Labor Day Weekend in The Woodlands, TX

Friday: I left work early and headed to New Orleans. No shock to me Baton Rouge was a parking lot. I took Nicholson to Gonzales and then the interstate was fine. New Orleans airport was a mess. Parking was horrible and the lines were very long. I probably should have given myself more time, but I didn't. I barely made it to my plane. After boarding all was well. The flight attendant was a twin of Susan Sarandon--looks, voice, firey personality. It was Southwest Airlines version of Bull Durham. This is one of the reasons I absolutely love flying Southwest Airlines. They crack me up. Flight took exactly one hour from gate to gate...another plus for Southwest. Luggage arrived--plus. (Don't you find it sad that we get excited when airlines do what they are supposed to do?)
Great News!!! Mike didn't forget to pick me up. He was waiting for me. We headed north on I-45. Both of us in serious need of food and drink...especially drink.
Dinner at Kobe Japanese restaurant. We had a four course hibachi grill meal of onion soup, salad with a spicy horseradish dressing, shrimp appetizers and a beef meal with vegetables and rice. Dinner was great. Time to drink!! So Mike took me his favorite bar called Side Street. I got to meet all his friends there and I will say I like them a lot. I would probably be friends with these people also if I live in Houston.


Saturday: We slept late; both hurting from the night before. Did you know when you do a shot in Texas you are supposed to toast, then hit the bottom of the glass on the bar before you drink. It's a Texas tradition and since I want to be Zane Lamprey the host of Three Sheets I thought I would share with you. Lunch was at Potbelly's. Really great sandwich shop. We shopped for a little while; hitting some of the stores in The Woodlands Mall and then off to Sam Moons! No trip to Houston is complete without a visit to Sam Moons. (Yes Julie, I'm hooked!) Afterwards we headed back to Mike's to just chill out. We watched the Alabama game and then the LSU game. Much improvements to be made.
Sunday: Booze Cruise Day! We hit all Mike's favorite spots and had a drink at each. This is his Sunday tradition, so when in Rome! First stop Side Street (Mike's favorite hang out), Crush (Wine Bar with a balcony), Baker's Street (London Mystery theme), Americas (very elegant and chic), the Gooses Acre (authentic Irish Pub that was disassembled, shipped to the US and then reassembled) and then back to Side Street. We had a lot of fun and really got to catch up with one another. It was a very relaxing day. Mike accused me of being wasted...I wasn't. What happened was he talks so much and so fast that my brain reached an overload and it shuts down. Trust me I could have drank a lot more.

Monday: Labor Day We drove through some neighborhoods. Mike showed me where some people we know from back home lived. In this neighborhood, they have deer in their front yards, along the road, drinking out of their ponds. It was unbelievable to see how many deer were in that neighborhood. Afterwards we were off to Lake Conroe. We had lunch at a BBQ place and then we just enjoyed the lake and the scenery the rest of the afternoon. It was a relaxing day, but it was very hot.


Tuesday: My last day in Houston, so we decided to go out to lunch before Mike brought me to the airport. After several minutes of debating where we should go. Mike picked Tommy Bahamas. Needless to say I was super impressed. I had never been to a Tommy's before. We each got the three course meal special with a Blue Hawaiian. It was a Top Chef caliber meal. My first course was a crab cake on a bed of Asian cole slaw and a tuna cheviche and guacamole napoleon. My main course was a macadamia nut crusted chicken breast stuffed with cream cheese and roasted red peppers in a roasted red pepper sauce, and for dessert I had the Pina Colada cake. Awesome!!!
Then it was off to the airport. Not knowing how bad the Houston traffic would be Mike dropped me off really early. So as I was sitting in the airport I decided to post on Facebook that I was waiting on my plane. Next I get an email from my friends Jamie and Randy wanting to know if I'm flying back to New Orleans. "Yes!" Well so are they. "Cool but I'm in Hobby airport not Bush." Well so are they. Since we were flying Southwest we all got to sit together for the ride home.


It was a perfect weekend. Beautiful weather! Mike and I did not argue! Had a lot of fun! Can't wait for my next visit.

One Small Step for Man One Giant Leap for Addie

Today, I adopted a cat. Lily Lu Lu was adopted from the Pointe Coupee Animal Shelter. I have been thinking about getting a cat for a while now to help with critter control. I have always had a frog problem outdoors. Recently, I have had a mice problem. Nothing makes you feel like an inadequate housekeeper than when you have these house guests check in. Amazingly they are not after food, but here's the mind blower...they love my shoes, purses and clothes. What the hell?
So now I have Lily Lu Lu. I will mostly call her Lu Lu. She beautiful and just what I was looking for. She was raised on a farm and spent her life chasing critters. That's my girl!
Today has been rough on her. New home...retarded adoptive mother. Poor cat is doomed, and just look into her face and she knows it. She's already broke free and I had to call for back up to help me catch her. I've even been hissed at. All I have to say is keep the fight in you old girl...you're going to need it, my little critter getter!
This will be my lame attempt to take on some responsibility and care for something more than myself.

So where ya been...

Well if you've been wondering where I have been. Check out the link on this blog page to Youth Tour Louisiana. It's been time consuming, but always a rewarding trip. It's hotter than hell here since I returned home. The grass is starting to die where the pipelines are buried under ground. I water my garden, but it seems like it's never enough.
Celebrating LSU's national championship has been a great highlight this past week. It was time. I'm very happy for the team, and think that it is great they can bring a championship back to their new stadium.
So with all that...baseball is over, too hot to enjoy the outdoors, no vacation plans for the summer (I've really got the fever for the beach)....I'm looking forward to football season! So that's my exciting life in a nut shell.

Where can I find the time...

Maybe if I stayed inside to do laundry, pay bills and take care of household chores I wouldn't feel so far behind on my work. Being the Martha Stewart wanna be that I am I feel like I need to find balance between inside chores and yard work. I have to keep reminding myself that everything is perfect for her because she has paid staff. My one woman operation is not capable.
Lately, it has been no fun staying inside. I want to be outside working in my garden. It has been amazing to see the progress over the last month with my plants. Plus the weather has been beautiful. Maybe this weekend I will get some inside work done, since they are predicting rain all weekend.
Hope everyone has a safe and happy Memorial Day Weekend!

My Dirty Little Secret

I love the Real House Wives Series on Bravo. When I was home for surgery, I caught up on all the series. Now I'm just hooked. It's like a train wreck...you tell yourself you shouldn't watch but you can't look away. New York's reunion is tonight and New Jersey begins...I love it! lol

The Annual Dirty in the Ditch

To great disappointment, there will be no Dirty in the Ditch party for this year's fair. The fair will be this coming weekend, but we have a jam packed weekend. Saturday we have to go to Mandeville for a wedding and then on Sunday--it is baby shower day. Nicole, you picked the right time to come in for Dirty in the Ditch. Just too bad we won't be home on Saturday. I hope people can find their way to the fair if we are not sitting outside. lol

The New Box

Today was the first time I went to a game in the New Alex Box. It is a beautiful place. The game was very good even though the Tigers lost. I was impressed that they held Tenn. to a score of 7-5 since LSU made 5 errors. Even though the place is beautiful, new and exciting, I can't help but remember how great the Old Alex Box was and all the wonderful memories I have from there.

Wind

I don't know if I have just become more aware of wind recently or if things are changing? But I don't remember the wind being this bad. Since I have moved back to Jarreau, there has been some serious winds that blow through here. I lived next door all my life and I don't remember the winds being this bad. Everytime we wanted to fly kites there was never any wind. Now I spend more time picking up plants, lawn furniture and damage from these horrible winds.

Happy Easter!

Just wishing everyone a beautiful and happy Easter!

Ladies Auction

Last night, we carried on with our Spring Ritual...Ladies Auction. We dressed up and headed to the CHSPC Ladies Auction. The drinks were strong, the food good, and entertainment awesome as usual. I donated two 8x10 black and white prints of photos I had taken in Pointe Coupee parish. My donation brought in $40 for the school which was great. We were able to purchase some great gifts and I bought some outdoor wooden Easter rabbits for my yard. In my opinion there is nothing more entertaining than a bunch of drunk women shopping and buying.

It's been a tough winter...

and my plants aren't showing me any love. I was hoping to have a beautiful yard full of spring flowers by Easter Sunday. Well I know we still have a week to go,but most of my plants are not on the same timeline as me. My rose bushes I must say are gearing up to put on quite a show. Last year they were not happy with their location, so I had planned to move them. Well with the help of Gustav taking down the 25 year old cedar tree that gave plenty of great shade there was no need to transplant the roses. They seem to be very happy this year...especially after I kill the worms that have been strip mining their leaves.

Strawberry Time!

This week I baked one of my favorite cakes...Strawberry Shortcake. I think I like making this cake because it always looks so beautiful. Check it out.

Project Monkey Grass Complete!

You might remember last fall I started the lengthy monkey grass project. After numerous delays and difficulties. I have managed to pull up all 96 feet of 20 year old Monkey Grass. I encountered more species of spiders and frogs than I ever thought existed. I'm hoping with the conclusion of this project I have gotten rid of all the frogs that prohibit me from getting in and out of my home during the summer. We shall see. I am now known as the frog serial killer at work! My goal would be to surround the foundation with a 2 foot rock garden, but that's going to be too expensive right now. I don't like plants touching my house...I think it encourages critters to move in. As for right now, I'm just content knowing that I don't have to pull up anymore monkey grass.

WTF Driving Me Crazy!

Crazy weather! I wake up this morning to find a beautiful sunny morning. Which was a wonderful change to the nasty thunderstorms we've been having all week. Oh by the way did I mention that by the grace of God our hotel was spared a tornado that touched down 200 feet away from us on Wednesday night/Thursday morning. Wait let me correct myself...the weather man says it was a micro burst that destroyed buildings next door to us? You say micro burst...I say tornado!
So when I saw the beautiful weather, I put some shorts and t-shirt on to go work in the flower beds. I opened the door and jump back inside. The temperature had dropped and the wind was blowing. It felt like blades of ice cutting through me. Change of plans...get comfortable on the couch and find a good movie. Today was a good day to cook a crawfish etouffee and just catch up on some rest.
So I found another meaning for WTF...Weather that's Freakin Driving Me Crazy!

Happy Spring!

I am very excited about spring. As you all know I hate the winter. I hate being trapped inside. I hate being cold. Hopefully that is all over now. Spring and then summer...whoo hoo! I am please to say that I have transplanted some of my plants and I'm hoping they will do well in their new location. I planted some seeds to make a garden, but nothing has happened yet. I think my seeds are old. Soon the pictures of Project Monkey Grass will be posted. I'm hoping to finish that feat this weekend. It has been a hell of a task. I have about 15 feet of grass to pull then I'm done. I have found more critters hiding in the monkey grass than I thought exsisted. I am now known at work as the Frog Serial Killer. I'm on a tree frog killing spree! Have a good weekend...and I wish everyone a beautiful weekend like the one being forecast here.

What a Waste?

One of my new year resolutions was to live a little greener. Well I've been recycling. It has been great, very easy and I feel great doing it. However, after taking the time to make an effort to recycle it has been brought to my attention how much corporate America waste in paper. I never read junk mail. I've never taken advantage of the numerous offers. I only open the envelopes to determine whether or not the article of mail needs to be trashed or shredded. Imagine the money, trees, postage, gasoline, man-power, etc they would save if they would stop sending me junk mail. I work in an industry where we are continuously being damned for our carbon foot print while producing coal fire energy that has become necessity for Americans. Well when are the tree huggers going to look at the credit card, phone, and magazine companies. Let's find out what their carbon foot print is just on junk mail.

Great News....I've Posted Photos!

Finally, I have taken the time to post some photos to my Shutterfly site. Click on the link that says Addie's Photos on the right side of this blog. I have pictures from Devin and my trip to New Orleans for the Metalica concert, our family trip to Texas to spend Thanksgiving with Mike and my rockin New Year's Eve party! Enjoy!

Update...

Recovery is still coming along OK. It's slower than I expected, but I can tell that things are improving. The worst part is not being able to keep any food down. My diet has mostly been corn flakes and sandwiches. As for beef and fried foods, my body rejects them completely. I've lost 10 pounds since surgery. I get tired easily and I spent the majority of the weekend sleeping. The best part of the whole weekend was watching my future husband win the Super Bowl...Go Ben! lol

Back in the Saddle...

Today is my first day back at work since my surgery. We will see how it goes. I went to the doctor on Friday and he said everything is looking good. Now the hard part will be to stay awake for 8 hours today! Thanks to all of you for your concern and well wishes.

On the Mend...

Surgery went fine. Last week was rough. I was in a lot of pain. Things are getting better. I'm just sore and achy, but it's a big improvement from last week. I walked a few times down my drive way yesterday because the weather was beautiful. It's getting cold here again, so I'm not planning on going outside until it warms up. I have my doctors appointment on Friday and I hope to return to work next Monday. I've been getting a lot of sleep...which has been great. I didn't think I was capable of sleeping that much.

A Medical Phenomenon

I've been suffering from chest pains and stomach pains. The pains would come and go for the last month or so, but the Monday before Christmas it got really bad. At this point we do not know what is wrong with me. My lab work came back OK. I had an ultra sound where they found a cyst on my kidney and a polyp on my gallbladder, but the doctors were not concerned about them. I had a hydascan on Friday and I do not know the result from that yet. It was like an MRI and they ran a small dose of radiation and some medicine through my veins via IV and watched how my gallbladder reacted. Tomorrow I am having a colonoscopy. Hopefully we will find something soon. I sleep all the time and do not have a lot of energy. Everyone seems to think it's my gallbladder, but if I know me they won't find anything wrong with me.

Happy New Year to everyone!