This is brilliant; imagine the original Bud *Wasssup* guys, but eight years later, mired in the problems of our times.

No matter your convictions, its pretty damn clever and well done.

This weekend, hubby heads up to the cabin to begin the process of shutting it down and winterizing it for the season. Its a melancholic task, but a necessary one. Last year, our only mistake was leaving linens on open shelves and on the beds. Mice took advantage of the free bedding and made little rodent condos in the folds of towels, blankets and sheets.

This year, the plan is to strip all bedding, wash and dry it, then fold it away, tucked into large plastic containers. Ditto with towels.

Canned foods are brought home so that they dont explode in frigid Wisconsin winter weather, and the water pump is drained and pulled from its cavernous lair. All pipes are drained and filled with RV antifreeze.

The van, lawnmower, and boat are drained and filled with a protective oil coating on their parts that are prone to corrosion.

Finally, a small floating de-icer is placed on top of the pond to allow gases from decaying vegetation and fish waste to escape and for some oxygen exchange to occur.

...three to go!

Although I consider myself something of a devotee of TLCs What Not To Wear with hosts Clinton Kelly and Stacy London, I wholly embarked upon retail purchases that would make those aforementioned stylists cringe.

Ever since I started my hormone treatments (and well, maybe even a bit before that...) I often feel bloated and puffy in the general umbilical spot (aka - the GUT.)

With these abdominal inconsistencies, I find myself unable to commit to a specific tailored waist size, as it changes, albeit subtley, through the month.

Thus, today I embarked upon a dangerous mission for a woman who formerly prided herself on her appearance. I tried on - and BOUGHT - elastic-waist jeans and pants.

Initially I ventured into this realm via Lands End and their stealthy use of elastic inserts in their comfortable (and still somewhat stylish) boot-cut 7-day corduroys. Yes, they are mom-jean rise (to the natural waist) but at least they are boot cut! With a nice sweater, they look - and feel - great on.

Today, feeling hungry for more flexibility to my waistband, I browsed their selection of stretchy jeans and pants. Sadly, those in my petite-length size were sold out until JANUARY!!

Since I had other errands to tend to, I made my way out the door, my dreams of elastic-waist pants all but faded away. Sure enough, I ended up at Walmart to complete my shopping list of items ranging from juice boxes and dog treats to large plastic storage totes.

And there they were. Dark-wash high-waist petite length jeans with FULL ELASTIC WAIST.

No, not jean leggings (I am not THAT bad!) but an actual jean with a cut somewhere between icky tapered leg and more subdued straight leg. They were never  going make my ass look bootylicious but DAMN they were comfy!  They only had one pair in my size,  but for a mere $9 I figured *why not?*

I fear I will never be able to break myself of the comfort level of this quasi-slovenly, certainly-frumpy jean. I hope by wearing these in public, I will not be summoned to on-air scrutiny and  humiliation vis-a-vis the 360-degree mirror!

We had a wonderful time at the NU-Purdue game at Ryan Field on a sunny day in beautiful Evanston, Illinois.

NU played well and won by a wide margin. But unlike some bigger schools, where football players are of a seemingly higher caste than the average student, NU players know - and act - like the student athletes they are.

Case in point: after a winning game, the team joins the students and the band in the stands to sing the school fight song, Go, U Northwestern.

To me this seems like something from the days of old...I am so proud that these young men truly see themselves not as revered superstars but as friends with the rest of the campus.

This weekend, my sister, her husband and two kids are flying into town to attend Northwestern homecoming and her 10th college reunion (scary thing is my 20th reunion is in a mere 3 years away!)

Tomorrow we will be joining her family for a football game: NU vs. Purdue. It should be a lovely, crisp fall day - ideal football weather.

But more than the game, by my best recollection (from about 9 years ago) at the stadium are vendors with these funny contraptions that make the best little homemade donuts and when they come out of the fat, they are liberally sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. Those and a bit of hot cider at a football game is just the BEST way to celebrate Autumn! Mmmmm!

In the recent past, I was not much of a tv-watcher. Lately I have found myself fascinated (or more often, annoyed) at the talking heads babbling about the upcoming election.

Last night, I was looking forward to the in-depth documentary on McCain and Obama on PBS by Frontline. Just as I settled in to watch it, I got a call...

...from my congressman! He was doing one of his telephone town hall meetings. So I decided to mute the tv and listen in. After all, I DO have one of his yard signs on my front lawn and am a *fan* of his via facebook.

The way the call works is you are in listen-only mode unless you press O and then you are put in a queue to ask a question directly to the congressman. I pressed O and then listened to him discuss recent projects he has been working on for our district. Then, the telephone system told me I was up to ask a question. Ack! First question from me!

Originally, I had a question about the federal bailout, but Rep. Kirk pretty much discussed this at length in his opening remarks. So I asked a question about crime. Specifically:

I have read in the the paper, week after week, an increase in burglaries and auto theft in our area. Are there any pieces of legistation you or your colleagues are working on to address these public safety issues.

He jumped in and talked about a measure to dismantle gang activity in West Waukegan and other parts of Lake County. Now, while this is a good thing, it really does not affect my community directly, so I noted that in my reply:

I am glad to hear about this as violent offenders do not belong in our communities. But please, keep on the back-burner, the issue of rising thefts, which affect consumers not only if they are victims of the crime, but all of us who pay when insurance premiums rise as a result in rising crime rates.

And then, as he began to speak again, I hung up! Not because I was disinterested, but because the show on tv looked like it was getting to the meat-and-potatoes of the respective stories. I felt badly about it, and then the phone rang again! This time it was my sister, calling to make plans for the weekend. So I missed most of the show, anyway.

Last night, I had a semi-nightmare where for some reason I was charged with driving my daughter, the congressman and his wife around Chicago in the snow; I kept skidding the tires and our vehicle flew all over the place! I am guessing it was some lingering guilt from having my say and then rudely leaving the conversation in the town hall.

But tonight I face a similar dilemma, but seemingly WORSE:

Shall I watch the debate, the Phillies game or the season finale of Project Runway?!?!

(my daughter is gunning for Project Runway; I have a feeling I will be a remote control jockey all night!)

Thank you, Chase, Pat and Pedro, for turning my attention away from the chattering infotainers babbling about the financial crisis and upcoming election. Thank you, Joe, Ryan, and Jayson for getting me excited and hopeful about what comes next. Thank you, Shane and Matt, and the rest of the crew, for not crumbling under pressure.

One more game, guys.Just one more game and you will make it!

Go Phillies!!!!!

How often are you supposed to change the sheets on the bed? I have never had a set expiration date on the freshness factor of my linens, and usually strip the bed when there is an accumulation of pet hair (yes, they sleep in bed with us) and/or my husband's pillowcases seem sweaty (he and my daughter both perspire profusely at the forehead once they fall asleep. I have no idea why they have this trait.)

I am not talking weeks on end without fresh bed linens; but maybe one week here, 10 days and a spritz of lavender water there...its totally random. I just thought of this because I decided, for no particular reason, to change the sheets and realized I am not sure if they are *due* or not...

Today, as I picked up my 8-yr old from a birthday party, I asked the party-giver*s mom if the now-nine year old could go to the movies with me and my daughter tomorrow on their day off. When the girl*s 13-year-old 7th grader brother heard that we were seeing Beverly Hills Chihuahua (yeah, really. ugh!) he jumped in my face and asked me, *Oh, can I come too?!*

What was I going to say? No?! Ugh. So now instead of suffering through the film with the two giggly girls, I also have a goobery teenager tagging along who will likely be harassing the girls as siblings often do.

As Frank Costanza said, *Serenity Now, Serenity now!*