After Katrina I told my housemate, “We can’t live in fear if we want to continue to live in New Orleans”. There had been no doubt in my mind that I wanted to come home after Katrina. I know some people just stayed away. Some people came back and then had to leave. Then there are some of us who wanted nothing more but to be here. In the four years I have been here, I have realized this is really where I am meant to be. The only drawback is the rest of my family isn’t here, however that is why there are planes, trains, and other modes of transportation. I have said in the past that the friends I have made here are an amazing extended family, something that I haven’t ever had in the other places that I have lived. No wait, I need to take that back. I did in a way have it in Seattle, but it wasn’t as much, well maybe because I wasn’t really happy it was quite right. I don’t want to make it seem like I didn’t and don’t appreciate them because I do, but what I have here is so much different.
Getting back on track, we are just a few days shy of the 3rd anniversary. It is amazing to see all that is going on down here, and at the same time, what hasn’t been done yet. It is a long road to recovery. It is sad to think that it won’t be exactly the same. It can be said that is good in some ways. Bad in others.
Going back to you can’t live in fear, doesn’t mean you can’t be very aware of what is going on. If you don’t know we are in the midst of hurricane season. People keep a closer eye on what is going on in the waters these days. Fay was nice to us, we appreciated that. Florida is probably wishing she had been just as kind to them. Now brewing out there is Gustav. Gustav we need to watch. I am afraid that he is going to hurt someone bad. Once he hits the open waters of the Gulf? All bets are off. It will be that waiting game. Watching and waiting to see which way and who is going to get hurt the most.
Regardless, I will keep on coming back. It is where I was meant to be. It may be a struggle but what in life isn’t?

ETA: check out what Loki has to say....it is scary.

Don’t you just enjoy those days where nothing can go wrong? Where everything just seems to be going your way? Even if it isn’t, it doesn’t seem to matter? That is how it is for me today. WWOZ seems to be playing music that just fits my mood. The day for the most part is flying by. Just finished a big part of a project I have been working on since I got here. I have fresh flowers sitting on my desk. I have heard from a lot of my friends and families, many bringing smiles to my faces. Some making me laugh hysterically. Actually it is a quiet kind of laughing hysterically that leaves me making all kinds of snorts and coughs as I don’t want to scare the new co-workers, which I have seemed to have done anyway. I am going to enjoy a fantastic dinner with a bunch of friends, some I see almost every day, and some I haven’t seen in a real long time. My hair seems to be actually doing what I want, and staying. My clothes fit right. Yeah today is a good day. Today I made 33. (I love that phrase, never heard it until I moved here) I hope it continues to be a good day and it is a good day for everyone else!!

ETA: I totally forgot one other really good thing about today. A certain piano player I enjoy is recording his new CD, starting today. Hope that jackhammering was under control....HA!

ETA (again) that I just got a message from my sister. I can officially say it. I am going to be an Auntie again!!! WHOO HOOO!! Aubrey is going to be a big sister sometime in late Feb.

At the end of the month I went to Montana for my grandfather's funereal. Like I mentioned earlier I hadn't been back in quite some time. The last time I was there....well I don't remember when that was. 6 years ago? 8 years ago? Regardless it was a long time ago. It won't be that long again. I really enjoyed seeing everyone again. My little cousins are no longer the little cousins. They are all grown up now! There is a younger generation of cousins now. It made me feel OLD. This is debatable to some of course. Anyway, as it happens there had been a baby shower for one of my cousins while I was there. We took some group shots while there:

This is Grandma and her 6 daughters. Yes SIX.



Here we are, this isn't all the grandkids. We are missing 4 other cousins. 3 couldn't make it to the funereal (including my sister) and well Wynn wasn't invited because he is a boy. It was a baby shower after all. There are also 2 great grandchildren. At the time of this picture any way. Whitney did have her baby over the weekend. :)


Here is most of us cousins again....

I did take a walk around the campus of the University of Montana with my friend Michelle and her boys. I never really appreciated it while I was there.

Here is another shot across the Oval

A little food porn for those of you that enjoy it. This is what I call heaven. Double Front Chicken. Best chicken on earth.

I to get back and see everyone again real soon!!

Life has been a whirlwind, even more so lately. Some bad, but mostly a lot of good. I swear a real blog post will be up here in the next few days. Things I wish to cover:

* Rest of my sister's trip here to NOLA including adorable pictures of Aubrey!!

* My trip to Montana. Yes it was for a funereal but it put me back in touch with my family, even more than before. There are pictures to be shared here as well, including a celeb sighting in the Denver airport.

* Satchmo Fest weekend and all the fun that has been had while Lisa and family have been in town. Including Pictures.

* New Work worries. Sorry no pictures there.

See lots to cover! Fun and exciting times! Stay tuned!

I am back from Montana. I have a lot of catching up to do. Pictures to post. Stories to tell. Blogs to read. However I am about to head out to the airport in a few minutes to get Lisa and co. Satchmo fest is this weekend. White Linen night. A potential grooving show at Balcony Music Club. George Porter Jr is gonna be there. Ya know it will be good. So it does appear that two of my cousins and my aunt have found this here blog. Like it is hard to find. So no stories about them. ;) Actually yeah there will be. From the highest bidder. :P

I was amazed to wake up finding today is Friday. The week has flown by and believe me I am not complaining. Right now I am in the waiting game. Waiting to hear from several people, looks like I may be heading to Montana Sunday or Monday. I should know by the end of today. Last night when I talked to my mom, my grandfather was hanging in there, but there were definite signs that he was fading. At this point I don't anticipate seeing him before he passes. The weekend will be spent organizing some things (animals that I am taking care of for other people) laundry, cleaning and getting ready to go.

Editing to add that my dad just called. My grandpa passed away last night.

This morning Aubrey, Lisa and Scott left to go back to Phoenix. I think they all had fun while they were here. I know I did. I was grateful to get to spend some time with my niece since I don't get that much time with her. I do have pictures galore to share, however my AC adapter went kaput early last week. I sent it back with Lisa to give to my dad since he is the position to get me a new one. However he didn't like how I was explaining it to him. So it was easier to just send back with them. I should hopefully have a new one in the next week and then I can post some of the pics. Life is good when you can watch a baby discover new things. I love how Aubrey growls, she would crawl on over to me and point to my lion tattoo and growl. I did get head butted a few times when we were playing, she has a strong head. I can't wait to see them all again.

Yesterday as I was holding Aubrey while Lisa tried on some clothes, I got a call from my dad. It looks like my grandpa only has a few more days. I haven't seen him in a really long time and there are no excuses as to why I haven't. I just got busy and then moved further away. It makes getting back to Montana a whole lot harder. I have just been looking at flights and it isn't cheap to get up there in the next several days. Flying straight to Missoula would cost me close to $900. Flying into Spokane, WA is a bit cheaper but not by much. I did check the possibility of flying to Phoenix and then driving up with my mom and sister and that is a bit more reasonable, however there is no guarantee that they will drive. At this point we will just sit and wait. Like my sister said, my grandpa has nine lives like a cat and might not have really hit that 9th one yet. If that is the case I need to get up there and see him and the rest of my family. It is quite possible that they forgot I existed.

As I was driving the family to the airport this morning I did say that I really hoped I would hear about the job today. They had told me that they hoped to know in the next few days, that was on Monday. I had a voice mail on my phone after I said my goodbyes. I called back and was offered the position. I will be starting on August 11th. It is going to be a great opportunity and I am really looking forward to it. This is one of the first jobs that I have been really excited for. Which of course puts me in a really weird state of mind, hence the title. I am experiencing a roller coaster of emotions today. Sadness at having to say goodbye to my sister, Aubrey and Scott. Happy about having job, sad about the possibility of my grandfather's death. I wish there was a way to release all these emotions. If anyone has any ideas let me know.

I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I am around, just been busy for the most part. Actually technically not REALLY busy, just away from the computer and experiencing life.

As for the interview. It went really really really well and I hope to find out later this week if I in fact will get the job. I had to send in a writing style sample which I did this morning and I hope they like it! It is an administrative position and the company sounds amazing and there is so much room for growth there. I know it isn't in the music business like I would like to be working in however it will be helping out New Orleans and that is something else I am passionate about. So now the waiting begins.

As I said last week, my sister, brother in law and Aubrey came to town. They arrived on Friday evening. It had been a long travel day for Aubrey, with her taking only on 45 min nap. She usually lays down at least twice a day for about 2 hours each time. (The kid loves to sleep) For that little amount of sleep she was in really good spirits. We got them to the hotel and Aubrey got settled in for bed while her dad and I ran to the store to pick up some food items for the little one. I got to hang out in the hotel while everyone ran out to meet some people for dinner. Really I didn't mind. Even if she was asleep I enjoyed hanging out with my niece. Later my sister came back to the room while I took out my Brother in Law, one of my sister's friends and one of their reps.

Saturday it was up early to take care of animals then out to the hotel to play with my niece. Scott and I did take her out for a walk, the plan had to go swimming however the storm that passed through put a damper on that. We did take Aubrey out to d.b.a to see Paul Sanchez and Shamarr Allen. They played the early set so we snuck the baby into her first bar! We snagged one of the window seats so it wasn't too loud and away from the smoke. Craig stopped by on his way to Snug to meet Aubrey for the first time and say hi to my sister. After grabbing some food from 13 I dropped the family off at the hotel then went to care for the dog I am watching.

Yesterday it was a bit more of the same, however my housemate is finally home so I didn't have to race to my house to take care of our cats. I did get a bit of sleep then went over to the hotel to hang with Aubrey again. We did take her to lunch at Mulate's (close to the convention center) and then later the convention my sister is attending had a mini Mardi Gras that included a few floats and a high school band. Aubrey caught a few beads and had great time!

I am getting off work in about an hour to spend more time with her and the rest of them. ;) Can't wait to get some more baby lovin!!

EDITED TO ADD: My birthday is in ONE MONTH!! Planning should have commenced already. ;)

*I have an interview today. I am hoping that salary is livable, that the job is workable, that it is something I want to do. I know it is something I want to do, maybe I mean somewhere I want to work. Yeah that is it. I was/am getting worried, as this job ends in two and a half weeks. I would like means to survive. That isn't asking for much is it?

*I hope I don't yawn during the interview. This lack of sleep is starting to grate on my nerves already. One full night of sleep. PLEASE! (especially when having a good dream and you want to continue dreaming that dream and for some reason your body wakes up!! grrr)

*Housemate will make it home on Saturday, so at least the running back and forth from my house to the place I am watching will stop for a little bit. That should help. I hope! Relive some of the stress. By the time she leaves again I will either be done house sitting or just about done. I can't wait to sleep in my own bed again.

*For some strange inane reason I thought today was the day that my sister, Aubrey and Scott were coming. Yeah. No. It is TOMORROW! She told me the 18th, I saw the 18th in the email, it registered. I just thought for some reason the 18th was on Thursday. Today. It wasn't until today when my alarm was going off and I looked at my phone and I saw that today was the 17th did it click that they weren't coming today. I mean I even took half a day off tomorrow so I could spend more time with them. You would think it would have hit me then. Nope. So now I get to go and switch so I have half a day off Monday and Tuesday. Going to blame it on the sleep deprivation.

*Did I mention that I have to do an interview today? Going to load up on the caffeine and hope for the best!

I swear I just posted about my weekend and here we are again about to start a new one. I guess that is a good thing, however I just don't know where the time has gone. Okay that is a lie, I do know where it has gone. It has gone into caring for many animals. I mentioned in the last post that I was going down to 2 houses and 7 animals. Again I lied (seeing a trend?) Actually I forgot about some other friends who were going out of town and that I would be watching their house and cats as well. So on Monday I was done with one house and with one dog. Now it was 6 cats and one dog that I was caring for. Tuesday started me with a new house and 3 more cats. Total count at that time? 9 cats and one dog. Now 6 of those cats are pretty self sufficient. They do get a bit of snuggle time and really all they want is their cat box clean and some food in the bowl. The kittens? They require a bit more attention. They want to snuggle, play, be fed, run free and crazy. The dog? She wants pretty much the same. Throw in some walks and she is good.

Last night I said goodbye to the kittens. I had blocked off an area that gave them some running room. Really if you are feeling down, sit and watch some kittens play for awhile. I haven't laughed so hard in awhile. I wasn't down, but watching them? I could see how they could cheer someone up. At one point the two boy kittens, they were body slamming each other. Running full force from one end of the hallway to another and then launching themselves at each other. The little girl could hold her own as well. I sat in the hallway with them while they played and read a book. I became the climbing toy. For one of the boy kitten's it was like I was the "safe". He would constantly use me to hide from his brother and sister. After about an hour of running non stop, two of the kittens were tiring out and were curling up in my lap and purring. That is when the door bell rang. It was time for the kittens to go back home. They actually hissed at Amy and backed away from her. They had forgotten her! I felt so bad. They were all sitting calmly in their little box just staring up at me with the look of "do we have to leave???" It kinda broke my heart. So if anyone in the NOLA area was some sweet kittens let me know.....I would take them...if there wasn't already 3 at my house. Okay I would take one...but again with 3 already at my house? Not gonna happen. I think the dog will be my most high maintenance animal now, and like I said, she is pretty good. Other than the other night when she got into something that gave her diarrhea and made her throw up. She is better now.

So there will be a lot of running from house to house to house this weekend caring for animals. Don't worry I will get my fix of music as well this weekend. :)

We are also less than one week from my sister and family arriving in town!! WHOO HOO!!

Yesterday it was silliness and fun. Today I bring you babies and kittens. My friend Amy called me yesterday afternoon and told me that the person that had agreed to watch three 6 week old kittens had backed out and would I mind doing it? She tempted me with the use of her car as well, which really the kittens were the winners there. She brought them over last night and they are just too adorable. One is all white with big blue eyes, another has brownish/grayish coat with black stripes and gray eyes and the other one, well I would say almost a putty color with blue eyes. Two boys, one girl. They are still being fed via syringe. Actually only two are. The white one marched right up to the bowl of milk and drank his fill that way. Then he ran off too play as the other two climbed on me for the syringe. I will be watching them for a week. Liza Jane (my cat) hates me right now and the other two seem fine. OH I also start house/dog sitting on Saturday for someone else. Maybe I just need to make a career out of this?

On to the baby part. This month my beautiful niece is making her way here to NOLA for a visit. In about two weeks and a few days. I hear she is taking swim lessons already, just over a year old and it looks like she maybe a water baby.

She is looking so much like my sister in this pic!! It is crazy, I can't wait to see her again (of course my sister and BIL as well) I just hope Aubrey doesn't cry when she sees me!!

I am sitting here at my desk. At work. On Christmas Eve. When I should be in Phoenix, enjoying my family. There had been a small chance that I was going to get to go home, however my boss decided that someone had to be here and he already has taken today off. So there you go. Instead of seeing my niece enjoy her first Christmas this evening I will sit here and count the times the phone has rang ( 2 times in the last hour ) and stare at the empty IN box. Who knows...maybe it will pick up....maybe they will let us leave early. Oh and to top off all this joy? I have a cold. Spent all day yesterday with a sore throat, fever and aches. Today throat isn't as bad, but the aches are still there, no fever.

As for the weekend it ended up being quiet. Bonerama played Friday night and it was nice to see a decent size crowd come out for that. We got a sneak peek, rather listen to how the boys will be playing the National Anthem at the Sugar Bowl. They proceeded to rock everyone's socks off. It was a nice night that hasn't happened that often. It is kinda sad how few times they have played in NOLA this year. Someone even asked me if they were from Florida as they play there a lot. Nope, they are NOLA boys.

Saturday I spent doing laundry and the rest of my shopping. That evening I had Christmas with Kristen and her man. We had planned on going out that night, but I was starting to feel nasty and Kristen's flight was early yesterday morning.

After getting Kristen to the airport I spent the day cleaning and watching the Saints game. I am having fun trying to coordinate getting over to my friend's house to make sure Dart gets his pill (he was put on another weeks worth on Friday) and staying at my house to feed the cats. Kristen's cat is on a diet so you can't just leave a bowl full of food for him out. Made for an exeptionally early morning today. Oh well...it has to be done. :_)

So there is a good chance that I will be spending the holidays here in NOLA. Instead of Phoenix with my family. I have just seen my parents and Lisa, Scott and Aubrey were here not to long ago. (I do really want to be part of Aubrey's first Christmas) However it isn't looking so hot right now. I don't have any vacation time and flight prices are insane. I have spent Thanksgiving alone and that was okay, however I don't know how I feel about spending Christmas alone. I do have friends that will be here, however I feel odd intruding on a family holiday. We will just see how it goes. I may actually find a great flight that won't cause me into further debt by making me lose more hours at work. Stranger things have happened right?

Yesterday after waking early we went down to Camilla Grill for a lovely brunch. I love that place. I am happy that did reopen. We then went to the D-Day Museum, aka the WWII museum. My dad is a HUGE history buff and he has passed some of that on to me. So I treated him and my mom to a day out there. It really was a day out there. We went through the main part of the museum and it took us 4 hours. We didn't even make it to the new exhibit of When Baseball went to War. That is alright, I am sure that we missed a lot as it is and we will need to go back again. We then headed out to the Quarter to do some last minute shopping for my mom. After a fantastic dinner at a friends house (anyone ever heard of Hangover Soup?) we made it home. Kristen and I did venture out the Leaf for about an hour.

Now here I sit. I am debating on what I am going to do today. Maybe some shopping, maybe some decorating for Christmas. Maybe just watch TV. My parents left already so there is no entertaining to go. :) Have a great weekend!

Yesterday we headed out the the Fairgrounds to take in a NOLA tradition, which is the horse races. It was a rather cool day with the wind whipping around making it feel even cooler. We got there in time to watch one race, then we went inside to warm up a bit. We started to peruse the race form and since I was the only one to have been before I tried to share my knowledge. Which wasn't that much. I tried to pick the three horses that would win 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Which I believe is an Exacta but I don't really know. I did this without betting any money. I had two of the horses right, at least in the top three. They didn't come in the order I had thought. I decided to risk $5 and put $2 on a horse to win and $3 to place on another. The horse I picked to win came in 2nd. My parents and I decided to stay for one more race and they decided to take a risk. I was showing my mom had to use the machine and I picked a horse pretty much picked really fast and mainly on the name of the horse. I put $2 on this horse to win. Both my parents were on seperate machines making their bet. They ended up picking the same horse to win and same horse to place. Of course the one they picked to place was the one that I picked to win. As we sat down to watch the race, my mom decided that she needed to place a bet on Stormin' Eddie since my grandfather (her stepdad) is named Ed. The race started and my horse was in the middle of the pack. So I started routing for Stormin' Eddie as did my mom. He ended in coming in 2nd. Who one? Rome is Burning. The horse that I picked to win. I was so concerned with Stormin' Eddie I didn't even pay attention as to who won until my dad pointed it out. I walked away with $23. My parents got $7 each for picking that horse to place. We were all pretty happy with that. As we were walking out? Who did we pass going in? We passed the following gentlemen...I stopped and looked back and said, "I think that is Drew Brees, no he isn't that small..." my dad said "yeah he is" We didn't know until this morning that yes in fact it was Drew Brees, the New Orleans Saints Quarterback.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and gets to spend a lot of time with family and friends. Don't eat too much turkey or watch too much football! I will probably do that for everyone!

What am I thankful for this year?

* My family
* My friends
* My cat
* My health
* the fact there was no hurricanes
* lots of good time

I don't think I have eaten so much food ever in my LIFE. Okay I am sure I have, but so far this week? It has been ALOT. And I do mean ALOT. See it always happens when someone visits. You go out to eat, and down here the portions are so large it is like you are feeding a football team, instead of just yourself. So far this week we have eaten at Praline Connection (had the gumbo was okay nothing special) Po'Boy Fest (duck po'boy from Crabby Jacks. AWESOME) Carrollton Station (Station burger it was yummy) Jacque Imo's (Fried Chicken unbelievable and did you know that Abita made a Jackamo's IPA? It wasn't so good) and last night? We went to Ruth Chris Steakhouse. I had gotten a GC there last Christmas and then on my Birthday I got another one. So we decided to go and have a fancy smachy meal. Let me tell you it was wonderful. They started with the bread, we got a very tasty wine, and had a calamari appie that was a bit salty but not bad. The salad was divine. The dinner itself? oh my word. I had the Venison and you really could tell I had ANY at all. My dad had the Sea Bass, my mom the Ribeye. My Venison had a blackberry sauce to die for. I also had a side of Fresh Asparagus and my mom had mushrooms. A whole lot of it is sitting in my fridge right now.

All that food I just listed? yeah most of that is just dinners. I try not to eat much during the day right now! We still have 3 more dinners to go here!! Two of them being Thanksgiving dinners!! I am going to have to buy all new clothes soon...bigger ones.

As I was showering this morning I was amazed thinking that the Bonerama gig was just this past Friday night....and not 2 weeks ago. That is what it felt like. Yes a lot went on this weekend, however I have done more and not been so disoriented. Must be the fact that my parents are in town.

Friday night after work I took the streetcar down to the Columns Hotel. The Columns is a beautiful old house right in the Garden District. There we were able to enjoy the sounds of New Orleans Helsinki Connection in the front room. If you have never been to the Colums, they have this HUGE front porch in which they have a ton of tables out there, there is a front room with tables as well and music nightly. They have a very nice bar with a loungy feel to it. Apparently this is the place to have "cocktails". Someone I was with called it a meatmarket and I have to agree. After the gig was done, I had to run home as I only had an hour before my ride came to pick me up for I quickly organized the merch and changed clothes then was out the door for some Bonerama fun. As I said on Saturday there were several new songs. I am waiting to get the names of them all. I know one of them is "Bite Your Bitch" I must confess when I saw that title on the set list it was abbreviated and all it said was "Bitch" I thought it was about me. ;) The set included more instrument swapping and hula hooping. There was also a small strip tease. My pictures are sitting at Walgreens as I type. I will do my best to pick them up tonight. A nightcap at the Maple Leaf was had, then it was home to sleep.

I woke up early on Saturday unable to convince my body to go back to sleep. I had only 5 hours of sleep in me. After a yummy breakfast at Oak Street Cafe, I caught a few shows on Tivo then decided to tackle the house. I finally got my pictures hung up in my room and the house sparkling just in time to listen to the Grizzlies beat the Bobcats. About an hour after they were suppose to arrive, my parents finally made it to my house. We got them settled in and then out the door we went. We had dinner down on Frenchmen Street at the Praline Connection, then walked down to see John Boutte, Todd Duke and Leroy Jones playing at d.b.a. It was of course PACKED on the stage side of the bar, so we sat on the side. Ran into a few friends and had nice conversations. We were eventually able to snag a window seat on the stage side for the second set. It wasn't long after that set ended that we had to leave, as I was again selling merchandise that night, this time it was for 101 Runners. My parents did make it through the first band and the first set of 101 before they decided to call it a night. At that point they were up for close to 24 hours. After they left, I found a hard time staying awake, so I was sent out to do some dancing, that really woke me up. At one point in the front bar area it was just myself, Jason and Travis the two bartenders. Everyone else was squeezed in front of the stage dancing. I have never seen that before.

Yesterday after snoozing in a bit, we went out to the Po'Boy fest. Let me tell you that the organizers and myself didn't expect as many people as there was. It was PACKED!! It took us forever to make it from my house down to the the Maple Leaf. It is only 2 blocks away! I do think that they really needed to break up the food stalls just a bit. They put all of them on one block, along with the beer garden with the Saints game playing. It was a huge bottle neck. We did enjoy the sounds coming from both stages, a duck po'boy with slaw and ran into a lot of people. Ashley and I decided to tell my parents that this happened every Sunday in our neighborhood. It was close to the truth! The night ended fairly early, in fact I do believe I was in bed by 9 last night! Crazy but true.

I am looking forward to my parents getting to meet even more of my friends as the week goes on.

Right now I can hear the stages being set up for the Po Boy Festival!! I can't wait. It is going to be a long fun day!

I was proud of my parents they made it at the Maple Leaf through the first set of the 2nd band. They are extremly tired now, but they did it!

Oh and the GRIZZLIES WON!! Ended the regular season at 11-0. We will find out later who they play in the first round of the playoffs.

Looking back on the week, it seems like it as and endless one. We have in fact made it to Friday. I am feeling about 100 better than I was at the beganning of the week and just in time because the insanity is going to start up again.

I am going to see one of my favorite groups this evening for a cocktail hour, New Orleans Helsinki Connection is playing for the first time in awhile. The group is a combination of musicians from New Orleans and Helsinki. Hence the name. Two of my dear friends are in the band and I haven't seen them in over a month! That is unheard of for us. Granted they were overseas for a bit, but still.

After their gig ends, I have to run home and gather the merchandise then it is off to Rock-n-Bowl for an evening with Bonerama. Someone is hoping to start early, so we shall see if that actually transpires.

Tomorrow morning I need to get up early and finish cleaning up the house, doing laundry and hang up some more pictures in my room. Then I need to find a place to watch the University of Montana Grizzlies take on the Montana State Bobcats. GO GRIZ!! My parents will also arrive on this day. Saturday night I am selling merch for 101 Runners at the Maple Leaf.

Sunday there is a festival happening pretty much right outside my door. It will be a grand time with food and several great bands playing. Not to mention watching the Saints game!! Then before I know it? It will be Thanksgiving day!

Aubrey Rose left yesterday afternoon and headed on back to Phoenix with her parents. She is a very sweet and loving baby. She loves to smile and now loves to blow razzberries. I wonder who taught her that??? Actually she loves to copy people. Herself included. She will sneeze, and then right after that? She will do a fake sneeze. We all know it is fake, she even smiles after it, she is so proud of herself. She will do a fake cough. I was blowing razzberries at her and she was just watching me. Next thing my sister and I know....she is trying to do it back. Of course there were lots of spit bubbles involved as well as she did it.....and she does it alot now. But she almost has it down. She loves to watch football....that catches her attention more than anything else on the TV. Maybe that is because her grandfather watches it with her all the time. For a 5 month old she is pretty darn mellow.

I am now on the baby let down....no sweet baby to snuggle with, listen to giggle, smell that sweet baby smell. I miss em. Hopefully one day I will get to have my own.

Last night we had a delivery of things for Aubrey's visit. A pac-n-play and a little bouncy chair. There is a company you can use when out travelling with your kids called Baby's Away. It is a company that rents all kind of items that you may need, but don't have room to take or don't want to lug onto a plane.

My cat has decided that the two items that are now in the house? Are for her. I crawled into bed, the pac-n-play is set up right next to it, as Lisa and Scott will be using my room while in town. Liza crawled into the pac-n-play and started checking it out. She even laid in it for a bit. Eventually she crawled out. She later decided it was a good hiding place when her and Max are playing. She would come tearing into my bedroom and vault off my stomach into the pac-n-play. Apparently when she got tired of that? She curled up in the bouncy chair and took a snooze. Can't wait to see what she does once the baby is here.

Last night I finally unpacked the last few boxes that I had in my room. I still have to find a shoe rack for all my shoes and then I will be official unpacked. Hanging up pictures and what not is next. I have things crammed into that room like there is no tomorrow. I will take some pics of it soon and eventually share.

Tomorrow my sister, Scott and Aubrey come to town for the weekend. I am excited about getting to see my niece again, it will be her first of many many trips to NOLA. Be on the look out for some pics of her enjoying the city. You know things like flashing on Bourbon Street, enjoying a Hurricane at Pat O's, dancing on bars.....

Scott was feeding Aubrey as Lisa drove me to the airport right after we took these pics. Aubrey of course doesn't go by our schedule, and she decided it was time to eat right then.

little different shot so we could at least see some of her face

And of course, one of her cute Princess outfit. :)

Week one of Jazz Fest is over. I have tales and woes to share (not really woes at all, it just sounded better to me) I have scores of pictures to share. Music galore!! However, none of that is going to happen right now. Do ya’ll realize that in one week it is my sister’s due date?!?!?!? That little girl could make an appearance really at any time and I thought she was going to come early, but now it looks like she may be taking after her mother and come late. ;) She could still prove me wrong, there are 7 days till the due date. Tomorrow is another Dr’s appointment so I am hoping to hear there is some progression from the 1cm diulated that she has been at for the past 2 weeks. I know my sister will be happy to finally have her. Her legs and ankles are so swollen, she has cankles and she isn’t one bit happy about it. I can’t even imagine the anticipation that she is going through right now, I mean I can’t wait, but it is nothing to what my sister must be going through. I know she is nervous about the delivery as well. She will be fine, I know she is going to pull through it like a champ. I am still in disbelief that she is having a baby and am so happy!! I want to meet this little girl!!

My sockets are finally feeling better. So much better that I am able to eat solid food a bit better now. This is a good thing. I don't have to feel like I am gumming my food anyore. This month has definetly started out a good foot. I had a fantastic weekend just FILLED will fantastic music. Also spending time with some good friends, some friends I haven't seen in awhile, and new friends. Friday night we saw thePaul Sanchez. Sitting in with him was Susan Cowsill also got up and sang a few songs. Good times were had by all.

I know this month is going to FLY by there is SO.MUCH. going on. This week Kristen's parents are visiting. The music that is happening this weekend is out of control (New Orleans Nightcrawlers, Bonerama, Paul Sanchez) the following weekend it is all about French Quarter Fest, the week after that some dear friends get married, a bunch of friends will be in town, and it is Bonerama's cd release party, the next two weekends after that it is Jazz Fest. It will make for the waiting for my niece's arrival so much easier. For me at least. ;) I really don't think my sister will agree with that. Also at this point I am waiting anxiously to hear when baby Perrine is going to make his appearance. I am thinking today.

Mardi Gras 2007 is officially over and has been over for several days. I am just now starting to feel "normal" I don't even know where to start. I guess starting way back about 2 weeks ago. Because that is what started it all in full swing.

Friday Feb 9th. I got off work and ran down to the quarter to catch a bit of the Krewe of Cork parade. That looks like a good krewe to be part of! Dancing through the quarter in costume drinking wine. The band consisted of a few people I knew, Leroy, Katja and Mark Braud. Some friends caught up with me as well in the quarter. When the walking parade was done we headed out to Matty's house which isn't that far off the parade route. It became a gathering place. Food and booze were collected then we headed on off to catch the evening parades. We then decided to go to the Maple Leaf for an AMAZING night of music and celebration.

Saturday Feb 10th Kristen and I decided to go downtown to watch the parades so we would be closer to the ferry to Old Point. We caught about 4 floats of the first parade then we had to leave, we wanted to make it across the river before the Orpheus Open House ended. We just barely made it. Appetizers and drinks were consumed at the Dry Dock Bar with our dear B.R. friends. We then all headed back to Matty's to hang out and wait for the evening parades. We ended up missing the parades, and that was just okay. We did make it out to Le Bon Temps to see Big Sam that night. Talk about crazy packed. Le Bon Temps isn't that big to begin with. I thought for awhile it was just me getting old and not liking the crowds, but it was REALLY packed.

Sunday Feb 11th We watched the parades out on St. Charles. This was a special day as my dear friends got engaged this day. There were a TON of people out there to witness the event, Megan had NO clue it was going to happen at all. A ring box was tossed off the float during King Arthur, it was a quick swap with the real ring box with the ring, next thing Megan knew (she was trying to get beads from their friends riding) Andy was on bended knee presenting the ring. Needless to say we didn't see much of the rest of that parade!!

Monday Feb 12th. Recovery day. I was going to do laundry this day and start cleaning as family was arriving soon. I made Kristen do her laundry first.

Tuesday Feb 13th. 3:00 AM tornado rips through the neighborhood. We lost the balcony roof, shattered windows (the one in my room is not repaired yet not that I am complaining) We spent all day cleaning up the mess. I was amazed and shocked at how fast the response was. The city had people out on our street by 7:30 AM done by about 4:00 PM. Nagin (our mayor) stopped by our house to see how we were. Kristen and I decided to stay at the house even without the power.

Wednesday Feb. 14th. By noon we had power, which was a good thing because my sister was coming into town!! Lisa came to my work, hung out for a bit then Kristen came to pick us up. We went back over to Matty and Sherrilynn's for more parade madness and a very yummy dinner. While they all went out to hear music, Lisa and I headed back to the house.

Thursday Feb. 15th. I worked this day, taking off an hour early and met up with my sister on the bus who had been out exploring Magazine. Once home we got all bundled up in layers of clothes then headed back out to Matty and Sherrilynn's. There we took in the 3 parades, the favorite being of course Muses. That parade pretty much rules.

Friday Feb 16th. I went into work a bit late. I spent most of the day praying to the flight gods that the Mulveys would FINALLY make it to town (they were suppose to be here on the 14th) Lisa and I wandered through the quarter for a bit then met up with our dear B.R. friends and Kristen at the Ugly Dog. At this time I knew the Mulveys were on their flight but I was under strict instruction NOT to say anything to the B.R. krewe. That was some damn hard work. We wandered up to Lee Circle and caught the parades. Right as they were ending I told Hank that I had a few new friends for them to meet, cuz coming down the street were the Mulveys. The look on Hank's face was priceless!! We even convinced Gayle to meet us back down at the Dog, and she was suprised, though I think she figured it out before she walked in. We then ran off to the airport (back roads don't help during MG time, we kept getting trapped behind floats on the move) were we picked up my brother in law.

Saturday Feb 17th. We started off towards the quarter and saw the masses of people all lined up already for the parades. Kristen and I decided to find spots to hold down for the day. We sent my sister and bro-in-law off to the quarter with the Mulvey's while we held down a spot at Lee Circle with Matty and Sherrilynn. The best parade of the day was Tucks. Our next door neighbors were riding and they piled us with loot. In fact Kristen is still sporting the bruise on her forehead from a full on frontal attack. I had words with the cab driver who wouldn't bring my cousin downtown. It is a flat rate from the airport and the cabby would have been stuck in the traffic for awhile. Not my fault she was on the airport run. If we had given the driver a hotel to drop my cousin off in, she would have had no choice. As it was I had to give her directions to my house, which is right off a major intersection. My cousin had to sit on the porch until we got there to pick her up. Kristen knew a round a bout way to get back, and she managed to score the same parking space. Endymion sucked except for my Taylor Hicks beads that some lady caught and gave to me. She had heard me telling people around me that that was the mission, was getting beads from Taylor. (I am guessing she heard or someone told her) the throws sucked from Endymion (when they threw em) and the drunken college students that showed up (squeezing into the space we had been in for 8 hours) really put a damper on the parade. They were even throwing beer bottles at the riders. Jerk offs.

Sunday Feb. 18th. We all headed down to the quarter...again traffic was a nightmare. We let Lisa, Scott and Jessica off so they could explore out on Esplanade. As we crept along Decatur I realized I had to go to the bathroom. I jumped out of the car at Molly's used the facilities and grabbed a few drinks to go. Of course by then the traffic was moving. I didn't catch up with the car until the other side of Harrahs. Let's put it this way. I made it clear across the quarter in about 10 mins or less. With drinks. We then walked back to the quarter were we met up with everyone at Pat O's. We met up with the Mulveys out on Bourbon then we all walked past the Jolie/Pitt household. We eventually went out to the Treme to visit Leroy and Katja. We didn't catch any of the day parades this day. We headed out to the end of the parade route were we got some spots and watched Bacchus. A great parade for catches. After it was over the fam headed over to hang with some friends who booked a hotel room for a couple of nights. They didn't want to do the driving back and forth from the North Shore.

Monday Feb. 19th. We got parking early, took Jessica to Acme, Harrah's then down to Molly's. We had a hike to get back to the convention center in time for the Orpheus Press Conference. We just made it. Got to say hi to Harry. Lisa, Kristen and I decided that we were going to the beginning of the parade. Good thing we did, we got our pics with Sean Payton, Harry and Patricia Clarkson there. Sean was so much fun!! At one point he was even singing in my ear!! We raced back to the end of the parade route and caught the parade. We all then raced over to Holwin Wolf were I got the merch table set up and Bonerama opened for George Porter Jr and the Runnin Pardners. This was really the only super late night. Pretty soon the only one left from my krewe was Kristen. Everyone else had left to get some shut eye. The band stopped around 4 AM. Bed by 5 AM.

Tuesday Feb. 20th. Up at 8:30 AM and out the door by 9:30 AM. We had the best cab driver who got us down to the Bywater for the start of the St. Anne parade. We made it through the whole thing, Lisa and Scott decided to go and nap while my cousin and I kept going. By the time Kristen caught up with us, we were pretty wiped. I think we got home at 10 that night. It was one of the best Mardi Gras days ever!!

Wed. Feb 21st...everyone headed home. :(

Thursday Feb. 22nd back to work.

I suffered the worst tension headache for about 2 days...it is just now starting to fade. Have stayed home both last night and tonight. Amazing. I am just wiped, however I would not change a moment of it for anything!!

The following is a short article from the Missoulian. Lynn is/was my aunt's partner for many years.

Arlee woman killed in crash north of Missoula
MISSOULA - A 53-year-old Arlee woman died at the scene Thursday after her car swerved into the path of a semi tractor-trailer on U.S. 93 north of here.Missoula County Sheriff's Lt. Mike Pfau identified the victim as Lynn Shelby, 53. She reportedly died from blunt force trauma.The Montana Highway Patrol said that the southbound lane was closed for about one hour after the crash, which happened at about noon.
Shelby reportedly had stopped to pick up fast food just before the accident.It was Montana's 15th highway death this year, one fewer than on the same date a year ago.

I started this day off great. With a piece of King Cake. There really is no other way to say "Good Morning" than a piece of King Cake and coffee. In fact it was so good that I may go grab another piece. How I also knew it will be a good day? First song on the ipod shuffle this morning was Craig Klein's "Marie Laveau". Tomorrow Bonerama plays at d.b.a. The next night we will be there again for Tin Men. After of course taking in Krewe de Vieux. I love that parade. It is soooo much fun. Chris Rose is the big Kahuna for this parade. I :heart: Chris Rose. Also it is only like 2 weeks till my sister gets into town....my crazy friends as well. Other than the 14th? This month should be a-okay!

Bonerama played last night...I danced onstage to start the new year. It was a great night. I took this from Zoot's website because I lack the ability to write an actual post. That and I am hungry.

1. What did you do in 2006 that you’d never done before?

Semi-witnessed a shooting

Went to a Broadway show

Was on National TV twice

Got to be on a NFL football field for one of the most exciting opening games ever
Went to a live Bonerama recording.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't do resolutions, I only do goals for the New Year. I guess that is kind of the same, however I feel like resolutions are suppose to happen. Goals I would like to happen. Yes I made one. To live a healthy lifestyle over all.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No, but they will this year!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Thankfully not this year.

5. What countries did you visit?
none....working on Brazil and Ascona....someday.

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
To get laid more. That requires a boy. Would like a boy please.

7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
August 29th, 2006. 2nd lining down the street feeling the joy and hopefulness in the air.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
moving up in the company I work for from reception to admistrative work in a fast manner.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Lack of not getting laid.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yes. I hurt my back so bad this summer I couldn't move.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Broadway ticket to see Harry

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Craig Klein, he is doing what he can to get the musicians home.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The idiots who find that shooting/killing people is the only way to resolve issues.

14. Where did most of your money go?
The Maple Leaf

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Going to NYC twice last year, visiting my family, finding out I going to be an aunt.

16. What song will always remind you of 2006?
The Saints are Coming. Also Who Dat?

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? 
b) thinner or fatter? 
c) richer or poorer?
Happier/fatter/poorer.(damn maple leaf)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
boys. no excersising.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
eating poorly

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
With family.

21. Did you fall in love in 2006?
sadly no I did not.

22. How many one-night stands?
sadly none.

23. What was your favorite TV program?
How I Met Your Mother, The Class, Scrubs.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Yes, skanky whores. Really....no one.

25. What was the best book you read?
I read to many.....seriously. Night was good, the Anderson Cooper one was good...there are too many to list.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Taylor Hicks.

27. What did you want and get?
ipod

28. What did you want and not get?

running theme here I see....laid

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
Pursit of Happyness

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
31, hanging out with friends and hearing live music.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Having my car issues finally resolved.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Casual meets Lazy.

33. What kept you sane?
The Maple Leaf. Aka good music.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
George Clooney

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
Katrina Recovery (Or lack thereof) ~Amen to that.

36. Who did you miss?
All my friends that I didn't get to see.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
My friend Jessica who is just as obsessed with New Orleans and the music as I am.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006.
I can get through anything I have to no matter what.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"Give me a break, give me a break, break me off a piece of the kit kat bar"

It was a quick trip. Friday Morning I flew into Phoenix, yesterday I returned home. It was a nice relaxing visit with my parents, sister, bro-in-law and cousin. We mainly watched football and movies. Not a bad way to spend a few days at all. Christmas was lovely and quiet. I was so very happy to be able to feel the baby move on Christmas Day. Scott is mad, he hasn't felt her move yet. My sister and I kept trying to get him to feel again but he was being stubborn. I took advantage because I won't get to feel her moving that much. I bet in Feb when they are here for Mardi Gras we will all be able to feel her kickin and a movin.

So here I am back in NOLA, it is time to dive into the craziness. Tonight it is a big show at HOB featuring Beatin Path, Bonerama and Cowboy Mouth. Musical heaven.

It never fails to amaze me. When I come to another city to see the differences. Yesterday I flew into Phoenix to celebrate the holidays. Apparently I brought the rain with me. Because the flooding by my home on Thursday wasn't enough. Thank god I am not the kind that melts. The differences I am talking about, are not just the ones we have experienced since Katrina. I noticed this even before. There is something missing in the air, the people. Just something. There is some charm that I miss. That is okay. There are other things that I get to experience here that I don't in New Orleans, the coffee brewing in the kitchen as my mom talks to my cousin. The dogs all wandering around, getting to see my sister soon. Each place has its own uniqueness I guess.

My sister called me yesterday with the news that I am going have a niece. I can't wait to meet the little girl!! :)

Today was beyond crazy with a VERY busy day at work and then 8 hours of shopping (yes shopping) and gift wrapping. I started and finished my shopping today. Thank god. ;)

There are three things to post about today. 2 are HUUUUUGE. One is eh. I just can't contain my excitement....today is going to be looooong ass day. Even worse? Tomorrow. The waiting for the fun to begin. I have a love/hate relationship with anticipation. This is one of those cases.

I have my eye doctor appointment set up for this coming Tuesday. Luckily, the doctor I have seen in the past is still here! YAY! Also he is still within my insurance plan!! I have to pay a deductible. BOOOOO!! :( This appointment? Yeah...I get to pay it in full. Unless it. Or at least $300 of it. That sucks.
Tomorrow afternoon....it is one of those football games. Those of you that are into college football know what I mean. This is it. The biggest game of the year for the University of Montana Grizzlies. Okay maybe not THE biggest game (I am hoping that the 1-AA Championship game will be the biggest.) However this is the grude match between the Grizzlies and those pesky Montana State Bobcats. It is the 9th oldest football rivalry in the nation (among small colleges) and the Grizzlies lead the series (of course) We are heading into the 106th meeting of the teams!! The Grizzlies are ranked #2 right now in the nation (1-AA) the Bobcats are ranked #15. The Griz lead the Big Sky Conference 7-0 and the Bobcats are 2nd 6-1. If the Griz win? They take the BSC title and get an automatic bid to the playoffs. If the Cats dare to win, they will both share the BSC title and the Cats get the automatic playoff bid. Its going to be a tough tough game. The Griz have won some really close games this year, this I have a feeling will be the toughest. Lisa (my dear sister who unfortunatley is a a Bobcat by default, but still roots for the Griz RIGHT??) Tell that Bobcat husband of yours that he is going DOOOOWN!!! There are satellite parties happening all over the country so Cat/Griz alum can watch, however? The one here in LA is in Monroe. Yeah...not going to happen for me. I did hear that the game is being broadcast via satellite on ESPN. I was going to stay home and watch it on the computer...or at least listen...but I may have to run to Cooter Browns instead if I can get the coordinates. We will see. GO GRIZ!!
Now that I have rambled on about the Football game. It seems almost silly to mention the next big thing. Which is HUGE believe me. I know I have mentioned it, but I feel the need to mention it once again. Tomorrow is the Comedy Relief special on TBS/HBO. (Comedy Relief? Comic Relief?) no matter....the main issue here is they are holding this once again to help benefit New Orleans. Once again...the house band in Vegas are my boys in Bonerama!!!! I can't tell everyone how proud, excited and nervous I am for them. This is a HUGE opprotunity for them. Watch it if you can. Tivo it. Love it. I will be enjoying it from Harrah's here in New Orleans...they will be doing a live feed from here to Vegas...Wayne Brady is hosting. I :heart: Wayne Brady. I am heading down there with a few people who will be slightly more excited and proud if that is at all possible....Mark Mullins' wife and her sister and Matt Perrine's mom. Watch for us. ;)

Right after getting to Dia and Randy's house in Hickory, TX to await my fate (will I be able to return to NOLA) I decided to make a blanket for my sister. I mean it was the beginning of Sept, and her birthday was days away. It seemed like a good way to try to keep my mind off the ongoings of the city. We are a year and 2 months past her birthday again, and I STILL haven't finished. In fact, I didn't like how it was turning out at ALL so I am in the process of taking out the entire thing...and starting over. My goal is to have it done by Christmas. (quit laughing...I can do it!! really!!) I owe her 2 birthday presents as well so she is going to be rocking in the gifts this year. I had been hoping to get one done for the baby as well, but I am not going to go overboard on trying to get that done. Maybe while I am there for Christmas I can have her chose the colors she wants.....to match the nursery. I still can't believe that I am going to be an auntie and my big sis is going to be a mommy. :) :)

I had a nice post all done up with a red little bow, when my computer froze and I lost everything. I then proceeded to actually do some work, and forgot pretty much everything I wrote. So once again, its comin at you bullet style, in totally random order.

Seahawks won. They sucked, but they won. At least the first half with the 7 sacks was pretty fun to watch.
Seriously....Neil Patrick Harris (aka Swarley) is gay? dammit. Not suprising, but dammit.
Benefit show at Tips last night was full of wonderful music, suprises, and just plain good times. Bonerama rocked it with what seems to be their new band member Tony Clifton. Brings a whole new 'tude to the gigs.
Tipitina's Foundations, Musicians Clinic, and Arabi Wrecking Krewe should be proud, it was a nice touch to have so many different musicians present.
Ray finally got "boned" Hope you enjoyed it enough to come to the Maple Leaf on Saturday!
I said two words to Mike Mills from REM it was either "great job" or "sounds great" to which he responded "thanks" I rule.
Its flooding in Washington. Washington State. To my peeps up in Seattle, if you need some shrimp boots, waders, a rubber duckie, let me know.
Chris Rose was there last night. I stood next to him during the Bonerama set, didn't say a word. I was/am intimated by him. He writes so well, and is always right on the money. Hell Dooce even linked to him. That is uber cool.
With a little amount of sleep, I am feeling remarkably "normal" today.
My sister finally sent me the pics of her ultrasound from last Friday. I may have teared up a bit when I saw my little niece/nephew. We won't know if it is a boy or a girl for about 6 more weeks. I already told her I think its a boy.

I started my weekend off last night. I headed out to the Maple Leaf to catch the Trio. Last night that consisted of Mark Mullins, Kevin O'day, and Mike Lemmler. They played a little Nirvana, a little Folsom Prison, some Bonerama stuff as well as a rare treat for Mulebone fans, "Heaven's Moon" I got to hang out with some cool people that I have gotten to know from the Bonerama gigs, got some sweet drink deals from my fav bartender at the Leaf, just in general had a great time.

All the while my sister was at home in Phoenix all snug in bed....getting some much needed sleep. She is going to be needing her sleep right now because after May 8th? She won't be getting much for awhile. That is because after that day, she will be a full time mommy!! :) That is right, she is expecting. Right now she is about 11 weeks. She should find out in the next few weeks if she will be having my niece or my nephew. That seems a little weird to me, going to be an aunt. I am so excited and estatic and happy for her and Scott. I know they will be good parents, and I know that baby is going to be soooo spoiled by both my parents, Scott's parents, Scott's sister and myself. Wow...where did the time go??? It kinda seemed like yesterday that we were fighting like cats and dogs (oh the stories that we have) and now she is going to be a mommy. I am so proud.

I realized this weekend that we are half way through Sept. Which means that we are 3-1/2 months until the end of the year. Really where did 2006 go? I feel that since moving here time just flies by. I guess it really does fly when your having fun. Okay so the last half of last year was pretty much blur of emotions, numbness, and general WTF??? I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that a year ago I was hanging out at Dia and Randy's with my fellow evacuee's Leroy and Katja. Mind boggling almost. While in some aspects I feel like it was yesterday, and in others? I feel like it was years ago. So much has happened...so much will continue to happen. It is interesting how many people are bringing up resolutions that they came up with at NYE. Rockstar Mommy is the latest to do it. I went back through my blog and realized that for once? I didn't make resolutions. I just listed the things I was looking forward to....and boy...no wonder I don't remember much of the the year!! ;) I did everything on that list except 2 things....they won't happen as they were possible trips and well...can't afford that now. Its all good. There is plenty of time for that right?

I did experience a fairly uncommon event this weekend. It was called not doing much of anything at all. Really. Friday night the big event was going to the movies (Last Kiss, love it, depressing, funny, wonderful love both Zach Braff and my new movie star crush Michael Weston). Part of that night may or may not have included some spying on our neighbors. They were having a big fancy pants party (remember my neighbor was one of the millions running for mayor and was actually in the top 8 or whatever). They had spots blocked out in front of their house for no parking, however we may or may not have obsessed that the Mayor was coming. We don't know....we went to the movies. Saturday was a good solid day of wrecking. It was a small krewe but we go a TON done. There is of course more to do, as always but we all left feeling like we made some progress. I had planned on going to the Roller Derby that night but couldn't get my ass off the couch. Once I started watching "Lost Boys" all hope was lost. Sunday I was going to go help out with wrecking again...this time it was a NOLA blogger's home, but I couldn't muster the energy. That and I didn't have a ride. I really had to do some stuff around the house also. Like laundry. I know ya'll can just barely contain your excitement over my weekend right? It is rare that I have a quiet weekend at home, and I loved every second of it. Now if I could just sleep through the night? Life would be grand.

Now for the next 3-1/2 months? I have some things planned....not as crazy...but should be good:

My Boys should be playing at the Leaf in Oct.
Voodoo Fest
Fundraising events for Arabi Wrecking Krewe
Wrecking
Thanksgiving (which may or may not include going to the race track)
Roller Derby
Gretna Heritage Fest
Phoenix for Christmas
I know there is more but my brain isn't working correctly. I like this whole no resolution thing...much easier to enjoy life.

I don't think I have shared my pics from last week's 2nd line. I will have to do that later today, I also have some from this weekend as well.

On Thursday morning, nice bright and early (as in 3:30 AM) I left my house for the airport. I was expecting security to be a PITA, however the only delay was because security hadn't opened up yet! As it was I was like the 5th person through for the day. The flight left as scheduled at 5:45 AM, I made it to Phoenix by 10:30 AM. Spent the rest of the day running errands with my mom. Later that afternoon we headed out to the new AZ Cardinal stadium. We had a little tailgate action going on, my parents and my sister. I was using my BIL ticket as he had football practice (he is a coach) The stadium is pretty damn nice, the only problem is their sound system really sucks. They definetly need to work on that, it sounded like one of the teachers you heard on Charlie Brown Specials. My parents live super close to the stadium, I think we made it home within 10 minutes!

Friday it was more of running errands with my mom, then hanging out with my sister and her crazy dogs and loud ass birds. Lisa took a small nap while I read a book and watched a movie. We got all glammed up and hit the road. We picked up one of my sister's friends then went to Scottsdale. We met up with my parents and my cousin who I haven't seen in about 3 years. She had driven over from 29 Palms. We were at this little place called The Venue. It used to be called the Cajun Shack or something like that. The venue is set up almost like Tipitina's. However it has storefronts...almost like a boardwalk feel. It was a very cute place. We were there to take in some New Orleans bands...Beatin Path and Cowboy Mouth. I went up front for Beatin Path, and was soon joined by my cousin and my mom. Yes my mom. She stood right up front for all of the CM show...in front of a speaker no less. My cousin had heard CM in the car to the show....she is now a die hard fan. Right before Paul played "Home" he talked about Arabi Wrecking Krewe and how we had worked on his house and also Mike M. of Beatin Path's. He then pointed me out in the audience. The rest of the time Fred and JTG made faces at me. When they were done playing, Paul put down his guitar and jumped off the stage and came right up to me and gave me a HUGE hug and said "where is your family???" He then got to meet everyone. Somehow and I am not sure how...but Mike M had started talking to my dad who was sitting in the back, I think they are now BFF. Mike tried hard to get us all to go to Vegas with them for the next gig. Everyone is now big fans of both CM and Beatin Path.

Saturday was spent getting ready for a BBQ that we had at the house later that night. We all swam in the pool and ate some really good food. My BIL was BBQing in the rain and dark. At least the Pork had finished smoking! It was really nice to see alot of my sister's friends. I think a few of them may even come to Mardi Gras!

Sunday we just chilled at the house by the pool. Watched a few movies and relaxed. Yesterday I flew home. It was a great time. I would be a lot more rested if I could have actually slept through the night. However, if I am not in my bed? I wake up 50 million times every night. Oh well....I am used to functioning on small levels of sleep. I have 2 days to get caught up. I can do it.

Yes I realize that Monday has just started. However I think this is going to be a fairly nice one. The reasons I believe this to be so?

My birthday is in one week. One week from today.
I got my birthday present from my sister, bro-in law, and parents early. I am flying to AZ on August 31st. While there we are going a football game. As well as seeing Cowboy Mouth.
Bonerama has a gig this coming Friday at the Maple Leaf. Grace and I will celebrate our birthdays with good music. (Happy Birthday today Grace!!)
Tonight I am going to hang at Donna's and hear Leroy play.
The Better Than Ezra show on Saturday kicked some serious ass. Even the beer being spilled into my hair wasn't that bad.
Wed is the premier of the Spike Lee documentry...they are now going to show all 4 hours. I need to make sure to get my ticket.
We managed to finish a house on Saturday. By finish I mean its ready to have the studs pressure washed and cleaned of all the mold. All the nails are removed, debris removed, walls knocked down. It was a good feeling. Also Paul and Shelly Sanchez dropped off a few boxes of Southern Comfort t-shirts so we don't have to mess up our own clothes. :) :)
Cold Stone Creamery finally opened up. It was suppose to open before the storm. It now has. Its so very yummy.
I actually got a lot of rest this weekend. I don't know how, but I did!! I feel like I can actually take on this week head on.

Do you ever have some weeks/weekends where you have absolutely nothing planned and you tend to think to yourself “I have no life??” After I hurt my back I made no plans for several weeks. This weekend when talking to my mom she asked, “your not doing anything this weekend??” After I talked her out of her shock….I did end up hanging out with some friends on Saturday. That was it. I didn’t realize how crazy my week was until…last night. Last night we had a press conference (which pretty sure no press showed up for, because who really cares about rebuilding New Orleans) for Acorn and Arabi Wrecking Krewe and the work we will be doing together. A good time was had by all. I was reminded by Megan and Andy that tonight was the Thank You party for the Wed. in the Square Volunteers. Tomorrow night a bunch of the AWK peeps are going to meet up at Vaughn’s. Friday night will be Bonerama fun at the Leaf, Saturday will be wrecking of course. I think I will lie in my bed all day Sunday. Damn…no I can’t do that…the Tivo is in the living room. I need to catch up on all Newsradio. It’s back on tv!! Nick at Nite!! Guess its sofa city for me!!

I went to NYC for 4 days/3 nights. I had fun. We walked about 3 gazillion miles, saw lots of sights, ate little food (ate like once a day), hung out with my sister, bro in law and mom the whole time, saw Harry on Broadway, got on the Today show right behind Al while he did the weather.....and now I am back at work. Good times. I told someone today that my goal for the month of June is to work full weeks that whole month. I think I can handle that. More to come later. Work has blocked alot of blogs and what not. Cool I understand. Gotta be boring for the person answering phones however....I do it for about an hour a day (2 breaks and a lunch) and I get bored as hell.

The Tony Award Nominations were announced just a short time ago. My boy, Harry Connick Jr. was nominated for his role in Pajama Game. Over all the show received a total of 9 nominations:

Best Revival of a Musical
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical~Harry Connick Jr.
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical~Kelli O'Hara
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical~Megan Lawrence
Best Direction of a Musical~Kathleen Marshall
Best Choreography~Kathleen Marshall
Best Orchestrations~Dick Lieb and Danny Troob
Best Scenic Design of a Musical~Derek McLane
Best Costume Design of a Musical~Martin Pakledinaz
You can see the rest of the nominations here.

What else was really really really really cool??? The Regional Theatre Tony Award is going to Intiman Theatre in Seattle. Bartlett Sher the artistic director of the Intiman has TWO shows running on Broadway right now, Light in the Piazza (which Kelli O'hara was in last year and nominated for a Tony for that role, again last year) and Awake and Sing! Before I left Seattle? I worked at that theatre. Not on an actual production, but in the subcription office. I met Bartlett there a few times. This was right after Light in the Piazza had just premiered in Seattle, and was about to open in Chicago for a short run before opening on Broadway. He is a very cool guy so I am very happy for them. That theatre puts on some really amazing shows.

Oh....guess who gets to go and see the Pajama Game in like, 4 days???? Yeah that would be myself, my mom, my sister and my brother in law!!!

The hours are slowly ticking away. I am just 2 hours and 40 minutes away from having another 3 day weekend. And I dont want to work. I so have spring fever. I just want to go lay in the sun and nap. Maybe even clean up a bit around the house and do some laundry. You know the real exciting stuff. However? After tonight? Chaos kicks in for the next 3 weeks and I could not be more excited. French Quarter Fest starts tomorrow, goes all weekend. Next weekend? Jazz Fest. Lots of stuff in between the fests as well. Not to mention the week between Jazz Fest weekends....then I go to NY to see Harry on Broadway....celebrate my mom's birthday.....then I think I will have a few days rest.

Man this is so freakin boring and lame. I apologize. I need to be doing something right now while covering the phones so I don't keep staring at the clock and wishing it would jump to be 3:25 rather than 1:25.

But it also happens to be a very special day today. 52 years ago on the Flathead reservation, just outside of Missoula, MT....my dad was born. He has sure done alot in his life so far, the best thing of course being a great dad to my sister and myself. Okay....and marrying my mom. Happy Birthday Dad!!!

Yeah right like I can remember everything that happened in the past week. Its been a week! since all the kicked into high gear. If you saw any news coverage, that was only a very small part of Mardi Gras. I have heard they showed a lot of Bourbon, which was expected. Um, Hi that is the tourists down there not all the locals. But whatever. There are people out there (and here) that still don't understand how/why we could have had Mardi Gras. You don't understand and you don't get it. For the people, a large majority of the people, who have made it back home and have been here since "The thing" happened or home right after, this was much needed release, forget for a few days if possible, need to remember that there is a life beyond mold, muck, depression, failed levees, lack of leadership. People needed to have fun. And fun was had. Here are highlights of my Mardi Gras:

Dr. Love on Frenchmen street. (Pic can be found over at Lisa's)
Flat Stanley, it was all about you wasn't it???
Blur
Muses those girls are one of the best Krewes around.
Sassy bands
Ugly Dog fun
Bonerama/Krewe of Oak (Lisa and Wendy have pics of this night)
Gayle and Mike actually showing up.
Mike falling asleep during the gig.
My sister being here.
My sister getting to see Bonerama for the first time at Harrah's.
Copper Monkey.
Field sobriety tests given by Trooper Mulvey (yeah you didn't pass either)
Bacchus.
Orpheus Ball.
The sunny sunny sunny wonderful weather on Fat Tuesday which left me sunburned, tired and happy after St. Ann's.
Cherry Bombs.
$60.00
Have I said how much I love living here???? Even today walking to work, I got the goosebumps when I thought "I actually LIVE in New Orleans" and to think that 6 months ago.....I had the fleeting thought that this was not going to actually happen again. Just proves that you need to live everyday to the fullest.

So in case anyone cares...you ain't gonna hear much from me in the next few days. Well, I say that now....but here is the deal. In case you didn't know. Its Mardi Gras time. Today is my last night of chilling at home for a week, and I ain't complain'. Tomorrow my friends Lisa and Mike are landing here in the city. Dinner and drinks will be consumed. Thursday, work and then parades, Friday, work then head over to Tulane for the Bonerama gig at the Quad.....then drinks with some more friends coming to town, then to the Maple Leaf for the final fat Friday gig of Bonerama. Saturday, its parades and a Bonerama gig at Harrahs. Lisa (my sister) also arrives....Sunday Bacchus and craziness. Monday, Cowboy Mouth at Howlin Wolf during the day, Orpheus Ball and Parade that night. Tuesday-St. Anne's parade. There are many more things that will be happining that I am not really planning for.

In the meantime at work I have been working in Accounting in the morning. Starting tomorrow my afternoons will be learning purchasing......no phones for me for at least 2 weeks!!! So very cool!!

9 years ago today my sister did something almost unforgivable. She got married to a Montana State Bobcat!!! She can be forgiven for that I suppose. Especially since he is a pretty decent guy. I mean come on, he drove from Phoenix to Seattle, picked up myself and all my crap and drove us down here to NOLA. He lives in a menagarie of animals, and well heck he puts up with my sister. ;) That is a pretty darn cool guy. She could have done worse....really. But she got herself a good one. I personally can't believe that 9 years ago we were in Vegas for the wedding!! It doesn't seem like it was that long ago!!!

So congratulations on making it this far together!! Know that there is lots of good times and bad times ahead, the good will out weigh the bad.

Now, because I am the little sister, its my duty to say, when am I gonna be an Aunt (besides to the furbabies??) :) :) Love you both!!!

If the bus driver now knows your name and says he was wondering if he needed to come across the park to make sure I was going to work this morning???

The month of February begins....the only reason I like February? Okay the only 2 reasons? Its a short month and its that much closer to the parades rolling here in New Orleans. There is going to be alot of coverage this year, for the obvious reasons. CNN will be at the Orpheus parade/ball doing some coverage, I promise to be on my bestest behaviour, I cannot however promise that my sister will be. And I will now tell everyone that she will be wearing the same exact dress, and look exactly like me so that I can blame her for everything. That is what little sisters are for right??? Hopefully the coverage that will be happening during the Mardi Gras festivities don't just focus on the Bourbon St. Faternity drunken parties. Mardi Gras is so much more than that. I am really hoping that St. Anne's gets some decent coverage. I have done it 2 years now, starting at the beginning, but never quite making it to the end. St. Anne's is a 2nd line that happens on Mardi Gras day, eventually meeting up with Rex on Canal street then off to Frenchmen's street. This year I will make it the whole way!!!

Let me preface this by saying its another slow day here at work. Yesterday my "boss" was out most of the day, today the program we use to enter items in isn't working. I am bored and decided to do this...also a small rant. I don't think the girl made my soy latte with soy at lunch....cuz well the tummy isnt happy. Maybe its punishment from last weeks "bad sushi" day. ;)

Alot of people ask me "Where are you from?" Especially down here. I am from my parents. Two wonderful and amazing people. My father is Native American and French. My mom is Irish. Nice combo right? No wonder I am such a lush. Techically I was made in Montana. Born in Helena, MT and moved very soon after that to Missoula, MT. For the first 10 years we lived in Missoula. I remember lots of snow, making forts in the field across the street from the house on Agnes, making leaf "houses" in the front yard on Agnes, Grizzly Football games, Grizzly Basketball games, watching the hill burn several summers in a row...one time when I was at a girl scout camp on the hill, crazy times with my mom's sisters and their families. Double Front Chicken, which in my opinion is STILL the best fried chicken anywhere. Missoula provided me with a very safe and secure feeling. I may have not realized it at the time, but it did. (heh as I type this I remember there was a serial killer in Missoula, he worked at one of the local furniture stores and would stake out places/people when delivering the furniture. He delivered at our house. My dad remembers talking to him and we were most likely crossed off his list when he and my dad talked about the busy street next to the house and how one of my dad's b-ball buddies was on the police force who liked to drive by and shine his lights in the house)

When I was 10, my dad was ready for a change. He moved us out to Roseville, CA. At that point in town we were in a new housing development with lots and lots of empty fields. Today none of those fields are there, but there are plenty of small strip malls and shopping centers. The school we went to was K-8. I was a little let down. I had been looking forward to going to the Jr. High School in Missoula, where my sister had been. Instead I was stuck in this little small school, our class room was shared. 5th and 6th graders. What I remember of my time in California was lots of swimming, walking to the local grocery store with my best friend Vanessa, perfume fights in the drug store, riding our bikes past the "cute boys house's", later we would drive our cars past. Cruising on Greenback. Lots of football games, band competitions, parades. I was a member of the colorguard. My sister had been in the band, then the colorguard as well. Before I went to HS, I had spent alot of time with the band. I also started performing in the plays done while in HS. At that time, I was also very big into the hair metal bands. Poison, Def Leppard, Cinderalla. The bigger the hair the better.

When I graduated from HS, I was ready to go back to Montana. My parents were shocked that I was going to college because I was not a big fan of school. However for as long as I could remember, I was going to go to the University of Montana. It was the only school I applied to. So at the end of the summer, my mother and I packed up my car and drove back to Missoula. My dad was already in Bozeman as again, he was ready for a change. He went up early my senior year and established residency. He met us there, I got settled into my dorm room and off they went to Bozeman. The four years that I was back was more football, even more basketball, plays out the wazoo and sneaking into bars. Namely Stockmans. My last year in college I rented a house with two friends, the house happened to be a block from one of our old houses on 9th. Just down the street from my aunt's house. My parents moved to Seattle, WA somewhere in this time frame. My sister, her husband and myself all graduated from college a week apart. They graduated from Montana State (boooooo bobcats) myself from the University of Montana. With a degree in theatre in my hands...I moved to Seattle. Hey it was free rent, and there wasn't much theatre going on in Montana.

I spent the next 7 years in Seattle. I dove right into several local theatre's working as a stage manager. 7 years straight. Show after show after show. Not to mention having a day job to pay the bills. I would have an hour and half commute in the mornings to the city for several years. Then one day my parents decided it was time to move again. I however didn't want to go to Colorado. I stayed behind and continued on with my theatre work. The commute became much easier during this time as I moved into the city, first living in the Queen Anne area then on Capitol Hill.

One year, I took a trip to New Orleans during Jazz Fest. I fell immediatly in love and knew I had to go back. I did. Again and again and again. Finally I decided that I really belonged there. One year and 5 months ago, I packed up the U-haul and with the help of my Brother in law, I moved across country. I have never, ever felt more at home or content as I do here. So when people ask me where I came from, or where home is? It is here. It is New Orleans.