I missed you all while I was on vacation! I had a wonderful time.

We left at lunchtime on Thursday. The drive to my friend's small town Louisiana home is about 6 hours, so we made it in time for dinner. Her brother and his family met us at her parents' house and we all had some EXCELLENT smothered chicken. I was a little concerned about the rice since I have had some trouble with it, but with the Cajun gravy, it all went down fine.

Friday we went to New Orleans. I couldn't resist cafe au lait and beignets at Cafe du Monde, but I limited myself to one. I still don't understand why I can't eat bread, but the fried doughs, cakes and such all go down fine. Ha! We spent some time walking around the French Quarter. I was looking to buy a painting, but I didn't find anything that particularly caught my attention. We went to lunch at 1179 which is an Italian restaurant closer to the WWII museum. It was on the expensive side for lunch, but it was very good. After lunch we went to the WWII museum and I have to say that it exceeded every expectation. The movie is a MUST SEE. If you are ever in NOLA, you should visit and if you are a hard core war buff, you should make the trip. We left around 5 and made it back home in time for my friend's dad's Cajun Shrimp Stew. Oh my God. It was unbelievably delicious. If I haven't mentioned it yet, my friend's dad is an incredible Cajun cook. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to eat his food, but I could...just in moderation like a "normal" person.

Saturday we spent with my friend's brother's family. He has two little girls that are both adorable and exhausting! We went to a 4th of July celebration and watched fireworks. On Sunday, my friend's extended family gathered at her parents' house for a potluck lunch. Heavenly!! Her dad BBQ'd Boston butt (hee, I'm 12) and there was macaroni and cheese, eggplant/rice dressing, carrot casserole (which tasted like the best sweet potato casserole ever!) and baked beans. I had a little of everything and I was satisfied with one trip. I did have a couple pieces of PB fudge for dessert. :frown:

Monday was our annual casino trip. I was down almost $100 bucks in 3 hours!! Yikes!!! But I made an incredible comeback in the last 45 minutes and made it out only down $40. Whew!

We came back to town yesterday. We are working today and tomorrow, then leaving for Wichita Friday. We are going to see the Mens USA Volleyball team compete in World Cup pool play. We are big fans!

I'm happy to say that while I was on vacation, with NO exercise whatsoever, I'm down almost a pound. Woo hoo! I plan to jog during lunch today and go to Jazzercise tomorrow night. That's about all I'm going to get this week. But I figured it will at least keep me a little more prepared when I get back to normal next week.

A fun NSV: neither my friend nor I usually fit into "normal" size bracelets. They are usually too big for her and too small for me. She got one from her aunt for Christmas and she gave it to me because it was too big for her. It didn't fit me, but I held on to it. I'm wearing it today. YAY!!