Happy Halloween!!

6fsn · October 2018

The kids got so much crap last night! 4 full sized candy bars, coloring books, little airplanes, 6let counted 141 pieces of candy. One house posted they resorted to cheese sticks and granola bars because they had so many kids. The person who opted to change is all "see I told you it would be better!". Dude it was busy because we had tons of kids from other 'hoods. I'll bite my tongue when it's just as busy tonight.

That's it. I was going to make home made bread today for small group tomorrow, but now I'm not sure because I cancelled small group. I am making veggie soup so maybe I'll still do the bread.....Tough decisions today.

sparklepants41 · October 2018

Yum! Can you still make homemade bread, but make bread bowls for your veggie soup? I'm a sucker for a bread bowl.

WFH today since the regional trauma center where my dad is staying is just up the street from us. His surgery got pushed from first thing this morning to TBD. We will probably have the Sox parade on the TV as a distraction. I need all the distractions I can get as I am worried about the surgery, the MS, and the shingles he also has.

Unless I am able to visit my dad this afternoon, I am picking up Babypants early from school so she can go Trick-or-Treating (aka just going to our neighbors' houses so they can see her costume. She's supposed to be a lion, but the head/mane portion is a hat and apparently all of a sudden she loathes hats, so she will probably be a decapitated lion, unless I can get some face paint on her...

charlotte989875 · October 2018

Since our division had 100% participation in the United Way campaign (which I hate but whatever) we get out at 3 today, we have dress down day, and we are having a party at lunch. So basically no one is working today. I made cheese+pretzel broomsticks for the party and feeling really good about them.

Hoping we get kids to the house tonight but I’m not sure. We’re on Main St. right in the village so I’m thinking it won’t be that busy because kids will stay in the neighborhoods.

ShesSoCold · October 2018

Make the bread! Fresh bread is perfect for soup!

SSDD for me. Waiting on H's boss to make hotel reservations for New Orleans. He doesn't want to let H have the time off. I told H to offer to come home early if Boss pays for our flights, since we're planning to drive. LOL let's see how that goes.

I left my lunch on the counter. So not only do I have to go out for lunch when I don't want to but I also have to throw away the delicious enchilada leftovers.

climbingsingle · October 2018

It's so bizarre to me that other places do TOTing on a night that is not Halloween.

Sadly we don't get any TOTers at our house. Not really any kids in our neighborhood, and we live off a very busy street with no sidewalks. But, it's OK because honestly the dogs would be going nuts every time the doorbell rang.

We're going out to dinner tonight with my brother and his FI. I think they're going to formally ask us to be in the wedding party.

banana468 · October 2018

I woke DH up at 5:30 snoring and I'm nursing a sore throat. Hopefully I can keep drinking fluids to get rid of this - I think the kids have spread the love.

We're trick or treating tonight and looking forward to it!

mrsconn23 · October 2018

We're going ToTing at my sister's tonight. I'm actually knocking off at half day because work is slow and I can take my time getting stuff done, instead of rushing around during my lunch break.

Other than that, SSDD.

6fsn · October 2018

Soup is cooking and bread is rising. I feel like bread bowls would be a pita, but they sound great.

@sparklepants41 I hope your dad is doing better.

missJeanLouise · October 2018

Happy Halloween! It’s my favorite holiday and I am a little bummed out that I can’t really do anything this year. Trying to not let it take over my entire mood.
Helper friend leaves tomorrow morning and I am beyond ready. It’s been nice having her but having someone in my house for a month is too much.

DH’s leave starts tomorrow and I am not even sure I want him around, lol.

Trick or treating is already over in our neighborhood, they have it scheduled from 5-7. It is our first year here for Halloween and we got a fair amount of ToTers. Our neighbor was handing out punch to adults and it makes me so happy. Next year we will do more.
I finished Baby’s Halloween costume but it is too hot to wear it really. We couldn’t even get a good picture of him in it because he was crying the whole time. Little darling was up almost all afternoon so he was just tired and over it, no patience for pictures.

Sparkle- hope your Dad is doing okay

Charolette- I love those little broomsticks!!

short+sassy · October 2018

ShesSoCold said:

Make the bread! Fresh bread is perfect for soup!

SSDD for me. Waiting on H's boss to make hotel reservations for New Orleans. He doesn't want to let H have the time off. I told H to offer to come home early if Boss pays for our flights, since we're planning to drive. LOL let's see how that goes.

I left my lunch on the counter. So not only do I have to go out for lunch when I don't want to but I also have to throw away the delicious enchilada leftovers.

Doh! I hate when I have to throw away good leftovers.

It also wouldn't hurt to check out some AirBnBs. Often cheaper than a hotel, with the added bonus of usually having a kitchen/fridge. There is an area called the Marigny that is technically not in the French Quarter, but is next to it and an easy walk away. Though, caution, not all of it.

Also, avoid anything called the "New Marigny". That's a made-up real estate term that's come into vogue over the last few years to try and give a more positive vibe to the high crime St. Roch neighborhood, smh. In a nutshell, Marigny is a VERY desirable area. St. Roch is decidedly not. The whole thing is laughable, because it is not like they are fooling anybody. But, whatever.

If you go this route, the part of the Marigny you all would want to be in is bordered by Esplanade Ave., the Mississippi River, Elysian Fields Ave., and North Rampart.

There are other AirBnB areas that are nice also and nearby, but not necessarily quite as close and would be harder to describe. With that said, if you see an AirBnB that isn't in the "Marigny box" I described above, feel free to PM me a link(s) and I can guide you on distance/sketchiness.

ShesSoCold · October 2018

Thanks for the tips, S&S! I'll probably be asking you for restaurant recommendations too!

H is not really an AirBnB guy. We've stayed in one or two but he'd rather have a hotel. He's one of those security nut weirdos and he doesn't like the idea of staying in a stranger's house, regardless of the reviews and stuff. I kind of get it.

The show we're going to is at the Saenger Theater so I thought we'd try to stay in that general area-ish.

levioosa · October 2018

We have a ton of kids around here, but we don’t get a lot of TOTers. It probably has to do with the fact that we live on the edge of a bad area. I won’t even walk to the store across the street alone at night, so I can see how that would affect children wandering around. If they don’t come we have enough candy to last months.

FI’s family is planning to come over tonight so we can watch scary movies. Unfortunately I have a quiz so I have to go to school. My second class has been labeled “optional” by the teacher tonight, which means no one will go. I bought a new wine to try called Phantom in honor of Halloween, so I’ll be breaking that out tonight. Happy Halloween, everyone!

Edit: for words that could be seen as callous. Obviously I wished people felt safe walking around here.

short+sassy · October 2018

ShesSoCold said:

Thanks for the tips, S&S! I'll probably be asking you for restaurant recommendations too!

H is not really an AirBnB guy. We've stayed in one or two but he'd rather have a hotel. He's one of those security nut weirdos and he doesn't like the idea of staying in a stranger's house, regardless of the reviews and stuff. I kind of get it.

The show we're going to is at the Saenger Theater so I thought we'd try to stay in that general area-ish.

Definitely do!

The Saenger Theatre is on the 1100 block of Canal St. For a hotel, stick to the "river side" of Canal St. Which is between N. Rampart and the Mississippi River. The neighborhood starts getting sketchy past N. Rampart. (The Saenger also falls in that "better" range).

There are a bunch of big hotels, right on Canal St and a fairly short walk from the Saenger:

Marriott
JW Marriott
Sheraton
Astor Crowne
Ritz Carlton (spendy)
The Saint
The Roosevelt (spendy)

And those are just the ones off the top of my head that are literally on Canal St. and in the "safer" zone I described.

Canal St. is one of the "borders" for the French Quarter. On the Saenger side of Canal, you are on the FQ side. The other side of Canal is where the Downtown starts. As I'm sure you can imagine, the Downtown has a bevy of hotels also. Just keep in mind that the further away you get from Canal, the further away you are getting from the Quarter.

Depending on where you are, some of the Downtown also gets quiet and fairly empty at night, which can be a little bit of a safety concern. I'm assuming you and your H would always be walking together. But, if for some reason either one of you would be walking back alone to a hotel at a quieter, more desolate time, I'd recommend an Uber or taxi just to be extra cautious.

short+sassy · October 2018

@ShesSoCold, I also meant to add that you all might want to look at flights. A typical flight fare from Chicago to NOLA is around $200. But I see substantially cheaper flights to Chicago often. When my H and I flew to Chicago in August, it was only about $130 r/t (each).

Obviously you all wouldn't have a car when you get here. But, unless you all are planning to visit areas outside of NOLA proper, a car will just be a hindrance. Hotels charge like $30+/day for in/out car parking. You can find cheaper than that if you hit up an off-site parking garage/lot, but it isn't usually in/out parking.

If you're primarily hanging out in the FQ, it's all walkable. Even getting to other parts of the city can be done cheaply via bus, streetcar, or taxi/Uber.

A taxi from the airport to the FQ/Downtown runs about $40 total (including tip), each way.

kvruns · October 2018

Sparklepants - baby B is a lion too. His is a hoodie with the mane so fortunately he is OK to wear it. I bet your decapitated lion is cute.

I'm dressed up today as Mommy Shark (doo doo doo doo). My coworkers have some really good costumes this year

ShesSoCold · October 2018

We aren't allowed to dress up at work, but they let us wear sports stuff or just treat it as a regular casual day.

I've had several people be all surprised that I'm wearing a Bears t-shirt and Bears jacket thingy. Like they expected me to be all Bears-ed out and in shoulder pads or something. The hell?

We did look at flights, too, S&S. think it was around $240 per person. We like to drive though and we've never been to a couple of the states we'll pass through. We generally prefer driving and have only flown once, only because we didn't have time to drive to Phoenix.

6fsn · October 2018

All this holiday talk is making me stress about what to wear to dh’s parties again this year. 4 parties, sameish people, different venues.

short+sassy · October 2018

Happy Halloween everyone!

Mine is not going to be so great. No one dresses up at my work. So, no fun there. It's a busy day for me and I'm irritated with the work I need to do. No one's fault. But it's one of those "running around to a bunch of people" to get info I need for a basic report. Running around again. I loathe that kind of stuff. I just want to sit happily at my desk and work and not worry about trying to coordinate with half a dozen people. Meh.

Rant:

Then, to top it off, I thought my special mystery shopping project was over. Monday was supposed to be the last day and I didn't hear anything differently from my scheduler yesterday (Tues.). Now, all of a sudden this morning, she tells me and the other shopper that we are still 15 shops short. In the category that is primarily "food/restaurants". I'm thinking, "No problem! Easy peasy. Go pick up some of those for after work and we're done."

Except I go to the map. And all the shops for that category are gone, except hotels. Quite frankly, they SHOULDN'T have been gone! If we hadn't done enough for that category yet. Hotel shops for this project are the biggest and most time consuming PITA. Plus, there are only (maybe) a couple dozen of those and they are far flung from each other.

I e-mail her back to let her know the situation and she asks if I can pick up 8 hotels :O. Ummm...NO! No I can't! There is not even remotely enough time to do that when I get off work. An evening, I will add, that I had no idea until this morning that she even needed any more of these shops done (eye roll). Quite frankly, it's even a long shot I'm able to do anything. Most people have plans on Halloween. I just happened to plan an evening at home.

There is one street. It's about 30 blocks long. That is the only spot left with a decent amount of hotels motels on it. That's my target. But these aren't "tourist" motels. These are "people passing through"/transitory construction workers/"cheap motel while someone is between apartments" kind of places. Some of them are in sketchy neighborhoods and nowhere I would go once it gets dark.

In a shorter and more professional manner, I basically told her all of this. And that, I would get done what I could get done, but I highly doubted it would be 8 shops.

I'm just highly pissed off about it. I would NEVER have done these motels, if there was anything else left. They aren't even remotely worth my time to do them at all, but I want to do my part to see it through to the end. And it's not even going to be that many! WTF with asking us to do more "food" shops when they've all been removed, smh? Overall, this project has been super awesome and profitable. But this isn't the first time they've tied my hands while, at the same time, asking me to do the impossible.

Speaking of profitable, while the rest of the project has been. Tonight will not be. It is so much extra time and extra driving, I'll be lucky if I make the equivalent of $8-$10/hour after my gas, smh. ((Breathe)) I know I need to let the anger go and remember all the times I was making the equivalent of $30-$50/hour on this project. And I am trying, lol! But I keep feeling really salty about the unexpected, obnoxious night I'm about to have.

mrsmitten · October 2018

Hi all, sorry I've been such a stranger. Work in October was crazy. Legit, just as many events as June crazy. I then went on a 4 day girls trip to Miami and it was glorious.

Now I'm back and in full campaign mode. At any given moment I want to cry, have a panic attack, or think we're going to lose. Shit's cray, y'all.

I also got a new phone (mine was a lemon) and then was locked out of my Yahoo for two weeks while they manually confirmed my identity, so I couldn't even log into my fantasy teams.

Hope all is well! Yay baby @missJeanLouise - hope your dad is okay @sparklepants41.

ILoveBeachMusic · October 2018

Good to "see" you @mrsmitten aka kimmi! I've been wondering how things were going for your H. Glad you had a great girl's trip. Hope to hear good news from you after election day.

We won't have any trick or treaters tonight due to living on a really small hard to access street. I don't even buy candy anymore. I use to buy candy because I was afraid kids would come by and I wouldn't have any. I would always end up with the candy and guess who would eat it - yep me and H!

Today I had lunch with a friend, got my nails done and am getting ready to head up to Chicago for the weekend (long weekend since I'm going tomorrow). I can't wait to kiss on those little grand baby faces!

charlotte989875 · October 2018

mrsmitten said:

Hi all, sorry I've been such a stranger. Work in October was crazy. Legit, just as many events as June crazy. I then went on a 4 day girls trip to Miami and it was glorious.

Now I'm back and in full campaign mode. At any given moment I want to cry, have a panic attack, or think we're going to lose. Shit's cray, y'all.

I also got a new phone (mine was a lemon) and then was locked out of my Yahoo for two weeks while they manually confirmed my identity, so I couldn't even log into my fantasy teams.

Hope all is well! Yay baby @missJeanLouise - hope your dad is okay @sparklepants41.

**waves hi**

Only six more campaign days!! How’s your H feeling about it all? What are the poll #s like? So excited for you guys!

ILoveBeachMusic · October 2018

Wouldn't you know we had our first trick or treater in probably more than six years and I had no candy in the house. Only one little boy. I didn't even answer the door. I felt really bad!!! I hate being those people but I'm pretty sure no one on our street gives out candy anymore - DS2 and the girl across the street were the last ones that regularly trick or treated here and they are 24 years old now if that gives you any idea!

ei34 · November 2018

Whew! Busy day (good busy) today. No craziness among my students at work. My own kids had fun at their school parties and trick or treating. I just asked my H to hide their candy because I’ll be damned if their combined 20lbs of candy sidetrack me.

Happy Halloween!!

Re: Happy Halloween!!

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