Awwww, aren't we the Walton's

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Umm...No.

I've had a very busy and interesting weekend. Let me just start off by saying May is my favorite month. There are many reasons for this...not the least of which is my birthday. But also because the weather is great, (especially in the South), it's time for sundresses and short-shorts, there are tons of stuff to do everywhere, and people are generally in a happy mood to be out of the winter doldrums.

So I secured a babysitter for the Chiles for Fri night and told Hubby that it was his turn to plan (since I've done the last 20 or so dates). I was expecting dinner and a movie (since that's his usual repetoire), which was fine. However, he surprised me by actually doing research (and asking his Admin (who's single and 20 something...nuff said)) about where a good place to go would be. He wanted something with live music and activity. (Hubby is an introvert so this was a shocker!)

So he tells me we're going to an area of Charlotte known as NoDa. This is a very artsy neighborhood and it just happened that there was a Gallery Crawl that night with various live music venues. FUN! After we arrive and find a parking spot, we decided to get supper at Boudreaux's. I am a HUGE fan of Creole/Cajun food so I was excited. The Alligator Bites were good but the Shrimp and Crawfish Etoufee was ASTOUNDING! Hubby and I shared so that we could have dessert too. The Bread Pudding was a little cinnamon-y for my taste but I definately didn't have trouble finishing it off. :)

We then strolled through the neighborhood, checking out the art and local flavor. In stopping to listen to one of the live bands outdoors we were witness to some severe bumping and grinding. It was not even 9pm and this couple was acting like they must have started drinking at 3. Those of us observing were talking about taking up a collection to get them a room somewhere. Now, lest you think I'm a prude (you should know better than that anyway) I have no problem with PDAs. However, I do believe that some things should be done in the private of your own home, hotel room, or at least a back alley. Maybe if the couple were attractive I wouldn't have been as offended. Hell, maybe I was jealous I wasn't that drunk too!

So on we mosied down the street. At The Evening Muse, we caught the tail-end of a father and son guitar duo. After that was a girl named Nicolette Emanuelle who is very folksy-indie ish. She has a fairly decent voice but can sometimes get a little nasal. One song in particular caught my attention. It was entitled "To My Drunk Friends". Now that alone intrigued me but it was the chorus that made me turn to Hubby and say "Did I hear that right?" "Maybe you're coaxial, maybe you're bipolar. Well, I'm bi all the time..." Okay, then. Nothing like broadcasting that to a group of drunk strangers. Now the funny part of this is that Hubby and I had been wondering if SHE was not, or used to be, a HE. Well...that would make you "bi all the time". After that it was time to get back home to rescuepay the sitter.

On to Saturday. The main event of this day was our families first ever camping trip. I have not camped in a good 15-16 years and usually prefer the local Hamption Inn. However, this was a church activity and sounded like fun for 1 evening. When we pulled up to the campsite, the Chiles got out and looked at the bare ground and trees and proclaimed that "this sucks". Now, they love to play outside and collect rocks and leaves and such so this was a bit of a surprise. I asked them to please have an open mind and we would try and have a good time. Let me just say that by Sunday morning as we were breaking camp they thought this was the best thing ever! Cooking over the fire definately appealed to the little pyromaniac. We ended the weekend with a little mini-golf (or putt-putt as they say in the South). All-in-all this was one of the better weekends. We'll see what next week brings!

-As American as Apple Pie