Easter, part one: the hunt!

Well, of course there was a great lunch and lots of Easter candy to be had, but we start the picture-taking fest with the two big events of the afternoon: The Easter Egg Hunt and Pocking Eggs! These are the pics of the hunt. Pocking follows in a separate post.

Warning: I've posted way too many pics, but I like them all!

Eva

Grayson and Mammie are inspecting his basket.

Can you see the Easter egg? Yeah, neither could Peyton!

Presley caught on eventually!



And where was Damon during the hunt, you might ask?! hmmmm...

Easter, part 2: pocking eggs!

I don't know what y'all do with a basket full of boiled eggs, but around here we pock 'em! Pocking eggs was always a part of our Easter family get-togethers, but I'm realizing more and more how strange and unfamiliar many of our South Louisiana traditions are to outsiders, so I'll explain: (actually, the person who wrote this blog will explain!)

It works like this. You take your hard-boiled egg, and your opponent would take his. Both of you would hold them with the pointy end exposed, and the two of you would rap them together until the point of one or the other broke. The broken egg became the property of the person with the intact egg. This would go on until nobody had an uncracked egg.

Here are some pics of this strange but really fun tradition!

Erica and Presley are really excited about their freshly dyed eggs!

Peyton and Presley are modeling with the eggs!

The girls are getting the hang of it!

Explaining to Pawpaw how it's done.

I just liked Presley's expression in this one.

The victorious pock!

Grayson and mom ditched the pocking for a serious conversation.

Erica with the last egg standing!

Presley with the victorious egg!

What do you do with a bunch of cracked, hard-boiled eggs? You peel them, of course!

Eva is saying "get off me!" You can tell that she has older siblings...and a pesky Pawpaw!

Me and my mom

Evidence of my mad photography skills!

Well, I don't know about all that...but these are some pics from our "Trahan family photo shoot" at Rip Van Winkle gardens in New Iberia, LA, last weekend. We never did get a good family pic--2-year-olds can be a bit temperamental--but we got some cute shots of Grayson.

Soap

"She hasn't blogged in a month and now she's writing about soap?!", you may say...but, I need to tell you, this soap is A-MAZ-ING! (And it's spring break and my randomness is in high-gear this morning!) I was shopping in TJ Maxx on Good Friday (because I had absolutely no idea what to do with myself on the first day of spring break, so I curled my hair, had a spontaneous lunch with a friend, and shopped! It was kinda fun, but I digress...) and while I didn't find the super-cute Easter outfit I wanted, I did find this amazing soap (along with the pretty new towels pictured with said soap, a sheet set that matches my bed set, and a great Slatkin candle which was WAY cheaper at TJ Maxx than at Bella Luna, which I had just been to before!) Oh, I WISH blogger had a 'scratch and sniff' function, because this soap smells great! And it's very aromatic--I can smell it when I'm standing in my kitchen! I want to take a shower every time I smell this soap! And do you see how big the tin is?! The soap is just as big--it's HUGE! I may never get to the end of this bar of soap...which is ok by me!

Ok, that's all I've got for this post. In summary: I have new soap and it smells great. Randomness has returned! :)

My Oscar Speech!

Wow. Oh boy. I wasn't going to prepare a speech, but my sister, Erica, told me I'd jinx myself if I didn't. So, thanks, Buttercup!

[Pause. Inhale deeply. Nod to Jack Nicholson.]

I'd like to thank the Academy. I'd like to thank the sassy, beautiful, over-the-hill actors I was nominated with. Just to be included in a group with you all is an honor.

I'd like to thank my manager, Abe Goldstein, my agent, Ari, my stylist, and all the immensely talented people at Paramount, Harvey Weinstein, Toby, and Della Bridges.

I'd also like to thank my parents, who supported me through the death of my kitten, Snowball. And Tom Hanks, my one ... true ... love [gaze into audience].

Last, but certainly not least, we all just lost Mel Brooks, a truly stunning visionary and ridiculous soul. [Begin tearing.] I'd like us to take a moment to ... No! Yikes!!

Don't start playing that music, I have 68 more people to go!

My editor Jen Moy, my accountant Jessica Caperton, my lawyer Brian Hoffpauir, and my personal assistant Erica Trahan, Josh at Grendel Pictures. Brad Grey. When we started this project, declining standardized test scores in America was something no one wanted to talk about. Victims of childhood obesity, this is for you! Thank ...

[Music swells.]

You can write your own Oscar speech here. It's fun! :)

I may have posted this once before...

but it deserves to be posted again! It makes me laugh (or cry...or laugh AND cry) and this blog is all about me, right?!

YOU MIGHT BE EMPLOYED BY A SCHOOL IF.....

1. You believe the playground/school quad should be equipped with a Ritalin salt lick.
2. You want to slap the next person who says, "Must be nice to work 8 to 3:20 and have summers free."
3. You can tell if it's a full moon without ever looking outside.
4. You believe "shallow gene pool" should have its own box in the report card.
5. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says "Boy, the kids sure are mellow today."
6. When out in public you feel the urge to snap your fingers at children you do not know and correct their behavior.
7. You have no social life between August and June.
8. Marking all A's on report cards would make your life SO much easier.
9. You think people should be required to get a government permit before being allowed to reproduce.
10. You wonder how some parents ever MANAGED to reproduce.
11. You laugh uncontrollably when people refer to the staff room as the "lounge".
12. You encourage an obnoxious parent to check into charter schools or home schooling.
13. You can't have children because there's no name you could give a child that wouldn't bring on high blood pressure the moment you heard it uttered.
14. You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.
15. Meeting a child's parent instantly answers the question, "Why is this kid like this?"

I know where Satan dwells

I firmly believe that Satan lives, firmly entrenched, in a Meche's king cake--raspberry and cream cheese-filled, to be specific!!! I know this beyond a shadow of a doubt because the remnants of said king cake now sit in my kitchen and it beacons me like nothing I've ever known!! Surely this MUST be Satan!! I bought a king cake yesterday because it was my turn to provide snacks for our English department's monthly meeting. Those English teachers did a good job, but there was still a bit left, so that came home with me...it's ridiculous! I had no idea how little will power I have! And of course, did I cut a normal piece and have that...no, I could never do anything so gluttonous! I must only indulge in a small piece here and there...so, the question is, of how many small pieces is a huge, freakin peace of king cake made?! Well, not to worry! I'm sure it will be gone soon...but I will also know where it's gone and I'm sure soon the shame and despair will follow. Oh well...it was good for the moment! SEE, proof that Satan has been here! ;)

Hi there!

I figured it was time that I brought this blog into 2008! I start at OCHS on Monday, so most of my time has been spent trying to clean up my gross classroom and work on what I will be teaching on the first week back. I'm gonna rock some repeater-freshman worlds! Oh the pain I will cause. I'm almost kind of excited about it!! ...that's a little bit sick and twisted, but that's what happens when you sub for too long! I'm a mean ole' bird now! *insert maniacal laughter here*

Anyway, on a non-school subject, I've decided that it's time for me to take a trip. It's been way too long since I've been a tourist! But I have a few hurtles to conquer: 1-I need someone to go with! I'm not good at touristy stuff by myself--I need to share the experience! 2-Money, but that will come. I'm not too worried about that one. 3-I need a destination! Now, the destination is, of course, dependent on mainly #2 with obvious consideration to the feelings of #1...but if I had my druthers--and what exactly ARE druthers, anyway--this is what I would say:

US--New York City--late spring/early summer (because it's just time to go back!)
US--Chicago--late spring/early summer (because I've never been but I've heard good things)
US--Walt Disney World--mid-spring (because I love WDW and it's been too long!)

Europe--Ireland/Scotland/Great Britain (because I just saw P.S. I Love You and the Ireland scenes are just so beautiful!)
Europe--Italy(because I've wanted to visit for a few years now!)
Australia/New Zealand (because who doesn't want to go there! How cool would that be!)
Africa--South Africa (because I've wanted to go to Africa for a while now...I'm open to other areas of Africa and a mission trip to somewhere in Africa would be great, but I know that they speak English in South Africa, so I picked that country for a vacation destination--purely American egotism at work in that decision!)

So, anyone looking to take (and/or finance) any of these fabulous trips, talk to me! If you've got the money, honey, I've got the time! :)

My favorite Christmas commercial of the season:

Old habits die hard...

Ok, when I did my little experiment in November, it was not with the intention of flaking out on all of December...but it is beginning to appear that way, isn't it?! I'm blaming it on the SEASON! Nights that I would be home blogging 'til my heart's content, I have been at Church sitting through Sunday AM Christmas show production practices (We're doing a three-part thing on three consecutive Sundays) OR fuming in stupid Lafayette holiday traffic in an effort to find interesting and novel Christmas presents without spending exorbitant amounts of money OR at Mom's house wrapping her presents and trying to help out as best I can since she bears the lion's load of the holiday fanfare OR serving as a personal shopping assistant to dear ones who need someone along who'll say "oh yeah, she'll love that!" at the moment of indecision and frustration. I've had things that I wanted to blog about...but they occur to me at inopportune moments and then vanish like twilight dreams. And so this is a rambling apology and a promise to do better for the last 10 days of the year, or so!

Oh, and I am celebrating as today is my LAST day of Substitute Teaching--Hooray!!! I'll post more on the details later...

Oh #2, yesterday was Grayson's 2nd birthday. We had a party for him on Sunday at mom's house, and I took some pictures but Erica has confiscated my digital camera indefinitely (get your OWN camera, Trahan family!) so I don't really have any to post. I'll post a pic of him from just after he was born. It's hard to believe we started with such a fragile little creature now that we're in the throes of toddlerhood!

Just after he came home.

At Josh and Ashley's wedding this summer (all of my more recent pics of him are on film or in my camera, both of which are in Erica's posession!)

92.67%

That's my blogging average for the month of November. I missed two days (11/24 & 11/30) and I'm only giving myself half-credit for the one day I posted late (11/19)...so 27.5/30=92.67%. Not so bad...I've always been ok with B's and, in honors classes, that would be an A! (Notice I'm still working off of the ole' 94%-A, 87%-B, 78%-C, 70%-D, grading scale...they've gotten a little more lax since my day, but I'm going old school! Or old school as I remember it, anyway.)

The experiment was interesting. I can't say that it's been my best work, but it forced me to be a little more aware of my thoughts and surroundings...which is a good thing, I guess?! My next experiment needs to go in the direction of exercising everyday! Ugh! That one might be a little more challenging!!

I think my leg is gonna fall off!

Well, not really. But it is doing something weird and I thought I'd write about it here in the hope that some arm chair doctor would know what's going on! I have a spot on my left shin that will suddenly feel warm for a few seconds...and then it goes away. At first I thought I'd had my legs crossed and my nerves were just readjusting to the room temperature or something like that, but it does it randomly when nothing has been touching that spot. It doesn't hurt...although now I think I can feel the spot even when it's not warm (but I think that's just a psychosomatic symptom.) So? Anybody have any idea what it might be? I thought blood clot, but it comes and goes and the skin is not unusually feverish or swollen in any way. Maybe a nerve is just freaking out on me?! Stranger things have happened, I'm sure! Alright amateur Gregory House, MDs!! Get to work! Diagnose me!!

But what I really want to know is...

I live on the red line. Not the red zone, the red line. Ya know, that fun little gauge often accompanied by a little light-up gas pump. I hate getting gas! For years my dream has been that someone would develop some little pill that I could just drop into the gas tank and PRESTO: A full tank! I hate tanking up! I've considered purchasing a hybrid vehicle, not because my heart bleeds for the environment (of which I support in all it's green glory!), but in the hope that better gas mileage would mean less trips to the gas station. Did I mention that I hate getting gas?

So tonight I saw a commercial for Honda's new fuel cell vehicle (FCX Clarity) and my first thought was not, cool! near-zero emissions! but hmmmm...I wonder if that would eliminate trips to the gas station?! Selfish and insensitive, I know, but if I can't be selfish and insensitive on my own blog, where else can I be?! And of course I would be delighted that the car helped the environment while simultaneously helping me! I'm not oblivious to the plight of the planet! Anyway, I digress. In case you're curious about this vehicle of the future, you can check it out on the Honda site. I also found this article explaining how you might tank up this wonder vehicle: a "Home Energy Station unit, which sits outside your house and reforms natural gas to produce enough Hydrogen to power both the car and the home's energy needs at around 50% of the normal cost and with a 30% emissions reduction." Isn't that GREAT?! I mean, if I still have to tank up, I'd much rather do it at home...assuming that, by the time these vehicles are available for the mass market, I would, indeed, own my own home! Well, lots of things to dream about...

Ah-hah!

It's funny how sometimes the things I say--to others and to myself--will cause a song to stick. And it's rarely really great, powerful songs that get stuck. No, more often it's nonsense--some song that drives me nuts or a single line that repeats over and over. Grayson is a big fan of The Backyardigans so, needless to say, I've seen several episodes multiple times!

Earlier tonight I was looking for something in my kitchen and, when I found it, I said, "Ah-hah!" which is a very natural response...but now I've got this Backyardigans diddy running through my head. And it's not the whole song. Oh no! It's simply Pablo singing the, "Ah-hah!" part and it's driving me crazy!

Grayson knows many of the songs and he's been singing them lately. It's really funny because he'll just burst out singing something about Sherman and we know he's referring to Sherman the Worman (in Polka Party Palace) Or, if you tell him something that is actually a line in a song--like "Hold on tight!" he'll respond with a hearty "YAH!" ...it's a viking yell!? And it never fails that I keep singing the song he sings long after he's moved on to something else! Alright, I've gotta "go, go, go...I can't go fast if I go too slow..." Uggghhhh!! ;)

quantity vs. quality

I'm afraid that it's quite evident that quantity does not guarantee quality when it comes to me and blogging! I wish I had more interesting stuff to write about. I'm finding that I write much more eloquently when I wait for inspiration to strike rather than forcing it as I've been doing...but this has been a fun and interesting experience. I am now more inclined to blog. I was definitely out of practice! And I have had some interesting ideas. I just haven't spent the time that it takes to sit down and compose my more thought-required posts. Believe it or not, if I want to write something of substance, it does take a little dedicated time and focus. So, on that note, I'll sign off and perhaps inspiration will strike tomorrow! :)

Oh, and for those of you who are keeping up with my job drama, I am back to general subbing for now. (That's enough to suck the inspiration right out of anybody!) I am supposed to start a full-time at OCHS in January...that's been confirmed twice by the principal, but I am not trusting anything until I have contract in hand! So, remember to be kind to your sub!!

Hallelujah!

Relegated to the back roads no more: The Atchafalaya Basin Bridge reopened as of 7:00pm tonight! They've capped the blown well, escaping gases are being burned off, and official sniffers are checking the air quality, so all is good! Anybody wanna go to New Orleans?! I'm game!! :)

Striken

Alright, this writers strike seems to be lingering on, threatening to change life as we know it!!! Well, maybe that's a little over-stated, but I found this listing on TVguide.com outlining when the strike will begin to effect original programming. I'm pretty interested, so I figured I'd bring the information to those of you who are probably more busy with the more important things of life than I tend to be! I'm not familiar with many of these shows (See, I don't just sit around watching TV every night!) and I've noticed that the list is not comprehensive, but it's a start. The article was posted on 11/23, so I'm guessing it's relatively current. Hope it helps!

Strike Chart

30 Rock: Ten episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are four left.
Aliens in America: Seventeen episodes will be produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are 9 left.
Back to You: Nine episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are two left.
The Big Bang Theory: Eight episodes were produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are zero left.
Bionic Woman: Roughly nine episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are two left.
Bones: Twelve episodes will be produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are four left.
Boston Legal: Fifteen episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are eight left.
Brothers & Sisters: Twelve episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are five left.
Carpoolers: Thirteen episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are seven left.
Cavemen: Thirteen episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are seven left.
Chuck: Thirteen episodes will be produced. Nine episodes have aired, so there are four left.
Criminal Minds: Roughly twelve episodes will be produced. Ten episodes have aired, so there are roughly two left.
CSI: Eleven episodes will be produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are three left.
CSI: NY: Fourteen episodes will be produced. Nine episodes have aired, so there are five left.
Desperate Housewives: Ten episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are three left.
Dirty Sexy Money: Eleven episodes will be produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are three left.
ER: Thirteen episodes will be produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are five left.
Friday Night Lights: Fifteen episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are eight left.
Gossip Girl: Thirteen episodes will be produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are five left.
Greek: Eight new episodes will be produced. None have aired yet, so there are eight left.
Grey's Anatomy: Eleven episodes will be produced. Nine episodes have aired, so there are two left.
Heroes: Eleven episodes will be produced. Nine episodes have aired, so there are two left.
House: Twelve episodes will be produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are four left.
Jericho: Seven episodes will be produced. None have aired yet, so there are seven episodes left.
Las Vegas: Nineteen episodes will be produced. Nine have aired, so there are 10 left.
Law & Order: SVU: Fourteen episodes will be produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are six left.
Life is Wild: Twelve episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are five left.
Lost: Eight episodes will be produced. None have aired yet, so there are eight episodes left.
Medium: Nine episodes will be produced. None have aired yet, so there are nine episodes left.
Men in Trees: Nineteen episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are 13 left.
My Name is Earl: Thirteen episodes will be produced (that includes two one-hour eps, which count double). Ten episodes have aired, so there are three left.
The New Adventures of Old Christine: Eight episodes have been produced. No episodes have aired, so there are eight left.
Numbers: Twelve episodes will be produced. Eight have aired, so there are four left.
The Office: Twelve half-hour episodes will be produced. Twelve half-hour episodes have aired, so there are zero half-hour episode left.
One Tree Hill: Twelve episodes will be produced. None have aired yet, so there are twelve episodes left.
Prison Break: Thirteen episodes will be produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are five left. (On hiatus 'til Jan. 14)
Private Practice: Ten episodes will be produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are two left.
Pushing Daisies: Nine episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are two left.
Reaper: Ten to 12 episodes will be produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are two to four left.
Samantha Who?: Twelve episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are six left.
Scrubs: Eleven episodes will be produced. Four episodes have aired, so there are seven left.
Shark: Eleven episodes will be produced. Nine episodes have aired, so there are two left.The
Shield: All 13 season-seven episodes will be completed. None have aired (the final season gets underway in '08), so there are 13 left.
Smallville: Fifteen episodes will be produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are seven left.
Supernatural: Ten to 12 episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are three to five left.
Ugly Betty: Thirteen episodes will be produced. Nine episodes have aired, so there are four left.

Just Say No To Turkey!

That's right dear reader! This year our family just said NO to turkey on Thanksgiving! How sick and twisted is that?! Instead, we had barbecue ribs and chicken, roasted corn grits (which I've recently become kinda obsessed with) and rice dressing along with the more traditional green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole and pumpkin pie. I must say that the meal was quite delightful! A wonderful time was had by all! Happy Thanksgiving, dear reader!! And if you're hitting all of those great Black Friday sales starting at 4am tomorrow, ...lemme know how that goes for ya! But wait until a little later to call because you won't catch me up and shopping at such a psychotic hour!

gotta love the small print!

So I received a "pre-approved" credit card offer in the mail and, just for fun, I perused the fine print. This card is one that offers a 0% APR for 15 months which then switches to a fixed APR of 9.99%. If one is observant, one would notice a little 'a' at the end of that sentence indicating that you need to read on. When you find the little 'a' at the bottom of the page, you see this:

Rates, fees, and terms may change: We reserve the right to change the account terms (including the APRs) at any time for any reason, in addition to APR increases that may occur for failure to comply with the terms of your account. . .The APRs for this offer are not guaranteed; APRs may change to higher APRs, fixed APRs may change to variable APRs, or variable APRs may change to fixed APRs.

Now, is it just me, or is the concept of 'fixed' a little hazy to these people?! So it's fixed until they arbitrarily decide to change it? . . .by definition, wouldn't that be variable--which means subject to change?! (fixed--to make set or rigid; to put into permanent form. variable--apt or liable to vary or change; changeable; capable of being varied or changed; alterable.)

Perhaps I'm just old fashioned, but if I found this idea in a paper I was grading, I would FILL UP the margins explaining to the writer why he/she could not call something fixed if that thing can be altered at any time. . .apparently the writers of the Chase Visa Platinum Card mail-outs see have a slightly more modern twist on the terms?!

Happy Birthday to ME! Happy Birthday to ME!! Happy Birthday dear ME-EE! Happy Birthday to ME!

So, you might have noticed that today is my birthday?! ;) I just wanted to be sure I'd posted since who knows where the day may lead!! ha! That would be a joke! And in case you were wondering, I turn 25 today! Isn't that great! I love being 25, and plan to keep being 25 for a while!! ha!