Happy Lundi Gras (Fat Monday)

If you are not from New Orleans, the events of this week are hard to explain. It is like a national holiday here, but we are the only ones celebrating. When we moved to New Orleans over 17 years ago, no one told us about the Mardi Gras week. We didn't know that they close all the stores, that there is no mail, that the schools are out for a week, and major corporations and factories shutdown.

It is definitely the culture here.....you either think it is the weirdest thing ever, or you just join in the festivities.

Of course what is publicized for the rest of the world to see, is the worst of the worst and usually the tourist. But what most people enjoy is the culture, the history of it and the family fun. The parades are amazing. Nothing like it, no where else.

So today, Ashley, our friend Sarah and I are going to Harry Connick Jr.'s parade...the Krewe of Orpheus. I hope to get some good pictures of Harry to post. We are leaving in about an hour. We will pack some drinks, snacks, and stop and get a little meal, probably Subway or something like that. Then we will find a place to park, drag our lawn chairs and blanket and stake out a place along the parade route to enjoy the evening. There will actually be two parades tonight. While we wait for the parade, we will eat our meal, laugh and enjoy people watching....my favorite part.

Brittany won't be joining us tonight, she is spending her Mardi Gras vacation in Alabama visiting her boyfriend. I will post some cute pictures of them tomorrow as well.

I love My Church - video

Here is the "I Love My Church" video clip that Brittany did for church last week. She found a few volunteers who didn't mind a little camera time and came up with this cute clip....she is very talented. Enjoy!

I Love My Church...New Day Christian Center from Brittany Ray on Vimeo.

Nothing Blogworthy

I have just been catching up. Doing everyday stuff that has to get done....some stuff that I keep putting off, but now I am finally doing it.

So there just hasn't been anything blogworthy. We did have a great weekend.
I love my church Sunday was a lot of fun. I do plan on posting the little video that Brittany produced, if I can get her to do it from her Mac. We spent the afternoon with our new Administrative Bishop and his wife. We had a great time.

In other news...my Dad had cataract surgery this morning. I spoke with him a few minutes ago and he is doing fine. I've been trying to get them to come down for Mardi Gras, but no luck. All these years that we have been here and they have never been to a Mardi Gras Parade.

Bak to my "to do" list.

Happy Valentine's Day again!

Although I already posted a Valentines Day blog, I couldn't help but to say it again!

Terry and I enjoyed an afternoon out yesterday. We went to the mall to pick up his gift, then to a late lunch and to a movie. We saw Slumdog Millionaire - it was alright, a good movie. I'm not sure I would call it Oscar winning, best movie of the year, but it looks like it may end up that way. I like Benjamin Button better. I've only seen two of the oscar contenders. Next week at our theater they are having a special. For $30.00 you can see all five nominated movies and unlimited popcorn. Sounds fun, if you are prepared for a WHOLE day of movies.

Today I have a lot to do to prepare for our service tomorrow. We are having a special day at church. It is I Love My Church day. We are going to have some special added parts to the service. Brittany recorded and made a special little video clip. I will try to post it - it is fun. We are having special guests, our new State Administration Bishop and his wife. After service, his wife, myself and the girls are going to lunch and then to the jewelry show at the convention center. The guys have a meeting with another pastor in the area. We will meet later in the evening to continue our visit together.

I have been captivated by the food network this morning - watching show after show, so I need to turn off the T.V. and finish my work!

Again - Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know it is not until tomorrow, but we have a busy weekend so we exchanged valentines today. Actually, I had a card on Terry's pillow last night and in it was the plan for today....to the mall to pick up his gift, to lunch, and then to an early movie...before the crowds tonight.

When I got up this morning the bedroom door was shut, so when I opened it, there was a gift bag on the other side. Terry bought me the new John Grisham book - some dark chocolates and a card. He had brought me a dozen roses a couple of days ago.

Ashley came by this morning with cards for each of us and a little gift - for me, the eyeliner I like and some nail polish. So sweet! Brittany is unemployed, so I suggested that she could do something special for me like housework!! I think she would rather go in debt! She did make me a breakfast sandwich this morning.

I have a few things to finish on my "to do" list and then off for our valentines afternoon.

Have a great weekend and celebrate your love for others!

Amazon

Terry and I both had offices when we were in Shreveport. We both had a large library of books. When we moved back to New Orleans, we knew that we would be facing a different situation. No church building, no offices. So, we kept out our most important resources and put everything else in our attic. Well that has been over 5 years ago. If you haven't used it in 5 years, you probably don't need it!

So, Terry did all the hard work getting all the boxes out of the attic and Brittany and I have been checking their resale value on Amazon.

Brittany has been selling books and CD's on Amazon for a while. Just a little here and there. But with these books from the attic, she has been bringing in some cash....much needed since she isn't working right now. It is hard to find a job that will work around her school schedule. She did have an interview this morning.

My niece Melissa and (mostly) her husband, Scott sell on Amazon all the time. It has become a real hobby for Scott and almost a part time job. But, he does have to invest a lot of time and effort. Finding the books at sales, second hand shops, etc. Then there is the record keeping, storage and mailing of the items that sell.

But it has been interesting to see what sells and how much people will pay for a book - especially old books that are out of print. So, it has been fun going through those boxes and finding a little treasure before donating the rest of them.

In other news, it has been a busy week. Terry and I went to the elementary schools today and delivered valentines for all of the teachers and staff on behalf of our church. I have been bagging up candy for a couple of days.

The girls and I are going to sneak out for an afternoon movie - we are leaving in a few minutes. Going to see "He Is Just Not That In To You". I hope it is good. I really want to see the movie with Harry Connick, Jr. and Rene Z. Maybe Terry and I will see that on Friday evening.

The weather is beautiful here. Just a little rain this morning - but it has been in the 70's and sunny. I am excited about Spring coming.

Our Valentines and other pictures in my camera..

Here's our version of the I-pod valentines that I wrote about in the previous post. They are really cute, I hope the kids like them.Below are some other pictures that were in my camera.Snow AngelWill's basketball game - he is the shortest kid on the team.The redhead....they are sponsored by the funeral home....Scott said their team slogan was: "We will take you to the grave"......."
Here is an action shot - obviously I didn't have my camera on the right setting.

Superbowl pictures. My friend brought us some 3-D glasses to wear for the special 3-D preview.

Jose was amazed at how his carrot slice came to life.

Brittany on the phone with Justin - as she usually is.

More amazing ice pictures

A close up of Bullet

Trying to catch up!

I've been back from up North about a week and I am still trying to catch up! Everyday I have had something to do - appointments, errands, events, etc.

Today I am going to try and get my surroundings in order. My desk is a mess, piled with mail from when I was gone and I need to make my 2009 files and put away the 2008 files.

I've been picking up some valentine cards and treats for those that are special in my life. Today the girls and I sat down and made some cute valentine crafts for the kids at church. I got the idea from the Family Fun magazine that I took from Melissa's house. I asked if I could have the magazine and she said no....but I found it in a pile of mail by her desk and knew that she would never miss it.....so I took it!! Here is a pic of the cute
I -pod valentines.

Ours actually look better. We used a variety of colors and instead of white string, we used curly ribbon that matched that paper. The play list are songs about love. I'll take a picture and post the ones we did later. OH...it is a box of sweetheart conversation hearts - wrapped in colored paper - the ear buds are mini Reese peanut butter cups - covered in aluminum foil. The play list is a template I downloaded from the Family Fun website.