To Soap Up or Not?

There are two restrooms at the Sucre office/kitchen/shipping department that on any given day around 25 people share. The majority of these 25 are women, who I would wager are more likely to wash their hands post usage. However, in case any employee is unsure as to whether they should soap up or not, this bathroom (which is the size of a broom closet) reminds them in three different locations to do so! Once on the mirror, once on the door, and once on the wall! I think we got the message!

(This picture is taken looking into the mirror, hence two of the signs look backward)

Bi-Polar Weather

Location: New Orleans, Louisiana

Thursday, November 25, 2010 (Thanksgiving): 80 degrees and sunny (AC on)

Friday, November 26, 2010 (Black Friday): 50 degrees and rainy (heat on)

What the heck?!?!

Gobble Gobble Gobble!

On this, the day our beloved country designates as one to give thanks, I wanted to mention a few things that I am grateful for in my life. This past year has been kind of like a roller coaster and I am not sure I would have survived the ride without my family and friends. I am thankful for all of the support I have received from those who care about me as I have embarked on new adventures. I am thankful for all of the people I have met since moving and for all of the fun times we have shared thus far. Even though I don’t love it every day, I am thankful I have a job to go to since I have not won the lottery yet. And for good measure, I would like to say that I am thankful that the Saints have played a decent season (they have won 7 and lost 3); as it would be hard to get excited about watching the games if they got slaughtered each week!

To prepare for the holiday, Brie and I have been baking up a storm! We made a Chocolate Decadence Cake, an Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie, and a Blackberry Cobbler! Shortly we will be heading off to her Aunt Barbara's house to enjoy some grub and watch the Saints beat the Cowboys!!

Words For Thought...

There are very few things in this world that you can rely on Nick to do consistently. He always goes to his Judo class every Tuesday & Thursday night religiously, he always asks how your day was at work when he sees you (and actually listens to your response!) and he always watches the PBS Newshour on Friday evenings at 6:00 p.m.

Basically the show is a few older smart folks sitting around debating current economic and political topics. Sometimes I will sit and watch it with him (it can be funny to see him get fired up about their discussions). Tonight there was a gentleman named Mark Shields talking about tax increases and he made a comment that made Nick chuckle and made me think. To paraphrase, Mr. Shields said "It's the old line about everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die." How true is that? In the context of taxes I believe he means that everybody wants the benefits that come from the government increasing taxes, but no one wants to pay more!

I am not sure why, but this has stuck with me this evening and made me think about how many times in life we want a result but are not willing to go through the process to make it happen. So, there is something to think about! Oh, and TGIF :)

Morning Glory

Hmmm... most folks know that I am a HUGE Rachel McAdams fan. She is beautiful and talented and seemingly sweet (I don't actually know her, but she plays nice characters!) However, I don't know about her latest film. Brie, AV and I went to see Morning Glory the other night. Twas a romantic comedy about Ms. McAdams playing a television news show producer who lands a job on a morning show that is about to be cancelled. Diane Keaton plays a slightly psychotic news anchor, and Harrison Ford plays a news caster who feels like this morning show is beneath him given his prior career. There is a side love story between Rachel and Patrick Wilson, but overall I just did not like the movie. Sad really. I wouldn't want to own this on DVD and if you have seen my collection, that is saying a lot.



But to switch this post to a more positive spot, here is a list of my top five Rachel McAdams films!!

1. The Notebook
2. Mean Girls
3. The Family Stone
4. The Time Traveler's Wife
5. Wedding Crashers

Poboys For Everyone!!

The Oak Street Poboy Festival took place on Sunday and while the weather was slightly overcast, it was an awesome day! Brie and I had intentions of taking the street car to the festival, however, when we started walking we realized that every car was full! So, we trekked the two miles by foot. This would not have been so bad if I hadn't been wearing a pair of flip flops that gives me blisters if I wear them too long :'(

*Waiting for the street car*

Despite my pitiful feet, we made it to the festival and met up with AV. There were three stages set up along Oak Street featuring some cool local music. Johnny Sketch was our first stop! (I have mentioned him/his band before; love them!)

*Mr. Sketch himself in the middle*

By the time we got there AV was already three poboys in, so Brie and I had some catching up to do! There were numerous vendors selling different kinds of poboys but Emeril's Delmonico caught my eye. I got the confit pork cheek with cole-slaw poboy...delicious!!! I also grabbed a cupcake from a booth of high schoolers. It was rainbow inside and super cute :)

*Me, AV & Brie*

Other bands we got to hear include John Cleary, Papa Grows Funk and Rebirth Brass Band. The day definitely included a lot of walking (from stage to stage, and to acquire more food!) but was a great time! AV enjoyed a total of six poboys by the end of the day; us gals only managed two apiece.

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*Brie snapped this picture of my nasty blistered feet! And no, that is neither my cup, nor cigarette butt!*

Whitney Comes to Town

I had my first official friend-visit since moving down South. Whitney arrived in the Big Easy Saturday evening and we wasted no time getting into the groove of the city! My go-to dinner spot is the Rum House, so that is where Brie, Whitney and I headed! After dinner and settling in we headed out to Joe’s followed by F&M’s (or Happenings, or F&A’s…whatever!)

*Photo booth pictures are the best*

Sunday we went to Lucy’s with Brie & AV to watch the Saints beat the snot out of the Panthers! (Woo hoo!!) That night we had dinner out with Eddie at Fresco’s.

Monday we wandered around the French Quarter, ate beignets, had a drink at the Chart Room, and went to Parkway for po-boys! That night we ate dinner with Jon and Andrew then went to dba on Frenchman to hear Glen David Andrews.

Tuesday we popped into Sucre to get some sweets and bummed around (somehow got sucked into watching Millionaire Matchmaker!)

*Pumpkin Dobash--yum*

That evening we went on a Ghost & Vampire Tour in the French Quarter (thank you Groupon for the awesome deal!). While I was not spooked by the stories the guide told, it was fun, and he pointed out where Brangelina live when they are in town!


Wednesday our fun came to an end as Ms. Marker had to return to VA. I am super glad she was able to come down and perhaps a return trip for Mardi Gras in the works!!

Festive Saturday

If it is one thing that I have learned about New Orleans, it is that they have a festival for EVERYTHING!! This past Saturday Brie and I hit up two; the Coffee Festival on Freret Street and the Mirliton Festival down in Bywater. While I did not partake in any coffee, I enjoyed meandering through the craft booths and listening to the live music. The weather was exceptionally nice and perfect for outdoor fun. Once we had our fill of festival #1, we drove to the festival #2 for some lunch. I did not really know what a mirliton was, but I quickly discovered that it is a delicious green squash type vegetable. There were numerous different vendors serving a variety of dishes containing them. I had a seafood stuffed mirliton that was super yummy! We met AV at this festival and were able to enjoy the music of Gal Holiday (whom I have seen before and blogged about).

Stuffed mirliton was kind of like a stuffed pepper.

On our way out we grabbed Chocolate Sea Salt popsicles for the road. Little did we know that those popsicle sticks were going to be rigged together using hair ties once we reached the parking lot and realized that I had locked my keys in my car! Fortunately I had cracked the windows due to the gorgeous weather and could see my keys lying in the floor board. We had been attempting to push the unlock button for a few minutes when an older gentleman came up to us and offered to help. He asked me to hold his beer while he assessed the situation. *Note that this was 3:30 in the afternoon in a public parking lot with people wandering all around, so while it may sound sketchy, there was no real danger to be seen.* His hat said that he was a Coast Guard Veteran and I would guess he was in his mid-70’s. Luckily this man had a fishing pole with him and after about 15 minutes of trying, he was able to pull my keys up to the window where I could grab them! Brie and I thanked him profusely and he scurried off rather quickly. Who says folks don’t help each other out anymore? I sure am glad he was willing to take the time to lend a hand!

This coming Sunday is the Po-Boy Festival that I am looking forward to! I have been promised good music and good food!

Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

This past Saturday, October 30th, the Mall in Washington D.C. hosted Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. Of course I was not able to attend this historic event, but I did manage to catch about 75% of it on TV. While Stewart and Colbert are comedians by trade (each have a show on Comedy Central that pokes fun at the news and current events), and the rally was all in good fun, the overall message was an excellent one. Here is an excerpt from Stewart's speech that I really appreciated:

"... This was not a rally to ridicule people of faith, or people of activism, or look down our noses at the heartland, or passionate argument, or to suggest that times are not difficult and that we have nothing to fear. They are, and we do.

But we live now in hard times, not end times. And we can have animus, and not be enemies. But unfortunately, one of our main tools in delineating the two broke. The country’s 24-hour politico–pundit' perpetual panic "conflictinator" did not cause our problems, but its existence makes solving them that much harder. The press can hold its magnifying glass up to our problems, bringing them into focus, illuminating issues heretofore unseen. Or they can use that magnifying glass to light ants on fire, and then perhaps host a week of shows on the "dangerous, unexpected flaming-ants epidemic!" If we amplify everything, we hear nothing.

There are terrorists, and racists, and Stalinists, and theocrats, but those are titles that must be earned! You must have the resume! Not being able to distinguish between real racists and Tea Party-ers, or real bigots and Juan Williams or Rick Sanchez is an insult – not only to those people, but to the racists themselves, who have put in the exhausting effort it takes to hate. Just as the inability to distinguish terrorists from Muslims makes us less safe, not more.

... [Gestures across the Mall and toward the Capitol.] Americans don’t live here or on cable TV. Where we live, our values and principles form the foundation that sustains us while we get things done – not the barriers that prevent us from getting things done. Most Americans don’t live their lives solely as Democrats, Republicans, liberals or conservatives. Americans live their lives more as people that are just a little bit late for something they have to do. Often something they do not want to do. But they do it. Impossible things, every day, that are only made possible through the little, reasonable compromises we all make.

... We know, instinctively, as a people, that if we are to get through the darkness and back into the light, we have to work together. And the truth is, there will always be darkness. And sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t the Promised Land. Sometimes, it’s just New Jersey."

(If anyone is interested, you can watch the speech on Youtube.) I sincerely hope that their rally made people who attended and watched it reflect on our country and where we, as Americans stand.

Here is a link to a fun song Jon & Stephen sang together entitled "I'm More American Than You". I found it rather catchy and entertaining!

http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=363859&title=jon-and-stephen-im-more

How It Is

--The Saints finally showed up to their own game and beat the Steelers last night! Personally I think their victory could be attributed to their decision to wear their black uniforms. Sexy.

--The Giants won the World Series!!! Tim Lincecum got to pitch eight innings allowing only one run! Great game!

--After dedicating the month of October to an intense Dexter marathon, I have finally caught up and can now wait with anticipation for Sunday nights to roll around. Michael C. Hall is one hot serial killer!

--I am eargly awaiting the arrival of one Ms. Whitney L. Marker on Saturday! While I will be missing my traditional girl's weekend in Williamsburg with mom, Nita & Judy, I will be having my own girl's weekend in the Big Easy :)

--As the shopping trip tradition has ended for me, so has the see-the-newest-Saw-movie-on-Halloween tradition. For the past six years I have gone to see the latest Saw installment on Halloween, but this year I didn't make it out. They say it is the "final" Saw, but the fact that it was in 3-D detered me. Perhaps I will catch it some day.

--Still reporting to Sucre Monday-Friday. Getting the hang of things I reckon.

--And that folks is what I know :)