Happy Mardi Gras

I spent last week in Louisiana. I flew out Monday evening and got back on Sunday morning. Most of the trip was for work, but my friend and I decided to make a weekend trip out of it also.

The weather was so beautiful. There was a little bit of rain, but most of the time, it was sunny and the temperature was perfect. It was such an nice change from what the weather in Utah has been.

We spent Friday morning at Houmas House plantation. It was one of the largest sugar cane plantations in its hey day. The current owner has really made the gardens beautiful. I can just imagine how lovely everything looks when the flowers are in bloom.

 

 

 

The live oaks are especially beautiful.

 

Then we drove to New Orleans on Friday afternoon. I must be one of the most clueless people on the planet, but I didn't realize that Mardi Gras was celebrated over a month-ish period of time. So we were there right in time for some of the festivities. Mardi Gras has never been on my bucket list, but now I can mark it off anyway.

We spent Saturday morning wandering around the garden district. Anyone who likes architecture and old houses would really enjoy that area, I think.

 

 

Then we ran across this little coffee shop with the best donuts. I got the chocolate blackout donut. I've never had to eat a donut with a fork before, but it was amazing. We could have easily gone back to try the food, but weren't able to make it happen. Ha ha... and yes, this picture is upside down.

 

 

 

Before we left the garden district we ran into an old cemetery. I had wanted to find one so it was fun to go look around. This was Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 founded in 1833.



 

We spent the afternoon wandering through the French quarter and then caught a few of the parades.

 

We did make it to Borbon street, which wasn't my favorite. I wouldn't have wanted to be there at night. Some of the other areas of the french quarter were nice, though.

 

 

I had to do a little reading up on the history of Mardi Gras before we got there so I knew what the krewes and things were all about. This was the Krewe of Choctaw.

 

This parade was the Krewe of Pontchartrain. It was kind of interesting to see. I had to cover my face a couple times because they really threw the beads everywhere. Some of them threw full packages of beads. And then some others threw the little rubber bouncy balls and I did get hit with a couple of those as they bounced. It was a little crazy.

 

  

Anyway, I had a little taste of Mardi Gras, ended up with some beads that I'm going to give to my nieces, and just generally had a good time. Louisiana was beautiful and I could definitly go back (I'd love to see some other plantation houses). I probably would skip Mardi Gras season though.

Chocolate Oreo Cake

I decided I needed to test out a Pinterest recipe for my birthday cake.

Recipe is here: Chocolate Oreo Cake

I'm not the best cake maker. I prefer things like brownies and cookies where it's ok if there is a mess getting them out of the pan.

I'm obviously not a food photographer either, but I snapped this with my phone. You can't tell from here that the cakes had issues coming out of the pan. The frosting and oreos around the bottom hid it pretty well. But it tasted soooo good. It was moist and chocolatey and I had a hard time finishing my piece. It will satisfy die-hard chocolate fans for sure. Yum!

Viva Las Vegas

I went to Las Vegas this weekend with a friend. We bought tickets for the Miranda Lambert/George Strait concert at the MGM Grand so we drove down on Saturday. We left in the morning and got there early afternoon and found our hotel. It was right off the strip and just about a block away from the MGM Grand.

The concert was Saturday night and it was fantastic. I’ve seen Miranda before, but never George. It was really good, even if we were sitting pretty close to the top. We had some really nice people next to us and it just ended up being a great time.  

On Sunday morning, we drove over to Hoover Dam because I had never been there. We paid the 30 bucks to go inside the dam. It was fun to see and the tour guide was great. I just think it was a little pricey.  But now I’ve been there.

Lake Mead

View of bridge and river from the dam

 

 

After the adventure at the dam we hit up a couple of the outlet malls and did some shopping. I bought a few things from Crabtree & Evelyn and then splurged and got me a new purse from the Fossil outlet.  We finished off the shopping at the Forum at Caesars Palace and I got a few things at Sephora and then we went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner and dessert.  

 

Fountain show at the Bellagio

 

Before dinner we also wandered around the casino because it was Super Bowl Sunday and there were all kinds of fans out. It was really a fun place to people watch for a bit.  We drove home on Monday.

Las Vegas isn’t my favorite place, but it is fun to visit once in a while.  My grandparents lived there when I was a kid and we used to visit them for a week every around Christmas so I have some really happy memories there.  It was a nice 3-day weekend and a much needed break. Now I’m back to work. And that’s good too.



 

The Plan

So my sister and I sent off our reservation and down payment for the Inca Trail trek. It’s exciting until I actually think about what I’m going to be doing and how greasy my hair is going to be. Then it’s not exciting at all. And naturally, I put off starting to get in shape for it until after Christmas. I’ve still got plenty of time, but just enough that I can’t waste any.  Every day counts.

My plan is that in January I just exercise. Cardio, strength, yoga, whatever.  I just have to move and stretch and work up a sweat however I can.  In February I am going to ramp all that up and maybe try to add some distance walks in there if the weather is nice enough.  In March the weather should be good enough that I can start the hills. Luckily for me, I live in a place where I can get to the mountains easily, and if I don’t want to actually get in the mud and dirt of the mountain trails, I can still walk around the neighborhoods that are built on the mountain sides.  I’ve walked some of the streets before and they can be steep.  And in April, I ramp up the inclines and add more distance. Then by the time we leave for Peru, if I have a hard time with the hike, it won’t be for lack of trying.

Snow shoes

On Saturday, I tried snow shoeing for the first time. I had a great time, although I think that can mostly be attributed to the fact that the sun was shining and there was blue sky and it was really a perfect morning to be outside.  But the snow shoes weren’t bad either.

Back in December my sister had told me about a sale the local sporting/camping goods store was having so I went and checked it out and ended up with a pair of snow shoes, poles, and bag to put them in.  My sister and then my brother also decided to get a pair.  I’ve wanted to try it for a few years now.

So the three of us went to the Mt. Ogden Park and golf course on Saturday and gave it a go. There was another group with some snow shoes, a man and woman cross country skiing, and a group that was sledding.  It was a great place to go for my first time. We followed the cross country tracks for a bit and then I decided to tackle one of the hills. I really had a great time and it’s just a plus that it was also a good workout.

Best Books of 2013

Much to my surprise, I ended up reading 99 books this year. I’m over halfway done with #100 but it’s just not going to get finished in 2013.

My 2013 challenge was to read North and South, Dead Souls, and at least one non-fiction book.  I did read North and South but not Dead Souls. I actually read 2 nonfiction books: Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach, and The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times by Jennifer Worth. 

My favorites this year are ones that really stuck with me, even months after I read it. In no particular order, the books I liked best this year are:

Binding the Shadows: Jenn Bennett – this one has the distinction of causing the biggest book hangover

Blackout: Mira Grant – the next biggest book hangover, I read then entire series this year and absolutely loved it

Nowhere But Home: Liza Palmer - pulled on the heart strings the most

Magic Rises: Ilona Andrews – another great addition to one of my favorite series ever

North and South: Elizabeth Gaskell – Thornton vs Darcy? It almost depends on which book I just finished

I Am the Messenger: Markus Zusak – my only audio book and I was surprised how much I loved this one and the narrator might have had a hand in that

Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal: Mary Roach – she makes anything she writes so much fun

Written in Red: Anne Bishop – another big surprise, I borrowed it from the library and then ended up buying it in hardcover because I just couldn’t wait to read it again

Days of Blood & Starlight: Laini Taylor – this book took the story to a whole new level and I think I have to own this series now

Star Gazing: Linda Gillard – first book I read this year and I just loved it, I’ve re-read parts over and over

Honorable mention goes to:

Cinder and Scarlett: Marissa Meyer – these have become “must own” and I’m highly anticipating Cress next year

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: Mary Ann Shaffer – such a feel good story

The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves: Maggie Stiefvater – another “must own” series

Mortal Arts: Anna Lee Huber – so excited to have found another historical mystery series that I love, although I’m not so excited about the wait for book 3

For 2014, I think I’m going to try and read one nonfiction book, one “classic”, and I want to read one of the Shakespeare plays I haven’t read yet.  Along with everything else that I normally like to read, of course.

Most Anticipated books for 2014:

Murder of Crows: Anne Bishop

Banishing the Dark: Jenn Bennett

Night Broken: Patricia Briggs

Cress: Marissa Meyer

A Grave Matter: Anna Lee Huber

Dreams of Gods & Monsters: Laini Taylor

Fate can be very, very cruel

Either I have bad luck or bad habits or maybe a combination of both. I got sick last Friday night and I’m still trying to recover. That makes twice in 5 weeks. This time was bad though. I didn’t leave my house for 3 days and even now I’m still coughing and blowing my nose. I ended up watching 10 hours straight of The Walking Dead on Sunday. I kind of felt like a zombie so I figured why not? Plus, my head hurt too much to read. That much TV was a bit of a mistake. I could not sleep that night. It wasn’t because I was scared but my brain had been over stimulated or something and I couldn’t turn it off. However, I’m hooked on TWD and will be starting season 3 very soon.

Then last night I had just gotten a couple hours of uninterrupted sleep after the coughing stopped when fate stepped in and my smoke detector started chirping because the battery is low. And it was the one in my bedroom with the high ceiling that I have no way to reach. So I gathered my blanket and pillow and shut the bedroom door and tried to sleep on the couch but I could still hear the thing. At least I know I’ll be able to hear it anywhere in the house if it ever really goes off. Anyway, another long night and long day that isn’t over yet.

I guess to look on the bright side, we had treat day at work so I got to eat a piece of Larry’s fudge and my mom made me a popcorn cake so I didn’t have to make anything. The fudge and popcorn cake were delicious. And there’s only a couple hours left in the work day then I’ll get to put my pajamas back on and my sister is going to bring her ladder over so I can change a battery. Hopefully, with a little care, I will be well for Christmas and will be done getting sick for the winter.