Team Carstens

8:28

That's what time I walked into FedEx this evening to ship a package for work.  

They close at 8:30.  I left my house with ample time to spare and I still ran into roadblocks.  Literally.  I was driving the back way to Earhart Blvd. and I ran into a bunch of police cars; we'll call these the "po-po."  The po-po had their bright flashing lights on and there must've been 4 or 5 cars.  I slowly passed and checked out the scene - and no, no one was behind me so I wasn't rubber necking.  As I passed, I saw that they apprehended 5 guys and on the back of the bad guys' car were guns on the trunk.  Not hand guns.  Big guns.  I'm not very familiar with guns, so that's the best description I can give.  Big guns.  I think most people would be freaked out by the sight.  Not I.  You see, I live in New Orleans and see this stuff pretty regularly.   Besides, I was driving through the ghetto to take a short cut so I could make it to FedEx on time.

You know when you're in a rush to get somewhere and you suddenly notice all the effed up things people do or all the things that are wrong in life?  It's like your eyes are suddenly open and only because you are so acutely aware of the time and all your surroundings.  Let me tell you about some things I really noticed tonight:

• Pot holes.  They can really slow you down.

• My radar detector really DOES work.  That was a good investment.

• The light right before you get on Earhart takes 1 whole minute to go from red to green.

• My Land Rover can race an Audi station wagon, but can't win.  Especially going up hill.

• I use my blinker even when NO ONE else is around.  Never noticed that before.

• Some people come to a complete STOP to go over a speed bump.  Not necessary.

• The photo enforced light at S.Claiborne + Earhart really does work!  The car in front of me made it go off.  I stopped.

• The people at the Wendy's on S.Clearview cannot get an order right.  I ordered a #1 plain with cheese and a Barq's root beer.  Hey, after all the work I've done in the past week, I totally deserved a cheeseburger, right?  Well, thanks to the dumb fast food employees at Wendy's, I had a hamburger.  There's nothing more disappointing than getting home, getting comfy, opening up the bag, taking out the fries and opening up your sandwich to find out - it's WRONG!

• And I want to take this opportunity to remind drivers of a few common courtesies, some rules actually:

1. When you change lanes, use your blinker. You might know where you're going, 

but the person you just cut off,doesn't.

2. When you're driving on the freeway/highway/interstate and there is a merge lane with on-coming traffic, please get the hell out of the right lane.

3. The left lane is for passing.  If you're not passing, get the hell out of the way.

4. When you're in the left lane and you're not passing and the person behind you flashes you with their brights, it means GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY or speed up.  And if you're not paying attention to the person driving behind you, you shouldn't even be on the road.  Wake up!

5. When you're making a turn from one street onto another street, say a wide street with 3 lanes, like S. Claiborne - you DO not have to wait for all 3 lanes to be clear before you take a turn.  News flash:  you're SUPPOSED to turn into the lane closet to you, not farthest from you.  Again, if you can't make a turn into the first lane, you shouldn't be driving.

6. This goes without saying, but I am saying it anyway - please don't text while driving.  PULL the damn car over if you have to text that badly.

7. Talking on the phone while driving - if you can't talk on the phone AND maintain your speed, get the hell off the road because something is wrong with you. 

8. TV and driving - WTF?  You have to watch TV while driving?  Are you living in your car or something?

9. Smoking - and I see this a lot - please do not smoke while you have your kids in the car.  And if you have to, roll the damn windows down.

10. Parking - when someone puts on their blinker and has their car in reverse (as signified by the 2 white lights on the back of the car), it means they are going to parallel park - DO NOT pull up to the back of their car and honk your horn like they are blocking traffic.  Dumbass.  In my book, that's a standoff and I ain't moving, bitch.

Good night.

It's been HOT in New Orleans...

and I'm not just talking about the recent weather.  Thanks to Terri Cambise, event planner extraordinaire, who sent me the email about the New Orleans Firefighters 2009 Calendar party at Pat O's, some friends and I were able to go out last night and partake of mojitos, gumbo (cooked by fireman Mike, A.K.A.: Mr. September) and a silent auction to benefit the NOLA fire department.  I mean, who am I to say to no to such a great cause, right?

Thanks to Alesia for being the DD (designated driver).  Although, I think the responsibility fell on her by default since she's about 4 months pregnant (and looking like a hot momma, I must say).

I know Pat O's is known for their hurricanes, but I opted to drink mojitos last night because hurricanes usually knock me on my ass.  Well, I am sad to report, mojitos also knock me on my ass.  Or maybe it's that I am getting older (I will be celebrating my 5th - 29th birthday soon).  Or maybe it's that Pat O's makes their drinks a little stronger than what I am used to.  Yeah, we'll go with that last reason.  So the drinks were strong, I had 3 and I am nursing a hangover this morning.  And a terrible backache.

So here are some snapshots from last night (taken with a P+S for you photo ladies).  

Click on images to enlarge:

Amie, Fireman Greg, Me, Fireman Mike, Alesia, Captain David in the back there, and Tanya.

Fireman Alan and Tanya:

Me and Fireman Percy:

Fireman Greg, Me, Fireman Alan, Alesia, Amie and Fireman Percy:

Me, Fireman Greg and Alesia:

Fireman Gabriel and Tanya.  I'm pretty sure this was Tanya's favorite fireman.

jewelry

jewelry.  random, right?

i belong to a photo board with pro + serious amateur photographers and one of the gals on the board was asking if anyone makes jewelry because she wants to get started with jewelry making as a hobby.  well, i told her i would post photos of some pieces i made a few years ago.  i started making jewelry in 2000 and sold quite a bit of my pieces,  but orders got out of hand and sucked the fun out of it for me and then i moved on to another venture.  so i busted out these pieces and photographed them for her and i figured, "what the hell, i'll post them on my blog."  i mean, i did already take the photos and all.

one of these days, i might get around to posting directions on how to make a simple necklace and earrings.  and the tools needed to get started.

for now...

click on images to enlarge.

  

  

3 years ago today...

hurricane katrina hit New Orleans and, as many of you know, we were here during the storm and stuck at Memorial Medical Center until Sept 2.  I remember it being so hot inside the hospital after the generators failed.  And smelly.  But it's a smell that I could never describe and it's a smell that I can never forget.  It smelled like death.  Like dead bodies.  It was almost a sweet smell, but not sweet in a good way.  It made me want to throw up.  It was about 120 degrees inside the hospital, no electricity, no cold water, no food, no bathrooms, no help.  I spent most of my time outside with our dogs, sitting on the 3rd floor of the parking garage, taking pictures of the water all around us.  Across the street from us was a building that had been empty before the storm and the day after was quickly filling up with people who didn't evacuate and people who were carrying guns.  I vividly remember the morning we were told we were getting out of there, I was sitting with my dogs by the stairs of garage, reading my book when all of a sudden a state trooper came running up beside me with a rifle (i think) and he was pointing it across the street, at the newly occupied building, and was yelling, "PUT YOUR F*#@ING GUNS DOWN NOW!"  

But they didn't put their guns down, they fired their guns right at us and I grabbed my dogs and ran the hell away from the state trooper.  That was pretty scary and I was glad we got out that day.  I still remember the anticipation of waiting to get into the boat.  The ER ramp was made into a boat dock.  The glass was shattered and we were standing at the edge of where the glass was and people were waiting for their turn to get into a boat.  A man and his son Joshua, from Arkansas drove down to volunteer and we got into their boat for what seemed like a long ride down Napoleon Avenue to St. Charles Avenue.  It started to rain and I was sitting in that boat, holding Taylor and Walter and the rain felt so good on my face.  I hadn't showered in many days and I was sitting there wondering when I would be able to take a shower and where this shower would be??  I totally remember that.  I also remember watching the big houses on Napoleon Avenue as our little boat passed them by; houses I had driven past a thousand times and never really SAW.  They were big and beautiful and many of them were flooded.  It was sad.  I wondered where the owners were and imagined what it would be like for them when they came back to see their house and belongings flooded.

When we got to St. Charles Avenue, we saw the Rite Aid being looted.  And also the Copeland's across the street.  I have to admit, I did partake in some oatmeal cookies that were liberated from the Rite Aid.  I am not sure who gave them to me, but I heard they were from Rite-Aid and someone was sharing and who was I to say, "No thanks." to a lovely looking oatmeal cookie?

So we waited in a very long line for hours.  We were within walking distance of our house on Upperline and Andy decided to walk back to the house to get some cash we had left behind and I remember yelling at him while he was about a block away, "Can you bring back my Burberry purse, I left it on the fireplace."

Total silence right after I yelled that.  I felt like a total brat screaming about my Burberry purse while people stood there not knowing if they had a home to go to and not knowing where their families were.  But for some reason, I didn't care very much.  I just knew that damn Burberry purse was going to make me feel happy and I was afraid our house was going to be broken into and my purse would be stolen.  It's so silly to think of that now.

i finally cooked

i love chicken salad. for awhile, i was on a whole foods chicken salad kick, but they've been screwing up their classic chicken salad and mis-labeling their sonoma chicken salad with classic chicken salad and they are entirely different. this really pissed me off and so i am boy-cotting whole foods chicken salad. this forced me to take matters into 

yes, this forced me to make my own chicken salad. 

this also forced me to buy a cookbook. a real cookbook. not the folder of take-out menus that i often refer to as a cookbook.

when i lived in ny, i often ate at mangia on w.57th because it was right near where i worked - 56th & b'way.  i had a very strict routine back in those days...school in the early am, work in the late morning, gym at lunchtime, grab lunch, back to work, eat at desk while working, school in the evening, usually out with my roommates after class or work, then home.  anyway, this isn't about my old routine, it's about the damn chicken salad.  i was addicted to mangia's basil-parmesan chicken salad.  since whole foods screwed up, i bought the mangia cookbook so now, i too, can make mangia basil-parmesan chicken salad.  mmmmmmm...

i tried it out this past saturday.  i took pics, too.  it tasted great and was easy to make.  the only problem is that i made enough to feed about 27 people.  this probably wouldn't be such a problem if i wasn't the only one in my house who eats meat/chicken/dairy.

total buzz kill

so here i am, working and listening to music on my computer, right.

i listen to music with itunes. i have a bunch of music on my computer for both us and fletcher, all kinds of genres, etc. i don't really have it all organized and i must've clicked on all music this morning.

i'm over here listening to kanye west's "stronger" and really getting in a good friday mood. the song ends. next song? "old macdonald had a farm" from disney's children's album.

WARNING: this is not the clean version.

what the #!@* does that say?

this is a quick entry and only because i was just reminded of this issue.

do you ever go to someone's blog and try to leave a comment and get that little "word authentification" message? it looks like this:

i swear they make those things almost impossible to read. i totally understand why you have to do it, i just can't stand how difficult it can be to leave stupid message, especially after i have typed out a long, thoughtful comment. because i don't have patience, if i get 1 "wrong answer," i skip the whole thing and i don't leave a comment. sad, huh?

flowers in the attic and a crawfish boil

this past sunday, we went to a crawfish boil at andy's cousin's house.  it was fun.  i don't eat crawfish, but i do like to partake in the potatoes + corn on the cobb, mmmmmm. 

these particular cousin's of andy's are really nice people.  good people.  however, they have a photo of their kids hanging in the living room that you can see right when you first walk in and there is something very "flowers-in-the-attic" about the photo.  if you've read those books or have seen the movie, you know what i mean and i don't have to explain.  totally freaks me out to the point where i feel like i run past the photo so i don't have to look at it.  problem is, you can see the photo from the kitchen, as you walk out of the bathroom and if you're in the living room.  it's like the kid's eyes are following you around.

so yeah, crawfish - i still remember going to my very first crawfish boil, it was about 9 years ago, right after i moved to new orleans.  i don't think i ever even heard of crawfish in new york.  no, i take that back...i heard of crayfish.  and when i say heard, i mean exactly that, as i had never actually seen / knew someone that had seen / knew someone that had eaten crayfish/crawfish.   

so flashback to 9 years ago...

the scene: a parking lot at tenet's baptist hospital, it was employee appreciation day and a local crawfish seller had been hired to cater the event.

i walked with my group of co-workers to the parking lot and saw groups of people gathered at picnic tables covered with red+white gingham plastic tableclothes.  in the rear of the parking lot was a very large boat looking thing (that i later found out is called a pirogue) filled with red loster looking specimens.  but much, much smaller than lobster.  mean looking little suckers.  at the time, i wasn't familar with crawfish eating etiquette and i probably was staring at my co-wokers with a look of awe as i saw them pile anywhere from 3-5 pounds of crawfish onto a large plastic tray.  yep, that's how much each person eats.  of course, 3-5 pounds of whole crawfish only yields about 8 ounces of actual meat.  ok, more than that.  9 ounces.  from what i have witnessed, it's a lot of work - eating crawfish.  some people suck the heads.  some stick their pinky finger deep into the bowels of the crawfish body to really get the meat and some just snap + eat.  it's interesting to watch people eat crawfish because each person has their own way of eating, a system if you will.  snap, eat, dig, suck.  over and over again.  and this goes on for hours.

you know what the funny thing is?  watching people clean their fingers when they are finished eating.  or watching someone try to crack open a beer with slimy fingers.  or trying to open a door. or forgetting that they ate crawfish hours ago and they scratch their eyes (the spices are usually still on the hands and it burns).

so that's my first crawfish experience.

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57 clicks and a grammar lesson

i'm not one to check out blogs every day. i would love to, i just don't usually have the time. last night, i had the time.

i was sitting in bed with a laptop and was browsing around the blogs. before i knew it, i had clicked and read, clicked and read, clicked and read and was so far away from my original click, that i couldn't even remember what blog i started reading first. so 57 clicks later, i had about 56 new windows open with various blogs for the reading; people i don't know or care about and there i was, reading about their road trip in mini-van hell, the ugly sweater aunt sylvia sent for little pete and why would she send a sweater now, when it's spring time? i sure hope aunt sylvia doesn't read that blog. i couldn't seem to stop myself. it's like reality tv.

this past week has been a busy one. saturday, i had some gals over with their kids. sunday, we had a crawfish boil...more people over. monday, i went to the neurologist and had some brutal tests run on my right leg (numbness + pain going on there). i then went to get some xrays after that appt and then onto the allergist. tuesday, i had a ct scan done of my head. wed + thurs - fletcher was home all day and we went out with alesia + mia and did some fun stuff. today - i had a few pulmonary tests run.

the pulmonary tests were not fun, but the lady tech was pretty entertaining. she had some sort of a yatty accent, was very nasally, and she kept saying i was doing "good." every time she said that, andy's voice went off in my head, "super-man does good. we do well." he always says that when someone says good. cracks me up.

just remember: good is an adjective and well is usually an adverb; you do something well, but a thing is good. that's my grammar lesson for the day.

so...i don't know the results of all the tests yet, but i don't think i'm dying. that's the good news.

the bad news: my dog has diarrhea. she went to the vet last week to get her annual shots, teeth cleaned, groomed, nails cut, 7 teeth pulled - a typical spa day for a dog. i would even go as far as to say she had a colonic irrigation like they do at those hoity-toity celebrity spas, but in her case, it was anal gland cleaning.

on the fletcher front: he's doing well. (see - well, not good). he's in school today. probably finishing lunch and about to take a nap right about now. his molars are coming and man, is he grumpy. i don't blame the kid. i couldn't even tolerate the pain of 1 wisdom tooth breaking through. can you imagine 4 molars coming in at the same time? me either. so yeah, he takes a lot motrin to help the pain. not over-dosing the kid or anything - just at night. he's been saying a lot of words. some words good, some not so good (like shit). i seem to say "shit" a lot. and now he does, too. i think as long as it's in the right context and not over-used, it's ok. right - maybe not ok for a 19 month old. we're working on that.

it's bathing suit time

i hate, hate, hate shopping for a bathing suit. i especially hate trying one on in the store because i always fel so fat and the lighting always seems so bad. anyway, i found an inexpensive 2 piece at old navy! i had to get something practical... (1)black because well, i always wear black. and also because with an 18 month old, you need something that won't show the fruit punch spills on you. (2)halter top - so when you're in the water and your child tries to pull down your top, you'll be somewhat ok.

i am posting a pic of myself in the suit. this is more motivation for me to get my butt to the gym more often. i will post another pic in a month and we'll see if i've made any progress in the working out dept.

i suck...

i kept telling myself that i was going to sit down and write something, but i also told myself that i'm not allowed to blog until i get caught up with work. i felt if i had time to blog, then i really should be working and not playing. i mean, i have orders to fill, invitations to design, birth announcements to get out.

and see, now it's 11:07 am and i have to leave by 11:35 to get to my noon spin class. where the hell did the morning go? i think part of my slowness this morning is to blame on the 3 glasses of wine i drank last night at the fundraiser i went to with andy + alesia (international school of la). i didn't really feel buzzed, but when i awoke this morning, i felt a little sluggish. maybe the spin class will take care of it.

ooh...pam's triplets were baptized this weekend and we went to their baptismal BBQ. i only got to see oliver, but man is he cute. and big! and seeing as how the trips are identical, i guess linus + miles look just like oliver, so in a way, i got to see all of them. anyhow, good job pam + george! jon bright made this really awesome potato salad that had bacon and cheese and potatoes and some other stuff. i ate a few servings and really wanted the recipe. i got to chat with jon as we were leaving and i mentioned the potato salad (that he referred to as, "oh, the heart-attack salad?") and he then told me he also put the bacon grease in the salad. no wonder it tasted so damn good. i decided against getting the recipe, for obvious reasons.

what else have we been up to? oh, we FINALLY planted our front garden. i took before and after pics and will have to post those when i get a chance...maybe in another 21 days. :)

i am trying to plan my grandmother's trip down from NY and we are also trying to plan a trip to florida while she is here, so she can spend a few days on the beach with us and fletcher. i think that will be a fun trip for her. and us.

next saturday is the tour di lis cycling event to raise money for cancer. thanks to all you folks who donated money on my behalf (celeste, alesia, uncle dan, hilda, blake, ashley, stephen, matt and others) i really appreciate your support. i'll be sure to post pics of the event next week.

fletcher news: fletcher got his 2nd haircut and i finally cut off his curls. as much as i loved the curls, they were started to get a little out of control. i think this new short cut will be great for him for the summer and we'll think about letting his hair grow out for the winter. although, we all seem to love the short do' and by "we" i mean: andy, claire, me + alesia.

fletcher is also going through a very clingy phase right now. he's in school m,t, + f, but w+th he is home with me. those days are long and mentally challenging days for me. don't get me wrong, i love spending time with fletcher, but he is just about 26 pounds and he wants me to pick him up and carry him around. and i really don't even think it's because he wants "mommy," but because he wants to see what's on the kitchen counters and tables so he can whine + point to the objects he wants. this in turn causes a bigger issue because the stuff on the counters + tables are not things fletcher can have and he doesn't seem to understand that. and i don't give into what he wants (and neither does andy), so a tantrum usually follows when we say, "no!" i have to admit, i am quickly learning how to tune out tantrums. it wasn't as difficult as i thought it would be.

in other news: i'm trying to get in shape. it's not that i'm fat, i just don't feel right. i feel soft + not toned. there are only 2 ways to do this: watch what i eat or work out. since i love to eat, the watching what i eat part is not going to happen. i have to work out. i re-dedicated myself to working out. i went to a spin class on friday and am going again today. it really wouldn't be so bad (the working out part), if i wasn't have this back/leg problem. i've been having really big problems sleeping at night because my right leg keeps going numb and my lower back starts to hurt. sometimes it even gets numb when i am sitting down. it's getting worse. i have an appointment with a neurologist on the 21st, so we'll see how that goes. i'm sure it's nothing too bad.

ok, gotta leave to get to my spin class.

peace.

happy birthday to me!

i don't normally tell people when it's my birthday because i don't like fishing for a, "happy birthday." if people remember, great. if not, great.

it's not officially my b-day for another hour, but i am up doing some work (putting together an etsy shop :) and i can't stop thinking about the birthday cake that i really, really, really, really hope andy gets me for my b-day. i am sooooo looking forward to this cake; it's the same cake we had for our wedding and it's so friggin' good. white chocolate strawberry shortcake from flour power. it has to be from flour power, anything else is unacceptable. i don't normally make bitchy statements or demands like that, but if you had a flour power cake, you would know what i am talking about. pure goodness.

so, i am 33. that's young. i am young. i still tell people i am 29. i will always be celebrating my 29th birthday. even when i am 40. well, that's hoping i can still pass for 29. maybe i can't pass now and no one has told me because they are being too nice? great, now i am going to go to bed with a complex about being 29/33.

here's a pic i just took using the camera on my mac, do i look older than 29? 33? i need someone objective.

**keeping fingers crossed for cake tomorrow**

it's official, i want to leave new orleans

i've been wanting to move away from new orleans for a while now. i can honestly say that i hate it here. i know, hate is strong word. that's how i feel. other than andy's parents, who i love to death, there is nothing here that i like. the public schools are beyond bad. the criminal system is beyond broken. the police force employs a bunch of buffoons, who really, don't seem to care about the citizens. you can call the police, but they won't come. i know this from personal experience - on more than 1 occasion. i've had to call the police numerous times because of an old neighbor and they never came out. i've had my car stolen twice and that was a joke. on more than 1 occasion, a tulane student had my car blocked in the driveway and i couldn't get out to take my son, who was sick, to the doctor. i called the police to help. another joke.

i'm sure our politicians lack of ethics isn't new news to you, either. the recovery process is completely lacking. you can't even drive down a street in new orleans without hitting a huge pot hole. and you have to drive everywhere because the sidewalks aren't conducive to walking. some streets don't even have sidewalks and you have to walk in the street. what kind of a city doesn't have sidewalks, right? the scary thing is: walking in the street. the drivers like to try to hit you. you can't trust them and i'll de damned if i am going to take a 16month old for a walk by myself. yeah, there's the park. oh, did you hear that a jogger was killed at 3pm in the afternoon because someone was driving in the park and ran over him?

it really sucks. we live in a nice neighborhood and even still, i'm scared to go walking alone. there have been a rash of home burglaries lately and the thugs around this city don't even think twice about shooting you. they don't value life. they aren't afraid of the police or incarceration because chances are, they won't be put in jail. it's terrible.

a few weeks ago, in a nice neighborhood, a father was in his driveway with his baby and as soon as he got the baby out of the carseat and was holding him, 2 men went up to him to rob him at gunpoint. they put the gun to the baby's head. who does that? sick people. teen-agers. that's who is mostly committing crime in new orleans, teen-agers. they don't understand or care about consequences. i don't want my son growing up in a world like this. it's sheltering. he can't even go out to play. he will never be able to ride his bike, alone, on our sidewalk. he will never be able to go out and play man-hunt in our neighborhood. or have a stupid lemonade stand - maybe only girls do that? in this city, if he had a lemonade stand, chances are, he will get held up at gun-point for his money.

so i was reading the news today. there was an article about how the city of new orleans has some new weapons to help battle the crime. it included a photo with the mayor of new orleans and the police chief of new orleans. this photo REALLY has sent me over the edge and has only solidified my decision to leave new orleans.

i saw this and immediately felt like we are in a third world country, pic of Mayor Nagin + Chief Riley from the Times-Picayune:

the really sick part of living in new orleans are the expenses. it's not cheap. i don't like to talk about money, but i'm going to be candid, here. on top of our mortgage, we pay an additional $15,000/year for flood, homeowner's and taxes. our tax bill was just lowered by $3500, and that's only because the assessors finally did an over-haul of the many years of corruption within the assessors office. and only because of public out-cry. they didn't take it upon themselves to do that. i wouldn't mind paying the high insurance + taxes if there was something to show for it. if we didn't have to send our son to private school. private schools cost $13,000/year. Add to that the expensive electric + gas bills ($300+/month), high car insurance rates, the maintenance and wear on your car because the streets are so bad, the stress of dealing with the incompetent workers at the stores, even grocery shopping can give you head ache.

it's not worth it, living in new orleans.

html

sometimes i feel like i am a smart person. sometimes i actually believe i am a smart person, with a good head on my shoulders. someone with common sense, who can figure things out.

not tonight. tonight, i feel like a dumb-ass with 2 brain cells that are fighting each other.


my work (Paper + Ink Studio) website is down. why? because i got so pissed with FatCow (my old host) and the amount of emails that were getting lost in cyberspace and the slowness of emails that i canceled my account with them and transfered to another host. it sounds nice + easy, right? it's not. there are so many aspects to this website stuff that i can't even begin to explain. so since i was transferring to a new host, i also decided now as a great time to re-vamp my website. it's been a loooong time since i updated my site and quite frankly, it sucked. i was very limited to what i could do with it and it was meant to be temporary but somehow ended up permanent. if you knew me, you'd know when i make a decision about something, i have to implement it right then + there. there's no waiting. nope. i'm all about instant gratification.


i digress, back to my website woes: so before i can get the ball rolling on my site, i have to get the DNS settings correct and i can't do that because i also transferred my registrar to my new host. i wanted everything in the same place since i have multiple domains. nice + easy. the domain transfer is not something that happens overnight. it takes about a week. a week. can you imagine me waiting a week? i am freaking out. luckily, the week that it happened, was the week we were in park city - skiing.


so now here i am, without a website, without even a "coming soon" webpage because stupid me can't figure out how to put up a temporary page. i don't know HTML very well and furthermore, i don't exactly understand all the ins + outs of web hosting + root directory + sub-domains, etc. my back up plan was to forward my Paper + Ink Studio domain name to my Paper + Ink Studio blog like I did with Mary Carstens. i totally forgot how to do that. poo poo on me.


i think i am going to have to enlist the help of my friend, pam. but see, pam has bigger fish to fry...she has 2 month old triplets! how am i ever going to ask her for help? oooh...maybe i will go over to her house to help her out and pick her brain while i am there. yeah. that's a great idea. a symbiotic relationship. i get what i need and she gets what she needs. i mean, i will even clean for her as long as i can pick her brain.

mary's new haircut

i finally got my haircut. i got it cut short and layered so i cannot put it in a ponytail. i seemed to be ending my days with my hair in a ponytail lately. or letting it go curly and i got so sick of it.

i'm not sure what i think of it so far...

fletcher + mary

i know this might sound cheesy: fletcher is growing up so quickly and it's making me really sad. it seemed like just yesterday when we brought him home from the hospital and i can't believe how big and mature he is getting and how much he is changing. he no longer looks like a baby. i never in a million years would have thought i would have a blog about family and even be talking about a child. i always hated kids and never wanted to have any, let alone be married. how things change...i love having a family and i absolutely love having fletcher. kids really do change your life.

he's one of me + fletch:

mary's pet peeve of the day

i was driving down a new orleans street the other day and it was right around the time school let's out. i am stuck behind a large, white suburban and i think, "wow, the traffic is really bad."

nope. not traffic. just a large, white suburban being driven by a mom who is talking on her phone and driving 5 miles an hour like she is the only one on the road.

if you can't talk + drive, PULL YOUR FRIGGIN CAR OVER OR GET OFF THE PHONE.

and also, why are you driving in the middle of the street when it's a 2-way street? you don't need to drive in the middle of the road, even if you drive in the lane, you are about 4 feet from hitting a parked car. IF YOU CAN'T DRIVE A LARGE VEHICLE, DON'T BUY IT!

thanks for listening.

me sad, still no camera!

not having a camera sucks. it really, really sucks. it impacts my life in many ways, including work. i have a wedding invite project and i want to show my client her 3 mock ups and i don't have a camera to photograph the invites! it's been over a week and i still don't have a camera and she has no picks of her invites. i feel horrible because i emailed her when fletcher was sick to let her know i was going to be a little late with her mock ups because fletcher was sick and then i was sick and she was totally fine with that (her wedding is in 2008). now i have the mock ups finished and can't show her...no camera.

on top of that, my grandmother is coming in from nyc today and i wanted to take some pics of her with fletcher. no camera.

fletcher's birthday party is this weekend...no camera.

urgh.

open letter to sambo (my dog)

Dear Sambo (my big dog):

I love you, I really do. You drive me nuts.

When I tell you to get out of the kitchen, it doesn't mean walk around and come in the other kitchen entrance - it means: GET OUT + STAY OUT.

When I tell you to get out of my office, it doesn't mean to walk out the door and walk right back in, it means: GET OUT + STAY OUT.

When I tell you to lay down, it doesn't mean walk around for 13 minutes making that sound with your nails on the wood floors. THAT DRIVES ME NUTS, it sounds like you are tap dancing on the floor and I lose my concentration.

In the last 5 years, have you EVER been allowed to get up on the furniture? NO! Then why would you think the minute I leave the house, that it's ok to sleep on the striped Mitchell Gold chair in the living room? You know I love that chair and that you are NOT ALLOWED ON IT or any other furniture. You have 3 beds of your own throughout the house. Sleep in your own bed!

And lastly, the next time you knock Fletcher over while he's trying to walk, you're going outside!

Love,
Mommy

art for art's sake

fletcher + i drove to baton rouge yesterday afternoon for pam's shower. we met up with hadley + george + gavin and then we made our way (after getting lost) over to pam's shower. pam looked so pretty in her dress. paige was also there and we got to meet 4.5 month old preston. he is just adorable.

fletcher was bitten twice on the arm by 2 year old ava. poor baby - he still has bite marks on his arm.

we left baton rouge around 5 and i got back to nola at 6...just in time to meet alesia and head down to magazine street to check out the galleries, drink some wine and munch on nibbly bits. we had a good time and left the babies at home with the hubbies. we ended up at theo's pizza and a good game of ms. pac man. i think alesia beat me, but i'm not positively sure.

tomorrow is another fun filled day...we are meeting up with alesia + mia to go for a long bike ride and then possibly swimming afterwards. if it's raining, we are heading out to the aquarium. fun.

andy hung up the draperies in the living room. i am so excited. i picked them up from sandra last week (had the drapes custom made) and he put them up while i was in baton rouge!!! i love them so.

i'm hoping my camera is ready to be picked up tomorrow. my grandmother is coming in from NYC on wed and i want to take some pics of her with fletcher.

fletcher's cat in the hat birthday party is this weekend! we can't wait. cat in the hat cocktails, mmmmmm...

pssst...feet + shoes

i don't know if you've ever heard this, but i was told this while i was pregnant and i didn't believe it.

when your're pregnant, not only does your belly grow, your feet grow. an entire shoe size. and they don't go back. do you have any idea what this means? all of those shoes in my closet do not fit me. if my feet were 1/2 a size larger, i could squeeze my feet into my old shoes. anything in the name of fashion, right? well, that doesn't work for an entire shoe size. i don't think this happens to everyone, so don't totally freak out.

i have a few pairs of shoes that fit, but not any nice ones. i think i will save my pennies and buy 1 nice pair of shoes this winter. and wear the hell out of them. to walk the dog. to the movies. to run errands. to parties. to the gym. ok, not the gym. everywhere. they have to be both fashionable + comfy. more comfy than fashionable. no, equally both.

i miss my old shoes.

fall season

a new season is upon us, it's time for a new perfume. i am obsessed with perfume. i have about 30 different bottles on my dresser and yet, i feel like i need a new one. i don't know why. i think i get bored with them. plus, there are SO many out there and i just want a new one. this is a scent i bought (don't know why, but i bought the 100ml bottle) about 2 years ago, right before katrina. i still love it. i don't love it right after i spray it, but about 15 minutes later. weird, i know. it smells better after 15 mins.

i haven't yet decided what to buy. must hit up the perfume counter at saks. maybe i'll do that next week.

a trench coat. i need a new one. it's kind of pointless to have a winter coat in new orleans. winter here usually consists of a cold front that lasts about 1-2 weeks. i still have my 1 zillion heavy coats from when i lived in ny and of course, they are all black - so they are still in style. however, i need a new trench coat. i have a 3/4 length kind of trench coat, but without the belt and it's not double-breasted. i think i want doule breasted this season. something classic. i found this burberry trench coat at bluefly i just don't see myself spending $796 on it so fletcher can get it all dirty and then it will always be at the dry cleaner. i think i need something i can easily throw in the washer at home. here's a pic, but i'm on the lookout for something less expensive...

flashback...august 26, 2006

wow! wow.

i was going thru my old shutterfly albums from back in the day. ok, from last year. feels like back in the day. anyway, i found this album with pics from my baby shower. i can't believe it's been a year. my shower was almost exactly a year ago (august 26th) and then fletcher was born 4 weeks after my shower. i can't believe it. looking through these pics made it feel like just yesterday.

see pics HERE

tgif.

it's friday morning and fletcher decided to get up early today. that's ok with me because i actually went to bed early last night. i had my cup of coffee and i am ready to get my day on. our plans for today? i am going to the gym to workout for 10:30 (meeting amie there) and we are dropping the kids off at "gym school" (aka - the daycare at the gym). our plan is to work out, get the kids out of daycare and head to the pool. it's a bit overcast right now, so i hope it clears up. today is the first day in a while that i have had off from work.

yesterday sambo decided to escape from the backyard. luckily, he was wearing his collar. i got a call from a girl who was, let's just say...not so nice. she was asking me all these weird questions and accusing me of being a bad doggy mom! she said sambo needed immediate medical attention and he was at the vet. it was like pulling teeth from a 10 year old as i tried to get info from her. she wasn't very forth-coming with any info of what happened to him or even where he was! she was going on and on about his terrible skin and how long had he been missing and how he is all dirty and she thinks his leg is broken. meanwhile, the truth was this: i went out around 10, put him outside because he can't stay in the house while we're gone because he chews up everything and gets into everything. we tie him up under our 400sf covered porch, give him fresh water and his bed and a dog house to go into if he so chooses. he has about 15 feet of rope so he can walk around. sambo also suffers from severe skin allergies during the summer and we put prescribed medicine on his skin. the limping? he tore his acl and he had surgery on it! i don't want to sound totally unappreciative that these girls found sambo and took him to the vet or anything. i am so glad they found him. really. i was just so put off by the immediate accusatory tone the girl had with me on the phone. she never asked questions like, how long has he been missing? it was more, "well, obviously, your dog has been missing for days; his skin looks terrible. i think he's been hit by a car because it looks like he has a broken leg."

anyway, i was pretty frantic. i had fletcher with me and he was cranky because he was past due with his afternoon nap. poor fella. we get to the vet where sambo was taken. at this point we still don't know anything and all i know is what the girl on the phone told me. i am thinking he got hit by a car. we walk up to the front desk and ask about sambo and someone brings him out. here comes sammy...wagging his tail and all excited to see us. nothing was wrong with him other than being dirty because it looks like he rolled around in a mud puddle. the limp? it was his typical limp that he gets from over exercise, when he gets tired. he was ok!

here's a pic of our other 3 kids:

kitty, sambo and taylor