in honor of my still raspy voice...

it's tuesday and i still can't talk all that great. it reminds of phoebe's "sexy phlegm."

my sticky shoes...my sticky sticky shoes

and i have every intention of losing my voice altogether on february 7th. we've already planned to congregate at the same location, bring the same food and wear the same clothes as we did for the nfc. oh, and bring ella. my wittle good luck charm.

once the game was over, everyone in mid-city was on their porches or in the streets cheering and shooting fireworks. cars were all honking and strangers were hugging and others were coming up with creative ways to hug themselves. my heart swelled with pride.

so. with that being said. i felt compelled to list a reason or two why i love new orleans. and if you're sick of hearing about new orleans, whether good or bad, then just humor me. i don't get excited very often.

where to begin...

-the food. THE food. THE FOOD. it's unbelievable. seriously, i've taken some first bites at a few places here and my eyes literally welled up. please come eat at brigtsen's. and dante's kitchen. and jacques-imo's. and green goddess.

-elizabeth's praline bacon deserves its own spot on the list.

-abita beer, sazeracs, gin fizz...

-shotgun houses, the garden district, audubon park

- you're a dead giveaway as a tourist if you properly say "calliope" and "burgundy." but only when referencing the streets.

-it's "cal-ee-ohp" and "bur-GUN-dee"

-brocato's cannolis. they bring me to tears often.

-krewe of muses

-tons and TONS of festivals.

-the shopping on magazine st.

-that i can take ella basically everywhere

-3 martini fridays. and there was one or two margarita tuesdays.

-second lines

-street performers

-king cakes, beignets and everything at sucre'

-prytania theater

-beads in the trees and on the powerlines year round

i could go on but it's time for idol. omg avril lavigne, i loooove you!

NOT.

see ya later, boy.

-

aaaaaannndd my voice is gone...

two quick things before bed:

1) my saints are going to the super bowl. the SUPER.FREAKING.BOWL.

2) sometimes i think about my childhood friends and where they are in their lives and how i kind of want what they have. but then i remember...i live in new orleans. and i dare say i LOVE new orleans.

may not be the best outlet

but seriously. it's been on my chest for a long time.

i am angry. ANGRY. and i don't really know how to get over it. you know how you can keep playing hurtful events over in your head and you just get angry all over again? reopens the wound.

that's me. i think about it almost every night when i have my "me" time. and i get wicked pissed off every time. maybe i don't want to get over it...some people like holding a grudge.

BUT.

it's really really good that i got away. the distance has done little to unpiss me off but it hasn't been exacerbated by having to be in close proximity and make nice. oh i could just gag.

i should've grown a pair a long time ago and nipped it in the bud. but i was still "doormat sommer" who just wanted to be liked.

now i'm close to being "eff off sommer." i care less and less every day what people think of me. a priceless trait i'm learning from matt. i may take it a little further than him. i need to learn moderation.

anyway. i kept most of the details private on purpose. i'm not one to air my dirty laundry on the internet. there's just a person out there that my heart is harboring some serious anger towards and has been for a while. and i honestly don't think i'm ready to let it go.

i'm drinking wine and watching "the real world." it's hard to not be dramatic.

i can sincerely say right now that i don't think i would really care if i never spoke to you again.

psycho dog

ella has a lot of toys...and they are all ripped and shredded and de-squeakered. this is why. forgive my poor lighting.

achey joints

thanks to this frigid weather. and my age.

i've definitely noticed a change in my "wine palate" over the last year or so. i used to only be able to handle the distinctly sweet ones...particularly moscatos and white zins. now i could drink those puppies like juice...or milk...or sprite. drier is definitely better. particularly a pinot grigio from new zealand. brancott, i think. screw top is the way to go!

so i'm watching the bcs championship and there's this tiny knot in my stomach now that mccoy is hurt. i'm sure the rest of you are all "RTR! RTR!" but i just can't bring myself to cheer for the tide for two reasons:

1) john parker wilson's grade A loins are no longer around for me to gawk at.
2) saban ABANDONED us to go to bama. we're all still bitter, nick. nick satan.

i'm excited to break out my new creuset pots this weekend and make some white chili. i'll need something warm in my tummy since it's been so cold lately that ella's pee freezes before it even hits the ground.

if you know someone doesn't like you, do you still make an effort to like them? i find it hard. and sometimes i don't have any interest in being the bigger person (confession!).

i didn't need to put a period there.

another picture of my niece because i think she's preeeshy.

you're probably gonna be seeing a lot of these over the next few weeks/months. years.

i refuse to call it "twenty ten"

the everetts aren't really known for their big new years eve plans. this year was no different. a few close friends, champagne, and fondue was all we needed. and some fireworks.

i had to do an inventory count at a client today and the inventory manager hugged me when i told her that the one item she couldn't find didn't matter. i've never had a client hug me. it was nice. cause it was a woman. and not a grody man.

the other person helping us was a precious little black man named herman. herman! so great.

i decided to lift up the chain surrounding the parking lot in downtown nola on saturday instead of ducking under it and by doing so i think i pulled a chesticle. it was deceptively heavy. and downtown was infested with florida fans from the sugar bowl.

luckily, none of them knew where one of our fave hole in the wall restaurants is (it only has about 4 tables so i prefer it to stay under wraps). i was able to enjoy my pear brandy and champagne in peace. and dine on pulled pork and slaw atop a jalapeno-corn pancake. or flapjack? and sweet potato biscuits with red pepper jelly.

*drool. DROOOL.

last but not least, on new years eve our little niece was born. she's uber cute. my bro skyped me last night and set his laptop in her bassinet so i could talk to her.

look how preshy...


her name is eden. and she looks just like my brother. who looks a lot like me. so basically she looks like me.

i'm convinced.