It's All We Know, It's What We Do

Yikes! Where, oh where to begin???

Well, my previous post pretty much covers Saturday morning/lunch, so I can start off with Saturday afternoon. We stopped off at The Bulldog for a refreshing cocktail and then headed to meet some of Mae Mae's friends to watch the Endymion parade. I got to be the first in the family to meet Mae Mae's new homeboy, Larry, and I also got to meet his friends, a great couple Brian (Jack Black's twin personality) and Elaine (adorable lil' spitfire.)

Luckily, they have friends that live along this parade's route, so we partied in their front yard watching the floats and people go by. It was a great time, and the whiskey was tasty! :) I had to pace myself though, as the night was very young and we still had to go home and get ready for the night's main event, once the parade was over.

After Endymion, we rushed home, fancied up with our costumes and headed to the MOMS Ball, which is an exclusive event each year and you have to know someone special to get your tickets. They will without a doubt turn away people at the door if they aren't in sufficient costume. Again, Mae Mae had warned me that this would be pretty racy and risqué and I was to wear a costume that was revealing. Now as posted previously, my lovely sister had volunteered me to be the crocodile from the Peter Pan theme we were doing, and I think I did it pretty well, considering I had a limited production timeline, and I had to make it slutty.

Well, while I was the skankiest of our group...

...I didn't even remotely compare to what I saw. The first costume I saw was this...EEEEEEEEKKKKS!

That was one of the less offensive outfits, as the first female costume I saw when I walked in the ball was a lady wearing clear plastic platforms, fish-net tights (with nothing underneath but an interesting design shaved into her goodies,) very tiny pasties on her chest and a wig. That was all, and that was par for a lot of the people at this place. I remained slightly nervous the whole time, as I'm not quite used to being in the environment but it was interesting none-the-less and I did see some other great costumes. And as it turns out, I was one of the more popular people at the party. No, seriously, really. So many people thought my outfit was funny (I wouldn't go as far as saying cute) that they would come up and ask me to take a picture with them.) It was a life-defining moment for me, of course!

Thankfully, and despite many of your beliefs, I ended this night as sober as could be. I needed to save up my energy for Sunday, because it was going to be a long day. My Aunt Barbara & Uncle Bob (Mom's side) live on the parade route for the Thoth parade, which is a nice, smaller parade that cruises through uptown. They had a cocktail party/brunch at their house so we could easily watch the parade. Our cousin Reagan (Dad's side) and his girlfriend Marie joined us as well. Also, contrary to many beliefs, the parades during Mardi Gras are very clean and family friendly. It's not until you get to Bourbon Street does it become wild. (Stories to follow.)

Sunday night was the highlight of my trip, as it included attending the Bacchus parade and having a balcony on Bourbon Street. Being that I had reserved energy and liver health, I decided to go balls to the wall this night, starting at Bacchus, and clearly I succeeded. (Disclaimer: New Orleans is very humid. Pair that with my already curly mess of a hairstyle and you've got disaster. But apparently disaster that was my theme for the night.)

Larry and his friends had rented the balcony of Arnaud's for us to be wined and dined all night long. The food was incredible and the bar selection made my heart smile. Being on a balcony during Mardi Gras is definitely the way to go, avoids all the ridiculous crowds on Bourbon Street.

With the insane amount of people on Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras, you can guarantee that over 50% of them are stupid enough to do horrendous acts just for beads, or better yet, a light saber. I saw small boobs, big boobs, saggy boobs, fake boobs, white boobs, brown boobs, old boobs, young boobs and the same goes for the male parts. But, what I did NOT expect to see was the pregnant woman who got on her knees in the middle of the street to have oral sex with her husband, in order for us to give her the light saber. WOW is all I have to say. I guess once you've been to Mardi Gras, you've seen it all people, you've seen it all!

After our adventures on the balcony, we headed to the Carousel Bar at the Montleone Hotel. Mae Mae and Larry escaped to some hidden table while I used the facilities, so when I came back and didn't see them, I just walked up the bar. There I met my Irish friends, JPJ (Jeremiah Patrick John,) Cathal (Cuh-haul,) and Tim. They were visiting from Ireland just for the fabulous carnival time, and they instantly became my new best friends. Eventually, we continued on to the Ole Absinthe House for Irish shots, Irish dancing and Stanga Sister Sandwiches.

Before we knew it, the clock was approaching 4:45 am Monday morning. My flight back to Dallas left at 6:45 am. We literally walked straight out of the bar on Bourbon Street, grabbed a quick breakfast at an all-night diner. We shared frivolous laughs, due to the simple fact that Mae Maeis a 'finisher.'

I was literally hammered checking into the airport at 5:45 and getting on the plane, and even getting off the plane in Dallas. Although I had planned to arrive at Love Field at 8:15 and drive 4 or 5 blocks straight to the office, it didn't happen. Look at me y'all. This is EXACTLY how I got on the plane...minus the mask and the Irish dude.

Yup, my dress is from the night before, cowboy boots, boa and beads. Now tell me that doesn't make a statement. I received many looks, heard under-breath comments from spectators and I'm positive the people sitting next to me on the plane just LOVED me.

Heck yes I'm a good time. And a mess!

One Story At A Time

So I knew that if I tried to capture all the events of this crazy weekend in one blog, I'd be sure to leave something fabulous out, so I figured while I have a spare second in between a parade and showering, I'd take a moment to jot this little gem down.

Sister and I had to head out before the lunch/parade crowd to do some last minute shopping for our costumes we'll sport tonight. Once we had purchased our final items, we stopped to grab a quick bite at Ignatious for a traditional muffaletta, jambalaya and an ice-cold Abita Light Beer served in the ever-so-classy brown paper bag. I love this city.

After lunch, we walked down to the parade routes to catch the end of one and the beginning of another amongst all the other eleventy billion parade goers, but needed to head back home in order to get ready. One slight problem, during carnival time, it isn't exactly the easiest to get from one side of the city to the other. I mean, you just can't do it. Here we found ourselves in a situation...not to anyone's surprise. You can't cross St. Charles or Napoleon because of the massive parades strolling down the street, but that doesn't deter the Twister Sisters even the slightest. I noticed that a parked car had moved and there was just enough space along the curb to slip Mae Mae's little car in past the barricades and then could pull back out into the street. We were GOLDEN...for one block. Then we hit Napoleon and the gargantuous, multi-level floats that would block our path. Mae Mae walked up to the police car parked at the intersection and asked how she would get home because she lives on Magazine Street on the opposite side of Napoleon. He gave her a "you have got to be kidding me?" look, as if he was thinking, 'ain't no way anyone getting from one side of the city to the other in the next hour, no matter who you are!' Mae Mae, being the great debater that she has always been (hence the law school endeavor,) threw a fit and JUST HAD to get her way. Hah! Wouldn't you know it, we pulled right up to Napoleon, and the cop jumped out in the middle of the street and blew his whistle. He stopped an ENTIRE parade, floats for as far back as we could see, to let us pass through. This isn't any ordinary traffic direction, this was a special occasion. Of course we rolled down the windows and waved to everyone, just like we were in the parade ourselves. Without a float. Without beads. In t-shirts and jeans. In a Honda Civic. No make-up. Not drunk. But you know, like we were in the parade.

Ladies and Gentlemen (and those that we can't figure out what the hell you are,) of New Orleans, The Hoo Hoo Sisters are here!

Did You Really Think I Wouldn't...

...show up to work like this? I mean, duh!

At 3:15 today I'm peacin' out this mo-fo and will be well on my way to Mardi Gras Mambo. I'll update you on my adventure when I retrieve my liver Monday morning from the trash can on one of the four corners of Bourbon St. and Toulouse.

This Costume Making Business is a Crock...

Last weekend my parents surprised me with a plane ticket to visit my sister in New Orleans this weekend for Mardi Gras. I'm extremely excited to go, as this should be a very fun-filled weekend. I knew we'd be attending several parades, one of which will be at my aunt & uncle's house since they live along the parade route. The other is the Bacchus parade, which isn't the biggest but probably one of the most popular parades in Mardi Gras. We have a 2nd floor balcony overlooking Bourbon Street on Sunday night after Bacchus, and it will all be catered. Who wouldn't jump all over that opportunity right? Well, the only bad part is Monday. Let's break down this situation: Me, Bourbon Street, Bourbon, Mardi Gras, Sunday night, 6:45 am Monday flight, drive straight to work for an 8 hour day. Ouch!!! I'm going to predict that this quite possibly be the absolute worst day of my life, but hey...you gotta pay to play. Look out New Orleans - the Hoo Hoo Twisters Sisters are on the loose!

I've been looking forward to this trip all week, until my sister also informs me that we are going to a costume party, The MOMs Ball, Saturday night that tends to be quite racy and makes fun of all the other Mardi Gras Balls. The theme this year is Show Your Shadow, so Mae Mae said I could dust off the 'ole 'Lady in the Street, Freak in the Bed' Halloween costume I donned a few years back. Great idea, I had the stuff still, it'd be easy and cheap to do, and it was like a shadow. Perfect, problem solved.

Yeah right, did y'all really believe something like this would be that easy for me? Yesterday she emails me and tells me I can no longer sport the Lady/Freak costume, and I have to participate in the group theme she and her friends have decided to do. We all know that Peter Pan has a shadow, so this was the inspiration for the costumes. Mae Mae's friend Larry will be Peter and Larry's dude friend will be the Shadow. Mae Maeis going to be 'Drinkerbelle,' the drunken slutty fairy and her friend will be Captain Hook-er (no explanation necessary.) I'm sure you are wondering what could possibly be left for me, as was I. Don't worry guys, my loving sister so kindly volunteered me for my role without me even knowing it. I am the...CROCODILE. The effin' crocodile. Really, Mae, are you serious with that? Okay, cool - that sounds real real easy to turn myself into a skanktastic croco-di-hoe all in a matter of two nights. Thanks sister, you really know how to look out for me!

When stuck in a creative bind, who else do I call? Of course it's Danette. Between the two of us, we can make anything happen. I called her up, gave her the foe-one-one on my situation and we got our minds a'spinnin. My lunch hour yesterday consisted of grazing JoAnn fabric for some suitable prints. I found some phenomenal heinously-bright green toulle and another fabric that was the closest to resembling a croc that I could find. Mae Mae insisted that I should rock a sweet green tutu, but let me tell you how simple it is to find a green tutu in Highland Park at the end of January all in the matter of 60 minutes. We decided I could just make one using the toulle and an elastic band. Remember, Danette and I can do everything! Danette was super excited about this sewing adventure since she got a new sewing machine for Christmas. Disclaimer: Machine is still in box and Danette doesn't have a clue how to use it. Anyhoo, after about an hour of jacking with that overly-technical piece of greatness, she figured it out and got working on my tail. We used a piece of my 'croc' fabric and were going to sew it into a tail and stuff it with cotton filling. After realizing how spectacular this tail turned out, I began thinking how the hell am I going to get this to NOLA? Don't you worry folks, I'll be carrying this bad boy on the plane with me. I can't wait for this conversation to go down:

Flight Attendant: "Um, maam ... do you always bring a body pillow with you on airplanes?"

Me: "Oh no, this is just my crocodile tail. Is there an overhead storage bin available? Oh, and please don't get it caught in the door, that hurts!"

Somebody please meet me at the airport to take a picture of this. Okay, back on track, while Danette was stuffing my tail (wow, that sounds pretty kinky) I was working on my head and my tutu. I had to confiscate some items from Blayne (Danette's 3 yr old daughter,) in order to make my head. Blayne came in a bit disturbed, asking what I was doing with her toy, but then was kind enough to just let me have it. Thanks Blayne, I owe you a sucker for that! Once that was completed, I worked on the tutu, which turned into an absolute disaster. Now, I was #1 on the sewing team in 5th grade, but during my 13 year hiatus, I seemed to have lost my touch. Only after I had demolished the toulle did I realize what I should have done to make it better. After discussing this with my seamstress, we decided we would just go get more fabric and start over. It's 10 pm, where would we go? Of course, Walmart! We take off, and soon realize that they don't even sell fabric anymore, so we returned home unsuccessful in our creative efforts, but we did manage to pick up some ground turkey meat, a leotard for Blayne and Mini-Oreos. At this point, it was 10:45 and I was beat and figured it'd be in our best interest to call it a night. I drove back to my house with my head and tail in tow, but am still lacking the body. I guess this will be my lunch-time project today. Stay tuned - pics to come.

Guess where I'm going next weekend...

Hope Bacchus is ready for the Twister Sisters!

Extreme Makeover: Blog Edition

Something looks different you say? That's right! My girl Cara used all her creative talent to make a new blog design for me and I absolutely love it. Thanks for all your hard work! :) Now, if only I could get someone to buy me that scrapbooking software she has, I'd be changing this baby up all the time!

Speaking of changing and baby...I have a slight problem. Nobody should have ever told me that I'm expecting a niece. This picture should explain my lunch hour yesterday. Don't worry, of course I found everything on clearance - y'all know me better than that!



Clearly, I can't wait for little miss Claire to arrive, especially after spending some quality time with my girlfriends Cara & Christy and their precious boys. Seeing how sweet Landon & Jack are really makes me that much more excited to be a proud aunt. Girls, I miss you and your babies. Let's play again soon! :)

Stanga Train Update

Here's a little update on the family.

Mae Mae and Dad were lucky enough to party it up in the French Quarter as LSU played for the National Championship. I'm so jealous of them, but am so glad they got the opportunity to experience something so fun! Geaux Tigers!!!

Scott has officially moved out of the house and is now residing in McKinney with Abby. This is real serious people! They are both really happy with this new living arrangement, but unfortunately, Scott had to temporarily leave his dogs behind. Mom is a little sad and overwhelmed having to manage 4 dogs alone, but Scott will be taking 2 of them to Abby's soon. Dad will be ecstatic when this day comes!

Mark and Maegan are doing well. They're engaged and she is rockin' an insanely beautiful ring. I'm real jealous of it! They had another doctor's appointment today since the baby wasn't cooperating during the last sonogram. We have been eagerly waiting for this day, and ...

We're all really excited, well all but Scott. Scott is bummed that he doesn't get to teach a lil guy how to play football, but he'll fall in love with her as soon as he sees her. Maegan is doing well, and last week she started to feel the little girl moving around. During today's sonogram, she was pretty active but the doctor managed to get some measurements on her. She weighs just at a pound and is about 10 inches long. Our baby girl is growing up! :) As of right now, and hopefully permanently, we will be referring to her as Claire Elizabeth! Oh, I'm so so excited. Aunt Laney can finally think pink!

As for me, nothing really exciting. Well I did get an email at work today warning me that the village I work in is going to be a mess tonight. Apparently, Paris Hilton's new movie premier is at the Regent Theatre downstairs from my office and she will be here for it. I'm sure I'll be irritably wiggling my way through paparazzi just to get to my car and to leave. I'm NOT hanging around trying to get a glimpse of her. If anyone is interested, she will be in Highland Park Village between 6 and 7.



I'm also still succeeding at being one of Target's biggest fans and know-it-all. Earlier today, my girlfriend Janee called me in dire need of help. She left me a voicemail to call her back immediately. She was driving around a certain area of Dallas and needed to know where the closest Target was. Sure she could have called any friend that was on a computer, but she knew I'd know off the top of my head where a Target was in relation to her, and I did! It was a very proud moment in my life. If Target only knew what a dedicated customer I am, they might just give me some free stuff.

The Better Beggar

The traffic tonight was horrendous as soon as I got on the tollway at Mockingbird, so I quickly exited Northwest Highway to take a speedy stroll up Inwood.  In doing this, I was faced with a situation that made me think way too long, which is pretty typical of me.  

On the corner of NW Highway and the tollway, I saw two homeless men panhandling for some spare change.  Now, I couldn't figure out why they would work the same corner, because I barely give any one person change, and I would do it much less if I had two people to deal with or choose between.  But then as I thought more into it, I wondered who had more change.  I went down a long list of factors evaluating who might be making a better income as a beggar, and it started with their physical appearance.  Who looked more homeless?  Well they both looked equally bad, but the white guy was missing half of his right leg and the black guy had two good legs.  Then I thought about who needed it more.  The black guy might need more money to buy more food for the extra half a leg he had over 'ole whitey, but then again, maybe whitey needs more money for more nutrition since he exerts more energy trying to get somewhere. So then I thought about if people would think minority vs. disability at all.  

Clearly, I spent entirely way too much time thinking about this, being that it occupied the majority of my 45 minute commute home, especially since I wasn't actually having to choose.  At least it gave me something to do.  I really wanted to turn around and ask each of them to let me count the change in their cups.  I don't mean to be insensitive at all, it was just something that I really over-analyzed.    

I want my lunch back!

So last night, a huge cold front blew through Dallas and has chosen to stay for a while. It's absolutely freezing, and being as cold-natured as I am, I'm not a big fan of having to be outside in this. Last night when I was thinking about the weather, I figured I'd bring my lunch so I wouldn't have to go out and freeze if I didn't have to. It was also helpful that Robyn and I had just gone to the grocery store and stocked up on our Lean Cuisine pizzas that we love oh so much.

Well, unfortunately, I did have to make a trip out into the cold because I needed to go to the bank at lunch. The closest branch to my work, and it's inside Tom Thumb, so I had to get out in the freezing weather to walk in and out of the store. I dread having to go to this location just for that reason. I made it back to my toasty car and was relieved that was over. Just one more quick run through the cold back into the office and I'd be done, at least until 5:00.

I got back to my office and wasn't hungry yet, so I decided to wait a bit before going to the kitchen to heat up my pizza. Finally, it's 1:30 and my appetite is quickly escalating from hungry to STARVING in a matter of seconds. I walk down to the kitchen and it's GONE. My freakin' pizza is gone. I checked both drawers of the freezer, in the fridge, everywhere. Somebody stole my pizza! I put it in there this morning with 4 other meals (none of them happened to be pizza) and those same 4 meals were there, except mine. Oh I was soooooo pissed! Do you know what that meant? I meant it was 1:40, I was STARVING and now PISSED, I had to get my car BACK out of valet, get BACK in the cold, drive somewhere else and buy ANOTHER lunch, but what did I want?!?!

Taco Bell sounded to be the quickest and cheapest resolution, so I head that way. I'm growing more irritated by the minute because of all the construction that blocks any convenient route, and the never ending row of makeshift stop signs (including Mexicans holding up their own signs.) I take a trip through the drive-thru because there is no way in hell I'm getting out of my warm car again until I have to. Through the speaker, I hear the speech of what sounds to be a very uneducated, yet very familiar 'sister.' I pull up to the window, and as I'm handing the girl my money, I'm think to myself that she looks ridiculously familiar. Kind of like the girl who couldn't get my name right at Einstein Bagels (blogged back in the fall: Compton Does NOT Belong in Highland Park.) She was a spitting image of that fabulous girl who renamed me 'Alen.' Suddenly, I caught glimpse of her iced-out cat earrings, and I was in heaven. I had reconnected with the same idiot who messed up my name months ago. I guess she called the wrong person the wrong name for the final time before she had to downgrade to the Taco Bell drive-thru. Seeing her made my stolen pizza experience all okay!

I Just Want To Know...

Did the Tigers play last night?

Deese be mah peepl

Just an old soul...

So I've always been a lot different than the majority of my friends. It's well known that I often opt for a quiet night in rather than a loud rowdy night with my girlfriends at the local hot spots. Well once again, it's been proven true. While most of my friends were out celebrating with cocktails, I took a different approach to my Saturday night.

Meet the Frisby's. Jonah (5), Fletch & Cash (4 months.) These kids weren't quite as excited as I was about this picture, not after it took Mandi a few attempts with my camera. Turns out the flash wasn't on...still isn't.

Usually, my friends are nursing quite the hangover on Sunday morning...that is if they have woken up at a time to still be considered morning. I, on the other hand, was up early and hard at work.

Mom walked by and just watched and laughed. She didn't offer much help, because she wanted to see how I could do in the event that twins don't skip generations and I'm blessed with multiples. I did pretty well I think, considering one likes rice cereal and the other prefers a bottle. What they didn't get on camera was later in the morning with Jonah sitting by my side on his Nintendo, me bouncing Cash in my lap to keep him from crying and Fletch in the bouncy seat on the floor being rocked by my foot, while Mae Mae and Mandi beautified themselves. What is all the fuss about how hard it is to be a mom? Just kidding!!!

Now, I know there are typical greasy meals that most of my friends indulge in around 1pm on a Sunday afternoon, and I wasn't too different in that sense. I did enjoy a greasy meal at 1, but at Planet Pizza. Wahoo!

There isn't any time or hands for napkins in these situations involving Cash, people. You've got to improvise. Mandi just looks on in amusement that it's me and she's finally getting a break!

Fletch apparently mistakes me for his burp cloth, but it's okay. Again, Mandi is pretty amused. ..and how did she stay so clean?


We love having the Frisby's at our house, even if Daddy Brad was forced to stay at home to fish (poor thing!) Mandi has always said she wanted her family to be just like the Stanga's. Well, she's almost there.

Happy Holidays!!

Last night Robyn and I hosted our first party since we've been in our house. We had a wine tasting party for our girlfriends and it was actually a nice little turnout. We shared delicious salty & sweet treats, great wine and frivolous laughs.

Thank you to all who came and celebrated the season with us. We loved having you and can't wait to do it again. Maybe this will be an annual event...but next year, I'll try to put my wine glass down before 2am.

Merry Christmas!

I Rocked The Half!

On Sunday, December 9th, I participated in my first White Rock 1/2 Marathon. After 3+ months of training and hard work, I knew I was prepared enough to do my best and cross the finish line.

It took a lot of preparation and organization leading up to the event, and it helps to have friends doing it with you. Saturday afternoon I headed to the Runner's Expo with Kacy, Janee, Tammi and Amie to pick up our runners' packets and to browse around at all the different gear on display.


After a picture or two, purchasing our energy goo, jelly beans and some new cold-weather gear, we were then ready for our long-awaited carb meal at Maggiano's. For 5 girls, the family-style servings was more than enough food, but we still were able to clear a few plates...and shots (of Vitamin C.)


After plenty of pasta and carbs, I headed home to get my stuff all ready to go and was in bed and asleep at 9:45. My alarm was set for 5:45 Sunday morning to get out of bed and start gearing up. I picked Chris up from his house at 7:15 and we headed down to the AAC to meet up with the rest of Team Chelada.



The weather forecast was not looking so good for us. 40 degrees and rain was in our running future, so we were a little worried about how our pace would be in conditions we hadn't trained for much. Lucky for us, it was chilly but just shy of miserable and the rain held off for the most part. There was a little drizzle, but nothing to keep us from reaching our own personal goals. For various reasons, my training schedule had slowed down at the end, and pair that with the unpleasant running conditions, I was nervous that I wouldn't keep a satisfying pace. I talked to some other runners who had previously done halves and full marathons, and they said not to worry about pace, just finish - that's all you have to do...just cross the finish line. Taking their advice into consideration, I set a very reasonable goal for myself of finishing the 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 45 minutes. Turns out, only half of the challenge is your body strength and training, the other half is mental. With all the determination I had and the adrenaline rushing, I finished in 2 hours, 26 minutes and 2 seconds - which averages out to be just at 11 minutes a mile. I was extremely proud of myself, and knew I would have a pretty good time since my pace was gradually speeding up as I hit each mile marker. My pace as I crossed the line was at 9 minutes and 45 seconds. The last mile was brutal, and I don't know if I was just so anxious or if it was because I was running at such a fast pace, but it felt as if it were 3 miles. As I rounded the corner and saw the balloons, cheering crowds, cameras, and finish line, I knew I had made it. It was such a proud moment for me. I loved it and can't wait to do another one.