Time to Get A Little Serious....

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It has been no secret to anyone that I want change in my life.  I want a new career, and I want to move out of Birmingham.  Our dreams were slashed to pieces when we found out that B's employer wasn't going to go through with the promotion.  It felt like our entire world shifted when we found out.  We begrudgingly took our house off the market, knowing that there was no possible move in sight.  We wanted nothing but to move to Austin, and now it seems that dream is even blurrier than before.

 

And again, my ambitions were put on hold.  I have forever wanted to be hair stylist.  It's just what I've wanted to do.  If I couldn't be a famous author or be a sports commentator, then I wanted to make people pretty.  And obviously the famous author part is not happening.  I can barely write a blog that people want to visit, and the sports commentator thing?  My anxiety with work just escalates every day.  The expectations and pressure make it even harder to enjoy my job.  And if you've ever dealt with any sort of truck driver, you know that it is no picnic.  It's difficult and discouraging most of the time.  

 

His promotion was going to allow for me to start to follow my dream.  Yes, I know that I went to a four-year college.  I get that it may have been an entire waste of time.  I graduated.  With honors.  But seven years later (holy crap), I am still not doing anything with the degree I earned.  And I'm still not happy with where I am in my career.  And it's nothing but heart break and frustration.   I get that it's a job, and it's not supposed to be fun, but when does the absolute dreading of every day end?  

That black board with all the restaurants that we wanted to try in Birmingham before moving to Austin?  It's still not erased.  I can't bring myself to do it.  I don't want to think that Austin is just a fantasy.  This is the first time I've allowed myself to be openly sad about it.  I love my little family here I've made; I love my husband and I love spending time with him, and of course I love my mess of a dog.  I feel selfish most of the time for being so unhappy, but it's not something that you can just push away.  

Sorry I had to get so real for a minute.  That's a whole bunch of stuff that just needed to come out. 

Another Visit to Butcher

B and I are completely obsessed with Cochon Butcher in New Orleans.  Ever since our first taste of that duck pastrami and pork belly sandwich, we have made it a must go to spot when we hit New Orleans.  Not to mention, just a few short blocks away is the home to the strongest daiquiris in the world.  Add those together, and a stroll around St. Charles Avenue, and you have the most perfect afternoon.  

Granted this is only when the weather is perfect.  I do not recommend when it was freezing (like it was for this trip, but we did it anyway) or when it's August.  Ever.  

Anyway, we decided to eat at our favorite place for New Year's Dinner.  Nothing fancy.  We just aren't fancy people.  And trust me you guys, it was a great decision.  We even got a sweet compliment from a stranger on our way there.  Something about us being a good-looking couple?  Shuxies.  We were pretty flattered.  

The table next to us had a Saved by the Bell table identifier...so jealous!!  I ordered probably the best BLT I've ever had in my entire life.  I can't remember what  B ordered, but I definitely won for better dinner.  And then of course, they have their home made chips, which can only make things better.

This is place is seriously the greatest.  We will definitely be hitting it up every time we go from now on!

New Nola Bars

I mentioned before that we had a car rented for the first day of our trip.  So we decided that we just had to go to some bars that we hadn't been to before.  We hit up Mid City Yacht Club and Fin McCool's on the recommendations of Yelp!

Mid City is definitely a neighborhood bar.  Like people looking at you weird when you walked into the place.  I'm guessing their gimmick was their million different flavor-infused vodkas.  I mean, they had a Skittles infused, cucumber to go healthy, and all sorts of different kinds.  

B's first drink was a Hotty Toddy, and mine was some hot chocolate with rum in it.  That was not a good idea.  It was definitely not the best drink in the world.  However, the white Russian she made with the butterscotch infused vodka was pretty much the best thing on earth.

Next we ventured onto Finn Mccool's.. ..a neat little Irish (duh) inspired bar, with a ton of beer on draught.

We also tried out the Ave Pub on St. Charles.  Still reeling from a bit of a hangover from the day before, I didn't feel the need to pull out my camera.  And, I was too nervous about the Packers game that day.  Turns out I should have been, because they lost.  

They were also definitely a local bar, full of characters.  We met another Pack fan there, which was kind of neat, but there were definitely some crazies sitting at the bar.  Which I guess is what makes a New Orleans bar..