Cajun Christmas

Well, here we go. I promised that I would have more Christmas stories for everyone once we got to Louisiana! Felix and I arrived first thing Thursday morning to have Christmas in Baton Rouge with Felix's mom and her side of the family. We had a nice day with Grandma Eydie, Andrew, Jason, Melissa, Harrison, Harper, Garrett, Anthony, Uncle Rodney and Aunt Donna! I'll tell you, Melissa sure is better than me about having all these people at her house! Between the toys, the wrapping paper, the dishes and all the commotion; I don't know how she does it! I'm learning, I promise! Grandma Eydie made Jason's favorite dish for lunch (why does Jason always get his way? Ha!) and then we spent the afternoon relaxing and spending time together. We all got some really great gifts, but the best gift of all was being together.

Grandma Eydie with Harper Rose

Uncle Fe and Uncle Garrett sure do like Harrison's new toys!

We wore Harper Rose out!

On Saturday, we met all the Verdigets' family (all 25 of them) at Sammy's for a good ole' cajun lunch for Grandma Rosie and Stephanie's birthday. I'm pretty sure we had the largest and LOUDEST table in the restaurant. No one in the family got the "quiet gene". We had a nice lunch followed by cake with the special Verdigets' birthday song. If you have never experienced this , then you sure are missing out!

Does it get any better than this?

Grandpa Bert and Grandma Rosie

On the last night, we got to enjoy a nice Italian dinner with Paw Paw Felix and Gina. We went to downtown Baton Rouge and had a great time :) Melissa's mom was nice enough to keep the kids so we could all enjoy some time together. The trip to Lousiana is never long enough, and we look forward to spending some time together again very soon!!

The Verdigets Crew

Superman was waiting on us when we got home from dinner!

BTW, Harrison put these Superman PJ's on as soon as we gave them to him (Thursday) and did not take them off the whole time we were there. Melissa is petitioning his school to let him wear them instead of his uniform. Good luck.

It's been a WILE!!

The day after Christmas, Felix and I got to hang out with our good friends, Chip and Catherine (aka Rigsby) Wile. We had a full Verdigets/Wile day-as Chip called it. The day started off with some shopping at the mall to find Chip the perfect pair of jeans. Now if you know Chip the way we all do, then you will fully understand why Chip sweated his entire way through the malls. How can one individual sweat so much by trying on jeans??? He wound up getting 3 pairs of jeans, talked Felix into getting a pair and made me buy another pair of Tory Burch shoes--that Chip! After an afternoon full of shopping, we had a nice evening out at Taxco. Wonder if it was the margaritas that caused me to get in the wrong vehicle once dinner was over??? Ha!! After dinner we had some drinks at the Verdigets' casa , but the night ended early since we had a 7 am flight to New Orleans!! It was so nice to get to hang out with them, we sure did miss the POOKS!

Christmas in Dixie.....

Well, the races are on!!! I am going to take you all through a BRIEF rundown on how Christmas plays out for Felix and me. You won't think this to be that brief, but trust me it is. It all started on Christmas Eve. Felix and I arrived in my hometown, Childersburg, Alabama, around lunchtime on Monday. We went directly to my Mom's house (she called 7 times to ask when we would be there) and met up with my step siblings (Ben, Bre, and Becca). As normal children tend to do, they were completely bored out of their mind. The anxiety of the arrival of Santa had taken its toll on them. So Sister Tara and Brother Felix came to the rescue and took everyone bowling. Who would have ever dreamed of going bowling on Christmas Eve??? Well, we ended up going and had a great time. So good of a time, that we might actually even make it a family tradition.

Next, after some fabulous snacks and Christmas wine--all provided by Michele--Felix and I enjoyed a nice late-night Christmas Eve with Dad and Michele. Now those of you that know my Dad, will not be surprised by what I am about to tell you. He LOVES to work the holidays. When I ask him why, he always says "Try having a daughter and a girlfriend! That's why I work all the time!" So anyway, after getting off work at 10:00 pm on Christmas Eve, we all had a nice relaxing Christmas together in our pj's! Felix and I stayed the night there so we could rest up for our SUPER BUSY day to come.

Christmas Day--and we're off...Stop #1: Back to Mom's house first thing Christmas morning. Felix and I must not have awaken early enough (maybe it was the 2am festivities with Dad and Michele), because we find 3 anxious children waiting for us by the tree! This is our first stop of the day, so get ready because I have a long day to get you through. We opened presents by the tree and did Santa Clause before heading off on our journey!!

Stop #2: My precious grandmother's house, Myrtle Ruth. Felix and I were pleasantly surprised to see her looking and feeling so well. This time last year Grandmother could barely get out of her chair and this year we kept asking her if she was faking it last year so that we would bring her Christmas dinner! Anyway, Grandmother's house was warm and cozy and would've been the perfect little spot to camp out during a rainy Christmas Day, but the Verdigets' sleigh has to keep running......

Stop #3: Rainwater Mania!! This is my Mom's side of the family. Here in this photo you will see my Mom, and her two sisters along with family. We gather at my grandparents house (Ellen and JE Rainwater) every Christmas Day. I have been going here since the first year I was born. This is tradition for me and will hopefully never change. Note, this picture was taken 5 minutes after we opened gifts and the house is spotless. Felix jokes that my Aunt June takes the wrapping paper from him so that it never has to hit the ground.

Recall back to my Thanksgiving post when I was explaining the difference between Felix's family and my family. I included a post Thanksgiving picture of the kitchen with Felix's family (no one was in the picture and for all I know the mess may still be there). Here is the post (take the fork from you and pick up your plate whether you are through or not) picture of my family. Please notice that this is about 20 minutes post-feast and there is not a single dish in sight! Lord, please help these women of my family. They CAN NOT relax! Ha!

Stop #4 is underway!! This stop is at The Duvall family's house. This is my step-father's family. Felix and I were practically stuffed by this visit, so there wasn't much eating going on, however we always enjoy the good company. This is the laid-back part of the day. No one stresses over anything. Everyone just has a good time. My only complaint is that there are waaaay too many Bama fans at this house. Yes, that is why they are wearing SO MUCH RED!

Stop #5: Our last stop in Alabama and I always wish that this visit could last longer. This is one of my best friends, Allison Nicholson. She lives in Virginia with her husband Shane, and two girls, Leigh and Mia (photos to come). Anyway, we try to get together a few times a year but always make some time for each other over Christmas. I wish we had more time to spend together, but Felix and I are looking forward to visiting with them this summer when they move back to VEGAS!! Allison always wonders why they have not had ANY guests in Virginia, but everyone wants to come to Vegas?? Hmmm..... :) It's always fun to be with Allison because we are always able to pick up right where we left off (Felix would say it is because we talk on the phone every night for an hour). Ha! Anyway, it was good to see them, and we hope to see them in the near future!

Stop #6: Home in Atlanta. After a 2 and a half hour drive back home, we are at the last stop of the day--HOME!! It's 11:03 pm on Christmas night and I am pooped! Whew, we made it, but are only half way done. We have a 7am flight to New Orleans to do it all over again with Felix's family. Please stay tuned I will have many more Christmas events with Felix's family to share with everyone!!! And please PRAY that we will not have any airport delays. Gotta love flying out of the world's busiest airport :)

What a HOOT!!

I just had to share one of my favorite finds for this Christmas! I think that all of my fellow Chi-Omega friends will appreciate this cute shirt! I was shopping with my friend Claire, and we found this baby at the famous Blue Genes store in Atlanta. Not only do I TOTALLY think it fits my personality, but at the time the short sleeves was working perfect for the unusual 80 degree December we were having! In addition, last night I was in my closet with the lights out, and I kept noticing something strange staring at me. I was like "What in the world is that in my closet?" If you know anything about me, then you know what a paranoid scare-dy cat I am. So, I turned on the light, and what do you know???? THE OWL IS STARING AT ME BECAUSE MY SHIRT GLOWS IN THE DARK!!!!!!! I had no idea, and it was just an added bonus that the store forgot to tell me about!! Any hoots, you can find this shirt at this website, and No, that is not me in the picture! Ha!

A JOY-ner of a Weekend!

Felix and I love having house guests! This weekend we were blessed with having Claire and Paul Joiner visit along with Baby Davis. They arrived late Friday night and Felix and Paul finished unloading the car by noon Saturday. It was a weekend full of shopping, good food, and spending time with friends. Felix and I got to freshen up on our baby skills just a bit (not that Felix really needs it--being the oldest of 5 brothers, but I could always use a little practice!). Davis was a complete angel. Claire was fortunate enough to have one of those "non-crying" babies, oh if I could only be that lucky one day! Thanks to Aunt Lisa, the 4 adults were able to have a night out on the town in the A-T-L on Saturday night. We went to dinner at Pano's and Paul's (the fried lobster tails and molten cake are to die for!) and then the men went to Hudson Grill to watch the Mayweather/Hatton fight (they referred to it as "watching history be made") once the girls and baby Davis were put to bed! Jeff and Carrie also brought their baby, Harris Scott Ackel, over so he and Davis could size each other up. It was BABY MANIA!! Anyways, we had a wonderful time and we are looking forward to many more visits! We just hope Paul will let Claire come back since she always burns the magnetic strip off the credit card every time she comes!

Thanks Coach!!

Well, it looks like Mr. Bobblehead is going to get to keep his spot on the bookshelf in the living room after all! Right next to the autographed football that was signed for me when I had my heart surgery. I had been toying with the question for almost a week now on whether I would remove these items or would they get to keep their spot. I guess it was kind of dependent on how things went down. Oh well, it was a close call, but it's over! Coach Tuberville announced last night that he"loved Auburn, and would be staying at Auburn a long time." As you can tell, we admire T Squared (our latest nickname for him) at our house, and we are happy with his decision:)

"I'd like to thank the best college football fans in the country, the Auburn fans and the Auburn family for their support and patience over the last few weeks," Tuberville said in a statement released by the school. "Myself and the entire coaching staff are excited about the past, present and especially the future of Auburn football."

WAR EAGLE!!!!!!!!!!

PLEASE DON'T GO!!!!

Okay, this one's in honor of you Tubs! You don't really want to go to Arkansas, do you??? I mean who would want to be referred to as a "Hog"? Aren't the "Tigers" just so much more appealing? I stand here today and beg Auburn University and the AD to do whatever it takes to keep this fine man a part of Tiger Football. Tubby, you are a great representation of the Auburn people, our school, and our football team. I appreciate the class that you exhibit on and off the playing field. I especially like that you don't compare an Auburn loss to an event such as 9/11 like that other coach in our state. So, here's to you Tommy (not that you'll read this), and PLEASE place your John Hancock on the Auburn contract and let's win us a National Title in the near future! War DAMN Eagle!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

Today, Felix and I decorated our Christmas Tree! Can you believe that this is our 6th Christmas Tree together? I remember our first tree (who remembers Cedarcrest Circle in Auburn?) barely had any ornaments, and now we are finally at the stage where we can weed out the older ones. Our tree tradition consist of Felix and I going to pick out our tree the day after Thanksgiving. We usually get our tree delivered (yes, delivered) sometime later that day. Neither one of us are really "handy" around the house, so the Christmas Tree guy comes and brings it in the house, puts it in the stand, trims the trimmings and then sweeps up the pine needles! Can you believe that? Yes, there is a price to pay, but totally worth it. Anyway, since we went to the ballgame yesterday, we decorated the tree today. Thanks to Ballard's Designs I got some snazzy new ribbon for my tree this year for all of you to see. How lucky we are to have their outlet store right down the road. Anyway, here is our 6th tree, and we think it looks pretty good! And yes, Uncle Mack and Aunt June, we did it all by ourselves! [note from Felix--I prefer when yall come and do it!!]

New Year, New Hand, New Finger!!

House Divided

Andy making his blog debut

Ginny was trying to keep her bun warm!

War Damn Eagle!

WDE!!! We drove to the Auburn/Bama game yesterday. What a great time we had--did not get back to ATL until 3am! We met up with my Dad and Michele and had a wonderful little tailgate set up. The Deckers were in town and were in rare form as usual! We took good ole' Andy Ackel with us to the game and had quite the car ride home (Only Andy and Felix will get this inside joke). Andy was upset that he had yet to make his blog debut, so this one is for you Andy! The weather was a bit cold out, but it was the perfect football day! Auburn won, so I think that makes SIX? Right Dad and Uncle Mack?????????

Happy Turkey Day!!

Felix arriving and trying to figure out if preparations have began

Cousin Paul seems to maybe be a little stressed over when lunch is going to be

The aftermath...Everything is right where we left it for dinner!

Felix and I had the pleasure of staying in Atlanta for Thanksgiving. It was so nice to be home this year. Felix's mom came into town with his 3 brothers and we had a nice visit. We went to his Aunt Lisa's house for Thanksgiving lunch. For those of you who know my family, and know how uptight we are, you will appreciate these photos I have attached. Felix's family is quite the opposite. I seem to get a little stressed out at first due to the lack of concern or details that go into the planning, but the nice part about it is that they concentrate more on the visit and the spending time with loved ones rather than all the details. No kidding, my mom and aunts will start to stress 3 weeks before the event on who is bringing what. This amount of stress involves the actual dish itself, not to mention where is the closest place that can CATER the dish. Then, on the actual day, lunch is sped through in some sort of manner where you can barely get your last bite swallowed before your plate (Chinette of course) is snatched out from underneath you so fast because now they are all in a tizzy over how fast they can get the kitchen cleaned. The total "event" last approximately 2 to 2.5 hours and then everyone is off to the next stop for the day. Oh, how opposite things are with Felix's family. Everyone finds out what their dish of choice is to bring the night before. Then you show up and and other than the turkey in the oven (Thanks Lisa!), there has been no preparations. Everyone just joyfully starts to make their dish at various stages through the day and then lunch is served around 2:00 pm. The next big kicker is that the kitchen never gets cleaned! Everyone just hangs out and socializes the rest of the day, goes for a big family walk, and then goes to a movie. If you want leftovers for dinner, everything is right where it was for lunch! It is so nice and relaxing! So, pay close attention to these photos of the kitchen and the chaos and I am going to do a comparison photo for you when we go to my side of the family for Christmas. I have enclosed a "before" and "after" photo.

Cheap Labor :)

So, have you ever had one of those days at work when you just can't wait to get home, put on your pj's, and have big glass of red wine? Well, today was one of those days. However, to my surprise, I pull in the driveway and notice something strange. There are 3 little girls raking leaves in my yard!! The frown that had been on my face since 7:05 a.m. immediately turned upside down. Just when life gets so frustrating, it's incidents like these that sometimes bring us back down to Earth. I immediately call Felix and say "Honey, there are 3 catholic school girls raking the yard!" It was to his displeasure that they are all under the age of 10! So, I just wanted to share these precious children (who I am proud to say are my neighbors) and thank them for making my afternoon!

Anna Kate Rocks! (her new hizzy that is)

This is my 9th weekend on the road and I must say, life is good! This weekend features a stop in the good ole' B'ham and a visit to AK's new hizzy. While there we did some early Christmas shopping and I got to visit with the Joiners and see baby Davis! The margaritas were flowing and life was good (except for the Auburn Tigers getting humiliated by the Dawgs)...

I also was fortunate enough to get to host Mrs. Rachel Maddox Rikard's baby shower. She is having a baby girl, Claire Jacquelyne, that is due in January!!

Reynold's Plantation

Felix and I were so fortunate to get invited by my Dad and his girlfriend, Michele, to visit the lovely Reynold's Plantation. Just when we thought "Oh, we finally get a weekend at home!", we were wrong. Felix says to me "Tara, you can't turn down a night at the Ritz," and I have to say that I must agree. Anyways, this place is beautiful. If you are looking for a nice relaxing weekend , away from home or away from the kids, this is the place. They have a fantastic spa, great golfing, wonderful restaurants, and good ole' smore roasting every night out by the lake. We highly recommend it!!

The Big 2-8!!

Lil Gin has a surprise!

Tara, Jess, and Jennifer
Tara and Fe

Blazer and 61
Is there a greater place to spend your 28th birthday than on the Plains? We had such a great time. We met all the McKee house girls at Mellow Mushroom on Friday night. Felix flew in from Chicago with me a fabulous birthday surprise (a new Gucci purse), but to beat that, Ginny shows up with a little suprise of her own..... A BUN in the OVEN! We were all so excited for her and Hunter! On Saturday, we spent the day tailgating with friends and going to the football game. Saturday night was even more special because Dad and Michele came to Auburn for a special birthday dinner for the 4 of us. But, at MYYYYYYYYYYYY birthday dinner, we wanted to show Felix how proud we were of him for his new job, so we gave him a new Rolex watch for his big promotion. He was soooooo surprised and so thankful. He works so hard for our little family and deserves it. I love you Pooks!

Rolex Man

L-S-WHO????????????

The French Quarter
Harper Rose
Dinner at Nola
Family Rivalry
War Damn Eagle!

Another weekend on the road!! And yes, even though Auburn BARELY lost, they are still called L-S-Who!! Out of all the years (going on 8) I have known Felix , we have NEVER been to the Auburn/LSU game in Baton Rouge. Something has always come up. So, this year was the big year. This game is a huge rivalry in the Verdigets' family. Felix and I are far outnumbered, but hey, we love our Tigers. We decided we would need some backup because the LSU fans can get a little rowdy at times, so we went with our friends Shawn, Kelly, Dean, and Meghan from Atlanta. The trip started on Thursday night with a night in the French Quarter and some delicious Oysters from Acme, Thanks Uncle Lou! Then on Saturday, Felix and I went to see our new neice, Harper Rose Verdigets. Something about those little girls just melt Aunt TT's heart away. I have to say our nephew, Harrison, can bat those eyelashes at us and get pretty much whatever he wants too! Harrison is being such a great big brother and a big help around the house. It was nice to get to spend time with them :) Saturday was a big day. We tailgated all day with Felix's friends and family from back home and had a wonderful time at the game. It was a pretty silent drive back to New Orleans after the game, but we hopped on the plane Sunday morning and wore our Orange and Blue back home to Atlanta with pride!

The Clampett's Go Beaching!

Cousins at Bud and Alley's
Beach Bums
Friends at Bud and Alley's
Cantina Laredo
Uncle Mack and Aunt June

Well, we did it!! Who would have ever thought that the Rainwater women could survive with each other in a house on the beach for 5 STRAIGHT DAYS?? After many months of planning, my mom's side of the family decided to take a beach trip together. We went down to Seaside for 5 days and had a nice, relaxing time. Is there a better place on Earth??? If so, I'd like to know, so I could go try it out. Felix and I often argue that it may be a tie between Auburn and Seaside! But anyway, the food, the weather, and the company were all quite pleasant! Some of our favorite hot spots were Bud and Alley's, Cafe 30-A, and Cantina Laredo. Does anyone know what they put in those margaritas?? Hmmm....