National Bacon Week ends in approximately 1h38mins, and I've got to get this post out to the world before then! Dear readers, forgive my tardiness in sharing the joys and thrills of bacon week with you - if only I'd written this up on Monday, you could have spent the whole week munching on bacon strips, laughing at bacon memes and celebrating the existence of pigs. I hope you'll mark this week on your calendars for next year, and thus be more prepared for the partay.
Mad props to Mary G for initiating and introducing us all to this very important week. She has been frying up all kinds of porky deliciousness all week long, and has even shared her recipes for such bacon-y treats as bacon pot-stickers, candied bacon, and maple bacon cupcakes (um, wow.).
As for me, I'd like to keep this short and simple, and share with you this snippet of a stand-up routine by Jim Gaffigan. The love of bacon that he describes is exactly how much I love bacon. For bacon, I regularly ignore that health-conscious voice in my head - and there aren't any other foods as saturated in fat as bacon that get such special treatment. In fact, a few weeks ago, I was craving bacon (obviously hadn't taken care of my fat intake for the day) so I went to Wal-mart.
I bought a pack of bacon.
I fried up the whole pack.
Then I ate approx. 2/3 of it.
It's possible I would have eaten the whole pack (don't judge me!), but I grudgingly shared with Adam and Jess.
Right, anyways. I love bacon. Enjoy the clip!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Knackered.
Mardi Gras ended on Fat Tuesday, March 8th, and while it wasn't ridiculously, insanely busy, it was draining enough that we found ourselves hoping for a slow period after it was over, to catch up on sleep and energy. Unfortunately for us, spring break and conventions meeting in town followed immediately on the heels of the bead-crazy holiday. (And I do mean, "Holiday" -- in New Orleans, schools are closed on Mardi Gras and the day after. Like I said last post, they take this celebration seriously!)
So we're still running a little ragged here, and the title of this post accurately describes my current state.
Knackered. I learned this word in New Zealand, and the first time I heard it I coulda sworn the kid said something else, with his unfamiliar accent .
Kiwi: "Whew, I'm knackered"
Me: "Naked? ...You're ...nekkid? " (I eye his fully-clothed body dubiously)
Kiwi: "Naw, KNACKERED."
Me: "Nak-uhd?"
Kiwi: "Yeah, exactly. Sure could go for some Tim-Tams and Vegemite right about now."
I love the word. It's such a perfect word to describe exhaustion, because the word brings to mind other appropriate words like "KNOCKED" & "WHACK" both of which imply a violent blow of some sort.
Hm, I almost wrote that being this tired feels like being wiped out and washed ashore by a tsunami, and then I realized (happily before posting) how utterly inappropriate that would be at this moment in current events.
(But I digress, despite the devastation in Japan being very attention-worthy. One quick note first: it struck me yesterday as I watched some more news coverage how wonderfully easy it is now to donate to causes such as disaster relief. The news anchor informed me of at least 3 hi-tech options for quickly sending money (including sending a text message! Crazy!), and I found myself hoping that more people might be giving because of the simplicity and ease, and I also found myself hoping that the money people donate by these methods actually ends up going to the causes and not into the pockets of greedy, calculating people.)
Today was our day off, and HALLELUJAH for that! I'm ready to get back on my old schedule and have energy to do so. (Current schedule = Wake, work 8 hours, nap 2 hours, groggily help/bother Adam for a couple hours, eat something, brush teeth, sleep for 7 hours, repeat)
Mardi Gras itself was, however, completely worth it. We had the day of M.G. off (absolutely no one was checking in or out), and we went to a party thrown by our wonderful housekeeper, Jess. The parades on Mardi Gras Day start at the ridiculous hours of 8am and 10am, so we dutifully dragged ourselves out of bed that day and beat our way through the costume-bedecked crowds (who had started clogging the streets by 7am) to spend a good 5 hours shouting at floats to "throw us something cool!" and catching beads and dancing and eating and generally having a brilliant time.
Here's a peek inside the crazy world of NOLA Mardi Gras. Images and videos of scandalous debauchery (of which there is always PLENTY during Mardi Gras) have been edited out, to maintain the family-friendly rating of this blog ^_^
These pics are for you, Mariya, to live vicariously since you missed the party this year:
A snippet of the parade from the Krewe de Vieux (say, "crew duh vyoo"). Each parade (and there were often multiple parades on the same day) is hosted by a Krewe. If you're interested, Wikipedia can tell you all about the history of Mardi Gras in Nawlins here.
It was wild and totally worth it. Adam and I made it separately to 3 parades each, and then Mardi Gras day, we saw 3 parades together. Thanks for les bons temps, NOLA! Now, to get some sleeeeeeeeep.....
So we're still running a little ragged here, and the title of this post accurately describes my current state.
Knackered. I learned this word in New Zealand, and the first time I heard it I coulda sworn the kid said something else, with his unfamiliar accent .
Kiwi: "Whew, I'm knackered"
Me: "Naked? ...You're ...nekkid? " (I eye his fully-clothed body dubiously)
Kiwi: "Naw, KNACKERED."
Me: "Nak-uhd?"
Kiwi: "Yeah, exactly. Sure could go for some Tim-Tams and Vegemite right about now."
I love the word. It's such a perfect word to describe exhaustion, because the word brings to mind other appropriate words like "KNOCKED" & "WHACK" both of which imply a violent blow of some sort.
Hm, I almost wrote that being this tired feels like being wiped out and washed ashore by a tsunami, and then I realized (happily before posting) how utterly inappropriate that would be at this moment in current events.
(But I digress, despite the devastation in Japan being very attention-worthy. One quick note first: it struck me yesterday as I watched some more news coverage how wonderfully easy it is now to donate to causes such as disaster relief. The news anchor informed me of at least 3 hi-tech options for quickly sending money (including sending a text message! Crazy!), and I found myself hoping that more people might be giving because of the simplicity and ease, and I also found myself hoping that the money people donate by these methods actually ends up going to the causes and not into the pockets of greedy, calculating people.)
Today was our day off, and HALLELUJAH for that! I'm ready to get back on my old schedule and have energy to do so. (Current schedule = Wake, work 8 hours, nap 2 hours, groggily help/bother Adam for a couple hours, eat something, brush teeth, sleep for 7 hours, repeat)
Mardi Gras itself was, however, completely worth it. We had the day of M.G. off (absolutely no one was checking in or out), and we went to a party thrown by our wonderful housekeeper, Jess. The parades on Mardi Gras Day start at the ridiculous hours of 8am and 10am, so we dutifully dragged ourselves out of bed that day and beat our way through the costume-bedecked crowds (who had started clogging the streets by 7am) to spend a good 5 hours shouting at floats to "throw us something cool!" and catching beads and dancing and eating and generally having a brilliant time.
Here's a peek inside the crazy world of NOLA Mardi Gras. Images and videos of scandalous debauchery (of which there is always PLENTY during Mardi Gras) have been edited out, to maintain the family-friendly rating of this blog ^_^
These pics are for you, Mariya, to live vicariously since you missed the party this year:
A snippet of the parade from the Krewe de Vieux (say, "crew duh vyoo"). Each parade (and there were often multiple parades on the same day) is hosted by a Krewe. If you're interested, Wikipedia can tell you all about the history of Mardi Gras in Nawlins here.
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| There were high school marching bands, cheerleaders, dancers, ROTCers, etc in all the parades, struttin' their stuff and playing fabulous jazzy music to accompany the floats |
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| Handsome hatted hubby |
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| Caught this expression of glee on Sam's face (Jess's son) as he played with the bubble guns we gave him |
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| Decked out in ball gown, pearls and Mardi Gras mask! |
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| Parade watching with fun hostel guests |
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| Adam's attempt to use the box as a seat was only a partial success |
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| Vendors hanging together before parade |
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| Floats are pulled by tractors, 'cept in the Krewe de Vieux parade which uses donkeys/mules/horses, and the very last parades on Mardi Gras, which were decked out semi trucks |
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| Adam's favorite float (amirite, hon?) |
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| The dragon costume was waaaay cool - when he walked, his dragon wings flapped up and down |
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| These ladies could only take a couple steps at a time, for being stopped constantly and photographed :) |
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| Yarrrr, hand over the beads! |
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| Beggin' for beads |
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| The brass band was a tad loud for the delicate ears of these little ladies |
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| Yes, that's me in the pink dress, begging and yelling along with everyone else, for beads that I don't even want. :) You had to be there... |
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| The Rex parade had an "England" theme, and most of the floats were literary nods, like this Robin Hood one. |
It was wild and totally worth it. Adam and I made it separately to 3 parades each, and then Mardi Gras day, we saw 3 parades together. Thanks for les bons temps, NOLA! Now, to get some sleeeeeeeeep.....
Saturday, March 5, 2011
MARDI GRAS!
MARDI GRAS HAS BEGUN.
This city takes 3 things VERY seriously: The Saints, good food and Mardi Gras. Regarding the hostel, everything is going well so far, but suuuuuuuper busy and completely packed full. I predict 0 new blog posts until March 9th, at the earliest. :)
A bientot, Green Blog!
This city takes 3 things VERY seriously: The Saints, good food and Mardi Gras. Regarding the hostel, everything is going well so far, but suuuuuuuper busy and completely packed full. I predict 0 new blog posts until March 9th, at the earliest. :)
A bientot, Green Blog!
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