For the third year, New Orleanians will be remembering Hurricane Katrina on August 29 by gathering together for a Memorial service honoring the victims and the heroes of that horrific day. A local television station has partnered with Fire Departments across the area to sell “Remembering Katrina” bells to be rung in unison at the service. Each $3.00 donation benefits local fire department charities and school scholarship funds.

Another GREAT thing about my hometown is that New Orleans is the last stop on the 2008 BlogHer Reach Out Tour!! I may be totally out of my league here, but I am really looking forward to attending and learning as much as I can in order to improve my blog. The agenda can be seen here. My goal: not to look like a complete idiot. LOL!

Are you going to a BlogHer Reach Out Tour? Have you ever been to a BlogHer Conference? Leave me a comment and let me know what I can expect!

After Hurricane Katrina, the Audubon Aquarium lost almost all 10,000 of their fish due to the failure of a backup generator. However, the Aquarium has bounced back and is now reopen to the public, better than ever. The Aquarium features a Caribbean Reef, an Amazon Rainforest, penguins, stingrays, sharks and more! One of the most popular attractions is the white alligator.

The Audubon Zoo escaped heavy damage during the Storm and only suffered the loss of two river otters and some downed trees. It escaped flood damage laregly because it is built on the highest ground in New Orleans, in fact, Monkey Hill located within the Zoo is the highest point in New Orleans. Today, the Zoo is ranked among the top in the Country and features an exotic mix of animals from around the globe. Lily LOVES the Endangered Species carousel and petting zoo!

If you are considering a trip to New Orleans, you don’t need to leave the kids at home!

I joined my first online forum about 8 years ago (wow, has it been that long? Shoutout to the Cubies!), and once I became pregnant with my first daughter, I have become involved in several online Mommy groups. Through the years, I have been fortunate enough to meet some amazing women (and even some husbands) from each Forum. Inevitably, someone will say, “I love your accent!” or “I can definitely hear an accent!” I always deny having any such accent, but what I do NOT deny is that New Orleanians definitely have their own dialect!

So, I would like to alternatively entitle this post:

Beignets: Donuts with corners and no holes. The coffee shop Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter made them world famous. At Cafe du Monde the beignets come two ways, sugared or plain.

Do-do (dough dough–not du-du!): A cute word children use when tired and sleepy (from the french “to sleep” = dormir)

Po-Boy: like a sub sandwhich on French bread

Dressed: Sandwiches served with lettuce, tomatoes and mayonnaise–”the works”

Laissez le Bon temp rouler (Lazay Lay Bon Tom Roulay): Let the good times roll

Neutral Ground: Median or grassy area between the paved areas on a boulevard

The Parish: Louisiana has Parishes not Counties, but this often refers to Chalmette, a suburb outside New Orleans

Makin’ groceries: Buying groceries

Yat: Standard greeting–(“Where yat?” is “Hello, how are you doing?)

Streetcar: New Orleans has had the streetcar railroads since the 1830s. The St. Charles line is the only original line left. The Riverfront has a restored streetcar line. They are not called trolleys or cable cars. You’ll find those in San Francisco.

Mymomenem: Y’at for “my mom and them” or my family or my mom’s place. When one goes to visit one’s mother, one can say “I’mgoinbymymomenem’s.

Slanguage cited from:
http://www.bigeasy.com/features/lingo.html
http://www.experienceneworleans.com/glossary.html

The true Spirit of New Orleans is in it’s people. We are a diverse crowd, but we have two things in common: we can cook and we like to EAT! After the horrible events that took place on September 11, 2001 in New York, a group of native New Orleanians felt compelled to help. Over $29,000 was raised for the American Red Cross, but Shawn Bradley and his family felt like it just wasn’t enough. What can New Orleans do to help? Well, we can COOK and from this idea, the Gumbo Krewe was born!

The caravan took off for New York, where they set up shop on the streets of NYC and served thousands of rescue workers a bowl of hot and spicey New Orleans Seafood Gumbo….from our City to yours. In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina ravaged our City and once again, the Gumbo Krewe went back into action serving volunteers from around the Country.

The Gumbo Krewe is a positive example of how New Orleanians are proud to “pay it forward.” And that’s one reason that I am proud to call it HOME.