Wiped Out

Boy, oh boy, was it a whopper of a weekend! First, I volunteered with my friend to shoot the Active for Autism 5K Run/Walk. It rained the entire time we were there. But, I am so blessed to have B for my friend, because she set me up with rain gear from head to toe, including a custom-made wrap for my precious camera and lens!

We were each given a list of things the organization wanted photographed. I traded with B because she wasn't happy with her list which contained subjects like trash cans and porta-potties. Yeah, not a glamourous job, whatsoever! I hurriedly got everything marked off the list so I could wander around and practice photographing smiling faces. It was so much fun, y'all! I hope I have another opportunity to do it again.

That's me in the mirror. :)

One of the items on my list was "bananas." Yeah. I know.
So I asked this pretty girl to model for me. :)

I *think* this is a character from Frozen. Anybody know?
I'm so out of the loop.

The children were captivated by the Frozen character, and were singing all the words along with her.

A Fire Chief/Lion? Cute!

That same day we had the HOA social at our house. We served 130 lbs. of crawfish and hosted about 20 people. It was so fun! Double D prayed away the rain and God answered. True story. :)

Poor Double D. This was his 3rd boil and he has not quite mastered
the peeling. He has another opportunity next weekend though!

The next day was beautiful so we made a quick trip to Bluebonnet Swamp. The birds were all hanging out at the mulberry tree, so the shade and thick leaves made it a challenge to photograph. This is a first of season Catbird. The image is not as crisp as I like, but I loved his pose with the berry in his beak. Sometimes perfection just needs to take a hike!

Hope everyone has a great week! I will be by to visit your blogs throughout the day and tomorrow. I'm a bit behind, sorry.

The Ninth Day

Today was my ninth and last day on the new job. An emotional wreck, I turned in my notice after lunch. As an aside, a bright young woman I had trained with the first week had also quit that morning. We were both hired the same day and quit the same day. I'll bet that doesn't happen often.

In my case, the CEO turned out to be a rather cool, detached type that did not go out of his way to make me feel welcome. Every day I went to work with either my stomach in knots or in tears or both. For my health and sanity I saw no other option. The HR manager and the girl who trained me were so supportive and understanding. They admitted that the CEO is "different" and they seemed genuinely sorry that it didn't work out. Even after they realized I wasn't going to change my mind, they were kind enough to tell me that out of the three candidates I was first choice on everyone's list, and that they still feel like they made the right decision. They told me I did an excellent job and wished me well.

But I can't place all the blame on the CEO. The major life upheavals I've had this year certainly added to the problem: losing my mother, moving out of state, my eldest son struggling to survive in L.A. Starting a new job was just another huge life change that I wasn't quite ready to tackle.

After I took a Xanax and pulled myself together, I took some photos in my garden, which was a lot like therapy. I love zinnias and I'm always fascinated by their different stages of development. Each stage is unique for each flower and yet they're all beautiful.

This was me the first day at the new job--tightly wound but eager to open up.

This is me the second week--just getting ready to bloom. But look! Oh, no, there's a little white bug! Looks benign so I let it roam. Big mistake.

The rest of these could have been symbolic of my development, given the right conditions.

This is what I could have blossomed into if cultivated properly.

I'm sure I'll find something else after I lick my wounds and pull myself together. I just hope I am able to do so soon!

Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou!!

I was so excited to introduce Double D to the famous Crawfish Festival last weekend, held every year in Breaux Bridge, LA. The temps were in the upper 80s, but the 96% humidity is what did me in. Cher bébé! (Shah bah-bay) as they say there. Cajun bands played all day, with a huge area designated for dancing. After about an hour I began to melt just walking around, so I don't know how some of those folks danced their arses off most of the afternoon.

I went straight to the crawfish pie and boudin balls booth. The boudin balls weren't spicy, but the crawfish pie should have come with a warning label. I'm still enduring...er...effects...from it, shall we say...

How in tarnation did this woman survive her booth all weekend in those garments? Just looking at her gave me heat stroke!

Double D & I rode the ferris wheel and it was fun. I was so grateful for the dark cloud that showed up momentarily.

Finally, after hours of dancing, this crawdad couple took a breather. If she's wearing pantyhose, she deserves some kind of award.

Had to shoot this through the car window. Just love the fleur de lis on the street signs. 

Double D talked me into buying this hat while there. He thought it would help with the sun bearing down relentlessly on top of my head. It only made me hotter and then I had "hat hair" so I was stuck. :/ He also encouraged me to buy the sunglasses because of the red fleurs on each side. Notice my fleur earrings also--those I already had. Yeah, I kinda went overboard on the fleur de lis.

We only lasted 3 hours at the festival, but afterwards drove to Cypress Island about 10 miles from Breaux Bridge. While there I spotted my first alligator out in the wild. A 10 footer!!! I also spotted my first tri-colored heron. Can't wait to share my pics later in the week. 

Back From Exile

It feels so good to be back and reading what you all have been up to! There has been so much to do getting ready for my move, celebrating Christmas and birthdays, savoring every minute of my daughter's visit from Portland, and ending my job of 23 years. Something had to give and unfortunately it was Google Reader.

After getting through all that, a tragedy greeted us the first day of 2012.

The phone rang at 4:30AM New Year's Day. Paralyzed with fear, my stomach flip-flopped and my mind raced. It was my stepdaughter's husband asking to speak to my husband in a grave voice. I handed the phone over and braced myself.

To make a very long story short, my youngest stepdaughter was involved in a fireworks explosion and lost her left eye. We are all devastated. It was a stupid, stupid thing that should never have happened. She is now recuperating at her mother's home and faces more surgeries and a prosthetic eye at some point. I'm so grateful that she is still here and that she didn't lose both eyes. There's so much more I want to say, but I'm still in shock over it and feeling a little overwhelmed with my own situation.

With six kids there is never a dull moment.

I am finally in Baton Rouge--my new home. We spent the first few days setting up the internet, visiting relatives, and running errands for my mother. Trying to carve out a little space for myself in a 700 sq ft apartment has been quite a challenge. My mother seems happy to have me here, so that's all that matters at this point.

Here are a few shots I took with my iphone over the last couple days:

Coffee Call - famous for beignets and cafe au lait! YUM 

Bread pudding at Cafe Americain
Topped with pecans, Bailey's Irish Cream, and chocolate rum sauce 

Boudin Balls at The Chimes Restaurant
Pronounced "Boo-dan" but silent on the 'n'
a Cajun specialty consisting of rice, sausage and various spices;
kind of like rice stuffing
My pants are already getting a little snug. :( 

A wallhanging at The Chimes

Double D & me at The Chimes
1/7/12

I've GOT to have one of these! (the tail, not the car)
Baton Rouge is known as Tiger Town, after all.

These were taken today with my 400mm lens at LSU Lakes:

White Pelican

Snowy Egret devouring a perch or brim

Close up

I'll be back with more photos and updates soon. Until then, laissez le bon temp rouler!!

Fair Time!

All week long we looked forward to the State Fair of Texas. As we boarded the train I was all set to read the new book I had downloaded on my Kindle when hubby uncharacteristically morphed into Chatty Charles. Not wanting to ruin the happy mood, I politely responded to the first 12 interruptions. After that I became engrossed in the book so he pulled out his iPhone and began obsessively checking the score of the LSU/Tennessee game. Technology to the rescue!

1986 was the last time I went to the fair, and now I remember why. Crowded places leave me feeling claustrophobic and nervous. And grumpy. Every single time I stood in line to eat some god-awful fried thing, someone got right in front of me as if I was invisible. Hubby encouraged me to be bold and stand my ground. He wanted me to muscle my way in. I angrily complained that I was taught to stand in line and wait my turn - all said loud enough for the offender to hear, I hoped. I'm a rule-follower, what can I say? 

In retrospect, maybe God was telling me to stay away from the food. Everything was fried--even the drinks! I kid you not. There was a fried frozen margarita! What the what? Not my beloved margarita! We're a pretty conventional couple so we stuck with the tried and true: corny dogs, frito pie, funnel cake, praline fried sweet potato poppers, and corn on the cob. 

Burp! Oh, excuse me, I think my tummy is still rebelling. 

Double D drooling over the Camaro. He was wearing his LSU tee shirt and Texas Ranger ball cap. During the parade a clown pointed out that he was mismatched, laughing at him. A clown with abnormally large feet, a flower protruding from his cap, and a red bulb nose thought Double D looked funny. Ha!

Somehow, horrible food and rides like this seem like risky business.
Am I the only one who worries about being vomited on at the fair?
My neuroses know no bounds.

The line was unbelievably long for the ferris wheel.
I was too tired and grumpy to wait.

Pumpkin art by Farmer Mike Valladao - also known as the
The Picasso of Pumpkin Carvers

Birds of the World Exhibit
Hyacinth Macaw

Does anyone know what kind of owl this is? 

Trainer: Did you fart?
Owl: Yes. I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't have had the fried birdseed.

Golden Eagle

Small Postman

Owl Butterfly 

Look at all the people! I think their main objective was to aggravate me.

Iconic Big Tex

Overall it was a fun experience despite some of the annoyances. However, if the length of time between visits remains consistent, I will be 75 years old by the time I'm ready to go back. I can't even imagine myself at that age.

Do you enjoy going to the State Fair? I'm very curious to know what you all think about it.