Happy Mardi Gras!!

Every year, about this time in the Crescent City, New Orleanians are enjoying and bemoaning the run up to Fat Tuesday. When you live in another state and are watching the festivities on the news, it does look like a lot of fun and in essence, it is. But we get to live the annoying part of Carnival as well; the impossible traffic, those extra days off for the kids, and those New Year's diets which are thrown off track again! The kids are excited to catch all the beads and stuffed animals which they'll play with for thirty seconds and then leave all over the living room floor.

Still, it's one of those things that makes us unique. It's funny to realize that businesses all around the country are open except in New Orleans, and a few other places in the South. Our children are raised believing that everyone is celebrating Mardi Gras (what a horrible shock this was to those kids who lived outside New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina). When Wednesday comes, the faithful will go off to church for Ash Wednesday, and the rest of us suffering from hangovers, gluttony and fatigue, will call in sick. The trees along St. Charles and Carrollton will be dripping with beads for weeks afterwards and there will be mad scrambles for the last King Cakes at Walgreens.

And as tired as we'll be from Mardi Gras 2011, it won't be long before we'll be thinking about Mardi Gras 2012.

Happy New Year!!

One day in and I'm already feeling overwhelmed. 2010 definitely had it's good days and its bad days. We're starting off the year by welcoming our oldest home from her internship at Disneyworld. The two younger girls are back at school on Monday and we're all still hungover from holiday eating. I feel like I'm nesting again. I want to make a lot of little improvements to the house before I start classes again, as well as produce about ten things to put in my Etsy shop. I'd better start making lists and prioritizing before I get distracted with other projects. I hope your New Year starts out well and continues into 2012!

Please make it stop!!!

If I eat one more thing this holiday season, Mrs. Claus will have some competition. My husband put mini Twixes in my stocking and I immediately put them out for company. I really appreciate what he did, but I don't need that kind of temptation. What is it about overindulging in sweets for the holiday season? It's the same mentality women employ when they're pregnant. Well, we're not eating for two unless that second stomach belongs to a cow. I've got to get back to the gym before I have to put that pesky weight loss item back on my New Year's resolution list.

I hope all of you had a safe and happy Christmas!

Thank God it's Thursday!

I love to see Friday come as well, but for me Thursday is my last day of classes for the week and I get to relax. There's one more week of classes, then finals and then I have a month off. I can't wait. Remember that princess? It's almost done, thanks to my Mom pitching in. My seven-year-old is going to be the cutest Princess Tiana Disneyworld has ever seen.

The end of another week....

I swear I thought I had three weeks. We're going to visit my oldest at Disneyworld and I've got a princess costume to make. Problem is, I've only got a week. Having just gotten past midterms (school not political) and a major paper, not to mention the five Mardi Gras costumes on my table, I'm starting to feel a little pressed for time. So, it's time to prioritize and of course, princess costume first.

Am I the only one who is shocked that Christmas is just around the corner?

Oy, what a time I've had!

This is a cautionary tale for all those who ignore their blogging. As you can see I haven't posted since the beginning of June. I just had too much going on with school, work and family, so I took a break. So of course, when I wanted to come back, I couldn't remember logins, passwords and who knows what else. I don't know how I got back into my dashboard, but I did. Let's just say it was a sign.

I've actually been stuck in bed for a while. My high blood pressure is acting up, so I'm trying to simplify. I'm taking three classes this semester, but working and blogging from home until the pressure comes down and I learn the simple lesson of not eating too much fast food. The salt in even a Chick-Fil-A meal is enough to choke a horse (and their food is supposed to be better than the rest). Suffice it to say, I'm trying to get back on track.

Trying to find a balance...

My summer class started last week and I can't tell you how relieved I am to be taking only one course. My classmates also signed up for another class which begins right after the one I'm in. The class is an important prerequisite and can only be taken in the summer. I just couldn't do it. Five hours of class in one evening? The very thought makes me want to give up. If I've learned one thing in 48 years, it's knowing when I need to pull back and reassess and that's what I intend to do this summer. After five weeks of class, I intend to take the rest of the summer to catch up and relax a bit. I want to finish my Masters in a timely fashion, but I don't need to kill myself.