Spring evening

So tonight I decided to do the ultimate relaxing thing....I built a fire in my fire pit in my backyard and sat on my little chair and read a book....How cool...I think it's the first time I've done that since I moved into the house. It was so relaxing and kept me nice and warm since it was a little chilly out. I did have to do quite a bit of work to keep it going and get it started but it was incredibly relaxing. Just another ordinary miracle of home....

Spring has Sprung - Even in my yard

So my new focus of my blog is from a line that my mom once said to me - "Wherever you are is home." So I'm going to share some pictures and stories of how I am making my house a home. These are pictures of flowers that have come back or come up around my house already.

I planted tullips! I planted these bulbs last fall and as they started to come up this spring (much to my amazement) I couldn't remember exactly what I had planted. But they have small buds on them and will likely bloom in the next day or two so more pictures to come!

This was the most amazing discovery that I made this year. These are mums...that I planted last year. I have never been able to get mums to come back for a second year. And I've actually never had much luck with growing anything is this particular patch of garden. We'll see if they bloom but I'm just amazed that they have returned!

This is called an estillbe...or maybe it's an astillbe. But I think the first spelling is correct. Last year, a very dear friend of mine who is a master gardener went with me to find some pretty flowering plants to put in a very special garden area. When Lagnaippe (my youngest kitty) died suddenly at only 4 years old in November 2008, we buried her in a back corner in my back yard. I had several hostas in the garden and figured I had destroyed them when we buried her. But sure enough, last spring the all came back. And so Larry selected a white and a red estillbe to add to the garden for some color. Well to my surprise, they are coming back beautifully!

And this is my final floral discovery. Some of the hostas that I have planted next to the house in yet another garden that I have had little luck with. These were planted two years ago and have begun their return once again. In just about a week or two they will be blooming everywhere!

So enjoy the garden and I hope to have some more pictures as things grow!

Black and Gold Superbowl

Well I NEVER thought I would actually type this out but the Saints are going to the SUPERBOWL...yes, the New Orleans Saints. It was an amazing experience. I was so overwhelmed with emotion from the start of this trip. I think I almost cried when I first walk through Louis Armstrong Airport. And our tailgating was incredible. More boiled crawfish than even I could eat. And king cake, beer, alligator sausage (yes I ate it, very yummy). But it wasn't until I got into the Dome and the game was about to start that I realized exactly where I was and what I was doing. I was about to watch my first Saints game from the Dome since 1991...and they were playing for the NFC Championship and a chance to go to their first Superbowl...and I cried...not just a little but enough that everyone around me, even the grown men, felt the emotion. And they understood. Most had been here all along....most had suffered through Katrina....and when they got home, they cried. And so they knew exactly what I was going through.

The game, itself was so close the entire time. And to go into overtime. I just knew they had to get that ball and they had to make it down field. To stand there, with the same grown men, and watch impatiently as the Minnesota Vikings called a time out to delay the field goal just a little bit longer, was amazing. I had grown up in this city. Who I am is defined by this very place and this very moment. And then the ball just sailed through....I am not sure if I even saw it go through...I just saw the emotion...of the players, of the fans, even my brother cried. And for just a moment, New Orleans was truly the greatest city in the US...although I always knew it.

The themes that the team as always had "Faith." "I believe." They all came to this moment. And what a moment it was. Regardless of what happens in Miami, this city had it's moment in this place that was once a place of horror and destruction. And that's what I'll remember most.

On the road again

Well I'm off...ok, so I'm at least at the airport. I'm waiting for my flight to O'Hare. A little nervous because there is fog in Chicago and a light rain. I'm hoping that it doesn't delay any flights. Things are clear in Houston so I should be fine once I get there....and if worse comes to worse, I'll borrow a car from Susan and drive the 6hrs from Houston to New Orleans. I don't care. I'm going home!

I just passed a woman at the snack counter at the airport that was wearing a black and gold jacket with a Saints logo on the back. So me, in my gray tshirt with "Saints" in big letters across the front, tapped her on the shoulder and asked "are you going home for the game." She said "YEP!" We're everywhere.

And yesterday brought even more excited news---my brother said one of the guys that they tailgate with ...who's nickname is Lunchbox...has decided to boil 200 pounds of crawfish for the tailgate party. I haven't had a crawfish in so long I'd almost say I don't remember how to eat them...but that is of course not true.

And so the journey begins....

"I'm goin' home, to the place where I belong..."

I love the song "Home" by Daughtry. It's the perfect anthem for my upcoming trip. Most people are very surprised when I tell them that I have not been home to New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina hit. I've made plans several times but they always seem to fall through. Well in just a few days I'll be heading home and I cannot wait. It's a very short trip but a very special occasion...at least for me. The New Orleans Saints will be playing in the NFC Division Championship Game....and they will be doing it in the Superdome. It's only the 2nd time in the teams history that they have made it this far. The last time, ironically, was in 2006, when they played the Chicago Bears. But this time, they are playing at home...the dome...the place where so many people were stranded during the storm...the place that was basically ripped apart when the people were stranded. But the place that made me cry when I saw the Saints run onto the field for the first time after they fixed it up.

I know that no matter what happens at the game, I will cry. I will cry because I'm home. I will cry because I am proud. I will cry because it's not where I am every day. But as much as I love New Orleans and as much as I am who I am because I was raised there...it's not where I need to be right now. But who knows....so I hope my loyal follower and anyone else who stops by will enjoy the chronicles of my journey. I promise to post LOTS of pictures as well.

So as we'd say Les sais les bon temp roulez! (I don't think I spelled it right but it's LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!)

There's No Business Like Show Business

It's been so long since I've had an ordinary miracle...actually I've had many. I just haven't had a chance to blog in a while. This evening I finished a two weekend run of "Evita." I was in the chorus and had several bit parts. I LOVED it. Which was very surprising to me because when I initially started listening to the music, I wasn't all that escited about it. I'm more of a "Rogers and Hammerstein" girl. I think my favorite musical is a toss up between "The King and I" and "Once Upon a Mattress." Both very different from "Evita."

But what a great drama and a wonderful story. And to be a part of such a great group of people was...well an ordinary miracle. Actually I have to admit, many of my theatre experiences have been ordinary miracles. They are filled with new challenges, wonderful music, difficult dances but most of all great friends. Some new and some old, but all a special part of my life. People have said before "Why would you do a show if you aren't a lead." And I've always answered, it's more about the people that you get to work with. In all honestly, sometimes you have more fun as a chorus member because you get to experience the people more. But each show that I've done has been a blessing. And I'm thankful to be able to share the stage with so many talented--and FUN people. "Let's Go On With The Show!!!"

WHO DAT Nation

Now if you're reading this and you aren't a New Orleans native you are probably wondering--what is WHO DAT Nation....well I'll tell you. Years and years ago someone started a chant in the New Orleans Superdome during a Saints game...."Who Dat, Who Dat Who Dat Say Da Gonna Bet Dem Saints."

And a whole nation was started. Who Date Nation is what they call the legions of Saints fans and tonight I was fortunate enough to meet a few members all the way up here in Peoria. And so I think we have started our very own Peoria Area Who Dat Nation.

Nothing is more exciting than meeting people from home. I met an older couple--they had children that are probably 5 years younger than me--that had been transplanted up to Peoria from Mandeville, Louisiana about 3 years ago. They're children still live in Louisiana and we started exchanging stories while watching the Saints-Dolphins football game at a local pizza joint that had television screens in every booth. Then we started worrying about the game--as they saints were down 24-10 at the half. But as the 2nd half started and the game started to pick up, they invited me to join them to watch the game...we suddenly found out that they went to my church, and their season tickets that they children still use are just 3 sections away from my brother and his wife's season tickets. It was just amazing.

And after a major upset win, they said they would see me in two weekends for the next Sunday game. How much fun is that.

It's always great to find a little piece of home away from home. But it's even better when you find PEOPLE who can share that same piece of home away from home.

It really is a small world....with some very ordinary miracles.