I was in the back eating cake

My friend Anne is a photographer who, at times, asks me to be her assistant at weddings. It's always interesting going to a stranger's wedding, meeting the bridal party and connecting with other vendors while the festivities carry on. Sometimes, though, at stranger's weddings you see someone you know (Grant Terry on this particular night) and there's always free food. Tonight was such a night. Other than holding video lights and grabbing lenses for Anne to quickly change I stayed in the background. Don't tell anyone but I totally snagged a piece of the groom's cake while everyone was dancing. And as I ate my cake filled of chocolate goodness I did a little analyzing.

This is what I would like to call my "I want to put on my my my my boogie shoes and boogie with you" section. Everyone loves to dance at weddings, especially if an open bar is involved. The Cupid Shuffle and Cha Cha slide are every photographers aggravation and every white person's favorite songs. Let's just face it white people can't dance, so put some directed step and a little ghetto beat and everyone on the dance floor feels like they can dance. And not everyone can dance. You got the guys who are all into the dance, arms wailing, feet flying and then you have the bouncers. They just stand there and bounce to the beat. Then there are the ones who don't want to put the drink down so they dance as carefully as they can with a cup still in there hand. And there are those who surprise you, they actually have some smooth moves.



This is what I would like to call my "I will suffer for beauty" section. Girls love their shoes and boy do the crazy ones come out at weddings. Even if a girl has band aids all around her heel she will still wear those 5 inch stilettos because they look good. A sister to the stiletto is the wedge. A slightly more comfortable option but still can be a little crazy. The higher the shoe, the crazier it seemed to be. Some will stick out the pain for the price of beauty, others don't care and kick them under the table.

So here's what I learned at the wedding :
Free Food = awesome
Free Cake = even better than awesome
Cupid Shuffle = white people can't dance
5 inch heels = aren't worth the band aids

The Beauty of God's Silent

For years I had been tormented with the idea that God was silent in my life. As if the very nature of those words meant something bad, or even worse that God was distant. If He didn't answer me then surely He wasn't there. Shouts of "Why?" or "Can't you hear me, Lord?" were exclamations that occupied my mind and my heart. Sadly, because of that mentality I fear that at times I had failed to recognize the divine presence in my life. Why is it that when God is silent we automatically think He isn't there? What is it about His silence do we actually fear? The Lord tells us He will never leave us so why fret? Franis Chan states in his book Forgotten God, that "it is safer for us to avoid situations where we need God then to stake it all on Him and risk God's silence. " This is where our thoughts live. We don't go to God because we are afraid that God will be silent. But here's the deal, God's silence is not a bad thing.
Have you ever been in a room with someone you love very dearly and yet neither of you speak to one another? You don't feel forgotten by this person you feel so comfortable and intimate with them that there are no words needed to validate your relationship. Even if you are burdened with something and you tell them; yet they have no words there is love shown by the fact that they are there for you. The Spirit has awaken me to the idea that God's silence is one of intimacy. His answer of silence means He wants you to delight in Him and know Him more. His silence means He has it all under control and all we need to do is trust. I think so often I look for the earthquake and fire when I need to be listening for the small voice(1 Kings 19). It is in this silence that comes a process of stillness in which we can grow in our identity as the beloved. So maybe instead of being fearful of God's silence we can look forward to it.

The ticking noise

Sometimes I wonder how such a small creature can make a grown woman stand on her bed as if it were a raft drifting in the middle of the sea. I sat there stranded on my mattress looking at the bedroom floor in search for that little ticking noise that was driving me nuts. I just knew it was a bug. Even worse I figured it was a roach. Just two days ago I saw one creep from under my desk, wiggle his little antenna, and then scurry back under the desk before I could squish it. He had some nerve showing his face, taunting me, with an attitude that he was somehow quicker and smarter than I. Oh, he held the power to keep me on my toes all right. It was like walking on eggshells every time I came into the room. I was so nervous he would show up again while I was sitting at my desk doing homework. Just this time I was afraid he would land on me. After a couple of days of no show I put that pesky roach out of my mind. Until tonight. I came in to my room and immediately heard a strange ticking noise. I had my sister come check it out, but of course, when she came in the ticking stopped. I knew I wasn't going crazy but maybe it was just the plastic walmart bag crinkling in the corner. But it wouldn't stop. My bed became my only safety as I searched over the endless sea of hardwood to find the source of the noise. I finally found it. It was a bug, I was right, only smaller than a roach and mostly dead. It's ticking made it jump and I threw a flip flop over it. The ticking stopped. It's still there, dead under the flip flop. I just hope the "you know what" under my desk is gone too.

Laughable

Today was what one might call a laughable day. I do not mean the kind of laugh that you get when you watch the Three Amigos sing "My little buttercup," in a saloon full of Mexicans. Though that is quite enjoyable. I do not mean the kind of laugh when Matt Stone makes some sort of inappropriate joke, nor do I mean the good-hearted chuckle of friends having a good time. When I say laughable I mean the kind of laugh that makes you slump in a chair, lean your head back, laugh to yourself and say "are you serious? That would be something that would happen to me today."
Waking up before the sun rises is never fun but though my day started at 5am I had no worries. It took about 30 minutes for my eyes to get adjusted to being awake but somehow I had managed to get dressed and get to work without a hitch, even though I couldn't see. By the time I had arrived at work my eyes were alert and properly functioning but the rest of my body did not respond in the same fashion. Some people would say I was a bit clumsy at work. I had made an excellent sampling of our new latte and then in the same manner gracefully spilled it on the counter. I made whip creams that seemed to explode from the top and drip down the sides and I spilled a bunch of stir sticks on the condiment bar. Not a big deal, messes happen daily at the bucks ..... then I dropped an entire drawer of money on the floor in the back. " Seriously," was the only thing I could muster up as I picked up pennies that had flown all the way under the supply shelves. No matter, it was 11:30 and time for me to go home. On my way home I stopped by the bank to drop off the daily deposit. So, in the drive thru lane at Chase I preceded to drop my bag into the sliding box but had not realized in my hurried state to get out the door I did not tape the bag shut. Money flew out of the bag, onto the ground and under my car. I hurriedly picked up the money I saw next to me and placed it in the box and began to read as I waited for the teller to count my drop. " Um, mam"..... I heard the teller say to me. " Did you drop some more money because I'm short sixty dollars." Imagine the look of a deer in headlights. That's about how I felt. In full Starbucks attire, hat, apron and all I get down on my knees and pray the money is on the ground. Here's the scene : 20 bucks under my car, 3o dollars behind my car and two gentlemen in a tan truck across from me yelling " Girl, if you're letting money blow away send some our way." I waved, chuckled and said " oh if only I could." The gentlemen were nice enough to point out the last 20 dollar bill behind me and so I gave it to the teller, got in my car, sighed a little and continued to read. "Um, mam...." he said a couple of minutes later. "We can't deposit a 50 cent euro." Where did that come from? I knew the coin looked strange when I had put it in the bag but I didn't think much of it. I found 50 American cents in my wallet and gave it to the poor teller, who by this point has a good story to tell his workmates. After the 50 cent switch I received my receipt and headed home.
Oh, but the fun doesn't stop there. The school quarter is ending and with the mess of scattered papers on my floor and misplaced bills I decided it was time to organize my life. I would go to walmart get some file folders and binders then head to campus and print things out for class. I never made it to campus. I grabbed my school bag and found myself sitting in walmart's parking lot looking for my purse in my car. I had left it at home. At this point I just leaned my head back and laughed. I mean what else could I do - of all the days. I just knew something like this would happen. I drove back home, found my purse on the chair where I had left it. "Walmart run try #2," I said to myself as I backed out of my carport. From there my day went better and I was able to buy my file folders and binders and begin the organization process. But I had to just laugh, sigh, and maybe groan a little at the events of the day. What else could I do? At least I got a euro from all this mess.

The Arctic Winter

My house is well, let's just say cold. When I say cold I do not mean a light breeze, or circulating coolness from a ceiling fan. Oh no. When I say cold I mean ARCTIC WINTER. Some of you may think that's a bit of an exaggeration but when you sit on that cold porcelain toilet seat and it makes you want to jump right back off as if you stepped on a caterpillar then you know what I mean. Even as I type this I shiver ever so slightly waiting for the space heater to fill the room with warmth. But warmth can't come soon enough. Sometimes sitting in this Frigidaire of a house makes me think of people who try to climb Mount Everest and sleep in snow covered caves and like it. I mean I love camping and hiking and all but that puts it on a whole new level. At least I can't get frostbite in here. I wonder if those adventurous hikers ever hear wolves howling at night and owls hooting in the distant trees. I think I have my version of the howling wolves right next door. The lady who lives next door, I've never met, but I've heard tales of her calling her cats into her house at night with a singsong nature and undistinguishable words. It happens late at night and my roommates find it quite funny. Well tonight I heard it - wow. I don't think I've ever heard anything like it before. It was as if in a high pitched voice she was singing some kind of cat opera in a language I couldn't understand. Maybe it was a cat language. Funny thing is it kind of put me at ease. I guess when you sit alone in your cold living room it kind of feels nice that there is a crazy cat lady living next door. I think she successfully called in her cats because I can't hear her anymore. The neighborhood is going to bed and though my fingers and toes are still cold I still wonder about the hikers on Mount Everest. I wonder if in that cave they just wished they would have brought a snuggie along with them.

The merriment of Christmas continues

By the end of the night of the party I was pooped and watching the saints lose didn't help. With too many crab pies in my stomach I just went to bed, happy to have had such a fun time with my family but tired nonetheless. Sunday proved to be just as exciting as Saturday and I never knew you could have so much Christmas fun in one weekend. Going to my parents church in Covington is always a little weird for me just because we had always gone to a church in New Orleans and coming home from college would always prove to be reunion time with it's members. Now I walk into church with them and don't know anyone. Regardless the pastor reminded us of the importance of the Genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1 and how scandalous that night in Bethlahem really was. The birth of the Messiah - such a scandalous, mysterious, beautiful night. But sometimes it's not the service that impacts me the most and in particular it was what happened afterwards that spoke to my heart. A missionary family - The Landers - was introduced as visiting and mom informed me that he was part of my spiritual geneaology. This man standing in front of the stage at an unfamiliar church to me was part of the reason I am the woman I am today and he probably doesn't even know it. This man had led my dad's best friend to Christ who in turn brought my parents to the church in which they began to follow Christ and later me. This one man has no idea the impact he made just by being obedient to Christ over 25 years ago. It made me wonder who was in line under me and how many of us could say that we have influenced someone's life and don't even know it. I felt like I owed this man so much but gratitude was all I could offer.
After church the boys and girls split up. Dad took Dillon and Connor to see Avatar and Mom took Laura and I to Miss Audrey's house. Miss Audrey was like family. I don't remember ever not knowing her. She was friends with my grandparents on my mom's side and always around. I remember in fourth grade she came to class to talk about Mardi Gras with Zulu coconuts, masks and all. She was a hoot. Nanny and Uncle Henry and Kristen met us there and with a belly full of chips and dip and hearts full of stories that had more rabbit trails than rabbits actually make we headed to the Ferry. Oh the Ferry. Crystal, my cousin, met us there in the best car ever - the Versa. I'm just saying. And we made our way to Jackson Square. OH LAWD - don't even get me started on the traffic and merging from one parking lot to the other. People can be so rude. With three cars in three different parking lots we met under the Brewery walked over to Jackson Square for the 62nd caroling event. It's amazing what goes on in your own city and you never know about it. This was the first time we had done this. I was glad for the millions (i'm not exaggerating) of layers I had on cause boy was it cold outside. We kept time by watching the clock on the Cathedral and once 7 hit we lit the candles in our hands and began caroling. I stood on my tiptoes to see how many people were actually in the square and I could not tell you the happiness I had when I saw the glow of faces reaching as far as the eye could see on all sides singing Christmas carols. It was like a small town event in a big city and it was awesome. Eighteen songs later we zigzagged our way through the crowds of children dressed like santa, old women in fur hats and families sitting on benches. Cafe du Monde didn't need bright flashing neon lights to attract customers. After our caroling event and plans of next year being prepared with decorated candle holders and hot chocolate we somehow managed to find a small round table with just enough green chairs around it to accomodate our powdered sugar craving selves. Our poor waiter had had a rough night and I don't think the teenagers two tables over having a powdered sugar fight helped. Too many beignets later we found ourselves fighting the traffic once again to walk through the Fairmont hotel (now called the Roosevelt) and run across the street to the Ritz Carlton's life size gingerbread house. We didn't see Mr. Bingle though because he quit at the Carlton Ritz cause he can't reach the buffet.
I had so much fun with my family and I left that night feeling like 1. I've never had so much sugar in one weekend and 2. I think I've found my old new best friend. My cousin Crystal and I have always been close and we always understand each other's quirks and spending the weekend with her made me realize how much I miss her. It was like reuniting with my best friend.
Oh I love my family and I love New Oreleans
Thanks for a great weekend ya'll !

How many people can we fit in the photo booth?

Christmas always comes with lots of Trauths in one small space and lots of good food. This school of fish somehow finds time to come together every year for one special event - The Annual Trauth Christmas Party. It's been happening since my dad was kid and I couldn't imagine spending a year without attending it. Even if your last name isn't Trauth you are welcome to come - to all the spouses, Les, Brandon and others - we are glad you can come. Since Katrina messed up our Christmas meeting place, our school of fish travels from one relative's home to another and sometimes families are left out. Teri, David and Tabitha with all our heart we wish you could have been here. This year this famous party was held at my parent's house. And for anyone who didn't think I had a New Orleans accent before, just wait to watch videos of this event and be amazed. The "r's" drop and second syllables are exaggerated. No joke and I'm not the only one who sounds like that. Where ya at dawlin? Accents and laughter go hand in hand as Uncle Tim hopes to find a snuggie in the gift pile. But the gift pile is not the only attraction. The question on everyone's mind is who brought what to eat. And if you're a Trauth you know the rule is "first come first serve." Let me just list out the fabulous menu and let you drool a little
Menu:
Crab dip
Crab Pies
Dennis' mini burgers
PawPaw's stuffed peppers
MawMaw's macaroni
Nan's bacon dip
Meatballs in wine sauce
Roast beef sandwhiches (hot and messy)
Amarretto punch
Yule Log
Bourbon cake
oatmeal m&m cookies
fudge
stuffed mushrooms
cookies
candy wreath
mini donuts
pralines
Shrimp mold
Duck
I'm sure there was more and every year the menu changes a bit but it's all delicious. Go ahead be jealous.
This year though, a new tradition was made with my homemade photobooth. Mom and Dad have this perfect little square hallway that allowed for a backdrop and camera with a remote to provide pure entertainment. All you need is a basket of props and a goofy spirit. And as everyone knows we have the goofiness down packed. I think this photobooth might have to appear every year. I've created a monster. At one point in the afternoon my cousin Crystal and I decided to see how many people we could fit in the photobooth. Let's just say we had a lot of people in there and it wasn't even half of the people at the party. From games of boudreaux throw in the backyard to chasing new little great grandchildren there is never a dull moment in our family and I like it that way.