Summary of Mardi Gras 20 Ten

I'm not sure that I should go into detail. This pretty much sums it up. Oh, and I caught a life sized porcelain doll. Thanks Mark.

My Day at the Unopened Fair Zoo

We had to go to the Fairgrounds yesterday to wrap out our Art Department, whose offices are set up there. As we are slaving away toting Music Mountain water bottles all over the place, I notice something staring at me:

GEOFFREY! Oh I love zoo animals! There were also camels! With TWO HUMPS!

It wasn't easy, but I managed to get all four camel toes in one picture. There was also a swine... well two swine. That other one is David, my coworker:

These guys were hanging out in preparation for the State Fair that starts this weekend I think. There were also llamas, zebras, mini-horses, a giant sea turtle, monkeys and some bird named Lucy. Pretty cool. I was just excited that the giraffes were friendly and precious. Happy Tuesday!

Things I Do When I Should Be Working

I rolled up to my bank last week to deposit some funds and reached for the tube and this is what I got:

Way to get festive with it, Regions. Any way that a financial institution can throw some hot pink into my banking gets a gold star from me.

Well, this week I'm working a 6th day. For those of you who don't know what that means, I have to work six days in a row this week. And next week. Kate is not happy.

So, my goal is to pump as much free stuff out of this as possible. Step 1: Get headlight replaced by Teamsters on set:

It only took 5 of them and 45 minutes to figure it out. Also, I got a free tank of gas whilst I was here. Step 2 is a new inspection sticker, thus why I had to get the headlight changed. We will see how that goes. Step 3 is going to be either a free haircut or free clothes from wardrobe.

I severely apologize for the lack of updates, but it's hard to steal away 5 minutes to collect my thoughts. However, working on Saturdays has remedied this, since not a lot goes on and also the crew is working nights and I'm working days. So thank God that they are all asleep and not around to bother me...yet.

Evidence From This Weekend

This weekend I attended the Kickoff Party for the show that I'm working on. Here is some evidence that I stole from friends of mine that I had a good time. First of all, there is a celebrity whom is about to walk past Meredith and I in this first photo (yes, the same celebrity whom I purchased the carseat for):

(Photo courtesy of Mark Crawford)

Mark also stole a photo of the lady providing the entertainment. She likes to spin the records while she isn't filming stuff:

(Photo Courtesy Mark Crawford)

Here is actual evidence that I was having fun at this party, in case the other two photos didn't suffice:

(Photo Courtesy Nicole LaBranche)

I didn't actually take any photos of my own because apparently I was too busy dancing with the Deputy Mayor of Shreveport, himself... I.E. Charles Rapp. Judging by this photo, we were doing a lyric/dance off, based only on my hand motions as well as his.

Well I had a ton of fun at this party and feel a little awkward around my co-workers today, but as the day progressed, I managed to get over it, thus, reminding me why I try at all costs to avoid Kick-Off/Wrap Parties.

Out With The Old...

Like I was saying earlier, John's mother has been moving and basically consolidating two houses into one so she's trying to get rid of some crap. Like seriously, cleaning house. Yesterday I got a full sized bed to replace the twin bed that Nancy has been sleeping on forever, along with the bedding, curtains and sheets, two bobblehead dolls to go with my collection, a gigantic 3 gallon beverage dispenser so that I can finally make my own Pineapple Fusions, all sorts of Pyrex dishes, Tupperware, decorative crap, a wine rack, over the door hangers, real hangers, curtain rods, etc. etc. I could go on forever!

So, along with all that loot, I decided to pick up a new television that is slightly larger than the one that I have. It is flat screen, yet not the modern day flat screen. It is still fat in the back, i.e. junk in the trunk. Problem is, what should I do with the other television that I had?

Front

Side view

It was my dear Nana's television that she had for like forever. She barely watched it and then whenever we had to put her in a nursing home, she gave it to me. Such a darling. Anyway, it is a perfectly good television. It is what I believe to be a fancy 13" or possibly 15". It doesn't need rabbit ears or a digital converter box or anything. It's just a little fat. So if there is anyone out there that will give me, say, $20 for it, they can have it. Nana would be proud of me getting some money out of it, but if you can't afford $20 and really really want it, I am open to bartering for it. Contact me and we'll talk.

Easy $5 Redecorating Projects

John's mother is redoing her new townhouse. In doing so, she is basically gutting the entire thing and putting in new fixtures, carpet, tile, cabinets, appliances and so on and so on. A few months ago, she told me and John to come over and see if there was anything that we wanted before she destroyed it or donated it all to Goodwill. Being the cheapo that I am, I was there in 5. So, I scouted the place and found a couple of items that I figured could easily be updated with less than a $10 effort. I found an outdated mirror in one of her bathrooms:

I didn't get a good before photo, mostly because I wasn't in blog mode at the time. I was in art project mode which trumps blog mode any day of the week. So, I took the mirror, covered the actual mirror part with newspaper (very carefully) and then purchased a can of black spray paint and covered the outer frame with it. Behold the final product:

I got Keithy to come over with his tool belt and he hung it for me last week. Done and done! The other item that I snagged whilst rummaging about was John's great grandmother's marble topped 'catch all' table. The bottom was previously (awfully) painted a nasty white color that completely washed out the beautiful marble table top. This time I took a can of brown spray paint and turned it upside down and covered the entire stand with it.

I think it turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. I forgot the before photo due to said art project mode, but here is the final piece:

Seriously. Easiest makeover ever. And these things were FREE! So, a couple of cans of spray paint and a little TLC gave my bathroom and 'catch all' a brand new look! I should start an HGTV style blog, next!

Journey... and More

Last night, against my proper judgement (regarding my summer cold), I went with Mark and Meredith to Tacomania followed by the Journey/Night Ranger concert. I'm pretty sure that I saw the entire city of Shreveport either at Tacomania or at the concert and of course, I was sick and talking with a snot filled nose and trying not to breathe too heavily on anyone.

We got to the concert a little late and jumped in the middle of Night Ranger, who, seriously, were awful, with the one exception of, of course, 'Sister Christian':

Going to the CenturyTel Center for a concert is pretty much asking the City of Bossier to put on their trashiest outfit and come out to play. I have seen a lot over the years of concerts at the CTC, but this one is a definite flashback to a slutty girl that I went to high school, with who spent a lot of her time at Interport (if you grew up in the 71118, you know about Interport) AND youth group:

So, after the intermission and Journey came out, I was pretty sure that I would know all the songs.

Wrong. I seemed to know only about 5-6 of them... which was okay, but when you are praying for the set to be over so you can go home and Neti -Pot, it just seemed to go on and on and on...until they got to 'Open Arms' and everyone got out their lighters/cell phones. Meredith cleverly, managed to combine the two:

By the way. Meredith is my new friend. She is fabulous and I absolutely love her because I feel as though we are on the same page in our opinions as far as trashiness, tackiness, and Bossier. Mark, don't be jealous. So, here is our group pic from the concert:

The guy on the end is Jim. He is one of Meredith's friends who curiously purchased concert merchandise for a female who is NOT his girlfriend. I intend for you to get to the bottom of this, Meredith.

So, on the way back to Mark's to watch Big Brother, we passed by this little sight on Kings Highway:

(If you can't tell, it is a large truck transporting a couch with two humans enjoying the ride.) At least the couch was strapped in, I guess. Stay classy Shreveport... we don't want you to stoop to the lows of Bossier, or God forbid, Keithville.

It's That Time of the Year Again!

Approximately three or four times a year, my lifelong friend Laura (or LJ for those of you who grew up with her) cleans out her closet. This is always exciting for me because we are exactly the same size. Once we were asked: "Are y'all sisters? Because y'all sho favor?" from a 300 lb black nurse at a hospital. So, it's a treat for me since she is nice enough to let me sift through it all before she donates it to Goodwill!

Laura has a semi-shopping problem in that I think she is a sucker for sales. Every time I open the bags full of clothes, there are two and sometimes three of the same item, but with a different pattern or color. This makes me believe that she always falls for the 'Buy one get one free' or 'Get two for $10' sales. Also, there are frequently items that still have the tags on them, or that have only been worn once. So yesterday she dropped off three gigantic bags:

My roommate Nancy and I squealed with delight! We get so excited about free clothes!!! So, we immediately dive into the bags and separate into three piles:

1. Kate

2. Nancy

3. Donate

After we are done separating, then we proclaim 'FASHION SHOW!!!!' and turn on some Ace of Base and strut throughout the living room. We try everything on and then whatever doesn't fit or looks wonky gets thrown into the #3 pile. Then we take all #3's to the Providence House green bins around town or Goodwill. Last night, Nancy scored a bunch of cute stuff, and I got a couple of different tops. Sometimes the stuff works, and sometimes it doesn't, but it is ALWAYS a treat when Laura comes by! I love any reason for brushing up on 'The Sign' lyrics.

Weekend Recap (Plus A Recipe!)

This weekend was relatively low-key that involved two birthday parties and a baby shower (which I ended up skipping out on. Sorry Frances!). Friday evening after I left work, John and I traveled to B-City for a surprise Birthday party for my dear friend and former/possibly future boss Ryan Glorioso.

No, he is not related to the Glorioso's of Shreveport with the produce stand or whatever. So, the surprise party was at my favorite restaurant (and only reason to go to Bossier) Don Juanz. The Weisner's were kind enough to bring this delicious cake:

So fun! Saturday morning I was supposed to go to a baby shower for Frances, but I wussed out of going. We are going to have dinner next week so I don't feel SO guilty about it. Plus, baby showers are the worst (as you all know) unless you are the mother, and even then, I don't think they really even like them that much.

Saturday evening, I went to another birthday party. For my longtime friend Jen Herron:

Sass came along as well so it was a reunion of sorts. We played games and had cupcakes and visited with Chuck, Candy and Courtney. It is always so great to catch up with old friends. We played a super fun game called Scene It Squabble, which I think that I may need to invest in in the future for my own Game Nights.

On Sunday, I decided to finally use all of the fresh vegetables that my parents have given me. They decided to 'Live off the land" and start their own garden. Well I think it was more successful than they thought it was going to be because they have an abundance of veggies. They gifted me with about seven gigantic, like probably 2 pounds each, cucumbers, bell peppers and squash. After they had overtaken my kitchen counter for a week, I decided to cut them up and make a fresh and easy summer salad (Also, say hi to my new Seattle spoon rest!):

I had some leftover spinach from the "Creamy Turkey Pinwheels" so I threw that in a bowl, followed by some chopped up cucumbers, tomatoes, baby carrots, red bell peppers, Italian seasoning, Paul Newman's Italian Dressing, and some fresh grated Parmesan (yes, I grated it myself!). And that is what I like to call "Done and Done." A 10 minute healthy snack, or lunch for a few days.

Seven Albums That Changed My Life (This Might Get Long)

Since yesterday at approximately 11AM, Pandora has decided that I have reached my 40 hour a month free listening capacity, which is SO LAME!!! I could listen to that in one week at work. How do they expect me to get by without them for three working weeks a month? I had to come up with some sort of strategy. I am not an Ituneser because I don't really know how to work my IPOD that well and also, I think that I would spend a ton of money on really bad music that I would regret later. So if I want to listen to something really specific, I either go to http://www.songza.com/ or I save up my dollars and go purchase the album. And that leads me to the more important part of this post.

Since Pandora is now an ass, I now choose a CD from my car, burn it to my work computer and listen to it on repeat all day. I have no other choice, I suppose. I'm cheap like that. Therefore, I've decided to discuss the albums that have meant the most to me throughout my life. These albums have helped me through either a breakup, college, a trip to France, or a road trip to Little Rock by myself. These albums are not necessarily from my favorite artists or bands, but they have a special place in my heart (and CD case) for one reason or another. So here we go in no particular order... actually, I think I'll do chronological order, just for my own organizational sake...

#1: Alanis Morrisette and "Jagged Little Pill"

I'm not sure of any person within 3 +/- years of my age that hasn't listened to this album. So, really it speaks for itself. Also, there is a 'hidden track' at the very end that I got super excited about the first time I heard it. I would borrow this album from Jennifer Herron VERY frequently in the 8th grade. I would keep it longer than she liked by saying 'Oh, I forgot it at home, I'll bring it to you tomorrow.' I'm sorry Jennifer, but I was lying. I eventually gave it back, though. This album made me realize that there is more to music than country. For that, I will be forever indebted to you, Alanis.

#2: Dido and "No Angel"

I guess we will skip directly past high school because I don't remember a single album that I owned and listened religiously to, so teleport yourselves mentally to my college days. In my very first drawing class that I took, we would listen to music while we drew (not nudes, this time). This album was one of my teacher's favorites. I never listened to music like Dido's (with the exception of Enya on the radio, which was horrible) and found that I really liked it. I liked this album so much that I raved about it to a boy who I really, really liked at the time. He went off and surprised me by giving it to me for my birthday (what a sweetheart) and I got to listen to it while driving home in the rain for the weekend. So there is the secret reason why there is a special place for Dido in my heart....

#3: Nelly Furtado and "Folklore"

These next two albums are a tie. When I lived in Paris for that glorious month in 2004, I had two roommates that were super interesting. They had brilliant senses of humor and I NEVER would have placed myself rooming with them, but obviously the room assignment person did. I remember being a little upset about it at first, but after I got adjusted to the situation (and was introduced to wine and started loosening up) it turned out that I got to know them and really liked them a lot. Rebecca, the really artsy one, would wake Catherine and I up every morning with one of three albums. "Folklore", "I Am Sam", or "Come Away With Me" by Norah Jones. Now, I am not one to want to wake up, but when Nelly's "One Trick Pony" would start up, I would jump out of bed and look forward to the day like I hadn't even been asleep.

I didn't really care for Nelly before (the 'I'm Like a Bird' song), however, this album was less pop and more of a rock sound with an acoustic approach. This album wasn't considered commercially successful, but I like it better than her other two. It seems to me as though she put a lot more of herself into it, instead of being a music industry puppet.

#4: "I Am Sam" Soundtrack

This is the other of Rebecca's morning wake up albums that I love. I'll be perfectly honest with you here. I did not grow up listening to the Beatles. My parents didn't listen to them (at least while I was around) and I only knew that they were a huge successful 60's band. So, when I listened to 'I Am Sam' and I heard all of the artists (The Wallflowers, Sarah Machlachlan, Ben Harper, Ben Folds, The Black Crowes, Eddie Vedder, Rufus Wainwright, etc.) singing these songs, I had no idea that they were ALL Beatles songs. I just thought that these artists were doing a great covers album. Well, after examining the CD case, I realized what was really going on here. Anyway, I love the album. It is comforting. Like going home. Or eating a doughnut. (This album has gone missing from my collection, so if you have it, could you please give it back. Thanks.)

#5: Better Than Ezra and "Closer"

I don't know when this album was originally released, but in 2006, I attended my very first Better Than Ezra concert. Sure, I knew a couple of their songs ("Desperately Wanting", "Good", etc.) but wasn't sure what to expect from a full-blown show. My friend Jamie (who is an intense BTE fan) said, "Don't worry about it, it will be fun and you will know some of the songs." So, I went. I LOVED THEM. Absolutely LOVED them. I might have known like 5 songs total, but after the concert I went out and purchased this album via Ebay because I couldn't find it in stores anywhere. After it arrived in my mailbox, I drove around and listened to the album. My absolute favorite song is "Get You In." I like the first line in the song the best: "I sit and watch your flowers wilting in the kitchen. I felt like I was one of them gasping for air." How many times have we felt like that because of other people? Love this album!!!

#5: Ryan Adams and "Demolition"

During that same year when I found BTE, I also found Ryan Adams. (Side rant: If you don't know who Ryan Adams is (NOT BRYAN ADAMS), I urge you to purchase one of his albums. It doesn't matter which one, they are all amazing. This is your chance to learn what good music is and should be.) When my dear friend Eric Covington introduced me to Ryan, my music taste (and life) changed drastically. Thank you Eric, I will always be indebted to you as far as my hearing goes.

So, anyway, the summer of 2006 was really great, and yet at the same time really hard for me for many undisclosed reasons. I decided to take some vacation days and drove to Arkansas solo to visit some friends. While there, my favorite college friend Libby and I visited the local Best Buy. When I got there, I decided to go and see which Ryan Adams albums they had. They had 'Demolition' and 'Gold.' If I had the money, I would have bought both but decided on a coin flip to purchase 'Demolition.' On the drive back, I decided to listen. Wow. Amazing. I'm not sure what all Ryan has gone through in his life to make his music so powerful, but I applaud him and at the same time sympathize with him (even though he decided to marry that tramp, Mandy Moore) because he must have gone through some bad, bad times. My favorite track on this album is "Dear Chicago." If you are an Ituneser, spend 99 cents wisely and purchase it. I guarantee that you will relate.

#7 and Finally: Ray Lamontagne "Till The Sun Turns Black"

I would again, like to thank Eric Covington (who has amazing music taste) for gifting me with Ray Lamontagne's first full-length release "Trouble." I loved that album so much that I was given his sophomore release, "Till The Sun Turns Black" as a birthday gift the following year. This is actually the album of the day that I happened to grab from my car. So, it's currently playing on repeat. Ray's music is probably the most soothing music that I have ever listened to (with the exception of Damien Rice). He has a soft-spoken voice that can lull me into any sort of calm state. I love to play this album when getting ready in the mornings. Ray's music makes me want to behave. And to also be a better person. I can't say that about many things these days.

There you have it readers, I apologize for the length, but hope that the 5 minutes that you took to read my faves, has inspired you to share yours as well!

Things That Happen When Kate-Naps Are Interrupted

Lately I have had NO energy. Seriously, none. This may stem back to Friday (unexpected day off when Nancy and I went to meet a friend for a margarita at 430PM at the Oyster Bar and didn't return home until 3AM.

All in one night I managed to run into a girl I taught at Disciple Now 3 years ago, a guy that I had a cyber screaming match with 4 years ago, and a girl that I roomed with in France 5 years ago. Not to mention, I had greasy hair, was wearing a tshirt and had no makeup on. AND it was 102 degrees outside so I was all sweaty and shiny. Ugh. Somehow we managed to go from Oyster Bar to Fat Boys to Fat Cats to El Dorado (where I ran into Losing Anna and the entire city of Shreveport) to Fatty Arbuckles to Stray Cat to home. By the way, there are way too many Cats and Fats in this town. Yeah, so it was an intense pub crawl.)

Anyway, I've been sleeping a lot lately. Like I was saying, it may stem back to bad decisions, or possibly a thyroid issue. I'm still paying off a dermatology visit so I have to pay that off before I have other things checked out (paying for my own insurance is costly). So, Sunday night I went to bed at 7 and last night I decided upon a Kate-Nap around 6. People kept texting me, so I ended up having a break from sleeping at 930ish where I got up and went downstairs to watch The Bachelorette (Jillian is a moron) and Chelsea.

I was all nestled on the couch when around midnight my doorbell rang. I froze and my heart started pounding very intensely. Seriously, there was no way in hell that I was going to answer that doorbell. I thought, if this was someone that I know, they would have sent me a text or called to tell me they are coming over. So it was most likely a child pranking me, or a rapist/murderer. (John warns me to never answer the door, even during the daytime. Goes along with the whole don't talk to strangers deal.)

So what do I do? I mute the TV, slide off the couch and army crawl to the bathroom where I hoped to go unnoticed. I stayed there until I decided that it was safe to come out, turn off the TV and lamp (very slowly and quietly) and tip-toe upstairs back to bed under the covers. I texted John and he was all like "Don't answer the door. If it happens again, I'll send a car out (which really made me giggle on the inside. FYI his father is retired Shreveport Police.)" So, I laid there until I fell asleep again.

Well, this morning, I woke up and tip-toed downstairs (I guess in case the doorbell-ringer was still there waiting on me) and made my coffee and got ready to go to work. I opened the front door slowly and peek outside. Nothing on stoop. No extinguished flaming bag of crap, no DVD (someone left one once), and no dead people or blood. So I glance over at my car and there is this on my windshield:

I was thinking "What the crap?!? I never get this stuff. Someone scared the hell out of me last night to leave a rose on my windshield? Was it John? A secret admirer (I have many)?" So I texted John and asked him if he happened to leave anything on my car and he said 'Maybe'.

OK. Mystery solved. Whew! Moral of the story is that I decided that I should toughen up slightly and that John is a sneaky (and sweet) guy.

Caricatures

I'm so ready to leave this town that I could pee my pants (possibly because I've drank a lot of water recently in order to become Skinny Bridesemaid). So, as I'm wasting time during my last hour of work, I decided to peruse some photos from my Photobucket account. This is what I came across:

Myself, Sass and Steph's Simpson's caricatures (Stephanie's should have darker hair now by the way)! Steph made these for us when the Simpson's Movie came out a couple of years ago. Just thought I'd share.

Seriously, thirty more minutes and I'm free!!!!!

Fighting Words

I woke up last night in a cold sweat. I dreamt that I came home (from somewhere deliciously fun, I'm sure) and that someone had STOLEN my Aqua Globe:

First of all, who would do such a thing? It's not like I paid anything for my Aqua Globe (John's stepmother gave it to me for free!), but it's also not like a person couldn't go up to Bed Bath and Beyond and get 2 of them for like 10 bucks. I guess that's the whole point of stealing though, so you don't have to pay for stuff.

The reason that I love my Aqua Globe so dearly is that it is responsible for keeping a birthday gift of mine alive. Two years ago (the year of the Toga Party), my dear friends Eric and Melissa Martin gave me a beautiful plumeria plant (whom I have affectionately named Penelope). I had always wanted one since I went to their parents' house and they had a beautiful garden full of them (like you stepped into Hawaii for a minute or something.)

However, mine does not look like it hails from Hawaii. Meet Penelope:

Not very impressive, I know. But I consider it a victory of enormous proportions that there are leaves at this point. I was pretty sure that I had killed her after last winter. You're supposed to take her inside right before the first frost in order to seduce her into a dormant winter. (Sounds sexy huh?) So I did that, and all the leaves fell off and it went to sleep for about 5 months. When I put her back out, I repotted her with new soil and a new pot AND plant food. This was back in March. Finally, thanks to the Aqua Globe and the plant food, we have leaves, thus Penelope isn't dead.

This is what she should have at some point:

Beautiful blooms!!! I haven't seen a bloom on her since I got her back in November 2 years ago. So we will see what happens. In the mean time, my neighbors better leave my Aqua Globe alone.

A Pleasant Surprise!

Saturday John and I left for Dallas to go to the Seattle Sounders/FC Dallas soccer game. He got me pumped up about going because of the really good incentives that were offered (Free Drew Carey glasses AND a possible chance to play Plinko at halftime). I asked him if the Actual Drew Carey was going to be there and he told me "Um no. Why would he go to a game in Dallas? Dallas is the worst team in the league." Okay, no biggie, it will still be fun.

So we got there and got our free glasses and decided to take some fun pictures:

It was really funny b/c everyone in the stadium was wearing these glasses. Everyone looked ridiculous, but it was cool because despite looking stupid, everyone wore them anyway. So as we are laughing at how much dumber the little kids looked in them (b/c they were way too big) John spots one of the VIPs from the Sounders' Club. (This is how the conversation went:)

John: "See that guy over there?"

Kate: "No." (I am barely even paying attention because I'm reviewing our pictures we just took.)

John: "That's one of the team owners or Big Wigs. You can tell because he is wearing one of the official warm-up jackets. See how that one has two stripes under the arms? I think that guy's name is..... OMG THERE'S DREW CAREY!!!!!!!"

Kate: "Where?"

John: "Right there."

Kate: "I still don't see him."

John (Shouting): "RIGHT THERE IN THE SOUNDERS JACKET WITH THE SCARF."

Kate: "Oh. Neat. Go ask him for a picture for my blog.":

As you can see, Drew was not wearing Drew Carey glasses. We, who looked like idiots, were. I hope he wasn't offended and didn't think we were weird. He goes on to ask us why we were Seattle fans (via his Flip Mino video camera, just like the video camera I have) and we had a 2-3 minute conversation with him. John doesn't let me speak during this time for fear of embarrassing him. Drew asked us our names and John said "Adam Hester and Kate Warren." I can only get out "Hi I'm Kate" during the meeting because John is talking so quickly. He claims that he was excited/nervous but whatever. I've met SO MANY famous people that I'm okay with not talking to him (typed with a hoity-toity voice in my head). Joking.

The game was a little disappointing since it was a draw but I did get to showcase my scarf:

It was a fun little trip and I can't wait to go to the home game in Seattle. I'm bringing my glasses with me.

I Still Have the Travel Bug

I have entered this contest so many times that if I don't win then it's DEFINITELY rigged. Enter to win and if you do win, then you have to take me since I told you about it. Mahalo!

Imaginary Vacation Planning

One of the things that I love most is planning future vacations. My dear friend Mark Crawford and I gathered last night at a place formerly known to Shreveportarians as "KingPinz.": (was that too much punctuation? Oh and photo by Mark)

Now, what was formerly the HOTSPOT of Shreveport/Bossier (they had 50 cent drinks on Thursday nights. We went EVERY week. Really.) is the Funny Bone and The Funny Bone Sports Bar (lame). So as we are visiting (talking VERY loudly in order to be heard over the obnoxious 50 year old lesbian comedian who is YELLING into her microphone, ugh.) we discuss going to New York City over Thanksgiving.

Mark goes on to tell me about all of his different trips to NYC that he's been on and how they were different, what's fun and not fun, where to stay, where to go, what he wants to see, etc. etc.... His goal of this trip is to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Cool. I can do that (note to self, pack long underwear) and I start having a conversation with my angel and demon in my head.

Kate Demon: "Oh my God it would be so great to NOT have to be at home for Thanksgiving. Kate, you wouldn't have to go to FOUR different Thanksgiving dinners, fake conversations with relatives who are annoying, discuss your job repeatedly, discuss what happened with the film industry, miss your naptime, then pack up and head to THREE more versions of the same hell you just went through."

Kate Angel: "But Kate, you will miss out on your mother's dressing that she makes every year that you live for. The holidays are the time to spend with your family. Friends come and go, by family is forever. Therefore, you wouldn't get to see Miller (nephew) and Jon Thomas (three year old brother in law) as they are blossoming into the young men that God is molding them to
be."

Kate Demon: "How boring. You could be in NEW YORK having the time of your life with Mark, friend since 2nd grade who you've never been on vacation with... Have another Michelob Ultra, darling."

Kate Angel: "Perhaps you should stop drinking Kate, it is a school night and you have a big night ahead of you tomorrow with LJ and Steph's birthdays."

Last year's birthday party. Not sure where LJ ran off to:


Anyway, I can't decide what to do. I'm stuck on the fence, sort of like a Liberal Conservative. If I can get the trip for $500 or less, I will do it. There. Mark, start your research.

Why Don't Animals Attack When You Want Them To?

This past weekend, I participated in the Martin Family Annual Crawfish Boil. Instead of Tshirts this year, we got cups!!! (The picture is a little blurry, but it says "Who's Your Crawdaddy?) It was a great party that included many many plumerias (which I will have to post about another day), 350+ lbs of crawfish, 1 margarita machine, and 2 kegs of Bud Lite.

I met a member of the family that I had never met before. THE Aunt Molly from Amarillo. This lady was FANTASTIC! She made taquitos, biscuits and gravy, lasagna, pea salad (don't like pea salad, but I'd eat hers every day for the rest of my life) and I'm sure there were plenty of other delicacies to write home about that appeared before I got there and were eaten after I left. (Mrs. Pam - if you are reading this, I'm going to need to get these recipes. She should write a cookbook!)

I got to visit with some friends whom I haven't seen in what seems like ages, but it's really only been like a month. Melissa and I even had a slumber party. Except we are too old to actually stay up all night, so we just gossiped and then fell asleep around 10, like our parents do. We got to see Raymond, The Blairs, The Harts (who we see more often than the rest) and so on and so on. Behold:

(Pictured above is John, Melissa and Kristen.) As we were sitting at the table enjoying our crawfish, a hellion child came over with a live crawfish and thought it would be fun to semi-attack us with it. I was hoping for the crawfish to put up a fight:

He proceeded to hold it (as pictured above) and take it around and either throw it at people, or leave it on their shoulders. Not cool, kid. Not cool. At one point he approached me with it. I said "You need to go ahead and take that away from this table, right now" (and then stomped my foot.) How motherly of me! I said it in a mean tone, like if he didn't stop, I was going to report him to his parent. And he left. He wandered away to torture someone else. Kristen decided that he behaves this way because he has a much younger sibling and is acting out to regain the attention that he once had, but has now lost. She's going to be a great mom!

Speaking of future great moms, here's Jen (Eric's sis) and her new puppy Jax. He is an American Bulldog (pit) and Boxer mix. Many Michael Vick jokes later, Jennifer decided to wrap Jax's neck with Mardi Gras beads for decoration. (Jen, down the road when you wonder why he's so violent, report back to this photo.)


A fun weekend was had by all. Many thanks to Ron, Pam and the rest of the Martins for their hospitality!