Is it really true?

After many, many, many months of delay, the place formerly known as Fitness Exchange opened this morning at 500a. This isn't a truemor. It's for real because AttyHou and Everyday Italian actually went and worked out this morning...not at 500a though.

The Weekend In Review (part 3)

Sunday

After the Ball ended on Saturday night, the After Party was at the Holiday Inn by Reliant Arena. I only had a couple of cocktails, visited and then departed for Jack-In-The-Box to get a Jumbo Jack with cheese (no tomato), large order of curly fries, Monster Taco and a Diet Coke.

It was 1230a when I got to bed and yes, I was up again around 615a. Walked The Calvinator, said good-bye to the sister and brother-in-law, went to Starbucks for my complimentary Grande Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte and headed back to Reliant Arena (repetitive behavior again).

We started dismantling costumes and saving what was salvageable. Doing this always makes me hum Melissa Manchester's Don't Cry Out Loud because there is a part of the verse that says,

Baby saw that when they pulled that big top down

They left behind her dreams among the litter

The different kind of love she thought she'd found

There was nothin' left but sawdust and some glitter

It also reminds me of the saying, "Everything that glitters isn't always gold. Sometimes it is just plain glass or fools gold."

We actually finished faster than normal. I think we're getting better and tear down.

The Krewe has an annual gathering the day after the Ball where we eat, drink, be Mary and watch raw footage of the ball. I call it the Sunday Afternoon Mutual Admiration Society-Krewe of Olympus/Texas Chapter Annual Meeting. We cheer for each other when the costumes are shown, make comments about what was REALLY happening and all in all have a good time.

I got home around 715p and was cocktailed and worn out. We went through 24 bottles of champagne and who knows how much vodka, beer, wine, etc. I know I drank 1 bottle of champagne by myself. ;-)

I don't have any pictures of what happens during the ball other than this one of AttyHou. It wasn't until he met me that he became a Bead Whore and I am so proud of him in this photo!

photo credit: Dick Evans

As with all things Mardi Gras, I'm suffering from PPS (Post-Party Syndrome). Part of this is due to running on adrenaline for a few days and when I stop it hits me hard. It has been a busy two weeks (Mystery & Fantasy Mardi Gras Party, Captain's Party, Krewe Ball, After Ball Brunch). I need a massage and I REALLY need to get back into my running and working out groove.

PS Remember when Don't Cry Out Loud was released and every beauty pageant contestant sang the song for their talent?

Have You Ever....

agreed to something that sounds like a good idea but then when you actually start to do it you think, "WTF was I thinking?"

runnerOne and I were scheduled for a run yesterday. I thought we would do a loop at Memorial Park or do some speed work on the track. I got an email from him asking if I could meet him for a trail run. I said sure.

Pulled out the trail running shoes (hadn't run in them in 2 years), bright red shirt (so that if I got lost I could be found), shorts longer than I normally wear (to keep from getting scratched) and a cap (to keep from getting hit in the face) and I was off.

I was bit concerned about it being wet on The Ho Chi Minh Trail. It wasn't as wet as it could have been but it was still on the muddy side in some spots.

It has been two years since I've done any kind of trail running and I was having trouble with my footing. He was well ahead of me but still within hearing distance of me screaming if rolled down an embankment into Buffalo Bayou.

SIDEBAR: So one time a few years ago I was running The Ho Chi Minh Trail by myself and really did slide down a muddy embankment. It was like that scene from Romancing The Stone. I had mud all over my body and let me just say some of it was in places where the sun doesn't shine.

When it was all said and done, it was fun. It was about a 40 minute run or so. I wasn't as muddy as I thought I would be and that was fine with me. The shoes and socks did get a washing with the water hose before I walked into the house.

The Weekend In Review (part 2)

Saturday
Saturday morning I woke up at 600p (I told you it was a nap), showered, walked The Calvinator, got my complimentary Grande Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte and headed back to Reliant Arena. We had an 830a roll call. You lose points if you don't show up.

I had some additional costume work to do and we had work to do to prepare the exhibit hall for the Ball.

In addition to having our quarterly meeting on Saturday morning, the new royalty was named by Captain Ty. I had guessed it right a few months ago. The new king and queen were quite deserving of the honor.

On my way home from Reliant Arena to NoRO I decided to stop and have some quesadillas, chips and salsa at Berryhill. I SO WANTED a Margarita but I knew that I would crash and burn later in the afternoon.

I got home and The Calvinator was visiting with our guests. He loves it when they come to visit because they pay attention to him. I only had a couple of hours before I had to return to Reliant Arena so I cleaned up, walked The Calvinator and headed back to Reliant Arena. (repetitive behavior again)

1,000 Krewe guests enjoyed oversized costumes, adult beverages, fun music and Mardi Gras beads. This was our first year to use Reliant Arena so the venue was to new Krewe members and guests. In the words of Project Runway's Tim Gunn, Captain Ty Burns made it work.

This year's theme was Olympus at the Library. The Dewey Decimal System set the order for presentation of the costumes. As with all things Olympus, in some cases we kinda sorta stretched some ideas and asked our guests to use their imaginations.

The ball is a version of a tableau ball. I'm always amazed how creative people can be when it comes to putting these costumes together. I never could have done mine without Stuart and Daniel's help. This is the fifth costume that Stuart has helped me with and all five of them have been different in their structure. He does a great job of figuring out how to make the frame and then I make it come to live with different mediums.

These are some photos from backstage. Please keep in mind that in some form or fashion, these costumes are attached to a person. And yes, they're huge! Huge I tell ya! ...

Table decorations and gift bags with favors for my guests
They complemented my costume.

The War of 1812
Women's Rights
Zoology
Voodoo

Pavlov's Dog (Conditional Responses)

Sex Education

Cooking (with Paula Dean)

Van Gogh

The Devil Wears Prada

Returning Royalty backpieces and trains

New Royalty backpieces and trains

Outgoing queen & incoming queen

Queen Kaylynn Burns & Ball Captain Ty Burns

Me with the new queen and the ball captain

I didn't get to take any photos once the Ball started so like I said, imagine those costumes attached to people dressed in attire to go with the huge backpieces.

more details to follow

What would you do for a Klondike Bar?

Last week's episode of Make Me A Supermodel was all about chemistry. For the photo shoot, the models were paired up. A few were asked to stretch their boundaries. The gay guy had to play it straight and two straight guys had to play it gay. Here is the video.

Edit: Oh...forgot to tell you. So when the judges discussed who did the best job in the photo shoot and on the cat walk, the gay guy and the straight made it in the top 4 and the two straight guys who had to play it gay made it in the top 4. So I must ask again, "What would you do for Klondike Bar?"

The Weekend In Review (part 1)

A former fellow blogger once stated, "If someone is not blogging, there is usually a good reason." Just wanted to let you know that I haven't been ignoring you. I've just had a bunch of stuff going on in preparation for this past Saturday night's Krewe Ball. It was a ton of work getting ready for the ball but as always it was fun.

Friday
Things got rolling for me on Friday morning when Str8 Up With A Twist reader & fellow Krewe member Randy came by with Elias to pick up my costume. It wasn't here. It was in Daniel's garage. After driving the moving truck from downtown to Montrose to NoRO to Westchase and finally to Reliant Arena, I think Randy was probably ready for a Martini straight up with a twist.

The weather sucked. It was cold, cloudy and rainy.

Both costumes made the trip without being damaged. Once we got settled in our spots backstage it was time to return to NoRO, walk The Calvinator, load up The Cal Mobile and head back to Reliant Arena to fix up the costume.

I actually got it finished ahead of schedule (minus a few details that would have to be worked on). So I headed back to NoRO, worked on a few things, walked The Calvinator and headed back to Reliant Arena.

Do you see some repetitive behavior here?

We did our dress rehearsal and then waited around for our notes. As expected, I had a few more things that the Captain and his crew wanted me to do to my costume. It's always something. :-)

I got home a bit after 1100p and had more stuff to do. My sister and brother-in-law were coming into town on Saturday for the Ball and the house was a wreck. I was up until 300a and finally decided to take a nap.

more details to follow

Seasons of Love

I was reading Brechi Reborn and he provided a link to Ryanaceto who posted about RENT.

He brings up a good point. RENT was about a period in time. Even if you're not a fan of the musical, how can you not get moved by this song?

Project Runway alert

This Wednesday's episode is a repeat. Just wanted you to know.

Overheard

Person #1: Thank you for taking care of me last night.

Person #2: You were easy.

I'm Still Here (Jan. 26)

Things are really busy here in The Bayou City. The Krewe Ball is tonight. Parades and parties are happening on the island. It's that time of year.

Oh no not I. I will survive...

Nope. That song isn't about me.

I haven't had any recent comments about the Titanic. Don't worry...it's been on the radar screen; still floating along.

Received a Morse Code message today. People have been thrown overboard; a bunch of people. Did you know that Tonya Harding is a passenger? All of this has made me think of one of my favorite sayings. It has been said that in the event of a nuclear war, two things will survive: cockroaches and Cher. To that I will now add and Tonya Harding.

Sunday Night (Jan. 20, 2008) Recap

OK. So I thought I had taken more photos from Sunday night but...uh....guess I had one too many. I mean really. I didn't have to drive. All I had to do was walk next door. Actually, when I'm in charge of a party, I'm not very good about taking photos. My mind is usually going 100 m.p.h. and I'm constantly watching the bar, food, etc.


So here is the scoop.

The Krewe Ball is this Saturday. On Sunday night, Jim & Ben were hosts for the Captain's Party. This event is an appreciation for our underwriters.

Butter Catering did the catering. Elaine, John & Stephen worked the bar. The Ball Lieutenants worked the door and the floor. Annie helped me plan the event. Denise, Tony & John, along with the lieutenants either cleaned up or helped with set up. Captain Ty has put together a fun time for Saturday night when Olympus XXXVIII goes to the library. That's all I can tell you. Everything else is a secret. sssshhhh

Saturday Night (Jan. 19, 2008) Recap

Saturday night was Mystery & Fantasy Mardi Gras Party's A Pirate's Fantasy. A group of us rented Rich's to throw a party.

It is by invitation only. It is black tie with mask or theme costume. Last year we had about 1,100 people and judging by the crowd we probably had just as many. I'm not saying this because I belong to the group but it was by far the hottest ticket in town that night. Up until a few hours before the Mardi Gras party, people were still trying to score an invitation.
It's all about having fun. Complimentary well drinks & food. '70's & '80's dance music. And all the beads that you can catch.

To see more photos, click here and look for the album. Enjoy!



And by the way...the glitter beard peeled off like snake skin. I was VERY relieved.

This morning

2 consecutive nights of this:

makes for a bad one of these:

first thing this morning with runnerOne.

While I was indulging on vodka + cranberry drinks last night, I wasn't thinking about running this morning. I manned up and met him. Suprisingly, I didn't barf and my speed increased as we went along.

BTW...I am Customer Of The Week at my local office.

Received a box of goodies from LÄRABAR. They arrived on Friday.

Have quite a bit going on this week in preparation for Saturday's Krewe Ball. And yes, I know I owe an explanation and photos from Saturday and Sunday nights.

Need to get ready for a meeting!