It’s mid November and 20 degrees out…so I think it’s time for a fall recap. Exciting!

Here’s some camping we did up north…

Boardwalk

Reflection

Beach art

Then I adopted a new best friend.

Pippin!

She likes cuddling, stalking, and playing in water.

My Halloween costume kicked ass.

Behold, my Robot function buttons

RoboDrunk

For the past 12 weeks I’ve been obsessed with election coverage. I mean, I’ve been obsessed with election coverage since 2007, but the past few months have been tough. Anxiety, anger, Alaska. Women’s “health” is one too, but I like alliteration. Anyhoo, I’ve been in a blissful, peaceful ObamaComa this past week. It’s so nice. I almost don’t hate Republicans right now. I…almost…feel sorry for them! But no, I blame Republicans for Proposition 8, so I can’t feel sorry for them since their bigoted agenda still has legs. Fuck off, Republicans! You LOST!

LOSERS!

So, besides the fact that I’m super lazy and bad at blogging, the reason I have not mentioned anything political on my blog is because the McCain-Palin ticket (or the PALIN-McCain ticket, as Sarah would say) fills me with so much rage that I can barely form a coherent thought. Overlooking the relatively minor things:

• she just got a passport last year
• the ability to see Russia from one of Alaska’s islands does NOT give you foreign policy experience
• teaching abstinence and creationism in schools in frigging STUPID
• she doesn’t understand how our economy works
• McCain’s peeps barely trust her to speak solo
• her claims of “reform” aren’t really that great
• many other things but I’m tired and there people out there who are much smarter than I am

What really gets my goat is how her vagina gets in the way of everything. Does McCain think that American women so want to see a woman in office that we’d elect ANYONE?? No, sir, we’re not looking for just any warm female body to hang out in the Oval Office. We need some frigging qualifications so please stop fucking patronizing us.

Secondly: can we PLEASE stop martyring mothers? Mothers are awesome. My mom is cool. My friends will make kickass mothers. If I decide to ever have children, I’ll be one sweet mother. However, none of the aforementioned people, myself included, are qualified to be VP of the goddamned United States of America based on their status of Good Mom. (Sorry, Mom.) Choosing to have lots of kids, and choosing to have children with disabilities, and choosing to let your 17 year old “choose” (sorry, don’t buy it for one minute) to have a child doesn’t make you qualified for VP. Also, being a woman, a mother, and a working woman/mother does NOT automatically make you a feminist!! There are things that are attached to that label. In my lowly opinion, supporting choice and not being a beauty queen are a few of the things that make one a feminist.

Side note: shooting a gun also does not make one qualified for VP.

I’ve had a bit more wine now and, as a result, have completely lost my tangent. Dang. Anyhoo, long story short, I’m so very tired of the election. I might vote for Nader. Hahah, no, I wouldn’t vote for that megalomaniac prick. But I might write-in the cast of Entourage, which I’m obsessed with. Thanks Eric! And speaking of my brother, here are some New Mexico pics. Love you bro!!

Cabezon Peak!

The Family Banner, at the highest point we climbed to

Our nemesis, from a distance

Hot Wisconsin sun burns my Irish-Norwegian skin and makes me grumpy. Therefore, I’ve been hiding in my apartment. I may or may not be a vampire. Anyhoo, I’ve been doing stuff, like learning to rock climb, quitting my second job (eee!), and desperately trying to finish Skinny Legs & All (Tom Robbins) befor September’s bookclub.

Here are some Kentucky animals.

Kentucky was sweet. There were big trees and lots of animals and butter-drenched food. It was a grand time. Here are some random pics from the road.

Vandalism, Kentucky-style

Best Value Inn, where we stayed our first night

The end of town

Creepy billboard that was everywhere

Confederates!

That really makes me think. Thanks Funeral Home!

Shaun and I are going on vacation next week. We need an adventure, so we’re driving to Mammoth Cave. We’re gonna camp and possible go spelunking. Even though I’m afraid of caves. Scary Gollum-like creatures live in caves. Damn, have you ever seen The Descent? However, I’m willing to spelunk regardless, because it would be a good experience. We’re also going to backpack for a few days in Clifty Wilderness, which is in Kentucky too. I believe it’s called Clifty because there are many cliffs there. Which is exactly what I’d name a cliff-filled wilderness. I’m original and clever.

To practice for our backpacking trip (and because we really wanted to camp), we went to a nearby campground last week. It was a mid-week excursion, so we met up when I was done with work. We made a killer campfire with NO lighter fluid and only a few matches. (5, right?)

Impressed?

Then we set up the tent:

And we made some tuna/pasta stuff for dinner with lots (at least from my end) of peanut butter Saltines.

I was not afraid of small rodents while we were sleeping in the tent (seriously, EVERYTHING scares me in a tent–it’s embarrassing because I’ve spent lots of nights in tents). I was, however, afraid of the massive thunder/lightning storms that kept rolling thru. Shaun wasn’t afraid. Cause he’s a Man. Or he underestimates the wrath of Mother Nature. That bitch keeps me on my toes.

I think though, that we’ll rule Clifty Wilderness with an iron fist. Bring it on!

I went grocery shopping tonight to start my $100 grocery budget experiment. I did end up going to Woodman’s. It’s just so much cheaper than anywhere else. So, for $33, I bought the following:

bag of apples, bag of potatoes, 2 big cans of pumpkin (I put this in my oatmeal and baked goods n stuff), natural pb, 2 cans of OJ, carton of almond milk, Ezekiel hamburger buns, grapes, strawberries, bananas, carrots, stevia (natural, plant-derived, calorie-free sweetener), and….the highlight…bomb pops!

Yeah, they’re sugar free. My whole “no artificial sweetener” thing has been a trying experience. But I’m working on it!

I’m feeling good about this. To be honest, I’m going to add about $5 onto my grocery tally. I bought a frozen pizza for Shaun and some more popsicles the other day. I left the popsicles at Shaun’s though, which is why I needed more. I like to leave a trail of popsicles wherever I go. I have $62 left and I shouldn’t need to go shopping again for 2 weeks.

In other thrifty food news, I’m very excited to have made a tasty meal out of leftovers. I’ve been eating black beans with brown rice for lunch a lot. It bores me to tears. The only way I can stand it is by dumping tons of super hot salsa on it. Anyway, I couldn’t bring myself to eat it again today. So this morning, I threw it in the food processor with some tomato paste, basil, and leftover roasted red pepper dip. Formed into patties and fried–bam! Black bean burgers! At work, I nuked the burger and put it on an Ezekiel bun with tapenade. Okay, and ketchup too. I’m not Classy. Yay for cheap food!

I watched Eagle Vs. Shark with my family recently. It’s New Zealander-ese, so instead of saying sex they say six. New Zealanders are also quirky, at least according to this movie. Sort of like Napoleon Dynamite but about adults. Adults who say six. Anyway, the movie stars Jermaine Clements as Jarrod and Loren someoneorother as Lily. Jermaine is of Flight of the Conchords fame. Incidentally, the director of EvS also directed several Conchords episodes. (New Zealanders are also close-knit and know everyone who lives in the country.) I had to IMDB Loren–turns out she’s starred in a few Xena Warrior Princess episodes. That in itself is pretty awesome, in my opinion.

So Lily is an awkward woman who works at a fast food joint and lives with her brother. She is in love with Jerrod, who also works at the mall and eats every day at the fast food place. Jerrod sports an awesome mullet, by the way. Lily crashes Jerrod’s animal party, where she attracts his attention by kicking ass at some hand-on-hand combat video game. Six and love ensue, of course, and Lily finds herself being drawn into Jerrod’s bizarre world.

Lily accompanies Jerrod to his hometown, where he’s challenged his high school tormentor to a fight. She and Jerrod sleep outside in a tent at his sister’s house, since his brother-in-law, nephew, father, and daughter also live there and all the bedrooms are occupied. Jarrod trains for his fight while Lily gets to know his family.

There’s love, heartbreak, matching track suits, and a wheelchair fight involving the crabwalk as a getaway move. What’s not to like?

Here’s a trailer.