It’s summer time… time for rebirth and renewal! Saturday, Jun 26 2010

It’s been a full year since I’ve been here. Facebook and Twitter and foursquare have completely taken my attention span. I decided that I would attempt to revive the blog back in the manner that I gave life to it… as a blog about the three key things in my life…

The Kids:

• Eldest Child is heading off to HIGH SCHOOL. Yes, it totally merited those caps. It is scaring the bazookas outta me. Does she care? I don’t think so. Me, terrified.
• Only Son is finishing his last year of elementary school. Still the tiny little guy, same size as his baby sister, but willing to take her in a duel. This Middle Child perplexes me in how much he loves school but doesn’t want to show that he thinks school is “cool”. He is refusing to let me purchase the 5th grade class shirt. Sigh.
• Mini Me has exploded onto the scene. She’s going into 1st grade and is ready for high school. She’ll be taking her formal talented drama screening this fall. If she doesn’t make it, there is something seriously wrong here.

The Cats

• Hugo is the daddykins at 7. He doesn’t leave my bed unless I’ve come home and am sitting on the couch… then he comes to the front room to stare at me to inquire as to why I haven’t made it to bed yet.
• Mouse is still white and still deaf and is now 3. He has the run of the house since Hugo isn’t going anywhere that doesn’t involve me. But, he mainly sticks to windowsills or sofa cushions above Eldest Child’s head (preferably ON her head).
• Charlie, our Katrina wild child, has declared himself a wild child yet again. He’s five this year… a reminder of the storm and how much time and how much and how little has changed. He decided the outside life was no longer for him. He now protects the yard from the random cardinal or squirrel and if another cat should think of coming within a yard of ours… they’d better think again.

The Books:

• Well, let’s just say they keep on coming and they get better and better. I hope to review more often. I am now working as an elementary librarian at the school where Only Son and Mini Me attend. Luckily, it’s an advanced school so we have a wide variety of books to read.

NOLA:

• Lots to talk about, lots going on, lots still to do.

I hope you missed me. I hope you’ll be back.

NOLADawn

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So, I went to my 20th reunion and lived to tell about it! Tuesday, Jul 7 2009

What do you get when you put 50 women from a now defunct all-girls’ Catholic high school in a ballroom together? A PAWTY! (look up N’Awlins speak to decipher)

Interestingly, not much has changed. We had a girls’ night dinner on Friday night and the big shebang at a fancy French Quarter hotel on Saturday, with spouses invited (about half took up that offer.) Most of us hadn’t seen each other since we promised to K.I.T. when we left school in May 1989. Some had gone to the 5, 10, or 15 year reunions. However, with the popularity of facebook, we found almost 70% of our class online. Not everyone could attend because, unlike the NOLA tradition of staying near family, many classmates had moved away. Some were for jobs, some for spouses, some for Katrina. But, we were able to get about 50-60 girls in for the two-night affair.

Funny thing. When I looked around at the tables… we were all sitting in our cafeteria spots. Habits are hard to break, even after twenty years. We eventually mingled and realized what we’d been missing all this time. We all went out afterward to a (you can picture it in your head) Bourbon St. bar and danced and sang until 4 a.m. In the time since the reunion there have been sporadic gatherings and promises of monthly ones to come.

We’ll see but, I know I hope the spirit of our school continues on.

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Summertime… and the living ain’t so easy Tuesday, Jun 30 2009

It’s been one hellacious summer; already.

My library had to be packed up to move to the new school site and I had to prepare my library for the new school.  (oodles of fun, I HIGHLY recommend it)

It’s hot as Hades out there, can’t even stand to walk outside, much less partake in any family events.  I only have one kiddo left in summer camp.  And, she’s raring to go to Kindergarten so she’s not really digging the whole summer camp scene. The eighth grader and fourth grader are itching to get at my last nerve, but I have locked it away and they can’t have it.

GNOWP has gone on without me, sadly.  I couldn’t participate this year, much to my dismay.  At least I still got to keep in touch with them via Twitter and facebook.

I’m gearing up for the new school opening this August.  I’ll likely be back to work on July 20th to get the ball rolling.  Luckily, my two youngest, have tested into the academic magnet school where I am, so they’ll be with me and get a great enriching education.  BUT, it means all new uniforms, new friends, new everything.  I have a feeling they’ll be OK.

As for me… I’ve been doing what else.. reading and watching TV.  I rewarded myself with a Kindle2 for lots of overtime work and I’m thoroughly addicted.  Keeping up with my favorite authors on Twitter has become a new fave pastime.  Check some of them out at my twitter page http://twitter.com/noladawn

I promise (ok, I’ll make an attempt) to keep my blog updated more often.  Life tends to get away with you when you work too many hours and have three active kids.

Missed y’all!

NOLADawn

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Once again, no… I’m not dead… Monday, Feb 2 2009

Life is moving along albeit very quickly here in NOLA.  I am now working as a librarian in a school for academically advanced middle school students.  Hello, can you say, HEAVEN!!??  The kids are getting bigger; the cats are getting more in number (we’re up to six), and the to-be-read stack is ever growing.  I’m in school again to take my last two classes to become library certified.  So, my time is few and far between.  But, thought I’d post a ‘holla’ to y’all to say I’m still here.

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Surviving Gustav (with kids, cats, and books) Friday, Sep 5 2008

We decided to watch and wait.  Watch and wait.  Watch and leave.  We originally booked rooms “just in case” in Lafayette, LA.  Turns out that was right in the path of Gustav.  Scratch that plan.  We got rooms in Birmingham, AL.  Saturday I was still on the fence.  I really didn’t want to leave when G was still not even in the Gulf.  Ivan taught us about that.  I come from a family of “stayers.”  Ivan and Katrina are the only times I’ve ever left in my life.  Ivan… well that was a waste of 34 hours in a car with a 9 week old.  Katrina… well we all know how that turned out.  22 days in 2 states and 2 hotel rooms with 5 people, including a cat and a just-turned 1 year old.  So, call me stubborn, but unless I KNEW I had to leave I was a bit reticent to do so.

We woke up Sunday morning and decided we should go.  I convinced my sister-in-law, whom I love dearly, to call my brother-in-law, who…not so much, to see if we could just go to his house since he lives just outside of Baton Rouge.  It’s closer in case of an Ivan fiasco and cheaper in case of a Katrina ordeal.  He agreed and we cancelled the B’Ham reservations.  We left at noon on Sunday.  With contraflow in full effect we made great time (considering the 34 hours for Ivan and 28 for Katrina) of 2 1/2 hours!  We got to the house and immediately brought our five cats, in their kennels, into the house.  Our two choc. labs we brought into the fenced back yard.  SIL’s two dogs went to the back yard.  Our niece’s two lap dogs came inside in their kennel and her cat did likewise.  We were greeted with, “What’s that stench?”  Ummm, that would be a kitten that got sick on the car ride???  We’re going to clean the cage as soon as we get a chance to breathe.  Mind if we pee first?  Well, we brought the cats outside to clean out the cage and they were never allowed back in the house!  Nor any of the dogs, or my niece’s cat.  We were told where we could eat and drink and were told we were using too many of our OWN towels.

When power went out on day two… the generator was hooked up.  The tv and fridge were hooked to it, along with a couple of fans for the den and garage (for our poor indoor pets!)  Little did we know that they had a window unit cranked up in their bedroom!!

My kids were ridiculed for how much they ate (too much for the youngest, not enough for the boy, and just comments on how skinny my oldest was.)

I brought a book along for when the power went out.  Of course, that choice was questioned too, as it was a Katrina memoir.

I was even criticized (without even talking about it myself… I guess it was the bumper sticker on my car) for voting for a n*#%&!!!!  Well, let’s just say, I started drinking to keep my sanity then.  And of course, my Edge network went out about the same time, so my link to people with common sense, my Twitter folks, was gone.

The first they mentioned about coming home- we were on a mission.  Hubs and SIL went out at the crack of dawn and bought supplies for the trip home and we were off.  Home to find a house cold with a/c and my Direct TV working just fine.  Twittering non-stop now.  Boy, I missed NOLA.

People, remind me next time to head for Birmingham, please!

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3 years later Thursday, Aug 28 2008

3 years later.

Time heals all wounds?  Not when they keep getting ripped open.  3 years to the day and another one one the way.

Afraid to LEAVE ~ Afraid to STAY

Can’t we get a fucking break, really?

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Just Because Friday, Aug 15 2008

Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

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All you NEED is…. (The Need Meme) Sunday, Aug 3 2008

I was royally tagged by Mimi, the Queen of Memes.  To avoid being kept in the dungeon (which does awful things to my hair) I promised I would complete said meme by the end of the weekend.  Well, here I go with only hours to spare!!

The rules: All you have to do is Google your first name with the word needs behind it and post the results. Don’t forget to tag tag tag (if you are the tagging sort)!

So, I typed in “Dawn needs” into my handy Google search and presto… here are 10 of the 27,700,000 results from Google.

1. Dawn needs to get over herself.
2. Dawn needs a reality check!
3. Dawn needs a head count before Thursday of this week.
4. Dawn needs to be as mature as Buffy was once she started slaying.
5. Dawn needs a big glass jar to grown her own “brain in a vat.”
6. Dawn needs to go to the local media and give them all the facts.
7. Dawn and homeboy need to make it discreet and get a room, I don’t wanna see all that. (LOL, my personal fave!)
8. Am I the only one that thinks Dawn needs to do a nice Maxim/FHM spread?
9. Dawn needs the boot, and fast!
10. Dawn needs no introduction in the media world.

Not tagging anyone in particular.  If you haven’t played and want to, let me know and I’ll stop by!

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Six Word Memoirs Thursday, Jul 24 2008

So, in the Writing Project this summer, we worked on Six Word Memoirs.  I’ve been playing with them the last few days and here are a couple that I came up with.  Share some of yours if you’d like.  It’s simple; six words ONLY to describe you!

• NOLA girl reads books, loves cats.
• Mom of three minus sanity cubed.
• I teach so watch the grammar.
• New Orleans raised, storm can’t faze.
• Malibu makes anything better, even people.

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Oh. My. Gawd. Sunday, Jul 13 2008

Big Brother has a N’Awlinian Y’At (as in, Where’y’at dawlin’) as a contestant…. Ok, so we don’t ALL talk like that.  Trust. Me.

Phew.  I feel better now.  Back to your day.

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Wordless Wednesday- What’s more amazing than the circus? Tuesday, Jul 1 2008

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Summer Fun Thursday, Jun 26 2008

So, summer is off and running… I’m still working, sort of.  I’m helping out with the Greater New Orleans Writing Project, voluntarily 😀  It ends on July 9th, then I’ll have two weeks off before the Advanced GNOWP Institue starts, which I’m taking as a student…  Yay!  That lasts two weeks, then school starts back for me on August 6th.  So much for summer, huh?!  I have had some fun though.  Tuesday night I took my eldest daughter (going on 12 -going on 30-) to see Carrie Underwood.  By some sheer luck I snagged floor seats right next to the ramp where she walks out on the day of the concert!  Fantastic show!  It was her last date of the tour.  Then, last night hubby and I took the entire brood, plus our son’s best friend, to see the Ringling Bros. Circus.  They had a blast (as did I!)  We’re planning on taking them to the brand new Audubon Institute Insectarium that opened a few weeks ago.  It’s in the U.S. Customs House, which was sitting empty on Canal Street.  Since I last blogged we have also gained a new family member, a kitten we rescued from a lunatic teenager that was trying to drown him in a bucket of water.  Hubby came to the rescue and Gus now rules the house, even though he weighs not 2 pounds soaking wet!  Charlie has again taken on the “Baby Daddy” role.  Such a great Dad!

I’ll check back in as my super summer progresses…

Gus-Gus

Carrie Underwood

Big Kitties at the Circus

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Dona Nobis Pacem Wednesday, Jun 4 2008

Blog Blast For Peace ~ June 4, 2008

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Mimi’s Blog Blast for Peace Meme Tuesday, May 27 2008

Mimi began this wonderful movement almost two years ago. It has become a phenomenon, awing me from the onset. Here are Mimi’s thoughts on BlogBlast for Peace:
Peace Globes did not begin as a meme. But it began to behave like a meme. Blog to blog to blog. Like a fog. We didn’t use the word “tag” ….but that’s what we did when we invited others in our blogrolls to participate. The fact that you did so without the obligatory tag is proof that the concept is powerful.

It’s a fact that the fastest and most effective way to spiral an idea out of control in the blogosphere is via a meme. I should know! The 700+ bloggers who participated in past launches (and that truly is the tip of The-Iceberg-I-Never-Found) knows what it means to them. It’s about unity. We have that in spades. It’s about activism, awareness, crossing political lines, making a statement and sharing ideas. We’ve done that. We have the vision as a core group of bloggers for peace; but we do not – yet – have the power in numbers behind the message.

**Begin Copy**

BlogBlast For Peace Meme ~ Join The Revolution

Here are the rules and the story. Copy this into a post, ADD YOUR NAME to the bottom of the tag list and tag as many people as you’d like.

The Peace Globe project began in the fall of 2006 with a simple post from one blog, Mimi Writes. The post ignited a flame in the blogosphere. The flame became a passion. The passion became a movement. It amazingly traveled from blog to blog to blog across the globe. Bloggers wrote passionate articles on what peace means to them, along with the promise of three Latin words scribbled on a globe – Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant Us Peace) – branded with the integrity of their names or blog names. It was positively inspiring to watch. And it began to happen all over the world – from Singapore to China to Afghanistan to Brooklyn.

It was simple. And powerful.

In less than two weeks bloggers from all
across the globe will blog for peace.
We will speak with one voice. One subject. One day.
Won’t you join us?
June 4, 2008

How To Get Your Peace Globe In 4 easy steps!

1. Choose one of the four Peace Globe designs in this post. Right CLICK and SAVE in JPG format.
2. Sign the globe using Paint, Photoshop or a similar graphics tool. Decorate the globe anyway you wish. You can even include the name of your blog. Click here for hundreds of inspiring examples from previous BlogBlasts.
3. Return the peace globe to me via email ~ mimiwrites2005 at yahoo.com – Let me know your blog’s name and url by leaving a comment here and signing the Mr. Linky. Your submission will be numbered and dated in the official gallery . Your globe and post will be listed on the Official BlogBlast For Peace website and The Peace Globe Posts page.
4. Here’s the most important part — On June 4, 2008 DISPLAY YOUR GLOBE IN A POST. Title your post “Dona Nobis Pacem”. This is important. The goal is for all blog post titles to say the same thing on the same day. Write about peace that day or simply fly your globe.Click here for examples of peace globe posts from previous BlogBlasts.

(Go HERE for the other 3 globe template choices!)

When Silence Speaks, Scribbit, Flashing Yellow Lights,Whynotblogitout, Bitch Ph.D.,Rocks In My Dryer, Sprittibee,Embracing Momminess, Izzy Mom, Shadowscope, Fussy,, Live Granades, Write From Karen, MotherBumper, The Musings of Yet Another Working Mom, TricycleBlog, john k stuff , MC Hammer, Brazilian XC Skier, Process Recess, Ear Farm , Rick Mercer, Not Martha, Vegan Lunch Box, You Ain’t No Picasso, Motel de Moka, Guyana, amond Geezer, Vitriolica Webb, Sleepless in Sudan, India Uncut, Kieden, What Up Willy!, UUUHHHGGG-rrrrRRR!, The Lonely Island , ScuBlog, Treo 650 Tips , Lovento, My Life on a Plate, Little John PalmOS, Finding Lisp, The Splintered Mind, Under Aged RVers, Casa del Ionesco, HorsePigCow, Xooglers, Lou Romano, Pimpwiz, Getting a Leg Up, Coffee House to Go, e, OK Go, Doob LaVey, Nickels for Katrina, Boy Who Heard Music, Arthur’s Many Steps, One Movie a Day, California Eating, Movie Watcher’s Diary, Lucky Cracker, This Is Not Art, Operation Eden, Night Stalker Blog, Ah Yes, Medical School, 3 x 5, Amanda UnBoomed , GSO blogcon, Hooked on Heat, Mini-Microsoft, The Language Guy, No Rock&Roll un, Writely, Las Fashionistas, Wo, Jeani’s Blog, Blog from Bolivia Ottmar Liebert Am I Bugging You Yet? Alexa Lightning Studio Twinkie Experiment Belle in the Big Apple, Photo-A-Day, Circadiana, Eye Of The Storm, Jeremy Blachman, Blue Bottle Coffee, Trail Runner’s, Anonymous Lawyer, ClipTip, HD For Indies, NY Jets Blog, Hoopty Rides, Bored, Vietnamese God, Hot Dog Spot, Holla Back NYC, A Consuming Experience, The Festivus Pole, Google Video of the Day, Blogger in a Snap, Simplicity, Founder Frustrations, Sakya Monastery, PuppetVision Blog, Camera Toss, VoodooPC, Daniel Thompson Microtonal Composer, altjiranga mitjina, Alchemy Anyone?, Video Archive by Daniel Thompson, Island Writer, Critique my Blog, Clickworthy Links, 11th Commandment, Blah Blah Blog – The Soap Box, Profile Directory, The Junkdrawer of Thought, Lutes, Viols, and Other Ancient Instruments, To Love, Honor, and Dismay, Truth: The No Spin Politically Incorrect Zone, Thermal, Smiling Sunflower, Reel Hollywood, Just a Hippie Gypsy, IT Guy Blogs, Pastoral Ponderings, Bible Study Blog, Surviving NJ, Mike’s Place, A Girl Worth Saving, 4Simpsons Blog, Here Comes a Storm in the Form of a G, rasshopper Ramblings, The Blog of Logs, Pointless Drivel, Pest Control Information and Facts, Blog Name Removed, Pickled Eel, The Witch Doctor Is IN, The Foo Logs, More Cowbell, A Musing Farf, My Life Shelly, Beautiful British Columbia, Resources for the Microtonal Composer, Save Sheila, Gem-vita, Hippie Spelunker, Crunchy Carpets, Surviving Motherhood, The Ordinary Adventures of Tomas, Who Are We, Musings, Money, Matter, and More Musings, Digital Traveller, Rollie at Friday’s Fry, Infinite Monkeys, Get a Klu, Crush Liberalism, Dan’s Blah Blah Blog, Down River Drivel, hedyblog, Just A Girl In Short Shorts Talking About Whatever, Life Hiker’s Trail Diary, Living Next Door To Alice, More Very Unimportant Stuff, Neurotic Me, Niagaran Pebbles, Pole Hill Sanitarium, R World, Ragebot, Second Effort, Sonja’a Scraps, Sorting The Pieces, Steve’s Nude Memphis Blog, That Girl, The Velvet Blog, Blog About Your Blog, JeremyJacobs.com, Blog That Mommy!, Celebrity Scoop, Tricia’s Musings, Odd Planet, Breath of Life Photography, As the Garden Grows, BackBeBetter, Hunna’s Happenings, MissMalaprop.com, The Tigers,, Small & Big, The Shopping Duck, Sejant Before the Muse, Award Haven, The Windows Shopper, Central American Rhapsody: A Cautionary Tale, Bicycle Diaries, Mike’s Mixed Memories, Adventures of the S-Team, eFIPO.com, Spluch, Mary Blogging Duffy, 365 Days, Simple Kind of Life, Thermal, Turning The Pages Of Life, Us Danes, Worldman, A Place I Call Home, Beautiful British Columbia, Boating in Beautiful British Columbia, Crafts 4 Dummies, Crazy 4 Pink, Crunchy Carpets, Cuter than Martha, Hugo Says, I Was Born2cree8, Instant Gratification Girl, Just Me, Quilt Nut, Reba’s Run, Terramia, Jenna B, Loren Baker, ImmaAlice, Ramblings and the Likes, WTIT Tape Radio, She Says It’s Pretty Dumb, Ramblings of an Undisturbed Mind, Stormdrane’s Blog, Colloquium, Clutzy’s Clutzes, The Awkward Epiphany, Rogers Bla Bla, The Rhetorical Letter Writer, Maine Stay Inn, Second Effort, Beta Blogger for Dummies, Fungi Thinking, Eclectic Spaghetti, Spandex and Hairspray, Peanut, Peanut Butter…Jelly!, Wasting Time, My Throwaway Blog, My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings, Heroines and Heroes (Blogger Poem), Life is falling to pieces: an illustrated journal, A Day in the Life…, Wise and Foolish, S Nicolas Originals, Brave New Word, A Homesteading Neophyte, Twenty-three and Counting, Dr. Blogstein, Controlled Chaos, And Another Thing…, meloncutter musings, A Dog A Day, Memoirs of a Gouda, Jane Lake Makes a Mistake, Bitter Cup of Joe, Web Gamin, Totally Biased Book and Movie Review, These Are Me Thinks, Mascaline Visions 4.0, Vicepost: All the Good Things In Life, Cozy Reader, New Mom On The Blog, Using My Powers For Good, Bold Contemplations, Dreamy Destinations, Waterfalls Uplift, New Kid on the Blog, Memoirs of an Inmate’s Wife, Purrchance to Dream, The Tome of Communism, A World of Bloggers, R2K, Worldof Reeholio, Portfolio Reeholio, Creative Truth, New York Bathrooms, Micro Images Blog, High Power Rocketry, The Club, The Woman Speaks 18 Languages But Can’t Say “No” in Any of Them, Food for a Living, The Gluten Free Post, Theory of Thought, LAEvanesce: Muses and Opines, Grease TV – You’re The One That I Want – Review, Bloggers Helping Bloggers, Life as Stripes, Yada Yada Yada, UK Fashion News, Westward Ho Folks, Irish’s Cartoons, This S#%t Drives Me Crazy!!!, Bono Is Brian Peppers, Adventures in Time and Space, Dooce, A Brain Like Mine A Lovely Promise A Series of Tubes, Flippy, Blogging by Sandee, Comedy Plus, Kids, Cats, & Books: What Else Is There? YOUR NAME HERE!
You do not have to be tagged to play!
Please consider passing this meme through the blogosphere.
This is Mimi Pencil Skirt reporting from
the lovely land of the Peace Globes.
Memeing the Movement.

**End Copy**

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Hornet Love (or… what’s been taking up some of my time) Monday, May 19 2008

My blogfriend, Sarah, made this awesome video to celebrate the Hornets season so far.  Check it out.  Also, check out her fan site at HornetsHype!

New Orleans Hornets Fan Slideshow 2008

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