Well, things are slowly returning back to “normal” … I was greeted this morning with 600+ emails in my work Inbox, 100+ in my personal, and ~3000 feed entries waiting to be read.

LOL! Miss me much did they?

I see that WordPress has released 2.6 finally. The blogosphere is all a-buzz with the news. Suggested reading: Doug Campbell, Keith Dsouza, and Ryan Boren. So now I’ll have to update all my blogs, themes, and plugins.

Yay … I’ll get around to it (hopefully!) this week …

We had a great time in NOLA. The drive down and back was pretty pleasant. We took the “scenic route” passing through Montgomery, stopping by Jim’s mom’s both ways (she kept Jessie for us). I was reminded why I love living in Alabama. I remember thinking to myself, “My God, we live in a beautiful state!”

We stopped briefly in Waveland, Mississippi, and in upper Louisiana. It’s been nearly 10 years since I’ve been down there … everything I remember is gone. Katrina and Rita really kicked the collective asses of coastal cities in lower AL, MS, and LA.

Otherwise the drive down to New Orleans was nice. We had great weather (outside of the heat and OPPRESSIVE humidity!) I took the time while in New Orleans to see some sights, have some great food, partake in local (and interesting) spirits, and just enjoy myself in general. The reunion was a lot of fun, and it was interesting to see the people Jim grew up with.

I was lucky enough to meet up and have lunch with two of my Cotillion sisters: Greta Perry and Conservative Belle. I would have liked to have spent more time with them, but the heat royally kicked my butt and Jim and I had so much planned, LOL!

Hopefully I’ll be making another trip down that way pretty soon!

We stopped by so many shops in the French Quarters that I loved! Many had beautiful clothing and jewelry that I could have easily gone “ga-ga” over. We stopped in one vampire shoppe that had many cute novelties and some interesting books covering local and Southern folklore. The shop owner had a BEAUTIFUL German Sheppard (the “head of security” LOL!) that was just as sweet as he could be!

I want another dog!

We also stopped by a local mall to pick up a few amenities that were forgotten in the hurried packing process. It was pretty much like what we have here back at home. I checked out one store that sold a lot of cell gear, drooled over some bluetooth cell phone headsets and considered getting another micro sd card for my Helio Ocean. (nah, will wait and get them cheaper online! LOL)

One thing that really sticks out in my memory is how “available” alcohol is down there. I kid you not, we walked into a Wal-mart and there was a HUGE section with every type of liquor and beer I could ever want! And you can’t walk 50 feet without coming across a daiquiri shop!

There’s so much more to tell, but we’ll leave it at this for now …

It’s good to be home!

Teresa sent me this, so I figured I’d post here instead of emailing the whole world.

Welcome to the 2008 edition of Getting to Know Your Friends. What you are supposed to do is copy (not forward) this entire e-mail and paste it onto a new e-mail that you will send. Change all the answers so they apply to you, and then send this to your friends including the person who sent it to you. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!

1. What time did you get up today? 5:15 am CST.

2. Diamonds or pearls? Both.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? I Am Legend.

4. What is your favorite tv show? MythBusters, Dirty Jobs, CSI, Animal Cops, Smash Lab, The Closer, Saving Grace, Inuyasha, Futurama, … I have several more

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Either a biscuit or a protein bar.

6. What is your middle name? Nicole.

7. What food do you dislike? Ooh, I have a lengthy list … I’m a picky eater

8. What is your favorite cd? Right now it’s a mix CD of Seether and Three Days Grace songs.

9. What kind of car do you drive? Hyundai Santa Fe.

10. Favorite sandwich? Either a BLT or turkey and provologne.

11. What characteristic do you despise? Deceit.

12. Favorite item of clothing? My new ‘Bama jersey.

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Ireland, Japan, Galopagos…

14. What color is your bathroom? Mostly blue.

15. Favorite brand of clothing? Right now, Chicos.

16. Where would you retire to? Nowhere. The South is where it’s at!

17. What was your most memorable birthday? Last year’s.

18. Favorite sport to watch? Football. ROLL TIDE!!

19. Furthest place you are sending this? The internets.

20. Favorite saying? WTF?

21. When is your birthday? April 15th.

22. Are you a morning or night person? Definitely a morning person.

23. What is your shoe size? Don’t you know never to ask a woman that?

24. Pets? Not anymore.

25. Any new and exciting news you would like to share with us? I’m in the middle of fscking up my website, isn’t that great?!!?

26. What did you want to be when you were little? A teacher.

29. How are you today? Can’t complain, and yourself?

30. What is your favorite candy? Oh, I have many favorites. Let’s just say chocolate … that should cover most of them.

31. Your favorite flower? Roses.

32. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Saturday.

33. What is your full name? Are you a census taker?

34. What are you listening to right now? The Essential Ozzy Osbourne.

35. What was the last thing you ate? A piece of Altoids gum.

36. Do you wish on stars? No, I leave that to Jessie now.

37. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Flame red.

38. How is the weather right now? Kind of soggy.

39. Favorite soft drink? I dumped soda … but he still calls sometimes.

40. Favorite restaurant? Oh, I have several! Cajun Steamer, Bento, BK, Doodles, El Carreton, China One, Styx, … there are several more, but can’t think of them at the moment.

41. Siblings? One brother.

42. Favorite day of the year? Any of the “eating” holidays.

43. What was your favorite toy as a child? My NES.

44. Summer or winter? Definitely summer!

45. Hugs or kisses? Both.

46. Coffee or tea? Tea is my poison of choice.

47. Chocolate or vanilla? What kind of question is that? Chocolate, fool!

48. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Sure if they don’t wanna comment.

49. When was the last time you cried? This morning.

50. What is under your bed? Dust bunnies, a baseball bat, and probably the odd sock or two…

51. Who are the friends you have had the longest? Let’s see … Big Jim, Teresa, Mara, Jeff, John, … I’m sure there’s a couple more…

52. What did you do last night? Vegged out.

53. Favorite smell? Lavender.

54. What are you afraid of? Why do you need to know?

55. Salty or sweet? Definitely sweet.

56. How many keys on your ring? 10.

57. How many years at your current job? Not quite 1 year yet.

58. Favorite day of the week? Payday.

59. How many towns have you lived in? 5.

60. Do you make friends easily? Usually, yeah.

61. Many people will you send this to? The whole internets.

62. How many will respond? If I lie and say ‘10,’ will you come back later to check?

I’m VERY happy to announce that today I had the extreme pleasure of joining the ranks of some of the most talented (and gracious) ladies of the Blogosphere — the Cotillion. I’ve been an avid follower of many of their members’ blogs, including but certainly not limited to: Beth of My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy fame, ca Marks of Alabama Improper and the very spicy Sex and the South, Greta of Kiss My Gumbo and Hooah Wife, … there are many others, well worth reading, so if you’re so inclined give ‘em a gander. There is a lot of talent in this bunch!