Fun Foto Friday

Gambino's Bakery King Cake...yes boys and girls it is that time of the year again...it's Mardi Gras season! Now along with the beads, parades, balls, throw me somethin misters, there is the yummy king cakes to eat. Ahhhh. A king cake is a mardi gras tradition that begins on the 12th night aka kings day aka little Christmas. They are typically made and eaten through the Mardi Gras season which last unitl Fat Tuesday or the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.

King cakes can be plain (basically a cinnamon roll) or filled with anything you can imagine... I like cream cheese.

Now, I truly enjoy a Gambino's king cake to nibble on, but I have not had a morsel of my favorite king cake in over 3 years. What is my favorite king cake you may ask?? A pralines and cream filled king cake (can you picture caramel, pecans, and cream cheese) from Mrs Ruth's Bakery. Mrs. Ruth has not reopened her bakery since Hurricane Katrina, but I think she should just make king cakes and sell them from her house!

If you have never had one, you MUST try one!!

New Idea

I have seen several people do 'Wordless Wednesday' on thier blogs...cool idea and there have been many cool photos. However, I always wonder 'why did they pick that photo'. So I have decided to do 'Fun Foto Friday' on my blog. I will (try to remember to) post a photo every Friday on my blog for all to see. I will also tell you the story behind the picture (if there is one) or why I chose the picture I did....just in case you want to know! I love pictures and I have so many great ones that I love and want to share.

So I hope yall enjoy my Fun Foto Friday!!!!!!

Happy National Popcorn Day!

What! Today, January 19th is National Popcorn Day! Hooray!

I really LOVE popcorn. It is my favorite snack eat. It is good anytime of the day. It is easy to make...air popped or microwaved. You can add toppings to it like butter or cheese or mini m&m's (it's good trust me)- or whatever you want to add to it! I like butter popcorn but the BEST kettle corn I have ever had, is from this farmers market in (or close to) Concord, CA... seriously, I have been on the hunt for the past 3 years to find kettle corn this good.

Now, I found these really cool facts about popcorn that I would like to share with you and to expand your knowledge of popcorn (in case you didn't know these things)... I found them interesting so I hope you do too!

• Popcorn was first discovered thousands of years ago by the Native Americans, who believed that the popping noise was that of an angry god who escaped the kernel
• During the Great Depression, popcorn was comparatively cheap at 5-10 cents a bag and became popular. Thus, while other businesses failed the popcorn business thrived and became a source of income for some struggling farmers.
• During World War II, sugar rations diminished candy production causing Americans to eat three times more popcorn than they had before
• Popcorn is usually served salted or sweetened. In North America, it is traditionally served salted, although a sweetened version, generally called caramel corn, is also commonly available. In the United Kingdom, ready-made popcorn is available either salted or simply sweetened with sugar, both varieties being equally popular.Toffee (i.e. caramel) popcorn is also available, but tends to be more expensive. Popcorn is a popular snack at sporting events and in cinemas, where it has been served since 1912.
• Popcorn, threaded onto a string, is used as a wall or Christmas tree decoration in some parts of North America, as well as on the Balkan peninsula.
• Some shipping companies have experimented with using popcorn as a biodegradable replacement for expanded polystyrene packing material. However, popcorn has numerous undesirable properties as a packing material, including attractiveness to pests, flammability, and a higher cost and greater density than expanded polystyrene. A more processed form of expanded corn foam has been developed to overcome some of these limitations.
• The world's largest popcorn ball was unveiled in October 2006 in Lake Forest, Illinois. It weighed 3,415 pounds (1550 kilograms), measured 8 feet (2.4 m) in diameter, and had a circumference of 24.6 feet

Don't forget how great popcorn balls are! Don't these look YUMMY???

As I was looking up different things about popcorn, I ran across these websites with popcorn recipes... some sound good, others well, not so good.

PoPcOrN

Pop Pop Pop

Popcorn with WHAT!!!

So to celebrate National Popcorn day, I want you to pop your favorite kind of corn and enjoy a good movie!
POP! POP! POP!

I've been TAGGED

Ok, so I am VERY slow at responding to these things, but way back at the beginning of December, Wendy picture tagged me. Now I am supposed to show you the 4th picture in the 4th file on my computer, so here you go....

It's Amanda and Erica during summer semester 2007...wow that was forever ago. Now I don't know exactly what these girls are doing or looking at, but I am sure it was funny, because we always had a good time! This was the second semester Erica and I lived together and at this time we were room roommates. This is also the semester I met Amanda!

Now I am not going to "tag" anyone, but if you feel the need to do this and share the 4th picture in the 4th file (or something like that) than please share and consider yourself "TAGGED"!

Dreaming yet again

So, I have sorta given up on getting a teaching position for this school year. But from time to time I like to look online at houses for sale...just dreaming. Well, yesterday I was looking in the Houston area and found this precious little ditty. It is a foreclosure so it is CHEAP! and with the word cheap does come renovations. Ok no problem. The WOOD FLOORS need to be refinished, walls painted, new windows (not a necessity right now but I think it would look better), possibly new bathroom fixtures, etc... With my mom and the help of some helpful Seabee friends I think it can all be done relativately inexpensive. Now, I haven't personally seen the house so these great dream bubbles that I have may be instantly popped once I lay my eyes on it. And it can be sold before I get a job. Who knows. I think it is darling and would be a great first home. Here is a picture of it!

Holiday excitement

Well yall, I know it has been awhile since I last posted...nearly a month! It is tough not having internet where I am staying. Well, I made it home at the beginning of December and have been here and there and doing this and that since then. Once I got home I was busy doing last minute things for the holidays. The Saturday before Christmas I headed into New Orleans with my cousins, Livi, Anna and Sofia, where we met up with Kelly, Frankee and Jayden to enjoy some beignets at Cafe Du Monde before heading to Christmas in the Oaks at City Park.


Livi and Sofia enjoying some hot chocolateSofia, Livi and Anna in front of Jackson Square


Jayden throwing pennies in the fountainHey Diddle Diddle the cat and the fiddle, Jayden sat on a cow on the moon!
Sofia and Livi hanging out on some mushrooms in Storybook Land at Christmas in the Oaks

Now, I must tell you that Christmas in the Oaks is on of my personal favorite traditions to go and see at this time of the year. Usually its cool or sometimes cold, with that wintery briskness in the air. I usually opt for gloves, a scarf and a hat and some hot chocolate while walking through looking at all the lights. At at that moment a smile comes to my face and I think, it's Christmas time. Ahhh. However not this year. I think it has something to do with the absence of my gloves, scarf, hat and hot chocolate. Why were these things absent from my night you might be asking? Well, it's not because they were packed away in a suitcase...not I knew exactly where they were. No, the reason for this is because it was 75 degrees out and I really wanted an ice cold drink! Christmas and warm weather should not be in the same sentence, unless I am on Christmas Island!

On Christmas Eve, I helped my mom cook our family Christmas morning brunch tradition of strada. It is this scrambled egg dish. The fam loves it. I am becoming not the biggest fan of it, as I used to be. Maybe it is because I had to crack and scramble 16 dozen eggs.


Bryce is on his 3rd serving here... the first two plates were just as full!

Streett's first Christmas strada - and he loved it!

After the 'feeding frenzy' as my mom calls it was over, it was time to open gifts, which is always fun. Then we took some family pictures outside... in the 70 plus degree weather! At least it could be a little cool for Christmas morning, but no. Oh well, maybe next year!
Cousins!