Mardi Gras and the King & Queen

HappyMardiGras! 

May you stuff your face with all things bad!

Actual date of this event: 9 February

Continuing with the 30th birthday celebrations... last one, I promise... The American Women's Association decided to host their annual Mardi Gras party on my birthday. So nice of them to throw me a party! Just kidding!

The "green" folks

The party was held at the Old Mill Inn where we were greeted with a Hurricane and Muffaletta upon entrance. Every table was named after a street in New Orleans... we were Martin Luther King. We got to choose who to sit with prior to arriving, so we had 14 people at our table. We were each  given a mask with our name on it to play with.

After a welcome greeting, the buffet opened which included jambalaya, red beans & rice, potato salad, fried okra, corn machoux and french bread. Each table had their own king cake which was made by a native Louisianian... and I actually ate it! Tash, who is from Wales, got the baby which meant she got a prize of a mug with a fleur de lis on it and a can of Tony's. Tash: "It's some of kind of seasoning" with a not impressed look on her face. Haha!

After we chowed down, it was time to announce the Mardi Gras King and Queen. And what do you know? Guess who was the queen? Me! Yes, it was totally rigged because it was my birthday. It was pretty special though, and it was nice of them to do that for me :-) And guess who the King was? Luke! For realz!!! And that was not rigged. His name really was drawn out of the box! It was so crazy!! So we got to wear robes and the special headdresses. Mine would not stay on! I don't know how those women wear those things at Mardi Gras balls! Our friend, Pam, was the Dutchess, too. We got to walk around the room tossing beads at the tables, and then we lead the Second Line around the room. It was fun!

And then the dancing and the partying began! We danced a lot!

The night ended around 11pm, when we called our cab driver to pick us back up. It was a great ending to my 30th birthday celebrations! Being 30 is fun so far... I don't know what all the fuss is about!

RANDOM FACT:
Source
Mardi Gras became a legal holiday in Louisiana in 1875... which makes it very difficult to sort out a stolen car on that day.
The official colors of Mardi Gras have meanings. Purple is for Justice, Gold is for Power and Green is for Faith. These were chosen by the Grand Duke of Russia in 1857.

-Debbie-

Birthday Lunch with the Ladies

Actual date of this event: 8 February

Before I begin...

For the first time since being away from the USA, I am feeling homesick. And it is all due to seeing Facebook postings throughout the carnival season in New Orleans. Mardi Gras was always one of the MOST touristy things to do in NOLA, but it is so much fun! For weeks now, I have been seeing pictures and videos of parades that Luke and I used to attend. Again, so much fun! Today is Lundi Gras which is my most favorite day of the carnival season... we always went all out on Monday because we always took it easy on Mardi Gras. I wish all of my friends back home happy celebrating and chunk a few beads over a balcony with your eyes closed in my honor as I am not there to do it myself. Happy Lundi Gras!!!

Lundi Gras 2009

Back to the reason we are here...

On Friday, the day before my birthday, a small group of girls got together for a little birthday celebration. We started off at Jo Malone where we got a little pampered with hand and arm massages. We got to pick a scent or combination of scents for the massage which was fun to do. I really liked one scent but was disgusted by another, but I decided to try them together since it was a recommended combination. Together was yummy! We also got a glass of champagne to add to the relaxation!

 Thank you Nary for the pictures!

Pam, Nary, Jillian, me, Jessica, Emily

Afterward, we walked over to Bistro Verde for lunch. Nary and Jill made macaroons the day before, so we enjoyed those as our dessert. They were definitely one of the most yummy things I have ever tasted! On top of all of this, I was blessed with a super fantastic birthday gift from my friends... a Garmin watch for jogging and the Cologne I liked from my massage at Jo Malone. I LOVE MY GIFT!

As you can see, I have some amazing friends! Each of them is so sweet and kind and thoughtful, and I am so thankful that they took the time out of this crazy busy time to celebrate my 30th birthday with me. I thought turning 30 was supposed to be a bad thing!

RANDOM FACT:
The first Jo Malone store opened in London in 1994. Source

-Debbie-

Oldies but Goodies

While my parents visited back in October, I put all of the pictures from my dad's camera onto my computer. Man oh man this camera had some old pictures on it. I had posted a few on Facebook at that time, but didn't really get a chance to look through all of them until now.
Most of the pictures were of my nephew, Cooper, during his first year. I also found a few from my wedding weekend, some from when my mom visited Ohio, and a few of my niece, Zoey. I also found quite a few videos... one specifically of my mom filming my sister, Becca, changing Cooper's diaper. Why, mom? Why??!?!! And I also learned that it takes my dad about 4 seconds to figure out that he is taking a video when he should be taking a picture. Anyway, I picked a few of my favorites to share with you today...

When Luke and I met Cooper, our first nephew, for the very first time (September 2007)

He was a big baby, but I remember thinking that he was so tiny. I'm not much of a baby person, their weak necks freak me out, so I was really nervous holding him. Anyway, check out that stuff on top of Luke's head!

Cooper's first Christmas (2007)

I'm not so freaked out in this picture. We got together at the Goins' home because it would have been way too difficult for Becca and Eric to transport all of Cooper's presents back home.

Cooper learned to sit up (Easter 2008)

I just love this picture! Probably my favorite of all of the ones on the camera. It is just too adorable... love how he is grabbing his feet. Hehe, there was also a video of this which included him smiling :)

My dad and I in the limo before we went into the church for my wedding (June 2009)

I remember sitting in the limo watching all of my friends going into the church and waving at them through the tinted windows although no one could see me. After we got out of the limo, the photographer snapped a shot of my dad holding my train going into the church which I did not know he did. So sweet dad!!

Baby Zoey (November 2010)

I just love her face! And she still make that same face today! This little girl cracks me up! My mom is stubborn. I am super stubborn. But this little one puts us to shame. Love her so much though!

After sifting through these pictures, I came up with a fun idea that I hope you all will enjoy for weeks to come! TBT!!! I will admit, I didn't know what TBT meant until maybe two weeks ago. Throw Back Thursday! Every Thursday, I will post a special story from years ago. Even Luke doesn't know some of these stories, so I am super excited to share them.

Until next time folks... Have a great weekend!

RANDOM FACT:
The first US patent for digital cameras was granted in 1970. The first attempt at building one was in 1975. The camera weighed 8 pounds, had a resolution of 0.01 megapixels, and took 23 seconds to capture an image. Source

-Debbie-

Pinterest Fail: Grilled PB&J

While searching through Pinterest, I always wonder if it really is as great as they make it seem. What if everything went as great as it seemed? Wouldn't life be boring? Well my friends, life was not boring the day I tried what you would think would be the best Pinterest "project" ever.

I kept seeing "Grilled PB&J" on Pinterest and decided to try it one day. But let's back it up a bit...

I really was not a peanut butter person before arriving in Aberdeen. Seriously, I would eat it MAYBE once a year. Maybe that was because I was worried I would run into my Peanut-Free nephew at some point and not be able to give him smooches all over ... (let's forget the fact that we lived 6 hours apart) ... I didn't think there was much to rave about peanut butter. I'd say that within 3 days of stepping foot in Great Britain, I wanted Peanut Butter... bad. It was weird.

Um, hopefully you stopped the video because it's 10 hours long, but it is NOT AT ALL annoying :)

So, my main lunch time item everyday is a sandwich, and I usually either grill that sandwich, stick it in the oven or toast the bread. With a PB&J, I always toast the bread. And it's not a proper PB&J without... um... four times more PB than J. You should always put four six times more PB than J. Aren't you proud hubby?

Source: http://www.examiner.com/article/portland-school-sees-racism-peanut-butter-and-jelly-sandwiches
By the way, that source includes an article about how PB&J sandwiches are racist. Say whaaaaaa???
And by the way, this PB&J has too much J.

Anyway, Pinterest said to grill that baby for a super yummy sandwich. Do not grill a PB&J.
1.) Peanut Butter everywhere. I'm talkin', down my arm... gooing all over the plate... sliding down my chin. This resulted in me scooping peanut butter up with a spoon my finger, and I may or may not have licked the plate.
2.) The bread tasted like "grill". Not a fan of the grill taste when it comes to my PB&J.

Okay, maybe I put too much Peanut Butter on the sandwich. Wait. No, I did not. That's crazy talk! Anyway, it was not at all worth the time it took to "grill" America's favorite sandwich.

Moral of the story is peanut butter melts, so stick with the good ole toaster.

What Pinterest Fails have you encountered?

RANDOM FACT:
Jam is always made from the whole or cut fruits, cooked to a pulp with sugar, producing a thick, fruity, spread. Jelly is made using only the juice of the fruit and sugar. It should be clear and sparkling when finished. Source

-Debbie-

Blog Post inspiration from Katie @ Keep Calm & Carry On and Stephanie @ BEAUtiful Mess

Blogging Blahs

For the past two months, I have been in a blogging slump. In December, I felt like I had nothing to say. If you look at my archives, I only posted twice in December. That's pretty pathetic, and I apologize about that! It isn't until we travel that I have way too much to say. I'd love for it to be consistent.

Blogging takes quite a bit of time. Some posts can take me 4 hours to complete... finding pictures is the most time consuming part of blogging. And y'all know how much I love to add pictures to my blog. Yes, I also like to ramble, but I love to show y'all what's up with pictures. Maybe it is the child in me. I mean, who doesn't love picture books? And then of course, there is the proofreading which is one of my downfalls... after the rambling (speak of the devil). I swear I proofread like three times, and I still manage to make mistakes... and then I get to hear about it from Luke. Anyway, I am in a slump.

Recently, I have been following some cooking and exercise blogs. And these women are amazing with their posts! They share their stories daily, and every little thing they have to say is interesting. Here are a few that have caught my eye:
Eat Yourself Skinny (cooking)
Peanut Butter Fingers (exercising & cooking)
Blonde Ponytail (exercising)
Part Time House Wife (cooking)
Elizabeth Ann's Recipe Box (cooking)
And I cant forget all of my friends that I have listed in the Blog Roll on the side. Be sure to check them out!

I started out blogging to tell my story of living in the UK. But after 6 months of living in the UK, those quirky little things that in the beginning had me writing like crazy, aren't so abnormal now. So after reading a variety of purposeful blogs, I realize that I am still very new to blogging and know very little about it. I have learned a few things about blogging, and I have been thinking a lot about my blog:

1.) This is pretty sad but I will admit that I had NO IDEA what a reading list was... until two days ago. *sigh* *cheeks are red* So for those of you who are also clueless... see that button on the top left of my page that say "Join This Site"? Well, if you click that, it adds my blog to your Reading List. Since I have a Google account, it adds all the blogs I follow to my Google Reader, which makes it SO MUCH EASIER to follow the blogs I love to read everyday. Anyway, click that button :) then go to Google Reader and you will see me in there :)

2.) Below the Google Friend Connect button, I added a button that says "View my Instagram Gallery". For those of you who do not have an Instagram account, you can see all of the pictures that I have created in the App. I'm mainly talking to my mom and dad here was they have not caught on with the greatness of the App or even the greatness of a mobile phone.

3.) I am looking into other ways to make my blog easier for you to learn about me and what I am doing across the pond without reading a post a million miles long.

4.) Which brings me to asking myself so many questions regarding my blog... What is the purpose of my blog? What is the theme to my blog? Is my blog boring? (don't answer that) How can I make it more interesting? Do I really ramble as much as I think I do? (don't answer that)

All of these questions have been bothering me for a while. I really like to blog, and I'd love to post daily! I like to share my stories with y'all. Its become part of my morning routine (when I know what to write) while I drink some coffee before I head to the gym. So friends... can you help me out? I'd love some suggestions for blog posts... and suggestions for helping me as a blogger... puhhleeeeease??!

RANDOM FACT:
There are 152,000,000 blogs on the internet. Source

-Debbie-