PASA in the Park

Last night Kenny and I went to an outdoor performance of Shakespeare's The Comdey of Errors in downtown Lafayette. The show was put on by PASA, the Performing Arts Society of Acadiana, and it's one of their free events they showcase throughout the year. We brought two of our LSU tailgating chairs, picked up chili from Wendy's for dinner, grabbed a couple of beers from the concession stand, and set up right in front of the stage. We were both surprised at how many people were there with us, including a good amount of kids. Nothing like learning a little Shakespeare early on! I forgot to bring my camera, so I don't have any pictures. But the actors did a great job, and everyone in attendance seemed to enjoy the performance. We can't wait to see what PASA's next free performance will be!

Georgia game

While the game itself was unbelievably horrible, we sure did have a good time hanging out at the PODV tailgate before! Props must go to Jeremy and Heath for the awesome chicken and sausage gumbo and the finger-lickin' good marinated grilled chicken. You guys rock!

The PODV tailgate

Ashley, Bridget, me, Robin, Erin

Gumbo time

Visiting the Weekend Warriors

Tiger Band

What, the final score wasn't funny to you? We thought it was hilarious.

Look, Ma...I CAN cook!

I have never proclaimed myself to be a whiz in the kitchen. I actually don't really enjoy cooking all that much! But I figure since I am calling myself a homemaker these days, the least I can do is try out a few recipes for my hardworking husband. And while this dinner may seem unimpressive to some, I was quite impressed with what I created!

Gorgonzola-stuffed meatballs with a tomato-cream sauce and garlic spinach mashed potatoes!

Pimpin' it in the Carolinas

What a weekend! Kenny and I had such a great time on our Carolina road trip, and breaking up the driving into chunks really helped alleviate long periods of time in the car. We left Lafayette around 11am on Friday and made great time to Atlanta. We even decided to stop off in Montgomery for a dinner break at the Montgomery Brewing Company. Any chance for Ken to taste new brews! The burgers at MBC were fantastic, as was the beer. After that it was an easy 2 hours to our hotel in Atlanta to rest up for the morning drive into Columbia.

We got onto the USC campus around lunchtime, so we decided to grab some lunch at the Carolina Ale House before heading out to tailgate. Lots of our fellow Tiger fans had the same idea to pre-load: the upstairs area was packed with people wearing purple and gold! The food was less than stellar and the beer wasn't their own creation, but we still had a good time.

All decked out in our purple and gold!

Carolina Ale House

Now, on to the LSU Alumni Tailgate and Tiger Pimp Nation! It started off small but grew very quickly. I'm not sure the South Carolina fans knew what was going on or what to think. For us it was just your typical LSU tailgate.

Paulan and I with 3 pimps

Some of the Tiger Pimp Nation

Erica, Heath, me, Kenny, and Alan

What's going on here??

Game time! After meeting up with Jackie and Brian, we climbed all the way up to the east upper deck to watch the Tigers play their way to victory. It was mighty chilly up there but at least we were surrounded by lots of faithful LSU fans. GEAUX TIGERS!!!

Jackie and I lovin' on Kenny

On our drive to North Carolina for the Saints-Panthers game, I was reminded how much prettier the interstates on the east coast are compared to the ones at home. Check out the gorgeous wildflowers that grow all along I-77 between Columbia and Charlotte! Instead of trash lining the sides of the roads, there are patches of brilliant color on both sides and in the middle of the interstate. This is just one of the many pictures I was able to snap during our hour-long drive.

Although the Saints' performance was terrible, Ken and I still enjoyed our visit to the Bank of America Stadium in downtown Charlotte. Our seats were great (thanks, Jackie!), and it was a beautiful day with a gorgeous Carolina blue sky. Once the game was over, we bid farewell to Jackie and Brian and then headed to the Rock Bottom Brewery on North Tryon Street. Good grub and tasty beer filled us up for our drive back to Atlanta, where we fell into our hotel bed for some much needed sleep. A fairly early start the next morning got us back to Lafayette by 5:30pm. Needless to say, it was another great road trip. Who knows where the next one will take us?!?

Heading into the game

Devery and Deuce, among many others

Me and Jack

We've been booed!

Two days ago I stepped out onto my front porch and almost tripped over an orange plastic pumpkin bucket, filled with candy and a Halloween candleholder. There was a note inside with a cute poem explaining the gift, as well as a sign with a picture of a ghost and the words "I've been booed!"

According to the note, we were supposed to pass on a Halloween treat to two of our neighbors who hadn't been "booed" yet. Once you receive the surprise, you need to post the sign in a prominent window and leave it there until Halloween. I discovered there were lots of "booed" houses on my street when I went out yesterday to get some Halloween things to pass on.

This craze is apparently spreading all over Acadiana: my husband was talking about our "booing" at work, and two colleagues admitted their neighborhoods were falling victim to the game as well. Although it's not exactly like our version, check out http://www.kraftykid.com/Craft_ideas/Youve_Been_Booed.htm for more details on starting the fun in your neighborhood!

Oh, Michael....

Last night Kenny and I went to the Michael Buble concert here in Lafayette. Don't make fun of my husband: he graciously agreed to go with me as an early birthday present. He's a good guy.

MB sure knows how to put on a show! He interacted personally with the audience a number of times throughout his performance, which gave the show a more intimate feeling. He's actually quite funny and also was very quick to make fun of himself at certain times. Oh, and man can he sing. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening! When MB sang "Home" (one of my favorites), a montage of local pictures flashed on the huge screen behind him. Although the Tabasco bottle was great, this picture was definitely our favorite!

New York's own "Naturally 7" opened for MB and were very impressive. They describe their music as "vocal play," which is fitting because they use no instruments. Instead, their voices themselves create the sounds of drums, trumpet, bass, guitar, keyboard, and harmonica. Very cool.

Carolina, here we come!

After much debate, Kenny and I decided to take a slightly last-minute road trip to the Carolinas this weekend. After the HORRIBLE showing our Tigers had in Florida this past weekend, we are hoping they will redeem themselves in South Carolina on Saturday night. We found tickets online for face value, which was one of our driving forces to go. And Kenny's still trying to visit all of the stadiums in the SEC, so this trip will allow him to cross another off of his list!

Another driving force was the potential to see Jackie! She was able to score us free tickets to the Saints-Panthers game on Sunday afternoon, so we'll be heading to Charlotte early Sunday morning to meet up with Jackie before the game. We can't wait!

Lots of driving, lots of football, lots of FUN. We figure we won't be able to do these kinds of things when we do have kids, so for now it's Carolina, here we come!

Babies Everywhere

Since I stayed in town two extra days, I was able to round the girls up for a dinner while the boys were all at the abysmal Saints game Monday night. Juan's was delicious as always, and it was great to hang out at Ashley's house. I even got an up close and personal look at motherhood: sans kid, I was the only one who actually ate all of my dinner in one sitting! I think I'll enjoy that freedom a bit longer before I join the mommy club.

Molly, Madison, Julia, and Grant

Back to the Big Easy

Kenny and I traveled back to New Orleans this past weekend to help our friend Jeff celebrate his 30th birthday. His wife Becky managed to surprise him completely with a big gathering of many of his friends and family at the Bulldog in Mid-city on Friday night. There was dinner, drinks, a really yummy cake, and even a picture slideshow of Jeff "through the years." It was so nice for Ken and I to be back in the Big Easy surrounded by our close friends. We had a great night! Thanks, Becky, for bringing everyone together, and Happy 30th Birthday, Jeff!

Becky and Jeff (and the yummy cake)

Just us girls

Can you tell Jeff is imitating a sorority girl picture pose?

The rest of our weekend was not as fun, although necessary. I was able to go through some of my old things that were still at my parents' house, and Kenny was able to fill a whole trailer with things we hadn't gotten from the garage on our big move. And, perhaps more importantly, he finally got his CJ to Lafayette. So there you go, Nolan: it's a whole two hours closer to you now!

Army of Women

Upon seeing a short segment on the NBC Nightly News yesterday, I went to www.armyofwomen.org to check it out. Dr. Susan Love is attempting to gather over a million women to help with the fight against breast cancer. These women need to be from all different backgrounds, of all different races and classes, and with or without a history of breast cancer, either personally or within their families. Scientists need these women to assist with breast cancer research so that they can help find a cure to eradicate the disease. I urge all women to at least go to the website and see what the program is all about. I signed up to participate; you should too!

I heart Jack Bauer

Surprisingly, especially since I previously admitted my obsession with tv, I never got into "24" when it premiered back in 2001. Upon the suggestion of my good friend Michelle I introduced myself to the real-time series through Netflix. I was hooked after the first episode.

While subsequent seasons could never quite compare to that first one, the show continues to come back fresh, with unique plots and interesting new characters. I was not a big fan of Kiefer Sutherland before getting to know his character of Jack Bauer, mostly because of an unexplainable detest of his father, Donald. (That guy just creeps me out for some reason.) But I have become an admirer of KS through watching "24." There's just something about Jack Bauer.

I'm on episode 6 of season 5 right now, with one complete season left after that. "24" returns with all new adventures in January 2009; I know I'm excited to see where the show goes next!