Mardi Gras

It orrured to me last night that I never actually told you all about my first Mardi Gras experience. Gah!! What was I thinking?? I have no idea how I managed such an oversight but I plan to rectify it immediately.

Um...Mardi Gras was nuts. I've never seen anything like it. I'm not even talking about the wild partying in the streets either--that I expected. I'm talking about the mentality that goes with it. I'm talking about how an entire city literally shuts down for two weeks to celebrate. I'm talking about an event where not only are gluttony and doing things to the extreme accepted...they're expected. And celebrated. Anywhere else in the world you'd probably attract a few stares if you were walking down the street at eight in the morning carrying a case of beer and wearing a pirate costume that you'd had on for three days. Here? Not so much. During Mardi Gras, I discovered, just about anything goes...

I'll skip over the parts about all the great food I ate and the fact that I may or may not have set some kind of record for King Cake consumption, the crazy partying (not by me so much as in general) and the general feeling of wild abandon that permeates the city and skip right to some pictures. These are all from Bacchus, which took place on Sunday night and was an absolute blast.


I told you the Bacchus theme this year was "Love is in the Air" so all of the floats were in some way love themed. Cute, no? My Uncle Nick rides in Bacchus every year and his float was called "Vegas Honeymoon." It was fantastic. All the riders were dressed up like Elvis, complete with big black hair pieces. Totally goofy and over the top, but that's what Mardi Gras is all about.





These were just a couple of my favorite floats. I took a picture of Drew Brees on the King's float but unfortaunately, it was a little too dark and didn't turn out very well. Sorry.



My cute date, right before we went into the ball.



To summarize it for you, this was one of the most fun weekends I've had since moving to New Orleans. I'm not gonna lie though, by the time Mardi Gras was over I was more than ready for a break. I was exhausted.

Life's Like a Jump Rope

Yesterday was a really beautiful day here. (Which is good because after the game Saturday night I kind of wanted to run headfirst into traffic or beat my head against the wall to the point of unconsciousness). I'm estimating that New Orleans has approximately 4 weeks worth of really nice weather out of the entire year, which means that days like yesterday should be highly savored. After church I had lunch with the most wonderful, amazing group of girls I've personally ever known. I will say though, we sat outside at the restaurant and it was a wee bit windy. Combined with being in the shade of the awning, yours truly got more than a little chilly. Ok really, let's be honest--I was freezing. To the point that I and one of my friends walked across the street to Walgreens and brought a $3 fleece blanket to wrap up with. Yes, I realize I'm a pansy. Don't judge me.

Anyway, after lunch and a run through the Garden District, a friend of mine called me to say she was on her way over to pick me up and that we were going to the park to fly kites. And we did. Did we look like two four-year-olds out there? Probably. But what's wrong with that? Probably the world would be a lot better place if we all took the time to play a little more.



Then as we were driving home from our kite flying venture, she played a song for me that I really liked and after coming home and listening to it again (like six times in a row), I have decided is maybe my new favorite song. My favorite song changes almost daily, so today, this is it:

Jump Rope - Blue October
Remember how you used to say
You couldn't wait till tomorrow for a brand new day
no fuss when ya had to ride the bus
You just add a little blush
To paralyze your school crush

Now you're older and the weight is on your shoulder
Make the world a little colder
No more hidin in the old day
Be strong
Don't you give up hope
It will get hard
Life's like a jump rope

Up down
Up down
Up down
Up down yeah
Cause it will get hard
Remember life's like a jump rope

There'll be a bump and there will be a bruise
There'll be alarms and there will be a snooze
There'll be a path that you will have to choose
There'll be a win and there will be a lose and

You gotta hold your head up high and
Watch all the negative go by
Don't ever be ashamed to cry
You go ahead
Cause life's like a jump rope


Up down
Up down
Up down
Up down yeah
It will get hard
Remember life's like a jump rope

I want to tell you that everything will be okay
That everything will eventually turn itself to gold
So keep pushing through it all
Don't follow, lead the way
Don't lose yourself or your hope
Cause life's like a jump rope


Up down
Up down
Up down
Up down yeah

You stomp your feet so hard you make it pound
Raise the bottom to the top
And now we're never coming down

Up down stomp your feet spin around
Clap hands to the rhythm
Then you slip down

You stomp your feet so hard you make it pound
Raise the bottom to the top
And now we're never coming down

Up down
Up down
Up down
Up down yeah
It will get hard
Remember life's like a jump rope

Whoa oh
Cause life's like a jump rope

Blue Like Jazz

I have to tell you about this book I just finished reading not too long ago that may or may not have given me a whole new perspective on life. Ok, that's an exaggeration. It's more I like I read this book and, for the first time, had put into words the way that I feel about a lot of things in life.



I think this is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read and if I could I'd give a copy to every single person I know and then beat them over the head until they actually sat down and read it. Yeah. It's that good.

"I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theater in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes, and he never opened his eyes.

After that I liked jazz music.

Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way."

Fight Song

UK is the only place I ever wanted, or considered going to school. My dad taught me the Fight song when I was like five, (actually, he told me that if I wanted to go to UK I had to learn the words because it was part of the Admissions requirement and they wouldn't let me in otherwise) and it was the only school I even applied to my senior year. I guess if they hadn't let me in I just wouldn't have gone to college at all. Also, in hindsight, my parents lied to me a lot.

SEC Champs

Did you all watch the game yesterday? Did anyone else squeal like a little girl when that whole Bledsoe-free-throw-Wall-rebound-Cousins-put-back play went down?? Cause I definitely did and I'm not one bit ashamed to admit it either. Demarcus Cousins, you are my new hero. The championship was the only game of the tournament I actually got to see and good Lord did it nearly give me a heart attack because it certainly wasn't pretty there at the end...but the Cats held on and really, that's what matters anyway.



Know what else? They're playing the first two rounds of the tournament here in NOLA!!! How great is that? I'm all about trying to get some tickets too, though I don't know what I'll actually be able to. I'm not interested in buying the whole book of tickets for all the games so my plan is to go downtown Thursday night and find a scalper to sell me tickets to just the Kentucky game. We'll see how that works out for me.

I realize it's been a few days since I've written. Do I have a good excuse? Not really, other than nothing of great interest has happened in the past few days so I haven't felt the need to recap the normalcy for you. But I apologize for my absence anyway. Don't even act like y'all didn't miss me! In the name of not going an entire week without writing, allow me to give you a quick recap of all the fun I have been having...

First of all, my new couch was delivered this morning! Personally, I think this is cause for a freaking party because I've spent the past six weeks or so with no living room furniture at all. Let me just say, you don't realize how much time you spend sitting on your couch until you don't have one. I never even thought I spent much time sitting on the couch but apparently, I was wrong about myself.

Now that I think about it, I really do want to have a party. Hmmm...

I'm really super excited for this weekend and let me tell you why. One of my best friends from undergrad is passing through New Orleans on his way to Texas (he's going to San Antonio to begin his clinic rotations for his degree in physical therapy--did I mention all my friends are brilliant?) and he's going to stop here for the night! It's been probably three years since I've seen this kid but back in the day he was like a brother to me. I can't wait to see him and catch up on all that's been going on with him the past fews years. Also, he's maybe the craziest person I've ever known...so his visit should be a fun adventure for all involved.

The SEC tournament is starting!!! I'm expecting big, big things out of the Cats this weekend and I may or may not throw a tantrum if for some reason they let themselves get beat. The only downside to this whole thing is that their first game is tomorrow afternoon. At like 12:00 noon. When I'm at work. Clearly no one bothered to ask my opinion on things when they drew up the brackets and scheduled this thing because I would have had a thing or two to say about that.

Last but not least, I think Spring is coming to New Orleans. I say this because while it has been slightly warmer, its the humidity that has really reared its ugly head this past week and you know what? It makes me absolutely sick! Just when I the memories of last summer that have been burned into my brain were starting to soften and fade, and I was starting to think that maybe the climate here isn't so bad afterall...its going to go and turn into something roughly equivalent to standing at the gates of Hell again. Blahhhhhhhhhhhh...

The Oscars

Did anyone else watch the Academy Awards last night? I admit, its rare that I make it all the way through the entire show. I like to see the dresses and I like to watch if there are any special performances, both otherwise, I usually end up just getting online the next day to see who won. Last night however, I went to an Oscars party with some dear friends and not only did I watch the whole thing, but we were having a contest to see who could predict the most winners so I was on the freaking edge of my seat the whole night. There's nothing like making it into a competition to get me motivated to pay attention. Anyway, we had a really great evening (thank you Christy and Mike!!!) and now I will share with you my thoughts on some of the specifics.

First of all--has anyone actually seen the Hurt Locker? Can you please explain to me how in the world this movie possibly won best picture? I mean...seriously. I watched it over the weekend in preparation for Oscar night and not only was I not impressed, I thought it was an epic FAIL. Ok maybe not epic. Maybe just a regular FAIL, but still, definitely not what I would consider "Best Picture" worthy. I think maybe its just because it was about the war in Afghanistan that it won. That sounds horrible, but I can't come up with any better explanation so for the time being, I'm sticking with that.


Sandra Bullock. It wasn't any great surprise that she won Best Actress for her part in the Blind Side but still, I was happy to see that she did. And I loved her dress. I thought it was beautiful and in fact, it may have been my favorite of the whole night. I thought her acceptance speech (though a bit long winded as these things tend to be) was especially touching as well. Also also, ever since making this movie Sandra Bullock has become increasingly involved in and dedicated to the city of New Orleans. She and her husband just bought a house in the Garden District and have given a whole bunch of money to one of the schools here, she did the premier of the Blind Side at the Prytania theater which is cool...and the list goes on.


Demi. She wasn't nominated for anything but I just wanted to comment on how I hope I look half that good when I'm her age. What is she doing??? She looks like she's maybe 30 at the most. I thought her dress was pretty, but the color wasn't especially flattering since she has such pale skin. Oh and her hair was pretty "blah" but I guess when you look that good you can get away with such things.


George Clooney (or as I like to refer to him: Hottie McHotpants). I can't believe I'm saying this but I didn't think George looked quite up to par last night. He looked a wee bit tired and his hair...George, baby, do my a favor and get your hair cut. It kinda looks like you've got the beginnings of a mullet and I think we can all agree that you're better than that.


Loved these guys. The double Snuggie scene was classic.


This comment is directed at several people/outfits from last night; I just happened to come across this picture first. What in the world are you wearing??? Here's what I don't understand. These stars are beautiful human beings, they've got perfect bodies, more money than God, and a team of people who shop for and dress them--why can't they do better than this? Do they not retain some sort of veto power if their stylist comes to them with something hideous? I would. If I'm ever famous and my stylist brings me something that looks like this I'm just going to flat out refuse to put it on and be seen in public.

Project #1 Update

Remember the cabinet I bought a couple weeks ago? Look how sweet she looks with a shiny red coat of paint! I actually finished putting the second coat of paint on late the other night when I was trying to force myself to stay awake so I could go to the airport at 4:00 a.m. and I'm just now getting around to posting this. I think I love it. Your thoughts?

Beautiful

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two."
-St. Augustine

Airports

Man, I love airports.

I'm being dead serious, I really do love them. I think it goes back to my love of travel and my need to be on the go but anytime I'm at an airport I feel like I'm about to go on vacation and that just makes me happy. Put me in an airport and I can seriously entertain myself for roughly three days before I get bored. I love the gift shops that are the same in every airport just with a different city name on the t-shirt. I love the random junk food choices (Cinnabon anyone?). I love the people watching.

So on my way back to NOLA Monday I had to fly through Memphis. I'd never been to the Memphis airport before and lemme just say, I don't especially care to ever go back there. Sorry Memphis, but your airport was pretty crappy. Even New Orleans is cleaner (I felt like I needed to bathe in Clorox when I finally got out of there) and everything was sort of old and broken down. Do I sound like an airport snob? I don't think I am but seriously, Memphis, get your act together. Even when something is old there's no excuse for it being completely trashed and dirty and not taken care of.