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For all of our readers out there (both of you :) ), you may have noticed something new over on the lefthand side of the blog ... the GRE Word of the Day! If you're a nerd like me, then you may enjoy this quick and easy way of learning new words. Cool!

Sunday column: Classified love

I think my love of classified ads was born in the Laundromat.
During the many, many years in the not-so-distant past when I did not have a washer and dryer of my own, a trip to the Laundromat was part of my weekly routine.
As a Louisiana Tech student, I spent many hours and even more quarters at Skip Russell's washateria on Homer Street. Even today when I pass by and see those washers chugging and dryers tumbling around the clock, I have to smile as I remember lugging my bookbag and my laundry basket in there to settle in for an hour or two.
My post-college years also saw me toting laundry in and out of various Laundromats. Big, small, safe, scary — you name it and I probably washed my clothes there. That's when I discovered the classified ads. Once I was finished with college and had no more studying to do, I was at a loss for Laundromat reading material. I tried bringing along a novel to read, but that didn't always work due to all of the various laundry-related distractions that abound in washaterias.
So, what with me being a newspaperwoman and all, I read the paper — cover to cover — as I waited for the washing machine to finish cycling and the dryer to stop spinning. Never before had I realized the information and sheer entertainment value of reading the classifieds, but now it's something I try not to miss.
When I moved to a city big enough to have an entire publication of nothing but classified ads, I was in heaven. And best of all, it was free.
The Quik Quarter provided hours of classified ad reading and ran the gamut from pets for sale to job want ads and personals. It's where I found the listing for the part-time job at the grocery store where I met my husband.
I also spotted the ad for the car I would eventually buy in the QQ, along with several different apartments I inhabited through the years (none of which had washer/dryer connections).
You can discover all kinds of interesting things in the classified section. For example, right here in Ruston not too long ago, someone had an ad for spider monkeys for sale.
See what you're missing by neglecting the classifieds?
I know I'm not the only devoted classified ad reader. Whether you're in it for the garage sale listings or the legal notices, reading them usually pays off — if you're patient.
I read the classifieds faithfully every day for months before finding the just-right house when I first moved back to Ruston. The wait was worth it.
Some of the most entertaining classified ads I've ever seen are the ones labeled "Missed Connection." These are usually in larger market papers and grouped with the personal ads, and they can be a hoot.
These ads go a little something like this: "Me: Blue scarf. You: Black cap. You opened the door for me at McDonalds on Arizona Avenue. Our eyes met and you smiled. Call 555-1234."
But of course, that's a very bland, basic example. Just imagine all the possibilities of two souls hungry to find that "missed connection." Who knows? Maybe some couples have a really cute story because of an ad like that. At least, I hope someone out there does.
Even though I recently (finally) got my very own washer and dryer and a house where I can hook them up, I'm still a classified ad junkie. But, I'll admit, I do get a little nostalgic from time to time when I pass by a Laundromat and catch a whiff of that distinctive smell — laundry detergent mixed with a slightly singed odor produced by those heavy duty dryers.
The time in my life when I'd spend a Saturday afternoon combing through the classifieds as I counted out quarters and waited for machines to shutter off is over. At the time, I never dreamed I'd look back on it with fond memories.
It does make me appreciate the convenience of being able to throw a load of laundry in the washer anytime I want, regardless of how many quarters I can scrounge up.
And while the circumstances may be different, reading the classifieds is still something I look forward to, because you just never know what you'll find in there.

She's ready to go

Well, Caddy's ready to move. I just wish all the rest of our stuff would pack itself like she did!

What a weekend!

Nick and I had a fantastic weekend in Lafayette visiting good friends Hollie and Bill in their cozy home. The combination of good music, good drinks and a late-night Taco Bell run (this time, I did not get the volcano taco) followed up by Dwyer's breakfast and girl talk the next morning made it a perfect, but much too short, visit. Although there's no photo proof, Hollie and I did our fair share of drinking, too. We've got to do this more often!

Oh yes he did!

True Tampa Bay Rays fan that he is, Nick went and got himself a mohawk or, as they're calling them, a rayhawk. Now, if he could only get some tickets to a game ... In case you haven't heard, this haircut is now the Rays' signature, and it even got a kid suspended from school. Cool! He said he got some strange looks at the barber shop, but it was worth it!

Pretty things in the mail

These little beauties finally arrived in the mail today all the way from New Zealand! I ordered them from this awesome site from this seller. What a great surprise in the middle of an otherwise hard week. They're perfect for my second earring hole.

Rays finally get it done!

As a Tampa Bay Rays baseball fan I have seen many bad seasons. The best season that my Rays have had before this one is only 70 wins which is pretty bad. The Rays started their franchise back in 1998. I became a fan as soon as I knew about them because I thought it would be refreshing to have a brand new team as a fan, and it helped that the same year I moved to Tampa for other reasons. I have always liked the underdog in sports, but this time I was starting with a brand new team that hadn't been in the league for no more than four years. Well, this year they have surprised the nation with 97 wins and a playoff berth. Not only did they go to the playoffs this season but they are on the brink of being in the world series. A team that has been dead last for ten years is still in contention. I finally got to watch two of the playoff games. Last night they blew away the Red Sox, a team that is getting to be like the Yankees in the way where they can steal any allstar player from any team. I'm very proud of my Rays and will be a fan for life.

Sunday column: Gumbo and Ninja Turtles

Here's Nick in 2006 at my house in downtown Lafayette (corner of Lamar and Jefferson streets) chopping sausage for gumbo. That was back before we were married and he was trying to impress me with his culinary skills. It worked.

Now here's some hardcore Ninja Turtles fans (at MGM Studios in 1993). I couldn't find a picture of the Halloween costumes, but you get the idea.

We got our first sample of gumbo weather this week.
Didn’t you notice the high was below 80 for one or two days? That’s gumbo weather, all right.
The best part about those precious few days late in the week wasn’t even the “low” temperatures; it was the low humidity. I stepped outside on Wednesday and Thursday and could take a full, deep breath of fresh air without that sticky, humid aftertaste.
Ah, fall in Louisiana.
While other states are drinking in the beauty of fall colors and running TV commercials about their foliage tours, we here in Louisiana are relishing a few mild days.
At least we have gumbo.
Now, there are some hardcore gumbo fans who will cook and eat that delectable stew year-round, not matter how hot it is outside. But most of us enjoy a steaming bowl of gumbo when that summer heat begins to give way to fall’s ever-so-slight chill.
The first day of fall, by the way, was two weeks ago. Don’t feel bad if you didn’t notice. The high that day (Sept. 22) was 88. Not quite jacket weather.
Every year, I have to remind myself that it stays hot at least until Halloween. I start getting all excited once the calendar turns to October and the stores start setting up their Christmas displays. Then as the hot days continue, I begin to lose hope of fall’s cool, sweet relief.
I just try to remember we have to get through Halloween, and then it will be consistently cooler. So, moms and dads, please don’t torture your children by getting them all dolled up in those oh-so-adorable yet suffocatingly hot fleece costumes intended for trick-or-treaters in Canada or some other northern locale.
I can attest to how quickly a bad costume can spoil a Halloween, no matter how good the haul at the end of the night. The year my brother and sisters and I dressed up as Ninja Turtles in felt costumes handmade and stuffed with Polyfil by my mom comes to mind. And this was in south Louisiana, too, which is always a little warmer and more humid.
But, we did make a great-looking group, despite the beads of sweat trickling down our faces. Good work, Mom.
Once the weather crosses that threshold and those first leaves begin to turn, my gumbo
craving sets in.
There are as many ways to make gumbo as there are cooks in Louisiana, and we all have our particular gumbo-eating habits.
For example, I have to eat my gumbo with a gumbo spoon (known to some people as a soup spoon). No teaspoon or even tablespoon is up for the job when I sit down to dig into a hot bowl of gumbo.
My husband, and many other south Louisiana natives, can’t eat gumbo without a side of potato salad — mustard potato salad, served up cold and plopped directly into the bowl of gumbo.
Don’t ask me the origin of this particular method. I don’t understand it; it’s just something I have to accept.
Then there’s the issue of the roux. I’m no roux snob, but there are those who are. Growing up, Mom always used prepared roux for her gumbo and I liked it just fine. Others, however, insist upon making the roux from scratch, which I also like just fine. My only complaint about homemade roux is its distinctive odor that inevitably lingers in the house for days after the gumbo is made.
Okra, or no okra? And if you go with okra, when to add it? The trick is to mix it in late enough so it doesn’t become slimy when it’s time to eat.
The age-old gumbo quandary is chicken and sausage vs. seafood. I’ll take a bowl of each, please. Both types of savory stews satisfy my hunger for something warm and filling.
There is an endless variety of gumbo accoutrements, the most popular of which include file seasoning, French bread, the aforementioned potato salad and, of course, the rice.
Gumbo is the rare time when I indulge in white rice. In my constant attempt to be healthy and eat right, I made the switch to brown rice years ago. But, it just doesn’t taste right with gumbo. As with most delicious food, if it tastes good it probably isn’t terribly good for you.
I guess it’s a good thing, then, that gumbo weather doesn’t last long in Louisiana. But when it’s here, I plan to savor every last one of those chilly days and warm bites of gumbo.

Snack time

Casey's favorite: leftover peanut butter (thanks to Mom for giving us the idea!)

Worth a run to the border?

On a whim, Nick and I made a post-bedtime run to the border after seeing a commercial for Taco Bell's new volcano taco and simultaneously thinking, "That looks good."
So we patiently wait our turn in the drive-thru, fork over our $2 and race home to dig in. Now, if you haven't seen the commercial for these tacos, they depict a guy dousing his face with a Coke after eating one because it's supposedly that spicy.
We unwrap the tacos, take a bite, then another. We look at each other with disappointment. Where was the spice? When would our mouths catch fire? As we crunched on the last bite of taco we both felt cheated.
Even with its red shell, the volcano taco was so not worth getting out of bed and driving to Taco Bell — or going off my diet.

Sunday column: Marriage

What have you done for your marriage today?
I saw this question on a billboard the other day as I was driving down the road, and it got me thinking.
I've been married all of 14 months, so a lot about it is still new and exciting to me. For example, I still catch myself smiling when I refer to "my husband." And my new last name doesn't sound quite right yet, but those things are just a matter of time.
I've been fortunate in my life to have a model of commitment in my parents' marriage. Logging more than 30 years as a married couple, they've stuck together though thick and thin and always provided our family with stability.
But, let's get back to that question: What have I done for my marriage today?
Well, I set a couple of alarm clocks this morning so my husband would wake up in time for his morning class. I bought his favorite snacks when I went grocery shopping. I apologized when I bit his head off because I was cranky, not because he'd done anything wrong.
Those sound like little things, but I think the point is that we married people need to constantly remember that our marriages need caring and attention every day, no matter how small the gesture.
In only 14 months of marriage, I've seen how easy it is to let the stress of everyday life consume all of our energy and time, leaving little left to offer the one you love. This can happen in all kinds of relationships, but it's marriage where it matters the most.
We all know the disheartening statistic that half of marriages in the United States end in divorce. If we want to change that and bring back the commitment, honesty and loyalty that the institution of marriage used to stand for, then we've got to start investing some time and energy in our relationships.
It's really a simple thing, like giving your husband a big hug or pushing his buttons a little less often, but it takes thoughtfulness.
Before I got married, I loved asking married people for their advice about marriage. I collected a few gems that I try to remember now that I've joined their ranks.
There was the old standby, "Never go to bed angry," which I admit we've broken several times. I don't know if I necessarily agree with it, since sometimes when you go to bed angry, you wake up with a fresh perspective and have forgotten what point of the fight was to begin with. At least, I do.
"Nothing that happens at the office is more important that your marriage." Coming from a veteran news reporter and editor, I knew this one carried a lot of meaning and experience. And it doesn't just apply to journalists. We would all benefit from gaining some perspective sometimes and remembering what's really important in life.
"You have to forgive and forget. If there's something you can't forget, you put it in your heart and keep it there." This advice was given to me by a woman who'd been married to the same man for more than 56 years. It doesn't sound like an easy thing to do, but the advice is full of wisdom and truth. I imagine you learn a lot about your spouse and about yourself after 56 years of marriage. This woman and her husband understand what true commitment is all about, and I take her words of wisdom to heart.
Even this week I encountered some marriage advice that rang true: "Every day, try to be the best wife (or husband) that you can be." That doesn't mean gifting my husband with a plasma TV (although if I did that, I'm sure he wouldn't hesitate to bestow the Best Wife Ever title upon me). No, it just means remembering how much I love him and showing him how important he is to me every single day.
Now that I've got a little more than a year of marriage under my belt, maybe I can dole out some advice of my own. What I would say is to remember the little things, and value them. It's the simple traditions that will mean a lot no matter where you are or what your situation is.
So what did you do for your marriage today? If you cared for the baby while your spouse slept, cleaned up the kitchen, let your husband listen to his favorite music in the car or made your wife dinner, give yourself a pat on the back.
Then, let's all try to do it again tomorrow.

The "For Your Marriage" campaign, which also features some cute TV commercials, is actually a project of the Catholic church, which I think is awesome! Check it out right here.

An open letter

Dear person who screwed up Nick's financial aid:
Back in January, when I had to pay for his college tuition out-of-pocket (i.e., charge it on my credit card), I really hated you. But today — today I love you, because that nine-month-old loan money landed in our account with a thud (and the thud echoed because the account was so empty). It couldn't have been timed more perfectly!
Here's to some good news ... finally!