Happy New Year!

Just wanted to take a moment to wish my friends a very Happy New Year! I want to share some of my very favorite moments of the year with you.

Wishing you and yours a very happy and blessed 2008!

A Wonderful Christmastime!

***WARNING---There are tons of pics on this post! LOL***

Yep, we had a wonderful Christmas! We spent it surrounded by family, the best way to spend any day. The celebrations started with Christmas Eve at Troy & Jennifer's. Let's just say it was crazy! We all had a great time!

Afterwards we went to Midnight Mass at Our Lady of Prompt Succor. I lectored, which was a great honor for me. The church was decorated so beautifully!

After opening presents at home on Christmas morning, we headed to Ryan & Lori's. There we had dinner and opened presents with the Lucias. It was a fun, laid-back day.

Now it's time to look forward to the New Year! Here's hoping 2008 will be a great one!

Merry Christmas!





It's the most wonderful time of the year! It's Christmas! I am so excited about the holiday! Christmas does bring out the kid in most of us, and it certainly does in me. I love looking at our beautifully decorated tree and can't wait to open the presents under it. I'm looking forward to spending the holiday with my family. I'm also looking forward to watching the kids with their presents. I think that's the most fun of all!




We've been quite busy during the holiday season. Last weekend we celebrated Justin & Kaitlin's birthdays and went to a wonderful Christmas party at the Joneses. This past Thursday was our CHS Christmas luncheon. Yesterday we got to visit with dear friends at a baby shower. Dad and I have been to two Saints games over the last two Sundays. (We won't discuss today's outcome!) Exams have come and gone, and fortunately I have graded them all!

This year we will follow our Christmas tradition and spend Christmas at Ryan and Lori's. A new tradition we started after Katrina was Christmas Eve at Troy and Jennifer's. Two days of family and food--what else could you want?!

Probably the thing I'm most excited for is Midnight Mass. This year I will be lectoring. I can't wait! We haven't been to Midnight Mass in several years, and I've never lectored on a big holiday before. I feel so blessed to have this opportunity. Blessed--isn't that what Christmas is all about? It's about a baby born over 2000 years ago, a baby who was born and would later die to save the world. The real reason for Christmas is Jesus Christ. He gave us the most important gift of all, the gift of love.

May you and yours be blessed and surrounded by love during this holiday season. Merry Christmas to all!

Life Is Good!

(I have no idea why I can't rotate this pic. If you can help, please let me know!)

Yes, life is definitely good! Things have been going well of late. I celebrated my birthday not once but four times! Yep, you read that right! There were two dinners with friends, a celebration at home, and a birthday pie on Thanksgiving. That's me blowing out the candles on the birthday pie with Kaitlin and Bella. They were great little helpers!


Speaking of Thanksgiving, my turkey day was a good one. Our family, along with Rachael and the kids, had our traditional Thanksgiving dinner at the Lucias. We ate a little earlier than usual since Ryan and Lori were leaving on a cruise that day, but otherwise it was the same comfortable holiday. I just love Thanksgiving! I always have, ever since I was a little girl. I don't know why. I think it just gives me the warm fuzzies. Food, family, and fun--what more could you want?


Now the Christmas season is in full swing. Chez Derb is all decorated and looks great. Most of the presents are bought and wrapped. I've had so much fun doing my Christmas shopping this year. I love shopping for my family and friends! This is the first week of Advent, and it will be so cool to go to church tomorrow and see the Advent wreath. I've already watched Rudolph once, and I'm sure I'll watch it several more times in the next few weeks. I looooove that cartoon! Rudolph totally rocks!


School has been going well. The kids are busy and working hard. They take exams in a few weeks, and I hope they do well. I want them to take their exams seriously. Last night the 8th graders had a dance, and I went. They had a good time. I love to see them outside of class and having fun. There's still so little for our kids to do in St. Bernard. They need more dances like this.


I finally got to crop at Scrappin' Buds last Saturday. They had an all-day crop, but I couldn't go since I was lectoring at 4:00 Mass. I really wanted to go, so I just went after church. It was like a regular Friday night crop. I miss living just 15 minutes from a scrapbook store! It was also the first time in a while that I got to crop with Angela. We had a good time! If you want to see some of my pages, you can check them out in my Scrap in Style gallery.


Tomorrow is the first Saints home game in three weeks. Yay! They play the division-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We really need a win! Last week the Saints played an awesome game against Carolina. They need another performance like that tomorrow. Hopefully Saints fans will be celebrating when they leave the Dome tomorrow night. Look for me on TV in case I get on!


Talk to you all soon!

Happy Halloween!



Yes, I realize I'm a day early, but I know I won't get a chance to post tomorrow. I just love Halloween! Decorating, kids in costumes, sharing treats with my students--what's not to love about it?

Check out my cool pic! That's me at the Scrapbooks Etc. Halloween crop last weekend. I'm wearing my winning costume. I was a giant scrapbook page? Pretty clever, huh! The crop was so much fun. I don't make it out to SBE as much as I used to pre-Katrina, so any time I get to spend out there is cherished. I got a lot of pages done and had a ball.

School is going well. Yesterday was Report Card Conference Day. I saw several of the parents I needed to see, but I wish there had been a bigger turnout. Actually, that's typical of my grade level. Parents really don't stay as involved in their children's schools as the kids get older. It's sad, really. I think teens need their parents as much as the younger kids do.

This weekend is my 20-year High School Reunion! I can't believe it! Time has just flown by! I certainly don't feel that old! I am really looking forward to it. Several old friends whom I haven't seen since Katrina will be in town, and I can't wait to see them. We're going to have so much fun.

If you like scrapbooking and mystery books, then you will love the book I just finished reading. It's called Motif for Murder, and it's by an author named Laura Childs. It's one of a series of Scrapbook Mystery novels set in New Orleans. The heroine is a woman who owns a scrapbook store and solves crimes. I liked this one so much that I ordered the first three in the series. If you've read them, let's discuss!

Enjoy your Halloween! Have a fun but safe time!

P.S. Someone very special is celebrating a birthday tomorrow, and I need to give her a special shout out. Who is it? It's only the greatest little sister ever! Happy Birthday, Debbie! Have a super fabulous wonderful day! I love you!

Like Mother, Like Daughter!

Yep, that's my Kirby sitting at my scrap table. Apparently she's been watching Mommy scrap too much because she looks like she's ready to scrap! Good girl, Kirby!

Just wanted to share this cute pic. Will post more later!

Well, Hellooooooo!

Yes dear blog readers, I am still alive! I have been busy with school, and not much else has been going on. At least this week we Saints fans have something to be excited about. Finally, a win! Wootie hootie!

Of course I've been scrapbooking. I think that's what I spend all my free time doing. I'm heading to an all-day crop at Scrapbooks Etc. on Saturday. I'm looking forward to it since I haven't cropped out there in a while. I will share my creations with you afterwards!

I've seen a few other bloggers tagged, and I hope they don't mind me stealing their survey. Here it goes:

Here are the Fours:
Jobs I've Had:
1. Pharmacy Clerk at Eckerd Drugs
2. Analyst/Trainer at Sears Credit
3. Teacher at various schools
4. Summer Camp Counselor

Movies I (do) Could Watch Over & Over
1. The Sound of Music
2. Saturday Night Fever
3. Grease
4. Twister

T.V. Shows I Watch
1. Survivor
2. Sunday Night Football
3. Monday Night Football
4. American Idol

Places I've Lived
1. Meraux, LA
2. Moss Bluff, LA
3. Pearl River, LA
4. Meraux, LA (YAY!!!! BACK HOME!!!!)

Favorite Foods
1. Steak
2. Lasagna
3. French Fries
4. Stuffed Artichokes

Favorite Colors
1. Pink
2. Orange
3. Lime Green
4. Red

Places Id Love To Be Now
1. Scrapbook store
2. Mall
3. Beach
4. I'm home. Where else would I want to be?

Names I like, but would NOT use for my children
1. Hailey (love it, but it's too common)
2. Henry
3. Joe
4. Oliver

See you soon!

A Haiku About Wine

I love to drink wine.
Drinking it relaxes me.
It is comforting.

It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This!

Dinner at Rocky & Carlo's with my girls last night. The Saints opening the season at the Colts tonight. Does life get any better than this? I think not.

Partying Like a Rock Star!

Ok, no, that's not exactly what I've been doing! I've been alternating between being busy and being a lazy slug. Life has been good as of late, and I'd like to share some of the things that have been going on.

August was a busy month! The most important happening was back to school. The kiddos returned on August 15. I can honestly say I was not ready for the school year to begin. Even though I took the summer off, I didn't want to go back. Of course I was happy once the first day of school arrived. I'm loving my students so far. It's been a pleasure to teach kids who are so eager to learn. My Read 180 lab looks awesome! It's all decked out for the New Orleans Saints! I haven't taken any pics yet, so I need to do that and get 'em posted.

August was also a party month! Sooo many things going on! We started out by going to a birthday party for our sweet friend Adam. He's seven years old already! He had such a great time. The following day we attended our annual LaQuinta reunion brunch at The Court of Two Sisters. It was so much fun to see Gio and Travis and all our friends. We ate lots of great food and spent time catching up with some wonderful people! I hope this is a tradition we can continue.

One of the most fun things I did this past month was see the play Bless Ya Boys. It was literally the most hysterical thing I have ever seen! Some of you in the N.O. area may know Barry Lemoine. For those of you who don't, he is a wonderful local actor, director, and playwright. He and his Shine crew put on a wonderfully funny and irreverent tribute to the New Orleans Saints. I laughed so hard that I cried! I loved it so much that I went back to see it a second time. The show's initial run at Flour Power in Chalmette has ended, but it will begin another run at Le Chat Noir beginning September 11. Run, run, run to see this wonderful show!

Something else fun we did was go to the Knights of Nemesis luau. A good time was had by all! This year I even got Mom, Daddy, and Debbie to go! We ate, we danced, we drank, we had fun. It was so good to hang out with our dear friends and see people we hadn't seen in a while. You can click on the link above to see some pics on the club's website.

Of course I spent a lot of time scrapbooking! That's a no-brainer! I've been scooping up on some really cute new stuff that just came out at CHA. Now I just need to use it. This work thing is really getting in the way of my scrapbook time!

Enjoy your Labor Day!

Doctor, Doctor, Give Me the News!

Uh, no, I don't have a bad case of loving anyone! It just seems like the closer I get to 40, the more I start to fall apart. Let me start at the beginning. Last fall I was having some serious foot pain. I went to the local nurse practitioner, and the x-rays showed that I had a heel spur. Ouch! Over time the pain went away, but it came back in full force this spring. I finally went to a podiatrist last week and was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. Isn't that lovely? That's what was causing the heel spurs. (Yep, spurs plural. Got two of 'em now. No, they don't jingle, jangle, jingle.) For the next month I get to wear my lovely new Nike running shoes. I have to wear running shoes because they have the most arch support and heel padding. (Oh yeah, I've got high arches too. I'm batting 1000!) No cute sandals, no pedicures--no one's gonna see my toesies. But hey, if this will help me recover faster, so be it. The doc said the whole recovery process could be about three to four months. Yikes!

Then last week I started with the "crud" again. You know the deal--head congestion, sneezing, cough, sore throat. Yesterday I was totally miserable, so this morning I knew a doctor's appointment was in order. Saw the local nurse practitioner again, and he hooked me up. I've got decongestants, cough medicine, nasal spray, and antibiotics. Better living through chemistry, I say! I also got a cortisone shot, and I made sure the nurse gave it to me in my left hip. Why? The left foot is the bad one!

My week hasn't been totally bad. I did go to a 12-hour crop at Scrappin' Buds on Saturday. It was the first time in a few months that Angela and I got to crop together. Yay! As always, it was a good time. Up top is a layout I did of me with Ange. The pic was taken during our stay in the French Quarter in May. I'm loving the 6x12 pages!

Have a great week!

Feel the Love!

I thought that today I would share some things that have been making me happy. Come along with me on my little journey!

*QVC! I have some shirts for work and a pair of Birkenstocks on the way. My favorite recent purchase is this beautiful ring. I love anything with a fleur-de-lis! As QVC host Lisa Robertson would say, "Love, love, love!"

*Elsie Flannigan! This girl totally rocks! I love Elsie's work, and her new line Love, Elsie is fabulous. She is a constant source of inspiration.

*Music! I recently pulled out my Duran Duran CDs and have been enjoying them all over again. I've also been listening to Fall Out Boy and Joss Stone lately. Check them out if you haven't already!

*Owls! I don't know if it's because the owl is the CHS mascot or if it's because I've been seeing lots of cute ones lately, but owls are a recent fave of mine. Check out a really cute one here.

*Harry Potter! I plan to see the new movie this week, and I cannot wait for the new book to come out on Saturday. I pre-ordered mine months ago, and I will be stalking my mail lady Saturday morning!

What are some things that have been making you happy? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Well, Hellooooo There!

I know what you're thinking. You're probably saying to yourself, "Where the hell has this girl been for the last 10 months? Why has she not updated this blog? Why have I bothered checking?" And for that, I must apologize. I could lie and say that I've been in a body cast since September and unable to type, but I'm not a very good liar. So just what have I been doing? Hmmmm, let me see...

I was working! As you are probably aware, I went back to work in St. Bernard parish last year. I spent the school year teaching 7th and 8th grade language arts at Chalmette High School. It was just so good to be home! I had a bit of a crazy year, but it was certainly a good one! I taught some great kids. I also made new teacher friends and reconnected with others. Since April I've had the opportunity to attend several workshops and learn some exciting new things. I can't wait to use it all in my classroom! I will be returning to CHS next year since 8th grade is staying. I'm looking forward to another great year.

I was scrapbooking! You know how passionate I am about my scrapbooking, and I've been scrapping up a storm. I've had lots of fun scrapping as of late since I acquired some new scrapping buddies. Angela and Christie got sucked back into this wonderful hobby, and we've done some cropping together. Angela and I went to a few all day crops, and I'm looking forward to spending some quality scrapbook time with her before we go back to school. One of my new scrapping goals is to be published. I know I'll never be a famous scrapper or a Creating Keepsakes Hall of Famer or anything, but I've gotten some nice feedback on my pages and I'd really like to share them. I'd also like to teach the world to sing and but it a Coke, so we'll see if any of this happens.

I was watching the Saints! Yeah, I know football season ended in January, but I'm still on a euphoric high over last season. That was one wild ride! I never dreamed my Saints would do so well. I hoped they would, but I didn't think I'd see it in my lifetime. LOL Coach Peyton had our boys playing some serious football. I've never seen a Saints team so disciplined. They were able to bounce back from adversity, a quality past Saints teams have lacked. It is appropriate that I am listening to Fall Out Boy singing "Thanks for the Memories" as I type this. I will never forget this season. We made it all the way to the NFC Championship! I'm sure the upcoming season will provide us with just as many thrilling moments. You have no idea how exciting it was to sit in the Superdome for our first game back, Monday Night Football against the Falcons. Amazing! Then to actually watch our boys dominate the Eagles in the playoffs like they did, wow! I cried tears of joy when that game was over. Hurry up, football season!

I was being lazy! Yeah, I admit it, there were lots of times I could have blogged but didn't. I know, there's no excuse for it. I promise to be a better blogger in the future.

OK, so there's just a brief recap. I will try to post at least once a week, if not more, to keep you up to date.