Saints + Superbowl = Happy Gambinos

I don't believe I've mentioned before that my dad, all three of my brothers and I were born in New Orleans. And my dad and my two older brothers were raised there. Even though my little brother and I really didn't grow up there, my dad has definitely worked hard to bring New Orleans to us. Which includes a lifetime of Saints games and year after year of dedication, devotion and disappointment. Those Saints will break your heart. But not this year. Needless to say, the men in my family are very, very happy.



I will be holding my breath during the entire Superbowl. You should come over. It will be quite the sight.

Talkin' Baseball

Joe: [Talking about Brett Gardner playing for the Yankees, etc, etc. Something about how fast he is and can get from home plate to first base in 3.6 seconds...]

me: Is he cute? Is he single? What are his stats?

Joe: I'm not sure off the top of my head. His batting average...

me: No, no, no. What are his stats? Is he cute?

Joe: Hon, I don't know if he's cute or single. Those aren't his stats. No one cares about that.

me: Joe! It's important. If he's in a happy relationahip he'll be fulfilled and probably play better.

Joe: [Sighs and attempts to change the subject.]

me: Dude! What are you talking about? He's totally cute!

Joe: Are you online?

me: Yes! He's gorgeous!

Joe: Great.

me: And he's married. Good stats.

Joe: What's his batting average?

me: Aw, he has a baby boy!

Joe: I'm going to bed.

Girls Trip 2010

So let's all pretend that it's only January 8th and I did this much more promptly than I actually am. I have a very good excuse! It's called law school and a job and one of them is kinda kicking my tail right now. And also I haven't been getting much sleep lately. I know I'm tired, my body knows I'm tired, my eyes know I'm tired but then when the lights go off I stare at the ceiling and/or toss and turn for SEVERAL hours and, well, that just sucks. BUT three weeks ago I went to San Diego so let's talk about that. Cause it's about time.

Firstly, I must give you a proper introduction to Sheridan Ann, my very best friend in the whole wide world. Sher has been in my life since 7th grade. We were friendly from the beginning, mainly because Sheridan is friendly to everyone, but we didn't become besties probably until after both signing up for a student ambassador trip to Europe the summer after freshman year of high school. After that we were off and running. We've grown up together, and told each other almost every word of the experience, from first kisses to first loves to first jobs and everything in between. She holds up my mirror - the one I look in to figure out who I am and who I want to be.

Now she lives in San Diego and I live in Pennsylvania, so we made a commitment a couple years ago to take a girls trip once a year, every year so we get to see each other and continue having adventures. And now that we're adults, the adventures can be a tad more sophisticated than making out with boys at night at a public playground or going to a Ricky Martin concert. The latter being something I had blocked out completely but Sher recently reminded me. I think our 16 year old selves owe us an apology.

The first year was New Orleans to visit our other best friend from high school, Kathryn. The second year, she came to visit me. This year, I went to visit her in San Diego. It was my first time to the west coast since I was 6 months old, and after I got over the whole 6 hour flight part, I was pretty excited. The weather was perfectly gorgeous, California perfectly Californian, the food perfectly delicious, and the company perfectly perfect. Girls trip 2010 was a rousing success.














One of the best parts of the trip was seeing the house Sher just bought with her currently deployed Navy boyfriend and meeting her cute, cute pets, Eastwood and Cali, and seeing the life she's made for herself. It's kind of weird to realize your best friend is a grown-up. Mostly because it means you must be a grown-up too. I love you, Sher. You're a pretty awesome grown-up. Probably because I've done such a good job keeping you in line.





Next up: Girls Trip 2011!

Thought For The Day

Oh, fortune cookie. "You are patient and careful" isn't really a fortune now, is it?

But thanks. I guess.

2010 in Books

I didn't really make any New Year's resolutions this year. But, in general, I just want to improve my overall quality of life: do more things I genuinely enjoy doing, take more risks, have more fun, etc. One of the items on the top of that list is to read more for pleasure. I used to read all the time, devouring books as fast as I could get my hands on them. In high school, there was the summer of 42 books. When we got back to class, one of our teachers asked us how many books we'd read over the summer. She didn't believe me.

Now reading is so associated with stuyding and tediousness that the fact that I used to love it has been completely forgotten. So I've decided to get back there. Before I went to San Diego on the 1st, I got myself a local library card. I've knocked out three so far and I'm back to staying up to all hours because I can't put a book down. It feels good. So to that end, below to the right you will see "2010 in Books," evidence of why I'm not gettng any sleep. And why I'm feeling a little bit more like me.

I Am Horrified Anew

Hold on a second. I have to get ahold of myself. Deep breaths. Going to my calm place. Okay. So, remember this? And then this? Shortly after that second post the maintenance guy came by (because we finally called him) and he set traps behind the dishwasher and washing machine, put steel wool in the the little cracks and cubby holes around the kitchen, and we have happily not seen Mickey since. I will now refer to those four blissful months as the Period of Calm. That time is over. Tonight...well tonight, I saw something no person shoud have to see. Ever. I was walking towards the kitchen from the hallway that leads to our bedrooms and something caught my eye. I saw a glimpse of tail disappearing INTO MY STOVE. What are you talking about, Christina? How can that be? I thought you might ask these questions so I have prepared an illustrated diagram which demonstrates where the mouse disappeared and my feelings thereupon (please note: this is an artist's rendering and is not my actual stove):



I just stood there in shock, unable to utter the appropriate and fitting loud shrieks because Lauren had already gone to bed. I stared at the stove, unsure of what to do. Then I saw a tiny little head poke out from under that little overhang on the stove where I'd just seen the tail disappear and it saw me and darted back in. I continued to stand and stare, dumbfounded and disturbed. THEN, I saw a little head poke out from UNDER the stove on the floor. I am assuming for the sake of my sanity that it was the same mouse. Again, mouse saw me and darted back under. This was repeated twice more before I gathered my wits, turned off the lights, ran to my room and stuffed a towel in the crack under my bedroom door. Then I left a very descriptive and possibly high-pitched voicemail for the property manager. I am currently in my bed groaning and whimpering a lot. Why is this happening to me? How can I made amends for whatever karmic upheaval I have caused? How can I explain to others my position on being anti-animal cruelty while still wanting my entire kitchen to be filled with cruel traps and poisons and mouse-sized land mines? Life is so complicated. I just want my innocence back.

But on the bright side, since my birthday, Christmas, the New Year, a fabulous trip to San Diego, school starting back up, and getting a promotion at work couldn't eek a blog post out of me, having my world shaken up by a tiny rodent apparently does the trick.