The Crescent City - Part One

Ah, New Orleans! Our favorite vacation destination. We love going to NOLA. It's a fabulous city and one that we repeatedly visit and anticipate traveling to. We just returned from another GREAT trip to the "city that care forgot".

Upon our arrival we headed to two of our favorite destinations - The Crescent City Brewhouse and Cafe du Monde. The Brewhouse has a great food and really excellent beers. Our favorite is the Red Stallion. So yummy. We had a wonderful meal and then strolled around the French Quarter. We watched some very talented street performers and had beignets at Cafe du Monde.

The next day we enjoyed shopping and strolling through the Quarter. Our favorite brunch spot is Court of Two Sisters. The Jazz Brunch is AMAZING. So much food - we were all SO full and decided not have dinner that night. Of course, by 9pm a certain 15 year old was begging for beignet's again. So, we found ourselves headed back to Cafe du Monde. We had beignets EVERY DAY during our trip. Between those and all the wonderful meals - I was quite surprised that I didn't gain any weight on our eating extravaganza. It's certainly due to the amount of walking that we do while in NOLA.

Day three we rented a car to drive to Avery Island. This is the home of Tabasco sauce. We visited the plant and toured the wonderful Jungle Garden grounds and bird sanctuary. The signs warning us of the dangers of the alligators really cracked us up. I guess there are some not so intelligent people out there that may believe these are "tame" alligators. Too funny!

One of our favorite parts of this day trip was breakfast at a Waffle House. Call us crazy - but we LOVE Waffle House. Good food, affordable price and just plain fun. Sure wish we had a Waffle House in Salem. Of course, then it wouldn't be so special to eat there.

When we returned to New Orleans we made reservations for a late supper at K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen. This is Chef Paul Prudhomme's restaurant. It was SO good and our waiter suggested the most fabulous chardonnay to go along with our meal. It was Rombauer Carneros 2008 Chardonnay. Really delicious.

So, stay tuned for a posting on the second half of our trip. We had a really wonderful time - but the week flew by all too quickly. I'm still not sure why the work week doesn't seem to go as quickly as a vacation week. Just doesn't seem fair!

Have You Seen...

photo from the Guardian.co.uk

...the new NBC show, "The Marriage Ref"? I had heard from a friend that it was really funny. We watched it for the first time last Thursday night. Madonna, Ricky Gervais & Larry David were on the panel. The show is freakin' hilarious! Married couples submit videos of a particular ongoing argument that they are having. Then the ref, Tom Pappas, along with the guest panel decide who should win the argument. Some of these couples are "crazy"! And, I thought Richard and I had stupid arguments!

Catch it on Thursday nights at 10pm on NBC. It's quite funny - at least the one episode we saw was.

Integrity - Sentimental Sunday No. 42

Well, this isn’t so much a “Sentimental Sunday” as it is a reflection on some recent events in my life. My father raised me with a strong sense of integrity. He taught me the difference between right and wrong and instilled in me the necessity to always try to do the right thing – even when it is really difficult.

I would say that I am a good listener, and that many of my friends come to me for advice and guidance. When asked not to say anything to others about a secret – I don’t. A good friend of mine says about herself, “I’m a good secret keeper”. And she most definitely is. I like to think that I am a good secret keeper too. But, recently someone told me something that required I take action. I had no choice. What they told me wasn’t told in confidence; it was actually shared quite innocently. But, I could not sit idly by and not do something. I’m sorry I can’t be more specific with the circumstances – it wouldn’t be right to share them in this forum. But, I’ve been torn up about my decision to take action – and I’ve damaged a friendship in the process.

There is no doubt in my mind that I made the right choice. No doubt that I did what I had to do. Those that know what happened agree that it was my responsibility to take action and if I hadn’t it could have had serious repercussions for me. But, none of that really makes me feel too much better. I am sad that my friend feels our relationship has changed. She has told me she isn’t mad and doesn’t hold a grudge – but she doesn’t know how to act around me now.

Reflecting on this situation I ask myself – would I do it all over again? Would I still take the same action? The answer is yes, I would. My conscience wouldn’t allow me to do anything different. If the friendship is lost I will be very sad, and that will be a high price to pay. However, not being true to me and my values would have been a higher price to pay. One of my favorite quotes is, “Integrity -- When you do the right thing even though no one is watching..” No one was watching – I probably could have gotten away with not taking action – who would have known? Answer: Me. And THAT would have been more difficult for me to live with.

Adoption Day!

I'm a happy Mommy today! It's "Adoption Day"!

15 years ago today John James arrived in our home. We celebrate this day every year. The day we became a family. We always go to dinner - J.J. gets to choose. The boy loves his steak - so we usually go to Rudy's for a "baseball cut". DE-LICIOUS!

We are a happy family, indeed! The day we became a family is always cause for celebration!