December 11th, 2008
Images from 1 of the 7 snowfalls in SNo-La history
photo courtesy of DO'B and Bean
This is a streetcar and NOT a trolley, photo courtesy of DO'B and Bean
Looks fun, let's play two, photo courtesy of DO'B and Bean
December 11th, 2008
Wanna White Christmas? Move to New Orleans
I moved here to avoid cold. Just for the record.
So imagine my surprise when I woke up and didn’t bother looking outside or watching the news for weather, and finding this:
That is my car, from my front door
The funny thing that is that I woke up this morning and got all the way ready to go and walk out the door but then thought, as I looked down at my open-toed heels, that maybe open-toed wasn’t quite the way to go, since, you know, it might still be wet from yesterday.
Geez, good thing I changed!
Who says that palm trees are tropical?
Naturally, once I arrived at work, some of us walked out to the baseball field to take pictures. I couldn’t really feel my fingers at this point so I snapped and ran. Well, walked, since I was in heels and didn’t want to sleep on the snow.
Yep, we play baseball on here
Props to Anne, Patrick and Tommy for their snowman efforts. This is a seriously snowman. Not just a “3-inch, pile up every ounce of snow you can find to attempt to make a snowman” snowman, but this guy is legit!
This snowman is actually about my height
I invite others to send me their snow pics and I will post them on the blog later. Bean, this means you.
December 9th, 2008
The beauty of house shoes
I have had the same slippers for many years. They are (were?) the white fuzzy slip-on kind, and they were from GAP so they were super comfy and soft, until I wore them so often that I squished the poof out of them. But I never wore them outside. So if I had to take the garbage out, I took the slippers off and changed to something I could wear outside, in an effort to keep my white slippers clean. It didn’t help.
I figured it was time to get some new ones and I had been eyeballing some Uggs-meets-slippers that I saw at Target. Because where else would I shop?
Last night I finally broke down and bought them. And they have not left my feet since. They are so warm and fuzzy and soft. And they have thick soles so I can wear them to hike to the dumpster because, oh that’s right. The dumpster is at the opposite end of the complex from me. Awesome.
I seriously thought about bringing them to work and changing into them once my feet were safely tucked behind my desk where my feet are not visible. The first thing I did when I got home tonight was put them on. They are fabulous.
Best $16.99 I ever spent.
December 7th, 2008
Who dat?
I went to my first Saints game today and got to see the Saints win 29-25 in the Superdome! And had a total blast. It’s safe to say that I never had followed an NFL team religiously before but people in the boot take their New Orleans Saints football very seriously, so I donned a black t-shirt with a gold fleur-de-lis that I had received from my former boss at the winery. Since B-Dub, as he shall be called, grew up in New Orleans, he knew what I needed to fit in!
I had been given a couple tickets so I asked My Favorite Florida Gator Fan to come with. He agreed and we arrived at the Dome around 11am for a noon kickoff. As we parked (kudos to my favorite Gator Fan for knowing where to park for free a coo, I think, for a major sporting event, such as the Saints game) we passed all the fellow Saints fans who were enjoying massive amounts of food. I was immediately impressed with the tailgating efforts. I have learned that they take food very seriously as well. And I can appreciate that.
So it was no surprise that we headed to find something to eat once we were inside. And find food we did. We each indulged in a 20-pound (ok, maybe not really 20 pounds but it was definitely bioengineer-sized) baked potato that came complete with the following toppings:
butter
sour cream
cheese
chives
bacon bits
shredded brisket and topped with bbq sauce
It was also delicious-flavored.
Following stuffing myself to capacity, we headed to our seats which were in the end zone on the first level and pretty darn good. Being in row 36, we didn’t have to worry about the people behind us and I sat next to the cutest little old lady who was the best fan. She was screaming right along with everyone else.
The Saints offense from our seats
She also made me giggle when she announced that she considered the man who dresses up and dances at the end of the 3rd quarter as ‘ugly’ which I couldn’t really contest since he was dressed as Santa from the waist up and a ‘SaintsSation’ cheerleader with a metallic gold cheerleader skirt from the waist down. She did have a point, he was not attractive in the skirt but he did have some sweet moves!
At the end of the 3rd quarter this guy dresses up and shakes what his momma gave him-it is hilarious and slightly alarming
This cute little old Saints fan had also never seen a two-point conversion attempt before and was very nervous that the failed attempt meant the Saints would lose all the points scored during the drive. I hope my husband takes me on dates to football games when I’m old(er).
After the failed PAT attempt, the Saints were only up 22-17 towards the beginning of the fourth quarter. Naturally, the Falcons scored because Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan had all the time in the world and his pick of receivers. Then they did convert the 2-point PAT so they were up 25-22 with 8 minutes or so left. Some of the energy was sucked right out of the Dome after that. (Although, unfortunately for my favorite Gator fan, the loud and slightly intoxicated girl next to him didn’t miss a beat and continued to vocalize her support for ‘her boys’.)
But lucky for us and by us, I mean the Saints and their fans Reggie Bush is a stud and he returned the kickoff right into the redzone and the Saints were about 15 yards out. They put it in the end zone on the drive and the PAT kick was good– thus, the final 29-25.
It was at this point that I heard the following:
Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?
Who dat? (Who dat)
Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?
Who dat? (Who dat)
Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?
Who dat? (Who dat)
Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?
If you have never heard this, it sounds a little something like:
It was such a good time. I just kept smiling the whole time, enjoying the whole afternoon. And it was also kinda neat not to freeze like one might at Candlestick. I’m just sayin… But it truly was a fun atmosphere…I enjoyed all my company and I can’t wait to go back!
My favorite Gator fan and me. See that tie? I have been told that those are the colors of champions
Other items of note: during the excitement of the 4th quarter drive, someone managed to steal the purse of the lady sitting on the other side of the cute older couple. Who does that? I mean honestly. We’re all there, having an enjoyable time, relishing in the fact that the Saints offense was carrying the load and some jerkface reaches under the seat in front of him and takes a purse, knowing no one will see since they are excited that the Saints scored. That is some seriously bad karma.
I, on the other hand, am no longer feeling like a jinx at the Superdome, since today was the first win I had seen there. Woot woot!
December 6th, 2008
Life’s Little Instruction Book meets my blog
I had this daily calendar a few years ago–you know, the ones where you’re supposed to tear off a page each day but in reality you forget and wind up tearing off 4 pages at a time to keep up–and there were some solid quotes that I pulled off on various days. I saved my favorites and tacked them up on a cork board I had in my apartment. Strewn between old photos and good memories were these little tidbits of advice and things to remember.
While dismantling the Nook before I moved to the boot, I came across all these quotes. I didn’t want to forget them, but in all honesty, I was trying to limit the number of things that make this 2000-mile move and these slips of paper didn’t make the cut. But I did think to myself, ‘self, the best way to keep these handy is via your blog’ so I figure I will just throw them out into the blogosphere for safe keeping (memories frozen in time, people!)
- Never get romantically involved with someone you love more than you trust
- Remember, all progress is uphill
- Be sweeter to those you love
- Do a better job of raising your kids than you do anything else
- Don’t quit when you’re tired; quit when you’ve won
- Don’t laugh laugh at anyone with a Crock-Pot; they know what they are doing I could not agree with this one more
- Marry someone whose dreams match yours
- Eat something delicious every day ok, if you say so
- Don’t confuse tolerance with acceptance
- Judge relationships by the number of smiles shared, not the number of tears shed
- Don’t let good friends drift out of your life thanks to Facebook, I doubt this will be a problem
- Do things before you’re told to
- Remember that a shortcut is a route that never leads to excellence
- Be the person everyone wants to sit next to
- Never hesitate to ask for directions, a recipe or a hug
- Remember that you’ll seldom play better than you practice
- Be able to explain baseball’s infield fly rule to a six-year-old check this one off the list!
- Remember that all relationships are works in progress
- Follow through on all promises and commitments I promise to follow through and eat something delicious every day
- Remember that the wheels of success are greased with midnight oil
- It is the fool who does not return to the place of his last happiness this one I actually took from that pilot episode of that ABC show ‘October Road’. But I like it nonetheless.
And there you have it, CL’s rules to live by.