Three Weeks Until Hawaii

So I've got three weeks to get into my hot Brazilian bikinis. I should say to look good in them b/c I can fit into them. I'm so excited b/c you know how much I love to lounge by the beach with a cocktail soaking up some rays. I really do need some sun b/c I didn't work on my tan this summer like I normally do. Bryan and I leave on the 17th of Feb and come back on the 23rd. Can't wait. It sucks that Mardi Gras is right around the corner b/c my gym is downtown which means I won't be able to get down there after the parades start. Wish me luck b/c I'd like to drop 5lbs in the next three weeks mainly off my muffin top.

House Search

So I'm considering buying a new house. I've never been 100% happy with my house and the neighborhood isn't being gentrified as I'd planned. I'm probably safer in this neighborhood than some of the ones I've been looking at but I'm thinking long term. I've seen all kinds of houses including one that didn't have a kitchen. She was cooking with a hot plate. It was a cute house but not having a kitchen was a problem. It's in a cute part of town and my property value would go up but I'm not so sure about a fixer upper since I'm not even finished fixing up my house. One thing I did learn about my house is that it's really cute and updated compared to lots of other places. I did see a house with a salt water pool and it also had a nursery painted with monkeys and elephants. They'd also put vines with stuffed monkeys on the walls. It made me want a baby for like two seconds. Saw about six houses and only two that I could consider. The first one with the pool is really at the top of my price range. The other one is in my price range but it's only two bedrooms although it's got an unfinished basement for enough space for a office, guest bedroom and a 3rd bathroom. Not so sure about the neighborhood though. I think I'm going to continue to look.

Wknd Recap

Well I haven't posted in a couple of days so I thought I'd take a few minutes to update my blog. Well, Doug's brother and mother stayed at my house for a couple of days from Thursday to Saturday afternoon because they were taking a cruise out of New Orleans. I met Doug at Mardi Gras 1997 through my sister Crissy and he used to date my sister Lucy and we have remained friends over the years. Anyway we all ended up going to Jacquemos on Friday after Bryan got to town. We had a drink at the Maple Leaf while waiting for our table. The wait wasn't as bad as it has been in the past. We had alligator/crawfish cheesecake and the mussels as appetizers. Yummy! Anyway we all ended up getting a little of everything so we could share. We got venison, stuffed pork chop, Mahi Mahi and something else which I can't remember. Afterwards we went to Roberts with Miguel after dropping his mom off for the night. We ended up back at the Maple Leaf to hear some live music but we ended up getting there right before the band went on break. I ended up busting my ass b/c I was leaning against a piano and my boots(Loeffler Randall's) have zero traction and my feet just kept sliding. It was rather embarrassing but not many people saw me. Anyway I ended up trying to keep up with Bryan and of course I paid for it the next day. I was sooo hungover that I couldn't make it through lunch in the French Quarter with everyone. I ended up waiting for them in Bryan's jeep. Couldn't keep anything down except the bloody mary that the bartender made for me. I guess that's why they recommend them. Anyway we ended up getting caught in parade traffic when we had to drop them off at the Cruise terminal. We dropped them off as close as we could get to the terminal b/c streets were closed b/c of the parade. Bryan and I went to look at houses which I'll write about in another post. The next day we slept in and ended up in the quarter again to watch the Barkus parade which is the dog parade. It was really cute. Afterwards we walked through the quarter and had an early dinner at the Napoleon House which is one of the oldest places in the quarter. It was a perfect place to end the wknd. Very romantic and secluded. Here's a cute pic of me and my honey and one of the dog parade. It's a pug in a crawfish costume in a boiling pot. You can't see his owners who are wearing chef hats. It's the best one. Notice my skin and how great it looks. Facials are the best.

Happy MLK Day

Since I have to be here today because my boss would pout if I wasn't I've been running around the internet goofing off most of the day. Mind you my co-worker is out farting around with his wife and friend. Anyway here's two websites I've fallen in love with.

http://www.giannarose.com/grastore.cfm?View=product&category=array&do=list

http://www.jonathanadler.com/shop/home.php?cat=370

House buying update

I went to look at a couple of houses on Saturday and let me tell you they were all pretty bad except for one. The one I really liked was only 1000 square feet which would be ok but it's a shotgun which isn't going to work for me. It was beautifully painted though. Some of the others were out of control. In general they needed lots of work which I don't necessarily want to do since I'm still working on the one I own now. It didn't help that it was freezing and gloomy too. Saw two houses on Sunday and they were both pretty good with lots of potential but one of them didn't have a kitchen. I'm going to keep looking and see what happens. Looking for that good deal. If anything it made me realize what a great house I have. It doesn't have the high ceilings but it has a lot of great things. I've spent the afternoon looking at things to improve my house.

Knock Knock

So before Christmas I kept seeing these pads around town from this company KnockKnock. I bought myself a TO DO pad and bought Crissy a ALL OUT OF pad. I just bought Bryan a PRO/CON list for his recruits. Anyway I went to their website and they have all kinds of other pads and cool stuff. My favorites are the wheels. They have dial an excuse wheel that I'm going to get. Check them out. http://www.knockknock.biz/commerce/Wheels.html

Facial Today

Today I had a facial with the best aesthetician in the world Marlene. She's from Honduras and is like my big sis b/c we spend the whole hour talking about traveling, shopping, men and how I need to spend more time with my parents. She does all my waxing including those private parts. Anyway I want to post the before and after picture. Here's me after the facial. I had lots of whiteheads which are worse than black heads because they require her to break them open which hurts. If I had blackheads she would just use steam. I got microdermabrasion followed by the extractions. The bumpy areas are where she extracted the white heads. In like three days my skin will be smooth and soft and I'll post the after picture so you can tell the difference. I'll also try to put some makeup on. I just have to remember to wash twice a day. I'm lazy at night you know. Here's the picture. Wow, my nose looks huge. I can see how woman in Hollywood go crazy with the surgery. If I looked at pictures of myself all the time I might get self-conscience of all my quirks.

Feeling Blah

Well today I went to a business lunch with another vendor and my coworkers. We ended up having wine with lunch. On the way back to the office I decided to read the Gambit(weekly newspaper) and I thought I got car sick. I felt queasy for the rest of the afternoon. I was supposed to take NOEL(I've been misspelling his name) to dinner b/c I missed his bday last week. We were going to go to Cochon a rather new upscale Cajun restaurant. He called me back and said he was feeling bad thinking he might have a virus. We'll there is a stomach virus going around that supposedly tears your ass up. I've been feeling like I'm going to throw up all night and feeling all bloated and gross. Bryan says that that virus will make you lose at least 5lbs. Hopefully it isn't that b/c with my back out all this month I'd like to feel good. Keep you posted. I won't fill you in on the details.

Followup to other blogs

So I thought I'd follow up to some of my earlier posts. Here you go.

1. Commander's Palace-The dinner was good. It wasn't necessarily blow your mind great but it was good. I felt the service was weak. They seemed to spend more time making sure that they bused the tables the right way. I know they were training someone but don't ignore the customer. Also the waitress was kind of rough. She just wasn't very smooth or someone you'd expect at a restaurant with that type of reputation and price leve1. The desserts were f*&king amazing. I had strawberry shortcake and it was out of this world. One of our vendors had creme brulee and it was really nicely presented. Check it out.


2. My back- This morning I went to see my doctor who is really a very good listener. He listened to me and asked lots of questions. This was even after I was 30 minutes late. He decided to take a xray of my spine to make sure everything was ok. He said that my spine sits really low in my pelvic area which might be problems for me in the future. He ended up giving me several shots of cortisone and novicane in my back where my muscle spasm was. I feel a lot better tonight. Hope it works.

3. My move- Well this Saturday I'm going to start looking at houses to buy. I think it will be good because it will get me motivated to finish fixing this house so I can sell it and make some bucks. Wish me luck.

Commander's Palace

Well tonight one of our vendors is taking us out to dinner at Commander's Palace. It used to be the best restaurant in town a couple of years ago but it's gone a little downhill since than but it's still very good. Anyway, it's owned by some of the Brennans which I've mentioned before and they used to have a Folger's commerical years ago. Emeril got his start at this restaurant years and years go. I've never been to the one here but I did go to the one in Las Vegas. I find that restaurants in Vegas pretty much suck. Nothing compares to New Orleans restaurants for service and food. I've give you recap of it tomorrow and my doctor's appointment about my back. Heat seems to be helping today. Bryan got invited but he can't make it. His loss.

WebMD

Ok, so I mentioned earlier about WebMD. Well I was looking at calories per drink article and I'm sticking to Mimosas. Check it out.

Pina Colada (6 oz): 378 calories
Mojito (8 oz): 214 calories
Cosmopolitan (4 oz): 200 calories
Chocolate martini: (2 oz each vodka, chocolate liqueur, cream, 1/2 oz creme de cacao, chocolate syrup): 438
Margarita (8 oz): 280
Green apple martini (1 oz each vodka, sour apple, apple juice): 148
Martini (2.5 oz): 160
Port wine (3 oz):128
Bloody Mary (5 oz): 118
Red wine (5 oz):120
White wine (5 oz): 120
Alcohol-free wine (5 oz): 20-30
Beer (12 oz): 150-198
Light beer (12 oz): 95-136
Ultra-light beer (12 oz): 64-95
Champagne (5oz): 106-120
Coffee liqueur (3 ounces): 348
Godiva chocolate liqueur (3 oz): 310
Wine spritzer (5 oz): 100
Eggnog with rum (8 ounces): 370
Hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps (8 oz): 380
Hot buttered rum (8 oz): 292
Spiced cider with rum ( 8 oz):150
Mulled wine (5 oz): 200
Vodka and tonic (8 oz): 200
Screwdriver (8 oz): 190
Mimosa (4 oz): 75 *MY NEW DRINK FOR THE YEAR*
Gin and tonic (7 oz): 200
Long Island iced tea (8 oz): 780 *DAMN, TWO OF THEM AND YOU'RE GAINING A POUND AND POSSIBLY MAKING A BIG MISTAKE THAT NIGHT. I KNOW YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT I MEAN*
White Russian (2 oz vodka, 1.5 oz coffee liqueur, 1.5 oz cream): 425
Mai Tai (6 oz) (1.5 oz rum, 1/2 oz cream de along, 1/2 oz triple sec, sour mix, pineapple juice): 350
Rum and Coke (8 oz): 185
Rum and Diet Coke (8 oz): 100 *Used to be my drink but extra 25 calories add up. Four of them will defeat working out that day*
Mike's Hard Lemonade (11 oz): 98

Back Out Again Part II

So, I've been having back pain which I attribute to a muscle spasm. I've had this condition before almost a year ago. My physician sent me to physical therapy where they applied electric probes(EMS or TENS) to my back to stimulate the muscle and gave me exercises to do. It helped. This time the excercises aren't working and even a intense massage from a good masseuse didn't help. I've popped two Aleves and four Ibuprofens this am/pm and still the pain lingers. It's mainly when I'm in a seated position which is all day. Getting up is very painful. I'm scheduled to go to my Dr to either get a Rx for therapy or something. I've been on WebMd and they say BOTOX might help the muscle spasm release. I've also research EMS(electronic muscle stimulators) and TENS for my back but can't seem to buy one. I've got to stay off Webmd.com b/c I can find a million things wrong with me.

Followup to Spanx Post

Ok, remember that comment that the lady at SAKS said about not going small for the SPANX because it'll make you sick. Well the other day when I wore mine I thought I had a slight hangover all day. I'd stayed up a bit late drinking obviously so I thought it was just my stomach upset since my head didn't hurt. Well, when I got home I took off the Spanx and I immediately felt better. I looked good but I was probably doing some internal damage. Note to self, don't wear Spanx to work unless it's a half day.

Sephora Package

Since I come from a large family we pick names from the adults and exchange presents worth $50.00 for Christmas. I got a $50.00 gift card from Sephora. I ordered a shu eumura eyelash curler that I'd been wanting and the new Smashbox Light Primer. Every time I go into SAKS I try to buy one but they are always sold out. The MAC guy let me know it's what they are known for in a very catty way. I already used the eyelash curler and it's phenomenal. I read that you should get a new eyelash curler every six months. I never knew that but I'll probably keep mine for longer. Anyway I got my package and it totally made my day. I really love the Smashbox regular primer but it's a little oily on my skin so I'm trying this new stuff to see if it's better. I also got Smith's Rosebud Salve that I always see in my beauty magazines. It's only like $6.00 so it wasn't a big purchase.

Feeling Blue

Ok, it's gloomy and overcast today in New Orleans and it's making me feel blue. I'm having one of those days when you want to stay in bed and eat cookies preferably some with chocolate and nuts. I know I know I should snap out of it but I hate days without the bright sun especially in the winter time. I'm going to take down my tree tonight and decorate for Mardi Gras. That'll get me going. I've got my lights still up from last year. Slackerish I know. Maybe if I get my package from Sephora I'll be happy. Doesn't getting a package from UPS or the mailman make you feel better?

New Year's Resolutions

I've put together my list for this year's resolutions and here they are. In no way are they listed in order of importance. I know it's hard to keep them but I'm going to have regular checkups to make sure I've accomplished them.

1. Save more money specifically for retirement.

2. Move-Either sell my house or rent it and move into a different house

3. Lose weight and get in better shape- Want to drop 10 or 15lbs-Mainly the muffin top and be able to run a mile without stopping

4. Work on my relationship- *private*

5. Eat better- More green leafy vegetables

6. Spend more time with my family and friends-Plan trips with parents, sisters and friends.

7. Get organized- Give or throw away anything that I haven't used in over a year. Clothes, shoes, dishes etc.

8. Read more-Exercise my brain

9. Be more proactive at work- Increase sales by 25% this year

10. Be a better person- Quit gossiping about people. Be more open minded about people.

Bonus:

Volunteer to help a non-profit organization.

Love me some Spanx

So I'm wearing my Spanx slip today and let me tell you it is the most slimming thing I own. I'm wearing it under a sweater dress and my body is totally smooth with no unsightly bulges. Not that I have them. It just makes me look better. I'd originally bought a medium b/c I couldn't get the small over my head and shoulders. Crissy pointed out to me that I should be putting it on from my legs up not vice versa. When I tried it on the small at SAKS I almost had a panic attack b/c the small one got stuck halfway down my head and shoulder and the lights in the dressing room where bearing down one me and it was warm in the store to boot. I went with a medium but I ended up returning it for a small. I also picked up the high waisted tights. Pretty cool too! I'd post a pic of me wearing them but that would be kind of conceited.

LSU WINS!

So LSU won the National Championship last night. I'm sure there are lots of people with hangovers today. I myself feel great. I ended up dropping Bryan off for the game and headed to the Rusty Nail to meet up with Noe. It was lots of fun and they had free boiled shrimp and crabs. Only in New Orleans can people be boiling seafood while watching a game. The house was packed with lots of drunken LSU fans. What do you expect. Anyway ended up meeting up with Bryan at the Circle Bar after the game where some creepy LSU fans were harassing me. Total Deliverance bunch with beards and all. I'm going to assume they were from North Louisiana. We ended up going to the Carollton Station around the corner from my house for some nachos. Everything is better with nachos. That's a running joke with me and B. Here's a pic from where Bryan sat. Wish we could have watched it together but I guess that's for another post.

BCS Championship Tonight

So tonight is the big game. LSU vs. OSU and of course tickets are way expensive. Bryan's parents came to town to buy tickets for all of us(me, Bryan and his parents) but only located three. Hmmm, sounds suspect. I'm a bit miffed that they would totally exclude me and put Bryan in a predicament. Anyway, I was upset but than I thought about it and I'm not that into LSU and it's a bigger deal for him and I'm sure if I was in their shoes my main concern would be my kid not his girlfriend. I'm going to go watch it with Noe at the Rusty Nail in the warehouse district. It beats spending however much money on a game I'm not that excited about and LSU fans are out of control. As I like to point out to Bryan if LSU would spend some of the time and effort into academics that they spend on football they wouldn't be a 2nd tier university. Texas has a undisputed national championship and is ranked extremely high for a public university. Ok, I guess I should say GEAUX TIGERS! The BCS bowls are huge moneymakers for the city and state and that's always good.

Happy Ephiphany or Kings Day

Just want to let everyone know that Mardi Gras has officially begun. It begins on the 6th of January and goes til the tuesday before Ash Wednesday, unfortnately this year it starts really early. Parades don't start til the weekend of January 25th but the real big ones are the following wknd of Feb. 1st, however, the best ones start that Wednesday the 30th of January. Here's a webpage with all the schedule of the parades. My favorites are Orpheus(uptown), Muses, and Krewe d'Etat. They are all good but those are my favorites. http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/schedule.html. In commemoration of Kings Day I bought a King Cake from a bakery uptown. It's much better than the King cakes I'd been buying from Haydels. It's from the Laurel Street Bakery on Laurel Street in New Orleans. It was recommended by a friend who knows the owner and it was good. I shared it with my friends the Barrios-Sherwood's who are some of my best friends in the city. Isabel's mom always makes kick ass food.

Back out again

So I've had this issue with my back for the last year it seems. My back muscles tense up so much that I get a ball at the bottom of my back which makes it difficult to sit down and get up from the seated position. The last time this happened I had to go to physical therapy for someone to teach my how to stretch it out. It comes back every now and than but not that bad. Well, I woke up on the 2nd and I could barely put my tights on w/o almost crying from the pain. Very very painful much more than the last time. Needless to say I've been in pain and taken some prescription muscle relaxer that my doctor prescribed but it makes me pass out. I went for a massage yesterday and she told me that my muscles were so tight. Feel better this morning but I've been getting up and stretching in my office to help the pain. I've also switched to ice instead of the heating pad which probably did more harm than good yesterday. Hopefully I feel better b/c I'm cleaning out my closet or at least trying this wknd.

New Year's Eve

So for New Year's Eve we met up with Robin and David in the quarter. My friend Mel was working the music stage at Jackson Square and he got us into the backstage where I ran into a couple of people I know. Anyway it was lots of fun but I did drink too much. Bryan and I rang in the New Year together and hopefully we'll have more New Year's to come. Here's some pics.

I'm wearing an old vintage leopard print jacket that I got from Mami's closet and the dress is courtesy of Beth. I could have used some Spanx that evening but oh well.

Hornets

So Cliff, my boss, has season tickets to the Hornets games and he gave me them to me for the game on the 29th. Bryan and I went and they were pretty good tickets. It wasn't the suite but it was great people watching event and they have a separate club area for people in that section so you don't have to mingle with other people. It was only 21 rows up from the court. They played the Cavs and we tried to get pics of Lebron but this is the best we could do. I'm definitely going to hit him up for more tickets.

George and Taylor

Here's more pics. These are of Jorge aka George, my nephew, who is a student at UT-San Antonio. He's all grown up and is such a gentleman. He was back in the Valley for the holidays and he worked at Babbage's and he got me a Wii. He didn't buy it he set it aside for me. Here's a pic of Taylor and me. Taylor is my Godchild. She's all about the Juicy Couture. She looks just like me I think.

Me Acting an Fool

Since my camera wasn't working due to the fact that I forgot the charger I had Sandra, my sis-in-law, send me some pictures. Here's me acting a fool. We had a Santa piñata and I had the bottom part of it and was running around yelling that I was in Santa's pants. Pretty funny stuff. That's what Absolut Vodka does to you kids. I put on the stockings and danced around in them. I have lot more pics of my small nephews and nieces but I'm forbidden to post in case some pervert comes across them.