The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I have gone to work for 14 days straight thus far (totaling 142 hours) and am thinking that my next day off will be December 23rd (if true = 25 days) when I get on a plane to go to VA. I am not so much physically tired as just mentally a blob of mush. My Red Bulls and Monster drinks have been my saving grace but I know that they can only do so much. I have found myself living for the evenings so that I can watch my shows...they are the light at the end of my tunnel! I just watched the Saints play an AWFUL game but thank God they won, now I am attempting to make candied orange peels for the first time. I most certainly see a lengthy nap in my future followed by an equally lengthy hot shower. What a wonderful time of year it is :)

I Am A Mental Blob

I work. I sleep. I eat. I shower. Repeat daily. The Christmas rush at Sucre has come a week earlier than I expected and tomorrow will begin the official hell that is the holidays. Last week I let one girl go and had to mediate a verbal altercation between two other girls that subsequently led to one quitting. A new girl starts tomorrow that is supposed to be my "assistant" but at this point in the game I kind of just see her as another pair of hands that I can put to work. I will worry about training her on more detailed stuff later. Brie is going to start working for us tomorrow too! She is in between movie gigs and is getting bored at the house so she is voluntarily subjecting herself to the madness I bitch about to her day in and day out.

I have been taking my vitamins and drinking immunity boosting tea. I bought a case of Red Bull from Restaurant Depot to keep me going. So physically I should be in good shape. Mentally I don't know. The next few weeks are going to be trying. At least I know this going into it.

Enough rambling. It is Saints football time.

Not My Typical Thanksgiving

My Thanksgiving was spent a little differently than years passed. Since I was not able to go home to be with family I had to fend for myself and honestly I had a blah attitude about attempting to have a "normal" Thanksgiving. Therefore I did things differently. I slept until noon (no exaggeration) then ate a red velvet cupcake for breakfast. In an effort to not waste the entire day I pulled myself together and drove to the Fair Grounds to meet AV for the opening day of the horse races. Below are tons of photographic evidence of my new adventure:

Beer and a program full of information that I had NO idea how to translate or interpret! AV tried his best to explain things to me--but I still bet on horses based on their names.

The shoots the horses come out of at the beginning of each race

You can watch all the action from inside or outside. Since it was such a gorgeous day we opted for outside most of the time.

And they're off!

Folks were dressed up in unique ensembles! Some of the crazy hats rivaled those seen at the royal wedding earlier this year! These people were channeling days gone by.

Very pretty view of down town in the distance

Before each race they would walk the horses around so that people could look at them prior to making any bets.

The program with my ticket showing my bet. I picked Magic Appointment, Sunday's Child, My Darlin' Daphne, and My Mom Pat. Gotta love those clever names!

Me!

After loosing approximately $6 I called it a day at the tracks and headed back to the hosue. Not having a turkey dinner to come home to I did what anti-holiday people do and ordered Chinese food! The rest of my afternoon I chilled on the couch catching up on episodes of Hell on Wheels and eating my take out.

Another Thanksgiving come and gone.

Mom in NOLA: Part 3 The Rest

Though it may seem like it from the first part of the "Mom in NOLA" series, we did not eat the entire time she was here! We drank some too! Hehe :) Here are some other things we got into while having our Girl's Weekend:

• Watched Love, Wedding, Marriage (my Netflix movie) while lying in bed
• Went to the mall and dropped some dinero
• Had our first Sazerac...I thought it was pretty good,but I think mom is going to stick with her Malibu
• Wandered through the French Market where I tried on a bunch of feathery headbands and bought a mask for Mardi Gras
• Got my oil changed and tires rotated (while this was not "fun", I was off on a normal work day so we decided to get it done!)
• Made mom try turkey loaf from Whole Foods. She claims she did not like it but I think she says that about anything new I want her to try!
• Ordered Chinese food in (mom is not accustomed to delivery so she was excited when the door bell rang!)
• Shared a frozen Jack and Coke at the movie theater just because we could!
• Went down Fontainbleau Street intentionally to drive over a big dip in the road and say "whoaaaa!"
• Made a last minute movie theater trip to see Puss in Boots before her flight left

Now that mom is back in Virginia it is back to the grind stone for me. Nothing but work and stress in my foreseeable future...Christmas is now a month away!

Mom in NOLA: Part 2 The Fun

One of the reasons mom came to the Big Easy this particular weekend was so that we could get our geek on and go see the newest Twilight movie: Breaking Dawn! I bought our tickets ahead of time in anticipation of the crazy lines (see photo below). Luckily we did not have to fight our way in since we went to a 4:00 showing and all of the teeny-boppers were still getting out of school.

When the showing we went to was over we saw this line of Twihards waiting their turn to see if Bella becomes a vampire or not...

2 fans standing outside the theater :)

We enjoyed the movie and are eagerly waiting for the final installment next year! Go Team Edward!

As something different to do we ventured to Mardi Gras World to check out "where Mardi Gras is made". A cute little old lady gave us a tour of the place. We got to see how the pieces/floats are created and how they re-use previous pieces to make new ones each year! It is neat to know that they "recycle" things.

Peek-a-boo! We were a little too short for these things.

That is quite an elaborate ensemble! There were a few different Mardi Gras ball gowns on display in the gift shop area. Some of the larger krewes throw a ball each year along with doing a parade.

Drew Brees...in float form! The Saints are a popular theme!

A sketch of a piece going on a future float. Each year every krewe picks a different theme that each of their floats will be based on. The parades are a minimum of 14 floats with the maximum number allowed being 28.

The sketch slowly coming to life with layers of styrofoam being glued together. It will have paper mache put on top then later be painted.

Lots o' paint!

Big ol' witch and lots of football helmets.

Mardi Gras World is Awesome!!!

I learned a lot about the behind-the-scenes part of the parades. I definitely recommend checking it out if you have an hour or so to kill!

Mom in NOLA: Part 1 The Food

Before mom packed her bags for her trip down south I advised her to bring stretchy pants and a hearty appetite. What can I say? This town has a lot to offer in the way of cuisine. Though not every meal (or snack) was documented via photograph, our taste buds certainly got their fill of a wide variety of foods! We dined at La Boca, Slim Goodies, Creole Creamery, The Melting Pot, the Oak Street Po'Boy Festival, Whole Foods, and Sucre.

Slim Goodies on Magazine Street has excellent breakfast food in a small diner setting.

Creole Creamery on Prytania. The Mini Samplers we created were winners! Flavors include: I Scream Fudge, Black & Gold Crunch, Hubig's Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pistachio, Peanut Butter Chocolate, Cookie Monster, and last but not least Red Velvet. Yum.

The Melting Pot on St. Charles was a fun stop! Neither of us had been to one of these before. I like apples and I like cheese, but I am still undecided about them together.

There were lots of things to cook and lots of sauces to dip things into.

Mmm....chocolate fondue!

The Oak Street Po'Boy Festival was a crowded, hot street full of yummy po'boys and treats! The confit pork cheek po'boy with tangy coleslaw was a messy delight!

Crepes a la Carte was at the festival as well so Mom indulged in a Nutella crepe.

Now I don't have to eat until Thanksgiving!

Mall Maddness

Like a fool I went to the mall on a Saturday. Here are some notes on my experience:

• Horizontal stripes appear to be very "in" this season
• A little boy peeked around the curtain into the dressing room I was in. Luckily I had just finished putting on a top and was busy scrutinizing it in the mirror when he poked his head in.
• There was literally a line outside of the Apple store because they were at capacity.
• While waiting in line at the Gap I watched a young girl chat up a headless mannequin.
• The Victoria's Secret staff informed me that I have been purchasing the wrong size bolder holder. Geez.
• Sales suck me in!

No more mall for me...for a few weeks!