Reason #18

I have a dog. I have a guy's dog. My black Labrador retriever would be at home in any frat house. She's eight months old which means she's a little insane, but she'll calm down. And not two miles from my house is a scenic hilly 15 acre fenced dog park where I walk her around. There's always a breeze blowing, and you look out over corn fields and prairie plants and trees. Walking in the Wisconsin countryside with a breeze in your face and a dog leaping through the tall grass, really it's wonderful.

If Mr. Butler wanted to visit, I'd let him come with me to walk my dog. She'd probably give him a big sloppy kiss. She's like that.

This is Nyx at 3 months.

Reason #19

Tonight I enjoyed an evening of drinks and noshes on my front porch with three of my closest friends. I couldn't find a babysitter for a night out with the ladies so I begged them to come to my house. We put my kids in front of the TV with a movie and enjoyed a lovely evening. As the sun set and the crickets started trilling we made good use of the dimmer switch on the porch. It gave our spinach dip/champagne grapes/shiraz/Capital Brewery evening just the right ambiance.

So if Mr. Butler visits during Wisconsin's two months of good weather, I'd be happy to share my terrific dimmer switch lit porch with him as well.



Image taken by Perry Hagopian in 2008 stolen from GB GALS website gallery....

Reason #20

I'm well traveled. Not in that way! Really people, pull your mind out of the gutter. I mean I have traveled out of my state, out of the Midwest, and out of my country. I've found myself on a bus near midnight whose driver didn't speak English and who had reached the end of his route (unbeknowse to me until that moment) and convinced him to drive me back into town without speaking his language. Hello, by being nice of course! Haven't you been paying attention during this blog?!

I've been lucky to have parents who love to travel, who gave me the same desire to see places and to get into situations that challenged me, at least a little. Traveling has given me confidence in my own abilities and helped me realize how much of what we assume is 'the right way' is really just 'our way' of doing things.

So yes, I would like to hope I'm not too provincial, and yet, I haven't been to Scotland. So if Mr. Butler stops by I imagine I could appreciate his slightly different world view while still being really interested to hear his stories of Scotland. (A place I hope to visit in the future.)

Image stolen from Q Online Gifts website....

Reason #21

My Mom and brother like to play Vingt-Et-Un. Well actually my brother prefers Texas Hold 'Em and my mom's preferred game is Black Jack (apparently Vingt-Et-Un has some specific rules that differ from our American Black Jack, but how could I resist the tie in with the title:)

You may say, "Good for them, what does this have to do with Gerard Butler." But any good hostess must think about how to entertain her guests. If Mr. Butler decided to come over for a visit, he might enjoy a good game of cards. Stakes are low at our house but enjoyment runs high. Just one more reason my house is the place to be.

[Can I admit this blog is way harder than I expected.]

Image stolen from All Slots Casino/History of Black Jack....

Belated Reason #22

I don't have a maid. This might at first seem like a negative. But while I know from experience that having a maid definitely keeps the average cleanliness level of one's house higher, when I finally do get around to cleaning, my house is really clean. And I'm going to take a wild guess and say that if Mr. Butler gave me more than a few hours notice of his visit, I would probably clean the house for him.

So if Mr. Butler visits, my house would be really clean. At least by my standards. :)

Image stolen from Mary and Bob's Journal.....

Reason #23

Madison is a great place to visit. It's friendly (it's in the Midwest, hello!) it's surrounded by five lakes. It's a college town and the student union terrace is right on Lake Mendota. The capital building is really quite impressive, and it has a nice urbanish downtown with a pedestrian shopping/coffee shop/bars street (State St.).

I've heard there are some cool bars with nightlife (Glockenspiel etc) and cultural arts, whether you're looking for grungy music (High Noon Saloon) or more rarefied fare (Overture Center for the Arts). See reason #24 for why I don't know this first hand.

Middleton may have been voted 4th Best Place to Live but it only gets on the list because it's next to Madison. (Oh, I'm gonna get in trouble for that!)

Reason #24

Based on what I've seen of Mr. Butler's interaction with children on screen, (always a reliable source of information) he needs some time with kids to become more natural with them. I have two.

In addition, they are entertaining and cute, if you don't have to live with them. Of course, if Mr. Butler wanted to live with them, that could be arranged.

Picture stolen from Rantings of a Creole Princess.