As Per Your Request - A Mardi Gras Primer

I've had a request to explain a little bit about Mardi Gras for some of my friends who may not be familiar with it. So, here goes:

As you know, Catholics celebrate Lent, the 40 days prior to Easter Sunday where we may fast and usually give up something as a type of sacrifice. Prior to Lent is the Carnival season, aka Mardi Gras, which lasts from Three Kings Day (Jan. 6) to Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras day) which varies according to the Lenten calendar. It's the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, when Lent officially begins. This year, Mardi Gras falls on February 24.

During the Mardi Gras season, krewes have balls and some have parades to revel prior to Lent beginning. A krewe is the generic term for all Carnival organizations, but was first coined by the Mistick Krewe of Comus in 1857 to give their club an Old English flavor. Balls pre-dated parades by about 125 years, and unless you are a member or know someone who is, you aren't getting in, it's not a tourist thing. The ball that we went to a couple of weeks ago was like that, the krewe doesn't parade, but they do have the bal masque, which was very formal. The parades are what really draw the tourists. You can join some clubs easier than others. The krewe that Hubby and I have joined is a fairly new one and we were able to join without having been invited or sponsored by an existing member, even though one of my good friends is in it. I'm joining another krewe for next year that has a waitlist before you can even think about riding in its parade. I will probably have to wait a couple of years before I can ride, but the social aspects of the krewes are year-round.

The krewes throw beads and other throws (eg. stuffed animals, toys, etc) from the floats during the parades. Riders are required by law to be masked for the entirety of the parade. (We're also not supposed to drink alcohol while riding, but that one's not really enforced!) We went a little overboard this year on our throws, but since Hubby and his BFF put me in charge, what can you expect, I like to shop! So, if there's any chance you're going to be on the parade route, let me know where you're going to be, I'll load you down with stuff!

Hands down my favorite part of Mardi Gras is King Cake, which I'm sure you've noticed me mention SEVERAL times. I love the stuff! By definition a king cake is an oval shaped sugared pastry, that contains a small plastic doll hidden inside. It's a lot like a giant cinnamon roll. The person who finds the doll is crowned "king" and buys the next cake or throws the next party. The king cake season begins on Jan 6, King's Day. Nearly 1 million king cakes are consumed in the New Orleans metro area during Carnival season. That doesn't count the number that are shipped out all over the world. The best king cakes in the area by far come from Manny Randazzo's bakery. Any time you go to the bakery during Carnival, there is a line out the door and you happily wait your turn to get the yummy goodness. Anyone that disagrees with me about this topic, don't even try and argue with me or convince me that your choice is better than mine, it's not. Also, there are many that will argue that cream cheese or fruit filled cakes are better than plain, they're not. I'm a traditionalist, and the best kind is the traditional. Randazzo's does ship all over so if you want to try one, order it quick because they stop selling them Mardi Gras day. Here's a video of how they are made, it's not a Randazzo's cake, but it will give you and idea of what's going on. My friend, Marissa, has a cooking show and Ralph's is one of her sponsors, so what can you do? Also, if you want some really great Louisiana recipes, find The Outdoor Kitchen show on Facebook or go to http://www.theoutdoorkitchen.com/. She has some great stuff on there and even a lot of game recipes! Also, if you watch her videos on FB, she mentions me in her Soups, Pt. 3 video! I'm kind of a dork when my name gets mentioned on TV and get really excited!

So, hopefully this has explained a little bit of the fun that happens down here each year. If you haven't experienced a New Orleans Mardi Gras, do it! We have a lot of fun down here and it's not all about boobs and beer despite what's shown on TV.

GiST - 26 of 365

1. Watching Baby Girl jump on Hubby's back while he's doing push-ups and yelling "Yee Haw!"

2. Having LBND come over and play for an hour or so, giving his mommy a break and entertaining Baby Girl for me!

3. Getting all my housework done before noon, freeing up the afternoon for blogging!

4. Accomplishing the errands I needed to do today without having a toddler-meltdown in any stores.

5. Knowing I can go to bed early tonight!

A "Real" Post

Looking at my recent history of blog posts, I see that I have been very lazy by only doing my Grace in Small Things posts and not really giving any "meat" so my blog, so today I'm going to correct that. Not to say I don't love participating in GiST, I think it's a fantastic idea to remind myself daily that there are wonderful things surrounding me if I just stop long enough to look at them, but it does seem to be the further "Facebooking" of my life, where my life and writing become just a series of status updates. I often through the day think of things that I want to tell you guys, but by the time I sit down to my computer, I usually only have enough energy to read your blogs, post my GiST and then either go to bed or knit. You remember that I'm a knitter, right? Seems like I haven't really shared too much of what I've been doing lately. I'm going to correct that today, too. So, hunker down and grab yourself something to drink and a snack, this post may get a bit long today. In fact, I'm planning on doing this in two sessions today, although you'll just get it all at once. Can't sit still too long with a two-year-old in the house, ya know!

To begin with, I am super tired today. For some reason, I woke up around 1:30 this morning and didn't get to sleep until a little bit before Baby Girl woke up at 6:30. It's only 8:30 and I'm already on my second Coke Zero. I rarely drink caffeine anymore (kicked the addiction during my pregnancy, and never really picked it back up), but today, I'm in desperate need and am finally feeling my brain cells start to wake up. I think it helps that I've opted for serving the Coke in a Waterford goblet. My best friend's step-mom always says that everything tastes better out of a crystal wineglass, and I think she's definitely right, but I needed a goblet today! These glasses never get used, what a waste! I also fixed myself a "real" breakfast of eggs and bacon, which I never do. I hate cooking in the morning, but again, desperate times...

There are certain things I have to get done this morning, so I figure by laying out the goals in writing to you guys, maybe it will force me into actually getting them done rather than face the humiliation of publicly failing. I know what you're thinking, since I'm not posting this until later today, what's going to stop me from just deleting this part or adjusting the goals accordingly? Pride, my friends, pride!

Hubby's BFF is coming down from New York tomorrow to ride in the parade with us on Friday so I definitely want to have the house clean before he gets here, so here's what has to happen:

The house has to be vacuumed and mopped. The beds need to be changed and made up. The bathrooms need to be cleaned.

Also, I have some things that need to be picked up that are Mardi Gras related:

We need hooks for the float to organize and hang our beads on. I need a football helmet, with facemask, for Baby Girl, because we are taking her to her first parade tomorrow and the krewe that we are going to see throws ALOT of stuff. It would freak the poor kid out if she got hit in the face! I don't think she would get hurt, but that being said, I did break my nose freshman year when a large string of pearls hit me....

When I open up this computer next, I will let you know how I've done! And then hopefully I will also share some more interesting things with you! (8:43am)

10:26 - House vacuumed, beds made, still need to mop and clean the toilets. Jeez, am I ever tired. Think I'll take a little break and watch Little Einsteins with Baby Girl.

10:57 - Einsteins over, back to work.

11:37 - Floors mopped, toilets clean! That wasn't so bad! Off to get the Mardi Gras stuff!

1:32 - Back home, got everything we needed and lunch. Baby Girl is in bed napping and I'm on the couch, finished for the day other than some writing. I really think I need to put my daily goals down in writing more often. It really motivated me to get things done!

So, what else do I have going on in my world? I did recently get one of the coolest gifts ever! Two of my friends went to India for a month and since they were practically backpacking their way around the country, I certainly didn't expect them to bring me a present. But they did! The night of the Eros ball, Julia called me to let me know she would be bringing me something. I do love presents, so I was pretty excited. I've never been to India and I had no idea what it could be. How could I have known that they would bring me the most perfect and thoughtful gift possible. YARN! It's a big hank of red wool and it is Beautiful! And mysterious...there's no ball band, no needle recommendations or care instructions. Just the white paper bag from India with the name of the store. I love that they brought it back in that bag! Oh, and to make it even more perfect, it wasn't Julia that bought it, it was Bill, her boyfriend! How cool is it that they both know me well enough to know exactly the perfect thing to bring me! So, now I just have to figure out what it wants to be. Hubby laughed at me when I told him I was waiting for it to talk to me, but I am. Until it does, it will be in my stash tempting me with it's loveliness!

On other knit-news, I've been pretty obsessed with socks lately. I learned how to work them from the toe up, which I love because I don't have to graft at the end, plus, if they're for me, I can try them on as I go to see how they're going to fit. I recently finished some really pretty knee socks that I love! They are made with Paton's Stretch Sock Yarn. Baby Girl likes them too! I think they qualify as tights on her!

I also just finished my Mardi Gras socks to wear on the float this Friday. I used Panda Cotton's Mardi Gras sock yarn. Unfortunately, the yarn has been discontinued, but I've been hunting it down online and building up a stash.

I had so much other stuff I was going to tell you, but I'm exhausted right now, so it's going to have to wait for another time.

5:48 - OK, so I didn't hit publish since I needed to take some pictures. Baby Girl and LBND just got done playing outside, so I had to stick this picture up too! I love little kids with balloons!

GiST - 25 of 365

1. Getting all the beads for our float loaded into the U-haul truck last night and still having time to go get a glass of wine with a friend before the krewe meeting.

2. Finishing the Mardi Gras socks! Pictures will hopefully come later today.

3. Having a wonderful Mom-in-Law who is willing to babysit at the drop of a hat!

4. Hubby feeling better from his cold.

5. The librarians at our public library putting on a Mardi Gras parade for the kids during story group, complete with mini "king cakes" and beads. They put a lot of effort into it and the kids LOVED it! Thanks, Ms Cheryl!

GiST - 24 of 365

1. Baby Girl's reaction to a wreck in yesterday's NASCAR race really made me smile. She asked what happened and when I told her there was a wreck, she asked if the cars had "boo-boos". I told her yes, they did, so she started kissing the screen so the cars would feel better. How cute is that!

2. Beautiful sunny days

3. Getting the upstairs of my house cleaned up and all the laundry finished in one day.

4. Getting to know one of my internet friends better and realizing what a strong person she is.

5. Steak and mashed potatoes!

Grace in Small Things - 23 of 365

1. The return of the NASCAR season - I know, I'm just a little bit white-trashy!

2. Going to bed at 9:00 last night, not because I was sick, but just because I felt like it. (could've been the champagne I had with lunch)

3. The fact that I now have Hubby hooked on BSG and Lost! Yes, I'm a little bit geeky, too!

4. A nice visit with my in-laws this morning. They're always so excited to see us.

5. Finishing a Mardi Gras sock. One more to go before Friday! Can she do it? We'll see!

Grace in Small Things - 22 of 365 Valentine's Day Edition!

1. Although my Hubby doesn't celebrate V-day, he did clean up the house and really gave the kitchen a good scrubbing for me!

2. Brunch with seven fabulous ladies at an excellent restaurant down in the quarter, Eat!

3. My friend, Kelly, bringing me a ball of fabulous Mardi Gras yarn and letting me keep it even after I pointed out to her that it was very similar to the yarn I already had!

4. Mimosas!

5. My new swift