Friday, April 16, 2010

happy mardi gras!

this year fat tuesday fell on feb. 16th! although i wish i could have been in new orleans...i celebrated here by indulging in king cake! the pic of the king cake is on my phone instead of the real camera so it won't be posted here. dale got the king cake baby...lucky!


i've had several ppl ask me what exactly a king cake is so in case you don't know...here ya go...

the king cake is actually scoffed by the inhabitants of the big easy for some 40 days leading up to mardi gras.it's origins lie with the city's french settlers, who used a smilar bun to celebrate the coming of the three wise men bearing gifts 12 days after christmas, calling it the feast of epiphany or the twelfth night, or king's day. they're brightly iced in relevant colors (purple for justice, green for faith, and gold for power), but they're most distinctive for being in a long tradition of cakes - from the ones sent to would-be escapees from the clink to the sponge mrs. doyle baked for a jumper-loving irish crooner - with unexpected things secreted inside.

in this case, it's a small plastic baby. this - representing jesus - is inserted to the dough just before it's popped in the oven. in 1871 the tradition of choosing the queen of mardi gras was determined by who got the slice containing the baby. these days the lucky person simply has to provide the cake for the next day's festivities and also known for good luck!

on some level, this sounds sinister. there's no "or else...."clause in the king cake contract, but in a town famously steeped in voodoo you'd probably want to deliver.

king cake w/the baby.

pa's 80th birthday party

this past february we celebrated my pa's 80th bday...great turnout for the party!

me and my pa.
pa blowing out his "80" candles.

goodie table.

me and mom.

nannie, pa, and aunt ruby.

me and ginny.

pa, beverlee, nannie, and mom.

harper's sweet lil' hand.

denita and me.

the boys rough housing.

family.
uncle pat and ginny.

let it snow....

lots of snow this winter...i mean lots! we've missed a ton of school and loving all the snow days. here are some pics of the winter wonderland and pics of some things ginny and i did to stay busy during our time off.

snowman.

ice.

icing.

cupcakes.

sugar cookies.

LOST - THE LAST CHAPTER

LOST - THE LAST CHAPTER
SEASON 6 PREMIERE FEB. 2ND

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

karissa gindling

January 9, 2010 was a TERRIBLE day. i lost a VERY dear friend...miss karrissa dawn gindling. i miss you every single day, kg...i hope you found peace. i love you.

karissa dawn gindling
april 10, 1978 - january 9, 2010

2010 - "wanna be startin' somethin'..." - atlanta, ga

i'm not going to write a lot here...there were WAY too many good times that were had here to even type about...a few highlights...riding down to atlanta with miss karissa - hadn't seen her since july, the newborn baby goat, the panic shows and the covers they did for new years (mj, the who, rem, patsy cline, van morrison), the heineken suite in phillips (thanks, matt wilson), charlie's spot (snugg fest, chinese, and jurassic park included), madonna dance party at the ritz (ray included), meeting conda, crushing rachel marie and josie's house, and turtle folk - thank you atlanta - i hate you but you seem to never let me down in the fun department!!!!! i'm sure i'll see you again soon...

newborn baby goat - only a few hours old - downtown atl.

charlie & kacey's tree - fishing lures and a goat skull topper.

me and charlie.

me, josephine, and kacey.

jenn, gugs, and me.

dom, me, lucky, and sideways matt.

old school - zack, krystal, me, and joe.

12/30/09 Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
1: Solid Rock > Stop-Go > Radio Child, Aunt Avis*, Climb To Safety*, C. Brown*, Rebirtha > Angels on High**, Weight Of The World**
2: Ain't Life Grand*, Time Zones*, This Part Of Town*, Blackout Blues***, Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys**** > Fishwater***** > Drums****** > Fishwater******, On Your Way Down******* > You Should Be Glad*******, Excitable Boy********, (Don't Go Back To) Rockville********, Imitation Leather Shoes
E: Blue Indian*******, Chest Fever*******
* with John Keane on pedal steel
** with The MegaBlasters on horns
*** with John Keane on pedal steel, Randall Bramblett on saxophone
**** with Randall Bramblett on saxophone
***** with Randall Bramblett on saxophone, Yonrico Scott on percussion
****** with Yonrico Scott on percussion
******* with John Keane on pedal steel, The MegaBlasters on horns
******** with Mike Mills on vocals, Randall Bramblett on saxophone
[Only '(Don't Go Back To) Rockville', Only 'Excitable Boy'; Soundcheck: 'Expiration Day', 'Goin' Out West', 'Cream Puff War']
**********************************************************************************
12/31/09 Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
1: Let's Get Down To Business > Wondering, Already Fried, Tortured Artist, Clinic Cynic, Crazy, Vacation, Expiration Day, Holden Oversoul, Porch Song
2: Little Kin, Space Wrangler, Impossible, Jack, Action Man, Her Dance Needs No Body*, Up All Night*, Ophelia*, Pigeons
3: Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'*, Tall Boy*, Arleen* > Surprise Valley > Drums > Surprise Valley > Driving Song > Disco > Driving Song > Rock, I Wish* > Moondance*, Bust It Big > Chilly Water > Jam > Chilly Water
E: Walking After Midnight, Protein Drink > Sewing Machine
* with The MegaBlasters on horns
[Only 'Walking After Midnight', Only 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'', Only 'Moondance'; 'Another One Bites The Dust' tease during 'Arleen'; Last 'I Wish' - 11/06/03, 412 shows]


madonna dance party - karen had the best moves so i thought i'd post a pic of her.

me and matt.

ray and our newest friend conda...we're defs. trading matt in for this guy. please notice ray is standing on a room service tray bc he didn't want to seem short in the picture.

me and matt wilson.

my girls, karen and krystal at turtle folk.


merry CRUSHmas - team tn - memphis

bradsher bought a house in west memphis so ray, karen, and i traded in middle tn for west tn and east arkansas for the weekend to go check out his new spot! his house is awesome!!! it's in west memphis, arkansas...which is just over the bridge (state line) from downtown memphis. we also went to minglewood on saturday night to see north mississippi all-stars and played around on beale before we left...good times! i love team crush - tn!!

bradsher's new house - not a great pic bc of all the christmas lights.

robin, me, and wesley.

a little ben boswell love.

beale st.

beale st. - where all the magic happens.

memphis.

the best fried chicken in the entire world!

robin, me, and karen.

ray and bradsher.

north mississippi all-stars at minglewood.