Random Stuff Hello all! The first thing I want to post today is from an e-mail I received. (Thanks, Tara!) I like to post these random surveys when I get them in e-mail. Two Names You Go By 1. Bird--For those of you who don't know the story, I got this name when I was in high school. My sister couldn't spell my name; she'd write it as "Birdget." Somehow my friends found out, and it was shortened to Bird. Many of my old friends still call me that. 2. Derb--It's a shortened version of my last name. Several years ago my students began calling me Ms. Derb, and now most of my students do because it's easier than saying my whole last name. Also, many of my co-workers just call me Derb.

Two Parts of Your Heritage 1. Italian (Why do you think I talk with my hands?) 2. French

Two Things That Scare You 1. Bad weather--I wasn't scared of it until Katrina! 2. The future--it's so uncertain.

Two of Your Everyday Essentials 1. Sleep 2. Chocolate

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now 1. tee shirt 2. Christmas tree pajama pants (Yes, I do realize that it is February!)

Two of Your Favorite Bands or Musical Artists (at the moment) 1. Michael Buble' 2. Kelly Clarkson

Two Things You Want in a Relationship (other than Real Love) 1. honesty
2. fun

Two Truths 1. Prayer works. 2. Life is what you make it.

Two Physical Things that Appeal to You About the Opposite Sex. 1. eyes--first thing I notice! 2. smile

Two of Your Favorite Hobbies 1. Scrapbooking 2. Reading

Two Things You Want Really Badly 1. To go home 2. To have my own classroom again

Two Places You Want to go on Vacation 1. Ireland 2. New York

Two Things You Want to Do Before You Die 1. Become a mother 2. Live life the way I want

Two Ways That You are Stereotyped 1. That I'm loud and chatty. Well, I am at times, but I'm really very quiet and introverted most of the time. 2. That I don't take things seriously.

Two Things You Are Thinking About Now 1. What book to read next 2. What to bring for lunch tomorrow

Two Stores You Shop at where you spend the most 1. Target 2. Scrappin' Buds
Two people you haven't talked to in a while 1. Lisa 2. Vicki

Two favorite web sites 1. www.twopeasinabucket.com (scrapbooking site) 2. www.qvc.com

Two things you did last night 1. Watched American Idol and the Olympics 2. Read

Two shows you like to watch (currently airing) 1. American Idol 2. Survivor I know some of my scrapbooking friends read this blog, so I want to give a shout out to some important people. The first is my friend Jennifer. If you've read the March issue of Creating Keepsakes, then you've seen Jennifer and her famous chest. LOL Seriously, she is featured in the Embrace Your Space article. She has a beautiful armoire where she stores all of her scrapbooking supplies. It is awesome! If you know Jen, you know that she is not only a great scrapper but a wonderful person as well. Congratulations, Jennifer! Here's a link to the Creating Keepsakes website if you'd like to see. http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/mag/article.ihtml?index_field=1634 I'd also like to give a shout out to my friends at Scrappin' Buds. They are awesome! If you are ever in the Slidell area, you must stop by! Toni and Deborah are great ladies and the sweetest things. I feel like they've adopted me since I moved to the area. I'm spending Mardi Gras with them at a 24 hour crop. We will start cropping Monday evening and go all the way until Fat Tuesday evening! I can't wait! You can check out their website at www.slidellscrapbook.com. Have a great one!

My Hometown Is Going to Be Famous! You must watch the NBC Nightly News on Sunday evening. (5:30 P.M. CST) Why, you ask? Well, my friend Alvin is one of the founders of a new Mardi Gras krewe that was supposed to begin parading in St. Bernard Parish this year. Katrina, however, threw a monkey wrench in the parish's Mardi Gras plans. The club decided that the people of St. Bernard needed a parade, so they successfully petitioned the parish council and there will be a parade in St. Bernard this Sunday afternoon. NBC has a bureau in New Orleans now, and when they heard about the parade they wanted to do a story on it. There will be an interview with Alvin and the krewe's captain. The story will show their destroyed homes and talks to the guys about why they want to return home and do so much for the parish. I think it's awesome that we will be getting some well-deserved positive publicity. Alvin brought Mom, Daddy, and me our official Knights of Nemesis t-shirts this evening so we can wear them to the parade on Sunday. The picture on the left is of the front of the shirt. I laughed when I saw the krewe's motto--Justice, Vengeance, Retribution. Isn't that how we all feel about that evil Katrina?! I'm excited to be going home for the day for something fun! I plan to take pictures at the parade and will share them afterwards. If you live in the N.O. area and are looking for something fun to do Sunday afternoon, come to "da parish." We'd love to have you!

Happy Valentine's Day! Happy Valentine's Day! In honor of this day, I'm going to make a list of good/happy things that happened today. *I'm having a good hair day. *I started reading To Kill a Mockingbird. *I learned that one of the teachers I work with is a scrapper. *It's the fifth anniversary of my "Jeopardy" appearance. *I got a gift certificate to Scrappin' Buds from the cats. (Thanks, Mom!) Hope you and yours have a very happy day!

Back to School Hi, all! You may be wondering what the picture on the left is. It's the school where I work. It's a beautiful building. It's old and quite charming. Inside the classrooms are modern. I am really enjoying my job. Everyone at the school is so friendly. I will admit that it's a little bittersweet at times because I want to be the one in front of the class teaching. I just suck it up though because one day I know I'll have my own classroom again. I'm just happy to be back in a school and working with kids, which is my true love. There is still some uncertainty about the future. I don't know what I'll be doing in August, but I'm not going to worry about that today. I hope to be back in St. Bernard. That may not happen, and I'm really OK with it. As long as I have a job I will be happy.

Just a Quick Hey! It's Super Bowl Sunday, so this is going to be a quick howdy! Three hours until kickoff. I hope the game is a good one. By the time the pre-game hype ends, I think everyone gets tired. LOL As I said in an earlier post, I don't have a pick. I will be happy if either team wins. The picture at the left is of my new do; I said I would post one. Like it? I love it! Let me know what you think. Have a great Sunday!

Back on the Blog! Hello, all! Yep, I'm back! I know it's been a loooong time since I've blogged, but I hope you'll forgive me. The new job is going great. I'm enjoying Picayune Junior High. Everyone there has been so, so nice to me. I like going into the different classrooms and seeing the different styles each teacher has. I've met some great kids. I've also seen a lot of my old PGT kids. It's made me feel so connected to home. I do miss having my own classroom and doing my own thing, but it's a good job. I really can't complain. Besides, I know I'll be back in my own classroom eventually. I can wait. Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday! Yay! For football fanatics like me it's like Christmas day! It's also a little bittersweet since it signals the end of the football season. This has been one surreal season, what with Katrina and all. Do I have any predictions? Nope. I think I'm going to just sit back and watch and enjoy. I like both teams, so I'll be happy with either a Pittsburgh or Seattle win. I had a great reunion today--with my hairdresser! I have been going to Anna for 16 years now. I never thought I'd trust anyone else with my hair. Well, Katrina came along, and I had to depend on someone else. Now Anna is over here near me, so I can go to her again! It was so wonderful to see her. She isn't just my hairdresser, she's my friend. I got cut and highlighted, so there was plenty of time for visiting and catching up. BTW, I decided to go for something different. I cut my hair! Yep, I had Anna lop off about six inches. It is precious! I haven't had it this short in a few years. I love the cut and my highlights. I still have blonde, but this time she worked in some caramel highlights. It looks great. I promise to post a picture soon. Yesterday was a milestone day in our family. Mom turned 60! I told her she doesn't look a day over 59. LOL She went home to St. Bernard for most of the day, which made her happy. Mom, Daddy, and I went to dinner at O'Henry's (gotta get that free birthday steak), and then we had the neighbors over for cake. It was a good day for her. Well, crew, I'm going to leave it at that. I promise to start blogging regularly again. Be good!