There's a song...

...by The Wild Magnolias that says
                                            Every year for Carnival time we make a new suit.
                                            Red, yellow green...purple or blue
                                            We make a new suit.
Each year different Mardi Gras Indian tribes spend lots of time and money sewing elaborate suits with matching headdresses.  It is TRULY a sight to behold the beauty which they have meticulously created over the year.  For artists like us, the dedication is completely understandable.   In my almost 40 years, I've only missed Mardi Gras during our time away due to Katrina or when I've had a young baby...and I have the gazillion pictures to prove it!  It really becomes redundant to create SEVENTY FIVE pages each Fat Tuesday so I've decided to make a mini album each year instead.  I haven't scrapped last Mardi Gras' pictures yet but I HAVE made the 2011 book...BEHOLD!!!!

I formed and sewed the cover first and then covered each page with scraps of patterned paper.   I added my pictures and embellishments to the pages while I waited for the gloss on the cover to dry.  I try to always gloss or laminate my minis since (HOPEFULLY!) they'll be handled a lot!  The "08" was stuck on the cover because I realize the scrap of patterned paper I used had a "3" which happened to be the month...this year Mardi Gras was on March 8th.  I decided to use a theme throughout my book and used the song I mentioned  earlier as the inspiration:

The journaling says, "For us, every year at carnival time...we awaken our sleepy heads".  This was about 5:45 and the "NO" is to convey just how displeased my little was at having his dreams interrupted!!! (My 3 year old is standing next to me while I'm typing this and he just said, "Look at Noonie...he's DIRTY!!!"  He just doesn't know good PHOTO EDITING when he sees it!!!)

Buying food at a parade is like going to a 5 star restaurant on Mother's Day...everybody's prices are jacked up.  So, we start our day with a filling breakfast and bring snacks to munch on all day.  It rained this year so I had to throw on m' rainboots.  Don't feel sorry for me...I LOVE these boots and almost (ALMOST) jump up and down every time I get to wear them!!!

I decided to group some of our posed shots together.

These are some of the shots I caught of the beautiful floats.

While the hubbs and I were posing, it started raining so I threw this STUPID poncho on...WHY when my hair is natural???  I didn't have a mirror so I took a picture to check my hair...a FREAKIN' MESS!!!!  (Note to self: natural hair don't melt, Mama!!!  Next time, step AWAY FROM THE PONCHO!!!)

On the way back to the truck later that day, I took a picture of all the dilapidated and abandoned houses.  The condition my city is in almost SIX YEARS after Katrina is atrocious!!!

My littlest was SOO funny all day!  Whenever a marching band passed he got WOUND UP!!!  He has second-lining in his BLOOD, baybee!!!  I laughed so hard and taped him about eight times!  And I knew he wouldn't last past the first 10 minutes of our ride home but he didn't even MAKE IT TO THE TRUCK!!!  The above picture was taken in the wagon!

We spend almost as much time after Mardi Gras discussing the sights and sounds as we do getting ready for it!  I was walking behind the wagon, trying to make sure the littlest didn't slip out when I caught this shot of my husband and the medium boy talking about the throws they both got.

The last thing I remember when we got home was pulling off my clothes and falling into bed next to the small boy.  My husband awakened me a couple of hours later so that we could eat dinner.  We normally have some form of barbeque every Fat Tuesday.  While we were eating, my husband was plotting how we would leave earlier next year and what we would bring to eat...that dude must think this is a JOB instead of an adventure!!!  I secretly love it, though!  My feelings for Mardi Gras line up to how non-New Orleanians feel about Halloween!!!  What special events are indigenous to your region and what do you and your peeps do to celebrate?