all that's past is prologue...

I have a lot of thoughts swirling around in my head after our Mardi Gras trip. They are likely to come out in rather haphazard blog posts, so I apologize in advance if that bugs you. -- When we first arrived in New Orleans on the 16th, we were supposed to meet my mother-in-law at one of the parades. After arriving, driving around for almost an hour and finding NO parking (and finally leaving and meeting her at home later), I started to get a little worried about attending future parades with a 4-year-old in tow. The next day, my mother-in-law told us she had found a parade-watching solution for the night — her friend Sherrie had invited us along as she went over to a friend's. The friend lived close to the route, so we could park in their yard, and have bathroom access (again, kid-crucial). The night was great — chairs set up right on the route, easy access, and most of all, wonderful people. Our hosts for the evening, Derek and Dedra and their daughter Ghita, invited us back — and...

Mardi Gras so far has been wonderful. The "traditional" New Orleans things have pretty much gone by the wayside due to crowds and parking and the like — we have not even had beignets yet! — but we've made up for it with more special activities. A lot of hanging with family, and of course, a lot of parades. More on that later. The other night, though, we were headed out to Endymion, which is the big Mid-City parade. It was storming off and on all day, which meant that the parade and it's start time kept on changing all day — it was off, it was on, starting early, starting late, the route changed, etc. Finally we were heading off to it when we got caught in a torrential downpour (quoting Beatrix "It's like we jumped in a swimming pool and forgot to take our clothes off!"), and abandoned plans. That became a rare night where Patrick and I got to go out for dinner by ourselves, while Beatrix stayed with her grandmother; we made up for it yesterday by sitting...

My idea, Patrick's site: Microsoft's Biggest Miss

This year, we were lucky enough to take in two Winter Carnival events (plus, of course, the vicarious watching of the medallion hunt). Last week, we took Beatrix down to see the ice sculptures in Rice Park (having decided it was too cold to go to the Art Shanties). The big ones were finished and we all loved seeing them. They were carving the smaller ones, which was also fascinating to watch, but Beatrix especially liked the penguins, so when we got back, we put up our own plastic penguins in our torn-up yard. We meant to go back and see them lit up one evening, but Monday's warm weather kind of hindered that plan after it melted most of them! The warm weather was greta for the Torchlight Parade, though. It was our second year attending, and we have learned to sit was down close to the beginning, where the crowds are smaller and the parade moves a little faster. Ever the seasoned parade-goer, Beatrix knew to bring a pillow to sit on, a blanket for her lap, a bag for candy and beads...

This was my Facebook post earlier this week: Dear Susan G. Komen Foundation - My mother died, way too early, from (another kind of) cancer. And she dedicated her career to teen mothers and to giving women choices and adequate care. Your decision is an insult to her and to every woman across this country who has struggled with any kind of health issues — and those who support them. For shame. SGK Foundation reversed their position yesterday (after a brief retrenchment where they said the issue was not in fact a political one, but because Planned Parenthood did not offer mammograms — though SGK itself does not recommend mammograms for women under 40 and the vast majority of PP clients are in their 20s and early 30s), and several people have asked me if I am still mad. Well, in fact, I'm even more angry. You see, if you're dealing with cancer, you're dealing with a real disease that kills fiercely and indiscriminately and, even in the "survivors," irretrievably damag...

After a long day, we had a few quick errands to run tonight, all of which reminded me why I try to shop locally. First we headed over to the Northern Warehouse, where the remainder of the books from the dearly-departed Play by Play Bookstore were set out for free. 3 bags of books later, I missed that place even more than I could have thought possible. Then we headed over to Flirt , where I browsed a little, tasted some champagne, and had chocolates form Chocolate Celeste. Beatrix, ever the budding foodie, really liked the chocolates. Kae from Brow Chic was there finding the perfect lipstick tint for me (Oona, from Julie Hewett Cosmetics, in case you need to know), and Patrick and Beatrix headed next door to Beatrix's favorite store, Patina. Finally, stopped for dinner at Punch on the way home, whose virtues I have often extolled here. Tonight, though 3/4 of the tables had finished eating, absolutely everyone was hanging out talking, and though we waited for about 10 minutes, nothi...