Last week was absolutely wunnerful. J and I spent a tremendous amount of quality time together, got to know each other even better, and I got some rest--emotional and physical--that I very sorely needed. Really did not want to go back to work last night at all, and was really not terribly motivated to do anything resembling police work. I confess I was not exactly proactive last night, and spent several hours sitting at the substation shooting the breeze with a fellow deputy--who was also not feeling terribly motivated to do police work. I guess even SuperHero CrimeFighters need a break!

So, last week--started out Friday night with a group of us going to a Mardi Gras parade in Mandeville. I am something of a Mardi Gras scrooge--not a big fan of crowds AT ALL--but the non-New Orleans parades are quite a bit calmer, less crowded, and generally IMO more fun. Saturday we left Mandeville and drove up to Natchez, where J took me to an absolutely exquisite bed and breakfast that overlooks the Mississippi river. Tranquil, idyllic, romantic--you name it. (I took pictures, but then left my camera over at J's place, so it may be a few days before I can post anything.) Did a bit of touring the next day then drove back and did ordinary fun like movie-going on Sunday. Monday we went into New Orleans briefly for Lundi Gras. Met up with some other friends in the Quarter and had the obligatory drinks at Pat O'Briens, then had some more obligatory drinks at the Old Absinthe House, and then had the obligatory Lucky Dog before heading back to the Northshore. Mardi Gras itself we had crawfish at a tavern on the lakefront and stayed the hell away from New Orleans. Wednesday was more of the same--time together, going out, miscellaneous stuff like that. Thursday he took me out to lunch AND dinner. Needless to say the diet has completely been thrown aside this past week. On the other hand, he did add me to his membership at his gym, and we managed to work out nearly every day, so I wasn't a complete slug. Suprising thing was that it was only $9 extra a month on his membership to add me to it (with a police discount, and with us kinda fudging about me being a live-in girlfriend.) They were also nice enough to add the $12 that we'd paid before to get me in on a guest membership back onto his account.

Friday I spent the morning at my salon having a Day O' Beauty, getting my hair, nails and makeup done for the big Event at the Fairmont Hotel in New Orleans. This was a big deal political fundraiser--$1000/couple--and all sorts of political hotshots were there. This was the first time I'd ever been to anything of this nature, and I had an absolute blast. Vince Vance and the Valiants performed--and if you live anywhere near the New Orleans area and ever get a chance to see one of their shows, do so, because they put on a terrific show! The main entertainer of the night was Johnny Rivers, and he played all of his classics as well as a bunch of other great stuff. Johnny Rivers did the song "Secret Agent Man", and right before he did that song, some people came around and gave everyone dark sunglasses--and again, you'll get to see those pics eventually! Too cool. I guess when you pay a grand for a couple, you get a really good time, because there were all sorts of really neat touches. Besides a terrific dinner and an open bar, they had a special Martini bar, as well as keepsake martini glasses for everyone to take home. (I'm not a huge fan of martinis, so I stuck to drinking Cosmopolitans most of the night.) At 1am, they opened up another buffet room and served breakfast, and around 2am we finally made our way up to our room, where we found that a dozen roses and a bottle of wine had been delivered to the room (part of the whole package deal since it was also a Valentines day thingy.)

I got to see and meet all sorts of political mucky-mucks. Quite a few judges were there and more lawyers than you could shake a stick at. The Louisiana Attorney General was there as well as the LA Secretary of State, and of course a veritable plethora of state legislators and local politicians. But mostly, the company was terrific, and I had a truly excellent time.

So, Saturday we left New Orleans and made our way back to Mandeville and the real world. I packed up my stuff, J and I parted ways (for a couple of nights!), I picked the Dog up from the kennel, and headed back to my own house to get ready for work last night. No wonder I wasn't motivated to be SuperCop!