Cpl. Charles Aldieri(Ret.) & 1st Lt. Jack Jewell(Ret.)

Lt. Col. David Hurley, commander of Schweinfurt, Germany’s 15th Engineer Battalion, presents unit coins to two 9th Infantry Division World War II veterans — Charles Aldieri, a former corporal with the 746th Tank Battalion (shaking hands) and Jack Jewell, a former first lieutenant with Company B, 39th Infantry — during a March 8 ceremony honoring the division’s efforts in capturing the famed Remagen Bridge in the closing days of World War II. The commemoration took place in the Remagen Bridge and Peace Museum now housed in the remains of the span, which collapsed 10 days after its capture on March 7, 1945.

Photo Courtesy United States Army

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

As of right now, Casa de Perry is paying pretty high taxes because our home was assessed in 2007 when home prices were at an all time high. Grrrrrrrr

I report…you decide…talk amongst yourselves and don’t miss everything below this!

This selection is from the website Mandeville Mayor’s Race

Thought this blast from the past Legend of Billie Jean clip worked nicely here.

A lot of people, including my husband, have asked who they should be voting for as the next Mayor of Mandeviile. If you dig back in my archives, you will see that I was one of the people fueling the recall for our former criminal Mayor, Eddie Price. When I play politics, it is not a personal attack on an individual, but a matter of better government. I hate dirty politics, but appreciate fair discussion. Now trust me, I saw a lot of dirtiness during the recall.

During the recall, I watched Trilby Lenfant sit on the council and never “stoop” to make a statement regarding our efforts or to sign it. Hey Carla, I’m still waiting for you to return that phone call too. That speaks volumes right there! She then proceeded to do some BS grandstanding that I witnessed in person and wished I had my boots on for. Yet she is for government reform? Puhleeze! She is forever muddied by the dirty waters of Eddie Price and for that, she will never get a vote or endorsement from me. She has all the big money behind her campaign (that should be a red flag to voters) and has run a great campaign. Her mailed out “scrapbook” certainly cost a pretty penny as has the mass amount of repetitive mailings and the abundance of large signs. She will most likely win because of her campaign and the inability of many people to connect the dots that she is as much as part of the problem of the City of Mandeville’s government as every member who currently sits on the city council.

If you are undecided or thinking of sitting home, I ask for a vote for at least a fresh slate.

Update: here is the link to the Mandeville Audit PDF

Donald Villere will be getting my vote. I have not participated in his campaign nor do I know much about him. The fact that he has not sat on the City Council makes him the most desirable of the two candidates!

Early voting has begun and ends the 20th. Click here for all the voter information. Voter’s registration information is here.

A website against Trilby but without an author’s name attached is here. As a blogger who has never hidden her identity, you know that bugs the tar out of me!

Hotel Monteleone: @hotelmonteleone Here is my review of the hotel stay. It was amazing!

Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone: @carouselbar Marv, the day bartender for the Carousel Bar is one of my favorite New Orleans personalities. He was not there when we arrived, but Mike took very good care of us. I had a Sidecar and hubby had a dirty martini while our friends enjoyed Sazeracs and a variety of other drinks.

Antoine’s Restaurant: See review here.

Hermes Bar at Antoine’s Restaurant: I love this bar. It was my second time there and my first time with live entertainment. We really enjoyed ourselves, but the temperature dropped a bit and the doors were all open, so we headed out earlier than we normally would have for our next destination.

Old Absinthe House: This place is always great! We got a seat next to the fireplace and we all really enjoyed the background music there. I was pacing myself, otherwise wouldl have ordered the Irish Coffee. Our friends loves their Frappes and everyone else went for beer.

Davenport Lounge at the Ritz-Carlton : Our friends love ending their evenings in the French Quarter listening to Jeremy Davenport and having a bottle of champagne. WOW, this was our first time doing that and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Jeremy and his bad are fantastic and very entertaining. I hit the dance floor once and would have more if asked. Our group ordered champagne, but I was on the only water diet by then. Daniel Victory, a wonderful guy and famous bartender at the Ritz was there of course. Good to see him and I give him a smooch. Lights were out there about 1:30 and it was daylight savings, so time to head back to the hotel.

Lucky Dogs: Hubby’s French Quarter tradition is to get a chili dog with onions on the way home. I’m grossed out by the whole thing, but he loves it!

Cafe’ Fleur De Lis: Marv (the bartender) gave us a couple of suggestions for a non-brunch breakfast. This is now my new favorite diner in the Quarter. It is a little crazy there. You wait in line and do not get a table until you order. Everything is pretty well times down to a science and after you order, there is a table available. We laughed when we saw people getting scolded for breaking protocol. We almost did, but realized when a table came available that everyone in line just stood there. The spinach and feta cheese omelet was to die for and hubby got a traditional breakfast.

The French Quarter: Since it was about 70 degrees out, hubby and I were anxious to stroll through the Quarter before our return home. I really had the itch to clothes and shoe shop, but he was not going to have it. So we settled for walking hand in hand down Chartres to Jackson Square, seeing all the artwork and interesting people and walking back on Royal to check out.

Overall, the perfect getaway. Wouldn’t have changed a thing!

Our head waiter was Eddie Tassin and Stephen was his trusty sidekick. He provided entertainment for the evening and educated us on his history with Antoine’s (been with them for over 20 years), the above ground wine cellar history, Katrina stories regarding the restaurant, and made food and drink recommendations that were right on target. Eddie even gave us all his card for future bookings. After dinner, Stephen gave us a tour through the restaurant and lost the ladies as we got sucked into the gorgeous Rex room with all the fine displays of gowns, crowns, photos and scepters. Next time we are choosing that room as there is no additional charge to dine there.

As for the food, I had the pompano with crab meat while hubby feasted on the NY strip. There was lots of fish and steak at the table and plenty of appetizers and vegetables to share. We were originally supposed to have one more dine with us, and it seemed an extra of everything landed on the table for all of us to pick at. Eddie suggested we order the baked Alaska for 5 (but easily fed 10), ahead of time, as it would take 90 minutes to prepare. We decided that would be a winner to end our dining experience. We all very much enjoyed our food and those who ordered steak were amazed that no steak knives were available nor needed.

The service was a little slow and certainly not white glove as compared to many other restaurants in town. We had dessert served to us when there was still some food on the table, oops. My husband said dining at Antoine’s was a little more like family dining without the family prices. The baked Alaska was fabulous and there was extra chocolate sauce to drizzle over it. We dined about 2 and a half hours and had a wonderful time; good food and friends are always a winning combination. However, I am not sure I feel the need to rush back to Antoine’s any time soon as there are many other restaurants on my bucket list. I guess I’m getting a little spoiled dining in New Orleans as I really expect a lot nowadays when dining and probably set my expectations a little to high for Antoine’s.

But, please don’t think I did not have a fabulous time – I DID!!!

I’ve spent hours riding the Carousel Bar @carouselbar in the Hotel Monteleone @hotelmonteleone and even produced my radio show from there, but had not stayed there for the 3 years we’ve lived here. Andrea Thornton, the Director of Sales and Marketing, told me years ago to let her know when I was ready to book a room. When I found out that was the booked destination, I sent her an email and she immediately upgraded us for our stay.

We started our overnight excursion by driving directly to the parking garage, which is conveniently located on the side street of the hotel and costs just $30 a day. The garage connects to the elegant lobby where we walked in to see a bride and her bridesmaids getting photographed with beige gowns in the beautiful backdrop of marbles and chandeliers. It was breathtaking. The lobby is always filled with such excitement and energy with a plethora of seating to just get off your feet or wait for someone. I love the location of the Monteleone and since we were eating at Antoine’s that night, we had a very short walk. After a quick check-in, we headed to the elevators with lots of staff greetings along the way.

Walking into a hotel room and falling in love with it, is not something my husband and I ever do. However, Hotel Monteleone was to prove to be an exception! The set-up of the room is perfect, a den with a half bathroom and then the bedroom with the major bathroom off of it (2 TVs too). The decor was charming and every detail was meticulously thought out to capture the essence of the charm and history of old New Orleans. I’m a modern kind of gal, but was immediately in love with the drapes, the yellow and white wallpaper, the crown molding, the light fixtures and the furniture. If we had more time, the writing inspiration would have kicked as has happened with many writers in history.

While I was getting ready for our night out, the gorgeous and spacious bathroom filled with mirrors and even a light up cosmetic mirror, (should come with a warning for those of us who prefer not to see everything in a mirror) was a delight. When I stepped out, Andrea had sent us a bottle of chardonnay, chocolate covered strawberries and a handwritten note on fleur de lis notepaper. I quickly forgot about my view in the bathroom, because we had our 15th floor view of the Mississippi River and the French Quarter without the noise. We felt comfortable and at home in the room and enjoyed kicking up our feet while we drank our wine and devoured the delicious strawberries.

We headed down to the Carousel Bar in the hotel, which is usually our meeting spot for friends anyways. My favorite bartender Marv was off for the night, but Mike took great care of us. After a long night on the town, we stumbled home from the Ritz-Carlton, hubby carrying a Lucky Dog, and fell into the most comfortable bed and linens I can remember sleeping in. You know it is a good bed, when you have no desire to get out of it and get to a Sunday brunch in New Orleans and opt for a later meal. We both agreed that we can’t wait to stay at the Hotel Monteleone again during Tales of the Cocktail this summer.

*They do offer a military discount.
* You can see pictures of their rooms here.

Yatmedia (was founded in January) is moving faster and better than ever could be imagined! My business partner Ed is “teh awesome.” Who would have ever thought my political polar opposite who I got off to a rocky start with, would be my partner in crime? But it works! We are having so much fun and best of all…I get to work from home and still be Mommy when I need to! Working crazy hours does not bother me!

So begins my 42nd birthday weekend celebration. The 16th is the actual day, but hubby has Saturday afternoon through Sunday planned out in the French Quarter. Took him 17 years together to start planning dates and he is getting the hang of it nicely!

I once knew a doctor who whenever you asked him how he was, replied, “Today is the best day of my life.” Though we all have rocky days…his true meaning behind his reply has stuck with me.

The only question remains…will I actually achieve world domination before I turn 43? Stay tuned!

And of course, no matter what I do…I will ALWAYS bleed red white and blue and support those who serve and served!

Cpl. Jason L. Dunham
22 years old from Scio, New York
Rifle Squad Leader, 4th Platoon, Company K, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines (Reinforced), Regimental Combat Team 7, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced)
April 22, 2004

All Information Was Found On And Copied From MilitaryCity.com

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.