News from NOLA

This is a test of the emergency iPhone system

2009-09-13T21:32:00.001-05:00

This is only a test. Do not be alarmed if you feel extreme jealousy that you can not update your blog remotely as i am doing using my new iPhone app.

Anyway, found this app and testing if it works...

Little Monkey heads off to the big leagues!

2009-08-30T21:48:00.005-05:00

Little Monkey has his first day of school on Friday (a half day for practice). As you can see above, Big Monkey and I saw him off and he was so excited to have new friends and toys to play with, he didn't even notice when we left the room. Also, pictured below is his official "first day of school bento box". I have been stocking up and making lists of what I will send him to school with for lunch. Do you think I have a chance of winning "cutest lunch contest"? Is there such a thing?

Thanks for your support!!!

2009-08-21T19:36:00.001-05:00

For Local Blog
in New OrleansI won! That's right... I am now officially your pick for best parenting blog in New Orleans. Thanks to everyone who voted!

Does blogging make me an exhibitionist?

2009-08-16T22:29:00.004-05:00

Tonight Big Monkey and I got to go on the elusive "date night" since LM is spending the week with his grandparents. We went to see Julie & Julia and it was, of course, charming and adorable.

It touched, although not as thoroughly as I'd have liked to see, on the life of a blogger, and her relationship with her blog and her readers. As a blogger, I often ask myself if I am sharing too much. How often have you, as a blogger, written down what you are truly feeling, only to hit the backspace because you know you are sharing too much? You think twice, not because you don't feel the need to "get it all out", but because you fear what people will think about you once they learn what you really have to say. How many times have you asked, would this be better, for me and the reader, if I was just completely anonymous?

And that leads to the question, why do I blog? Why do I feel the need to share my life and opinions with everyone who knows me and many who don't? Am I just a self-absorbed exhibitionist who is screaming to the world "its all about me!"? Or, do I just think I have something to say that others might find interesting as well? Who knows...

I'm actually not sure what the answer is. I'm sure many of you have an opinion. But, some of these questions led me to take a little break from blogging, but I have missed it and I'm back.

Little Monkey starts Preschool in two weeks and I have lots to catch you up on from the last month so I'll be posting regularly again (I hope)...

I've missed you too!

2009-08-07T23:17:00.001-05:00

Big Monkey and I took a cruise a few weeks ago and since we got back I just haven't had much to say. I've chalked it up to a summer blogging break. I'll be back real soon.

Following in Daddy's footsteps

2009-07-17T17:30:00.000-05:00

Did I mention that LM is crazy for iced coffee? Ok, its really just a splash of coffee with a lot of whole milk, but he is crazy for it! Maybe we have someone in line to take over the family biz?

Yummy!

2009-07-15T07:30:00.000-05:00

To our favorite Latin American restaurant in Kenner:

Although we realize you are being truthful, let's just leave it at menudo. If folks really need to know what's in it, they will ask you.

The Champions of the Rodeo

2009-07-12T15:00:00.000-05:00

July 4th weekend, my Dad treated me to an evening at the Louisiana State High School Rodeo Championships! The last time I had been to a rodeo was when my Dad took me when I was about 8 years old. Now, the rodeo ambiance isn't usually my scene, but it ended up being a lot of fun.
You could tell these kids had put a ton of work and care into their sport. Even when they didn't do well, they never gave up. It was inspiring and I hope Little Monkey has something he enjoys that much when he gets to be that age.My pictures turned out terrible. I discovered that my beloved digital camera is no good for action shots. This was disappointing because I had imagined coming away with some really good pics.
There were definitely enough Wrangler, Dodge and NRA advertisements to make any Southern girl proud!

Being a tourist in our own town

2009-07-10T21:30:00.004-05:00

Last week on a rare day off work, Big Monkey and I got some alone time while Little Monkey stayed with the nanny. We decided to see NOLA as a tourist. We started off with lunch at one of our favorite Mid-City restaurants, Liuzza's. When I was little, my Dad lived in Baton Rouge. Every once in a while we would make the 70 mile trip into New Orleans just to go to dinner at Liuzza's. I remember thinking, as a girl, how special a place it was to drive that far just to go eat! Their fried green tomatoes with shrimp remoulade are my absolute favorite. (chicken salad stuffed creole tomato, red beans and rice, and a Barq's root beer in a frozen mug)

After lunch, we headed to the New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park. For some crazy reason, we haven't ever been there. It is even free for Louisiana Residents and only $8 for others. The building itself is beautiful. But, of course, the best part was the air-conditioning! There is no better feeling than stepping out of 99 degree weather into a 68 degree building!

After the museum, we headed out to Lakeview to see the slab where my Grandparent's house had been before Katrina, but also to have New Orleans snowballs at the neighborhood snowball stand. I veered away from my ole favorite flavor, Nector, and, to my disappointment, went with Yellow Cake Batter. It was not nearly as good, but did the job of cooling us down and giving us our afternoon sugar rush.We had a great time and took some fun pics for your enjoyment.....

Ok Klinger!

2009-07-09T06:56:00.003-05:00

Little Monkey has become obsessed with the shoes in MY closet. He wants nothing to do with Big Monkey's shoes. His favorite thing to do is sit down and make a humongous pile of my shoes on top of his legs. I guess I should be proud because he has made it his own "Memory" game by matching all the shoes up too. His favorite are this pair of red shoes I only wore during my last trimester of pregnancy. They are way too big now (on me and LM), but these are the first ones he picked out to prance around in. Do you think he remembers them :)

Dancing Babies make everyone smile

2009-07-05T21:31:00.002-05:00

This Evian commercial was posted on my Mommies ChatBoard today and I had to share it. BM and I have watched it a milion times and crack up just as much as the first time we watched it. Who wouldn't smile at roller skating babies?!

The diet begins again...

2009-07-01T18:13:00.002-05:00

This stuff is sooo good and only 20 calories and 0 grams of fat! How did I not know that fat free half and half exists? No, I'm not getting paid for this. It is really just that good. What's the catch?

This morning I used it to make my own version of Hungry Girl's Chocolate Banana Smoothie recipe. It was delish.

I am hard-core back on my diet starting two days ago. I'm kickin' it old school by actually counting calories. I've never done that before (I ususally go WW) but I found this great site, My Daily Plate, that makes it really easy. You go in and calculate how many calories you should eat per day based on weight, height, activity level, etc. They have like every food known to man already in their database and you just put in what you eat and it calculates your calories for the day. I'm having fun with it so far. Hopefully it won't get boring fast. I'll keep you up to date on what I lose.

Some days surprise you

2009-06-25T22:00:00.004-05:00

What a strange day it was to lose two legends within hours. RIP Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. Today at work, I checked CNN and noted Farah Fawcett had passed away. It obviously didn't surprise me as I had been hearing of her illness for months. I mentioned it in passing to a coworker and went about my day.

But, then, later that evening, we had a client event and in the distance I heard someone in the crowd mention that Michael Jackson had died. I, being the celebrity gossip hound that I am, immediately looked up and said, "what, no you mean Farrah Fawcett". And she said, "no, I just heard Michael Jackson died." I was shocked. That totally came out of left field.

Now, I grew up with Michael Jackson in my consciousness since I was about 8 years old. I was never a superfan but he was always there and I did my fair share of moonwalks in my day. But, it really shocked me to hear of him dying. A couple of things surprised me by my own reaction:

1) He apparently died from cardiac arrest. My father had a heart attack last month and is doing well now, but this reminded me of just how easily it could have gone the opposite way.

2) Even though Michael was much older than me, he was part of the collective memory of my generation. In some ways he defined parts of it... art, music, fashion. He truly was an American icon, even if some don't want to admit it.

When I got home, I immediately went to Facebook to gage the reaction and it ranged from mourning an artist to disgust that some were sad over the passing of a "pedophile".

My reaction is one of mourning, not necessarily for the man, but for the loss of what could have been if he had not been plagued by physical and mental illness. Imagine what more someone of his talents could have given the world, had he not turned into what he eventually became. The whole story is just sad.

Anyway, I'll leave you with one of my favorite songs:

Happy Birthday Little Monkey!

2009-06-22T21:48:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was Little Monkey's 2nd birthday! We had a wonderful party with family at Leenie and Grump's house. LM got tons of presents and had a great time. My grandparents got him a baby baby grand piano and he LOVED it. I definitely think we have a little virtuoso on our hands. Here are some pics of the fun.

Nosepicking 101

2009-06-15T19:46:00.002-05:00

This is what Big Monkey taught Little Monkey when I went shopping last weekend....

Now that's a classy kid I've got on my hands!

My Little New Orleans Po-Boy!

2009-06-13T06:45:00.002-05:00

On the Road Again...

2009-06-11T07:04:00.000-05:00

I finally started training again for my second half-marathon. My girlfriends and I are doing a girls' half-marathon Labor Day weekend. Hopefully, it will become something we can do annually and the number of girls will grow.

This time around, I am going to use Hal Higdon's Intermediate Training program which includes speedwork. I'm a bit nervous about it, since for my last half, I was only really worried about finishing.

So, for my own motivation, while running a grueling three miles yesterday, I started a list of "5 Reasons I Love Running."

1) I love having a goal in front of me that I have to work at to accomplish. It makes me feel good about myself to know that I pushed myself to do something that not everyone can do.

2) I love the camaraderie of the running community. There is always something to talk about with another runner, whether it is your next race, your last race, your pace time, your running shoes, whatever. There is an enthusiasm that drives me. I love waking up early to get out there and see other runners who have the same commitment. Even if its just a smile, you know that you both share something, they are working toward a personal goal as well.

3) I love feeling the connection to my body. Since I started running, I am intuitively connected to every muscle in my body. I feel every twitch and have to think about what it is and what it may lead to. I love having a particularly hard run and then totally feeling it in my legs and back the next day. The pain becomes addictive because you know it means you worked hard.

4) I love running because it gives me time to share secrets with myself. While running, I am thinking about all kinds of things in my head. Anything from blog posts I want to write to what I should have said when that guy bumped me in the elevator the day before. When I finish that run, I have no idea what I thought about. It leaves my mind and may or may not ever come back again.

5) Lastly, I love being totally in tune with my surroundings. While running, you have to recognize every crack in the road, every slight hill coming up, every pothole that might be lead to a fall. You must recognize landmarks to know how far you have run along your route. Along with topography, you must be in tune with the weather daily, knowing when is the best time to run, when with the temperature be the friendliest. It makes me appreciate wherever I am a little bit more when I have to recognize these things.

I'll keep you updated on my progress through the next three months of training in the miserable New Orleans summer heat!

New Orleans History

2009-06-08T21:52:00.001-05:00

New Orleans- as seen on historical marker I saw along the Mississippi River in the French Quarter.

Pretty Purse Giveaway

2009-06-06T07:29:00.002-05:00

I'm loving this bag and totally want to win it. Go to Wishing True Blog for her giveaway. There are a ton of choices, all of which all beautiful!

Sit your butt on the seat, damn it!

2009-06-02T20:02:00.003-05:00

I have had it with you women who hover over the toilet seat and spray your pee all over the seat for the next person to find and clean up. Sit your ass on the seat and do your business, damn it! Do you really think you are going to catch a disease by sitting on the seat? Have you actually ever heard of this happening to.... anyone?! I have absolutely never, not once in my life, heard a true story of anyone catching a disease or even getting sick from sitting on a toilet seat.

Don't you realize that it is you that is the problem? The reason people hover is because of people who hover! The pee on the seat that you don't want to touch is from the previous person who didn't want to touch the pee on the seat!

Do you get it now? You are the problem! SIT DOWN, pee, wipe... this is how NOT to get pee on the seat for me to clean up.

And, by the way, the floor you are walking on is much dirtier than that seat anyway.

The Sleep Whisperer

2009-05-30T11:09:00.002-05:00

We have been fortunate that The Little Monkey has always been a pretty good sleeper. Since about eight months old he has settled down into a pattern of falling asleep at about 7pm, waking at 6:30am, naptime from 10:30-1:30 daily. Big Monkey and I have each had our different "specialties". BM is good at bathtime, diaper changes, playtime, and just about everything else, but my "specialty" is sleeptime. For some reason, I've always been able to get him to go to sleep.

Last night was an especially satisfying experience. LM awoke at 2:45 am screaming. BM offered to go in so, I told him just pat his back and say good night and walk out the room. Well, of course BM lingered, which made LM want to play and when BM finally did leave, there was much screaming and jumping to continue. So, I went in, tucked him in like a burrito (my special move), patted his back, turned on his music, and whispered "Beunos Noches", and it was complete quiet, and he fell asleep immediately until 7am!

How awesome am I! I was actually pretty proud of myself and my parenting skills. It made start thinking about those few and far between times when something goes just right and how great that makes you feel as a parent. Last weekend, LM was playing in a cardboard box, taking items out of it and putting them back in. He fell out of the box and, I could tell he hurt himself. He started to whimper a bit and looked at me as if to determine if he should start a full-on wail. I immediately said "You're ok... you're not hurt... put your things back in the box..." AND.... he did just that! No crying, no screaming, he just got up and put his things back in the box. Even my father remarked that I handled it well. That was a great moment in parenting!

It was such a nice feeling to have it go textbook. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen everyday so when it does, I totally savor the moment.

A day with Little Monkey at New Orleans City Park

2009-05-27T23:01:00.004-05:00

When I was a little girl, I used to come to New Orleans often to visit my Grandparents. My favorite thing to do was go to the amusement park in City Park with my Grandpa. I remember being so scared of the teacups that one time the man even stopped the ride in the middle to let me off because I was screaming so loudly! But, my absolute favorite park of our trips was taking the train around the park. I loved watching all the families having picnics, the paddleboats on the water, and the oak trees sprawling across the grounds. Well, this weekend I finally took Little Monkey to the park and we had a wonderful time!

Big Monkey was stuck in bed sick all weekend, so LM and I had the whole three days to ourselves. Below is a pictorial of our adventures...(LM takes his first train ride!)(LM trippin on shrooms)(LM meets Mary's lamb)(LM second go on the carousel went a bit smoother)(LM finds a bench the is just his size)

Vote for me, please!!

2009-05-26T07:52:00.002-05:00

Check this out... My blog was nominated for the Best Local Blog- New Orleans Edition. Click on the pic above to vote for me!

Thanks

An agreeable driver

2009-05-24T23:51:00.001-05:00

An awesome license plate we saw in Virginia when I was there...

I guess bobbing porcelain horses are a bit scary...

2009-05-21T22:24:00.004-05:00

Little Monkey was treated to his first carousel ride last weekend at The Mall of Louisiana. He started off ok and I thought, "wow, we might make it through this without tears, screaming, and embarrassment", but then he saw my mom standing on the sidelines and he lost it. He cried the whole ride and acted as if the horse was going to buck him off at any moment.

The worst part was seeing the 9 month old girl who was also on the ride all smiles and giggles...

All Bento, all the time....

2009-05-20T23:11:00.003-05:00

Over the last two years I have heard about Bento on my mommy chat board and largely ignored it as something that only moms with lots of time on their hands (i.e. not me) would even remotely be interested in. But, since I haven't been able to run, I have developed a need for a new hobby in my life (i.e. something to spend wasteful amounts of money on). So, since preschool is rapidly approaching, I started wondering what LM would bring in his lunches and stumbled upon my new favorite blog, Lunch In a Box. It is all about the ins and outs of bento-ing, and I, of course, have become obsessed.

After some (and by some, I mean hours) of research, I made the leap to check out the Ichiban Kan website and make some purchases. My package arrived Monday night and I now proudly give you my first bento box.... ta-da!I think it looks pretty good. I had it for lunch Tuesday and I made another one tonight for tomorrow. As they keep coming, I'll post more pictures of my creations.

Scanwiches?

2009-05-14T23:02:00.002-05:00

Have y'all heard about this website? My sister introduced it to me while I was up in DC. Its called Scanwiches and the premise is that this guy buys a sandwich everyday and before eating it, he scans it and then posts the picture to the website.

Surprisingly, it is actually pretty interesting to look at some random guys lunch everyday. My first reaction though, was that he must go thru a lot of windex cleaning that scanner everyday!

You Can't Go Home Again...

2009-05-12T22:28:00.006-05:00

As a kid, I moved around quite a bit, moving 6 times before college. For third through fifth grade, we lived in Alexandria, VA. So, since I was in Alexandria for my run, I decided to visit my old stomping ground for the first time since we moved away 23 years ago!

We lived in a condominium and I always thought that was pretty cool and that we were kind of like the Jeffersons (one of my favorite tv shows at the time) minus the wisecracking housekeeper, of course.

(See the corner balconies? Count ten up and that's were we lived)

Everything seemed so much smaller on this visit. I remember the walk being kind of far but, it was, in fact, just right next door. At both the school and the condo, I told people how I used to live there and they let us inside and were happy to have us and show us around.

(Me in front of the much refurbished rec center behind my elementary school)

My school was right down the street and I walked there every morning and home every evening. There was a great recreational center at the school that I would stay at for after-school activities. The school also had a wonderful gifted program and I remember learning a lot there.

It was really great to revisit a little piece of my childhood...

Half Marathon report continued...

2009-05-07T21:10:00.005-05:00

So, as I told you in the last post, although the race was officially canceled, I decided I had NOT flown 1100 miles to NOT run 13.1 miles, so I just started where the starting line had been, set my Garmin, and headed off down the trail.

As usual, I started out way too fast and finished my first mile at about a 9:30 pace which is way too fast for me. I felt pretty good though and kept going between 9:30-10:45 for about the first three miles. Of course, then the hills came and I had to slow down considerably.I settled into a 10:15-10:45 pace and was feeling really good about it. As I hit each hill, I had to slow down to between 11-12 minute mile pace, but I was ok with that.

The water stations were placed well. I had decided not to take any GU with me and I'm still not sure if that was the right decision or not. I was definitely starting to get hungry about midway through and could have used a bit of a boost.

At the half-way mark, we turned around and headed back the way we came. I was still doing and feeling pretty well although my average pace had slowed to about 10:45.

Then I hit mile 8! The mile between 8 and 9 just really sucked. I definitely started feeling every hill and was just getting very tired in general. My legs started burning and I really started wanting this to be over. I just kept counting down the miles in my head and started thinking about anything else I could think to think about. Finally, I made it to mile 10 and things started looking up. Beyonce's "Single Ladies" came up on my Ipod and I even managed a "raise the roof" sign to my fellow runners.

Mile eleven started well enough and I even kicked it into high gear for a bit, but by 11 1/2, I pretty much lost all steam. My old friend, achilles tendinitis (which I haven't had for over a year) returned in my right foot. It was starting to get really painful and the next mile and a half was pretty miserable. I just kept thinking, "you are almost done and look what you will have accomplished!"

Finally I knew I was getting close to the end and saw some spectators ahead. I ran as fast as I could and finally saw LS standing at the finish line with camera ready. I was so glad to be done with that race!

Unfortunately, my achilles tendinits continued to get worse the rest of the trip and I wasn't really able to do any sightseeing due to that and the rain. I went to the doctor yesterday and got some medicine so I'm hoping it goes away fairly quickly.

Now, on to the next half-marathon in September. Hopefully that one will actually count!

Half-Marathon Race Report... Time 2:25:07

2009-05-06T22:43:00.007-05:00

Running a half marathon... check (yep, that's me, checking that off my list)

The weekend started out great. My Little Sis (we'll call her LS) picked me up at the airport and we went to her house to call it a night and rest up. We awoke to rain and decided to scrap our plans of going into DC to, instead, hit the Pentagon City mall. After some shopping, we headed to Alexandria and the hotel where the race "expo" was to be and where we were staying the night. This is where the fun began.

It is no accident that I put the word "expo" in quotes. Although I am fairly new to running, I have seen my fair share of expos and, this, my friends, was no expo. This was essentially a grouping of three tables in a hotel restaurant with some running pamphlets on it. But, I knew it was a small race so I trekked on. Next, I picked up my bib, timing chip and t-shirt. Unfortunately, none of the volunteers could answer any of my questions about the shuttle to the race, the pasta dinner, or really anything else about the race at all.

I also noticed that only about 20 people had signed up for the pasta dinner, which was pretty disappointing since I was really looking forward to meeting other runners. When we got to the dinner, there were no introductions, and the race director was screaming loudly at the hotel staff to the point that we were embarrassed to be part of the group. The "inspirational speaker" ended up speaking on the topic of co-ops which I am still unsure of how that has anything to do with running. Let's just say, you know a dinner is bad, when we both left before they broke out the ice cream cake!

The morning of the race I woke early enough to take a shower and get to the start by 6am. They had a rolling start which meant you could start at any time before 7am. To me, this sort of defeats the purpose of a race since I get the most out of actually racing other people. When you don't have that initial shot of adrenalin at the gun going off, you lose a lot of momentum. I decided to wait until the "official" start of 7am in hopes it would be a bigger crowd at that time.

So, 7 am comes and goes and there starts a rumbling through the crowd. As I soon find out, the National Park Service has revoked the race director's permit because he got a permit for 300 people and signed up 1000. His excuse.... "they never stopped us in year's past!" What an idiot!

(Me hitting the stop button on my Garmin as I stepped over the finish line!)

At this point most of us, just said, Screw it and started running the race. Thank God for my Garmin. I kept my time myself and finished right in my projected time of 2:25:07! I was really happy with my time and I know if it hadn't been for the hills, I could have shaved off at least 2-3 minutes.

In hindsight, I think this was a race really just meant for locals, but LS and I did have a great weekend despite the idiot race director and the rain.

I'll give a more thorough report on the actual running tomorrow. Thanks for everyone's support!

Not feeling the love

2009-05-01T16:50:00.005-05:00

I'm at the airport right now and am more than a bit annoyed at AirTran because I just had to pay $15 to check ONE bag. I've never had to pay to check one bag before! Is this a new thing or does AirTran just suck? The worst part is I totally could have brought my bag on the plane but I am also carrying a cooler full of meat for my sister which I will now have to use as my carry-on.

So, to my former vegan, meat-hating sister, you better not waste a bite of these stuffed porkchops!

The time is near!

2009-04-30T22:22:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow I leave for Washington DC to visit my sister and run my first half marathon on Sunday. I am really looking forward to my run. I've worked really hard and am proud that I've made it to a point I think I could actually run 13.1 miles. This coming from the girl who dropped out of jogging class in college!

January 2008 is when I started the Couch to 5k program and I could barely run for 1 minute without keeling over. Well, it took a year and a half, but now I'm running 5 miles with ease.

So, wish me luck! I'm hoping to finish under 2:25. We'll see....

Weekend run and butt cleavage

2009-04-27T22:36:00.003-05:00

This weekend, the girlfriends and I decided to run the Bubba Gump Shrimp Run, Forrest, Run 5k through the French Quarter. It is really one of the best races I think. The shrimp pasta and caesar salad following the race are delish and since its Jazz Fest weekend, tons of people show up to run.

We had a great time and I ran my best 5k time yet. The most disturbing part of the whole morning was this....Who wears this to a competitive race. "Excuse me, m'am... Um, I think your right butt cheek just fell out of your shorts. Can you please tuck that back in there. Thanks..."

What a weekend to be in New Orleans!

2009-04-26T21:04:00.003-05:00

This was a beautiful and eventful weekend to be in New Orleans. It was the first weekend of JazzFest, the Zurich Golf Classic, the Bubba Gump Shrimp "Run, Forrest, Run" 5 k race, and in general, just wonderful spring weekend!I think our across the street neighbors are a little too into the JazzFest spirit. When we came home Friday, as you walk out on our front porch, this is the image you see. I mean, we are all excited about JazzFest, but The Pot-O-Gold is not the one memory I want to take home from it! In all seriousness, I'm not quite sure why they couldn't scoot the potty into their driveway or somewhere a bit more discreet. (It is for the painters that are working on their house) But, in general, BM and I just thought this was the funniest thing EVER.

Open letter to latte lover

2009-04-21T22:09:00.004-05:00

Dear strange lady who happens to live in our neighborhood and is also a coffeeshop customer:

Thank you for being a customer. Yes, we appreciate your business. The $3.45 we get from you the once a month you come in helps support our family. We try our best to make you the most delicious latte everytime you visit our establishment. I am glad you like it most of the time.

BUT, just because you know where we live, you really do not need to pound on our private home's door at 7 pm while we are putting Little Monkey to sleep and tell us how you are disappointed in your latte today. We do not need your opinion at 7pm on our front porch of what we should do to make a better latte.

In reality, it just makes you seem even more strange, and, in general, just kinda freaks us out.

Thank you,

The Monkeys

"Streetcar Named Inspire" cont'd

2009-04-16T22:32:00.006-05:00

I've been taking more Streetcar pics for y'all around the city as I see them. Here are a few I have seen recently...(on Fulton Street near Harrah's Casino Hotel)

(Inside Hilton Riverside Hotel)
(in front of New Orleans JCC)(in front of Whole Foods- yes, those are all beer bottle caps)(outside of Superior Grill on St. Charles Ave.)
(inside Astor Crown Plaza Hotel lobby on Canal Street)

Funny story... the bellman at the Astor must have thought I was a tourist and saw me taking a picture. He asked me what I thought that was I was taking a picture of and of course I said a streetcar. I assumed he would tell me most people thought it was a trolley or a cablecar or something, but he said, "oh no, most people ask why we decorate our caskets so beautifully in New Orleans!"

Little Monkey in his Easter Sunday best

2009-04-14T22:39:00.003-05:00

Little Monkey had a great time playing with his friends, the triplets, during Easter Sunday dinner. He particularly liked the assortment of toys the triplets' Grandmother had to offer at her house. He immediately picked out this bowling set and Big Monkey decided to teach them all the art of standing the pins up on grassy terrain.

A tiskit, a tasket... Sara made really cute Easter baskets!

2009-04-11T22:09:00.004-05:00

I recently discovered Bakerella's blog. She is famous for these cake balls I have been hearing about all over the mom-o-sphere. Her photos are really beautiful and her baking is totally creative. She recently posted this Easter cupcake idea:Photo courtesy of Bakerella blog

Big Monkey, Little Monkey, and I are invited to an Easter dinner tomorrow and I wanted to copy the look as best as I could. So, here is my version. I think they came out pretty good! I could have gone a little lighter on the green and I wish I had brighter color cups, but all in all, I'm pretty happy with them. Hopefully the kids will like them tomorrow!

The Little Monkey's new obsession with all things round...

2009-04-10T18:55:00.002-05:00

LM is absolutely obsessed with balls. He wakes up talking about balls, goes to sleep talking about balls, and I'm sure he dreams about balls. He says the word "balls" regardless if there are actually any balls around, and seems genuinely sad due to this lack of balls. I felt so bad for the poor kid, I actually went to Dollar General and bought him a ball today. He was ecstatic!

Obama: Ready or not, here I come!

2009-04-06T20:27:00.003-05:00

I am super psyched! I just registered for my half-Marathon in Washington DC next month and I can't wait. I'm totally committed now. There is no looking back. I got my plane ticket and my hotel reservations. My sister is living up there now and we are going to have a great sister's weekend! I'm giddy with anticipation.

Weekends... Gotta love em

2009-04-04T22:09:00.004-05:00

Not much going on in the Monkey House right now. Today was absolutely gorgeous and we made the most of it. This morning LM and I took our routine walk around the park with some friends and then coffee at the coffeehouse. Then I headed to the Freret Street Festival with same girlfriends and we had a fun time people watching.

I put sunscreen on my face but didn't think about applying anywhere else and came away with a ridiculous sunburn which is going to look very silly when I wear something with a different neckline. The sun totally knocked me out and I took a long nap and then ordered Chinese food from our favorite, August Moon Restaurant.

(Check out this sunburn. Ignore stain on shirt from Chinese food mentioned above!)

I'll leave you with some cute pics of BM and LM from our trip to the park yesterday afternoon.(I think Big Monkey is looking quite handsome in this pic)

Who knew Grumps was a professional top spinner?

2009-04-01T22:53:00.003-05:00

As mentioned before, Little Monkey had a great time with Leenie, Grumps, and Abuelo this weekend while we had our night out in Alexandria. One thing LM loves about going to Leenie and Grumps' house is Grumps' top collection. He has about 30 old timey wooden tops from when he was in elementary school. I've been hearing for years about his time on the professional top spinning circuit (i.e. the schoolyard during recess) but had never seen it first hand. Well, let me tell you, it was pretty impressive. Grumps finally went out and got the right kind of string and gave us all a show. LM loved chasing after the tops and then throwing them across the driveway.

On a side note, I googled "top spinning" before doing this blog post and am quite surprised by the whole underground world of top spinning. Check out this website. The chat forum people are just crazy for top spinning. Kinda weird but I guess there is something out there for everyone!

Another Wedding Weekend

2009-03-31T21:16:00.004-05:00

This last weekend ended up being really fun. After our trip to Pancho's, BM, LM, and I packed up the car and headed to Baton Rouge. We ditched Little Monkey with his grandparents and headed to Alexandria for the wedding of our good friend and former coffeeshop barista, Anna.

Although Alexandria was a little more boring than I had expected, the wedding was beautiful and Big Monkey and I had a fun night away from LM. We even had time to go see a movie after the wedding. We saw I Love You, Man and IT WAS HILARIOUS!! Run, don't walk, to the movie theater right now. I laughed through the whole thing.This picture may look familiar since this is the third wedding in six months, BM and I have worn this same suit and dress! I actually found a perfect dress in Baton Rouge but hadn't brought the shoes I have that would have matched and didn't want to spend anymore money. So, I went with Old Faithful. Hopefully I'll have another opportunity to wear the new dress soon.

History in the making! Pancho's returns to Metairie!

2009-03-29T22:25:00.004-05:00

Friday was a big day for NOLA! Pancho's Mexican Super Buffet finally returned from a Katrina-imposed three and a half year absence and I was lucky enough to be invited to the VIP only Friday lunch (opening day was Saturday). You have to be pretty special to be a Pancho's VIP!

Everything was delicious and Panchito showed everyone a fabulous time. Check out my pics and video...Sara and Panchito

Random girl in DIY Pancho's tshirt

The entrees of Pancho's

The dudes brought their own antacid!

My "I survived Pancho's" Bumper Sticker. BM was NOT happy I put this on the car!

The Little Monkey is crazy for rubber duckies!

2009-03-25T21:11:00.002-05:00

Little Monkey LOVES to take baths and play with his duckies. His first pseudo-word was "quack-quack". He loves everything duck related- feeding the ducks in Audubon Park, reading about the ducks in his books, playing with his puzzles that have ducks in them, and most of all playing with his duckies in the bathtub!

Recently, he has started to get very OCD in this duck business. He lines up all the ducks in rows and they must all be turned in the same direction. He gets very upset if you turn one the opposite way of the rest of them.

He is really into organizing things and always has been. Sometimes he reminds me of a mad scientist. Definitely not a family trait in either mine or Big Monkey's families so we'll see if it sticks.

Call me a Mah Jongg Maven

2009-03-24T22:03:00.004-05:00

Before Hurricane Katrina, we had about 20 women who met weekly to play Mah Jongg at each other's houses. It was an awesome time and we all made some great friends and had great memories from it. Since then, we have often tried to get the momentum going again but after a couple of weeks, it peters out and we end up having a long dry spell. I tried to break the current spell by hosting a game at my house last night. I made enchiladas, set up the folding table, put out the sets, and waiting for the crowd to show. We had about ten ladies come and a great time was had. Hopefully, we will be able to start up a weekly game again.
I won on a great WINDS hand. I was pretty impressed with myself!

Little Monkey is seeing double!

2009-03-22T21:35:00.004-05:00

This weekend, Little Monkey got to meet his favorite friend, Rachel's, twin sister, Sarah. He was in heaven having two identical buddies to play with. The whole weekend was beautiful New Orleans spring weather. Couldn't have been better!

Unfortunately, on a bad note, I fell down and bruised my knees and won't be able to train for a bit. I was headed to the baptism of a friend's little baby boy. While walking down some steps, the heel of my shoe got caught in the cuff of my pants. I was holding Little Monkey and was trying so hard not to drop him that I couldn't put my hands out and fell hard. A nice lady stopped to help us, and after, realizing we were going to be ok, said "Your fall looked so funny and slow motion that I wish I taped it and could put it on YouTube". Thanks!

My Grandma and me: Circa 1981?

2009-03-19T21:42:00.005-05:00

My uncle scanned this pic for me a while back. I think I must have been about 6? I'm not sure. I'll have to ask my mom and dad. Check out that 1970's wood paneled kitchen!

People who don't question authority annoy me!

2009-03-18T22:31:00.006-05:00

This weekend my mom took me to this store Stage. It is a discount store and she said they have good deals and sales on clothes. I need to get some more summer clothes for Little Monkey so I thought we would take a look. Well, right at the front door they had a rack of tons of toddler stuff for $3.99 and I got a bunch of great deals. Then I headed to the boys section where they had another rack that was clearly marked (with a big sign) 50% off. But all the prices marked were NOT 50%, as seen above.

I asked the lady who worked there if the prices were as marked and she said "Yes, the price is what is on the yellow tag". So I said, "but, you see, (in my sweetest voice), that is not 50% off" and she said "Yes it is, the price was $20 and now it is $9.99". And, I said "No, the price was $14.99, not $20. It says that clearly on the tag. It says the pants were a $20 value but your store's price is $14.99" Her response to me was, "Well, that is what our corporate office sends us and that is what I have to put out. Nothing I can do about it." Then she turned around and ran into the back to hide from me.

Now, I would not have bought those pants for $7.50 anyway, but let's not pretend that I am stupid and can't read the tag. Also, if the concept is clearly being misinterpreted by someone on high, shouldn't they be made aware?

Anyway, the whole thing just annoyed me and made me sad that there are people in the world who are just ok living with things as is just so their job is easier.

Happy St. Patty's Day from the Little Monkey!

2009-03-16T21:53:00.002-05:00

Little Monkey gets his first haircut!

2009-03-15T22:44:00.005-05:00

In Jewish tradition, many wait until their boys are three years old to get their first haircut and make a ceremony out of it called an Upsherin. Click here for a wonderful story of one mom who did this.

Although, we are far from Orthodox, I contemplated following this tradition with the Little Monkey. Since Big Monkey's hair is curly if let to grow, I had images of LM's hair growing into beautiful flowing locks. Unfortunately, instead he takes after me and it ended up being thin, straight, and flat. Within the last few months it has looked more like a mullet than the mane I imagined.

So, with a heavy heart, I decided last week to make him an appointment for his first haircut. I had heard of a great children's salon in Baton Rouge, Belles and Beaus, and we were heading that way this weekend.

We walked in and headed to the firetruck. Little Monkey put on his smock and immediately the "torture" began. Even Elmo couldn't help him now! He was screaming like we've never heard him before. It took four of us to simultaneously hold him down and try to soothe him. He truly acted like he wasn't sure if he was going to make it out alive that day!

In the end, it was all worth it. Little Monkey got a great cut, a diploma for his bravery, and a lock of his hair for Mama's scrapbook.

I have included a video so you too can feel his pain!

(BEFORE)

(AFTER)- need to get better "after" picture of the back, but it looked good

Big Monkey horsin' around at the salon!

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!

2009-03-12T06:57:00.002-05:00

I got exactly 3 1/2 hours sleep last night. That is a nap, not a good night's sleep! Stupidly, I went out with friends last night for coffee at 8 o'clock. I had a latte (not decaf) and could immediately feel my heart start racing. I could tell I was talking faster and louder and really started to feel a little drunk. It was only one shot but just must have been really strong. I also hadn't eaten much yesterday.

I had done a run yesterday afternoon and BM made me take a shower before going to bed (I'm content to just stink up the joint and do it in the morning, but BM will have none of that). Of course, the shower woke me up too. Anyway, I was up surfing the net until 2:30 am!

I am certain to have serious baggage under the eyes today!

Little Monkey to the rescue!

2009-03-11T21:23:00.003-05:00

Happy Belated Purim! This post is one day late since Purim, a Jewish holiday, was yesterday, but needless to say, I thought I would post pics of Little Monkey at Adloyadah, the Purim Carnival at the New Orleans JCC, this weekend. Some of my friends from our local Hadassah chapter and me spent several days making Hamentashen for the event and they turned out really tasty. LM took a bit of time warming up but soon had a great time.Ignore how bad I look in this picture but I thought it was cute of LM.

Being sick cramps my style

2009-03-10T21:18:00.002-05:00

I've had the crud a lot of last week and this weekend and it has really put a cramp in my style. I've just been exhausted and have had funk in my chest I can't cough up. I haven't run but 3 pathetically slow miles in over a week. Finally today, I am starting to feel a lot better and hope I can get back to my training schedule tomorrow. I have six weeks left until the half marathon. Got to get my butt in gear!

It's Crawfish Time!!!

2009-03-08T19:34:00.004-05:00

After Mardi Gras, a quiet falls upon the City and it is usually around this time when Louisianians start to get an itch. It begins slowly as a sweet, salty smell fills the air near groceries and fish markets. The Catholics stop eating meat on Fridays and then everyone realizes... It's Crawfish season!

Friday, I couldn't hold out any longer. We invited some friends over, bought 13 pounds, sat on the front porch, and enjoyed some of that hot, spicy goodness! The flavor was great although they were a bit smaller than I like. Can't wait to have some more!

My fab-tastic new Ipod Shuffle playlist

2009-03-06T22:25:00.010-06:00

For the longest time I have been running with one of the old 8GB humongous video ipods with an arm strap. It is ridiculously large and chafes my arm every time I run. Big Monkey says I look like those guys from the 1980's who carried the boombox on their shoulder.

Last week, I saw that Apple Store was having a special sale on their refurbished Ipod shuffles for $29 so I jumped on it and was soon delivered the little green beauty you see above.

I wanted to make my new shuffle only for running so I chose very carefully out of my library to make sure every song put on it is upbeat and sure to motivate me. I thought you might like to see my new playlist. Now, keep in mind, I know it is a bit pop-heavy but you do have to remember the purpose is to workout... no depressing, mellow music for this mix.

Song Title
Artist

Karma
Alicia Keys

If I Had $1,000,000
Barenaked Ladies

Let's Get It Started
Black Eyed Peas

Have Fun, Go Mad
Blair

Holding Out For A Hero
Bonnie Tyler

1985
Bowling For Soup

Another Saturday Night
Cat Stevens

One, Two Step
Ciara featuring Missy Elliot

Jumping Someone Else's Train
The Cure

Lose My Breath
Destiny's Child

Not Ready to Make Nice
Dixie Chicks

Cleaning Out My Closet
Eminem

Ugly Girl
Fleming & John

What You Waiting For?
Gwen Stefani

A Public Affair
Jessica Simpson

Miss Independent
Kelly Clarkson

Rocket Boy
Liz Phair

Everywhere
Michelle Branch

Someday I Suppose
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

Baby Girl
Nelly Furtado

So Fresh, So Clean
Outkast

Cecilia
Paul Simon

Goodies
Ciara featuring Petey Pablo

Let's Hear It For The Boy
Deniece Williams

Come On Eileen
Dexy's Midnight Runners

Good Enough
Dodgy

Without Me
Eminem

London Bridge
Fergie

Stacy's Mom
Fountains of Wayne

Over My Head (Cable Car)
The Fray

American Idiot
Green Day

Rich Girl
Gwen Stefani & Eve

Get Right
Jennifer Lopez

Since U Been Gone
Kelly Clarkson

Somebody Told Me
The Killers

The Impression That I Get
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

Just A Girl
No Doubt

Stars Are Blind
Paris Hilton

Me And Julio Down By the Schoolyard
Paul Simon

Stand
R.E.M.

Whenever, Wherever
Shakira

Gone Daddy Gone
Violent Femmes

Down
311

You Know My Name
South Park Mexican

Swingtown
Steve Miller Band

Rush And A Push And the Land is Ours
The Smiths

Rules
Shakira

The Obvious Child
Paul Simon

It's the End of the World As We Know It
R.E.M.

I Wanna Be Sedated
The Ramones

Gas In My Car
Skankin' Pickle

Blister in The Sun
Violent Femmes

Birdhouse in Your Soul
They Might Be Giants

All Mixed Up
311

Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)
Beyoncé

Hot N Cold
Katy Perry

Womanizer
Britney Spears

Right Now (Na Na Na)
Akon

So What
P!nk

American Boy (feat. Kanye West)
Estelle

Low (feat. T-Pain)
Flo Rida

Jillian kicked my ass tonight

2009-03-05T22:03:00.003-06:00

I made an Amazon order the other day that was over the $25 you need for free Super Saver shipping, so I decided to throw in The Biggest Loser's trainer, Jillian's DVD, The 30 Day Shred that I've been hearing so much about. At less than $9, what did I have to lose?

I just got it in the mail and tried it tonight. I didn't realize I needed weights and didn't have any so I improvised by using some candlesticks. Note to self: get some weights! Anyway, level one was a pretty good workout for only 20 minutes. The cardio was not that challenging, but the strength training was tough for me.

I'm not going to do it everyday, but I figure it will be a good add-on for me on the days I don't run.

A Streetcar Named Inspire- continued

2009-03-04T22:11:00.003-06:00

This weekend I was out and about and, for some reason, I wandered into the Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans. This is a part of New Orleans near Lake Pontchartrain and City Park which was right where one of the levees broke in Hurricane Katrina. My Grandparents lived in this neighborhood for almost 40 years until their home was destroyed by flooding. They have since moved into a retirement community and what was once their home, a home I spent much of my childhood in, is now just a concrete slab. Sometimes I like to drive around the area, look at the slab, and see how the rebuilding efforts are going in that part of the City.

During this weekend's visit, I stumbled upon these artists' tribute to Lakeview and decided to add them to our collection.

More to come...

I Heart Potatoes!

2009-03-03T21:21:00.002-06:00

How weird is this? I found it in the bag of potatoes I bought on Saturday. Do you think some worker put it in there thinking maybe someone would find it on Valentine's Day? If so, that would have been super cool. Too bad it didn't go down like that :(

9 mile run report and my new fear of dogs

2009-03-01T18:54:00.005-06:00

Today, I embarked upon my longest run yet, 9 miles. It is actually kind of hard to find good routes for long runs in New Orleans because the city just isn't that big. So I drove to City Park and followed this route (click here for map). It took me through some really pretty parts of Mid-City and the French Quarter. It is important to me to have an interesting route. I hate having a boring route. It makes the run that much more unbearable. Today, I used my new fuel belt for the first time and also tried out GU. Having the water handy really helped me. I took the GU at the 45 minute mark and it definitely gave me a burst of energy. I was totally racing through the Quarter. But then I hit mile 6 and felt a blister forming in the arch of my left foot and also I was having some weird pain in the second toe on my left foot. Those last three miles were tough and my toe pain was getting really bad the last half mile, but I made it and I'm pretty darn proud of myself!

In other news, it seems that in response to getting bit by that dog last year, I have developed a bit of a fear of big dogs while I'm running. The last couple of weeks, I have been getting nervous as I approach big dogs on my runs in the park. I am really nervous I am going to startle them as I run by and they will attack me. Today, as I rounded a corner, I did just that with a Husky (the same breed that bit me, coincidentally) and he lunged at me. It scared the shit out of me and really freaked me out since that is exactly the fear I have been having. I'm not sure what to do about it other than just try to avoid areas where big dogs are.

Other than that, my weekend was uneventful just as planned.

Lazy weekends are my favorite

2009-02-28T07:39:00.002-06:00

There is nothing I look forward to more than a weekend where I have absolutely nothing planned. I love knowing that if I wanted to, I could just lay in bed for two days straight (other than to occasionally make sure Little Monkey isn't getting himself into too much trouble).

So far, I have planned walks with friends around the park this morning and tomorrow morning and I know I need to get in a 9 mile run. Other than that, my weekend is my own. Ahhh, no stress makes me happy!

A Streetcar Named Inspire

2009-02-27T20:45:00.004-06:00

The YLC (Young Leadership Counci l) in New Orleans has commissioned 80 replica streetcar sculptures which have been painted in tons of different ways representing different aspects of New Orleans. The project is similar to the cows in Chicago, pigs in Seattle, and the previous fish in New Orleans. Click here for the press release on the project.Anyway, they are really pretty cool so I decided to start taking pics as I come across them and post them on here for y'all to see. I found these first three examples in the French Quarter last month.

Bahamian Trip Giveaway at The Tale of a Southern Belle

2009-02-25T19:25:00.003-06:00

This expires tonight so get yourself over to Tale of a Southern Belle right now to win a trip to The Bahamas. She won the trip and can't use it so she is giving it away. Go enter and hopefully me or you may win!

Goodbye Mardi Gras... We'll see you again next year.

2009-02-24T20:45:00.004-06:00

Well, it is with some sadness that I announce Mardi Gras will officially be coming to an end within hours. We had a great season. I can't wait until next year when Little Monkey can really enjoy it. Our weekend was jam packed with festivities. We were invited to the Bacchus Rendezvous. This is the big party that is thrown at the Convention Center as the parade wraps up. The parade snakes into the Convention Center and all attendees get to watch it inside with no interruptions. I had never been before and we had a wonderful time. We got to dress in our finest formal attire and hobnob with the Bacchus royalty.(Me showing off my best catches from the floats)(Val Kilmer, King of Bacchus)

I leave you with one of my favorite Mardi Gras songs, "Ain't No Place To Pee on Mardi Gras Day". I agree that the image of the fishtank is a bit odd and doubt it is significant in any way, but the song is great!

Back to blogging about real life tomorrow.

Mardi Gras Anticipation=Stress!

2009-02-20T22:30:00.006-06:00

(Muses is an all women's krewe that is famous for throwing decorated shoes. You can't tell but this was a huge high-heeled shoe float with women riding in it)

Mardi Gras is now in full swing here in NOLA and with it comes stress that comes with all things Mardi Gras related. We were talking about this at work recently. It seems we all agreed that along with the excitement and anticipation of an awesome time comes an added amount of stress. There are so many decisions to be made...

which parades will I go to?
where will we park?
what will I wear?
will it be cold?
will there be a place to pee?
where will i stand? will it be too crowded?
will the baby get hit in the face with beads? should we take him at all?
how will i carry all my beads? should i bring a bag?Additionally, for us, we have a big parade that passes by the coffeeshop. It is our biggest money making day of the year and takes a bit of planning and lots of work.
But, in the end it is all worth it. Starting yesterday, the City came alive with the anticipation of the first big parades. People wander aimlessly in the streets, kids sit patiently atop ladders waiting for their stuffed animal throws, and the aroma of Popeye's Fried Chicken fills the streets!

Last night, I left LM and BM at home and joined some friends on The Avenue (that's St. Charles Ave, for those not local) and caught three really great parades, Krewe of Babylon, Krewe of Chaos, and Krewe of Muses. We had a fabulous time!Today, I joined some ladies whose husbands/male family members are in the Krewe of Hermes which rolls tonight. We went to Muriel's and as always the food was delicious.
Tonight, I decided to stay home and catch up on my blogging. More Mardi Gras news to follow.

Little Monkey does his first Mardi Gras parade right!

2009-02-17T20:38:00.002-06:00

While in Baton Rouge this weekend, my girlfriend and I took our little ones to The Krewe Mystique de la Capitale Mardi Gras parade. We had a wonderful time. Baton Rouge parades are great because there are a lot less crowds and the parades are shorter. The Little Monkey really had no clue what was going on but he did have a great time going for a ride in the Radio Flyer red wagon.
Now, I'm totally getting psyched up for this weekend's festivities.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Was someone named Murphy running with me...

2009-02-14T16:57:00.004-06:00

...because, whatever could have gone wrong today did on the 10k race I ran! We packed up the car and headed to Baton Rouge so we could spend some time with the family and I could get a race in for my training. The race started at 9am so I figured I could get there by 8:15 to find parking, register and get mentally prepared.

I woke up, took a look at the clock on my mom's microwave which said 6am. I thought "I've got plenty of time" and went back to sleep. Woke up at 6:40 am, took a shower, and then jumped in the car to get LM some milk at the quickie-mart. As I am heading home, I happen to look at the clock in the car which says 8:10!!! My mom's clock was an hour slow and now I am officially late, so I dump the milk off and fly towards downtown BR. Of course, I don't know the area so I couldn't find parking. Finally, the parking gods lead me to the overflow parking for the casino the race started at. I registered and finally settled in to start.

I then turn on my new Garmin, only to find the battery almost dead! (I can only blame myself. I had ample time to charge it last night, but figured it wasn't needed). Luckily, I have a stopwatch on my Ipod and I set that. So, the Garmin dies 18 seconds into the race and then I notice that my headphones are only working in one ear. So the whole race, I had music in only one ear. What a mess!

The good news, though, is that I came in with my best time ever, by far! 1:04:41! I had expected to come in at about 1:08 so I was stunned when I hit mile 1 in under 10 minutes. As I was running, I was beating my time every mile. Thank God for the Ipod stopwatch. I can not run without a timer.

So, all in all, I am really proud of myself and it motivates me to continue my training for the Half Marathon end of April.

Should Mardi Gras be declared a National Holiday?

2009-02-12T21:03:00.005-06:00

Today, I received the following email:

Hi News from NOLA!

I’ve been reading your blog and can tell you’re passionate about supporting the best New Orleans has to offer. I wanted you to know that Zatarain’s is sponsoring a petition to declare Mardi Gras a national holiday. We’d love for you and your readers to help by signing the petition at http://www.motionformardigras.com/

Best,

Liz Cron

For Zatarain’s

I have to admit I have mixed feelings about this. Lots of things make New Orleans special, but Mardi Gras is our shining star. Lots of other cities have little parties to commemorate Mardi Gras but nobody does it like New Orleans. Why would we want to dilute that by sharing it with the rest of the world? So, sorry, Zatarain's, I can't sign your petition, but I will share it with my readers and they are free to join your cause if they see fit.

BUT, I certainly love me some Zatarain's and would love to have you as an advertiser if you want to make an offer!

The Little Monkey loves his blankie

2009-02-11T21:01:00.003-06:00

LM has never been one for comfort items. He never used a pacifier and, until now, has not ben attached to any particular stuffed animals or lovies.

Little Monkey's nursery theme was all things monkey, of course, and before LM was born we received a special gift from my step-mother, JB. It was a really cute blanket with a monkey print on the front and soft flannel on the back. For the last couple of months, LM has been put to bed with this blanket and just recently, he has become very attached to it. Unfortunately, it is way to big and he keeps tripping over it as he drags it around the house.

So, I desparately called to see if any fabric was left to make a miniature version and sure enough it looks like there may be. Can't wait to get it in the mail!

Ever wonder how Elmo came to be?

2009-02-10T21:21:00.004-06:00

Not much exciting going on in the Monkey House this week and I'm having a bit of blogger's block, so I thought you might find this article interesting. Click on the photo to discover how the Muppets and Sesame Street characters came into being...

It's Carnival Time!?

2009-02-08T21:42:00.004-06:00

Well, the first parade of the Mardi Gras season, Krewe Du Vieux, came and went this weekend, and I'm still not feeling the carnival spirit yet this year.

We've only have one king cake at work which is odd. Normally, there would be a continuous flow since the person who gets the baby is supposed to bring the next king cake.

Hopefully, as things pick up next weekend, I'll get more into catching fake dog poop, shiny beads, and ladies' undies!

A Rare Display of Affection

2009-02-07T23:43:00.002-06:00

Little Monkey loves his daddy! He usually saves most displays of affection for Big Monkey, but today he ran up to me and sat in my lap and then put his head on my chest like a baby. It was very cute!

Update on half marathon training

2009-02-05T21:02:00.003-06:00

This is my first week of half-marathon training. You can follow my progress daily on the left sidebar under my BlogHer ads. I will keep y'all updated there. I am using Hal Higdon's program for novices and am starting on week 7 since I don't have much time. I feel like I've done pretty well so far. Today I didn't have time to get in my 4.5 mile run because it was too cold this morning so I brought Little Monkey to the babysitter at the gym and tried to do it on the treadmill.

I HATE the treadmill! I can't run long distances on it and you are only allowed to go 30 minutes when people are waiting so I only got in 2.5 miles. I am going to have a rest day tomorrow and go for a 50 minute bike ride on Saturday. Sunday will be my longest run ever at 7 miles. I am a little nervous about that.

Forever Young!

2009-02-04T21:27:00.000-06:00

The summer camp I went to for 5 years as a kid has been posting old pictures on Facebook. These pics are of me at age 8 and 12, I think.

I was trying to get a picture of The Little Monkey from the same angle as the top picture but haven't been able to yet. Upon examining this photo and photos of LM, he doesn't look as much like me as I thought. His eyes are wider and dark brown, while mine are hazel. He has a definite cleft chin like Big Monkey.

I don't know if you can tell but that is a definite perm I am sporting in the second photo, circa 1988! I look like something out of Welcome Back, Kotter.

Little Monkey Dancing in the Streets!

2009-02-02T21:45:00.002-06:00

Little Monkey gets jiggy with it in the French Quarter!

A Beautiful Day in the French Quarter

2009-02-01T20:13:00.004-06:00

Saturday, my father and his friend, Ms. K, came into town and BM, LM, and I joined them in the French Quarter. After coffee and beignets at Cafe Du Monde, we were still hungry for some real food so we headed to the place that invented the best sandwich in the world, The Muffaletta. Central Grocery is an awesome little Italian deli and The Muffaletta is the best mix of bread meat, cheese and olives you have ever tasted.

After we were stuffed, we took some time to just relax in Jackson Square. The sun was shining, there was a nice breeze, and it was all around just a beautiful day. Little Monkey had a great time running around and playing on the lawn.

I'm on the fence....

2009-01-29T21:40:00.003-06:00

I have been seriously thinking about training for a half-marathon. I've been jogging for about a year now and have definitely increased my speed and stamina but I am still pretty slow compared to most people. Here are my race times since I've been running in order of when I ran them:

10k- 1:17:17
5k- 35:23
10k- 1:12:57
9k- 1:04:57

The half-marathon I am thinking about running is only in 7 weeks which is not much training time. I am not too concerned about finishing, but the big problem is that in this particular marathon, you have to qualify. And, I would have to run a 5k in the next month in 31 minutes or under in order to qualify which is a LOT faster than I am currently running. So, my plan is to start working on my pace and give it a shot. We'll see if it happens or not.
On a similar note, does anyone have the Garmin Forerunner 205 or 305? I really want one to keep my pace, but I'm not sure that a) I want to spend the $, and b) if I do, which one I should get. It seems the only difference is that the 305 has a heart rate monitor. Do I really need that?

Jessica Simpson Wardrobe Malfunction

2009-01-28T22:29:00.002-06:00

Ok, let's face it... This outfit was a really bad choice. Her stylist was definitely in a coma, BUT I wouldn't call her fat. The belt is totally making a muffintop of the upper tummy area.

All in all, I think most of us would still kill to look like her (sans mom jeans and metallic belt)... extra 10 pounds or not!

'Revolutionary Road' vs. 'Titanic'

2009-01-26T20:07:00.004-06:00

About a week ago I saw Revolutionary Road with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in theaters. It is essentially about a woman who is not content with the social norms and constraints placed on her in the time in which she lives. She spends the movie searching for ways to break free of these restraints and in the end comes to a tragic fate.

Well, coincidentally, Big Monkey and I ended up catching some of Titanic with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet on Saturday morning on our trip this weekend. If you remember, that movie is about a woman who is not content with the social norms and constraints placed on her in the time in which she lives. She spends the movie searching for ways to break free of these restraints and in the end comes to a tragic fate.

Sound familiar!?

Ok, ok, I know the two are not exactly the same... one is a budding love story while the other is a love story gone horribly wrong, but I did find it so interesting that the Kate Winslet character is essentially the same character in both movies. She is a woman who wants more. She wants more than to be a wife to her husband. She wants to travel, live life to the fullest and "make it (i.e. life) count", just as Jack's toast to a table of aristocrats advises in Titanic. She wants love to sweep her off her feet, not to insist she settle because it is the responsible thing to do. There are really so many similarities between Rose and April that it could not have gone unnoticed to Winslet when picking the part.

I think one of the worst things that could happen to a person is to live a life so unfulfilled and without purpose.

Don't Mess With Texas!

2009-01-25T22:52:00.001-06:00

Thursday and Friday took me to Houston on business. Luckily, Big Monkey was able to tag along and we had a great time living it up in the Lone Star State. Whenever we head to Houston, I feel like some character out of The Andy Griffith Show who is traveling to "the Big City"! The traffic is crazy, the City is huge, and the enormity of it all is a little overwhelming.

BM and I have our routine down during our biannual visits. We always hit the Galleria for some upscale shopping, Mama's Cafe on Westheimer for breakfast, and our own mecca, IKEA! Here are some highlight pics from this recent visit.(Kenneth Cole helping out in these tough economic times!)(Not sure if the sign got blown away in the Sept hurricane but seems like they should have it fixed by now?)(The breakfast tacos and hashbrowns are unbeatable at Mama's and way cheap!)

Message to the bride and groom...

2009-01-20T22:09:00.004-06:00

This weekend my cousin got married to a great guy and the whole weekend was filled with family and fun. In a traditional Jewish wedding, there is a ceremony prior to the nuptials called a tish, where you can give some advice to the couple. During the tish, I really couldn't find what I wanted to say, but as I have had more time to think about it, I've come up with a few words of wisdom.

Now, I've only been married eight years and, believe me, BM and I are far from perfect. We have had our ups and downs. We have had plenty of hard times relationship-wise, but also lots of good ones. Here are a few things I have learned along the way in no particular order:

1) Complacency can be the most dangerous thing in a realtionship. The minute you forget that you have to work at it, things start going downhill.

2) Spend time often sharing details of your day (and also your thoughts on the day in general). I find that when we start to lose interest in the minute details of each other's lives is when distance grows. Over the years, people change, and if we don't keep up with those changes, we risk waking up next to a stranger.

3) This is an oldie, but a goodie... Pick your battles! I struggle with this one everyday, but I definitely find that we are more able to compromise when everything isn't an issue that needs to be discussed.

4) Go out to breakfast together. Not lunch or dinner, but breakfast. It kickstarts your weekends and sets the tone.

5) Go to bed angry... I am the type of person that likes to talk things out right now and get everything settled. Big Monkey likes time to think about things. It has taken me a long time to realize that sometimes it is better to give things some time. Think about what you want to say before you say it. (I never do this, but it really is good advice!)

6) Sit down and talk about your plans often. Have a life plan that you set together. Even if it doesn't come to fruition or your road changes, you will both be on the same page with what you want and expect out of your marriage.

So, newlyweds, I wish you a long and happy life together. I hope you take some of my advice and I too am going to try to remember some of my own words of wisdom more often.

Readers, anything you'd like to add to the list?

Sorry for the break...

2009-01-19T21:56:00.003-06:00

We had big family wedding weekend since Friday and I haven't had a minute to blog about it! This is the longest I have gone without posting since this blog's inception and it was kind of a nice break. I'll be back with pics and updates tomorrow, but for now I'm going to catch some zzzz's.

The Little Monkey's first trip to the the donut shop

2009-01-15T22:37:00.003-06:00

The Little Monkey experienced his first donut last Saturday and he is a big fan! He kept reaching into the bag for more. After four donut holes, I put a stop to it!

The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra's Re-Opening Gala

2009-01-13T22:40:00.005-06:00

The LPO had its first performance since Katrina this weekend and my Firm sponsored a table at the sold-out Re-Opening Gala after the performance. It gave me and Big Monkey an opportunity to dress in our finest and get in some culture (something we don't often get since the arrival of Little Monkey)!(I hate my hair in this picture but wanted you to see BM in his tux. I tried to do an easy updo but just couldn't make it work.)

The actual event was wonderful and included a performance by Itzhak Perlman and the San Francisco Ballet. I haven't been to a ballet in some time and really enjoyed it. Aren't ballerinas just beautiful in their tutus? No wonder every little girl wants to grow up to be a ballerina!
The after dinner gala was nice but didn't get going until about 10:30 and we were pretty much ready to call it a night, so we ate dinner and were home by midnight.

Thanks to my mom and Grumps for the free night of babysitting. You and the dogs are welcome anytime if it gets me and BM out of the house more often!

Stirrup pants? Seriously?!

2009-01-11T21:57:00.003-06:00

Friday night I needed to get LM a tuxedo shirt for our night on the town (I'll tell you about it later) so I headed to the mall. I went into XXI, which is a very trendy 15-27 year-oldish clothing store. I often stop in to fool myself into thinking I can wear their clothes, but in the the dressing room I always just look silly or fat.

Anyway, have we seriously regressed back to 1984 in that stirrup pants are back in style? I mean this isn't Wal-Mart... it is a very hip store where the "cool" kids shop! Stirrup pants? Are you kidding me?

Who needs pockets?

2009-01-09T21:25:00.003-06:00

Have y'all seen this video? It is kid of gross but funny none the less. I almost wonder if it wasn't staged. Who lets their two year kid play outside unsupervised stuffing frogs down their drawers? Cute but a little disturbing!

Love letter to Big Monkey

2009-01-07T21:45:00.005-06:00

Happy Anniversary Big Monkey! We have now known each other for ten years (almost a third of our lives) and been married for eight of those. It gets better everyday! You are an adoring husband. You are patient when I am impatient. You are calm when I am in hysterics. You make me laugh when I want to cry. You make me think twice before I make a fool of myself. And most of all, you just make me a better person. I can't think of anyone else I would rather spend the rest of my life with or raise a family with. Thanks for being a wonderful husband, father, and friend!
I took off work today to have a day of fun with Big Monkey in honor of our anniversary. We had a wonderful time. We started off at The Ruby Slipper in Mid-City for breakfast. BM had the Three Little Piggies omelet (meat, meat, meat) and I had the basic breakfast with a side of pancake. It was relaxing and delicious!
We then hit the Nike outlet to suit up for our New Year's resolution of both getting healthier and losing weight.After relaxing a bit at home, we went to see the movie "Milk" (commentary to follow tomorrow).
We ended the evening with a fabulous dinner at Luke, one of Chef John Besh's restaurants. It was really wonderful. I started off with the fried oyser, bacon, and avocado salad. The bacon was nice and smoky and the oysters could not have been fresher. It was our favorite dish of the evening. I got the mussels et frites for my entree. The french fries were awesome and crispy. The muscles were a bit bland but a good choice since I didn't want something too heavy. The only disappoinment was the bread pudding which was much too dense and hard and as Big Monkey put it "uncomfortable to eat". But, it did not deter from a wonderful dinner!

Opportunity for Random Act of Kindness for our Troops

2009-01-06T21:30:00.004-06:00

One of the women on the BabyCenter Bargain Board tonight suggested this and I thought it was an awesome idea!

Hickory Farms is having their big after-Xmas sale where everything is 75% off. Use code 849358 for an extra 15% off that. They have a special section (click here) where you can send these items to military APO and FPO addresses for free shipping. Go to anysoldier.com to get addresses of soldiers you can send them too. Hickory Farms even allows you to add a message to your shipment. I found two units from Louisiana.

What a great idea and it only cost me $19. Show your support for our troops today. I'm sure they would love to get a care package.

**On anysoldier.com, click on one of the names on the left hand side and then you have to register and their address will be sent to you. I found it a little difficult to understand at first so leave a comment if you have a question and I can help you.

New cute pics of Little Monkey

2009-01-04T21:03:00.005-06:00

LM in a cheetos induced coma

LM discovers the joys of a three-way mirrorOur litte Slugger!Our friend, Stinks, brought this shirt back for LM from England and we thought he was quite stylin' until Aunt Rachel told us he looked more Jehovah's Witness than GQ!

Review of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2009-01-03T22:53:00.004-06:00

I saw this movie tonight. I started crying when it began and didn't stop for three hours. That's not to say the movie was all that sad, but I pretty much cry at AT&T commercials, so you can't go by me.

I enjoyed the movie, but, of course have some comments. The movie starts with Benjamin being born to a family in New Orleans. His father sees what he is and promptly leaves him on a fellow New Orleanian's doorstep. The movie seems to be a parable for life, told like a fable. Because of this, I really think they should have left more to my own imagination. They really drew out every detail for me which lead to some unbelievability. But, in general, the story was good and, I would suggest seeing it.My favorite part about the movie, though, was the fact that New Orleans really becomes a character in its own right within the movie. The scenes were shot beautifully, showcasing our wonderful architecture, streetcars, French Quarter, parks. I really enjoyed recognizing places around the New Orleans and seeing them as I do everyday and how they might have been years ago.
Unfortunately, the director felt the need to bring Katrina into the story which was completely unnecessary to the plot, if not just awkward. Last, I have to say, Brad Pitt is just HOT! He just gets hotter and hotter... one day I will tell y'all about the time I saw him at Big Lots last Christmas. Yes, I said Big Lots!

Happy New Year! My resolutions...

2009-01-01T20:53:00.005-06:00

(not my dachshunds, but too cute a pic to pass up!)

I want to wish all my friends, family and loyal readers a wonderful 2009. 2008 was a great year for me, BM, and LM. Personally, I have accomplished a lot this year of which I am proud. I began jogging, ran my first 10k, lost over 25 pounds, finally had an adult Bat Mitzvah (since I never had one as a girl), made lots of new friends (in real life and in the blog-o-shere :). Also, Big Monkey and I have had a great year watching Little Monkey grow into a toddler. We will be celebrating our 8th anniversary next week and I look forward to countless more years together.

As the new year approached, of course, I had to make some resolutions. Here's what I will work toward in 2009:

*I want to lose 15 more pounds and be able to maintain it.
*I have a tendency to procrastinate and I really want to work on not doing that. We will see. This is something that will be very hard for me.
*I want to make an effort to call my Grandparents weekly.
*I would like to organize our house. It is a small two-bedroom, but I think we could really enjoy it if space was utilized better.
*I would like BM and I to make more of an effort to have at least one "date night" a month. It can be pricey but I think it is important.

So, what are yours?

The Little Monkey gets himself into quite the jam!

2008-12-30T22:20:00.001-06:00

This is what happens when you overestimate your flexible spending deductions!

2008-12-29T22:28:00.002-06:00

Since the Little Monkey was in his first year, we decided we should expect some extra doctor's visits and sicknesses so we upped our flexible spending for 2008. Unfortunately, we over-estimated by $260! So tonight, I spent an hour in Walgreens buying every over-the-counter medicine we could possibly need for the next two years (until expiration)!

I was fairly humiliated when I shopped for an hour, got up to the counter, the guy spent five minutes ringing me up, and only then did I realize I had left my wallet at home! So, I had to run back home and then go back to the store to have the same guy ring it up all over again. He was a good sport about it. So this is what $217.68 of flexible spending eligible OTC medicines look like. Click on the picture to make it bigger and let me know if I have a forgotten any necessities?

Things I Stumbled Tonight

2008-12-28T22:06:00.004-06:00

Really bizarre items stuck inside people's head/body

This one is for my sister because she likes televised fireplaces

Draw your piggy and find out about your personality.

Need to glue something? This site is for you.

Pull my Finger!

What happened to my sweet little boy?

2008-12-26T20:10:00.004-06:00

Within a week, the Little Monkey has gone from the sweetest of little boys to a crazed, screaming banshee!! Over night he decided he no longer zonks out at 7pm and instead is up until 9:30 or 10. He throws everything he sees, and tonight we went to a restaurant and had to get everything boxed up due to his flailing and screaming! Please give me tips on disciplining an 18 month old!

Ushering in Hanukkah New Orleans style!

2008-12-23T18:49:00.004-06:00

It is a Hanukkah tradition to commemorate the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days by eating foods cooked in oil, specifically latkes and sufganiyot, or fried jelly donuts. In New Orleans, we definitely eat things cooked in oil on a regular basis and tonight, BM, LM, and I enjoyed the tradition to its fullest. But instead of latkes and donuts, we enjoyed the more treif option of fried catfish, shrimp, and oysters!Big Monkey surprised me with an evening out at one of our favorite Uptown family restaurants, Mandina's. The onion rings and fried oysters are a favorite, but their turtle soup is really the reason we keep coming back. At one point Big Monkey had so much food in front of him, he looked down and was embarrassed by the site!So, anyway, Happy 3rd night of Hanukkah. Hope you are celebrating with your own traditions!

The Little Monkey's Plaque

2008-12-22T22:00:00.000-06:00

Little Monkey's favorite friend, Rachel, brought this plaque home to him after her recent trip to New York. How perfect is it?!

Two things I'm searching for...

2008-12-20T22:22:00.003-06:00

First, am I crazy or is there such a thing as fat-free eggnog? I swear I remember seeing this in the store in previous holiday seasons. But, this year, it is nowhere to be found! I did find this recipe, but I'm not really one to just go whip up some nog. I would much rather spend my hard earned money on a pre-made carton. If they sell fat free half and half, fat free eggnog should exist, shouldn't it?
Second, the blogosphere is all abuzz about this new limited edition diet pomegranate 7-up. Where the hell is it? It is supposed to be selling from Nov thru Jan. I have hit Rouse's Grocery, Winn-Dixie, Wal-Mart, and Target, and I haven't found it yet. Anyone else been successful finding it?

Better than Beyonce!

2008-12-19T06:01:00.002-06:00

This totally cracked me up this morning! Enough said...

The Best Thing About Christmastime... Peppermint!

2008-12-17T22:55:00.006-06:00

I love all things peppermint and this time of year is when peppermint really makes a name for itself! Peppermint bark, peppermint hot chocolate, candy canes, peppermint mochas... oh how the list goes on.

Which reminds me of a wonderful weekend Big Monkey and I had long ago. When we lived in the San Francisco area, we would travel around California on the weekends just spur of the moment hostel card in hand. One weekend, we decided to go to the actual Jumping Frog Jubilee in Calaveras County. The festival was great fun but the best part was the old-time peppermint chews we found at Nelson's Candies in Murphys, CA. Those were truly the best peppermint I have ever had and I think of them often. Oh, I'm getting nostalgic!

On a side note... the word "peppermint" starts to sound and look strange after typing it nine times.