Lola Nola: July 2011

Friday, July 29, 2011

Getting Organized...

So now Vincent and I have to get organized...As I am sure you all are familiar with our very simple,easy sedative life style we have been having for the past two years,so now we are in "aaaaah mode".....

Of course we are really excited,and we needed this little boost...Vincent was getting more and more bored at work,there really was no more incentive for him,and I....well I think we all know how I feel about my company....

We are trying to find people (friends,family) who are willing to stay (for free!) in our humble abode for two weeks,whilst we do our trial run in New Orleans in August,so the boys will not be alone.We do have our amazing cat sitter from Fetch,Amber,but she would only come in twice a day for 30mins,and I just do not feel it is right,to leave the boys alone for such a long time,without someone being there full time.....

Anybody interested?!.....

The US government troubles ( our government might be going bankrupt in the next couple of

days) which greatly affects Vincent,as he works for a non profit,and it is funded by...yes the US government....so the first thing they would do,is stop funding the non profits....and Vincent would simply not get paid...

Ok...Vincent kind of explained it differently to me,and told me not to worry....I told him if that was the case,I would get back to working 100hours,bring home the mullah,and he needs to get on unemployment...but I just found out that if the government goes bankrupt,unemployment will stop too....

Ha...the joys of living in the good ole USA!......

We are not too worried....things always work out,and I am not like Vincent's ex wife,who upon hearing that Vincent had lost his job at UPS,ran downstairs to the fridge (at 730am) and started guzzling a bottle of white wine,and demanded that he better find himself a 100k job real soon,so she could keep her shopping/hair appointments...(of course this was years ago,but Vincent and I still have a good chuckle over this incident!...)

So no worries...if life was easy,imagine how boring it would be...we have our health,we love each other,we have the boys,and a great job prospect in New Orleans....

And I am off to Lima,Peru tonight.....Yes finally decided to work the trip...It does make for a nice distraction from the craziness we call our wonderful life!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

New Orleans Baby!

So here is a recap of our trip to New Orleans,and our interview to become innkeepers at a B&B...

We left early on Sunday morning,trying to get out on the first flight out of O'Hare,which was going to be on American Airlines...I had not flown standby on American for a long time,but we were treated like kings!

When we checked in,they gave us seats right away (my company would never do that,they would make you sweat it out,not knowing if you would get on until the last minute....) and when we got to the gate,the agent paged us,to make sure we were happy with our seats!.....

The flight was very pleasant,until we were a few minutes from landing,and we hit an airpocket,and went everywhere,and poor Vincent shrieked like a little boy!....so sweet!....

When we got on the ground,we smelled the New Orleans air...and smiled...we felt like we just got home...

We took a cab to the hotel,a small cheap B&B in the French Quarter,basically a bed and a bathroom,but it was clean,and a great location,so who cares!

We went for a stroll in the wonderful French Quarter,stopping at Lafitte,a wonderful bar,where I had my usual Abita beer,and Vincent was enjoying his favorite Chartreuse....

We then strolled to the Marigny, listened to some jazz at "Maison" on Frenchman's street,and then had a lovely dinner at Marigny Bistro...

Our interview was not until Tuesday,so on Monday we got up early,had coffee and beignets at Cafe Du Monde,then hopped on the streetcar and went over to the Garden District,walked along Magazine street,had a lovely lunch at Ignatius,and then meandered back to the hotel for a nap,and then went back to the Marigny,found a wonderful gay "hole in the wall" bar,with wonderful people,sat and drank and really enjoyed our evening.

On our way back to the hotel,we stopped at a small grocery store,bought two shrimp po boys and fell asleep.

The next day was our interview....

We walked over to the B&B,met up with Amy and her aunt Lisa.We were shown the property,which consists of about six free standing Creole cottages,beautifully furnished,surrounded by lush gardens.

Amy and Lisa and two other partners were in the middle of renovations,and renaming the B&B,and it will officially open in October.

We sat down and talked,laughed and really got along with all.After the interview,they told us they would be in touch,as they were still interviewing other people.

As we still had a couple of hours before our flight,they told us we could leave our bags in the B&B,as we were going to have lunch in the French Quarter,so that was nice.

After about 45minutes,as we were finishing our lunch,Vincent's phone rang,and it was Lisa.Could we please meet with her in The French Quarter,as she needed to talk to us......Oh dear we thought...maybe they had gone through our bags...found some weird stuff,or who knows what!

We of course agreed to meet....and we met up with Lisa in a bar...we sat down and she said:

"We absolutely loved you guys...we are not going to play games here....We would like for you to come down in August for two weeks,work along us...and if we all still click,we would be offered a contract!..."

Oooooh...Aaaah......We loved it!...These people so cool,laid back,but extremely hard workers,who said that they were going with their gut feeling...they loved us!...and we totally loved them...

So are going back probably the last two weeks of August,give it a try for two weeks....and then hopefully move to New Orleans full time!....

I will give more details soon...but Vincent and I are super excited!...and no...we are not going into this without any thought...we are still determining if it is feasible financially,how I could remain at my present company (something Amy and Lisa want me to do,they do not mind at all if I fly a couple of trips here and there....) but we are going to go for two weeks,to try it out!

Yeah us!.....

Photos of our trip to New Orleans

Here are a few photos of our wonderful trip to the lovely city of New Orleans....

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Busy busy and.........

Wow...it has been a while since I posted,but it has been hectic around here!.....

First,we had a little health scare with Frank (Vincent's amazing,wonderful father) but it looks like everything will be A-OK...(we will have the results today...)

I ended up going on my Mexico city trip,got food poisoning (NOT fun,when you have the "Montezuma revenge" and have to serve 132 passengers in a metal tube...I did manage to close off a bathroom,and kept jumping in it...) and I ended up having altitude sickness in Mexico,as that damn city is at such a high altitude....so no more Mexico city flights for me...

I did not feel like working to Lima the next day,so I changed my trip,to flying a couple of one day trips to LAX and Denver,and they all ended up down the shitter,with delays and not coming home until 5am,instead of 11pm....

So I needed to recover from that,plus my back is killing me....

However.....Vincent and I have been busy with.....drumroll...here it comes....:

NEW ORLEANS

On the 11th of July,I was perusing the classified on Craigslist (an online search engine) and found this wonderful ad for innkeepers for a bed and breakfast in New Orleans...

So Lola,being the Montessori child that she is,replied with a witty,but truthful email (after Vincent approved!) and we got a great response back,the owner loved our email....and we have an interview in New Orleans on Tuesday the 26th July (our anniversary!)

We are beyond excited!...the owner,a 32year old lady from New Orleans just bought this amazing bed and breakfast in the French Quarter,and needs a couple to run it...

Both Vincent and I have been doing our homework,researching everything there is to know about bed and breakfasts,I have been behind the computer for days,researching all the bed and breakfast in New Orleans,cooking breakfast at all times (I am pretty sure our cholesterol has gone up by 500 points! and we both have probably gained 35 pounds...but who cares!)

We are leaving for New Orleans on Sunday,so we have all day Monday to walk around our beloved city...and then on Tuesday,at 9am we are meeting with the owners.....

We shall keep you updated.........

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

CLEAN!

Right after I had posted the photo of our clogged up bath tub,the door bell rang,and it was our lovely Bosnian handy man....he got some sort of contraption out,and within 5 seconds,our bath tub was unclogged...

So I decided to spruce up the bathroom with a new plant,and then took 3 showers!

I must admit,both Vincent and not exactly handy around the house,another reason why we are renters for life!...

Tomorrow off to Mexico,back on Thursday,and off to Lima,Peru on Saturday....

I'd rather be home with Vincent and the boys....but the boys insisted that we buy them more knabbeltjes,so mommy has to go and make some money.......

Day Four

Day four of our clogged bath tub....I am hoping Vincent is kicking ass with the landlord...

We are getting RIPE!......

Pete's Party

On Sunday we went over to a lovely new restaurant in Bucktown called Antico,to celebrate Pete's 50th birthday.

As Pete is in the restaurant business,he knew the owners,and they had kindly closed the restaurant,so we could use it.

The food was cooked by Jonathan and Mark,two amazing men,with nothing but love and passion for good food and amazing wine.

I have never tasted simple food cooked so well,and it was paired with wonderful wines.

In my humble opinion,if all restaurants could just operate the way we were treated on Sunday night,a night out dining would be so much more enjoyable.

We were a small group of people (about 10 of us) all in the 40-55 year age,we lingered over every course (we started at 3pm,and were finishing off the cheese course at 9pm....) there was no loud obnoxious huppelkutjes and annoying people around,no screaming kids,except for Jonathan and Sandra's 9 months old tike called Conrad,who was the most well behaved kid I have ever met (probably because his parents were so cool)

The conversation flowed,good food was consumed and amazing wines were drank...

What a perfect way to celebrate your 50th birthday.

Thank you Brad and Jonathan,for letting us enjoy Antico...

We will be back!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

We stink

Well...we pretty much tried everything,but the bath tub has now become a swamp with smelly black goo in it,and if we mess with it even more,it will become worse....and since it is a holiday weekend here in the usa,the landlord can not get anybody out until Tuesday....

So I washed my hair in the kitchen sink,and washed my sagging boobs,armpits and koutchi with a towel and soap in the bathroom sink....

Just like the good old days!

Pete Hackney's 50th Birthday

Today is Pete's 50th birthday....and we have been invited to celebrate at this wonderful new restaurant in Bucktown called "Antico" that has just opened.

I am hoping we will make it,because the bath tub is still clogged.....