So this is Christmas...

Wow! What a whirlwind this past month has been! It started with my 30th birthday around the beginning of the month and has been non-stop since then. We still have New Years and Ray's birthday to go before all the madness ends.

Like I said, it began at the beginning of the month with my birthday. I thought it would be a rather quiet set of holidays as my in laws were going to Hawaii to spend Christmas with my sister in law and we usually go there for Christmas. So, I thought we'd just spend a quaint little day or two at home by ourselves with the kiddos. I was nervous it might not feel like Christmas but confident we'd get through it.

Boy, was I wrong?

About it all.

Have I learned nothing these past 30 years??

My in laws did indeed go to Hawaii. But they flew out of ,like they always do, and they took the opportunity to spend the night with us before their flight, like they always do. We love having them and it was our chance to have a little pre-Christmas Christmas with them. It was a lot of fun and the kids started the first round of getting loaded down. Chloe and Hunter were super excited with all of the new stuff Meme and Pawpaw bought them for Christmas. And, so were Ray and I. To top it off, Pawpaw cooked an AWESOME meal...who can top that??

I thought the rest of the holiday would go fairly quickly and uneventful. I had 99% of my Christmas shopping finished so I figured I was out of the stores and the mayhem.

Have I mentioned how wrong I was?

Last minute plans fell through, and instead of just showing up on Christmas Eve at my moms with kids and eating a meal she cooked...we changed the plans and I now had 10-12 people showing up at MY house for a meal I was expected (well, I offered) to prepare. THE NEXT DAY...aka, CHRISTMAS EVE.

I panicked a bit but headed to the store. I swear I barely made it out of Target alive. I am not being dramatic. They were trying to apprehend a shoplifter near the produce section. I happened to be in the line of fire for the RACK OF RIBS he decided to hurl from the interior of his coat before fleeing the front doors. WOW!

At the end of the day, I had all I needed to prepare said dinner. Now, I just needed to clean my mess of a house and start the meal.

I worked all day on the turkey and the casseroles. Everyone arrived around 6 and we had a blast. It was all worth it. The kids got spoiled as usual and they loved every second of it. It was such a blessing to be with everyone and I wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, maybe we'll change the past tradition of Christmas Eve at my moms and start having it here every year.

Santa passed and the kids got more junk, I mean toys, this morning. Every single thing on Chloe's list in fact. And we played and played and played all day.

We didn't go anywhere. I didn't cook a turkey since I had the night before. I actually cooked a spaghetti and we had a nice, quiet day at home.

I am so thankful for the things that I am blessed with. My family and friends are irreplaceable. Everyone is healthy and for the most part happy. What else could this little cajun girl ask for??

I hope you were all just as lucky and blessed as me this holiday season.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Until next time...CNS

A True Champion...

For several years now, my little brother has been training with all he had in mixed martial arts. He has come so far and has really taken this opportunity to take all the pain and hurt in his life and channel it into something positive.

After years of discipline and training, he starting fighting professionally and so far he has a stellar record.

While it is hard to watch, I am so proud of him. That being said, please allow me to brag on him a bit. Below is a write up in the major paper in Baton Rouge about the fights. My brother's name is Jace Pitre and they say some pretty flattering things about him that I just had to share....




In the small college town of Hammond, there could not have been more excitement on the night of Friday, Nov. 21. It was fight night as the Xtreme Fighting Championship came to Chevy's. All in all, it was a great night of fights with some vicious knockouts and not one fight going past the Second Round.



Kurt Halobaugh, Brian Daricek, Wesley Little, Ray Mulkey, Jace Pitre, Frank Couste and Justin Cowart all had very impressive and entertaining victories while Jeff Dement and Kirk May were very impressive in defeat. There were no serious injuries, thanks to the doctors at ringside and fighters such as Brian Torzewski showing a great deal of class.



205 pounds Brian Daricek (T B3 & Elite MMA) 0-1 vs.

Nick Sanders (Hammond) 5-6

Brian "Zoolander" Daricek landed huge leg kicks and several devistating rights to knock Sanders to the ground. One-sided knockout by Daricek was mercifully stopped by ref.



Daricek defeats Sanders by Knockout in the First Round

160 pounds Chad Ferris (Gracie-Barra) 0-0 vs.

Jace Pitre (Team Tooke & Team B3) 1-0

Jace Pitre came right out in the First Round, a huge body slam and immediately transitioned into a full mount. Pitre completely controlled the first round with superior jiu-jitsu and devistating strikes. Ferris tried to use his jiu-jitsu to get Pitre off of him, but Pitre resembled a swarming hornets nest, completely locking Ferris down. The bell at the end the first round was the only thing that stopped Pitre.



Ferris came out and landed some good shots in the Second Round, but never phased Pitre who had every intention to punish his opponent. After receiving more pounding strikes and perfect text-book takedowns, Ferris eventually got caught in a Triangle. A very impressive complete package in Jace Pitre who represented Team Tooke and his management Team B3 and Ragan McDaniel in dominating fashion. With Team B3 in his corner, look for the name Jace Pitre in the big show soon.



Pitre defeats Ferris by Submission (Triangle Choke) in the Second Round

150 pounds Justin Cowart (Gracie-Barra) 0-2 vs.

Kirk May (Elite MMA & Team B3) 1-0

Apparently Justin Cowart took a page out of Muhammad Ali's playbook with some serious rope-a-dope. Cowart showed heart by coming back from a First Round beat down, and I mean beat down, from Kirk May who showed superior strikes and also scored a couple of amazing takedowns. Clearly a 10-8 first round for May who controlled the action. It was either the rope-a-dope or one heck of a Second Round speech by his trainer that inspired Cowart to take a tired May to the mat. He then got a full mount and just ground-n-pounded May until the referee called the stoppage.



Cowart defeats May by TKO (Strikes) in the Second Round

155 pounds Ray Mulkey (Gracie-Barra) 0-0 vs.

Jeff Dement (Team B3 & Team Chaos) 0-0

Ray Mulkey and Jeff Dement put on a show that was worth the $25 entrance fee. Dement came out of the lockerroom lead by his manager Team B3's Ragan McDaniel and had a look of intensity in his face. That intensity carried into the cage where Dement threw bombs that some consider lethal. Mulkey appeared to lock in an armbar, but Dement picked up Mulkey with his arm still fully extended and body slammed him to the mat, getting a roar from the Mulkey based crowd. Even though Dement worked to get out of the submissions, Mulkey was determined to end the fight by tap out. After several tries, Mulkey finally sank in a Triangle Choke to force Dement to submit at last, ending the pounding Mulkey was taking.



Mulkey defeats Dement by Submission (Triangle Choke) in the First Round – Wins "Fight of the night" honors

Other than that, there is a lot going on that I will post about later. Right now, we are enjoying spending the Thanksgiving Holiday with family and friends in Louisiana!

Until next time...CNS