Who Dat

I was never nervous about the game Sunday because I knew that we were going to win. I never doubted it; even with 7 seconds left on the clock and the Vikes had the ball, I still knew it. Even though I knew we were going to win, I was still speechless when it was over. Black and Gold Superbowl, baby! Yaaaaahooooooo!

Work is really good. I was given a lot more responsibility today, which is good and bad, I think. In this job, my anal-retentiveness totally pays off. I think I've found my calling. I've also got some good work trips planned out this year. Houston in March (10th - 13th), Seattle in June, and Austin (yay!) at some point this summer.

I've had some taco soup that my step-mom made in the freezer for a few weeks and decided I wanted to eat it the other night. I did not give it time to thaw out and it was in sort of a large rectangular-shaped container, so it would not fit in any of my pots. I thawed it out a little in a pot and then decided it would be a good idea to stab the frozen soup repeatedly with a kitchen knife to try and break it apart. And now the knife is totally jacked; the tip of it is bent backwards. It's incidents like this that explain why Neal always gets a frightened look on his face and says "please don't hurt yourself" every time he sees me pick up a sharp knife. But once it finally thawed out, the soup was pretty good.

My brother gave us an Applebee's gift card for Christmas so we decided to go there a few weeks ago and use the card. A free meal is a free meal. Neal, however, thought it was a great opportunity to act like we were there to celebrate a special occasion. Every time someone would walk by, he would try to act out a different scenario. The first time he asks, "So, where you from?" The second time, "Happy 30th birthday!" The third time, he tells me to take my rings off so that we can get engaged in the Applebee's. I just couldn't do it. It reminded me too much of that time I waited tables for a wedding reception at Bennigans in Baton Rouge. Not kidding.

Neal comes home tomorrow, yay! He's been gone 8 days and it feels like FOR-EV-ER.

Just Some Stuff

So Neal started with the new company yesterday and he will be working 7 and 7. I think this is better than 14 and 14, so I'm totally on board. The bummer of this whole situation is that he will be at work for the Saints game Sunday and for the Superbowl. Not that the Saints are definiely going to the Superbowl, but let's face it - they are. I am having sort of a hard time adjusting to this new schedule b/c he's been home for so long. I miss him tons and tons. I need to remember how to make weekend plans with other people again.

My brother's house got broken into last week. It happened during the day when no one was home. They took the Wii, Playstation, TVs, computers, his firearm, jewelry, etc. He's been really freaked out since then, but he's starting to get over it a little. He and Diwina are planning on moving away within 1-2 years I think (she is being re-located by the Air Force) so they are going to put their house on the market sooner than they thought. He is also talking about going active duty, which means he will probably be deployed at some point. I don't like that, but he's a big boy so it's his decision. Anyway, they were at a daquiri shop near their house last weekend and were talking to another couple and the bartender about the robbery, etc. The bartender got in touch with him a day or so later and told him that she couldn't stop thinking about their situation, so she said "I hope you don't mind, but I started a collection for ya'll at the bar. I'll call you next weekend to come pick it up." He was really touched; what a nice thing for her to do.

I had lunch with a friend from junior high today, it was nice to catch up. She lives over here with her husband and 2 kids. They actually live about 5 minutes away from us. In junior high, she lived just a few blocks away from me on the opposite side of Carrollton. We were talking about how we used to take the streetcar places and roam around uptown all the time by ourselves. She was like, "I would never let my daughters do that now!"

Both bosses are out of town this week in DC, hence the work-blogging. It has been soooo quiet around here...I'm almost ready for them to come back so that there's some action up in this joint.

Jeanne's wedding festivites are about to begin, yay! I am really looking forward to all the girly fun. I also have a killer idea for her french quarter bachelorette attire....and it is GOOD.

I have recently started watching the show Parks and Recreation on On Demand and it is really funny. (It may be especially funny to me b/c of the fact that it's about local government.) 'Cause you know, I really needed to pick up another tv show. While I'm on the topic of tv, I need to say that I don't really like Grey's Anatomy anymore. I don't enjoy it like I used to. I think I only watch it because I'm supposed to....does that make sense?

I'm done blabbering. Later gators.

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

Neal got a new job yesterday! He starts training Tuesday. It's with a large and established drilling company. He'll be working 14 and 14 in the Shreveport area. We are so excited!

I Said....Brrrrr, It's Cold in Here.....

There must be some Toro's in the atmosphere....quote from the movie Bring it On? Anybody? Anybody? Nevermind. I've been wanting to sing that around the house a lot lately, but Neal makes fun of me for liking that movie, so I don't. Anyway...

I'm at the point now where I only get Starbucks once or twice a week. I do my best to make coffee at home (I use Mello Joy coffee which is delish)but sometimes I just really, really need a skinny vanilla latte. Last Saturday was one of those days, so I went to Stabucks and ordered a skinny vanilla latte at the drive thru. The guy at the window handed me a drink and said "sugar-free breve vanilla latte?" I said sure. I didn't know what breve meant, I just figured Starbucks was changing the name of their drinks again and took it. I should have asked what breve is, but I hate to inconvenience people and/or look stupid, so I didn't ask. I could tell from the first couple of sips that it was a little different, so I googled 'breve' when I got home and realized that it meant a latte drink made with half and half and whole milk (and I usually drink skim milk). I had to trash it. I've been pissed at Starbucks since. I'm sure they care.

I have to go to Baton Rouge tomorrow for HUD tranining from 9 to 12. I'm actually looking forward to getting out of the office for a few hours. Hopefully I'll get to have lunch with my sister while I'm there. She turns 23 next Tuesday, can ya' believe it?

I will also be going to either Houston, San Antonio, or Fort Worth for more HUD traning in March. I will let my Texas girls know where and when I will be there as soon as I find out. I haven't been back to H-town since May...it doesn't seem that long ago.

My mom is having a hysterecotmy on the 27th. I believe they are doing it laproscopically, so hopefully it goes smoothly and her recovery time is short and sweet.

I'm over the freezing ass cold weather now, can it please go away? Temps in the 40s and 50s are doable, but all these temps in the teens and low-twenties need to stop. We've had to leave the water running at night in the house for the past 7 days just so the pipes wouldn't freeze. And running water = pee inducer.

I'm starting to hear Mardi Gras music on the radio and it gives me goose bumps every time I hear it. It's cahnival time, baby!

Hello 2010

Oh, 2009, I am glad to see you go. There were some wonderful things that happened last year, but there were also some craptastic things that happened. I am hoping that this year is much better!

I watched the movie Julie and Julia last week. I liked it, but I found Amy Adams' character to be incredibly whiny and annoying. Nothing ever made her happy, nothing was ever enough. I think that I can get like that sometimes, where I worry myself into a ridiculous state of whiny-ness where I cannot ever be completely happy and not worry about things. I really, really, really don't want to live the rest of my life like that, so I am going to do my best to stay positive and not worry about every little thing. I guess that is my New Year's resolution. Maybe I should change the name of this blog.

So, because I love making lists on my blog, here are a list of some positives for this new year (big and small):

-Saints football, WHO DAT!
-I finally bought some skinny jeans (at Target!)that look good tucked into boots
-I found a teal messenger bag at Old Navy that I love for $18
-Jeanne & Sarah's weddings and bach. parties
-My job
-My new LSU snuggie
-Watching my nephew TJ grow up
-Being near my family
-New season of LOST starts in < 1 month
-My 30th birthday
-Being off of work the Monday and Tuesday of Mardi Gras week for the 1st time since 2005
-Jazz Fest
-That I have a husband who held my hair back, took off my boots, and took care of me on New Years Eve because I drank an entire bottle of champagne by myself before midnight

Happy New Year!

Must Have Reese's Dress

I'll take the shoes too. Poor thing, she looks tired. I guess having a gay boyfriend will do that to you.

Merry Ludachristmas Everyone

Our Thanksgiving was really good. We went to Houma for the day and visited with Mom's side of the family. My sisters informed me that I sound like the talking pothole on that Geico commercial, which is nice to hear. I was not aware that my accent had mutated that much, but according to those little beeeeaches, it has. Lovely. I blame it all on Neal.

My Mom's got some health stuff going on, we're just not sure what it is yet. From what I understand, she has something on one of her ovaries. I think a biopsi is scheduled in mid-December, so we should know a lot more after that.

Neal is still "rig watching" and is in the process of trying to get on with another company. They probably won't call until after the first of the year, but there are two job possibilities out there right now that both seem promising. They are both in the Shreveport area, so hopefully one of those will work out. *Fingers Crossed*

He had a lit Christmas tree set up when I got home last Wednesday and we decorated it that night. It's really cute and makes me happy. We are hosting Christmas for his parents, his sister and nephew the weekend of the 18th and I am nervous about it because I have to cook for everyone...yikes!

I keep looking at my calendar for next year and the months of Feb thru April are totally jam-packed. Weddings, bachelorette parties, Mardi Gras, 30th birthdays and on and on. I can't get over how quickly the past 6 months have flown by, so I'm guessing that the next 4 to 5 months will go by even quicker.

I'm also making a family cookbook for everyone on my Mom's side of the family for Christmas. My grandmother is the best cook on the face of the planet, so I'm going to get her recipes for all the big-ticket items (cornbread dressing, red velvet cake, shrimp jambalaya, etc etc) and put them into a book with recipes from everyone else in the fam. I'm also adding in pictures of everyone. I think this is going to be a little more time consuming than I had orgininally planned, but I'm still excited about putting it together.

So there's been a lot on my mind lately...Neal's job stuff, Christmas and the holidays, Mom's health, babies, houses, blah blah blah. I think everyone is sort of on edge around this time of year for one reason or another. I'm trying to quit worrying about things that I have no control over. It is very hard for me to do that because I am sort of a control freak, but worrying about everything all the time is not going to do me any good either. I'm just going to have to figure out a way to stop. I figured that since I've totally changed my lifestyle in terms of eating and working out, I can do this too. I'll be sure to let ya' know how that all turns out. ;)