Oh How I've Missed You!!!

Where have you been?  Life has been so drab and dreary without you!!!  When you poked your head out yesterday, it put a smile on my face and warmed my heart!!!  Mr. Sun, please don't go away again!!!!

Weekend
This has been an absolutely beautiful weekend!  The sun was out. The temps reached the upper 50s and 60s.  Blue skies.  LSU Baseball. It was just great. I spent the weekend mostly at home.  I did get out on Saturday to have my hair cut and color (always makes me feel better) and to run errands.  But other than that, I spent the time at home cleaning, spending time with my pup, and indulging in my hobbies.

I was finally able to get out to the balcony and start cleaning up all the nastiness left from the winter.  Majority of my plants are dead due to the extremely freezing weather we had, but for many of them it was time to go.  So, I cut back and/or dug up many plants and deposited them in the trash!!  I am hoping these warmer temps continue for another week so that I can head to the nursery to get some new flowers/plants to plant next weekend!

I also spent some time doing some cleaning.  I didn't get everything done, but I did get a good bit done.  It was time to take back control!!!  I've been gone so much, my living space has become quite disorganized!!!

Stitching
I have been stitching some more on Dragon Knot.  But I don't feel that I've made enough progress to post a pic.  While I was in Texas, I did have a new start.  It is a Mill Hill kit and is done on perforated paper.  That's something I have never done.  It's a kit that my Mother picked up when I took her to the LNS one weekend.  She asked if I would do this for their kitchen. This is what it will look like when completed (I haven't taken a progress pic):

I also was able to finally kit up the Mary Engelbreit Mother Goose baby quilt I am going to do.  I loathe kitting up new projects.  I always just want to jump right into stitching. 

Spring is just around the corner and I can't wait.  This winter has really made me more grouchy than I normally am.  Yep, for those who know me, that means I am absolutely unbearable to be around these days!!! :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Blink of an eye

5 days went so quickly!  Blinked my eye and it was time to go!!!!  I had a great time in Corpus Christi visiting my grandparents.  I also got to see my Uncle Peter, Aunt Diane, Uncle Joe and Aunt Astrid.  Plus some other people who are distant cousins. 

The weather was kind of nasty.  Cold. Overcast. Rainy.  I didn't get to go fishing although one day I did go with my grandfather to pick up ghost shrimp for bait.  That was "interesting". 

The minute I arrived in Corpus I was whisked away for a cook out.  Barely had time to say hello before heading off to see a bunch of people I don't know.  Now for those who don't know me, I do not like to be around a lot of people I don't know.  Takes me way out of my comfort zone.  I was way outside of it!!!!! But my grandparents and my aunts and uncles were also there.  It was funny when I saw my Uncle Joe for the first time, in YEARS, he tells me "Girl!  You are WHITE!!"  Definite emphasis on the white.  LOL!  I can't help it!!!  The only thing I inherited from the mexican side was my dark curly hair, my big booty, and my love for the food!!!!  I just laugh it off!

I got to spend a lot of quality time with my grandparents.  It was nice especially since I didn't get to see that much of them back in May when I had gone home to visit! They have a nice one bedroom condo on one of the diversion canals.  Here's a picture from their balcony:

We did go down to the sea wall on Saturday for a walk.  I got to take pictures with my grandparents.  Aren't they cute?

On Sunday, we went to downtown Corpus Christi.  Went down to the harbor area.  Saw the statue and memorial to Selena.  For those not familiary with her, she was a tejano singer who was murdered by a fan at a very young age. She was from Corpus Christi and they STILL love her there.  We even went by her gravesite.  I know, totally touristy but interesting.  Her gravestone is a portrait of her.  Yep, I took pictures.

I have to admit that the best part of the vacation was to be "babied" by my grandparents.  I didn't have to take care of anything. They took care of everything. I didn't have to make any decisions or do anything but enjoy myself.  That was great.  Been a long time since I could do that! I'm thinking I need to find the time to visit family more often!

Happy Dance

I have TWO reasons to do a happy dance!!!

1) I finished page 8 of 16 of Dragon Knot 2!!!!  That leaves 8 more pages, 4 of which are not complete pages.  Woo hoo!!!

2) I am now officially on vacation!!!  For the next 5 days I do not have to worry about work!  I am going to go fishing! Read! Stitch! Relax!  I can't wait!

Mardi Gras/Valentine Weekend

Hello all!  I have spent this Valentine Sunday recovering from all the fun that I had yesterday at the mardi gras parades here in Baton Rouge. 

As I do not have a special someone in my life (well, at least someone who is actually mine), I spent the day stitching and watching tv.  I did make a trip to the book store after I delivered flowers and cake to my parents as today is their 35th wedding anniversary. At the book store, I bought for myself the book "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea".  This is the book by Chelsea Handler of the E! series, Chelsea Lately.  She cracks me up so I can't wait to read her book.  This is her first book.  I believe she has a second one that has just been released or will be shortly.

Yesterday was the Spanish Town Parade.  Now, this is not a typical "New Orleans" style parade.  Meaning there are no fancy floats and no fancy costumes.  It is extremely politically incorrect and it is all about fun!!  It isn't exactly a family parade but many people do bring their kids.  I went this year with a bunch of friends.  We were prepared this year.  We brought a cooler full of alcohol and mixes so that we could make our own drinks.  We had food out the ying yang: chicken salad sandwiches, chips, salsa, popcorn, cheese, crackers, meats, cotton candy, king cake.  We were ready!!!  And it paid off!  It made the parade that much more enjoyable and a lot less expensive!  It was a great day!  I caught so many beads.  Lots of beads with fleur-de-lis on them. 

At one point we were bombarded with Moon Pies.  I don't know why.  Maybe we looked hungry?  LOL! But all of a sudden it was literally raining Moon Pies.  They were all banana flavored though.  Blegh.  I'm not big on banana flavored anything so I passed off the Moon Pies I collected to my friend Joy.

The day started off cold.  We were all bundled up.  Dressed in layers.  Trying to stay warm.  As the morning progressed though, it warmed up and we started to shed our layers. This was our "coat check" area:

The day was actually quite beautiful. A tad bit on the chilly side but otherwise it was blue skies and bright sunshine.  The evidence left by the sun is quite apparent on my face!!!  My nose is kind of glowing red today.  The first sun burn of the year! :)

It was a great day of good company, good drink and good food. 

Here are a few pictures from the day.  As I mentioned earlier, this parade is not politically correct and likes to poke fun at current events.

Sneaux Day

Today was a sneaux day in south Louisiana!  We actually had 2 inches today!  I do believe that hell hath frozen over since the Saints won the Super Bowl!!!!

I didn't get the chance to be out in it as I had to work but I did get two pics.  The first one is from my office window.  This was after about 30 minutes of it snowing.  The second photo is from the 9th floor of our main office building. 

This is the third year in a row that we've had snow.  I know it wasn't a lot but it was enough to close the government and schools down for the day.  I  so have the wrong job!!!! 

Now it is Mardi Gras time!  Two parades here in town tomorrow.  Getting prepped for them tonight.  Hope to have pictures on Sunday!  Everyone have a great weekend!

Best Day Ever!

Tonight history was made.  The New Orleans Saints did something on their very first try.  They won the Super Bowl!  I can't even begin to describe how I feel right this moment.  It's almost too good to be real! I feel like I am in a dream-like state.

This is a great day for the Boys, the city of New Orleans, and the State of Louisiana.  The Saints did what everyone (well, analysts and "experts") said they couldn't do: beat Peyton Manning and the Colts. Not only did they beat them, they beat them soundly!

When Porter intercepted that catch, my mom and I jumped up from our seats and started screaming "Go! Go! Go!" at the top of our lungs.  It was a historic moment for us! At the moment, I had tears of pride running down my face.  I know!  Silly, huh?  To be crying over a football game! 

To see the Saints win and do what so many people said couldn't be done, especially after the destruction of Katrina, is the absolute best feeling in the world! New Orleans is back!  And is going to be better than ever!  It is being re-built, they have a new mayor coming in, and the Saints are bringing the Super Bowl trophy home!  It's a great time to be in Louisiana!