Happy birthday, Cromwell!

Our sweet pup turned 2 today! No special party or costumes, but he did get some extra special chicken jerky.

Here are some pictures of our little guy over the last two years:

Post Luxating Patella surgeries

Waiting for Patrick in Starkville

Sooooo Tired

Mardi Paws

Borgne

Oyster pasta, perfect for a friday night during Lent.

Dat Dog

Louisiana smoked sausage with mustard, ketchup, and cheese.

Brain Dump

1. We're in the middle of prepping for gala/fundraising events, which means I'm slightly crazy.  In the next 3 weeks, we have seven concerts, gala, and a donor event.  I'm excited for it all to get here! 

2.  In that same time period, I also have ZTA day at Mardi Gras world.  Lots of collegians coming to New Orleans+ZTA day committee, then a concert that night means I'll be an exhausted girl.

3. We've gone out a lot lately, so I'm kind of impressed.  Weekly trivia, date nights, theater.  Go Angela and Patrick!  I've got pictures from all the restaurants, so maybe I'll post a couple quickies on here.  No review, just picture and description.

4.  Speaking of theater, I scored our offices free set of Lion King tickets!  The production starts this week and we're going Friday night. 

5.  March Madness is upon us, and I really could care less.  Brackets have been filled out, MSU isn't in it, and it's going to screw with me leaving work (the arena is not far from my office).  I'm ready for April.

6. The weather has been gorgeous lately.  Bright blue skies and puffy white clouds.  Let's keep this up!

Mardi Gras 2012

Well, now we've made it through a full Mardi Gras.  Our apartment is pretty close to the parade route, so we got to experience Carnival in a very unique way.  Parade-wise, Patrick and I saw so many parades that it's hard to even think about how we managed to make it to work Wednesday, Thusday and Friday, but we did.  If I were going to rank them, Bacchus would be right at the top, followed by Orpheus and Muses.  Now, the reason Bacchus soars to the top is simple, we know people in the krewe.  We "tailgated" with them for Bacchus Sunday, had an absolute blast, and were showered with goodies.  Orpheus had the prettiest floats and Muses is just unique.

There were some definite positives and negatives associated with all of it,

but Patrick and I learned a lot. 

 We don't really care for Zulu, so we'll keep skipping that one. 

Rex was nice but not terribly exciting, we went more for the ability to say, "we've gone to Rex." 

Even if our friends are in town, no FQ!  We got stuck on Canal and I just wanted to go back uptown.

Find your potty.  It seems simple, but find someone you know with a port o'john or know where you can go. 

Be prepared to carry all your loot home.  You've caught tons of beads, cups, etc, now you have to bring it home.  We carried a tote bag or backpack for easy access.  We also had snacks and drinks in there.

Prepare to people watch, especially on Mardi Gras Day.  There will be tons of hilarious costumes.

That's our Mardi Gras 2012 in a nutshell.  Can't wait for next year!

3 Things we;ve learned about Mardi Gras so far

1. Our dog is ridiculously cute.

2. Our friends are hilarious.

3. I'm very much an Uptown girl, not so much a fan of the Quarter or Canal.

Birthday Fun

When I compare my 26th and 27th birthdays, there are some obvious differences.

A. New Orleans is way more fun than Jackson.
     A1. Restaurant August > Local 463
     A2. Free tickets to Blue Man Group

B. Jobs makes me busier, but in a very, very good way.
     B1. Board meetings are not quite so fun, especially on said birthday.
     B2. My boss is hilarious and brings delicious cake.

C. New Orleans is kind of far from friends.
     C1. It does make trips to visit much more fun.
     C2. Friends are amazing and bring chocolate birthday cake with chocolate buttercream icing.

Sweet husband had a surprise for me too!

Mignon Faget, tulip in the round earrings, which I love.

So far, I think 27 will be a fabulous year!