piscesgal’s blog

[odds and ends wrap up]

nobody@vox.com(piscesgal) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:57:04 -0700

This happened a few days ago but I wanted to mention the FCC fine for Janet Jackson's "incident" at the Superbowl a couple of years ago being thrown out,The reaction was over the top to be sure, and they made it sound like a TON of people complained but really it was the same people calling in over and over again.

Sam The Cooking Guy served Kathie Lee Gifford and Hilda Kob the other day.They were on the later Today show and were talking over him.He got sick of it and told them to shut it.Heh.

Estelle Getty died.I wasn't really a Golden Girls fan but I was sad to hear that she died :(

On their way back to Oklahoma City,my brother and his wife and their kids stopped in Austin so that my niece could check out the University Of Texas(she thought it was too big) and Baylor in Waco. She's going into her senior year of high school in a few weeks so the decision about where she has to go to college has to be made fairly soon.Of course, my parents,brother,sister-in-law, niece and nephews and I would LOVE it if she went to UCSD ;)

The whole Christian Bale assault thing is kinda sketchy,no?I get the feeling that we're not getting every part of the story but from what I know of it he is estranged from his family, and his sister asked for a huge amount of money so she can raise her kid.Also, his mom hasn't exactly been kind where his wife is concerned(CB's wife is very pretty;I've seen pictures of her.)I think both his mom and his sister are trying to find things to bust his chops about.

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[let the good times roll,part 2]

nobody@vox.com(piscesgal) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:19:26 -0700

After the wedding we went to the hotel and changed,then went over to my cousin Jimmy's house.There was food(mmm shrimp!) there and we all just hung out and talked.Hank and Brandy stopped by for a while,which was a nice surprise :) Jimmy and his wife Blair have two kids, Frances and Laura,and a Corgi named Abby.

Sunday, we left Baton Rouge.We were going to go to a gator farm but that didn't work out.We went to a plantation,but they wanted a huge amount of money to get in so we just hung out in the gift shop which was fine with me.

We had lunch at a place called Hymel's,which from the street looks like a hole in the wall(and it's not anything special)but man was the food ever good!We ordered a bunch of boiled crabs which were yummy(very spicy though!)

On our way to New Orleans we stopped at a Cajun village.Touristy as all get out but we all enjoyed it :P Also, we stopped at Oak Alley,which is one of the best known plantations(it's the one with a row of oak trees leading up to it).We took a tour which was really interesting(our tour guide was in the dress of the time, and the women wear the dresses with the huge hoop skirts.

We checked into our hotel and after chilling out for a while we went out and explored.As it turned out our hotel was within a couple of blocks of Bourbon Street.Walking around Bourbon Street was interesting(that's putting it mildly!) There is no shortage of places to buy New Orleans-related tscotchkes.I liked the Hurricane Katrina related t-shirts(my personal favourite? FEMA: Fix Everything My A**)

We ate at Desire which specialised in oysters,but which had an extensive menu(I ordered a muffaleta(it's a sandwich with salami and cheese,and a olive salad, warmed up.It's sooooooo good!)

What amazed me was so close everything was-we walked everywhere and pretty much anywhere in the city is either walkable(if you like walking)or by street car.

Now,it has to be said that New Orleans has a certain smell to it(especially in the French Quarter) which is a mix of stale beer, pee, mold,sewage and cigarette smoke.I wonder if some of the mold smell is something of a hold over from Hurricane Katrina.By the way, we didn't see a lot of damage from Katrina.

The police block off Bourbon Street in the evenings so people can walk the length of it,which is really cool.And you can walk around with a drink in your hand as long as it's in a plastic cup(or something approximating it)

Monday,my mom, sister-in-laws,aunts,cousin,niece and I went to a cooking class(again,within walking distance,though I was sweating a LOT the whole time).The guy who taught the class was 6'9 and weighed over 400 pounds(he told us that he had recently gotten a clean bill of health from his doctor-go figure on that one!)

Kevin(that was the name of the guy teaching the class) made corn bread,pecan pie,red beans and rice and pralines. He was full of all sorts of info(he was curious about where we were from(the other people who were at our table were from Australia).

Later on we all walked over to the Cafe Du Monde which is famous for it's beignets(think doughnuts)and cafe au lait. It was too hot for hot coffee so I had a iced cafe a lait instead.After that we all went off on our own.I got a couple of really good pictures of St. Louis Catherdral(one of the civic symbols of New Orleans).

On the way back to the hotel I went to an internet cafe(I could have got online at our hotel but they charged way too much) and one of the frozen daquiri places on Bourbon Street(I had a sour apple slushy drink that had vodka in it, and it was good).The best thing is that they give you a free shooter with every drink(most of the places do anyways),and that's hard to resist :P I didn't have a hangover the next day,that's what's so amazing!

My brothers and their wives and my niece and I went out to dinner,and my parents stayed at the hotel and babysat the grandkids,which they were only too happy to do.

Yesterday we didn't have any time to sightsee because we were getting ready to come home.We said our goodbyes and headed for the airport.My brother Steve and his wife and kids were on the same flight as us.The flight was going great until we were almost in Atlanta.the weather was really bad and we couln't land,so we had to fly to South Carolina to refuel and wait til we got the all clear to go back to Atlanta.

The lady who was sitting across from me was driving me up.the.wall.She kept going on and on about having to spend the night in Atlanta.Constantly.I was convinced that the more she said it the more she was willing it to happen(but that's just me).

We did get back to Atlanta,and it was insane.A lot of cancelled/late flights.We did get home ok but not until 2 in the morning our time(yeah.)Almost everyone has a airport horror story and I can say that I have one now. :P

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[let the good times roll(part 1)]

nobody@vox.com(piscesgal) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:39:50 -0700

We left for the airport early last Thursday,and got to the airport in plenty of time.I treated my parents to a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

Our flight to Atlanta was uneventful.They showed a movie(Nim's Island)on the San Diego-Atlanta leg of the trip.We had a short layover in Atlanta,then we were headed to New Orleans.That seemed like a much shorter trip than when we went from San Diego to Atlanta.As we were flying into New Orleans we flew over Lake Pontchartrain and could see the Superdome over in the distance.

We ran into my aunt Peggy and then my aunt Suzanne(my mom's sister)right after we got there.We got our rental car and headed to Baton Rouge,with the air conditioning going full blast.That was the order of the day while we were there.That and going from one air conditioned place to the next-though some of the places had the a/c on full blast and it would be COLD.

We hadn't been at the hotel very long when we ran into my brother,his wife and their 2 kids(Remi and Jax)My brother Steve and his wife and kids, my brother Henry and I and his wife and their kids and I went out to dinner at the Melting Pot,which is a fondue restaraunt.It was a new experience, and one that I really enjoyed.It seemed like the kids weren't going to like the food,but when they found out that they could do it themselves,they got into it and LOVED it.I had sweet tea with my dinner(one of the things,along with grits that I was looking forwards to eating)

The first night we were there I didn't sleep very well-I thing it may have had something to do with the fact that I slept on a sofa bed-NOT comfortable at.all.I had a Southern style breakfast, complete with grits.

After a while the family started showing up.My uncle gave my dad and I a tour of Baton Rouge before we went to the Super Walmart(one of the biggest Super Walmarts I have ever been in)

We went to lunch at a local restaraunt-Chimes-which is a favourite of my cousin's.We had alligator as an appetizer.I know it sounds like the world's biggest cliche,but it really does taste like chicken.I had a shrimp po boy which was delicious.

The we took a driving tour of the LSU(Louisiana State University)campus and saw LSU's mascot,Mike the tiger(yes,he's a real tiger!)

The rehearsal dinner was at Boutin's,which bills itself as a Cajun experience.That it was.They had a band playing zydeco music.There were a lot of people out on the dance floor dancing to the music.I had the seafood platter which was delicious(I ate a LOT of seafood on this trip)Again, they had the a/c on full blast, to the point that people were going outside to warm up!

One of the things that was really neat was that they had a slideshow with pictures of Hank and Brandy(the groom-my cousin-and Brandy-his wife-as kids.)

For dessert they had bread pudding with a praline sauce.And I'll tell you something:I am not a fan of bread pudding but it was SO good!

Saturday we went to the State Capitol.They have an observation deck 27 floors up.I am very afraid of heights but I managed to walk around the entire observation deck without having a panic attack :P

Hank and Brandy's wedding was lovely.The church that they got married in(Our Lady Of Mercy) was beautiful.

The reception was very close to where the church was.When we got there they had stuff to eat-I really liked the meat pies.They had a little bit of spice to them(though I never did eat any truly SPICY food),Then they had a couple of pastas and jambalya(that was REALLY good!)

I did so much dancing at the wedding(in new-ish shoes)that I was worried I'd get a blister.I didn't,but my feet started to hurt after a while.

When Hank and Brandy left, we all went outside and instead of throwing rice,we blew bubbles,which I thought was really cool.

I am going to have to break this up into several parts.And I still haven't even told y'all about how crazy it was getting home yesterday.That is a story in and of itself!

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[holla]

nobody@vox.com(piscesgal) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:38:30 -0700

I'll post a full report when I get home,but I'm in Louisiana and am having a great time already:)

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[i'll be there for you]

nobody@vox.com(piscesgal) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:47:24 -0700

How do you choose your Vox neighbours and friends?
Submitted by gcgal.

Good question! Generally, my friends and neighbours are people that I know,or fellow Vox-ers that have commented on one of my posts who I think are cool.

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I had every intention of going to bed early tonight but there is a new episode of Dog The ~~Racist A**hole~~ Bounty Hunter's show on tonight so I have to watch.

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I'm going to Louisiana tomorrow and probably won't have internet access,so in case you're wondering, that's what is up:)

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[imho...]

nobody@vox.com(piscesgal) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:13:56 -0700

What do you think is good blog etiquette and what do you want from your readers?
Submitted by April.

I don't find much fault with fellow bloggers. but inasmuch as I am all for free speech(am I ever!),the pro-eating disorder comunities on Livejournal need to be shut down.But I digress.

People who use l33t speak(and claim that they think it's a**holish when other people people do so).Hypocrite much?

People who post weird replies to posts(that doesn't happen very often but a couple of times I've gotten weird replies from this religious wackjob(a member-former?-of Vox) when I posted stuff about religion.I haven't had any replies from this person-I think someone might have reported them and their account was deleted.

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[i love where i live..but this was interesting]

nobody@vox.com(piscesgal) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:17:23 -0700

The best places to live in the U.S.:

Plymouth,Minn.

Ft. Collins,Co.

Naperville, Ill.

Irvine, Ca.

Franklin Township, NJ

Norman,OK

Round Rock, TX

Columbia/Ellicott City,MD

Overland Park, KS

Fishers, IN.

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I missed the premiere of Brooke Hogan's new reality TV show.Then,I realised that I don't really give a damn about Brooke Hogan.As a matter of fact, it seems like every time I turn on VH1 they're showing Hogan Knows Best.If you ask me,VH1 is trying to drum up support for the Hogans, since they're not very popular right now(understatement of the freaking year!)Nick Hogan acts like her never did anything wrong, when he obviously did.The fact he acts like his doo doo doesn't stink and trying to blame the guy that he put in a coma for all of it is pretty damn heartless,in my opinion.

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The Howard Stern show was live today,after being Best Ofs for 2 weeks(which I don't mind).Two of the people on the show went to Afghanistan to entertain the troops(at first they were saying that they were going to Iraq,for national security reasons,which I understand).Beforehand though,there was a lot of talk about whether the people who were going would come back safely-they did.They also had a great time over there.It was fun to hear all of their stories(and there were plenty of those, that's for sure.)

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[the play's the thing]

nobody@vox.com(piscesgal) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 08:20:16 -0700

My dad and I went to see Romeo and Juliet at the Old Globe last night.It was really good.But they always are at the Globe.They warned us beforehand that it would be an hour and a half before the intermission,but it seemed to go by really quickly.

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We didn't go to the Princess of Wales;we wound up going to Bai Yook, a Thai restaraunt in Hillcrest.Believe it or not, it was the first time I had ever had Thai food.I ordered a yellow curry, which was delicious(and very mild-there were a LOT of spicy dishes on the menu,for people that liked that sort of thing)

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Angelina Jolie had her babies-a boy, Knox Leon, and a girl, Vivenne Marcheline.I like the names.:)Nicole Kidman came in for a bit of grief for naming her kid Sunday Rose but I like it. *shrug*

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[only 31 flavours?]

nobody@vox.com(piscesgal) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 15:54:56 -0700

July is national ice cream month! What's your favorite flavour?
Submitted by LittleWiseOne.

Not that I eat ice cream much anymore but.. Mint chocolate chip, rocky road,neapolitan, anything with coffee and almonds(like mocha-ey),vanilla(yeah I know.. it's erm...vanilla.But I still love it :P)

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[it can wait]

nobody@vox.com(piscesgal) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:55:18 -0700

Decided not to see Hellboy II. It was too humid out and I didn't feel like walking to the nearby movie theater(going to the nicer theater in Vista was out of the question since I was going to my parents' house for the weekend afterwards.)Mama Mia comes out whilst I'm in Louisiana;I'll have to wait until I get back to see that(I don't mind,though).I'll try to see Hellboy II Tuesday and see it at the theater in Vista,which is nicer than the one close to my house.

In other news,I'm packed and ready for my trip.Early,but I don't like leaving stuff like that 'till the last minute.

I'm hoping my dad and I can go to the Princess Of Wales on India Street before we go to the Old Globe tomorrow.We went there before our play last year and the food was SO good!

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