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!!

x0x0

The Month of June: Lost. The Recap.

My apologies for being absent since the beginning of June.  I have no excuse, really, but I have been VERY busy (and sadly it wasn't for travel).  Right after my last entry, I started taking a labor-intensive 90-hour course which has to be completed within 30 days.  Most of the material is very dense (with quite a bit of legal-ize thrown in for good measure), so it's taken me quite a while to digest and memorize the pertinent information.  And just for the record, I'm not very keen on taking online classes - so I've had to literally force myself to NOT procrastinate.

So... just a recap for the month of June (and believe me, some of what I've been dealing with has been dooze-O-licious):

• Choggie had to go to the vet because she was scratching excessively.  Come to find out, she had fleas.  Choggles has been a part of our family for WELL over 10 years and has consistently been on Frontline (TM).  When we established her with a vet here, he switched her to Advantix (TM) and it doesn't work for her.  So, we had to get her scrubbed and dipped, flea-bombed the house, sprayed and disinfected her many puffy dog beds, treated the carpets and furniture, and sprayed the back and front yard areas. And to add insult to injuries...  the Chog had her anal glands depressed while she was at the doggy hospital.  I think she's still traumatized.  :0((  Hell, I know I'm still in a mood because my house smells like a chemical dump.  Blah.

^^  Our beloved hünd..

• Next, the air conditioner went tits-up in my Honda del Sol.  Considering the car is over 20 years old AND still cranks, handles well, and runs like a charm (I took this car to Germany on the Autobahn - THRILLZ!!), the husby and I decided to pay to have a new AC installed over at Royal Honda (across the bridge in Metairie).  They even rented me a CAR (on their dime).  Seriously.  The customer service is top-notch.  I would recommend them to ANYONE.   If you're new to the Greater New Orleans area, don't hesitate to call them.  Superior Honda, didn't really want to fix my car, and only pushed me to purchase a "newer model car"...  well, fuck them.  I adore my del Sol with all the love in my wicked little heart.  Besides, she's a manual and I can go topless in it.  There's very few cars available with those two characteristics.  Pfffft.

^^  5600 Veterans Boulevard, Metairie, LA 70003

• And if the air conditioner in the car going out just wasn't bad enough, the air conditioner in our house totally shit the bed.  Died.  Kaput.  Gonzo.  OUT.  Living in New Orleans, NOT having air conditioning is really miserable.  The temperatures were hovering around the mid-90's with the humidity being close to 100%.  Since we live in an urban area, opening the windows isn't really an option, so NO CROSS BREEZE.  So, I bailed out.  Went over to the neighbor's house, drank cocktails, and then passed out in their blissfully COOL air-conditioned guest room.  Husby opted to spend the night here with the Choggles - but my Yankee ass was not about to sweat to death in a miserably hot (and not in a good way) house.  Hell, a cold shower was even out - because the pipes are not far below ground and COLD water is impossible to come by.  Lukewarm was about as chilled as it could get.  At least the we had an HVAC technician out early on Sunday morning and he managed to get our system limping along until the new parts come in (sometime in the next 7 - 10 days).  

• Slowly, but surely, I'm turning into a sloth again.  Previous to my car being in the shop (which it was there for well over two weeks), I had been going to the gym every weekday morning AND going to the pool to swim afterwards.  Well, I haven't been doing anything EXCEPT eating and lazing around the house.  It didn't help that my rental car didn't come in until the last four days of my Honda being in the shop - and "registering" a rental car on base (where the gym and pool are) is a pain in the ass.  And I'm having a whole lot of problems with getting my motivation back.  So, I'm going to do my best to get back on track.  To put it in the words of that moron Fergie (of the Black Eyed Peas):

"I be workin' on my fitness!!"

This has been the summary of my shitty month of June.  I'm really hoping that July improves DRASTICALLY - I don't think I can deal with any more of the cray-cray bullshit that has been plaguing me.  I hope everyone's month has gone better than my thirty days of hell.

x0x0

Rain. Drugging the dog. Hiding.

^^  The sky will be falling most of the day, Chicken Little.

Well, the bad weather has finally moved south.  I woke up this morning to the loud rumble of thunder (at least it wasn't the uncontrolled, loud, obnoxious neighbor's children - the bastages) and promptly messaged my friend and gym partner, L. to let her know I wasn't going to be able to make it to my workout.  Seems like laziness is in the air, because she was still in bed.  Le sigh.  I'm up, but still wish I was snuggled under the soothing blankets of Big Puff (that is what we call our big awesome bed in this house).

 ^^  View from the back deck...

^^  Looking toward the French Quarter (the big green house is actually a recording studio)...

The sky looks so angry.

And since Choggie is terrified of thunderstorms, I ended up giving her a benadryl in order to calm her down.  She's currently holed up in the master bedroom closet - sleeping.  She gets so panicked during a storm, she tries to jam herself into the smallest places (and a 100-pound dog can't fit under the coffee table - it's physically impossible).  Disclaimer:  Our vet suggested the benadryl solution for when it is thundering/lightening outside.  I'd rather give her that instead of some weird prescribed anti-anxiety medication.  It appears to work rather well for her...

^^  Hide-y holed up in our bedroom closet.

My motivation is missing.  I really need to find it.  And I'm just really sucking today.  There is one consolation... I cleaned the house pretty thoroughly on Monday.  So, I have a minimum of work to do today, and I think I'm going to fire up the crock-pot so that I don't have to worry about dinner.  :0))  I also bought the book "Game of Thrones"... so I'm eager to start it.  If it's as good as the reviews say, I'll probably end up reading it right through today.

Sometimes thundery, rainy, gloomy, overcast days are absolutely needed (and it's not just Choggie who is hiding from the world... it's me, too!!).

x0x0

French Quarter Fest - Day Four: Rained Out.

As much as I wanted to finish the fourth day of the festival, it was piss-pouring rain when I woke up at 9:30 AM.  So, being a typical lazy bitch, I flipped over and went back to sleep.  The bedroom was dark, thunder was booming, and the occasional flash of lightening was visible, and a little too close for comfort.  So, I missed out on my bread pudding drizzled with white chocolate and bananas.  Which is really, really, really okay.  I didn't need the extra-evil calories.

I did discover a new restaurant, one that we are keen to try sometime soon (and they also give an additional 10% discount to locals)...  that would be the Royal House Restaurant.  May I suggest their char-grilled oysters???  Oh.  My.  Gawd.  It was a total taste orgasm.  No lie.  The menu is short and sweet... but there's enough of a variation to appeal to almost anyone - oyster lovers or not.

In all honesty, they may be able to give Acme Oyster House a run for their money. Good google-y moo!!  (In all honesty, I attempted to add a link, but nothing seems to be working this evening)...   So, you may want to run a search engine and see the menu.  :0))

When we lived in Europe, I was able to create the char-broiled oysters quite easily...  if you really want my copycat recipe, comment on it with your email info and I will be more than happy to pass it on.  :0))

In other news, Choggie has been fighting diarrhea...  and she is now barricaded in the kitchen.  I feel like an awful doggie-mommy.

Such is the story of my life.

x0x0