. Not sure it was a worthy investment, but at less than $10, I'm not sweating it. I have a scarf that will nicely convert to a blanket (bought for 1.98 on clearance last winter), a pillow and earplugs to help me sleep, so I should be set.

I have a Jodi Piccoult book and Caucasia to read on the trip. Figured a page turner like Piccoult would help pass the time.

We arrive in Amsterdam very early in the morning, so I plan to get off the plane and freshen up. Fro suggested accessibly packing my toothbrush and brush to clean up. I'm also packing some face wash wipes. I figure washing my face and putting on some basic makeup will make me feel better after the long flight.

The anxiety of traveling to Europe for the first time is starting to sink in.

ETA: Packed my toiletries and my plane bag last night. Realized I need handi wipes, a mini spray lysol (in case there is room odor) and sleep drugs. We are taking two backpacks as our carry-ons. With a stop in Detroit and Amsterdam before getting to Rome, we need things that are easy to carry, even though we'll be a fashion faux pas. One will be a laptop backpack, so at least it doesn't look like I'm a college student wandering Europe.

Trip to Italy

I wanted to start a travelogue of sorts for my October Italy trip. I'm starting with a map of where we'll be. Each marker contains a link to where we are staying. Three of the locations are countryside "agriturismos," each located on a working "farm." The farm may be a vinyard, olive grove, produce their own cheeses, grow fruits, etc.

We go from the airport in Rome (Fuimicino) in the following order:

Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Pink (not the most direct route, but we are vacationing before conference stops in Prato and Rome).


View Italy in October in a larger map

Looking forward to the weekend

Chris and I spent our anniversary in downtown Madison. We love downtown, it's just a pain to go there (wrong direction from home), park, etc. So, we decided to get a hotel room so we could walk and not worry about drinking and driving. Spent the cool (temperature) evening doing a little bar hopping and trying a new (to us...though I'd tried their food cart offerings) restaurant (costa rican food). Yummy! It's one of those tiny places in an old building, tucked away amongst a largely residential area. Only about 20 seats in the place-tiny. I think late Thursday was a good time to go!

This morning my boss said "stay out and enjoy breakfast-I don't want to see you before 10 a.m." Um, ok. We went to my favorite cupcake shop, which also serves fabulous food. It's in a location that is a real PITA to get to (are you sensing a pattern?), so after 8 am on a weekday was a great time to go. I have a leftover goat cheese and roasted veggie omelet, potatoes and fruit for lunch!

This weekend, we have only a few plans (and hell or high water, it will remain that way). Next weekend is our annual rib cookoff, so we'll be busy prepping the homestead. Lots of yard work and garage cleaning!

We are also picking up our Cannon Run winnings this weekend-yay! I have a feeling we should buy the bar a round when we pick it up. Probably kind of an expected thing to celebrate our good fortune.

My sobfest and more boring stuff

We had a really, really busy weekend. I carefully planned it so we'd have Monday at home to do some projects. I had a lot of fall planting to do (order from a seed catalog came in), canning, and some general cleaning (you may remember I was dedicated to getting those darn cabinet tops cleaned).

Well, BIL called Chris that morning and asked if we wanted to come over for dinner. The call came in right as I was prepping my OTCC entry for this week. I volunteered for OTCC this week because I knew I'd have time Monday night to take my time with dinner.

*cue record scratch and music stop*

Chris said "ok!" to the invitation. They live 45 minutes away, so this would be a significant time suck, and we'd been on the road all weekend. I broke down in tears and sobbed on and off for about an hour. I was angry and sad. Sometimes little things will be the straw.

So, my OTCC recipe became a rushed lunch, which means it isn't my finest work and there are few photos.

In other news, we got a really weird gift bag from MIL for our 10 year anniversary (which is tomorrow). Contents:

• Two used "sauce dishes" still marked with the .50 price tag.
  
• A 1991 published "Home Swapping" vacation book
  
• Speed Racer children's party napkins


• A "Special Olympics Torch Run sponsored by Carquest" hat for Chris


• A homemade vest for me. *blink blink*
  

I brought the vest to work so my coworkers could laugh. Thanks to a webcam, so can you:

Weekend stuff

I thought I'd get the call about my prize details, but didn't. They said "about a week" last Saturday. Hopefully soon!

I bought three new bras. Why does the color of bras get more boring as size goes up? The A and B cups...cute colors. C and D cups? Not so much. I ended up with a beige, brown and a black one. This problem is compouded by the fact that I hate lined bras. The extra padding just doesn't make me feel as "secure" and they take up too much room in storage. And measuring you for bra size is ridiculous, because all bras fit so differently. I tried on the same size bras from the same manufacturers, just different styles. Only one fit. The other two I needed in TWO different sizes. Grr.

I was hoping to get some projects done yesterday around the house. I did get mums planted, but otherwise it was just "keeping up" stuff. I baked blueberry muffins, watered my very dry flower beds and lawn, swept floors, washed rugs, did dishes and laundry. We did watch a movie (Couples Retreat), too, so perhaps that's why I didn't get what I wanted done.

This weekend we have Friday and Monday off work. Thursday night we are going to MIL's and coming back Saturday late afternoon. Sunday in the afternoon we have a party 1.5 hours away at a friend's house. I haven't seen her in years, so I'm making the time to go. Monday is my project day. I WILL get above my kitchen cabinets dusted/degreased/decat-fured.

More good news and Italy

More good news! Our bathroom estimate came in at MUCH less than we thought. I was a little depressed that we'd have to spend almost $3000 of our winnings on it. It came in at $1200 plus the cost of tile. Woohoo!

We've just extended our Italy trip by a few days. The tentative plan is to do two nights in Siena, three nights in Lucca (countryside, on a winery in rustic lodging...maybe this one), then hit the coastal five hillside cities in Cinque Terre for a few days. After that, it's off to my preconference in Prato and then down to Rome for the actual conference for a week. When we are in Prato we'll visit Florence. Not sure if We'll hit the other major tourist cities such as Venice and Pisa. Don't want to cram too much in and make it stressful.

I've never been to Europe, so this is exciting!

We won $10,000. No really, we did.

For those of you on FB, or those of you who want a little more info, here it is.

So we did this Cannon Run thing this summer for the first time. http://www.cannonrunroute66.com/ Kind of this poker run thing. I talked about what a great summer it's been, traveling around Wisconsin (and a little of Illinois) in this blog previously. Well, it all paid off. Today was the "end of season" party where all the winners are drawn. We sat through two hours of cash drawings and other stuff (trophies for best campsite, best bike, etc.). At the start of the two hours, they drew four tickets, and held those as the four grand prize winners (two first grand prize, two second grand prize). So they announced the two first grand prize winners, and we packed up our camp chairs. It was almost time to go. Two numbers left.

XXXX.

Chris nodded along as they called the number. They called my name. Holy.sh!t.

We won $10,000 towards a motorcycle purchase OR $8,000 cash with $2,000 donated to a charity of our choice. No sh!t.

I ran along the crowd, getting high fives as I went up to the stage. Had Chris and our friend not been in shock, we might have photos. But, thanks to the new camera, you have an after shot.

We just got back from our local bar, where we bought everyone a round. We have about $5K in a home repair to do (see last few posts) and Chris's ticket to Italy to buy. Woot! This is amazing.

We have a week to sort out all the details. I'm hoping to donate the $2,000 to a worthy Susan G. Komen 3 Day walker who needs it (*coughbreezyorhersistercough*) but I'm not entirely sure how it works out. Stay tuned until next week for that.

In other news, perhaps I need a crotch purse, as pictured here:

Now, dance with me. Seriously, we've never won anything between the two of us worth mentioning. This feels amazing.

Camera

After deciding we didn't need to buy a new dishwasher (although we haven't actually installed the new handle yet. Worst case scenario, we call the Maytag store to send help and pay for an hour of labor), we took the new camera plunge.

We had a really old Sony Cybershot that was ok quality for the time, but technology quickly advanced. I can borrow the nice work camera for fancier stuff, if needed, so we needed a new pocket sized point and shoot. We have no brand loyalty, just wanted good photo quality in enlarged photos, ability to zoom in as much as possible, long battery life, etc. I liked the idea of supporting a U.S. company, though wasn't 100% committed to that.

We ended up with the Kodak M580. Kind of cool "easyshare" features that will let you skip a few steps to upload directly to Facebook, etc. Should arrive tomorrow or Saturday, so my bloggy and FB friends will be regaled with many photos in the near future.

Things that suck

• Spending money on home repairs
• Sugarland's remake of "Life in a Northern Town"
• Having to work when there's so much to do at home that's more fun
• Getting a $100 ticket for running a red light during our visit to Chicago for the 3 Day (came in the mail...apparently I did not notice the "no right turn on red" sign at the intersection and it was caught on camera. Guess I missed that as I was trying to navigate an unknown area of Chicago during rush hour. Grr.)
• Husband's that know you asked a question, but for whatever reason, don't answer you.

What sucks in your life right now?

3 Day

What a great 3 Day! It was the best weather yet! Doing it with great friends who had just survived breast cancer in the last 12 months was emotional. It was August, 2009 she was officially diagnosed.

Thursday: Crew Day
Mark and Chris had to attend Crew Day to train for their crew jobs, so we went to Chicago on Thursday. Melanie and I did exciting things like buy her a water bottle, sit at Panera and eat snacks (I was good and had a low fat muffie), and found a LUSH at the mall. Woohoo! We filled up on a few goodies for Monday pampering. She is one of those people I've turned into a LUSH cult member.

We tried to go to Lou Malnatti's for pizza, but didn't realize the locations nearest the hotel were only carryout. Boo! Wish their GPS location name would've been labeled "Lou Malnatti's Carryout." Ended up just swinging into a bbq joint that was very average.

Friday: Day 1 (22 miles)
The boys had to be out the hotel door at 4 a.m. at the latest to set up hydration for opening ceremonies. We arrived around 5:30 a.m. We got our picture taken with Mickey and Minnie Mouse, all dressed in pink, and wrote our "hopes for the weekend" on a wall. Manning the wall was our Komen pit stop Staffer from Boston in 2008. We said our hellos. I saw a few other familiar crew members from past Chicago walks, including the lady that made us mad last year by giving us wrong luggage drop instructions. :-)


The boys got to stand with us at opening ceremony. I think it was pretty emotional for everyone. The walk route was great-same as last year (and MUCH better than the first year with Boo-that route sucked). It was fun knowing what to expect.

Mr. January, one of the 60 mile men http://www.60milemen.org/ (and the guy who runs the calender), had lunch with us. He's from Michigan and had done some training walks with Breezy's group. We also walked a bit together and it was nice to hear his experiences walking different cities and doing the calendar.

We were able to tell the boys when we expected to clock in at the day's finish line via phone. They were waiting to cheer us in. That was very cool! They had our tents and bedding set up, which is such a treat, if you've ever walked 20ish miles then had to set up camp (*looks at Breezy and Boo).

Melanie and I had matching side-0f-heel blisters on day one. We ate our dinner of steak, potatoes, salad, rolls and apple pie, showered (new shower trucks which at least had a private changing area this time!), dressed our blisters and listened to 3 Day idol. Breezy-the "Wanted dead or alive" soldier guy was there again and did it! He was great. He has a song online that is being sold on iTunes to raise money for the 3 Day: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/soldier-in-pink-single/id354879325. You can also find him on You Tube doing a performance at 3 Day camp (I think we missed this last year, Breezy!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbQYLkRLGXA

Saturday: Day 2 (20 miles)
My favorite day of the Chicago 3 Day! We walk through some great communities, but Mount Prospect takes the cake. It's the one where officers wear pink shirts, they have extra officers out for photo ops, the Fire Dept. is in pink welcoming us, community members sit in the yard and have "3 Day parties" (one had a sno cone machine for us this year!), they raise money, have a squad car with pink letters, and then travel into Chicago to "surprise" us at the end of a pedestrian tunnel on Day 3! The even come to camp and visit with us Saturday night. The hot officer did a tent rolling demo and it was nice. :-)

A few new blisters on Saturday, but they were pretty minor. We both had our heel blisters drained in medical at lunch (you can barf now) and Melanie was sad she didn't get a picture to scrapbook of that event.

That afternoon we got to see Frodis and co.! They got to the cheering station right when we did. Perfecto! The kiddos are growing! We dined on fruit and sat for a bit. Lauren sang Lady Antebellum for me (*snort*) and Jeff inhaled grapes. I said to Melanie after we left, "See, my online friends aren't weirdos." She completely agreed and said Fro was "very normal." LOL! Good thing she didn't meet Carey first, huh? :-) Thank you so much for coming out and bringing treats, Fro!!!

We called the boys and asked them to bring our flip flops to the "finish line" for Day 2. The tents are a long ways away. We were about .5 miles from the finish and we see them driving along the road in their Mule (like a gator utility vehicle), delivering water to route safety. Great-flip flops early! Not for me, though. Chris couldn't find mine that he'd stuck in the Mule earlier! We feared they'd fallen out. Boohiss!

That night we relaxed around camp more. Some Candy Coburn singer (official "spokescelebrity" for Susan G. Komen) performed that night and then there was a dance party. We opted to hang with the boys for a bit and go to bed.

Sunday: Day 3 (18 miles)
We were lucky to have cloud cover all morning, because the temps were soaring towards the 90s. Breezy-everyone was talking about how hot that part of the route was last year! Right before lunch it started to rain. We had a wet lunch and I developed two new pinky toe blisters (I think I was compensating for my heel blisters by putting weight more on my toes). This meant I'd be hobbling the second half of the day. It was still rainy and windy after lunch, but with about six miles to go, it cleared up and got SUPER HOT!

We listened to Lollapalooza in the background that afternoon and headed to the finish line again at Soldier Field, where lots of family and "3 Day alumni" were there cheering us on. Our boys, along with hundreds of crew and walkers were cheering people into the holding area, and my tears started. It was emotional. I think a few trickled also when we cheered the last walkers in. Melanie opted NOT to walk into closing with the survivors. She a) didn't want to put on the pink long sleeved tshirt and b) didn't want to be the center of attention and c) wanted to be by me. It was still very emotional.

If you want a peak at what a 3 Day closing looks like from above, here's a clip from last year (Breezy and I are somewhere to the middle left in that part!): http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=6956095


The boys had an amazing time crewing. If the 3 Day comes to a city near you-CREW! It costs you only the registration fee of $90 (let me know if you want a half off discount code...I'll let you know when I get one in my email) and you'll have an amazing weekend! You'll run low on sleep, but you can get assignments that match your desired activity level (e.g., can't lift? You might check people in and out, man the "info" table, etc.). Can't do the three days? You can be a volunteer! They are often done in shorter stints (e.g., Volunteers take over crew duties at noon on Sunday, so the crew can fully be part of closing ceremonies). Can't do any of those things? Get out to a cheering station...Frodis will tell you what a rewarding experience that can be from the spectator standpoint.

Thanks for all the support through the years. You all are so special. Now go give yourself a self-exam and if applicable, make sure you are current on your mammogram schedule!

OTCC

Hm. I have three options for OTCC for Sept. 10th:
-Grilled chicken with homemade balsamic bbq sauce
-Cold orzo pasta salad with grilled veggies (vegetarian dish)
-Grilled chicken or pork sate

What sounds best to YOU? Which one would you want to make?

The busy weekend that wasn't so busy

We had two invitations for the weekend: my 15 year class reunion and a group camping trip. We chose neither.

Looking at the photos on Facebook of my class reunion, can't say I have any regrets. There are some people I'd enjoy seeing, but I couldn't rationalize a whole day of small talk with those I don't really care to spend time with. The "event" was a family picnic. Me not being a big kid person, wasn't too excited about that. In the evening, there was an informal gathering at a local bar. Haven't heard how that went.

Instead, we took Friday off (a furlough day for Chris) and went to Galena, IL. It was a nice little road trip. Lots of cute stores. A "charming" little town. Their new brewpub, which wasn't supposed to be open yet, had just opened the day before. It's like they KNEW we were coming. Unfortunately they only had two beers on tap and they weren't that good.

Saturday we went boating with Chris's brother and had a really good time. It was perfect weather.

Sunday we had lots to do at home. I made some refrigerator pickles (even though I dislike pickles, generally), froze carrots, made Karchita's OTCC recipe, did lots of laundry, did the weed trimming, swept the patio and packed for the 3 Day. Oh, we also watched Madagascar 2. Made me giggle.

So, I guess it was busy, but there was also a lot of relaxing.

Blabbering just to update.

Egads, my basement and garage need cleaning. I think I can get all the other major cleaning projects (cabinets and closets) done on weekends or days off with (reasonably) no problem, but the garage and basement are another story. I need to sort and toss/donate a fair amount of stuff. It's just time to part with some things.

I've asked for a computer program to be installed on my new work computer at least three times over the last two months. I really don't want to be a beyotch about it, but my patience is wearing thin.

I have also asked twice for a lock to be installed on a cabinet drawer. It hasn't been done. I'm getting a complex. This is what I get for being the nice one, I guess.

Musings on the Weekend and My Summer

As you may have seen on my Facebook page, we went on a last minute camping trip this weekend. We weren't planning to eat at the site, or even hang out there much (we had day trips planned), so it was pretty bare bones packing. We worked 8-12 on Friday, then took off. I hate being in a rush to pack up and get to work. It's why we almost NEVER leave for any trip right after work. I like the morning to pack, double check, without being stressed.

On the way north, I realized we forgot pillows. That was ok, we could stop and buy cheap pillows.

After the tent was up, we went to grab our clothes and toiletry bags and put them in the tent. Hm. No bags. They were sitting at home, 3 hours away, on our bed. $120 later, we had pillows, clothes, towels, and toiletries. I couldn't really do my hair all weekend, and had no hat. I had to air dry the hair, so I think I may have looked like an unkempt crazy lady for much of the weekend. I did buy a Mr. Owl Tootsie Pop t-shirt because I was in a giggly mood when shopping.

Of note, we also ate here:
http://www.milwaukeeburgercompany.com/page/show/76334-menu

You should really click on the menu pdf and read it. You could order a basket of bacon as an appetizer, or even 1.5" x 1.5" cubes of fried cheese. They were huge.

Summer has been great. I've been taking a day off/week to get my homework done. Then I can spend more time with Chris on the weekends. We've had tons of little road trips around WI, exploring parts of the state we've never been. One of my more memorable summers in recent history.

Two updates in a week!

Try to contain your excitement at my SECOND post of the week.

My energy has picked up a bit since Monday, thank goodness. I bought new walking shoes, so that helped. I needed to buy a second pair for the walk. My Eccos are $130 shoes and I can't afford TWO of those, plus having two different pair is nice over the three days so the rub on your foot changes. I need this style, as traditional shoes don't work well for me on the 3 Day. I know I'll get blisters, and getting feet into tennis shoes when you have blisters SUCKS! So, I bought a pair of Teva Tirras:

It's like walking on gummy bears, to coin one reviewer's comments. :-) Did 3 miles in them last night and they were great.

Speaking of that walk, Chris has finally caved into walking with me. We had a nice walk through town. Less bugs in town and safer than out by us in the country. He said he'd like to walk at least twice a week. Yay! Company!

I was naughty and made chili dogs for dinner last night. I had hot dogs in the freezer, as I keep a pack around in the summer for last minute parties on the patio. It's good kid filler. Well, I hauled those out yesterday and had a container of leftover chili in the freezer, too. Just add cheap buns and a simple lettuce salad and dinner was done.

Tonight, a thawed package of smoked pulled pork I had vacuum sealed in the freezer. No muss, no fuss.

This means I actually have to cook something on Friday night. Or, make a frozen pizza. :-)

What the hell was that?

Yesterday (Monday) I experienced a lack of focus like I haven't seen in a long time. We were running all weekend long, and had Monday off work, so it was our first day home over the long weekend. And it was raining all day. I woke up at 8 and:
1) tidied up the counter
2) did a load of laundry
3) unloaded the dishwasher
4) skipped breakfast in a sort of defiance...nobody (read: Chris) ever says "What should we have for breakfast" or makes coffee. So I didn't even mention it. And of course, nobody offered.
5) watched a 30 minute travel show.
6) tried to read the paper and couldn't focus.
7) went to grocery store for milk and pizza sauce.
8) made homemade pizza.
9) pulled a couple of weeds and wandered around outside, looking at the flowers and veggies between sprinkles. When I say a couple of weeds, I literally mean like six.
10) tried to nap, but my dad stopped over for a few minutes.
11) wandered around the house with no focus. Considered reading book. Decided not to.
12) sat in front of afternoon tv, not really absorbing anything.
13) made steaks and sauteed escarole for dinner. Made Nolay season steaks as it was too much thinking for me. I mean, I thought of the escarole thing, wasn't that taxing enough?
14) sat in front of evening tv, not really absorbing anything. Considered going on the basement treadmill. Didn't.
15) turned on computer thinking about watching something on hulu. Didn't find anything interesting. Chris asked if I wanted to watch Invictus. I didn't.
16) sat in front of night tv, not really absorbing anything.
17) painted my toenails.
18) thankfully, went to bed.

Reading list

As I have mentioned, I don't often buy NEW books to read. Thus, I'm generally about 2-7 years behind the rest of the readers. Right now I have the following to read:

Look me in the Eye by John Elder Robinson
http://www.amazon.com/Look-Me-Eye-Life-Aspergers/dp/0307396185/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277401217&sr=1-1

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
http://www.amazon.com/Bean-Trees-Novel-P-S/dp/0061765228/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277401263&sr=1-1

Caucasia by Danzy Senna
http://www.amazon.com/Caucasia-Novel-Danzy-Senna/dp/1573227161/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277401291&sr=1-1

and a few others I can't think of off the top of my head.

I just started Look Me in the Eye...it's written by a man who grew up with Asperger's and about his experiences growing up with Asperger's. He's the brother of writer Augusten Burroughs (wrote Running with Scissors). I read Running with Scissors a few years ago and enjoyed it, though it was quite gritty. Anyway, in the first three chapters I'm already seeing so much in common with my nephew. Anyone with friends or relatives with Asperger's should read this to gain a little insight, while enjoying a well-writen story.

Oh, and I just read Shopgirl by Steve Martin. Yes, that Steve Martin. It was a quick, fluffy read, but enjoyable.

Great weekend, so tired

We had a great time at the Zane Lamprey show on Saturday (pic is courtesy of a Facebook update by Zane).

We stayed two blocks from the venue at an Aloft hotel. It was certainly a different hotel experience than usual. It's kind of a young, hip club atmosphere. They had Bliss shower/bath products, which I appreciated.

On our way to Milwaukee, we stopped at a bar that's on our Cannon Run route (the one were we hit 74 bars in a summer...a poker run kind of thing with prizes at the end of the season). We were having lunch and couldn't decide what to get, so we took the tip on our Cannon Run card and shared a basket of chicken tenders. They were GIANT. They cut approximately two hunks of chicken right from the breast and batter them in a light, crispy fish-fry like batter. They were so yummy.

When in Milwaukee, we went to our favorite brewery, hit a new distillery, and then went back to the room for a nap before heading out for the evening. Oh, on the way we took pics of me and Zane's tour buses. I'll have to post when we download from the camera phone.

A bar was having a pre-show party, and we've been wanting to try that bar (see my previous post). Well, we decided to scrap it since we'd have to again pay $10 to leave the parking ramp and return. Our hotel was in a great part of town with plenty to do, so we hit the bars there. Well, come to find out, had we hit that bar earlier in the day, Zane & Co. were there filming for their tv show. Booooo! I did get a cool moment though, we saw them pull up to their tour buses and get out as we were heading to dinner. I had a restrained fan girl moment and just stared.

At the show, we were right in the front, at a two person table on the side. We had a semi-blocked view of a screen that was part of the show, but it was worth it not to be cramed into rows with everyone else. Before they started, I hit the merchandise table to buy his book. Turns out, if you bought a book there, you got it signed for free after the show AND a photo op with the guys. Trick is, it's their photographer, so I'll have to buy the pic when it's posted later today. It was fun to meet the guys in person, particularly because we were all drunk (including them), but not sloppy drunk.

Now, let me tell you about Steve McKenna.

This is Steve and a fan at Milwaukee's Bomb Shelter Bar. The beard is a new thing for the tour. Nobody can explain it.

Steve and Zane met in acting school in New York. They became drinking buddies. Zane went on to make tv shows, Steve bought a successful mini-mart. LOL! Steve would often make guest appearances on Three Sheets, as he is a drinking fool. Nobody out-drinks Steve McKenna. So Zane brings Steve McKenna on tour with them. It's a comedy tour, but they are also filming a series for HD Net about drinking across America. Steve's purpose really seems to drink a lot of beer and partake in local eating customs. In Madison, he and a crew member had a fried cheese curd eating contest. Steve won. Steve is on stage during the comedy show for about 15 minutes, where his main activity is slaming a giant mug of five beers.

I have decided Steve McKenna is the smartest man alive. He gets a buddy to take him across America, for the sole purpose of drinking and eating. Rock on, Steve McKenna.

Two for Wednesday?

Ok, so there's no clever rhyme.

1. I'm soooo excited to see Zane Lamprey this weekend! http://www.zanelamprey.com/
Turns out a Milwaukee bar I've been wanting to visit is having a pre-show bbq. It's a real working mans bar in the wrong part of town, but has the best beer selection in Milwaukee, plus a lot of cheapie beers and pickled products. Should be eventful.

2. I have to go to a retirement party tonight for one of Chris's coworkers. Probably more time than I want to spend with Chris's coworkers, but I like the guy and well, I love my husband, so I need to go. Unfortunately Chris has planned the party, so he'll need to stay for the whole thing. It's going to be a long night.