Welcome to Louisiana!!!

Hi everyone!!! Welcome to Louisiana, Home of the Drive Thru Daiquiri Shop!! And for the record, we do pronounce it LOOOOZIANA. I am so excited to be in the 1st state spotlighted by Blog Around the World!!! I would like to welcome you to my wonderful state! Come on in and grab a seat while I get you a plate of beignets (ben-yay) and some Community Coffee!!

Here in Louisiana, we love us some LSU football! You haven't lived until you've spent a football Saturday night in Tiger Stadium! We hold the title of National Champions for 2003 & 2007!


And then there is Mardi Gras (pronounced Mardi Gra or Mardi Graw)!! Have you ever been? If not, it is something that you should make a point to experience in your lifetime!! The world famous Mardi Gras is celebrated in New Orleans (pronounced NAWLINS) and is an ancient custom that originated in southern Europe. Mardi Gras celebrates food and fun just before the 40 days of Lent. There are days and days of parades and fun!! You could go to the French Quarter to celebrate Mardi Gras and be exposed to lots of things you probably wish you'd never seen, or go to a small town celebration and experience an exciting, fun time for the whole family!!
Ok, now for a VERY brief history lesson!! History was never my thing, but since you've come from all around the world, I'll tell you what I know! The population in Louisiana is 4,523,628 and the state was named in honor of King Louis XIV. It is the only state in the union that does not have counties; instead, we have parishes. We are known as the Pelican State, our state flower is the beautiful Magnolia!

And here is our state flag:

We have suffered great losses here due to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, that we are STILL recovering from 3 years later. It is incredible the amount of damage that was caused here (as well as other surrounding states) and it is very sad to see the struggles that still occur daily due to the damage that was done. Personally, my husband's family lost 7 homes and camps in Waveland, Mississippi, so we were greatly affected as well, just not here in Louisiana. Hearing about it is nothing compared to going to New Orleans and other Louisiana towns and seeing it for yourself. But we have also learned to work together and help each other to hold our wonderful state together!! And we are always happy to have a Hurricane Party! So come on y'all!!!

And you must have some boiled crawfish and crabs when you come to visit! When they're in season, we eat them often, whether we get them in a restaurant, pick them up "to go" at a store, or boil them ourselves at home. Someone is always having a crawfish or crab boil and it doesn't get much better than that!!


We also have plenty of wildlife to see in and around our rivers and swamps.

So now that you know about my great state, let me tell you who I am! My name is Dawn and I am a 43 year old wife, daughter, sister, mother, step-mother, biological mother, grandmother...ok, you get the picture! I am a social worker/school counselor, love my life, my family, and friends. I live in St. Amant (pronounced SANAMAW), Louisiana which is 1/2 way between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. My husband, Walter, and I have been married for almost 7 years. We live with my 14 year old son, Cameron, on a river in a small community and we love it here. Wild turkey, deer, and other wildlife can be seen roaming around in our neighborhood from time to time. We moved from Baton Rouge 3 years ago to build our home, which we have been living in for one year and it is truly our dream home. I love blogging, although i'm not sure that I have all that much interesting to say, but I love keeping up with my real life friends who blog, my blogger friends, and look forward to meeting more friends all the time!

I am glad you stopped by and would love to check out your blog if you leave me a comment so I'll know where to find you!! Enjoy your tour of Louisiana! I can't wait to see where the tour goes next!!