Love and Marriage

Isn't that what makes the world go round? No, I haven't fallen in love, nor have I gotten married since I last blogged. Wouldn't that be exciting if I had, though?

Last Friday we attended the wedding of our very dear friend Ann. Our families are really more like family than friends. It was wonderful to see everyone and have a great time with them. Here are a few pics from the evening.

Ann & Greg


Deb & Me


Deb & Rosalind


Then on Wednesday, my parents celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary. How amazing is that? In this day and age when people bail on marriages when the going gets tough, my parents have stuck it out all these years. They are so totally amazing, and I love them so very much.


Speaking of love, those of you who know me well know how much I love American Idol. This season has not disappointed! My favorite is David Cook. How can you not love him? He is amazing! I totally love what he did with this Mariah Carey song this past week. I don't know, though, that I want him to win. I'd like to see his career take a path similar to Chris Daughtry's. We shall see.

I also want to show a little love to an awesome writer. In my last post I mentioned some of my favorite Twilight fan fiction stories. I completely failed to mention the totally amazing Blondie. She can get inside Edward's head like no one else. I swear she has him trapped in her closet or something! You can find her fabulous stories here.

On a totally unrelated note, I have been so sick this weekend. I had a horrible cough for about a week before I finally went to the doctor Monday. He gave me two cough medicines, an antibiotic, and two shots before sending me merrily on my way. I felt great Monday night and all day Tuesday, but everything started up again on Wednesday. By last night my head was congested, and I was running fever. I'm feeling a bit better tonight, but you can rest assured I will be on the phone with the clinic first thing Monday morning!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Where Y'at?

Hello, dear blog readers! If you're still checking this blog, thank you very much. I know I've been a very, very bad blogger. I really have no excuses for not updating. So, just what have I been doing with myself?

*I've been working!
The big LEAP test was in mid-March, and I am so happy that it is over. The kids really took it seriously and tried their hardest. Now we're back from Spring Break and working through our last nine weeks. I hope they continue to work hard and do their best.

On a related note, I've made the difficult decision to leave Chalmette High next year. A new middle school is opening next year on the old St. Bernard High campus, and I've decided to transfer there. I have truly come to love teaching 8th grade, and I really want to continue that. It's going to be hard opening a brand-new school, but I feel like I'm up for the challenge. I have a very good feeling about this.

*I've been working out!
Shortly after Mardi Gras, I made the decision to join Curves again. I have not regretted it one bit! In only my first month back, I lost a total of seven inches! I was soooo excited! I've also lost 10 pounds since the beginning of the year. I feel a lot better, and people are starting to notice. I sure hope I can keep it up.

*These guys had birthdays!
Yep, my babies are growing up. On March 14, Puddy turned seven. Where did the time go?


Then on April 9, Miss Kirby turned six. She's come a long way from the tiny little orphan we found way back when!


*I've been scrapbooking!
Angela and I went to Scrapfest in February, and we had a great time. We went to a few other crops at Scrappin' Buds as well. Sadly, our beloved LSS has closed. They will still be holding crops and setting up shop for special events, but the Scrappin' Buds store as we know it is gone. Let us all observe a moment of silence.


*I've been Twilight obsessed!
OK, those of you who are with me all the time know how I am over these books! I can't get enough! My latest obsession is Twilight fan fiction. There are some very talented ladies who are writing great stories about our beloved Twilight characters. Here are a few of my favorites.
Passion Fish
Sacrifices
Taking Chances
Stranger Than Fiction (warning--this one's rated NC-17!)
And possibly the greatest fan fiction story ever, Boycotts & Barflies. You will love this even if you aren't a Twilight fan!
The Twilight movie opens on December 12, and I've been anxiously following the news surrounding the filming. I can't wait until then!

I'll try to give you a more detailed post later in the week. Have a great day!

It's Carnival Time!

Yep, it's that time of year again! Mardi Gras is this Tuesday. I'm heading out shortly to catch the super krewe of Endymion. I haven't been in several years, so I'm looking forward to it. Tomorrow I'm staying in since it's the Super Bowl. Go Giants and Eli Manning!

Last Sunday we went to the Knights of Nemesis parade in here in Chalmette. A good time was had by all. I'm going to leave you with some pics from that parade. Click on the link to see them. I'll see you after Mardi Gras!

by birdee18

I *heart* My Green Sweater!

Yeah, it's a strange title, but when I realized all the pics I wanted to include were of me wearing my green sweater I thought it appropriate. Let me just clarify that I do have other clothes!

First pic--this is what I looked like until last Saturday.

Second pic--here's what I look like now!
Yep, I'm a redhead! After seven years of going blonde, it was time for a change. I absolutely love it! It took me a few days to get used to it, but now I'm so glad I did. I'm hoping that it won't fry my poor hair like all the blonde did. New year, new hair.


Tonight I got to spend some quality time with some of my favorite people.

Janet, Monica, me & the green sweater, and Angela

We had dinner at Rocky and Carlo's. The four of us haven't been together since Christmas, when the above pic was taken. I realize Christmas wasn't that long ago, but I miss my friends when I don't get to see them! It's so good to just chill out and hang with my girls. I can totally be myself when I'm with them. That's why they're such great friends!


I've been doing a lot of reading the last week or so. Some of you may be familiar with the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. I finally got a chance to read the books when Lauren lent them to me. OMG, they are amazing! If you don't know the premise, they're about a human girl in love with a vampire. I didn't want to put the first one down! I finished Twilight last night, and today I started New Moon. Eclipse, the third book, is waiting for me. Read these books! I promise you'll love them, even if you're not a vampire fan.


I couldn't leave without sharing some scrappy goodness. I did this page Sunday night, and it's my new favorite. No, it's not of me wearing my green sweater.


Isn't my cousin Kaitlin adorable? How can you resist that beautiful face!


Here's another fave. It's my man Puddy snuggled under the covers on the coldest day we've had in about three years! No, he wasn't wearing a green sweater.

The weekend is almost here, and it's a three-day weekend! Yippee! Sunday I will be glued to the TV watching the conference championship games. No matter which team wins the NFC Championship, I'll be pulling for them in the Super Bowl!

Have a great weekend!

GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!

LSU 38, Ohio State 24

BCS CHAMPS!!!!!

More later. This Tiger fan is exhausted!

Welcome 2008!

Well, we've made it through another year! 2008 has arrived! The family and I had a wonderful time on New Year's Eve. The Miserendinos invited us and the Joneses over for a get-together. It was fun! I'm just so thankful that we are all happy and healthy and that more of our dear friends are finally home in "da parish."

The new year also ushered in some winter weather. Wednesday and Thursday were downright cold! The temps never made it out of the 30s. I realize that for some of you that's nothing, but New Orleans doesn't usually get that cold. I loved it, though! I may have been born and raised down here, but I have never gotten used to the hot and muggy N'awlins summers. Today was a beautiful day, sunny with temps in the 50s, but I was complaining that it was too warm! Oh well, can't please everyone!

We returned to school yesterday, and I can't say I was too happy about it. Oh sure, I was glad to see my friends and students, but it just didn't seem to make sense for us to go back for only two days. I think we'll all be in a better frame of mind once Monday rolls around. Monday also marks the beginning of the second semester. My students won't be leaving me since they have English all year, but it's still a time for a fresh start. I hope I'm blessed with a second semester that's as good as the first one!

I didn't do much scrapping over the holiday, mostly because my room is in disarray! We moved Daddy's exercise bike in here temporarily to make room for the Christmas tree. We also have totes, boxes, and wrapping paper all over. We plan to pack up the Christmas decorations this weekend, so hopefully I'll get to scrapping soon. I did do a few pages at the kitchen table last weekend while watching football. I have been organizing photos, so I hope I'll be able to scrap them very soon! Scrappin' Buds is having a 50% off sale through tomorrow, so I think I'll head over there and spend the GC I got for Christmas!

I found this scrapbook site yesterday, and I was soooo inspired by it. It's called Pencil Lines, and there's so much great stuff on it. I realize it may not be new to some of you, but if you haven't been there, check it out!

Happy Friday!