The Mundane and The Accomplishment

Wednesday

Since Leap Day only comes around once every four years, I feel like I have to crank out a blog entry today.  I mean, I'm not going to get a crack at a February 29th blog for four more years.  The problem, though, is that my life is pretty boring lately.  I have a whole folder full of drafts but most of these drafts are meh at best and there is no way I'm ever publishing that at worst.  I even have one (that will probably go unpublished forever) about CLEANING OUT MY CLOSET. 

I'll spare you that entry, though I will show you this picture:


We are fortunate enough to have a Very Big Closet.  I feel like I'm finally getting my due for the tiny closets of my childhood and the "that doesn't even count" closets of my apartment and duplex dwellng days.  However.  The tenants who lived in our house in '08/'09 BUTCHERED THE CLOSET.  And since I'm a Big Fat Procrastinator who married a Bigger Fatter Procrastinator, well, we've done absolutely nothing to rectify the mess they made of it.  Yeah, we've lived here 2.5 years.  Sigh.  Anyhow, this is the absolute cleanest I've ever seen the closet.  But I had to get really creative because, while it's pretty big, there is almost zero real clothes storage.  That stupid rack is the only one hanging!  Which, yes, means even though I have a decent sized closet I still have to get creative with clothes storage.  It's a good thing I had a lot of practice with that in my earlier years.  Blah.

Now that I've written a paragraph more than I intended on the stupid closet, let's move on . . . to coke!

In the south, or at least in the corner of the south where I grew up, "coke" didn't necessarily refer to Coca-Cola.  "Hey, you wanna coke?" could mean anything from Coke to Dr. Pepper to a strawberry Fanta.  So, just for sake of anyone else who might've been raised in central Arkansas, when I say 'Coke' in this entry I mean the good stuff: Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola introduced "new" Coke in 1985.  I was five-years-old in 1985 but was a seasoned enough Coke drinker at that point that I can remember discussing the merits (there were none) of new Coke with my grandparents.  Suffice to say, I've been a life-long Coke drinker.  When I was in the hospital after I had Jaidan, a nurse asked me if I wanted anything to drink.  I told her a Coke and she asked if a Pepsi would be okay.  "Absolutely not!" My mom says that she knew then that I would be okay.

I've tried to give it up at various times.  It would be my New Years resolution to ditch it.  I gave it up for Lent a couple times.  And always, no matter what, I went back to it.  Always.  I don't like Diet Coke and would try to switch to Diet Dr. Pepper or Diet Mountain Dew but all it would take is just one ice cold Coca-Cola Classic and I'd be back to buying 24 packs.  I would give myself the excuse of "I'm on vacation" or "it's my birthday" or "this restaurant doesn't serve Diet Dr. Pepper." 

I hesitate to say that I've completely kicked the habit -- believe me, there have been times when I thought I kicked it before.  But.  I have not had a regular Coke since Christmas.  And I didn't even make giving them up a New Years Resolution!  Christmas was the first Coke I had in a month or more -- and I only had some then because my husband bought a 2-liter and I didn't want it to go to waste.  (I know!)

I am so proud of myself!  Not only because I've gone a full two months without so much as a drop of Coke but because . . . I don't really even want any!  Yeah.  If you know me, you can pick your jaw up off the floor.  I've managed to write this entire blog without my mouth watering just thinking about a swig of Coke. 

I've converted to Coke Zero.  Gawwww, I love that stuff!  (And, yes, I know that soda of any kind is bad, bad, horrible, and awful for you.  I have ONE can a day.  ONE.  And seeing as it's my only vice, I'm perfectly okay with that).  I'm  not sure what it was this time that's made me stick with giving up the Cokes . . . I'm not even sure if it's the Coke Zero seeing as I tried it when it first came out and hated it (and I will say this, I firmly believe that everything taste better in a can [best in a glass bottle] and I'm not crazy about the taste of fountain Coke Zero though I would take it over a plain old Pepsi anyday of the week).  Maybe it's just that I'm . . . growing up?  Giving up the sugary sodas for good?  Is that a sign of being . . . grown?

You May be Right. We May be Crazy.

Monday

My brother and his family moved to Virginia last year. 

They stopped by my house on their way out of town and, of course, that meant PHOTO OP.  Other than the baby poop yellow wall taking up half the picture, this is my favorite from the day.  My nephew was ACTIN' A FOO' and Karis was giving him her best "oh no, nuh-uh" look.  I know the look well.  I've given it to my brother millions of times.  Possibly billions.

Anyway. They moved to Virginia and the assholes had the nerve to take my nephew with them.  Jerks.  From the moment we knew they were going to move, Eddie and I started talking about a trip to see them.  They're close to DC so we could take the kids (and me! I've never been!) on a day trip to see the sights.  We even planned to take an overnight to Philadelphia while we were in the area.

We totally had it all planned out.

But.  We have, like, vacation ADD or something.

Our friends Kira and Jon are planning on driving to California this summer.  They mentioned something to us about it.  We got to talking.  We got Eddie's bonus check for the year.  And -- we're gonna do it!  We're shelving the Virginia trip until summer of 2013 (a decision made easier because we'll see my brother and his family when they come through here in April) and we're driving to California this summer!

Yeah, we're probably crazy.
The thought of the drive doesn't thrill me (we're planning to go as far as Albequerque the first leg of the drive -- I MUST eat something smothered in green chili -- then going on into LA).  But, other than that, I am really excited!  We're making big plans and have so many things we want to see and do:
  • Disneyland!  (We tossed around this idea for a long time but I'm pretty sure we've committed to doing it.  I've never been to Disney and I'm so so so so excited.  I mean, ya know, for my kids and all . . . )
  • Santa Monica Pier/ the beach
  • Hollywood/ Walk of Fame
  • San Diego/ La Joila (we may not have time for this one, unfortunately, since we're talking about doing two days at Disney so we can do both Disneyland and California Adventure)
We also plan to meet up with friends, visit with some family, and we're tossing around the idea of going home via THE GRAND CANYON.  I've never been to the Grand Canyon!

I've been to California a couple times -- Eddie and I went to SoCal a few years ago for a belated "honeymoon" that wasn't much of a honeymoon considering the first night we were there we ditched each other to go hang out with friends!  I went to the bay area a couple years ago and, as much as I loved San Francisco, I know the southern part of the state is what I want to introduce my kids to now, when they're so young.  And that's really why we're doing this trip -- to give our kids experiences and culture.

Eddie traveled all the time as a child.  He's also retired military so he has, quite literally, been EVERYwhere.  Sometimes I try to pull out random places just to see if he's been there.  Boise?  Billings?  Bismark? Yup, yup, yup.  I, on the other hand, haven't been much of anywhere.  Or hadn't been until I met Eddie.  My biggest travel claims to fame were a ski trip to Colorado my freshman year of college and a Get-Over-that-Guy Caribbean cruise.  Other than that, though, my travels were mostly limited to states that bordered Arkansas.  And mainly Texas -- my dad didn't consider it a vacation unless you went to Texas.  I have great memories of Six Flags and not-so-great memories of being drug around Trader's Village. 
I feel that we're so blessed, so lucky to be able to take our children to so many places; to let them see so much of the country.  By the end of the year, my five year old will be able to say he's been in nearly half the states in the country.  And I'm nerdy enough to think that's pretty awesome.

We're probably crazy.  We're planning on driving 3600 miles, round trip, with four children.  Scratch the probably.  We ARE crazy!  But I can't wait for my kids to dip their toes in the Pacific . . . to take a picture beside Michael Jackson's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . . . for their faces to light up when they see Buzz Lightyear and Sheriff Woody. 

And I really, really, really cannot wait to sport me a pair of Mickey Mouse ears while I make my way through Disneyland!

P.S. I've only been to southern California once (and we did Hollywood, Knott's Berry Farm, a Clippers game, and Santa Monica Pier).  If you have any ideas of good places to go, things to do with small children, please let me know! 

It Happened

Sunday

I was able to sleep in until 8:00 this morning!  (Well, sorta, Kyan kept coming in and saying things like "But I don't WANT Daddy to feed me breakfast.  I want YOU to feed me breakfast" and "Could you please just get up?"  Thanks kid).  I remember the days when sleeping in meant not getting up until well after 10:00.  Now 8:00 feels like an accomplishment.  Partly because I myself am now old.  And partly because I am the parent of an 89-year-old trapped in the body of a preschooler.  Kyan requests to go to bed around 7:30 every night and is up with the sun.  *Yawn*  His brother and sister will both happily sleep until after 8:00, sometimes even 9 or 10.  But Kykers . . . *Sigh*

Anyway.  I'm a few weeks behind on showing my Project 366 pictures.  So here goes!

Sunday 2/5:

Monday 2/6:
In case you are wondering, the "lemon bars" I was making were a Pinterest recipe -- one can of lemon pie filling mixed with an angel food cake mix.  I wouldn't call them lemon bars so much as I would call them sponges.

Tuesday 2/7:

Wednesday 2/8:

Thursday 2/9:
I love Kyan's face in this picture!

Friday 2/10:

Saturday 2/11:

Sunday 2/12:

Monday 2/13:

Tuesday 2/14:

Wednesday 2/15:

Thursday 2/16:
We were at Walmart yesterday and the cashier told us, "You're going to have your hands full - with a whole bunch of girls - when those boys get older.  And that bigger one is going to USE those dimples."  Yeah.  That's what I'm afraid of.

Friday 2/17:

When I was a kid, my brother and I LOVED to drop the Alka Seltzer tablet in water for our grandparents.  Kyan loves doing it too!

Saturday 2/18:

Sunday 2/19:

Monday 2/20:
Some days I realize I've only taken one picture . . . and it's incredibly blurry :/

Tuesday 2/21:

Wednesday 2/22:
Sometimes I think she's growing girlier by the minute (then I usually catch her playing with transformers or ripping the arms off of a baby doll).  She's been all about the "pretties" here lately.

Thursday 2/23:

Friday 2/24:
I have a new Favorite Thing at BWW (inspired by Storme): boneless parmesan garlic wings dipped in southwest ranch sauce.  Yum!

Saturday 2/25:
Jaidan and I had an at-home "Mommy/ Jaidan date" planned for last night.  So when Karis and I were at the mall yesterday I went by Great American Cookie and picked us up some goodies.  Nom, nom, nom.
You might also notice that a certain little boy is a lot less curly.  ;)

Lately

Friday

Around 4:30 yesterday afternoon I told Eddie I just didn't feel like cooking.  It was Manwich, fries, and baked beans on the menu so the reality was I didn't feel like cleaning up.  We tossed around different ideas on what to do for dinner and ended up just having him make a run for the border.  (Does Taco Bell still use that phrase?  No?)  I LOVE the cheesy gordita crunch at Taco Bell.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them.  They only have them once a year which SUCKS because, like I said, I love them!  We stopped by Taco Bell on our way home from Nola and I ordered a couple of them but they gave me regular gorditas -- and not only that but they piled them with sour cream and lettuce.  Blechhh.  Last night I asked Eddie to pick up two of them for me.  He brought the food home and I literally inhaled the first gordita.  I know if you're a big time clean eater and blah blah blah then you find that disgusting.  But it had been a year since I had one and, mmmm, I hardly even tasted it.  Then I went to unwrap the second and . . . IT WAS A REGULAR GORDITA.  What is Taco Bell doing to me?  Hmph.  Maybe I'll actually get a chance to taste one next year.

Also yesterday evening: Karis refused to take a nap in the afternoon.  I changed her diaper on our bathroom floor (which happens to carpeted -- yes stupidest thing ever) and she fell asleep.  Mid-diaper change.  I was going to wake her up but Eddie was all, "Oh, leave her alone" and "just let her get a half hour."  Ugh.  If you're a mom then you already KNOW how that one ended -- 10:00 last night with a toddler laying between us in the bed babbling about puppies.

Final piece of Random: Who watches Parks and Rec?  I've said it before but I really do miss the days of Friends and Will and Grace on Thursday night Must See TV.  Oh, and My Name is Earl!  Remember Earl?  But NBC has a solid line-up these days and Thursday night is one night when my butt is firmly parked in front of the TV.  Parks and Rec cracks me UP.  Last night, Tom was considering breaking things off with Anne because of number three on his "oh no no" list: she didn't know her 90's Hip Hop.  HELLO!  That is SO me!  My husband is ten years older than me and, believe me, there are plenty of times I've had to give him the stink eye because he doesn't have the same emotional reaction to a song from the 90's that I have.  (Oh, and Tom realized Anne did not know her 90's Hip Hop because she didn't recognize a picture of Ginuwine -- and G sings one of my favorite.songs.ever).

A few Instagrams to show what we've been up to the past couple weeks:
A favorite from my trip -- that's me with my friend Dana.  Isn't she gorgeous?

Valentine gifts from the hubs

Valentine gift from my Bird
We had to put "pwee-ees" in Puppy's "hay-uh"

My boys
Eddie went to Indianapolis last weekend and I took this picture to send to him; I tried to take one of Karis but she was too busy to look at the phone.

Having a conversation with her puppy
This puppy -- I bought at JC Penney for $3 as a Christmas present.  $3 and it's her favorite.thing.ever.  She tries to feed it.  She takes it everywhere with her.  She calls to it.  "Mere, puppy!  Mere!"

Eddie came home from Indy with these
Favorite!

What we did on President's Day
Also, I asked Jaidan who the President was.  His answer?  "President . . . Kokomo!"  Hahahahaha.

This is what happens when you take Karis into a shoe store: she rips off her own shoe and starts putting other shoes on.
Also, can someone please tell me why I cannot find an athletic shoe that I like? 

Daffodils in February.  LOVE!

Me and my girl

It was sooooo crazy beautiful here yesterday.  The temp got up to 80 degrees.  Heaven!  Unfortunately, the wind was also crazy.  Not cool, wind!

Have a great weekend!  I have tentative plans to get my boys some haircuts and hit the clearance sales at the mall.  And I have a set in stone at home movie and pizza date with the most handsome five-year-old I know for Saturday night.

Thursday Things

Thursday

1)  I know there are people who say they like to find the "magic" in every day.

I am not one of those people.

Somedays there just is not any "magic" and I'm not going to knock myself out trying to create it.  So the every day . . . it's just every day.  But I do like to make a Big Fat Deal out of special(ish) ocassions.  I want my kids to be, like, 15 and roll their eyes while they tell their friends that their mom always makes green mashed potatoes on St. Patrick's Day and special pancakes on Groundhog Day.

This is part of the reason why we celebrated Mardi Gras on Tuesday!  (The other reason we celebrated?  Because it's fun!  And because I have a lot of beads laying around the house).  Well, we sorta celebrated.  No boob flashing or Hurricanes.  But we did make our first ever King Cake:

We also had red beans and rice for dinner.

And made masks:

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

2) So speaking of Mardi Gras . . .

I do not practice any branch of Christianity that observes Lent.  In fact, I'm Baptist.  Baptists don't give anything up because they don't believe in doing anything fun (well, other than eating).  But for several years now I've given up -- or tried to give up -- something on Lent just for the heck of it.  I've given up chocolate and caffeine and other things that I don't remember because I wasn't able to give them up for the entire six weeks.  This year . . . this year I am giving up *gasp* Pinterest!  I even deleted the app from my phone.  I'm not visiting the site at all.  40 days, 40 nights of absolutely no pinning.  How will THAT go?  We'll see.

I'm also dedicated to getting up early to work out at least five mornings a week.  This one isn't TOO MUCH of a sacrafice.  I did early morning work outs for most of January. I know I feel better when I do them.  Sometimes I just want that extra hour or so of sleep.  Ahhh.  That's what Saturdays are for.

3) This will probably solidify my status as dumbass but here goes: I did not realize, until recently, that Pandora has pre-set stations.  I know, right?  Dumbass.  Anyway, I'm sure it will pass and I'll grow tired of it but right now I'm head over heels for the 90's Pop station.  It's my high school days!  Right there in a radio station!  I love it.  Though I will admit that it irritates me that they play Cry Me a River.  Hello!  Everyone knows Justin wrote that song about Britney and they didn't break up until some time in the 00's.  Come on, Pandora.

Also -- boy bands were much better than my 19 year old self gave the credit for (shut up) and it's just a little bit embarrassing when my husband walks in and catches me rocking out to The Backstreet Boys.

4) At the risk of sounding like an old lady . . . I love Sears!  I always find the best deals there.  The other day I picked up a coat for Karis.  Regular price - $65.  I paid $9!
I bought a size 4.  She's in a 24 months/ 2T this winter.  I'm hoping she can get two winters out of the coat.  But even if she can't -- it was only $9!

5) One of the best and worst things about having a stepchild is that I get to see -- really see -- what the furture holds as far as my children.  Z is 11 (almost 12 she informed us the other day; her birthday isn't until September) and is in full on tweendom.  Which means I spend a lot of time wanting to pull my hair out and researching boarding schools for when my own three are that age.  Anyhow.  We had a "Girl Day" at the mall the other day.  HOLY CRAP, Y'ALL!  Stuff for preteen girls is so expensive!  We found earrings at Claire's that were, like, $25.  At Claire's!  I thought all that stuff was $4.99.  The thing is -- $25 is probably a good price for earrings.  UNLESS you are buying them for an 11 year old WHO LOSES EVERYTHING.  Seriously.  I'm not looking forward to my children being that age.  I don't think I can afford it.

6) I am kind of obsessed with stuffing different things in crescent rolls.  I had some left over from the King Cake we made on Tuesday.  I had seen the chocolate chips and marshmallows thing on Pinterest.  I had chocolate chips but no marshmallows.  So I decided to spray a little butter, then spread some brown sugar, added a few chocolate chips, and then rolled them up.  They were really good!

7) Blogging pet peeve: When people post "Wordless Wednesday" posts on Tuesday night.  It's not Wednesday yet!

8) I feel incomplete if I don't post about the weather.  It's supposed to be 75 today!  Hello, amazing!  I keep people saying they are "worried" what the summer has to hold if winter has been this mild.  I AM NOT WORRIED.  I CANNOT WAIT.  Bring on those triple digits!  I have an air conditioner!  I can stock up on my Mike's Hard Lemonade!  I can turn the water hose on myself if need be.  I am so ready for summer.  SO READY.

9) Who watches Parenthood?  Tuesday's episode was so . . . emotional.  I'm interested to see where they're going to go with Zoe's baby and Joel/ Julia.  I hope they wrap it up next week in the season finale but I'm kind of doubtful . . .

10)  I know this has been making the rounds on Facebook for a couple weeks now but HELLO.  Can I get a REAL TALK?
The only thing that would make it better would be a "What My Husband's Ex Wife Thinks I SHOULD Do" with a picture of me picking up her dry cleaning!  Ha!

NOLA 2012: The MEN of NEW ORLEANS

Tuesday

After I posted about the "men of Vegas" in my Vegas 2011 recaps, I got an email from someone asking what my husband thought of all the pictures with different men.

Wait, what?  I'm supposed to show my husband those pictures?

I kid!

He sees all my pictures (actually I text him pics the whole entire time I'm away and am known to get my feelings hurt if he doesn't respond with something along the lines of "lookin' good baby)."  He knows that everything is done in good fun.  And he also knows he married a flirt (he's a big flirt too -- our children have no chance).  He honestly doesn't care.  He trusts me and, like I said, he knows that everything is just done is fun.  As long as everyone is (mostly) fully clothed then he's cool.

Now, with that out of the way . . . The Men of New Orleans 2012!

It will take too long as to go into the why (and it would probably bore you if you weren't there even though all of us thought it was one of the FUNNIEST THINGS EVER!!!!!) but every many we met was named Bruce.  We generally became acquainted by yelling, "BRUCE!??!"

Yeah.  Had to be there.

Say "hi" to Bruce:
Starting from the top:
The Bruce who was our waiter at Mother's
The Bruce who made our first slushy drinks of the weekend
The Bruce Stella* wanted to stuff in her suitcase and take home with her
The Bruce who took a drink from Becky's drink without asking (aka The Disgusting Bruce).  Also, after he did this she wiped her straw on MY sleeve.  Thanks Bex.
The Bruce who shared his beer
The Bruce with The Dimple
The Bruce who was NOT a Bruce.  His name was Malcolm (so yelled at us by the lady who was with him) and he was the one man band who led us to Bourbon Street
The Bruce I don't remember
The Bruce who was friends with the Kenny Chesney look-a-like who got his abs licked (you'll see him in a minute).

* Like Blanca was my alter ego for the weekend, Stella was someone else's alter ego.  And she was a bad mammajamma.

I have a really bad habit, when I'm in SEC country, of forcing requesting people call the Hogs with me.  This trip was no exception.  (I'm sorry, Jenn B., please forgive me).
Doesn't he look like Kenny Chesney?  Just a little bit?
Okay, maybe it was the slushy drink talking.

Here we have:
Jersey Shore -- he and his friend threw down $250 on shots for us.  And then didn't really try to get in anyone's pants!  Also, ab licking was pretty popular that particular night . . .
Oooh, a familiar face!
When I asked these two if they were going to ride the bull, one of them responded with a rather crude remark about what he was going to ride that night.
I have no idea who that guy is.
I have no idea who that guy  is.
I insisted this guy take a picture with me.  I tried to take it first but one of the pitfalls of being un-tall is that it's really hard to take a picture of yourself with a tall person.  Luckily, chivalry isn't too dead and he offered to take the picture.
Last year we found a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle . . . this year -- a gladiator!  I love New Orleans!
There was a fairly lengthy conversation about football with these two.
Joshua, the cab driver who became my BFF

We met this next group as Becky and I were walking down Bourbon Street Saturday night.  I'm pretty sure I told the dark haired one that I thought he was "adorable" and it went from there . . .
They Tebow'd and Brady'd for us
I'm still not sure whether to be amazed or grossed out that Homeboy sat down on Bourbon Street.  Eww.


We made friends with Scott at the bar at Pat O'Brien's.  He's from Corpus Christi, Texas, and HANDS DOWN was the nicest guy we met the whole weekend.  (Probably helps that he was there with his wife!)

More from Pat O's . . .
Calling the Hogs with an LSU fan (sorry again, Jenn!)
The bartender -- he took away my Hurricane glass before I had a chance to eat the cherry.  When I said something about it, he sat a napkin in front of me FULL of cherries and orange slices.  Good bartender.
Bachelor party
Aaaaand bachelor party
70's Porn Mustache guy who was all too happy to make out with Becky
I can't believe she's still speaking to me . . . .


This is Fetus and Zygote.  They were both born in the 90's -- hence the nicknames.
They were also both Marines and I swear I amazed them when I told them my husband served in the first Gulf War.  "Like, your husband is old enough to be my dad?"
Now Zygote -- he could give lessons on what NOT to say if you're aiming to be Cougar Bait.  (And, please, I'm only 31.  I AM NOT A COUGAR).  This one, though, first off tells me:
"I've been with married women before.  I don't mind it."
Oh!  How very noble of you.  Let me drop my panties right here in the bar!
"I've been with older women."
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR.  I am NOT an older woman!  Gah!  Kill me!  Now!

Kira wanted to go salsa dancing after dinner Sunday night and I went with her.  By the time we got the salsa place, it was closing down (this did not stop me from getting an impromptu lesson, by the way).  But we still spent quite a bit of time there talking to everybody.

Giovani, professional salsa dancer
Owner of the bar
The guy who followed us around most of the rest of the night because he wanted a little bitta Blanca
The hottie bartender
We ran into our bartender from Friday night at Bourbon Cowboy a couple nights later.  He had freakishly small eyebrows.
With the exception of Giovani the Salsa Dancer, I have no idea who any of these dudes are.  Blanca and her damn tequila . . . erased my memory . . .
^ Yeah, ditto all of that.  No idea on this guy.
Calling the Hogs AGAIN.
Mr. Modesty
The guy I'm standing next to - his name is Sean - drew a map for Becky and I to get to House of Blues Saturday night.  When I saw him again, I demanded a picture.
This is Alan -- he is a local and owns condos in the area.  I'm pretty sure he would be glad to rent to us at a discount rate if we signed a release for the cameras and all . . .
Mari's friend Joe -- for whatever reason (*ahem* tequila) we thought he looked SO MUCH like our friend Vanessa.  He does not.
I'm embarrased to even have included this last picture -- mainly because I'm standing way too close to Dude.  But.  He had a tatoo of a COBWEB on his EAR.  Who does that?

NOLA 2012: FOOD

Monday

Warning: do not look at this entry if you are on a diet.

Hands down, the best thing about New Orleans is the FOOD.  The second best is, of course, the slushy drinks.  But the food . . . oh.  Come.to.Mama.

Our first New Orleans Mouthgasm came courtesy of Mother's.


Becky and I split a John G with debris and a side of fries.

HEAVENLY.  It was so good, ya'll!  I wish I could find a sammich like that here in Memphis!  On second thought, maybe I don't.  Cause I'd be as big as a house.

Saturday's First Food Stop was Frank's.  I've said this before; I'll say it again.  You MUST go to Frank's if you're ever in New Orleans.

The four of us split a muffaletta (best muffaletta ever!), crawfish cakes in crawfish sauce, crab stuffed mushrooms, and a shrimp po' boy).  DELISH!  It was an absolutely wonderful meal.

Seriously, I'm salivating at my keyboard just THINKING about that muffaletta.  Mmmm.

My friend Casey did not make it to New Orleans with us this year.  But she did go last year and she did eat at Frank's with us.  And Casey, bless her heart, she got down and dirty with the po' boy she had.  Of course, someone had to reenact her love makin' with the po' boy:

Since we didn't eat too much *ahem* at Frank's, we headed over to the Market where we purchased an alligator sausage (on a stick!)  and some oysters creole from vendors. 

We knew the alligator sausage was good.  Ate enough of that last year.  The oysters were something new and only picked up because they were all out of soups -- including the crawfish bisque we'd been dreaming about for the past year.  Buuuuut.  The oysters were fanTAStic.  So good!

A little later in the afternoon, we headed down to the Old Nawlins Cookery (no website I could find for that one). 
Becky and I split a fried alligator po' boy (pictured above is just MY half!).  It was really good -- the meat was delicious and it had a yummy sauce on it.  However, it didn't hold a candle to the catfish etouffee that MoMo ordered.  Ummmagumma.  GET IN MY BELL-LAY. 

Technically that was my last meal of Saturday but before I went to bed that night I had a BBQ Bacon Burger from Yo Mama's.  (I also had a bite of Carly's Bacon PEANUT BUTTER burger -- interesting).  The burger was good.  It was too big to finish by myself.  They don't serve burgers with fries -- just baked potatoes.  I love a baked potato as much as the next person but come on.  A good greasy burger BEGS for good greasy fries.

For the life of me, I cannot remember the name of the place we ate at Sunday morning!  I think it had River in the name but don't quote me on that. 

I had a ragin' Cajun omelet.  The omelet in itself was pretty good but the "creole sauce" on top . . . meh.  It tasted like salsa mixed with marinara.  Not what I was expecting in the least.  It was served with grits.  I'm a bad southerner who doesn't like grits so these went untouched but I did throwdown on the garlic potatoes Kira ordered.  This was easily the worst meal we ate the whole trip -- and it was still decent!

We drank our lunch on Sunday and that evening it was Pat O's for one of my personal New Orleans favorites . . .
Fried Alligator!
By the way: Jaidan is snuggled up in bed next to me as I write this and said, "Oh, that looks good!  Can you make some for dinner tomorrow night!"
I told him it was alligator thinking that, you know, maybe he would "eww" and drop the subject.  I forgot this is the kid who has eaten calamari and oysters.  When that didn't deter him I told him we didn't have the meat to make it.
"Think maybe you can pick some up the next time you go to the grocery store?"
Uhhh.  Sure, son.  I'm sure every local Kroger and Walmart here in Memphis sells alligator!

Dana ordered us a little bit of bread pudding while at Pat O's.
I swear I can still taste this stuff in my dreams!

That concludes the food tour portion of this year's trip.  Here's hoping next year tastes just as delicious!
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