Post Mardi Gras reflection

WOW!  Is pretty much all I have to say... No really, we had a great day!  It started at 9 am.  Yes, I did get Andy out of bed with the promise of beer and parades. :)  We headed downtown for the fun-filled day.  The first parade was at 10:30.  Amanda and Justin, our Mardi Gras comrades, met us at the barricade.  We brought a fantastic breakfast of Chic-fil-a and Bloody Mary's or Mardi Gras Mash.  We got creative on Monday night and Andy decided I needed a "Mardi Gras Virgin" sign, so we had the sign and I was basically pelted with all sorts of stuff.  I did get thrown some good stuffed animals, which are supposedly the best throws off the float.  Here is the "Barbie and Ken" float from that parade.

Next, we went back to Andy's office for a short break and then headed off to the loading area for the next parade where our friend, Terry, was riding.  We made it through the barricade just in time to see the riders come out of the Civic Center.  They were led by one of the marching bands in the parade.

We then went to the float that Terry was on and waited to see the parade start.  It was fun because the other riders on the float were getting warmed up by throwing us lots of beads. Terry finally made it to the float and then they were off.  Directly following the KOR parade was the Comic Cowboy's parade.  They are the crew where most of the members are in drag and each float has a political message written on it.  Now with my "virgin" sign still being held above my head, I did have an opportunity to show some "skin" for a set of Jagermeister beads, but alas, I decided to save my dignity and pass on the beads...Sorry, Ryann & Josh.  Here are some pics of the KOR floats whose theme was breakfast cereals and the Comic Cowboy Queens.

We then went back to Andy's office to change for the KOR reception.  The dress for the reception was spring suit or dress and a hat.  So pretty much I went to Sears to find a hat.  Since my head/hair is not gigantic, it was hard to find a hat that fit.  No worries though, I found a lovely fuchsia one that happened to match a suit coat that I already had.  Anyway, Amanda and I fit in well with our hats. 

We had  a fun time at the KOR ball.  It was supposed to last until 5:30, but we left about 5 and headed over to the Broadwater's house that was only 2 blocks from the Civic Center.  We had a bit of food and some more beverages, sang some show tunes and just had a nice rest for a while.  

We then realized that we had almost missed the last parade, so we headed towards Government street and in the direction Andy's office.  We were able to see the second half of the parade as it was making its final pass down Government Street.  I did catch a cup that said "floats like a moonpie, stings like a bead"  by that time, I fully agreed!  After a full day of Mardi Gras fun, we were ready to head home.  We made our way back to Andy's office to change. While Amanda and I were changing, Andy and Justin went up to the Music Center's balcony and were throwing beads at the mob of people below.  Although they were having fun, the girls were ready to crash, so I pried them back downstairs and we let the evening come to an end.  

Just for fun, today I put all of the stuff that we caught at all of the parades over the past 3 weeks on the dining room table as the final picture.  As I might have said before, I truly appreciate the season of Lent even more now.  We definitely had a "Fat" time not only Tuesday but throughout all of Mardi Gras.  I highly recommend experiencing it at least once in your life and Mobile does it right.  Well, I am definitely going to bed early tonight, so until next time.  Have a moonpie and think of us.

Notice the sunburn...We are just not in the habit of wearing sunscreen in February...another lesson learned. :)

Mardi Gras Part III

I decided to give you an update before the final culmination that is Fat Tuesday. In all of this Mardi Gras-ing I did realize that it is much easier to give up something during Lent after participating in Mardi Gras. I am also having flash-backs to my undergrad years and the visits to K-State... Anyway, the festivities started again last Thursday (We got a day break last Wednesday from parading), we went back to our friend's office (Hargrove) on the parade route up on the balcony. I forgot the camera, so sorry no pics. One of the things that they were throwing besides the usual beads and moon pies was rolled up calenders. I caught the Anne Geddes one and another one caught was a kitten calendar. Hello, random. :)

Oh! Our friend, Paula, was handing out feather boas and decided that I needed one, so she returned to the balcony with an electric blue one for me. Being the nice person that I am, I wore the boa for the rest of the parade, even though they aren't really my thing... After the parade, I took off the boa and realized that my hands were blue...and so was my neck! I looked as if I had been attacked by a smurf! It had even turned my fleece jacket a brighter shade of blue. After I got home and 4 biore cleansing cloths later, I wasn't so blue and luckily the shower the next morning removed the rest out of my hairline. Needless to say, the lesson learned, was stay clear of the feather boas unless you are trying to dye your skin/clothes.

Friday night we returned to Hargrove (free food and beer) and this time decided to try our luck at street level. We had another fun evening, and since our friend Amanda fractured her foot last weekend, we were using her crutch to get the beads that didn't quite make it to the barricade. We finished the night at our favorite coffee/gelato/beer spot. (Strawberry chocolate chip gelato goes quite nicely with Peroni.)

The parades started at noon on Saturday, so we arrived about 11:30 to our usual spot in front of the Presbyterian Church which is only 2 blocks from Andy's office for easy access. The first parade was the Floral Parade which was all kids and teenagers. All of the floats had to have a floral theme and it was cute to watch all of the kids throwing the beads. We then went home to visit Stella and rest a bit before the evening's festivities.

We were invited to the Mystics of Time ball, so we dressed up and headed to the parade before the ball. The MOT's are known for their dragon floats. They have 3 dragon floats named: Verna, Dean and Vernadean... We then went to the ball and after the "call outs" which all members of the crew come onto the dance floor and bow to the King and Queen. The king was "Father Time" who managed to have a 20 year old Queen. She had this great train on her dress, so here is a pic of that. The craziest part about the call outs, is that each member must bow to the King and Queen and then threw doubloons (Coins with the crew theme and logo). They are metal, so I am sure after being pelted with 1000s of them, they probably had a few bruises the next day, but that is a sign of respect...I guess. This ball was very fun and they had brought in a band called the Velcro Pygmies. They were a "Hair Band" cover band, so they were hilarious. If Josh and Ryann haven't seen them, they must! Check out their website to see their outfits www.velcropygmies.com

Sunday is supposed to be the biggest Mardi Gras day in Mobile. It is called Joe Cain day with the people's parades. Joe Cain was credited with bringing back Mardi Gras to Mobile after the Civil War. He started it back by parading down the streets of Mobile in costume. Now it is a really fun parade with over 30 floats. The crew parades usually have a marching band between each float and this parade had the floats right after one another. They are more low-budget, and more risque. I still didn't see too much craziness, but it was very fun. You had to keep your head up at all times as to not get any beads to the face. :) Before the parade, lots of people go to Joe Cain's house and the widows of Joe Cain come and throw black beads to the crowd. It was very interesting and we definitely need to get there earlier next year. We were too far away to catch anything or to hear the presentation.

After that parade, we had to get home to Stella, and didn't think we could get back for the parade at 5:30, so we decided to stay home. It was nice to relax and then I was sucked into the Academy awards. I guess I need to see Slumdog Millionaire, since they received lots of awards last night. Happy Mardi Gras and I know you will be waiting in anticipation for the final installment!

Mardi Gras of Mobile Part II

Well we had a fun-filled Mardi Gras weekend that started Thursday.  We were invited by our friends Justin & Amanda to have dinner and adult beverages at Justin's office (which happens to have a balcony on the parade route).  So we were able to watch the parade from the balcony.  Here is a picture of the "Wicked" float.  This parade had a Broadway theme...except that the sign introducing the float stated that it was "Wizard of Oz."  I guess the Crew didn't think that Mobile would be that hip on newer Broadway shows. 

The crew that put on the parade on Thursday was called the Order of Polka Dots or OOP.  It was an all female crew, so needless to say, we didn't get a lot of beads thrown up to the balcony.  One lady did have a good arm and about took us out with a moon pie. 

We took a break on Friday night for a Valentine's dinner party, which was very fun.  We did have some excitement though when our friends, Carly and Khristian, came to our house to pick up Andy's tux pants to be hemed.  Andy accidentally set the alarm before we left and so when they used the key that we set out for them...the alarm went off and because Andy and I were in at the party, we didn't hear our phones.  You know that AT&T commercial... well thankfully they didn't get taken to Jail, but the police came and our alarm was going off for about 5 minutes.  At least we know that the alarm works....we just feel really bad that we tried it out on them.

On to Saturday!  We started our morning off in southern style with a visit to, of course, Waffle House, with Amanda, Justin and Lucy.  We then came back to our house to make some Mardi Gras Mash, fill the cooler with beer and headed to the parade.  Here are some pics from the afternoon parade.

After that parade, we went home to visit Stella and to get ready for the evening's festivities.  We met the gang again at the parade where there were 3 parades in a row.  I think the most random thing I caught was a Hannah Montana candy-filled tin.  We also scored more beads and moon pies.  Here is a picture of the Pink Panther Float.  (Notice the awesome costumes that the riders get to wear!)

After the parade we went and ate Sushi and then finished the night out at "Club Insanity" (which is not really insane, but I like saying the name) playing darts.  It was a very fun and memorable Valentine's Day!

Finally we made it to Sunday, where we had been invited to attend the Ball put on by the crew of Neptune's Daughters.  Andy and I got all dressed up and went to the parade.  Now the girls of this crew could throw...I actually got a handful of beads right in the face.  Note to self...don't put your head down until the float is out of throwing distance... No worries, I was fine and then had a nice shimmer of glitter on my skin for the rest of the night.  After the parade, we were to go to the Civic Center for the ball and had to be in the doors by 8:45.  As guests of the ball, we were able to watch the "call-outs" from the upper level.  That took about 90 minutes, but it was very fun to people watch.  It is really just like prom for adults, only thousands of people are invited.  After the call-outs, we were allowed back down stairs where there were numerous rooms with food and beverages.  

With all of the excitement of the previous 3 days and the looming 6:30 am start to my Monday, Andy and I had some food, took it all in and then headed home.  It was definitely an experience.  We have 2 more balls to go to before the end of Mardi Gras, so more fun to come.  I will leave you with some pictures from Sunday night.  

Notice, the koozie matches my dress.  Wouldn't the Stegings be proud... And also Andy's new set of tails!

Mardi Gras of Mobile Part I

I survived my first Mardi Gras parade.  We had a great time.  We were there really early that we were able to stake our claim on the barricades!  So that meant that we were up close to all of the action.  So here are some cool pic of some of the floats.  Above is Star Wars (in case you didn't catch it) and below was the Zorro float.  
This parade had 16 floats all with different themes, and in between each float were men on horses also throwing beads or roses.  It was really cool.  

Oops, I just got caught multi-tasking writing my blog and web-cam-ing with my parents, so I better go.  There are 5 parades that we are planning on attending next weekend, so until then...have a great week.  Here is a photo to linger in your minds until then. :)

Ready for Mardi Gras in Mobile

Well, here I am again slacking on my blogging.  I realized since I don't have any children, I don't have the mothering urgency driving me to blog...and I also feel like I need a picture to blog, so whatever... But... I do have three nephews, so here they are with Grandma and Grandpa in KC at Christmas. 

On to us...we are here in Mobile where it is second in Mardi Gras madness to New Orleans.  Actually for you history buffs, Mardi Gras was first started in Mobile and then moved to New Orleans and the rest is history.  

The first official Mardi Gras parade is this Friday, so I will give weekly updates as to the Mardi Gras Madness that I will be experiencing.  Also just to let you know, Mobile boasts its Family-friendly Mardi Gras, so I don't think I will have to show anything to get beads here. :)  

So right after christmas, people in Mobile almost turn their christmas decorations into Mardi Gras decorations.  The "Giant red bow house" that was down Dauphin street, took the red bows down to reveal giant beads and put up purple toole.  I will try to get a picture, because words just don't describe.  As everyone in my neighborhood started putting up their Mardi Gras flags, I was feeling very under-decorated... I decided I needed a flag!  Now I have never owned a flag for my house, but no time like the present!  

So the flag mission began.  Do you know how difficult it is to find a Mardi Gras flag that doesn't have a  scary jester or mask on it?  Well, Holly came to visit me this past weekend and I took her shopping in Fairhope, AL.  It is a really cute bay-side town that has lots of great shops.  We actually found a really nice flag that came with a pole!!  So thanks again, Holly, now we don't feel like outcasts in the neighborhood.

Side Note: I am finding it very strange that our Northern Magnolia started blooming in January.  In KC, we were lucky if it was blooming for Easter. :)

We had a great time with Holly this weekend!  Andy had his "Songs of the South" concert on Saturday night, so it was really nice to have Holly in the audience with me, so I wasn't the only "Yankee" in attendance.  It was a really great concert where I finally got to hear the "Stars Fell on Alabama" which is the quote on the AL license plate.  The theater was sold-out which made it even more fun and the encore was the Mobile opera singers, symphony, pick-up band, and the entire audience singing "Sweet Home Alabama."  Holly and I even sang along. :)

The best Southern story of the weekend though was when the three of us went to Callaghan's (the one Irish pub in Mobile).  We showed up about 11:45, right at last call, and talked them in to two Guinness and a Harp.  There were about 10 people in the bar, including staff, with 6 of them being us and the three at the table right next to us.  The table next to us was having a bit of an argument, and about 15 minutes later, the woman at the table stood up and yelled to the entire bar "I hate you! I hate this place! And I f***ing hate the South!" She then proceeded to leave the bar.  Before she was out the door, the bartender started singing "Dixie" and the entire bar chimed in!  The other bartender then walked over to the front door and pad-locked us in, so she wouldn't come back.  It was AWESOME!  Only because Holly came to visit, would we have ever been witness to that!  Ahhhh, the South... 

Anywho, until next week when I will have pictures of parades, here are pics of the other Mardi Gras decorations in our house.