Louisiana.... Food Network Style

I've been in Louisiana for work recently. With travel to the Pelican State, comes the great tastes of the state. Here are some I have greatly enjoyed in my time here.

Crawfish

The best crawfish I have found come from a roadside stand. I personally go to "Crawfish to Go" on Hwy 171 in Leesville. The two ladies working in there are true Cajuns, and sometimes I feel as if I need a translator to communicate with them. They take credit cards, with work travel, is always a plus. They also make this great dip, which is a mayonnaise based sauce that you get with your mud bugs. The farther into the season it is, the cheaper they get per pound. We are down to 2.49/ lb now, from 3.99 when I was here in February.

Prejeans, Lafayette. I stopped here on my way back from Baton Rouge. I ordered some gumbo. It was fabulous! Spicy, full of seafood. I also got a fried roll with this order. There is nothing quite like fried bread. Imagine a warm, doughnut with no sugar. Sooooooo delicious. They have a live webcam in the restaurant which would have been fun to wave to people at home, had I been prepared. They also have live music in the evenings, but I was there too early.

Parrain's, Baton Rouge.
As mentioned before, I need a translator to speak Cajun. When the front desk worker at the hotel suggested I try "Pie-rans," I was surprised to see the spelling of the restaurant. I had crawfish etoufee here, a salad, and another fabulous fried roll. I was adventurous and ordered the Tabasco Green Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette. WOW. It was one of the best salad dressings I've ever eaten, spicy, sweet, sour...all in one bite. The etoufee had a creamy texture to it, that I absolutely loved.

Prayer Requests

Ok, I have a few prayer requests, please.



First, Casey Godfrey. Many of you may have heard this already because there something on Myspace. (I have copied and pasted this from a website updated by his sister-in-law). http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/viewHome.do


Casey went into the hospital on Wednesday December 26th because he had a bad headache and he said he felt like his arms and legs were "falling asleep." After several tests were run, the doctors believe that Casey has what is called Guillain-Barre (ge-YAN ba-RAY) Syndrome. The cause of the syndrome is not known. It comes on after having a cold or the flu (some type of infection) or after having surgery. GBS is a rare nervous system disorder in which the body's immune system attacks attacks it's own tissues as if they were foreign substances. (The immune system is designed to attack things in your body that aren't supposed to be there). It causes muscle weakness, loss of reflexes, and numbness or tingling of arms, legs, face or any other part of the body. This is what Casey was experiencing when he said he felt like his body was "falling asleep." Basically, the numbness moved up his body. As it did, it caused his breathing to become short and very difficult. He was put on a respirator and a feeding tube as a result.
There is no cure for GBS. However, it can be treated, and most patients have a full recovery. Because Casey came to the hospital when he did and began treatments right away, doctors are expecting him to recover almost completely. They said he may have some residual muscle weakness, even after he is well. Once he leaves the hospital, he will have to stay in a rehab facility. He will have to learn how to walk and use his muscles again. The recovery process can take anywhere from several weeks to several months. The doctors say Casey needs to stay positive and not lose hope. His positive mentality can speed up the recovery process. I know it is difficult for him to stay positive, especially right now, but we keep trying to encourage him.
Casey is going to get better, it will just take awhile. We are asking that you please keep Casey and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Pray for them to have the strength to stay positive and for a speedy recovery. Thank you so much.

Now, on a more selfish note. Our company is a vendor in hospitals. So, we work under a contract. We are also paid on a commission basis. Many times things are our of our control because of this situation. We found out as a company yesterday, that the hospitals are limiting the accounts we can work. This will probably impact our income as a company by at least 50%. Of course, an impact like this will impact many people's employment as well. Our owner and president have a meeting with the head of the hospital corporation next week, so any prayers are helpful regarding this manner.

No, I'm not dead!

Wow. I haven't blogged in over 2 months.

Work has been crazy. I got a new hospital in Illinois, and I was out of town, all of December until the 22nd. Putting up a Christmas tree was a complete waste of time..haha.

But, now I'm back, and hope to rejoin the blogging world.

Finally Friday

Yahoo.... it's Friday. And, let me tell you I'm ready. Nothing terrible happened this week, but it was just tiring.

First, I became a manager. On day 3 of being a manager, I had an employee fall and break her ankle. How in the heck do I manage YMCA staff for 5 years, and never have a workman's comp claim...yet in 3 days,have one for a part time person who primarily sits at a desk. The workman's comp doctor for that hospital wouldn't release her to work. I never could get a clear answer from anyone in our company why the hospital was in charge, since we are contracted through the hospital. But, I finally just decided it would be best to be safe rather than sorry. The girl is part time, and she is terribly upset she is missing hours.

Ryan had some sort of bug/food poisoning on Tuesday night and that cancelled our celebration plans.

I was supposed to have a dentist's appointment today, but I waited for about 20 minutes. Then, they let me know it would be best to reschedule. I guess that is the beauty of going to a friend for your dental work. Of course this is secondary to the benefit of him not making you pay your insurance copays. That is the marvelous part!

My beautiful yarn came. It is as pretty as I thought it would be. However, I've never used yarn in a hank before. I have one of them tangled beyond belief.

I'm working on a new scarf. I might actually keep this one-- it's pink and brown. Matches my new brown coat. It's a new pattern, and for me and my ADD, its time consuming.

Ryan has hunters in again this weekend in pursuit of the great deer. Ugh.

Promoted!

I'm so excited. I got a text message (we use an instant messaging program at work) today from Josie, the president of our company. A little background information here, I never talked to Josie until about a month ago. I worked for the company for 11 months before she ever said a word to me, and I to her. So, I'm still a little anxious when I have to talk to her.

Here's a copy of our conversation:

9:50 AM] hi there
[9:50 AM] hi there
[9:50 AM] i need hel
[9:51 AM] help
[9:51 AM] ok
[9:51 AM] whats up
[9:51 AM] MO hospitals
[9:51 AM] gina was over them
[9:51 AM] she is needed else where
[9:51 AM] can u please to go Gina
[9:51 AM] she just came to me
[9:51 AM] right as you texted me
[9:51 AM] and get the scoop
[9:51 AM] ok
[9:51 AM] np
[9:51 AM] and watch over them and report to sara
[9:51 AM] thank u
[9:51 AM] sure no problem
[9:52 AM] thank u

So, at this point, I'm very confused. I am not sure if I'm a manager, or what. I text Gina and I get this msg.
[9:51 AM] Hi there
[9:51 AM] hi gina
[9:51 AM] how are you?
[9:52 AM] im fine and you?
[9:52 AM] josie said you're going to give me some scoop
[9:52 AM] yeah, first of all CONGRATS!!!!


So, I'm a manager now. Over 3 hospitals in Missouri. Wow.. I've been waiting patiently to be a manager for what seems like a long time now. I'm very excited. I've already called all 3 of my hospitals and introduced myself to the girls there.

I talked to Sam (my former manager) and he said he had known for over a month now they were making me a manager, but he wasn't sure what areas. And, then nothing had happened so he was scared they had changed their minds. But they didn't. Yay!!!!