"Thank God We Woke Up This Morning"

No, I didn't come up with that on my own. All the credit goes to an inmate at Louisiana State Penitentiary aka "Angola". One of the lovely "perks" (that's sarcasm people) of my job is that I get the mail from Angola. We get A LOT of letters from inmates. Apparently, there isn't much to do in prison. So much for all that license plate making. They write to us about all sorts of things. They change their address - they move from cell to cell A LOT. They put their paper on "vacation" when they're moved to "the dungeon" aka lock down for bad behavior. They write to complain that they're not getting their paper. They write because they want back issues of the paper because they had a court date & want to read about themselves. Yes, I'm serious. Some of the really bad inmates have high profile attorneys that write us letters because of all of the above issues. It can be entertaining, sometimes it's really obvious that they've been reading the dictionary because they try to use every big word they know in one sentence, but mostly it's just annoying. I'm of the belief that if you did something bad enough to get yourself sent to prison to begin with you don't deserve privileges. I think instead of reading the paper they should sit there & think about what they did & who they hurt. But that's just me. I've been known to google some of these guys just to see what their in for.

So today one of the letters I received said "Thank God We Woke Up This Morning". It's pretty amazing that someone that is stuck in Angola for who knows how long is still thankful to be alive. I'm not sure that I would be. Awhile back one of the letters was from someone on Death Row. That ooged me out. I'm talking chill bumps when I saw the return address! Thankfully, a lot of these letters don't require a response & the ones that do DO NOT have my name on them. Today's inmate also said that he hoped I "have a smooth day".

Hope y'all have a "smooth" weekend!

Toodles!

Happy Hump Day!

That's the thing about being off on Monday. Wednesday gets here fast & it's great! Sadly, aside from Thanksgiving Day I don't have any time off until December. Then it's a whole week though!

I started my morning off with my first red cup of the season!
A grande Caramel Brulee Latte nonfat no whip. Just think I used to be so intimidated by the Starbucks ordering process! What is it about these little cups that make me so happy?? I guess because it means Christmas is coming & that's my absolute most favorite time of the year! I had time to go to Starbucks this morning because I decided that I didn't want to get up at 4:45 to run in the 30 degree weather. We're having a cold snap right now so I'm going to run after work in the 50 degree weather.

Last night I had dinner with friends. My friend Veronica moved to Houston a few months ago & was in town for work. I had some time to kill before dinner so I went to the mall. I was looking for brown boots. While in Macy's I came across the pajama section. They have some really cute stuff for winter. Now, this is the LAST thing I need to be looking at. I have enough winter pj's to last SEVERAL years. They were really cute though. I didn't find any boots at the mall. Truth be told, I didn't look very hard because the mall is kinda scary now. There was a lot of "interesting characters" as Allison would say. I don't know if I'm getting old or it's just that the world is so different now but the last several times I've been to the mall it ooged me out. Go figure.

Anyway, I moved on to Shoe Station. My most favorite shoe store ever. It's a rare day that I don't find at least one pair of shoes there. Let me tell you, it's a really sad day when it does happen. Luckily, they didn't disappoint last night. I got these

Aren't they beautiful??? I love the color. I was planning to get a dark brown but when I saw the Cognac I loved them. They're Madden Girl aka the lesser expensive Steve Maddens. I love a wedge heal too. I have a thing for wedges, salads & heals. Interesting. Does anyone know where I can get some boot socks? Please don't say Target. I stopped at Target because we ate at Olive Garden & they share a parking lot. I've mentioned before how I don't understand the greatness everyone says is Target. I like the toy dept. I seem to always be able to find good stuff there. Other than that I don't get it. I didn't see any cute clothes. They actually had a whole section of swimsuits out. They weren't leftovers either. It was a "2013 Swim Preview". Yeh, in the 30 degree weather. Anyway, no boot socks which is where everyone I've seen in blog land &  twitter has gotten them. Sigh.

Toodles!

A long weekend!

It's been great sadly, it's coming to an end. *sigh*. Saturday morning I went for a run & then we went to Dean's parents & visited. Saturday night we went to our friends Cindy & Brad's to watch the LSU game. I didn't see much of the game. We spent the majority of the evening talking.

Sunday morning after Mass Dean & I went to breakfast at Another Broken Egg.
I had the shrimp florentine omelet & an english muffin. It was DELICIOUS!!!

Last weekend I did some shopping.
You can't tell in the picture but the sweater is very sparkly. Perfect for a Christmas party!
When we were in NOLA we shopped at Loft. Everything was 40% off. This shirt is cute on & it's a pretty teal color.
A sweater vest in shades of gray.
This top looks plain but it was really cute on.

This sweater is a greenish teal color if that makes any sense. I took all of the pics with my phone so they're not great.
Purple skinny's!!
Dean & I went to Sam's this morning & I got this winter white puffy vest. It has a fur lined hood! Sooo cute. There's no need for PETA to get in a tizzy, it was $25 so I'm pretty sure it's fake fur.
I used birthday money from my mom & Dean's mom to by myself some new perfume. Awhile back I knocked my perfume bottle out of my cabinet & it shattered into a million pieces. After smelling about a million different types I decided on Vintage Bloom by Jessica Simpson. I also had a horrible headache.
I bought the perfume at Ulta & they had a free gift with purchase.

Once we finished shopping we went to the movie to see Alex Cross. It was good but so intense. When we left the theater I was a nervous wreck & felt like I needed a drink to calm down. Has anyone seen it?

Toodles!


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T.G.F.L.W.

That means "Thank God for Long Weekends!". That's what I had last weekend & that's what I have this weekend. Sadly, it's only 3 days this week but I'll take it.

What's been happening since my last post?  I was off Monday. I have lots of vacation to take before the end of the year & I have a not very considerate co-worker that has taken the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years off so I'm stuck with random days off. What I learned Monday is that I have the potential to be a fabulous housewife! I'm talking June Cleaver without Wally & The Beave. I'd even wear the pearls. No dress because my yoga pants are just too comfy. I ran, I grocery shopped, I did a gazillion loads of laundry, I cooked & it was good & it wasn't easy & I didn't have to call my mom. It's really a miracle actually. I was exhausted by the time Dean got home but I'd do it everyday if it meant not getting up at 4:45 every morning.

Then there was the election. I voted early at lunch one day because I did not want to stand in a ridiculous line. Of course after the election I wonder why I went to the trouble because I think one of the people I voted for actually won. We had a ton of people to vote for too. Oh well.

I went to Yoglates Tuesday, Thursday & Friday. Yay for going 3 times this week. I've been trying to get back on track with that. I ran Monday &  Wednesday morning.

Work has been better the last two days. I'm actually sitting at my desk blogging & I don't have anything that has to be done before I leave today. I've only worked late a couple of days this week & today I'll actually only work 8 hours! YAY!!

Tonight we're going out to eat. You know our usual Friday night routine. Tomorrow we're going to Dean's parents & then to some friends to watch the LSU/Miss. St. game. I'm thinking about putting up my Christmas tree Sunday. We're going to Dean's parents for Thanksgiving this year so there's no reason not to. That was my week. How was yours?

Have a great weekend!!

Toodles!

Saturday Fun!!

Once the guys left to go fishing the girls went to Cafe DuMonde for beignets. They were delicious.
We sat outside. Before we left we had lunch at Drago's. It was delicious too. After lunch we left for Pass Christian.
Here's the kitchen. I LOVE her granite. It's Alaskan White. If we ever do an outdoor kitchen I think that's what I'd choose. The house is really nice! It's 22 ft. off the ground. A must considering the surge from Hurricane Katrina was 16 ft. high in this area. It's 2 story. I just realized I didn't get any pics of the outside. Next time!

The view from the porch. Dean was fishing off the pier.
The bar area which we all helped stock.

Isn't my drink pretty? It's a "Midnight Flight to Malibu" aka "the blue drink". We all watched the LSU game. What a disappointment. Never in a million years did I think it would even be close, much less us be that close to actually winning. Oh well.
Sunday morning was really foggy.
The rain was coming.

Then we saw what it would be like to be there during a hurricane! HA! The wind started & the rain came. Stuff on the porch was blowing everywhere. It was wild. Luckily, it only lasted about 20 minutes. Once the rain was over we headed home. It's about a 2 hr. drive to Baton Rouge.

Toodles!

Friday in NOLA

I took off work Friday! Yay!! I ran a few errands & met Dean at Caliente for lunch.


Shrimp quesadillas on a wheat tortilla. Soooo good!

Then it was home to pack. I hate packing but it had to be done. We headed to New Orleans with our friends, Dennis, Jackie & Kitzia. Kitzia's hubs was already in NOLA for a meeting.


While we were waiting to check it I looked at our stuff & thought it was funny.

We had tickets for Boudin & Beer. It's a fundraiser for Emeril Lagasse's foundation.


We look like Smurfs thanks to the lighting in the bar at the hotel!


We had charbroiled oysters from Drakes. Soooo good!! Then it was off to The Foundry for the event.


I wanted to take this home & put it by my front door!!


This was my favorite thing!!! Fried oyster on top of grits served in the oyster shell!! There was tons of food & drinks!


Dave, Dennis & Dean


Jackie, Kitzia & me


I ate this.


It was the first thing. For those of you not from the south, a nutria is basically a river rat. I feel sick just thinking about the fact that I ate it & it wasn't awful.


There were chefs from all over the country there with all sorts of specialties. Mario Batali was there & Zac Browns chef! At one point I turned around & Emeril was walking right by & he said to us "Hey guys!" Very cool.


That's Dennis with Sammy Hagar! Sammy makes rum now & they were serving it. He was even bartending for a bit.


Me, Suzy & Kitzia


Dave, Matt, Suzy, Dean & I


Key line pie!


Gelato with chocolate sauce & cracker jacks. I don't like cracker jacks but loved the gelato!


The girls!

The boys all left early this morning to head to Pass Christian to go fishing. The girls are leaving after while. Matt & Suzy just finished building their camp/vacation house on the bay in Pass Christian. We're going to hang out & watch the LSU game & spend the night.

Have a great weekend!

Geaux Tigers!!! Beat Bama!!!

Toodles!!!

Location:Fulton St,New Orleans,United States

Happy All Saints Day!

That was the best I could come up with for a title. I'm not feeling too creative today. I managed to get out of the office a little before 5:00 yesterday so I was home in time to enjoy Halloween with all our neighborhood peeps! We all go to Jackie & Dennis's to eat. Everyone brings something.
Notice the large bottle of wine? That was my contribution. Thankfully, my friends understand the ridiculousness of my work schedule (worked til 7:00 Tuesday night) & told me not to bring anything.

The pizza was Cindy's contribution. She's a self proclaimed hot dog snob. I did good with my eating. I had 2 small pizzas of thin crust pizza & the icing off of a cupcake. Suzy doesn't like the icing but wanted a cupcake. I gladly took care of that problem. It was delish!!

You may have noticed I've been lacking in the Weigh In post. I'm still working towards my goal but I'm starting to wonder if I'm ever going to get there. I know my body is changing in a good way so I'm trying to not be as focused on the scale. All of my clothes fit fine even though according to the stupid scale I'm up a couple of pounds.

My workouts for the last several days are:
Saturday - 2 mi. run (20 mins)
Sunday - 2.87 mi. run (30 mins.)
Monday - off
Tuesday - Yoglates
Wednesday - 2.5 mi. run (30 mins)
Thursday - Yoglates

Toodles!!!