Volleyball and a surprise visitor!

This past weekend was the Conge' Volleyball Tournament out at Volley Beach here in Lafayette. My brother, Erin, and Lizzie came up on Friday night to stay with Kenny and me and to play in the tournament the next day. And, Lizzie brought a surprise with her: JACKIE!!! She flew into New Orleans on Thursday afternoon unbeknownst to moi. It was such a fun surprise. Kenny and I cooked dinner for everyone Friday night, and then we introduced Jackie to Apples to Apples. And everyone had a great time out at the Beach, even though it started out really cold on Saturday morning. But it turned into a very nice day, and we played pretty well but only won one game. No worries, though: there was relaxation, margaritas, the Newlywed Game, and The Incredibles to entertain us when we got back!

Friday night dinner

Group shot at Volley Beach on Saturday morning

Jackie wearing her Bayside Tigers tshirt!

Thanks for coming up, everyone.....I had a fantastic weekend with you all!

A girly dinner

Kenny went to the farm today for an overnight trip with some of the guys, so I decided to try out a new Rachael Ray recipe that I know he wouldn't like. It's called Chicken Orzo Salad and includes baby spinach, balsamic vinegar marinated chicken, orzo, kalamata olives, bell pepper (I used roasted red pepper), almonds, and parmesan cheese. It was super easy and very tasty! Check out this link if you want to try it out: http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/chicken-turkey-recipes/chicken-orzo-salad/article.html.

I also have the ingredients for Spaghetti with Pinot Grigio and Seafood (Giada deLaurentiis), Sausage-and-Zucchini Rice (Rachael), and Cauliflower-Feta Pasta Bake (Rachael). Yum....it should be a good dinner week!

Sunrise!

Kenny and I had a quiet couple of days this past weekend (which was much needed and enjoyed!), so there hasn't been much for me to report. But check out the sunrise I saw on my way to work today....the picture isn't great (it was MUCH prettier seeing it in person), and I probably shouldn't have taken it while driving, but such is life. Enjoy!

A new friend?

Remember the salamander we found in our bathroom a few months ago? Well, the newest visitor to our house luckily didn't get inside....we spied this little guy on our back patio last night. Kenny and I had fun watching him slither around, then while we were eating dinner he must have made a break for it back to the woods. We haven't seen him since!

I did a little research online but am not sure what kind he is. I'm waiting to hear back from Vaughan to see if he can tell me what species he is, and I'll post an update when I find out!

**Update: according to Vaughan, it's a Texas rat snake!

Pretty flowers

When I got home from work today I noticed how gorgeous the flowers were in our garden right next to the front door and I had to take a picture of them! I believe they are Louisiana irises.

Engagement Party

Kenny and I had to leave Danny's wedding a little early so we could make it to Slidell for my brother's engagement party at a reasonable time. Everything looked wonderful, and I was sorry I was too full from the wedding to eat anything at the party! It was great to see all of Jeff and Erin's friends, as well as some of my family and also my parents' friends. We stayed until most people had already left, and even though I was exhausted from my long day, it was fun hanging with my brother and almost-sister-in-law. I can't wait for their big day!

Erin and Jeff

Me with my little bro

Grams, Ms. Kellye, QP, Mom, Ms. Nancy

Typical Jay and Jeff

The bride and her bridesmaids with the groom

Danny's Wedding

Once Michelle's shower was over, Bridget and I got on the road and headed back to NOLA. We arrived in enough time to meet everyone who had gone to the ceremony at the Bulldog before going to the reception. It was such a great afternoon.


The reception was at the Deutches Haus on South Galvez. There was lots of food, and plenty of different kinds of beer on tap. Kenny and I had a great time hanging out with our friends, until we had to leave to go to our last function of the day!

The newly married couple

Me and Kenny

The girls

Most of our group

Miche's Baby Shower

What a weekend! Apparently everyone decided to schedule their functions on the same day, and as a result, Saturday was extremely busy for me. The day started off in Daphne, Alabama with Michelle's baby shower. Bridget, Karen, Becky, and I actually arrived on Friday night and stayed the night at Miche's gorgeous new house. We even got to see the nursery, all cute and ready for Jackson Paul to arrive in May. Then it was off to the shower thrown by some of Michelle's friends from her church. They did such a good job with everything! The decorations were so creative, and the food was delicious. Michelle got lots of cute (and also some practical) things for Jack.....I can't wait to meet the little guy!

Me, Molly, Karen, Miche, Becky, and Bridget

Miche and David are so creative!

The mom-to-be!

Even Molly had a good time at the shower :)

Look for upcoming posts about the rest of the weekend.....including Danny's wedding and my brother's engagement party, all on the same day as the shower!

Back to work....

www.nwrc.usgs.gov

After more than a year of not working, I finally started a new job today. I had actually been looking for months, but there just weren't any openings relevant to me in the area where I live. And then this opportunity fell into my lap! I am working at the National Wetlands Research Center in Education and Outreach. When the public (school groups, mostly) want to come see what goes on at the Center, I'm the one who takes care of them. I give a presentation in our conference room describing what the Center is and why it's important to Louisiana's wetlands, and then we walk around and poke our heads into various offices, labs, and greenhouses so the visitors can see science in action. I'll also be responsible for drafting various updates, press releases, and reports, and I'll also be representing the Center at a couple of conferences and meetings. The job is temporary (it's a 4 month appointment), but there is a possibility of staying on permanently. I'm liking it so far....we'll see what happens!

Garden Progress

Kenny and I have spent many long days working in our front gardens this year, and all of our combined hard work really paid off this weekend. We moved stuff around, took other stuff out, and added lots of new stuff. We're still not completely finished, but it looks SO much better. Now we just need everything to grow, grow, grow!

How the gardens looked before we messed with them....

Kenny near our two new types of bushes

Me getting some color in there

The finished product!