July 5th

Today started out rainy and gloomy, but turned into a really nice day. Cameron spent the night with some friends last night to shoot fireworks and was gone most of the day today, so Walter and I went down the street to the 2nd annual "Rat Fest" on the river, which takes place to raise money for the fire department that is being planned somewhere on our street. It is called the Rat Fest because a local guy who calls himself "River Rat Rob" plans a huge party (the Lake Bash) on Lake Maurepas every summer and expanded that to include this festival to raise money for the fire department. We went to the Rat Fest this year because it is more family oriented than last year. We never go to the Lake Bash, mainly because it gets very crowded there and the idea of drunk people walking on and off my boat doesn't appeal to me at all, but today was ok, other than being really hot. There were several bands playing and a "Diversion Canal Idol" contest, plus plenty of food and drinks. Walter bought five "50/50" tickets and the prize was 1/2 of whatever money is collected (if you think this out, you'll see where the 50/50 comes in), and don't you know he won! I was talking to someone and not paying attention, and Walter, being funny like he is, didn't tell me that our number was called, but just waved at me while he was walking up to the stage with the ticket in his hand. The prize money was about $120! I wish I had his luck! We saw a few of our neighbors there and ran into Bryce's mom & family, so we hung out with them for awhile. The Rat Fest is also accessible by boat, but I knew it would be too hot to sit in one spot in the water, so we just drove down there.

I am doing good with the return of my diet. I really don't find it hard to stick to it as long as there are snacks handy that I can eat around the house. I have some cucumbers cut and ready to eat with ranch dressing, plus some sugar free jello, so i'm set. Yesterday, I had scrambled eggs & bacon for breakfast, baked chicken & asparagus for lunch, and grilled steak w/sauteed mushrooms & "fake" mashed potatoes (made with cauliflower) for dinner. I also plan to get back to the health club this weekend, but i've been saying that for awhile! Today, I had scrambled eggs & bacon for breakfast and leftover steak for lunch. I ate a hamburger patty with cheese at the Rat Fest and did not drink anything but water! They were selling daiquiris and that was hard to resist!!

Our very wonderful governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, has signed two bills into law that affect the use of cell phones while driving. Under the new laws, all drivers are prohibited from text messaging while driving and drivers under the age of 17 are prohibited from using a cellular phone at all, unless to report an emergency. The laws take effect immediately. The fine for text messaging while driving is $175 for the first offense and $500 for each offense after that. The fine doubles if the offending driver is involved in an accident while text messaging. The fine for minors using a cellular phone while driving is $100 for the first offense and $250 for each offense after that. I am SO glad that he approved this bill because, as much as I hate to admit it, I TEXT WHILE I'M DRIVING ALL THE TIME!!!! And I KNOW it isn't safe, but there is nothing stopping me from doing it. I am very much a "rule follower" and wont do it anymore, so i'm happy about this law. There is no reason anyone should do this and i'm glad that we are doing something to stop it. And when was the last time anyone in Louisiana could say one of our politician's was WONDERFUL??? I really do love Bobby Jindal and think he is doing great things for our state.

Anyway, just another quiet evening here. Maybe we'll watch a movie or something! I hope you all have a great weekend!