My Italian Heritage

I can't help it. I just want to feed Audrey. And feed her some real food. This girl loves her groceries. So on Sunday I made Audrey her first sweet potato. Clearly it was a big hit. Next up: butternut squash. YUM!

Like No Other

That's all I can say about New Orleans. What an interesting place. We had a spectacular time this past weekend. Lots of fun on Bourbon Street, lots of yummy food including char grilled oysters and the best beignets ever. One thing I learned for certain is Lauren is never going to New Orleans without me. It is no place for a cute young blond. And it's a good thing it took me until this point in my life to make it to New Orleans. I think if I was young like Lauren I may not have come home.

We arrived in NOLA late Friday night and immediately upon checking in our hotel we headed straight across the street to Chuck's Bar and the party began. We only stayed out until 4 that night. Saturday was graduation day. I cannot begin to express the pride we felt for Marc. He has worked so hard for the last 7 years. First undergrad at UCLA then off to Tulane for law school less that a year after hurricane Katrina when no sane person wanted to live in such a devastated city. No sane person but Marc. Here we are 3 years later and he has a Juris Doctor degree and a place he finally calls home. That's right. He and Ashley are staying in New Orleans, they love it there and Marc has a job. Something that many of his fellow graduates do not have. We enjoyed a fantastic celebratory dinner at Desire Oyster Bar with the entire family including all both of Ashley's parents and their spouses, Marc's mom, J&J and Audrey. Rick made a lovely toast to the newest lawyer in the family that brought tears to my eyes and his. He is so proud of his son. But I have to tell you Lauren and I were done with all the lawyer talk between Marc and Rick this weekend! Then it was time to experience Bourbon Street. I am speechless when it comes to Bourbon Street. It is like no other place in the world. Nowhere else in the world can you get a "Huge Ass Beer" to go. Bar after bar after bar, most with live music and all with crazy drunk ass people (not us of course). Ashley told us of a game that her and Marc frequently play when they're on Bourbon Street. It's called "Costume or Not." I have to say that most times it's not!

On Sunday we enjoyed a lovely brunch at Lil' Dizzy's. $20 all you can eat and all the mimosas and champagne you can drink. My kind of place but it would have been better had we all not stayed out so late the night before! Then it was off to a traditional New Orleans craw fish boil that was hosted by a friend and fellow Tulane Law graduate of Marc's. Marc described their craw fish boils as being akin to out bonfires. Nothing but a keg of beer and all the craw fish you can eat. No napkins, just a hose. Very interesting to experience the local culture on this level. After a brief rest we were off to dinner, again with the whole gang, at Acme Oyster House and then on to Bourbon Street again. After three consecutive nights of partying til the wee hours we decided on Monday night that none of us, including Lauren (go figure that we could have worn out the college kid) needed another night on Bourbon Street. There was a point on Sunday night that Lauren and I were in a bar and Rick was waiting outside for Marc to show up. Lauren had a clear view of Rick outside and leaned over to me and said, "I don't know what's going on out there but Dad has a bunch of beads!" Turns out he was being pelted by some drunks up in a balcony! Time to move on before somebody gets hurt! Another fun filled day on Monday including lunch with J&J&A, a cocktail at the Carousel Lounge (The bar actually rotates like a carousel. Lauren and I agreed that we were only good for one drink at this place! I'm not good with the round and round thing. When I would watch Lauren practice her spins for skating, sometimes I had to leave because just watching would make me dizzy.) and finally some shopping for all that touristy stuff. Dinner Monday night at Drago in the Hilton. Probably one of the best lobsters I've ever had. Not to mention the shrimp fondue and more char grilled oysters. You can't go too far in NOLA without having char grilled oysters. Tuesday was time for a muffletta. Not any muffletta, the original muffletta from the Central Grocery. Turns out the Central Grocery and the muffletta are both Italian. Who knew? After stuffing ourselves once again Marc and Ash took us for a scenic (I say this sarcastically) drive of the ravaged lower 9th ward. Absolutely devastating to see the damage from hurricane Katrina even four years later. My prayers go out to those people. And yours should too. Then it was off to the airport and home to the HG. Our time with the kids is always too short but 4 days in NOLA is about all I could handle without going to rehab!

Some highlights from our Cajun adventure:

Audrey-she is the best travelling baby EVER! Never heard her cry all weekend and we put her through the wringer.
HUGE ASS BEERS to go-no explanation needed.
The trail of powdered sugar from the beignets that went from our elevator straight to our hotel room door. Not to hard to figure out who made the mess in the hotel hallway!
The drag queens on the seedy party of Bourbon Street, now there's a sight!
The guy in Chuck's bar with the fake mustache that at one point in the night was actually on the guys cheek.
The old broad on Bourbon Street who showed her "stuff" and scarred us all for life!
The craw fish boil-gotta love an afternoon of cold beer and head sucking!
Riding the streetcar-a first for me and Lauren.
And last but certainly not least-seeing Marc get his diploma. A proud, proud moment.

Deck update:
While in NOLA work continued until the building inspector showed up and shut us down. No more work until I go to the Health Department and get them to "sign off" on our septic system. That's on my list first thing today. My builder said there are all old men at the health department so I'm going to wear something a little low cut and smile pretty and hope for the best this morning. If all goes well the earliest they will be back at work will be next Thursday. What a pain in my ass. What really makes it a pain is the fact that the building inspector showed up because a neighbor called in to complain. Complain about what? That my deck will be better than yours? Get a life and mind your own fucking business.

Heading to Cadiz later today for a sun filled weekend on the boat. We are missing a celebration at my brother Ken's house this weekend for my niece Allison's college graduation. She graduated from University of Missouri in just three years and is moving to Denver with the BF in 2 weeks. We are so proud of her too, and since we love Denver I know it won't be long until we visit. I know I'm getting old when the nieces and nephews start graduating from college!

To view pics from our trip click here.

The first two pics are of the bullfrog that is living on the edge of Karla's pond. They got mixed in with the grad pics. The bullfrog is probably about 6" round. He (or she) is HUGE!

I'm Over It

I have seen Bruce Springsteen somewhere around a dozen times, I've lost track. Maybe that is why I thought he was not that good on Tuesday. Yesterday I had a hair appointment and when I got to the salon another woman was talking about the concert and how great it was, yada, yada, yada. Well, it was her first time seeing him that's why she thought it was so great. When Bruce opened with Badlands and led right into Spirit in the Night I turned to Rick and said, "If he doesn't play anything else, I'm happy." Well, he pretty much didn't. Here's what I have to say about the concert:

Bruce could take Rock-a-Bye-Baby and turn it into a 20 minute rock anthem. While he played for almost three hours he only played three songs!

I'm glad we did not pay full price for the tickets.

I didn't come to hear some little kid in the front row sing instead of Bruce. That kid will be scarred later on in life when he realizes he can't see everyone from the front row.

Bruce did not play Thunder Road. How dare he.

Bruce and the E Street Band are all getting old. So am I except I am not asking you for $125 per ticket to see me.

Deck Update:

Things are progressing albeit slowly. Hopefully by the time we get back from New Orleans next week we will be able to walk out of our kitchen door again. The yard is such a mess. I will post some pics sometime soon. But there really isn't much to look at, just a lot of destruction. You saw the hot tub, well, the rest of it looks a lot like that.

Tramps Like Us

Baby we were born to run!

Last minute plans to go see "The Boss" tonight. We tried to get tix when they went on sale several weeks ago to no avail. Today I thought I would check out Craigslist for the heck of it. Not only did I score but the guy who had the tickets worked in Sears Tower and was able to meet Rick in the lobby and do the deal. Bonus! My full review tomorrow along with a deck/porch update.

So Sad

In 1999 when we bought our hot tub we had a patio poured outside of the basement to place the hot tub on. The day the cement was poured Megan was only 7 months old. Lauren wrote Megan's name, Sammi's name and her own in the cement and we took Meg's foot and hand and made prints. I remember Lauren saying she was too old to make prints in the cement. We did the same for our dog Charlie. We thought that would be there forever. As of yesterday, they cut out part of it to make room for a new post for the new deck and screen porch. I had them save the part they cut out in hopes of putting it somewhere else. But I have to say that watching them do that yesterday brought me to tears. Those are my girls. All of them. Lauren, of course, because she is my daughter; Sammi because she is like my second daughter; and Meg because she is the best niece an aunt could ask for. And then there's my Chuck. He was the best dog. He never ate lamb chops off the counter!

No More Hot Tub

Part of our deal with Crockett Construction was they had to get rid of our hot tub. I have been trying to get rid of it for 2 years with no success. Yesterday they sawed the hot tub into about a dozen pieces and tossed it in the dumpster. Yeeehaaa! When I went out to take some pictures I noticed the workers were using a broom that was identical to the push broom I own. Sure enough. When confronted they confessed that it was indeed my broom. I told them I was paying Todd Crockett enough money that I was pretty sure he could afford a broom. By the end of the day my broom was back in my garage all clean and pretty. Monday we will have the discussion that what is in my garage is mine and there will be no more helping yourself to whatever you need.