Where have I been?

I'm in desperate need to update this blog... I can't believe I've gone so long without blogging when there are so many updates to make. I'm going to cover a couple of things right now...

1. I got a 'special award' at work this week. It was unexpected and exciting. It came from central office and was for a project I helped with last year. I'm excited to get recognized for doing great work. I already know I work really hard and do my best to make everything perfect... it's very nice to feel like people recognize it.
2. Last night Chad and I took a date night cooking class at Kitchen Conservatory in Clayton. We got a gift certificate from my wonder mother-in-law, Chris for our first anniversary. We finally got around to cashing it in. We took "The Hard Edge to the Big Easy". It was so much fun. There was five other couples in attendance and we all helped make the meal. Chad and I personally made the andouille-pork burgers, which turned out AMAZING. We also had fried pickles and chorizo and cream cheese filled jalapenos wrapped in bacon for appetizers. We had the burgers, sweet potato fries and red beans and rice for the main course and white chocolate bread pudding for dessert. We also had two different kinds of hard cider. It was all very yummy and we came away with some great recipes... especially the burgers. I think we may take another class, or at least I think Chad should... he would REALLY enjoy that. It was really fun interacting with other couples as well.
3. I'm going to New Orleans in a few days. I leave on Tuesday and on Thursday my mom will be joining me. I'm really excited about seeing New Orleans, everyone I talk to has their own suggestions of what to do. It seems like it's really a loved town by all. I'm excited to get to experience it myself.
4. There's some other financial things going on that I don't really think is right to talk about on this blog... they are big things going on so just wanted to mention that.
5. I'm a bit late on this one but last Saturday my mom and I sent a lovely day together while Chad was working. We had lunch at Lafayette Fire Company No 1 in Lafayette Square. It is owned by firefighters and serves fire house recipes. It was super yummy. I had their french dip (with green peppers and pepper-jack cheese) and mom had a chili cheese dog on a pretzel. Their chili tastes exactly like my mom's chili. Everyone should really check this place out. The other thing I liked a lot was they serve breakfast until 2pm! After lunch we saw Sex and the City 2 at the Moolah Theater. It was a really neat place to see a movie. They have couches... although we got there too late to see which couches were free. After the movie we did some shopping... I got several home decor items that I'm excited to get up on the wall and share with everyone. It was such a great day with my mom. I really enjoy spending lots of time with my mom.
   
6. Speaking of the home decor items... I also picked up a second trash can for the kitchen. I'm hoping by having two trash cans (one for trash and one for recycling) we will recycle much more than we've be doing... I'm all for convenience!!
   
7. And for a bit of a teaser... I have been updating the house a bit and I'm excited to show the progress... the not really having a camera thing is hindering that blog entry. I need to find my old camera so I can take some pictures...
   

I think that's all I wanted to say... there may be some more things I'm forgetting...