Lizard Tales

Ethan comes home!

2008-12-26T17:35:00.003-06:00

Ethan was released from the hospital and came home on Christmas Day!

Evie loves "her" baby Ethan.

The Johnson Family:

Ethan Pics!

2008-12-22T22:07:00.003-06:00

Here are a couple of more recent pictures of Ethan. When Evie saw these pictures she said, "Dr. P taking care of Ethan" Dr. P is their pediatrician.

Ethan Charles Johnson!

2008-12-22T22:02:00.002-06:00

Hi, friends! My nephew, Ethan Charles Johnson, was born on Friday, December 19. He weighed 7lbs. 2oz. and was 20in. long. Though his measurements don't indicate it, the doctors consider him a preemie because he was born 4 weeks early.
Here's a picture of the happy family shortly after his birth:

Evie and Big Daddy (or B'addy, as she likes to call him) watch the nurses tend to Ethan:

While in the nursery, the nurses noticed that Ethan had to work a little too hard to breathe. He made a slight moaning sound with every breath. This noise was a result of his throat muscles working hard to push air into his lungs. The pediatrician decided to put him in the NICU and assist his breathing with a c-pap machine (like the one worn by people with sleep apnea).

Ethan has been in the NICU since that first night. As typical for families with a child in the NICU, we have been on an emotional roller coaster. The good news is that the doctor has not needed to incubate Ethan. He has gone from the c-pap to a vent/hood type contraption to granular tubes that assist with his breathing. They started feeding him yesterday and Cristi was able to hold and feed him last night! Please continue to pray for baby Ethan and our entire family. We are hoping that we will be able to bring him home for Christmas!
Here are a few more pics for your enjoyment:

What a fun week!

2008-12-15T18:39:00.007-06:00

I had such a fabulously unique week that I was inspired to once again return to the blogging world. (Well, the fun week, the nagging friends and family, and the small amount of down time I decided to take for myself combined to encourage my return.)

Most of you know that I occasionally 'moonlight' as a doula. My friends, Amanda and Owen Nease, invited me to join them in the birth of their son! Amanda choose to labor and deliver in the water. Having watched a few births, I am convinced that water birth is the way to go!
This seemed to be her most comfortable position in the water. Isn't she beautiful? I mean, the girl was having hard, double contractions and still managed to smile in between.

Owen, Amanda and mid-wife, Cathy.

Owen and I assembled, cleaned and disassembled the pool. We had two different sets of directions and I'm pretty sure Candid Camera taped us for their next episode. This picture marked the momentous occasion of finally getting the pool back in its carrier. Can you see the relief on our faces?

Bennett Owen Nease! 9lbs 21.25 inches

Two days later, we had a rare snowy morning in New Orleans!

Later in the week, my friend Eva invited me to watch Pete Sampras and James Blake play an exhibition match in Baton Rouge. We had floor seats!

Pete's still got it! He won in the third set.

Evie's 1st Tech Game

2007-10-21T20:16:00.000-05:00

*A note to my NGCSU crowd....please accept my apologies for not making it to Gold Rush...I just couldn't miss this!*

We took Evie to her first GT game! It was Homecoming, so she got to see the "Wreck" parade, visit a few tailgates, eat at the Varsity, watch 4 paratroopers land on the 50 yd line before the game, sleep through the first half, dance with the band during the 2nd half and cheer the Jackets on to Victory!

Watchin' the Wreck Parade by Big Daddy's frat house; posing with the Ramblin Wreck

Having fun with 'Uncle Charlie' and 'Aunt Herlene'!

My News

2007-09-17T16:55:00.000-05:00

So, Kimberly wants me to share the story about the time that I got hit by a car in the Student Center parking lot. Yes-my person, not my car was hit, Yes-it happened last week, Yes- I'm okay, a few bruises here and there, but I'm okay.

Don't worry, I'm gonna give you the details. First, you need to know a little background info to make the story even better (as if getting hit by a car isn't enough of a story). On Sept. 1, I started my new job as the Associate Dean of Students at NOBTS. You can read more about it here http://www.nobts.edu/resources/pdf/Publications/GK37.4Web.pdf (go to page 5)

Yeah, the Associate Dean of Students (that's me.....still really weird to say), is walking from her car to work last Thursday morning when a new undergrad student in an old Chevy pick-up comes tearing around the corner (probably late for class). Now, I'm not hiding. I'm in the middle of the road and I was committed....no turning back....when I realize that this dude's going pretty fast. I think to myself, "Self, surely he sees me." I mean, I'm in a bright pink sweater and I was carrying a bright pink umbrella (cute skirt and heels, too!). The truck gets a little closer, but isn't slowing down. I began to think that maybe it was someone messing with me. You know, acting like he's gonna hit me, but stop right before he gets to me. Well, he wasn't acting. By this time I'm almost in the clear (right in front of the driver's side headlight) when I realize, 'he's not stopping'. Instinct kicked in, and I placed one hand on top of the hood and the other on the side of the headlight and kind of pushed off as the truck hit me.
I took a bumper to the left knee and my right side hit the concrete pretty hard, but no major damage. Just bruises here and there and no sleeping on my side for a little while.
So, I'm sprawled out on the ground, and the contents of my purse are strewn everywhere. The student gets out of his truck and he was FREAKING out. (As he should have been....I mean, really, what a great way to start your academic career....hit the Associate Dean....LOL)
I stand up, check to make sure all of my appendages were still attached, and say, "Did you not SEE me?" (Go back and read that sentence with Liz's 'you've got to be kidding me' voice.) He was like, "n-n-n-o-o ma'am, I was looking to my right for a parking space.....I'm so sorry, are you okay?" I said, "No, I'm not okay you just HIT me. How could you not see me?" He proceeds to pick my belongings up off the ground. He said, "What do we do?" All I could think was, 'I just got hit by a car!' and 'if this guy gets in trouble, he'll end up in my office anyway, just give him a somber warning' So, I dished out a little bit more of a warning, grabbed my purse and went to work.
Of course, I didn't get much work done because everyone wanted to stop by and check on me. At one point our Registrar walked in to talk to me about a student issue. I told him, "I'm sorry, we might have to talk about this tomorrow, I just got hit by a car." LOL.

Well, it's a story. At least I can laugh about it....could have been much worse!

GT vs. ND

2007-09-02T23:10:00.000-05:00

*****I wrote this last week, but didn't get the chance to post it....sorry for the delay!**********

Okay, so I know that you thought me updating my blog was about as likely as App. State beating Michigan. Haven't you just had a weekend full of suprises!

Most of you know that I travelled to South Bend for our annual "Tech away game" trip. Can we say FABULOUS weekend? And giving Notre Dame their worst home-opener loss EVER was just lagniappe (or, icing on the cake, to you non-cajun folk). Okay, so maybe it was the best part of a great weekend. But, I'm telling you, we had a great weekend even before the game started!

My Aunt Kim, who lives in South Bend, arranged for her neighbor to give us a golf cart tour of the campus on Friday afternoon. Her neighbor, Brian, really hooked us up! He works for Notre Dame's Mendoza School of Business. He gave us a golf cart tour of campus AND tickets for the ND Pep Rally. YES....you read that correctly. You have to get a ticket to go to their Friday evening pep rally (and they have them before every home game) And there was a line of at least 200 folks who couldn't get in....TO A PEP RALLY. I was WAY impressed with the tradition and sportsmanship at ND. Their fans were great (you know, they didn't yell 'tiger bait', or bark in your face like I've experienced at some lesser universities). And instead of reminding us that they've beat us something like 27 out of the 34 times we've played them, they shook our hands, thanked us from coming to South Bend, and said "Y'all played a great game." I used to get tired of hearing about Notre Dame and their "tradition", but now, I have to say that they are the real deal.

Here are some pics to enjoy!

Brian gave us a parking pass, so we tailgated right outside the stadium! We just HAD to pose with Buzz in front of Touchdown Jesus.

Back by popular demand

2007-05-27T09:14:00.001-05:00

Although I am tempted to wait and see just how many comments and memories y'all will leave in my last post, peer pressure wins and I'm updating my blog.

What have I been up to? Well, I joined a USTA league this spring. It felt so incredibly good to get back on the tennis court. Our team ended up winning our local league and competed in the state tournament last weekend! Woo-hoo....way to go Highly Strung! We even won a couple of our matches! (lost a few, too) Here's a pic from last weekend's tournament:

I headed to the ATL this weekend for my cousin's wedding. My cousin, Samantha, married Scott McInturf.

I really enjoyed my time at home this weekend. I even took my niece to one of my favorite places! Can you guess where we went?

March Madness

2007-03-15T23:52:00.000-05:00

It's the first day of March Madness and many of you are already depressed about your bracket status. How did you make out on day 1? I'm 12 and 4 right now. I'm normally a big-time ACC supporter, but I must admit that I was really excited to 'call' the Duke upset!
Here's a fun game Locate the 65 See if you can correctly place the tournament teams. I scored 75.38! (Thanks Tara for getting the whole geography game theme going.Btw, I remembered 44 states...that's with 2 phone calls and having to step away from my desk to help a student...guess I shouldn't have been playing while I was at work!)

Evie's 3 Months Old

2007-03-10T00:25:00.000-06:00

Hey folks! My gorgeous niece, Evie, is 3 months old! My how time flies. Here are a few pics for all you who've been begging to see her. Also, check out Cristi and Tommy's blog for more pictures and stats (length, weight, etc.) Laney Carson also celebrated the 3 mo mark this past week. Oh, and big congrats to new parents 'Rell and Joni! Welcome to the world Jasper Daniel!

Mardi Gras 07

2007-02-25T21:52:00.000-06:00

Well, I survived another Mardi Gras.....barely. Whew, I think I'm getting to old for this. But, I had a great time!

My precious friends Mel and Shannon came in town to celebrate. I miss having them in New Orleans, I really think they should move back.

We paraded ALL day Saturday, all day Sunday after church, Monday evening and all day Tuesday. Craziness. I wish I could find the right words to describe Mardi Gras in New Orleans. 'The world's largest family reunion/tailgate party' just doesn't seem to cover it. Oh well, guess y'all will have to come down and experience it with me sometime!

Enjoy the pics!

This sign scored some pretty good throws: beads from Drew Brees and a beanie baby from Sean Payton!

Here's Mel and Amanda viewing the parade from a couple of ladders we brought for the kiddo's (don't worry the little kids had already gone home!)

The Lee kids joined us for most of the parades. Stephen finally got into the spirit of things on Monday evening. Do you like his sign? (We'll do just about anything for some good throws!)

Here's Stephen and I enjoying lunch on Saturday afternoon. We also celebrated Carter Cox's 1st B-day at the parades

The Hit Me sign is always a crowd-pleaser....but you have to be brave to hold it. Krewe members love to pelt the sign with a large number of beads thrown at very high speeds.
My Mardi Gras experience changes just a little each year. The new addition/experience for this year was a camp-out on the neutral ground (neutral ground = median, for all you who are not schooled on New Orleans lingo) on St. Charles Avenue. You may remember last year's post about Nick, the owner of the restaurant, Rio Mar, whom we stood next to last year. Well, I got in touch with Nick, and we decided to all join up and camp out together. Unfortunately, by the time we made it to St. Charles Monday evening, the neutral ground was almost full of other campers! We ended up separating from Nick's crew. Mel, JB, Jonathan and I were so tired from all vou parading, that we set-up our tent and went straight to bed!
Here's a pic of Mel and I inside the tent.

The Kampout Krewe: Mel, JB, Jonathan and me!
Brushing my teeth in front of half the city was a little different.All in all, I had a great Mardi Gras! Can't wait for each of you to come down and celebrate with us!

Great Article

2007-01-10T17:17:00.000-06:00

I read this article today on ESPN.com. Please take a few minutes to read it. I really appreciate this editor's reflection on his drive through New Orleans.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=2726381

Evie's here!

2006-12-09T11:04:00.000-06:00

My precious niece, Evelyn Caroline Johnson (Evie), was born at 2:50 p.m., Friday, December 8. She weighed 8 lbs and is 21 inches long. She's a doll!

I thought some of you would enjoy a play-by-play:

Cristi and Tommy checked in to the hospital at 8 p.m. on Thursday, December 7. At 9 p.m. the nurses started the process to induce her. They were only 'supposed' to have 3 visitors in the room at a time, so Tommy's parents spent the night in the Waiting Room. Grammy (my mom, Leesa) and I stayed in the LDR room with Cristi and Tommy. We played Clue and cards while we waited for the drugs to take affect.

(Tommy and Cristi on their way to the hospital)

I can't tell you how many years its been since I've played Clue. But, that was Cristi's choice....pregnancy cravings are so weird.

(Doula duties are tough!)

The hospital staff started Cristi on Pitosin (sp?) at 7:30 a.m. and that's when things really started kickin'. We had a little scare. The monitor indicated that Evie's head was in the posterior position and if she didn't change positions, the doctor would have to do a C-section. Praise the Lord, she moved!

Around 2:15 p.m., Cristi started pushing and at 2:50 p.m., we finally got to meet Evie!

(Grammy captured our first glimpse of Evie!)

Grr (Evie's Great-Grandmother) could not be torn away from the nursery, so when the time came to bring Evie to Cristi and Tommy, the nurse let Grr wheel her in the room!

Here's a picture of the happy family! I'm so proud of my sister and bro-in-law, they're already great parents!

Doula Liz

2006-12-01T23:41:00.000-06:00

I got to try my skills at being a doula last night. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced. I helped my good friends Byron and Cynthia Townsend welcome their new little girl into the world. Baby Girl Townsend (they're still trying to decide on her name) was born November 30 at 11:52 p.m. She weighed in at 6 lbs and 11oz. She barely made it in time to be the Townsend's second baby born during hurricane season...and just in time to wear the "Miss November" onesie a friend gave her.

For those of you who don't know, the word doula comes from the Greek word 'doulas', which means servant, or slave. In the childbirth process, a doula is basically a servant to the mother. My job was to pay attention to Cynthia and to use massage, prayer, and encouragement to help her relax and manage the pain. Some of you reading this may say, "Isn't that the husband's job?" And, yes, Byron did a great job at all of those things. But, the husband also has a hundred other things to do, too. I only had one....serve Cynthia. Cynthia had a water birth which was really incredible. I feel amazingly blessed to have been a part of their special day. Isn't our God amazing?

I'm on the road, so I can't post any pics right now. (I'm in Jacksonville for the ACC Championship) But, I'll try to post some soon. Warning: my blog is about to blow up with pictures of nieces. My flesh and blood niece, Evie, could come anyday and Hugh and Hollie's bundle of joy will be here next week! YEAH!

It didn't work

2006-11-25T18:11:00.000-06:00

I just got home from Israel. Yep, ISRAEL. I had an absolutely amazing trip. I can't wait to tell you all about it....but first, I have to process it all. We squeezed a 14 day tour into 8 days. What a whirlwind.

Okay, back to the title of this post. I wore a GT shirt to the Wailing Wall. I hoped for the miracle of miracles....Reggie Ball not gift-wrap a ballgame to UGA.

Oh well. The good news is I don't have to watch him play another game against the dogs. (Bitter party of one, please.)

BTW, if you've tried to call me the last two weeks, I was in Israel. Oh, and my cell phone died, so I probably won't have it back until Monday.

(And I didn't really ask the Lord for a miracle at the Wailing Wall.....maybe I should have ;) )

You'll never believe what I did

2006-11-15T11:35:00.000-06:00

Okay, those of you who REALLY know me are never gonna believe this. I ran a 5-K this past weekend. Yep, the Crescent City Fall Classic. Okay, you can pick up you're gaping jaw. Y'all know I HATE to run. But, our gym and pool are still damaged, so running is the only option that fits in my schedule. I was just happy to finish, but some of you would like to know my time. 33:33 was the official time, but I would like to point out that it took me 30 seconds to get to the Start Line. Here's a picture of me after the race. Like the hair? (gotta love New Orleans' humidity).

GT v. Clemson

2006-10-21T01:52:00.000-05:00

Big game today: GT vs. Clemson. Forget ACC Championship stakes...Office bragging rights are at stake.

The pics above are from a Pumpkin Carving Party that I hosted for us NOBTS employees/evacuees in the ATL last year. The tiger in the pictures is my friend and assistant, Amanda. Amanda and her husband, Jonathan are at the game today. Should I fire her since she didn't get me a ticket? ;)

Just kidding, Amanda's the best! She's a joy to work with (except for, maybe, on Monday....one of us definitely won't be a joy!).

Happy Birthday!

2006-10-14T13:12:00.000-05:00

Today is the 28th Birthday of two of my favorite people! Happy Birthday Hollie and DeeDee! The picture to the left is DeeDee and me last Christmas in the ATL. To the right you see Hollie and me at her "Guess the Baby's Gender" party this past summer. I'm so thankful that God brought both of you in my life! I'm spoiled!

Quick Post

2006-09-28T20:30:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone.....I've snagged a few extra seconds to post an old pic. Me and Ang at College Gameday! We had so much fun...but I'm telling you, the cheering at Gameday will take a lot out of you. I didn't think I'd have any energy left to cheer at the game!

Stay tuned for pics from the opening of the Superdome. Yep, Saints v. Falcons. I'm a true New Orleanian, now....I own Saints season tics. The game was amazing. I can't wait to tell you more.

been tagged.....

2006-08-09T13:09:00.000-05:00

Okay, so Tara tagged me.....and this is all I have time to update at the moment. Once I get through New Student Orientation, then, I get a chance to breathe....and I promise to update after next week.

FIVE THINGS IN MY FREEZER
1. Dole Frozen Fruit (good stuff!)
2. Froz. Broccoli
3. Ice packs to keep my frozen stuff cold when the power goes out around here (or for keeping stuff cool in a travel cooler for fun outings!) (...and hurricane evacuations)
4. Froz. spinach
5. Cool Whip

FIVE THINGS IN MY CLOSET
1. Brand new JACKETS shirt for THE COLLEGE GAMEDAY Sept. 2 (GT v. ND) look for Angela and I in our matching shirts....we should be right behind Kirk
2. fun purses! I love me a handbag ;)
3. not enough work clothes....I haven't dressed 'professionally' since before Hurricane Katrina. I'm wondering what I will wear for Orientation next week....yikes.
4. stuffed animals (mostly monkeys that my sister gave to me through the years....we adopted her from a colony of monkeys
5. flip-flops

FIVE THINGS IN MY CAR (I have much more than five)
1. Right now....my friend Brenda. She's borrowing my vehicle
2. A cooler (for above mentioned ice paks and fun times)
3. An empty gas container (which I will fill up if we have to evacuate)
4. A blanket (for above mentioned fun times)
5. trash to take to the dumpster (in the back of my truck, of course)

FIVE THINGS IN MY PURSE (just checked....)
1. Orbit Sweet Mint gum (my new fav)
2. Tide to go pen
3. Arbonne Reactivate hand lotion
4. Announcements about "Opportunities to Change Your World" at Edgewater Baptist Church...check us out www.edgewaterbc.org
5. Arbonne "Island Kiss" lipstick

hhmmm....now I'm supposed to tag someone, right? Speaking of people who haven't updated blogs.....Jenny Riddle, you're it!

Boxers or Briefs?

2006-07-08T21:16:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I'm a pretty big fan of board, card, sport, really any kind of game. Well, Katrina destroyed all of my games, so I'm slowly re-building my game closet. July 4 gave me a perfect excuse to buy a new game (folks need entertainment while they wait for fireworks), so I headed on over to the toy aisle of Wal-Mart. I took a chance on a game of which I had never played: "Boxers or Briefs?" Let me just tell you, I'm a big fan! I've owned the game for less than a week and I've already played it 3 times! It's a great group game, and even my friends who HATE board games have enjoyed this one. A group of friends and I played it last night and they insisted that we keep playing long after the game had already been won by yours truly :) (third time's the charm). Anyway, any of you game lovers out there....this one's a winner!

check out my shout out!

2006-06-19T09:07:00.000-05:00

Check out my shout-out on Asah and Tara's blog. I went to visit the Hudgins family last Friday. It was SO good to see them. Jordan is so handsome! And I LOVE their house. Their cat's a little bit of a bully ;), Josie made Bruiser pee all over himself. LOL. I think Bruiser will have to grow into his name. Asah cooked an awesome steak and I got to hog Jordan most of the night. I LOVED it!

BRUISER

2006-06-11T22:53:00.000-05:00

Well, folks, I'm finally settling down. I got a puppy! Yep, his name is Bruiser. Doesn't he look dangerous? lol. He's a Maltese and about 3 months old. He is awesome! I think you should all come down to New Orleans and visit him!

New Link

2006-05-10T17:00:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone...sorry for the long hiatus. I had a recruiting trip, then a vacation, then a work trip to San Antonio (great city!) and then I came home to a tripled work load....whew. Lots to talk about....But I think the biggest news is found on my latest blog link. Check out johnsonfamilyingriffin.blogspot.com to see pics of my niece or nephew....

Big Debut!

2006-04-07T16:15:00.000-05:00

Jordan Asah Hudgins made his big debut at 5:16 a.m. April 6, 2006. (Ethan Michael Hartzog, thank you SO much for arriving at an hour when Aunt Liz can actually make coherent sentences) Baby Jordan weighed 7lbs. 4oz. and measured 19 1/2 inches in length. Tara did great and Asah was an awesome encouragment to her. They're already amazing parents!

Baby Jordan is on his way!

2006-04-05T13:04:00.000-05:00

I just got word that the doctors have induced Tara. Asah and Tara Hudgins will be proud parents sometime today or tomorrow! Yippee! Tara is doing great and Asah's busy letting all his profs know that his papers will be late ;). Their hospital is about an hour away from here, so I plan on driving up there this afternoon. I'll keep y' all posted!

Need a little help here....

2006-03-22T22:19:00.000-06:00

Can anyone tell me why the text on my sidebar seems to shrink as you scroll down the page?

More Mardi Gras Scenes

2006-03-13T19:31:00.000-06:00

The pic below shows part of our "bead-catching" strategy. Signs. They're always a winner. Nope, those boys aren't midgets, I'm just standing on a cooler. Zack's holding Mel's masterpiece "Throw me something, mister!" with purple fringe. I made the "Thanks 4 Marching" to say thank you to the krewes who decided to go ahead and celebrate. And Greg is holding a target with the words, "We know what it means to miss..." (A play off of the song, "Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?") Listen, it takes a man's man to hold that target sign. Krewe members LOVED to pelt that sign with a handful of beads. I told you the sport of Mardi Gras throw-catching was dangerous.

So, I guess it wasn't all play all the time. Zack found a little time to study his Greek. Dr. Stevens, give that man an A! (fyi, Daniel and Jason studied some Greek, too. I just didn't catch it on film)

Like these pics? Check out the link on your left "Liz's Pics" for more Mardi Gras scenes.

Just Kidding

2006-03-13T08:14:00.000-06:00

So, I didn't quite make it to Mexico. When I woke up Friday morning I had this weird feeling that I shouldn't go on the trip. Well, truth be told, I had that nagging feeling for the past two weeks. So, I just prayed that the Lord would do something drastic to show me whether I should stay or go. I mean, I didn't have a "real" reason to say no....I had the time off from work and the trip was paid for.
Well, drastic He did. I could not get a flight out of New Orleans. I wanted to use a buddy pass, so I checked on Monday to make sure that there were seats available. There were plenty, so I didn't worry about taking off from work on Friday to drive to Atlanta. (Not that driving was really an option, my truck is not driveable at the moment)
Imagine my suprise when I got to the airport Friday night to find that EVERY flight from New Orleans to Atlanta was oversold for the next 3 days! I tried to get a one-way ticket to Cancun...sold out for the next two weeks. I tried to get a ticket to Orlando (where the group had a layover) and couldn't get one for 2 days. Isn't that crazy?
I'll tell you one thing though. I lived the past few days with the confidence of knowing that I'm supposed to be here. I've lived more intentionally. And I've wondered why I don't live EVERY day with that same intentionality.

Fav Mardi Gras scenes

2006-03-09T10:24:00.000-06:00

Please forgive me for my delay in posting. I live in a somewhat third world country and our offices are without phone and internet access for the past few days.

Geez. Well, I think I've finally recovered from my Mardi Gras exhaustion. Seriously, this year's carnival season wore me OUT! I can't even imagine how those folks sportin' hangovers must have felt these past two weeks. Whew. The pic I've posted shows Mel, Daniel, Zack and Jason sifting through some of our loot. I wish I could describe the parade scenery for those of you who have never experienced Mardi Gras. It is like the biggest tailgating party EVER. We left my house at 6:30 a.m. (to get to a parade route 10 miles away) and barely found a place to set-up our chairs. All around us people were firing up grills and waking up in the tents they had set-up the night before along the parade route. We ended up standing next to Nick, who owns a spanish seafood restaurant in the Warehouse District, www.riomarseafood.com, I haven't visited Rio Mar, yet. But, if their entrees are even half as good as the hamburgers he grilled for us, then my tastebuds and belly are in for a special treat. Y'all he grilled the BIGGEST hamburgers I've ever seen in my life. And they had pinenuts in them. And then, he poured melted cheese over the top. It was SO good. It was so big that I could only eat half.

Okay, I'm borrowing a friend's Internet connection, so I have to end this. More Mardi Gras pics when I get back from Mexico. OH, did I mention that I'm going to Mexico next week? Yep, with North Georgia College Baptist Student Union. I'm a last minute addition. Please pray for us!

An Olympic Sport?

2006-02-24T12:58:00.000-06:00

Last night, I took in my first two parades of the 2006 Carnival season. I can't even begin to explain how good it felt to celebrate a "normal" activity with the rest of the city. Three of my fav guys down here (Daniel, Jason, and Zack) and I enjoyed Chaos and Muses. It was their first Mardi Gras parading experience and they are completely hooked! Their experience was highlighted by the fact that Muses is an all female krewe, and these cuties found much favor with the ladies. They walked away with so much bounty I'm afraid they'll be disappointed with the rest of the parades. (We're making signs tonight, just to insure they catch quite a few throws the next few days)

Okay, so I've decided if Curling can be an Olympic Sport, then the 2008 Summer Olympics should include a "Mardi Gras Throw Catching" event. Seriously. Those of you who have not attended a Mardi Gras parade may not fully understand my logic, but I think those who have attended know exactly what I'm talking about. Anyone can catch a bead during Mardi Gras, but only the dedicated can score the best throws. It takes skill, strategy, determination, endurance and even a little luck to catch the best the krewes have to offer. And competition? Watch two grown men catch the same strand of beads. Only a truly competitve sport would make those men tear the strand in half instead of relinquishing the plastic beads to someone else. Last night, I even witnessed my friend Jason (a normally sane, respectful, godly man) step in front of a two-year old to catch a stuffed animal. Last year, I walked two blocks with my entire upper torso inside the window of stretch limo begging the rider to give me a Zulu coconut. . .talk about dedication. And you think Aerial Skiing is dangerous? You could lose a hand, an eye, or even get trampled at a Mardi Gras parade. Think I'm joking? Ask Jenny Riddle. There's not much that hurts as bad as taking a bag of beads to the face. Walk down the street of a parade route and you'll hear people in the crowd discuss strategy and compare bounty. I'm telling you...it's a sport.

I finally did it.

2006-02-15T09:16:00.000-06:00

Okay Hollie, Hugh, Asah, Tara, Stephen, Jenny, Jeremy, Kimberly, Brent, Jessica, Brenda and every other blogger who has inspired me (and nagged me to get with the program) I DID IT. I created a blog. Stop now and add me to your "Blogs We Read", "Totally Sweet Blogs", or whatever you call that special little link section that I'm trying to figure out how to put on my blog. I will do my best to be a better blogger than I have been as an e-mailer (Why do I feel like I'm giving an inauguration speech?).

Please be patient with me as I try to catch up with you technologically savvy folks. And for the love of mankind, leave a comment so I know you're out there.