Nick's Trip & Brandi's Fave Walk

Nickers came down for a long weekend and we had a great visit. Tom tried to rope him into playing poker, but Nick is too smart for that. We ate at the most fan-frickin-tastic cafe - Honey Tupelo Cafe. Unbelievable food, great atmosphere. We're going to become regulars.

The picture of me on the bridge is from my favorite walk - can you tell how happy I am? Can you believe how beautiful it is here?

Everybody pray / think good thoughts for me. I have an interview coming up in two weeks for a job that I would really like to get.

Miss and love everybody!

Another Freak Show!

What is it with all the men in my life having crazy facial hair?! Just kiddin' J - I love you. For those of you who don't know Jason (or no longer recognize him) this pic is of my brother.

Dolphins - Baltimore Part Deux

While in Baltimore I participated in a Dolphin Encounter at the National Aquarium. Everyone knows I am OBSESSED with dolphins. I dream about them, I carry a wooden dolphin around with me as a good luck charm ...

Anyway, I played catch with Maya - we threw a ball back and forth to each other. She seemed to enjoy throwing the ball right at my face. Then I got to touch and interact with Nani. She was incredibly powerful - over 500 pounds of solid muscle. She is the Alpha-dolphin of the group and she is way intelligent. She flirted and talked to me the whole time and was so pleased with herself when she did everything I asked her to do correctly (the trainers taught me hand signals to give to the dolphins). Needless to say, by the time I left I was in love.

I had some spare time before Tom picked me up from the aquarium, so after drying my tears - yes, I cried in a bathroom stall b/c I had to leave the dolphins (LAME) - so I walked around the nearby Barnes and Noble. Much to my surprise, this month's National Geographic had a pic of my little Maya in it! So now I have a picture of both of my sweeties.

Baltimore Part One

We visited Nick in Baltimore last weekend. Nick has bought a beautiful new home - gorgeous wood floors, airy rooms with big windows, etc. He needed help doing a few odd jobs so we thought we'd make the trip.

We met Fran, his lovely girlfriend. She cooked for us and made us feel right at home. We also bowled on the last night we were there and I actually won two games! I was bowling w/the girls - Fran and her sister Nina - so I didn't beat Tom and Nick, but nevertheless I was stoked. I have never won any kind of sport ever - dancing does not count.

Tom and Nick cut a big hole into the wall and made a breakfast bar while I sanded floors (much less glamorous!) - I was so impressed with the work that they did. There are only a few things left to be done on the breakfast bar like the molding. The pictures show the progress of the job.

Freak Show!

Tom's beard got out of control and I finally convinced him to shave i.e. threatened to chop at it with scissors while he was sleeping. Now I can see his beautiful lips and jawline again. Tom had a little fun while shaving it off...

Jackie's Visit

Recently Jackie, Tom's mum, visited from England. She had a very busy trip. She went to Baltimore first to visit Nick, then she went to Simon and Sarah in New Orleans and experienced her first Mardi Gras, lastly she came to us. We had a great time visiting Biltmore, relaxing on the porch and catching up.

The pictures are from an exhausting hike that Tom forced us to go on. Jackie was a much better sport than I was and even seemed to enjoy hiking straight up a mountain. Tom kept saying highly irritating things like, "We must be coming to the top," and "Just think, soon we'll be having lunch" and "Isn't the view beautiful," while I thought of the various ways I would like to torture him. I can handle a gradual incline, but this was just 2 hours of straight up - give me a break - I just moved from New Orleans where the highest point is Monkey Hill a man-made hill in the Audubon Zoo. Jackie and I collapsed and took a nap - see pic.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Paul and Aalia - new parents of a beautiful baby boy born on February 29th! A Leap Year Baby!

Paul is the brother of Sarah who is married to Tom's bro Simon. In other words, she is my sister-in-law and one of my dearest friends. Sarah and Simon, you will be the 'cool' aunt and uncle that little Wayno comes to when he is 16 and needs to complain about his parents. BTW, the baby's name is not Wayno, he doesn't have a name yet. Sarah christened him 'Wayno' when Aalia was pregnant b/c she didn't like referring the baby as 'the fetus'. Obviously, everyone thought Wayno was a hysterical name and it's kind of stuck - poor little guy!

Also congrats to little Jonathan Broussard who made 1 year today. You've been through more in one year than most people go thru in twenty. I love you and your parents so much.