Busy Week: A Short, No-Frills Post.

My husband is currently deployed for the month of August, so I've been filling my schedule with fun things to do (and to keep me from turning into a total recluse while he's gone).  So, it's been a busy week (as he left last Saturday, August 4th) - and my apologies for not blogging sooner.

I amused myself last Sunday by driving to the French Quarter.  Parking is free on Saturdays and Sundays, and since July and August is our low-season here, I was able park in a prime location - 800 block of Royal Street.  Picked up a couple of little things that I've been eying for the house and then ambled on over to Gallery Rinard and hung out with one of my favorite NOLA girlies, "Anita Martini" (her moniker).  Left there around 7:00 and met some other friends for dinner back here on the Westbank at a little dive with the best fried oysters, Perino's Boiling Pot.  Of course, I had an icy-cold Abita Amber to wash it all down with.  Yum.

Monday and Tuesday were busy with the regular stuff.  Cleaning, errands, shopping, catching up on some schoolwork, and meeting a new client.  Nothing hugely exciting - considering that I don't tend to cook a whole lot when the husby is gone.  So, no menus to plan.

Wednesday night I spent with a friend and her husband in Gretna.  I was invited for dinner and we had some t-bone steaks and salad.  Really delicious and cooked to perfection.  We then hung out and gabbed for quite a while after dinner and I didn't get home until really late.

On Thursday, we had some pretty big thunderstorms.  So I decided to stay in and hang out with our Choggie and veg out in front of the television.  I caught up with most of my shows and had an excellent (and very appreciated!!) rainy-day nap.  Oh, and I played the Sims 3 for a bit.  Was in the mood to build-build-build-build.  ;0))

Friday...  New Orleans Saints day!!  Was invited to watch one of the pre-season games with my friend (and favorite neighbor), S.  We had fabulous seats, full bar access, wait-service, and the house was packed.  Before the evening game, we went to visit some friends in the Garden District for a little pre-game canapes and wine.  I took some pictures and I'll be uploading them over the next couple of days.  We had a great time!!

And on Saturday, I headed up to Baton Rouge to officiate a flat-track roller derby match - between my favorite bashing bitches the Twin City Knockers and the Capitol Defenders.  My girlies kicked some ass - and ended up losing by one fucking point.  However, it was one of the best games yet and we were playing with a short roster - so we only had three jammers for the entire game.  I will most definitely be blogging very soon on that phenomenal game!!

And, finally, we're at Sunday - again.  I was supposed to meet some of my friends at the Canal Street Theatre - which is an over-18 movie theatre (no kids allowed!!) which has a great restaurant and chair-side service throughout the show.  However, I bailed (for the matinee) because I didn't get up until 11:00 this morning (I'm not counting the 5:30 AM wake-up call I had - to let Choggie out) and I realized that I needed to pick up some Crunchy-O's and other basic necessities.  So, I ended up running out to the commissary to stock up on things.  And I'm doing laundry.  Towels and sheets - oh my!!

Will update within a day or so.  Trying to figure out plans for next week!!

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Feeding the Beast: Music.

Listening to a lot of music as of late.  I'm in a funky mood because my husband is leaving tomorrow for a deployment (he'll be gone for a month) and I miss him a LOT when he's gone.  Yeah, I know that sounds kind of weird, but I *know* some wives who can't wait for their spouse to leave.  C'est la vie.

Without further ado...

"Radioactive"

**This song may sound familiar - it's used in adverts for the Halo video game**

Imagine Dragons

"All Shook Up"

**This song was used in a Trojan Lubricant advert**

Avila

"Fade Into You"

Mazzy Star

"Sweet Jane"

**This tune is on the movie soundtrack for Natural Born Killers**

Cowboy Junkies

"We Are Young"

Acoustic

Fun featuring Janelle Monae

"Drops of Jupiter"

Train

"Clocks"

Coldplay

"No Bravery"

Acoustic Live

James Blunt

"Bittersweet Symphony"

The Verve

"Downside Up"

Live

Peter Gabriel featuring Melanie Gabriel

And, that's all she wrote.  Literally.

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Penguins: Millicent and Hubie.

Today we went to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and went backstage for a meet-and-greet (and hold and hug and ask a bunch of questions and feed - rinse, wash repeat) with our happy neighborhood PENGUINS.  It was such an awesome experience.  This actually surpassed all of my expectations and I would definitely do it again.  Some details:

• The cost is $125.00 per person for non-Audubon members (please keep in mind that this is an additional cost to the general admission ticket).  For Audubon members, the cost is $115.00 per person (general admission is free).  There are NO specially-priced children's tickets.  The cost is the same regardless of age.
• Children under the age of 6 are not permitted.  What it comes down to is that these penguins have been handled by keepers since birth - and the penguins love interacting with humans.  A grabby little toddler or screaming baby might upset the birds and make them aggressive towards humans.  
• Any child/teen under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.  Therefore, parents cannot just pay for the cost of ONE ticket for their child and expect the staff (and other patrons) to watch their kid.  Nope, it's just not happening.
• Make your reservations WAY ahead of time.  I ordered our tickets online (ten days before the date I wanted) and found out that the time and date I wanted were all full.  Since I was able to be flexible, I *did* get my second choice (you are required to pay in full when you reserve) - but next time??  I'll order a minimum of 3 weeks ahead of time.
• And... you get a Penguin Painting to commemorate your day!!

So... here are some of my pictures from the Backstage Penguin experience:

 ^^  This is Millicent.  She's 8 years old and loves people.  The penguins "volunteer" to meet people - not one bird is forced to meet the public.  The keeper will ask "who wants to go out??"  And then picks two of the *volunteers*.  There is always a minimum of four - and then the keeper picks two.  

 ^^  This is Hubie.  She is 19 months old and was born at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.  She was hand-fed, so she really enjoys human contact.  She was very affectionate, would nuzzle, and had an affinity for sardines.  Her color is not the same as Millicent's because she's so young.  Penguins molt once a year.  So, Hubie will molt one more time and when her new feathers come in, she'll look just like Millicent (but with different markings).  :0))

 ^^  Millicent is waiting for a fish-y treat!!

 ^^  Hubie (bottom right) and Millicent (upper left) help the keeper when he lays out the canvas.  They both enjoy having their feet dipped in non-toxic paint... it's cool on their feet.  

 ^^  The girls are ready to paint!!!  

 ^^  The girls are back in their enclosure (environment/home).  There are 37 penguins in the exhibit here.  About 1/3 of them are from other aquariums from all over the United States - they are placed here when renovations happen at their zoo.  Some are still pretty wild - so they will keep to themselves and don't like to be touched.  They are easy to spot, because they don't come close to any of us... even with a bucket-full of delectable sardines!!

 ^^  Swim, penguins, SWIM!!  

 ^^  They came up on the rocks to "greet" us - well, they came for the food.  We had plenty of fish.  Bribery at it's finest!!  

^^  Penguin handler, Darwin, passing over a cutie to love on.  :0))

 ^^  A plethora of penguins!!

 ^^  Big boy reaching to get some love (and a treat!!)...

^^  This young boy, Sabo, loved-loved-loved my husband's socks.  He didn't nibble or bite at him, he just kept rubbing his head and beak on the cottony-soft-socks.  So adorable!!

According to the handlers and keepers, penguins are as smart as parrots (although they do not vocalize beyond their normal calls, whistles, squeaks, grunts, and snorts).  They are very curious by nature and after being raised at the aquarium (by humans) they are eager to get attention from everyone.

And since I just couldn't pass them up, I bought some sea turtle earrings from the gift shop.  I *really* wanted the penguin ones, but a lady in front of me snatched up the last pair. 

^^  Awesomesauce!!

And, tomorrow (well, today really, since it's past midnight), I'll be going out to lunch with a couple of my friends and some derby girls.  Life is seriously fucking wonderful.

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Abita Beer. Brew Pub. Deliciousness.

Oh, yes.

You see, it is the weekend before my birthday.  Due to work circumstances, husby will be traveling on my special day, so he opted to take today (Friday) off and whisk me away to visit the Abita Brewery (which is located in the small - but lovely - town of Abita Springs).  We've been wanting to do this for a while (okay, since we moved to New Orleans at the beginning of November 2012) and we also decided to try the Abita Brew Pub for lunch.  We had to drive across the 24-mile Causeway which spans Lake Pontchartrain in order to get to (what is referred to locally) the North Shore.

The weather today was quite muggy, which created the feeling of being in a cloud... or as in MY overactive imagination, it looked like a scene out of Stephen King's short novella "The Mist".  If you haven't read it, you might want to.  Anyhow, I digress.  This is what it looked like while crossing:

^^  It's like driving into the sky...  spooky!!  ;0))

Please ignore the EU safety sticker on the window.  It's been there since we bought our car in Germany three years ago.  I'm not really sure why the husby hasn't removed it yet...

First stop???  Lunch.  Yes, lunch.  The atmosphere at the Abita Brew Pub was really laid back - and they even had beer tap handles from all over the world as decoration.  Both of us had a good chuckle when we saw a Bitburger tap - which is one of the most popular pilsner in Germany.  I had the fried oysters and husby decided on the gumbo, made with locally-made Andouille sausage and chicken.  We also both had pints of SOS (Save Our Shores) beer.  It's a high gravity brew and it's very smooth and sweet.  Delicious!!  

^^  It's the brew pub!!  

^^  They had outdoor seating also (for al fresco dining), however it was a too hot and muggy to eat on the patio.  We opted for the air-conditioned comfort (icy cold inside)... but, I'd like to come here sometime in the fall when the weather cools down.  

^^  The pub features different daily specials. 

^^  View from our table... this building used to be the brewery, until the business took off and the owners had to move to a far bigger location.

^^  The brewery is all about being green!!  :0))

After eating a delicious lunch, we decided to explore the downtown area before heading in for our beer tasting and brewery tour.  We visited the local museum and took a short walk down the Rail-Trail.  I plan on definitely exploring some of the shops and checking out the local bakery - it smelled divine as we walked by.  They also had some beautiful looking pastries on display...

 ^^  Introduction to the Rail-Trail...

 ^^  Map and statistics about the Rail-Trail concept...

 ^^  Head of the trail...

^^  Walking towards the Abita Springs Museum (free of charge to the public)...

 ^^  Lovely little museum... they had a really friendly staff.  

 ^^  Every Saturday afternoon (from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM) the museum features an impromtu jam session with local musicians.  It's free to the public - to either play OR watch.  I'm definitely going to come back and check it out.  :0))

 ^^  The town of Abita Springs ALSO has their own "Piney Woods" Opry.  Although, I don't think that there is anyone under the age of 65 who either watches OR participates.  

^^  The fountain gracing the Abita Pavillion.  They have beer festivals here, also.

After wandering around, we finally headed over to the brewery.  They offer *free* tours AND *free* 12-ounce beer "samples".  Yes.  You did, indeed, read that correctly.  And, it's entirely self-serve.  Another plus is that people under the age of 21 are not allowed to attend.  So, for any of my friends who are Child-Free, Child-Less, or Empty Nesters, this is a great place to come and visit.  The town is quaint, the people are very friendly, and there is a great gift shop with some very funky art (for sale right beside the tees, coasters, hats, coozies, and glassware).  

 ^^  Outside the brewery, before going into the courtyard.  The placard even reads that people under the age of 21 are not allowed to enter.  I'd certainly be happy if more restaurants and pubs would stop allowing children entirely.  After all, that's what (Up) Chuck E Cheese is for, yes???  ;0))

 ^^  Fountain and greenery in the beer garden.  It was HAWT out!!  

 ^^  Feast your peepers on this bomb-diggity SELF-SERVE beer bar!!  ::swoon::  I really wish that I could have one of these in my house.  Le sigh.  A girl can dream, can't she???

 ^^  Gift shop area... also, please note that they do NOT take cash OR credit cards.  So, if you think that you'd like to buy something, you may want to ensure that you have your plastic money with you.

^^  Very surreal Purple Haze painting (one of my favorites besides Turbo Dog)...  I wouldn't mind owning this!!  ;0P

^^  I picked up this magnet for my car...  Abita Brewery is donating all proceeds from their SOS line (beer included) to agencies cleaning up the BP oil spill.  Some also goes to the wild life refuge and zoo.

^^  Braved the 24-mile long bridge and we're almost in Metairie!!

And, since we were in Metairie, we decided to swing by one of our favorite comic book stores (yes, I am letting my inner geek out for a bit) and browse around.  Well, the husby didn't find anything that he wanted... but there were a couple of things that I found.  A hardback compilation of Neil Gaiman's "The Sandman" AND a graphic novel of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" originally penned by Stieg Larsson - but the comic book style adaptation was created by Denise Mina, Leonardo Manco, and Andrea Mutti (published by Vertigo).  And so I snatched up the latter of the two.

All-in-all, it's been a great day - and a wonderful start to my weekend.  Tomorrow, the plan is to grab some lunch in the French Quarter (the venue has yet to be decided... but I'm really thinking about Napoleon House or Coop's) and then we'll head off to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.  I have a hot (cool??) date with some penguins - as we've picked up tickets for the "Backstage Penguin Pass".  I will get to touch the penguins, hold them, feed them, and after that is all done, *your* bird-buddy gets some non-toxic paint to waddle around in - and voila!!  Penguin artwork!!  No two are the same... hahahahaha!!  

Well, I'm signing off for now... I hope everyone has a fan-fucking-tabulous weekend!!!

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Drug-fully Loaded.

I had thought that I had recovered from my hedonistic San Fermin weekend unscathed.

Apparently not.

Ended up with some bruised and cracked ribs (along with various cuts, scrapes, and blisters).  Went to my doctor's office yesterday (love you, Dr M!!) and he took a shit-ton of x-rays.  Yep, I'm *officially* broken.  So, I now have a bag o' drugs (painkillers and muscle relaxers), some Lidocaine patches (HUGE), and directions to lay low for a while (about a full week).  Not that I could really do much, anyway.  The druggy-drugs make me loopy and I don't want to move.

Not that I can move... well, at least not easily.  I don't hurt BETWEEN heartbeats (hahaha)!!

^^  One of my nefarious bruises.

So, I met up with a friend for lunch and had the most delicious bacon mac-and-cheese bites (in a cheddar beer sauce) ever.  We also had a sweet and spicy chicken flatbread, Korean shredded pork tacos (with lots of cilantro and lime), grilled na'an with chicken skewers, and a salted caramel cake for dessert.  I'm pretty sure that the fall didn't affect my taste buds at all...  and we just did tasting menu/small plates/tapas thing - so it wasn't full-on gluttony.  Oh, and I drank a LOT of non-alcoholic beverages.  My mouth feels as dry as talcum powder and I don't feel like I can drink enough water to ever even make it moist.  Winning!!!

^^  Bacon mac-and-cheese bites.  These were totally delicious.  

(And no - I wasn't that drugged up - the pic just doesn't do them justice)...

I'm planning on chilling out for the rest of the afternoon.  Hopefully, I can find some cheezy TV drama...  I'm thinking it's a Judge Judy kind of day.  ;0))

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Running of the Bulls. AKA SFNO2013.

7th Annual San Fermin in Nueva Orleans

This happened Saturday...

^^  14,000 people and counting.

^^  The running route (red) and meet-up point (yellow)...

All my derby girls from TCK showed up on Friday night.  Total hen-fest, gabbing, catching up, comparing outfits, discussing stockings and socks and pub-crawls... oh, my!!  Husby thought it was quite awesome to be the only guy in the house and opted to stay home and smoke a brisket for the post-Bull-Run-dinner.  We finally all got settled in and in bed around 2:00 AM (3:00 AM for me - I was excited and my insomnia kicked in).  

Alarm clocks started going off around 4:30 AM.  Too early!!  Spicy-ass Bloody Mary cocktails were mixed and we were all imbibing by 5:15 AM.  Since the ferry hasn't been running regularly, we called for a taxi and headed over to the Sugar Mill.  The taxi ride was about $20 for the five of us - so definitely affordable at $4/each + the tip.  We all had VIP access, which included a free open bar (Sangria, screwdrivers, gin-and-tonic, Hurricanes, and Bloody Mary cocktails were just some of the drinks provided) and all the food was catered by Rouses Market (mini Muffulettas, roast beef, ham, and turkey wraps, fruit trays, cheese trays, petit fours, and mini fruit tarts)...  delicious. 

 ^^  Dark delicious Sangria and a wickedly strong Bloody Mary.  Breakfast of Champions!!

We had a group of men dressed like Elvis Presley in our area (if there is more than one, are we supposed to refer to them as "Elvii"???) and two of my girls posed with them:

^^  Knotta Cupcake, who was a skating bull - posing in all her derby glory with the sneery impersonators...

^^  Breasaurus, who was one of the runners - showing off her Elvii love with some cheezy gangsta moves...

We even had representatives from the Westboro Baptist Roller Derby League (WBRDL)... they mock and wave around crazy signs which are all in reference to WFTDA rules (essentially the roller derby "bible") and act all sanctimonious.  I joined on general principle... as an atheist, I thought this was really fucking funny and quite brilliant, actually (along the lines of True Blood's "God Hates Fangs")...

^^  Protest, protest, protest!!!  

^^  Quad loves us!!!  

There were so many people there - and everyone had something funky going on.  Here are just a few random shots from the event:

^^  Almost-naked Blue Bull runner...  he was looking all cray-cray.

^^  Even though we greased Dr Krak up with the thickest, most viscous sunburn lotion ever (seriously, it was like zinc), she still got burnt.  Her temporary prison tattoo (of the bull) might not be so temporary...  oops.

^^  A mock Cardinal getting his ring kissed by our own Angst Muffin...

After the Bull run was over, we headed over to a local bar which had it's own in-ground pool out back. It was pretty fucking awesome.  We hung there for about 2 hours (and drank more copious amounts of booze) and after that, we taxied on home to The Point.  Everyone crashed for a couple of hours for a nap, and at 7:00 PM some of our friends who didn't attend the SFNO2013 festival popped over for beer, wine, cocktails, and dinner.  Husby had everything ready for us... a smoked beef brisket, German potato salad, various styles of chips, bread and butter, and a Southern Comfort pound cake.

Then... we hit up Bourbon Street and the French Quarter.  Round two.  Everyone survived.  I have no pictures of this because my phone had totally croaked by this time.  Knotta Cupcake's phone got fried in the sun (literally - all it had was a green screen and it made chirpy noises out of the blue), Breasaurus' camera didn't shut off right and ran down the batteries, Angst left her phone at home, and I have no clue if Dr Krak took any shots while we were in the Quarter.  All I have to say is this... it's probably best if there WERE no pictures taken that night.  As it is, I don't think that any one of us would pass scrutiny for public office.  

If you get a chance, you ought to come next year.  This is a fantastic event, which is FULLY adult-oriented (for any of you child-free, child-less, or empty-nesters reading this) - children are not permitted into the VIP sections, strollers are not permitted along the running route, and IF someone does take their child, they MUST be supervised by their legal guardian at ALL TIMES.  It's a bit pricey, but well worth it - and it happens during the low tourism season here in New Orleans.  Which means that flights are really cheap, hotels have great deals, restaurants and attractions are not crowded at all.  Viva Nueva Orleans San Fermin!!!  :0))

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Thundering. Thursday.

One of the most awesome things about New Orleans happens to be the (almost) daily afternoon thunderstorms.  I love them.  The Choggie, however, is NOT a fan.  She's crammed up under my desk - on my feet - which are gradually falling asleep.  It's so dark out right now it looks like twilight (and I'm not talking about that idiot who writes about "sparkly" vampires - I'm a "True Blood" kind of girl) and it's raining.  Our weather forecast doesn't look so hot for the festivities this weekend:

^^  Thunder-y every day!!

^^  Choggles is currently sitting on my feet.  Her head is the only thing that is NOT under my desk...

I'm super excited because four of my roller derby sisters are coming in tomorrow night - and then it's the Running of the Bulls on Saturday!!!  Husby and I have also decided to have a throw-down-hoe-down on Saturday night - while I'm boozing with the bulls, my better half will be smoking a beef brisket (an all-day process).  We'll be serving it on fresh po' boy bread with a choice of spicy ho'made BBQ sauce or a more traditional debris sauce.  Crackers, chips, dips, veggie tray, and LOTS of booze (okay - cheap wine and beer) will round out the party nicely.  We'll also be making a Southern Comfort pound cake (utterly delicious) for dessert.

Yesterday, I popped over to the French Quarter to pick up some tees for our upcoming weekend festivities, and popped in to The Red Lantern to get some socks to wear on Saturday (knee-socks for derby girls are pretty much mandatory!!) and I found the coolest little owl wristlet bag that has enough room to hold all necessary items.  It was a little pricey, but well worth it.  Check it out:

^^  Sorry it's a little blurry - but the caption reads "It's the little things".  <3

^^  Beer socks!!  I'm going to wear them with my black low Chuck Taylors - sexy, eh???

Annnnnnnnnnnd...  I dragged my friend A. over to The Company Burger (scroll down for the menu and booze listing) so that I could get my delicious fix.  At first, A. was a little wigged out that they don't put lettuce OR tomato on their burgers (they don't even have it on hand - the back of the staff tee shirts reads "BYO L & T").  Personally, I'm okay with this because lettuce always ends up wilt-y and nasty from the heat of the burger AND I prefer my tomatoes on their own or in a cold crisp salad.  Needless to say, A. is now a convert and has agreed that the lack of tomato and lettuce are not that bothersome (this was AFTER she tasted the awesomeness of their burgers).  Go on, it's okay to drool:

^^  Single with onions, cheese, bacon, pickles, and ketchup... small order of red onion rings and tots...

And this has pretty much summed up my week thus far.  Although, after looking at the picture of my delicious meal, I must say that I could probably totally go and grab another one.  Alas, my hips and ass would NOT appreciate this type of a meal TWICE in one week.  :0((  So, just because I'm feeling defiant, I'll leave you with this:

^^  Vag power!!

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