Hey guys! Long time no see!
How is it that the blog world travels at the speed of light so that when I don’t post or read blogs for 12 hours, it feels like I’ve been away for days or even MONTHS?!? It makes me feel like Rip Van Winkle. 
Today was a really busy day, and lots of fun, so I’ll just get right to it! I actually didn’t take pictures of much of my eats today (sorry…BAD blogger!!!), but I have a lot of fun pictures of the festivities, so I’m going to post those. Because it’s my blog and I can post non-food pics if I want to. 
This morning, my sister had a big baby shower thrown for her by a group of her high school friends. It was so fun! They had a great spread of food, but I was so busy chatting and then playing secretary during the gift-opening that I didn’t even eat until the shower was almost over. Even then, I grazed on a cake ball, a few chips with guac, a few crackers and some cheese, and a slice of king cake (my fave!). There is a bakery here in Shreveport that sells the BEST king cakes during Mardi Gras. My mom always sends me one via UPS, but they are HUGE, and so I told her not to worry about it this year—with just me and Ryan in the house, that is way more king cake than either of us needs. Do you know the tradition of the Mardi Gras king cake? I’ll do a post on it soon!
Here are some highlights from the shower:
My two grandmothers checking out Sophie’s new swimwear:
Not sure what we were talking about here (me, my sister, and my mom), but it was obviously very funny:
My mom got to practice her grandma skills with Katherine’s friend’s new baby girl, Eloise:
Around 1:15, the shower wrapped up and my mom and I headed home. I snacked on a HUGE orange to tide me over for…the Mardi Gras parade!!!
Shreveport does two big Mardi Gras parades each year: the Crewe of Centaur and the Crewe of Gemini. This weekend was the centaur parade. I’m so glad I was in town for it—I haven’t been to a Shreveport Mardi Gras parade since high school! I went down to New Orleans for Mardi Gras in college, and for the past few years we’ve been going to visit Katherine and Kevin in Baton Rouge for their Spanish Town Parade (they moved to Shreveport just this past summer), so I was excited to have a little hometown fun!
Around 3, we headed out to the parkway where the parade route would start. The mother of my cousin’s wife, Tena, has a big Winnebago motor home, and she had parked it right along the parade route, so my mom, my aunt Lisa, and I met up with a bunch of our family for the parade. Having the motor home was great because we had access to warmth and a bathroom! We had fun drinking beer, munching on snacks as we waited for the parade to begin. It actually didn’t get going until six o’clock!
It was worth the wait! Mardi Gras parades are such a fun, unique tradition! Love ‘em! Here are some shots of the various floats:
Parade strategy: position yourself by a little kid so that lots of beads get thrown your way!
The Centaur King:
These two girls are my cousins’ kids, Charlotte and Hagen. Aren’t they cute? They were really racking up on the beads!
My cousin Anderson caught a football:
And my mom caught a rose (she also wasn’t wearing her wedding ring…coincidence? I think not…)
Of course, there were lots of Saints references:
Things like this always make me so happy that I get to call Louisiana home…however far away I may be living at the moment!
I realized that I didn’t get any pictures of me in my beads, so here are a few from last year’s Spanish Town parade (which is fun because it’s in the daytime…and who doesn’t like debauchery and drunken shenanigans at 11 a.m.?):
Whew!!! Mardi Gras madness!
After the parade, my mom and I headed to a Mexican restaurant for MORE “bad” food…eek! Friends, my eating has not been up to par this weekend, so I apologize. What can I say? I’m human! I’ll get back to my normal eating tomorrow!
But for tonight…
Cheese enchilada, guacamole tostada, rice, and beans:
Oh, and forget about the sugar challenge too.
Say hello to my bff, TCBY:
Actually, I feel kind of nauseous right now. My body just isn’t used to this kind of eating anymore. It will be nice to get a clean start tomorrow.
So, tomorrow, I’m supposed to fly from Dallas to DC to State College. Yeahhhhhhh, the whole DC thing is going to be a madhouse…IF I can even get there! Ugh. I have a feeling it might be a lonnnnnnng day. Keep your fingers crossed for me! I’ll try to post as soon as I can, but again…there’s no telling when or where that might be!
See you tomorrow, Saints fans!
Heather said,
February 7, 2010 @ 12:30 pm
What a fun day!!! Ugh I’ve heard DC flights are pretty much a mess…hope you don’t run into too many problems!
Kristie said,
February 7, 2010 @ 1:06 pm
Love all the pictures from the parade. I hadn’t heard of the King Cake tradition until Lauren did a post on it – but I love learning about all this Southern traditions that I had never heard of as a Midwest gal
Hope travels today are speedy… or that you make some friends at the airport!
Lily @ Lily's Health Pad said,
February 7, 2010 @ 1:46 pm
Oh my gosh. You, your sis, and your mom are all so cute! And you look so much alike.
I was in New Orleans last year during Mardis Gras. I was actually there for a psychology conference, but I did not let that deter my fun!
Michal said,
February 7, 2010 @ 2:07 pm
It looks like you have been having a blast! I didnt even know that mardi gras was coming up soon, geese! I have never really celebrated it because in ohio its not a super big deal but someday I really want to go to new orleans!
theprocessofhealing said,
February 7, 2010 @ 2:45 pm
That sounds like such a fun day! And good luck with your travels
Leah said,
February 7, 2010 @ 2:51 pm
WHO DAT!
I found your blog through Heather’s and I love it! It’s so awesome to see another Louisiana blogger, cause I feel like there really aren’t that many out there! Hope you enjoy your Super Bowl evening!!!
Gabriela said,
February 7, 2010 @ 3:00 pm
Looks like you had a great time at the shower! I’ve never had king cake, but any kind of cake always sounds delicious
Whenever I eat really clean, processed food makes me sick too…the downside of eating healthy!
Jane E said,
February 7, 2010 @ 3:15 pm
There is no place like Louisiana!!!! And no place like home!!!! The Mardi Gras madness, Super Bowl madness, and Katherine’s shower made it a fabulous weekend to come home. See you soon. Who Dat? Geaux Saints! P.S. Good luck getting home…and….your mom will be sad (because you’re gone) but we’ll cheer her up tonight!
Anna said,
February 7, 2010 @ 6:03 pm
So good to see you!! I’ll see you again soon, in March!
Emily said,
February 7, 2010 @ 3:25 pm
What is a cake ball? (Is that a stupid question?) We celebrated Mardi Gras in Mississippi and Alabama, and I miss it. It looks like it was a good time!
Anna said,
February 7, 2010 @ 6:04 pm
lol– I didn’t know what a cake ball was either– apparently a woman caterer here in S’port makes them as an alternative to petit fours at showers and parties and teas, etc. It’s basically like a ball of moist cake, dipped in chocolate and decorated like a truffle. SO GOOD
inmytummy said,
February 7, 2010 @ 3:59 pm
Fun times!
I hate to say it, but HOW are you going to fly into DC tomorrow? Maybe you’ll get to extend your vacation.
Anna said,
February 7, 2010 @ 6:05 pm
lol– yep. It’s been extended!
Ameena said,
February 7, 2010 @ 5:18 pm
What a great celebration…I love all the beads and colors. I hope you can get home today with the giant snow storm! Maybe you can get an extra few days on vacation!
kilax said,
February 7, 2010 @ 5:36 pm
I don’t know about the Mardi Gras King Cake but it sounds interesting!
What a fun day! Don’t apologize for your eating. Eat what you want! We all have weekends like that.
I hope your flight is going well!
Madeline - Greens and Jeans said,
February 7, 2010 @ 6:13 pm
I hope you can get your travel plans all sorted out!
actorsdiet said,
February 7, 2010 @ 6:30 pm
fun times!!! safe travels….
eaternotarunner said,
February 7, 2010 @ 6:39 pm
I love your parade pics! Looks like a blast