I've been tagged.

My friend Kelly over at Because I Said So tagged me. I usually don't get tagged so I will participate.

The rules are:
1. Show the icon on your blog
2. Tag seven others to partake in the fun times.
3. List ten random things about yourself.

Well, I don't feel like listing 10 random things about myself alone so I might throw in a few about my family.

1. My favorite song to sing to my kids is Silent Night.
2. My dad is a licensed charter boat captain.
3. My paternal grandparents owned a bar and my dad was raised in the living area behind it.
4. My great grandpa used to illegally run moonshine.
5. My maternal grandfather used to make his own wine. (See a trend here with the booze? Maybe there is a reason I ended up in New Orleans!)
6. I graduated 7th in my high school class. (and no, it was not out of 10!)
7. I majored in journalism
8. I got my scuba diving license in 10th grade.
9. I was diagnosed with Gullian Barre Syndrome last November. I'm ok now.
10. My brother is talk, dark, handsome and single. Email me if you are interested!

Now, I tag:
Mimosa Momma
Queen Sarah
Lagnippe
Mamma Loves
Fried Okra
Daily Delilah
Pennies In My Pocket

I want to tell you . . .

I want to tell you all about my nice weekend and how we are enjoying the holiday season.

I want to tell you about how I have been thinking a great deal about what happened to me about this time last year.

I want to tell you about how I hated December of 2005 and almost skipped Christmas.

I want to tell you a lot of things.

I've been wanting to write a lot but I need to look inward and process all these emotions I am having this time of year and sorta of just relish all the sweet moments and good times.

Maybe tomorrow. Not today. Going to bed.

Taking a siesta

I haven't done much writing here. I know.

I need to finish my 3rd anniversary Katrina story. I know.

But, all I can say is there is a lot swirling in my head and it is getting in the way.

This election has me really thinking and talking and reading. I think I can't write because I am trying to make sense of everything in my head. Words usually come after the storm. And in Katrina's case, I am still trying to get those words out . . .

So I am taking a siesta for now. Have been for a few days. Sorry if I am disappointing.

Meet Mimosa Momma

I convinced my good friend to start blogging because she loves reading my blog so much. So allow me to introduce you to Mimosa Momma!

Stop by. Introduce yourself. Encourage her to keep blogging!

Welcome UBP 08 gals!

Regular readers note that 5minutesformom.com is having an Ultimate Blog Party '08! You are invited. To find out how to participate click here! Lots of prizes will be given away!

Those visiting from the UBP '08 - well - Welcome to My Bayou Vieux! I have been blogging almost 1 year. I am a 33 year old SAHM who moved down here to good ole' New Orleans in April 2004. I love the south and I love New Orleans. I am originally from Ohio and let me tell you I don't miss all that snow you northerners are getting right now! (Although my daughter would love to play in it right now!)

I enjoy the outdoors, writing, reading, traveling and just doing fun stuff with my family. When I am not handling the children (he he!) I work part-time from home as a web designer. (Read my work at home post!). I am also trying to get back into a workout routine. (My youngest is 20 months). Due to that I am offering up some excercise advice and a quick healthly recipe for my new visitors.

Jogging
For those who have never jogged and wish to start I have passed the following tips that worked for me along to a few friends and they said it worked for them too!
1. Stretch well and walk briskly to warm up.
2. Jog (don't run!) as slowly as you can. Just a bit faster than you walk.
3. Focus on your breathing. If it gets fast, slow down.
4. Pick a target out in front of you and only jog to that point. A mailbox, driveway, tree, etc.
5. If you feel you can get past that selected point, look ahead to a new target and jog to that point.
6. Eventually, use your car to measure out 1 mile in your neighborhood and then try to run that distance.
6. If you must stop only try to stop and walk enough to catch your breathe a bit and then start again. If I need to stop, I try to stop about 10 strides before a mailbox or stop sign. Then, I know when I reach that point I have to resume running.
7. At the end of each run, sprint the last 100 yards as fast as you can!

If you try these running tips and they work for you, let me know!

Recipe:
Whole Wheat Pitas
Pesto Sauce
Tomatoes sliced
Fresh Basil
Mozzarella Cheese Shredded

Spread the Pesto sauce on the pitas. Pile on tomatoes, basil and cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. A friend introduced me to this recently at a playdate and it was yummy!

If you try this recipe and love it too, let me know!

PRIZE!
My blog is giving away a one month supply of RetainerFresh Retainer Cleaner. Since the UBP site can't host anymore prizes (wordpress limit they tell me) I am giving away my prize myself. Leave a comment with why you would like the prize and who it would be for (you, your child, your friend, etc) and I will pick a winner March 15th! If you don't have a blog, leave an email addresss so I can notify you if you win!

Still recovering in new orleans

This is a blog I occasionally follow and thought it was worth reading and maybe someone has the resources to help.

Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

blogging and a quasi new year's resolution

I blog in my head all the time. See, when I am driving, in the shower or anywhere where my thoughts can go uninterrupted for any period of time I blog in my head. I always think of a topic and write it in my head and promise to go home and type it up. Rarely seems to happen. Then I started keeping a list of the topics I think of so when I am ready to write I can go back to it. But, the passion is gone and so is the story in my head. I look at the list and go "eh", not interested in writing about that now. Usually the topics are something from my daily life/thoughts that spark what I think would make an interesting blog post.

I have actually always been this way. I have written since I was a kid. Used to write short stories and such before I became an adult and life got in the way. As an adult I used to write short stories in my head while driving. The problem is I rarely sat down and put them on paper or in digital format. A shame.

So here is my blog post I wrote while in the shower 15 mintues ago. I think you will see why I decided to sit down and write it this time. (Besides the fact that both kids are napping at the same time for once!)

I don't make new year's resolutions. But, I like to say what I will TRY to do differently in the new year. This year it is to FOCUS. I want to focus on my life this year and get it under control. Since Katrina and not necessarily only because of Katrina I feel my life has been out of control. Katrina just seems like a mile marker in when it started to get crazy.

So I am going to focus on myself personally. And we all know that "If mamma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" I want to work on eating better and FINDING the time to exercise. The exercising has been the most challenging now that I am working part-time. Something had to give and unfortunately the exercise went first. I think if I focus on myself then the family life will only get better.

My second area of focus is our family finances. I used to have such a tight grip on that area and it seems it has gotten so out of control. Again, an area that I used to spend more time evaluating, adjusting, researching, etc. Now, I seem to pay the bills and let it run on auto pilot. Not good!

I am also going to focus on getting organized and completing projects in the house that I have longed to do but AGAIN, just haven't had the time to tackle them. Projects like - hanging all the black and white old family photos my hubby and I have collected from both sides of our family; finishing my son's baby book and putting pictures in it; going through the boxes of old files and paperwork that has accumulated in the corner of my room and either burning them or refiling in my new file cabinets I purchased a year ago!

This may sound a like a new year's resolution to you but it is not! It is me verbalizing that I will FOCUS this year and get some shit done! I am taking back control of my life!

Who the heck reads me?

Nolanotes writes that it is National De-Lurking Day and that if you lurk around blogs and read but never comment you should do so this week. So if you lurk around my blog and I have never heard from you I would love to! Leave a comment. Anywhere. On any post! I would love to know that someone other than the handful of regular commenters are reading me. Heck, if you have nothing to say, at least leave your blog address so I can read you!

I know you are out there. I can feel your presence . . . Hi mom.

P.S. To leave a comment, just click the "0 comments" link at the bottom of the post. Occassionally it says another number other than zero. Only on good posts. :-)


Image borrowed from Mamma Loves

sorry haven't written

It has been awhile since I have posted and might be longer. Hopefully I can post tomorrow. It is 11:00pm and I am beat. My 1yr old is teething something fierce. That on top of work demands and family obligations - this mom is going to bed!



Quote of the day:
"You can do it all yourself or you can make enough money to pay people to do it all for you." - My hubby (the dreamer)