DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

   This recipe comes from  www.mangiodasola.com  .  WARNING! WARNING!WARNING! DO NOT MAKE WITHOUT ADULT SUPERVISION!! MAY LEAD TO YOU EATING THE WHOLE THING BY YOURSELF!......So Enjoy sparringly!! Sunday, February 7th, was....*gulp*...my birthday. Whew! There. I said it. I know my mom's proud and shocked. It has taken me years to admit my birthday publicly to friends, students, and strangers. Usually I don't tell anyone and don't even celebrate the day of my birth. I also turn off my cellphone to avoid well-intentioned phone calls from relatives and my ex-girlfriend. I really don't like commemorating the 7th of February, but interestingly, food blogging is the catalyst behind my decision to slowly change my perspective.    For weeks, I have been planning out what type of cake I wanted to make for my birthday. Like I said, I don't usually do anything for my birthday, but now that I have just started baking, I decided to make something special for it. (

   This comes from  www.goorigami.com  .  I thought these looked like something that could be made into an ornament or even made larger for the start on your Christmas tree. It seems like this is the first origami star I’ve folded this year. And what a cool star it is! Wondering how to make it? Follow the links below to the diagram and video instructions! Description Name: Origami Septima Star Designer: Ekaterina Lukasheva Units: 6 / 7 (5 and 8-unit assembly is also possible) Paper ratio: square Assembled with: no glue Paper size: 7.5 cm Model size: ~ 9 cm Paper: Patterned kami origami paper (China) Origami paper, Folia (Germany) Diagram: Septima Star – diagram Video: Septima Star – video

    The origins of Mardi Gras can be traced back to Medieval Europe, though we have no written record of how that really transformed into the current Mardi Gras of today. But the origins of the Mardi Gras we celebrate today....with Kings, Mardi Gras colors, and brass bands....are traced to New Orleans.     Although we can trace its history to the Romans, a French-Canadian expolorer,  Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville , landed on a plot of ground 60 miles directly south of New Orleans in 1699 and called it " Pointe due Mardi Gras".  He also established  "Fort Louis de la Louisiane" (which is now Mobile)  in 1702. In 1703, the tiny settlement of Fort Louis de la Mobile celebrated the very first Mardi Gras.     In 1704, Mobile established a secret society (Masque de la Mobile)....similar to those who form our current Mardi Gras Krewes. It lasted until 1709. In 1710, the " Boef Graf Society"  was formed and paraded from 1711