What do Morgan Freeman, Kermit the Frog, Native Americans and Tamales have in common?

Q. What do Morgan Freeman, Kermit the Frog, Native Americans, Tamales, birthdays, coffee shops and lesson plans have in common?
A. My weekend! (and the Mississippi Delta)

I spent this weekend playing "tourist" in the Delta. After a long week (though seemingly shorter than weeks 2 and 3) I resisted my Friday and Saturday afternoon naps and decided to explore a little bit. It was a great choice and I really appreciated the "life lesson" (or life reminder b/c I am pretty sure I have had to re-learn this lesson more than a few times) that there needs to be a balance between work and play. Even though I didn't really catch up on a lot of sleep, I feel refreshed and energized in a different way...like I am mentally ready to take on the week (although physically my body is angry at me for deciding to climb a 5 story Native American mound in 100 degree heat and follow it by too much cake, fried food, ice cream and beer).

Check out the highlights of my weekend:

Morgan Freeman's Ground Zero Blues Club

Leland, MS: Birth place of Jim Henson
Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog Birthplace Exhibit

Hot Tamale Heaven: Road Side Stand
Best Hush Puppies I have ever tasted!

Winteville, MS: larges concentration of Native American mounds in one location.
Home of the tallest known mound in the United States. The mound is 55ft high and was built by  Native American communities who moved earth from the MS river (about 15 miles away) by carrying it in baskets on their shoulders!

Checking out the Mississippi River and imagining
Huck and Jim floating down on a raft  up the river. 

Celebrating my suite-mate and soon to be roommate's birthday!


Great weekend! I think I appreciated the Delta region so much more this weekend. It has become more to me than hot weather, mosquitoes, and 20 hour days. Early mornings start back tomorrow and once again I am updating the blog instead of sleeping. I really don't have time to be blogging like this, but I have realized how important it is to take the time to process my day and blogging is an easy outlet to do this. It is nice to have an outlet while at the same time allowing for me to go back and think/ relive things at a later date.