Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Mardi Gras in Cajun Country

Just as the Cajuns and Creoles are known for their fabulous, spicy food, Cajun Country is known for the fabulous spice it adds to the Mardi Gras celebration. Here in Lafayette, you'll find the mystery of Mardi Gras blended with Cajun magic to cook up one of the most colorful and unique pre-Lenten celebrations in the world. Lafayette, Louisiana is home to the state's second largest Mardi Gras celebration, which includes eight parades of floats and bands during the Carnival season. The first parade, ten days before Mardi Gras, is the celebrity-led Krewe of Carnivale en Rio Parada, featuring over 600 riders. My friends C and J are members of the Krewe and R and I got to ride on a float this year. It was soooo much fun and we had such a great time. We threw a total of 5000+ beads and toys. R and I are thinking about joining this Krewe.
Check it out, here I am with the “Duquesa du Parada” (Parade Marshal) Ali Landry, TV and film actress and Miss USA 1996. Ali grew up here in Cajun country, Breaux Bridge, LA.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Friday, January 18, 2008

I'm a little "Neti Pot" short and stout...

I’m home and back to the grind, but when I got back from Hawaii I was down with a sinus infection. When I first moved to Louisiana everyone would tell me that I would eventually start having allergies and sinus headaches. Sure enough it happened. I started a morning routine of nasal irrigation using a Neti pot. Neti pots are a common feature of traditional Asian medicine. It resembles a tea pot and is made in ceramic, plastic or metal with a long spout. Through the gravity method it allows you to pour warm saline solution into your sinuses, which helps to cleanse them of mucus, pollen, dust, pollution or whatever else you happen to have lurking up there. It also helps with the common cold. My husband R has been doing this for awhile for his sinuses. I’m a gagger and when I watched him do it I knew that there was no way I could do this. Well, after doing it a couple of times I got used to it and feel so much better. R just reminds me every now and then how I cringed when he suggested the Neti pot and now I swear by it!