MARDI GRAS - Parade Season: Jan 25th - Feb 5th

Can you tell? We had a great time.

The costumes are from the Float that we rode on, The Funky Tucks Funky Fox Float. We had 13 bags each of throws, approx the size of a pillow. The Throws were beads, stuffed animals, plungers, frisbee, Toilet paper, ect. This particular Crew (Tucks Parade) is a bit on the bizarre side. Not a conventional Mardi Gras parade. We ride for about 6 miles, that can take anywhere from 3-5 hours.

We spent the whole weekend downtown, running around Bourbon Street, eating, and of course drinking. Some day we will realize that we are getting old and can't hang like we use to. Anyone wanting a great time should ride with us.

Las Vagas

I had a good time in Las Vegas. It started off slow. I didn't arrive to the WYNN Hotel until 10pm on Friday night. Needless to say, everyone was out. So I got brave and went down to the hotel bar to have a night cap by myself. (They make an awesome Cosmo.) I met a few locals and ended up staying out way too late. The next day the company took a bunch of us to the Hoover Dam. That was real interesting and I took a bunch of pictures. Saturday night was a Cocktail party, Sunday was the conference all day (8:00 am to 5:00 pm) then a dinner with awards. My office got an award for breaking 100million under management (picture to follow). Later that night a bunch of us walked to the Bellagio to watch the Fountains (but of course it was too windy and they weren't running). I tried to gamble, but I'm not a lucky person. I put $10 in a poker machine and lost it in 10 minutes, then I tried Keno, only to lose all my money with a push of a button. No clue how that worked so I gave up. I had a better time just hanging out with colleagues. It took a while for then to warm up to me (believe it or not). I am only 1 of 4 women Financial Advisors in the whole firm. Of which none of the other women Advisors were at the conference. So for the most part, I think everyone thought I was a staff member. Until the Award dinner, when I went up to get the award and get my picture taken with Adam. After that, people started talking to me.

I started this blog saying that the Weekend started out slow, because for the most part I was by myself and not a whole lot of people were talking to me, but as the weekend progress, I started meeting more people, introducing myself around, and ended up Sunday night @ 2:00am hanging out with Adam (by the way is the CEO and Founder)and his staff. And the best part of the whole weekend (not only did I get to sleep in a King size bed all by myself) I lost 3 pounds (now mardi Gras will put that right back on).

Erin playing the piano - Her secret passion

Let the Fencing begin

2007 Commissioning of the USS Mesa Verde

Becoming 2008 Tech Savy

I've had family members say they dont' get regular pictures of the kids. Well, they are growing up and they don't do cute things anymore. They also run faster and are bigger then me. Not to mention that they don't seem to be around as much. Oh well, thats what teenagers do. So we'll see how good I'll be at keeping the Blog updated.
Erin: Junior. 5'5". She is in Drama Club at High School and the biggest news is that she is finally driving.
Jake: Sophmore. 5'10 1/2" and still growing. He is a percussionist in the High School Band and is now into Fencing.
Jim: Still with the Government - Just commissioned his 3rd ship. here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Mesa_Verde_(LPD-19)
Peggy: Working for The Mutual Fund Store and loving it. Here's a link:http://www.mutualfundstore.com/contact/officelocator_2.asp?LocationID=17&enteredzip=70002

Got to get back to work. I'll add pictures this weekend.