weekending: sub-zero edition

It's these times of the year, when the temperature plummets beyond any reasonable number, that this Accidental Wisconsinite wonders why she is here. The siren's call of my friends to the temperate climes of San Francisco always gets a little louder when I feel like my face is about to fall off when I step outside.

Too bad I love my job and my Midwestern friends. A lot. Oh, yes, and Wisconsin. Because when it's not bitter, bitter cold, it's a fantastic place.

That said, it's important to have hermit-checks here in the winter. Last night I was g-chatting with a friend from Portland who asked why I was in on a Friday night. I explained to her the weather situation. But I HAD been out, with some work folk at the City Lounge in Cudahy. Right, Cudahy, you read that correctly. The holiday gathering they had planned was really fun and lovely and the drinks were cheap. But yes, I was DEFINITELY in Cudahy.  (For you non-Wisconsinites, there's probably not a coincidence that Cudahy rhymes with "yah-der-hay.")

Today I will most certainly be keeping busy. My friends and I will be baking up a storm at my pal Sara's house out in Tosa (yes, I'm a snob about the 'burbs, and this one is much more palatable than last night's stop).  It's going to be a cookie fest, which means I need to hustle and print my snickerdoodle recipe (and bag the ingredients) post-haste.

Thanks to my brother Kevin for leaving the winning cookie in the comments! Mom, if you had wanted your cookie to win, you're going to have to learn to use that comment box!

Hopefully I have time after Cookie Fest to swing by the Urban Ecology Center for the Our Milwaukee Buy Local Fair to peruse some local gifties and keep on my holiday goal. If I do make it up there I'll try and swing through Atomic Records to grieve (as others have certainly been doing).

Tonight I'll be meeting up with some friends at Fanatics (a new stop for me event though it's been open forever) to watch the Marquette vs. Madison game. This year there's even big blocks of cheese placed on this game, not just alumni pride. Contrary to Badger fans who have an ungodly hatred of all thing Marquette, I actually DO cheer for Bucky when they're not playing my team. That said, I look forward to the Golden Eagles crushing UW this evening.

Tomorrow I have an open calendar, so I'm going to try and catch up on some of the "to do" activities that have been piling up for me lately. I still have to make Act/React at the Milwaukee Art Musuem and I also have two passes to the Eisner Museum that expire at the end of the month. Provided it's not too awful outside, Becks and I will be hitting that up.

What are your weekend plans?