Back from New Orleans

Eddie, Maren and I had a great weekend in New Orleans. Here are a few things I learned...

1) Wearing a baby in a sling makes you an object of intense scrutiny. Pretty much everyone smiled at us, and tons of people made comments about how cute she was or how comfortable she looked. Lots of people came up and grabbed her little hands too (ick!). I think the effect was even more pronounced since she was practically the only baby in the French Quarter. No, we didn't get arrested for child cruelty for bringing a baby to the French Quarter-- even when we took her to a bar.

2) Cardiologists know how to party. Surprising, huh? When I heard that we were going to a conference with tens of thousands of cardiologists, I expected a pretty staid affair. But we went to dinner with Eddie's colleagues the first night and we were the only ones who stuck to Pellegrino and Diet Coke. When our food finally arrived three hours after we got to the restaurant, one of the fellows was hugging every person in the restaurant (and hitting on girls at the bar, despite the fact that he's married with two kids and the girls' boyfriends were there with them) and another one was telling me how very pretty I was. At the other end of the table, some of the guys were deciding (in their own semi-inebriated state) which drugs they wanted to give the really drunk guys to ward off a really bad hangover.

3) Some meals are worth $100+ for two people. Others are not. I made reservations for us to have brunch at Brennan's, which advertises itself as a New Orleans institution, and where a prix fixe breakfast will set you back at least $40 per person, if you don't drink anything or add anything to your order. Eddie and I figured that our breakfast, of orange juice, an apple, onion soup, eggs, english muffins and pie probably set the restaurant back about six dollars. It was decent food, but for that amount of money I expect the best food I've ever eaten. On that account, Emeril Lagasse's NOLA restaurant didn't disappoint. Dinner there was just as expensive as breakfast at Brennan's, but everything was totally delicious and the service was fantastic. As for weight watchers, I didn't even give it a second thought all weekend. If you're not a drinker, food is definitely the highlight of a trip to New Orleans, and I wanted to enjoy it to the fullest.

4) Sometimes a nice purse just isn't enough compensation for watching the kids. When my mom agreed to keep the kids for the weekend, I went out and bought her a new purse as a thank you gift. But I'm thinking she might need an addtional thank you gift if I ever want her to watch the kids again. For the most part, they were really good, except when Isaac started to shout potty words at the top of his lungs during the sacrament and everyone around them busted up laughing. Yep, my kids always help bring a spirit of reverence to sacrament meeting.

5) There is a light at the end of the tunnel with the training. And we're almost there! And if things turn out like we think they're going to, I'm going to be a very happy woman two years from now! Not that I'm not happy now, because I am, but the next phase of our lives looks pretty darn great.

--originally published 3/29/07