Flag Day

 My love of holidays goes waaaay back.  

Just after  I was engaged in 1990, my office workers offered to throw me a Bridal Shower.  Working to select a date, they said, "What are you doing on June 14th?"  "Well, it's Flag Day." I responded.  Ergo (believe it or not), a shower theme was born. 

And because I know you are wondering what Stars and Stripes meets prenuptial party looks like (c'mon, aren't you just a little curious?), here are a few photos chronicling the event:

That's me in the middle, with hostess Jackie and my soon-to-be husband in his "Erkel" glasses (take note of our red-white-blue attire)

Checking out the Flag Cake

A few of the decorations

Take it from me, kitchen and lingerie showers are overrated for brides to be.  We had a grand ol' party!  

Birthday Recap Pictorial

The sign as you exit our neighborhood

Running shoes from her aunt.  She wore these to run the Shamrock & Roll with her dad.

McKenzie's 18th Birthday gift

A special unicorn gift from her brother

Flowers from Nan and Pop

A ring from friend and pen pal in England, Alice (with apologies for the gross fingernail and broken finger - the victim of a car door, two weeks ago!)

A birthday dinner with friends from school

The placecards

With JuliaKate

With Morgan

With Naomi

Good times had by all!

Mardi Gras

Tomorrow is the last day of the Mardi Gras season.     

And though my husband spent his last two years of high school in Louisiana and a good friend grew up in New Orleans,  I have to admit, I was never intrigued by the celebration that is until our trip to Louisiana last fall when my interest was peeked.

My daughter and husband look out over Lake Pontchartrain.

Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, celebrations outside of Louisiana are no doubt mostly limited to expatriates, though you can sometimes see evidence of those longing for life in the Pelican State (or maybe just those who appreciate a good party) in other places.   

For example yesterday, just a few streets over from my house, I spotted this:

 

I couldn't resist the urge to stop and take a few photos.  I bet these folks are fun!

In our local grocery stores at this time of year, you can find King Cake in the bakery section (or you can make your own) and this will be our own little taste of Mardi Gras.

I have to say, the notion of the King Cake and it's baby Jesus (remember my nativity infatuation?) is really special and a tradition, Louisianan or not, that I'm happy to adopt. 

"Laissez les bon temps rouler"

Love Potion

Because my husband and I met on the 11th of February, we've always celebrated that day more than Valentine's Day.  Dinner reservations are more easily made and flowers are not quite so expensive (as they are just a few days later).


Still, I've always loved Valentine's Day -- replete with hearts, cupids, red and pink.  What's a girl not to love? Consequently, for years I agreed to be the Valentine's Party mom for my children's classrooms, providing the snacks and drinks. I looked forward to creating one of my (and crowd pleasing) favorites -  Love Potion, using dry ice.  

This punch bowl is not pink, but some reason (can you say Love Week?) it photographed that way!

I use this big plastic punch bowl I purchased inexpensively at a party store (I never attempted Love Potion in  a glass punch bowl.  I don't own one and toting this one to class parties was much simpler).  

Early on I made fancy multi-ingredient punches.  But after two or three parties, I realized pink lemonade works just as well because the dry ice gets all the attention any way.


Here are some easy to follow instructions for using dry ice and a container in a container.  You can also Google it for additional ideas.  I put my dry ice in a (new) knee high stocking so that I don't have to worry about the kids swallowing any small pieces.  I also create tiny, tiny holes in the stocking so it doesn't float.    Don't forget to use heavy duty gloves for this task -- they are key to the safe handling of the dry ice. 

This is always a HUGE hit with the kids. They are used to seeing a bubbling cauldron at Halloween but a Love Potion at Valentine's Day -- now that's a surprise. 

Super Bowl XLV

That's Super Bowl 45.  (I had to look it up  since I've long forgotten those Roman numerals I learned in third grade math).
 
And tomorrow, Super Bowl Sunday, we'll be watching the game just like 130 million other people. 
 
And, we'll be cheering for the Packers -- the underdogs (winners of 3 previous Super Bowls) over the Steelers (winners of 6). 
 
That's right, the same Packers who beat our hometown Falcons to go to the NFC Championship game a few weeks ago. 
 
The same Packers that once had as their quarterback, Don "The Majik Man" Majkowski.
 
Don and I attended college together (but didn't know each other.  Well, obviously I knew who he was since he was the star of the college football team.   But, he definitely didn't know who I was, though we were once introduced in a downtown college nightspot).  

Don tore a ligament in his ankle in 1993 and was succeeded by Brett Favre who was succeeded by Aaron Rodgers, the Packers current quarterback.  (That's only 4 degrees of separation!)
 
Coincidentally, 15 years later Don's daughter and my son were in kindergarten together in Atlanta.  She gave my son this card as a gift one day.  

 

What she couldn't have known is that this small token would engender my son's devotion to the team.  He's gotten not one, but two, Green Bay Packers  jerseys in the years since and he'll definitely be part of our pro-Packer crowd on Sunday night. 
 

My son, with our dog, in the first of his two jerseys, gives the Packers the thumbs up.

My daughter tells me that Wiz Khalifa's song about the Steelers, and his hometown of Pittsburgh, is currently in the Top 10 on iTunes. I'm guessing this usurps the Pittsburgh Steeler Polka. (And makes the Steelers, undoubtedly, the only team in the NFL with two anthems).  Add that to Big Ben (Roethlisberger), their winning tradition and the Terrible Towels waved by the legion of Steeler fans (called Steeler Nation) and the challenge will be formidable, but I think the Packers are up to it.

Go Green Bay!