The Secret is Out...

I never thought I’d be writing this, but the day has come. Ladies and gentleman, I have hit the wall. I have writer’s block. I have nothing witty ... or interesting ... or tear-provoking to write about. My creative juice has evaporated in the immense summer heat. So this month, in lieu of a deep and thoughtful column, I’m going to let you in on a little secret of mine. No fair telling others that haven’t read this column. You have to keep it to yourself ...

I’m a people watcher.

Whew! Feels good to get that off my chest! In a conversation the other day with our new sales rep, Lesley, I discovered we share a similar “hobby” of sorts. We enjoy watching people.

At restaurants, in line at the ice cream place, at the ballpark, in the airport—wherever people gather in public. Checking out what people are wearing, imagining where they are going and watching them interact with one another.

My favorite place to people watch is in a busy mall out of town where I am sure to know nobody and just watch as the people go by. Hearing tidbits of their conversations, with each other, to a person on their cell phone, with themselves ... it all leads me to begin to weave intricate stories about those people. I let my imagination and creativity take flight. I come up with fantastic stories about the unsuspecting people that cross my path. I give them names, careers, spouses, children—whatever! Don’t worry, I never write any of these fabricated stories down.

I’ll often ask my regular dining companion, John, “What do you think their story is?” about other people sitting in the restaurants we frequent. It’s an especially good night if I can get him to play along. I was thrilled when the movie “Date Night” included a scene in which the characters do the same thing at dinner. OK, well, maybe I just don’t feel so silly about my secret hobby anymore.

If We Were Neighbors

If we were neighbors, the wonderful kind that enjoys coffee as much as I do, I would expect you to come over every morning and join me for a cup or 6. With my handy, dandy new Keurig coffee-making machine, you can chose a new flavor for every cup. And if we were close neighbors, like I know we would be, you would love the fact that I have a million choices for a single cup of coffee and love the fact that I can change my mind with every cup.

Today's conversation would have started off very casual, chatting about the weather and this easy warming trend. I know you are just as ready as I am to see those first little signs of spring. My flip-flop collection is screaming my name.

We would chat about the dogs that by now are running in circles around us as we sit in my backyard. Our newest member, Winnie, is a sweet foster from the local animal shelter. She is super high energy, but so lovable. We would discuss my concerns for her and where she will end up. After 4 weeks, she is starting to become a part of the family. As much as I know we can't keep her, she is not the right dog for our family, she has worn away my outer shell and is snuggling close to my heart.

We would talk about Mardi Gras and John's tableau that is this Saturday night. You would inquire about my dress, tell me of course I don't look fat, and compliment my fantastic shoes. We would talk about my tableau that is getting closer by the minute and discuss my anxiety about having to be presented in front of all those people. I am so worried that I may trip, or forget where I am going or what I'm supposed to do or whatever strange and embarrassing thing I am obsessing over at that minute.

We would talk about family and those we love most. About our boyfriends, husbands, children, etc. The more we would talk, the more we realize that God has truly blessed us with people in our lives that love and care for us.

This morning we would also chat about the magazine. Today is our final working press day and it can get kinda hectic. I would share with you my excitement about today. I love seeing all our hard work come together. The finished product always amazes me. Somedays I can still hardly believe that this is my job. It is so much fun!

We would smile and hug and say goodbye, even if it is only for a day. And I would know that I am blessed to have a neighbor like you.

Carnival Newbie

Ahhh, Mardi Gras...Carnival time...king cake season.

In my late teens and early 20s, I could count on two hands the number of parades I actually went to. Large, loud crowds and people throwing things at my head just wasn’t that high on my to-do list.

Then almost six years ago I met my boyfriend John. We began dating and I soon discovered his favorite holiday revolved around the colors of purple, green and gold. He is a member of the Krewe of Hercules, a fun-loving group whose parade kick-starts the Carnival season in Houma. To my surprise, I quickly became jealous of John’s ride. I knew some day I wanted to be a part of it.

This year my friend Sydney and I decided to join the Krewe of Hyacinthians together. It was an exciting summer, getting to know the ladies on my float, discovering that my cousin Kim was joining my float as well. (It’s her first year too. Have a great ride Kim!) The biggest surprise of all came in November when the court was presented.

Yes, dear readers, this anxiety-ridden Carnival-newbie is going to be a Maid for the Krewe of Hyacinthians. I have come full circle, from being a “take it or leave it” Mardi Gras fan to full-fledged royalty.

And I’m scared to death.

Have you seen the pounds of feathers we have to wear? And you want me to curtsy to my queen with all that on my back? Yikes! What happens if I trip on my hem in front of all those people? Have I mentioned I’ve never even been to a Hyacinthians tableau? I often feel like I’m going to toss my cookies just thinking about it!

Anxiety disorder aside, I am incredibly excited about this entire experience. I am going to be a part of an amazing tradition. I am honored to be a part of the 60th anniversary year of Hyacinthians. Look for me on Sunday, February 27th. I’ll be the one with 50 pounds of yellow feathers on my shoulders.

Weekend to be thankful for!

My Friday, Saturday and Sunday were full of things I am thankful for!

Friday night John and I met our friend Malcom at Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. He was in town with his school's basketball team. It was great to be able to visit with him. I am thankful for the friends God has placed in my and John's life.

Saturday, my mom's family came to town to help paint my grandmother's house. Nanny couldn't remember the last time that her house was washed, much less painted. So Mom, Dad, Aunt Donna, Kimberly, Kristen, Brett, Ricky, Michael, Skippy, Ed, Blair, Sunny, John and I pitched in, picked up a paintbrush and joined in the fun. I have never laughed so hard in my life. The work was hard, but my most sore part was my tummy from laughing.

I am thankful for my family. It is an amazing thing that we can all come together for two days to paint a house. We all get along. No one stands out. No one fights. No one argues. We smile and laugh and visit and make fun of Mom singing Christmas carols. I am thankful for the amazing memories we are making as a family with my 81 year old grandmother. This is a special time that I will always remember.

Saturday night, we went to Presentation for Hyacinthians and it was announced that I will be a Maid for the 2011 carnival season. I am thankful for the opportunity that was given to me by Freda. It is going to be a great Mardi Gras. Seeing the tears in her eyes was priceless and I am thankful to be a part of her reign as Queen.

Have a great Monday everyone!

November's Trenches

NOVEMBER 2009

I’m on a boat! Well, maybe not yet.

I am going on a cruise. Talk about the power of peer pressure. A group of my seven closest friends has decided to book a cruise. I reluctantly agreed to go. This goes against my nature. I have an irrational fear of cruise ships. I have never been on one before, yet I feel a strong aversion to them.

I am afraid of pirates and icebergs. (Yes, before you ask, my cruise departs from New Orleans and travels in the Gulf waters that are projected to be a warm 80 degrees and are probably constantly patrolled by anti-pirate armed forces.) I am afraid of being seasick the whole time. (I can’t enjoy a hammock without feeling a little queasy.)

I am afraid of small confined spaces. I am afraid of large crowds. (We did get a room with a large window and I have studied the layout of the ship to ensure I know where all exits are.)

I am afraid of being quarantined on the ship when we return to port due to some strange tropical, digestive system altering virus. (Have I mentioned our cruise goes to Key West [part of the U.S.], and Nassau [it’s a five star resort]?)

I have decided I am going to face my fears, grab the Dramamine, and board that ship. Worse come to worse, I get off the boat and don’t get back on. I think I could handle taking up residence in Key West! I’ll send you a postcard!

TPC New Orleans

John played at Ellendale in a ProAm the other day. He made friends with his Pro, a young man named Justin Ahasic. Awesome person, very cool. They decided to go play a round at TPC in New Orleans the following Sunday. We also planned to go to a Hornets game that evening, so I was invited to tag along for the day. I LOVE the golf course. I think its so much fun just to ride along and enjoy the weather. I have gotten rather good at being a caddy. I have learned to read the course, tell John his distance to edge of green/pin, and even suggest a club. The wind was the tricky thing that day. Throws everything off! Justin brought another pro with us, and they played from the tips. Very impressive. John hung in there and did excellent!

These are some pictures from the golf course. The Zurich Classic will be held there in another week or so, and they have already begun to set up for the tournament.

Did I mention the giant lizards all around the course!!

The Clubhouse

Tents near the Clubhouse

BIG TENT

The boys looking at their balls.. hehe....

John teeing off

Carey

John putting on 18

Justin Ahasic

Justin putting on 18

John

Last hole. Pretty sign.

Putting on 18.

Having fun in the Press Room for the Zurich Classic!

Taking Questions

Yes, you from ESPN... Yes, I accept my new sponsorship from Titlest.

He was so excited and TOO cute!!

Life in the ER!

And so it starts...

Saturday morning I woke up to tummy cramps. Not unusual, just thought I had to "go potty". I had some coffee, saw John off to play golf, took the dogs out to play in the yard, and enjoyed the beautiful day. After a while, the cramping got more urgent so I went inside to "go". To spare you all the lovely medical details, we will just say the pain progress greatly during the process. I decided to ignore it because a friend of mine was having a baby shower for her first child, which is actually TRIPLETS! (Congrats Heather and Brett!!) I continued to get ready, pausing while the bad pains passed. By 2pm, I gave up. I was doubled over in the bed, clutching my pillow to my lower abdomen, praying for an answer.

I started to make some phone calls because, honestly, my worst fear was that I was over reacting to something simple, like gas. I knew I would never hear the end of it if I panicked over a little gas bubble!! My parents told me to call the Haydel Clinic. John told me to call Chad (a friend that is a paramedic) and Nolan (his bro-in-law that is a nurse). I did ALL of the above. Everyone told me to go straight to the Emergency Room because no one wanted to diagnosis me over the phone. Smart friends of mine! Phone call back to the parents to come get me and bring me to the ER. (No offense Chad, but I really didn't want my first ride in an ambulance just yet.)

I must say, the people in the ER at TGMC were very nice. I am sure they see young women doubled over, screaming, in extreme pain, while their mothers DEMAND answers all the time. (It seemed that despite my predicament I was still the calmest person in my entourage! I have learned that my mother may not need to be around if I ever give birth!)

We were moved to a bed in the ER within 2 hours, which seemed pretty quick to me considering the sign in the lobby said 4 hour wait! The nurse was VERY sweet and patient because I could only move and answer questions through the waves of stabbing pain. I met with the doctor who was very kind too. You always hear horror stories but he listened very carefully and was quick to rule out some of our worries (kidney stones, ovarian cysts). He ordered pain meds and a CAT scan. I am that one strange person that began to cry when I found out that they were going to give me Dimerol. (I hate that feeling, the dizziness and the loss of control. I cried hysterically when they gave me laughing gas for my wisdom teeth years ago.) But apparently I am a hoot on the stuff. I asked the CAT scan technician to let me know if there were kittens or cats in my belly. I am nearing 30 ya know. WOW!! But at least I wasn't in pain any more.

Once my results were in, I was diagnosed with...drum roll please... DIVERTICULITIS?!?!?!? I thought only really old people got that!! Oh No!! Ok, deep breath! So, what's the deal with me/er/admit to hospital? The doctor replies that there is basically an infection in my colon that is causing inflammation and the pain. He wants to go ahead and knock it out with several rounds of antibiotics. No prob, give me some pills and I can go home, right? RIGHT?!?!!?

Yeah, not so much. His idea of knocking it out involves strong meds given by IV every 12 hours. Crap. Stupid careful doctors. My mom agrees for me that this is the best course of action. They give me my first dose while in the ER. It made me sick and slightly crazy. John was so sweet. He held my hair back and got a cold rag and kept talking to me. He is in the correct field of work; he is good in a hospital setting. We are informed that there are no beds available in the hospital, that we will be spending some time in the ER while we wait. John decided to stay with me, sitting/sleeping in the chair in the room. We got there around 4pm. At midnight, they came in to move me to a room. John, again, gets to snooze in a tiny recliner in my room. Mind you, he is over 6 ft. Wow, thats love!

To shorten this post, I will fast-forward through the rest of my stay. Since I went in over the weekend, I saw an on-call doctor on Sunday who changed the diagnosis to Colitis. More meds and visitors. (LOLA came to see me! She was sooo uplifting!!). John stayed with me again on Sunday night. He made sweet eyes at a nurse who snuck an illegal sofa bed into our room. He was so supportive and sweet and kind and wonderful and... ok, I'll stop. Just very much the rock I needed.

Move to Monday. I get to see my own doctor who informs me that in order to actually make the diagnosis, I will have to have a colonoscopy to view my insides. yea. I have IBS, so this will be my 3rd one before 30. Yipee.

I am moved to another room Monday afternoon, which just makes me think I'm stuck here for another night. Boo. Hiss.

I need to pause here. I want to let every one know what a great place I work and what wonderful people I work for. Both of my bosses, Bonnie and Brian, came to visit along with another co-worker Bryan and his family.

Also, Tiffany brought Nick to visit. Lorie brought Whitney and Brandi tagged along with Bonnie. Kidd, Wendy, Lexie, Chad, Sydney, Mama Dee and Nolan: Thanks you guys! You were all so sweet to stop by. It was great to have so many visitors! Thank you so much for the well wishes, cards and flowers!!! I love you guys!!

Anyways, it was my Mom's day to sit with me Monday. We had a great day entertaining all those previously mentioned. We watched crappy daytime TV and read magazines. She almost lost her stomach when the had to move my IV for the 3rd time and it began to bleed. A LOT.

John came back to the hospital Monday evening in time to watch House and 24. Around 8:30 Dr. Scott made his rounds and decided I could be discharged. To my mother's chorus of Alleluia, I am very happy to hear that news. I am ready for good sleep in my own bed. With my pups! John is slightly dismayed, because this means Mom doesn't get to spend the night with me on an uncomfortable sofa bed. RATS.

I have follow up appointments with several doctors to figure out what it was and what we can do about it. Hopefully the mystery will be solved. If not, we can always call House!!

Little bit of Mardi Gras Madness!!

As I am sure I mentioned, Mardi Gras is not my season. I am more of a Halloween type of gal. I love to dress up and play pretend. I always said if I could only memorize lines, look out Jennifer Aniston!! I could have been one hell of an actress!!
Back to the subject at hand... Through out this Mardi Gras season, it has come to my attention that I have taken over 400 PHOTOGRAPHS!!! Now while they may not be the best pics in the world, all taken with my handy dandy Sony Cybershot (it fits in my back pocket), they certainly captured the fun that my friends and family were having. The ones I am posting here are a small collection of shots from John's ride day, Tiffany's ride day and I think Mardi Gras day. I have plans to post quite a few more on MySpace just because its easier and more files fit!
Be forwarned, I am just learning how to work this picture and post, so bear with me!!



Me and John posing for our Prom picture.

The insane amount of people at the Hercules Tableau. It's like a rock concert in formal wear. Chee Weez was the band, by the way.

Big smiles from the guys


Tiffany, me and Nikki

Misty Mac

ok, so Misty looks naked in this picture... Hmmmm....

John and King Shane

John and Me

Back home in my yellow kitchen, the girls pause to take one last pic!

Carzy as it sounds, the night BEFORE John rides, we get on the open top bus and ride around town, just for shits and giggles. We go eat at BWW and have fun. This is me and Wendy.

John and Jason, as we approach The Balcony.

Eric, Matt and John cracking open their first beers of the morning of their Ride Day. I know you can't see a clock, but trust me, its early. Like 6:45AM early!!

Heading out the door! Long day ahead of them!

John and I at TARC.


Tiffany and Nolan (John's sister and bro-in-law)

John passing out beads and goodies at TARC.

John resting and reloading in the bus at TARC

Tiffany giving her new friend some lovin'!

This is John's nephew Dillon. We are watching the Hercules parade. He always gets hit by beads, so he is standing in front of me (I'm the black and white coat) while I hold up his "Shield", the top of the tote we use to hold all the beads! He has Laffy Taffy too, so he's all good!!

Tiffany and me catching some ZZZ's during the hour and a half wait we had during the Hercules parade when an axel broke and halted the parade!

John and Chad on the float after their ride. I need an entire page devoted to Chad's first ride. The pictures are PRICELESS!!!

It was also my brother Blair's first ride this year with the Krewe of Houmas. John managed to get this picture of Blair (3rd guy) before the beads began to fly!

I snuck up on Misty Mac. I love this picture!! HAHA!!!

My boyfriend has trouble taking a nice picture.
He always makes a silly face. And I love him for it!