Finding my normal

I'm here.  2 weeks of having some medical issues to deal with.......I just wasn't able to get back to writing.  Just now feeling good again and trying to get back to "normal" things.

I still have a couple of more issues to deal with this next week, but I'm confident that all will be well.

This is how I spent (part) of my weekend.  A pictorial journal by me.

Saturday I spent 3 hours playing Zoney.  I really enjoy doing this.  The kids are adorable and so much to get out there and "play a character".

 

The kids enjoyed putting me in jail and I had to wait for someone to pay my bail or serve my time.  Paul got a couple of videos of me dancing.  If you saw them on Facebook, you've already seen them.  But since this is a chronicle of my life......I am putting them on here so that they will be a permanent marker of my life.

 

I've spent some time planting two new hanging baskets to hang on the front porch.  The other ones were artificial and the birds have been making nests in there for awhile.  These flowers were so beautiful I resisted my temptation and bought them.

And of course, there is the usual mess to clean up after every project.

I've been tending the garden and being excited at my first tomato and 8 cucumbers that are currently growing.

The rest of the garden is growing really well.  Can't wait to start having some more veggies start growing.

However, I got a little carried away and planted quite a few items.  There would still be at least 10 more things I would love to grow.

And of course, getting back to "normal"  would not be complete without the usual housework, laundry, and Pizza Zone business.   Lots to do.......because we are two weeks away from our trip to Santa Fe.  Can't wait!

So...........welcome back to your life Debbie G.

What did we see on day 3?

That's a corny title.....I'm just trying to drag you in with the suspense of the title.

Day 3 in New Orleans begins with breakfast on the balcony.  Well actually it was only coffee and orange juice.....but it was such a glorious morning.

Once again we had to pack up our room because of a glitch when we reserved it.  They couldn't put us in this same room again without a $100 upgrade fee.  Personally, the room was gorgeous and the balcony was nice......but it was right over a bar and we hear music and partying all night.  We also didn't get back to our room until about 2am the night before and we also enjoyed hearing the garbage men and street cleaners at 6am.  So.....as much as we loved the balcony room.......we looked forward to a quieter room.

So....while we were out seeing the sights of New Orleans....the hotel staff was moving our stuff to another special room for us (they ended up upgrading us a little).

Our first journey took us down Royal Street which is famous for art shops, gift shops, and everything funky.  And who is that sexy girl standing out by the Cornstalk Hotel (look at the fence).  This hotel is right next door to the Andrew Jackson Hotel, which is supposedly haunted.  Need to check it out sometime.

It was so much fun to window shop and watch all the amazing street performers along the way.  Our first destination was going to be the Pharmacy Museum.

 

A genuine old fashioned pharmacy in the French Quarter that is still pretty much

original (and most of the herbs and drugs in the jars were pretty original too)

 

We then spent a long time looking for somewhere spectacular to eat.  One thing about Paul Gainor when you are trying to find something to eat......sometimes it can take a very LONG time and reading lots of menus before he decides on the perfect place.

 

We happened to find this amazing place along our journey for the perfect lunch.

 

 

We had decided that we really wanted a Muffaletta for lunch again, so we ended up at Café Maspero.  Muffaletta and Red Beans and Rice were on our lunch menu for today.

The food was delicious.  While we were there.....we started planning our afternoon adventures.  Paul suggested a Bayou Boat Tour and we decided that was an excellent idea.  Bad thing:  we had 30 minutes to get there and it was in Slidell, Louisiana.

We ate really really quickly and jumped in the car and headed to Slidell.....ETA 45 minutes (eeks)

Due to my experience in driving fast and having the luxury of the Mustang......we made it in plenty of time and prepared for a unique experience on the Louisiana Bayou.

I was excited to be the first person on the boat (because I pushed and shoved all the old people to gain my position).  This seriously was the best view of the 2 1/2 tour of the Bayou.

We had just barely taken off when we spotted our first alligator.  They lured the alligators with Marshmallows to get them to come up to the boat.  You can look hard to see the alligator or you can click on the picture to enlarge it.

Along the way we cam to this old drawbridge.  It was different from every drawbridge I had ever seen due to this one being lifted straight up instead of flapping open.

Caught this funny picture of Paul as we were speeding through the bayou.  When they cranked up the speed on the boat it got a little drafty and a little chilly.  Awwwwww.....isn't he cute?

This was one section of the bayou that we explored.  These people did not have any road access to their homes and had to take a boat to get there.  What an awesome place to live!

Taking these pictures could never capture the beauty that we saw.  I really enjoyed taking this tour (even if it was a LAST minute decision)

After our tour and the drive back down to New Orleans.....we decided to take a short nap and get ready for our last night of partying.  We were surprised when we got back to the hotel because we had no idea of what our room would be......but they hooked us up with a courtyard room.  We love you Hotel Royal!

After a short nap and some refreshments.....we headed to Bourbon Street (of course).  Dinner ended up being at Willie's Chicken Shack again (because that chicken was so darn delicious).  We spent the night drinking beer, Hurricanes, dancing, and singing and having a blast.

A nice young couple wanted me to take their picture and in turn they took ours....to memorialize our fun on Bourbon.

Finally at 2am......we walked (staggered) back to our hotel room.

 

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this place?

Sightseeing in New Orleans......Day 2

A full day ahead of us and nothing really planned.  One thing we did have to do was to pack up and check out of the hotel.  The next two nights we had reserved in a favorite French Quarter Hotel.

Lots of discussions were held about whether we should take a paddle wheel boat to the Chalmette Battlegrounds or maybe book a dinner cruise on a boat.  But in the end we opted to not do either of those.  For one thing, we are not big jazz fans and we didn't want to be stuck on a boat for 4 hours listening to music we didn't like.

So........our first stop of the day was to take the trolley and head towards the French Market.  There is so much to see there.  You never know what you'll find.

Can't beat the trolley.  $3 each for an all day pass. 

You get the scenery plus the history for a budget price!

We strolled around the French Market for a couple of hours.  There was numerous things that we talked ourselves out of buying.  But it's such a fun and interesting place to shop.

Our tummys were finally getting hungry so we found a place that would satisfy our craving for a Muffaletta and a Sausage Po'Boy.  Two of our favorites in New Orleans.  The food here was okay....not great, but was nice to sit and rest our feet for a bit and plan our next caper.

After some discussion, we decided we wanted to take a plantation tour.  So after consulting some locals, a brochure or two, and Google.......we headed 38 miles to Destrehan Plantation in Destrehan, Louisiana.

The plantation was beautiful and full of history.  It sat near the banks of the Mississippi and we really enjoyed taking a tour of this grand old house.

The grounds of the house were absolutely beautiful with all the giant trees and Spanish Moss.

We got an old couple to take our picture under this magnificent tree.

After the plantation tour, it was time to head back to New Orleans......but we ended up making a little detour on the way.  It just so happened that we discovered there was a casino there that we had never known about.  So, since it was on our way back and we had a little time to kill, we headed over to Lake Ponchatrain and had us a little fun in the Treasure Chest Casino.

We finally made it back to New Orleans and needed to check into our new hotel.  Lucky us, here was our anniversary and we had the best room in the place.  A giant room with a Jacuzzi tub and a private balcony.  I loved sitting above the streets watching everything going on.

But it was our anniversary and I did expect a yummy dinner to celebrate.  After walking the streets for an hour checking out menu after menu.....we found an old favorite that we had tried one other trip to another city long long ago.

I feasted on blackened Mahi Mahi and Paul devoured a seafood platter.  And with our stomachs full......it was off to Bourbon Street for a little beer, music, and time to have some fun!

Treasures

It's funny how my journey through life has brought so many changes in my taste and style.

Things I would never have liked before have suddenly become a passion.

Today we took a small journey and went to a rustic store that I have been wanting to visit.

We came home with these little treasures, which will soon adorn my walls.

Two weeks ago when we were in New Orleans we spent a lot of time in  galleries that sold art.  We seriously saw so many awesomely wonderful paintings that we would have loved to own.  But we ended up coming home with one simple piece painted by a local artist.

It now has become an important part of a  "New Orleans" wall in our home to document another fabulous Gainor journey.

 

Each treasure I hang on the wall reminds me of a time or event in my life. 

The memories are such a treasure!

The 2014 Anniversary trip begins

I'm glad we chose last minute to go to New Orleans for our 17th anniversary.

I really, really love this city.  There is so much to do and see.  And it seriously is the best city ever for people watching.  But mostly, I love the architecture and the smallness of the Quarter and walking up and down the streets looking in all the shop windows. 

While we would have preferred to fly there.....no good deals came up so we decided to drive instead.  Not a bad idea.....we love a good road trip.

So with the car packed and loaded on Sunday, March 23rd at 12 noon........we headed East on I-10 towards Louisiana.

Since we had a stockpile of snacks and drinks in the cooler......there wasn't much need to stop for anything (except for the traffic jams, potty breaks, and filling up with gas).

We did not have reservations anywhere for that night, since we were unsure exactly when we were going to get out of town.  In this age of Smart Phones, Paul was able to seek out and reserve a hotel on the way.  * I would just like to insert here that when Paul reserves us hotel rooms.....he always does an outstanding job.  Some of my favorite places that we've stayed are places that he has picked *

We arrived in town about 6:30pm and located our hotel.....the Hyatt Riverside.....right on the banks of the Mississippi.

This is a picture we snapped out of our room window.  We had a lovely view of the river from the 20th floor.

But we didn't come to New Orleans to sit in our room and look out the window.  It was off to Bourbon Street.  We were about 5 blocks away......so off we went on our adventure.

But before we left, Paul liked this giant gold statue of Louis Armstrong.....so we had to stop and snap a quick picture of him.  Looking good Paul!

The way the Gainors do Bourbon Street is to walk up and down the street all night long.  Stop for our beer on the street.....it's cheaper and walk in and out of the clubs where the music and the band is good.  Sometimes we'll stay for one song.......sometimes we'll stay for 2 hours.  We never know.....we just let the music move us.

The decision was made to eat a quick dinner on Bourbon......so about 10pm we decided to pop into Willie's and get us some fried chicken.

This place did not disappoint.  It probably was the best fried chicken we'd ever had.  After a quick dinner, we wandered the street of Bourbon for awhile and about midnight decided we needed to head back to the room. 

Tomorrow the real fun begins exploring the city of New Orleans!

It's official

Happy.  Happy.  Happy.

I have this to look forward to:

The tickets to Albuquerque are bought and paid for!  Looking forward to seeing Aaron, meeting Shay, being a tourist in Santa Fe, and eating yummy food.

The tickets to Tucson will be purchased this week.  Just waiting for Aaron to pick the times he wants to travel so I can get his.  We are coordinating arriving and departing around the same times as each other.  It's a little challenging to say the least.......It takes him FOREVER to get to things.

Also, I took this picture of one of our dinners this week.  It just looked so yummy sitting on my plate.....that I wanted to take a picture of it so I could see it forever.  It's my kitchen sink omlette:  green onions, cheese, bacon, tomatoes, Cilantro, and some of those little red chiles that I got at the Chinese market.  I would have spinach in it too if we had some........but BOO we didn't.

But between now and then........there is lots of things that need to be accomplished. 

P.S.  we also might be having some really great news to share here in the next upcoming few weeks.  Don't want to give a hint about it yet........but is something great for Paul and me! 
No.....I am not pregnant

How does my garden grow?

My plants are going crazy and are screaming to get planted.  My problem is I don't have the time.  The yard needs Weed=n=Feed and the flower beds need mulched.

But.......the squash plants didn't want to wait and started flowering......which means they are going to start growing some good ole home grown veggies.

So Paul and I made the journey today and bought all the necessary bags of stuff  to get some of the Spring yard things accomplished.

Those Sherwin-Williams buckets I've had sitting on my back porch were now going to put to good use.

After a couple of back breaking hours.......the 5 veggie plants were planted and 2 pots of the indoor seedlings were planted.  I ran out of soil......so I need to get some more to plant the other seedlings.

But in my crazy wacky way.......I couldn't let those little seedling pots go empty.  Cris had brought me home a packet of Cherry Tomato seeds a couple of weeks ago.  Guess what I did?

Yep.......I just planted 2 little pots of Cherry Tomato seeds.  Guess I'll need him to bring me home some more buckets :)

Oops....I cheated again

The husband has been sick all week.  Believe it or not, he actually did not work in the store on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.  Although, he did have about 3-4 hours each day of some running around stuff and making food orders he had to do. 

Because he's been sick and I've been busy.....our dinners have consisted mainly of what we go out and pick up.

I had to run some errands for him yesterday and while I was at Sam's Club I decided to look for something that he would like, easy to make, and doesn't have a bunch of calories and fat.

This is what I found:

It was fast, it was easy, and the rice itself was delicious.  I was not a big fan of the chicken it it.....they put preservatives in it and it seemed too fake.    But a great idea for a healthy quick meal.

I did happen to cook once this week.  I made these delicious little beauties.  Oh my.....I sure do love tacos!

Does anyone have any cheese for my whine?

This was supposed to my easy week.  Didn't turn out that way.

The husband is sick
The garden needs planted
I just heard the washer and dryer stop.  They need a refill
I'm over 10 days behind in paperwork
I still have one more audit to do
I need to go to the bank
The house needs cleaned
I need a haircut
(This is just the things that I need to get done today)

And this is the view from my desk everyday:  A yard that is constantly reminding me that it's time for the Weed-n-Feed on it.

We got the old pool was removed the other day with the intention of upgrading to a bigger one this summer.  Bet 'ya $1000 we never get a new pool. 

I've been around the block a time or two and I am very aware of the way we do things around here.

Well enough crying about it......need to get my butt in gear and "only be accountable to myself today".  Hmmmmm...... I heard that wise quote from someone recently.