Reason 1,576....

Here is another reason to live in this area. Cajun fast food. Kevin and I ran down to the local seafood market and picked up 5 pounds of cooked shrimp for everyone to enjoy for dinner the other night. (I think we over ordered because there was a lot left over.) Talk about cheap, fast food! These babies were giant--and delicious!


Maria's table looked pretty with the flower, shrimp (or schromps if you say it correctly!), Tony Chachere's seasoning and our homemade cocktail sauce. Extra horseradish for me!


Doesn't Kevin look happy!?! He's thinking, "Mmmm....schromps!" And the best part about visiting one of these fish markets is that everything is already cooked (probably caught earlier that morning) and you can order boiled potatoes and corn to go with the delicious meal. (You can also buy uncooked fish to cook yourself at home.) Better for you and better tasting than any fast food joint. And just as cheap. Man, I love Louisiana seafood.

Creature Comforts

I've been away from my kitties now for almost three weeks. Here is a picture of Alice's paws. She was sleeping on Kevin--she loves Kevin. I like Alice's paws because they are stripey.


Here is a better picture of Alice. Did I mention she loves Kevin? Always and forever sitting in his lap and purring like mad.


Here is Oliver. Oh, Oliver. Oliver is so co-dependent--but only with me. He has spent the last three weeks meowing opera at midnight for my parents. I think he's letting the house know that he is displeased with my absence. I joke that Oliver loves me in the way that Bryan the Dog from the Family Guy loves Lois. Except I'm convinced that Oliver likes boys. He will only play with pink toys and for a while, his favorite toy was this plush pink makeup compact. I guess he wanted to look pretty for me.

I miss my kitties. Really bad. However, I have had two very special boys to keep me company while we have been figuring this all out.


This is Buddy. He has definitely been my buddy at Maria's house. He is sweet and grunts a lot and has strip of white hair on the top of his head that you can fluff up into a mowhawk. Very punk rock, Buddy.


This is Buster. Oh my goodness, that face! I love his little blonde curls and his floppy ears. He's dramatical like Oliver is dramatical. He woos. I mean, really woos. Woo woo woo woo woo! It's really funny but best not to encourage him because once he get's going, it's hard to stop!

Having the puppies around has definitely made missing the kitties a little more bearable. I can't imagine a life without animals around.

We are heading back to Amarillo tomorrow so that Kevin can finish up his work at the hospital. Then we turn around and drive back to New Orleans on Saturday to move into our new apartment and for Kevin to start work at his new hospital. One thing I'm looking forward to on our drive back is this:


That's right. Goats. And not just any goats, these are Show Goats! I wonder if they perform a nice kick line and are good about using their jazz hooves. How do I know they are special Show Goats, you ask? See the sparkle in his eyes? Ok, it was sunny so I suppose you can't see that but it says so on the sign by the side of the road on the way to Austin. "Show Goats!" Yeah, baby. I know I would pay good money to see a goat dressed up in sequins and a feather boa. Especially if they can do a nice soft shoe number.

Oh a hunting we will go...

Here is a picture of my good friend, LJ. He's a doll. He and his mom, Maria, have taken pity on me and are letting me stay at their house while we figure out this whole transition. I think this picture is very appropriate for the task at hand.

1. Find a place for Kev and I to call home

2. Find a job.

Really, 1 and 2 are interchangeable. But I would really like to have SOMETHING concrete by Friday.

I'm off to look at some possibilities. I have found 25 places to look at and have mapped these places by zip code. Wish me luck that I don't get completely lost (yay IPhone) and I'm able to weed out the scary places.

I've got my camera and will post pictures later.

Not Ours...

It's official. They denied our loan. I'm sad but I am determined to make this move work. Our fabulous realtor, Alison, is working hard to find us a place to rent. Things are going to be okay.

A Mini Adventure

I decided to have a little adventure yesterday. I took my camera into the city and spent the day walking around the Garden District and in a few cemeteries. Hey, that's what makes this city interesting to me. You can spend an afternoon looking at gorgeous mansions and then spend some time looking at ancient headstones.

Being from an area where any tree that exists there had to be planted, I tend to be blown away by all things growing in nature without an irrigation system. Especially all the palm trees. Like this one. I was driving the other day and saw a green house advertising "Queen Palms". I wonder if this is one of those queens. Very grand.


Oh my. Look at this house. It must have a million rooms and is definitely not 500 square feet. Hmm...I wonder what I would do with a house that big? I definitely wouldn't want to have to clean that. But I suppose if you could have a house that size, you could afford to pay Merry Maids to come in and sweep out the cobwebs for you.


More pretty houses. I wish the pink house people wouldn't have grown that giant privacy bush, so we could admire their pretty pink house. What, do they want privacy or something?!


This house looks like the White House to me. If it were in the deep south, and had huge oak trees growing in front. And you could just walk up to it and they left their water delivery bottles on the front porch. I wouldn't mind drinking a mint julep on that porch.


Everyone who has a garden in New Orleans has these beauties growing right now. I think they are gorgeous and make me think of when Kevin and I were in Amsterdam last summer.


Of course, I had to add the obligatory magnolia blossom. They smell so pretty! It looks like the sun was shining a spotlight on this particular blossom.


After I left the Garden District, I drove over to the Metarie Cemetery to take some pictures. This particular cemetery was huge! Rows and rows of tombs, set up like a neighborhood.


Here is a headstone from 1800. That's right, 1800. This is an old city with lots, and lots of history. No wonder everyone thinks this entire city is haunted.


I tried to visit St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 and see if I could find Marie Laveau's grave, but alas, they are closed on Sundays. I'll plan my next visit accordingly and hopefully get some really interesting photographs. I particularly like the archway of magnolia trees.


Finally, here is a picture of the house that Kevin and I are trying to buy. We find out today if it is a done deal--I'll let you know as soon as we hear! I'm on pins and needles!