Who Dat????

Twas the month before Christmas and no sign of snow.

But N.O. doesn't care cause the Saints are 11 & 0.

Dinkins scored a touchdown, Sharper intercepted a pass.

And the Who Dat Nation cheered when Brady was sacked on his ass.

Sunday the Redskins, to Washington we will go.

And when the Black and Gold get finished we'll be 12 ......& 0!

Go Brees, Go Bush, Go Harper & Ellis,

Our teams UNDEFEATED and the others are jealous!

On Thomas... On Shockey... On Sharper and Bell !

On Brees... On Colston... Let's give 'em hell!!

On Meachem... On Harper... On Roby... On Greer!

We Show'd Pretty Boy Brady the meaning of Fear!!

WHO DAT!!

The Saints and Marshmallow Witches

Well, I am absolutely on cloud 9. My New Orleans Saints are 7-0! One of the only 2 undefeated teams in the NFL this season. Who dat? Of course, they have kept me on the edge of my seat the last 2 weeks. But, in the end they have won. Maybe, they'll have their head 100% back in the game in time for Sunday's game against Carolina. This is one they need to win.



Also, for Halloween the kids made Marshmallow witches.


The directions are on my home school blog: http://swarmeracademy.blogspot.com/2009/11/marshmallow-witches.html

Here are the kids with their witches.

Tina


Carly


Caitlyn


Charlotte

Jeremy Shockey News from 2009 Mini Camp

Anyone who knows me knows that my favorite NFL player is Jeremy Shockey, the TE for the New Orleans Saints. This past weekend they had a Mini-Camp and here are the updates about him from it:

Day 1: Morning

* TE Jeremy Shockey was very involved this morning, making several nice catches and runs after the catch.

* Shockey getting loose down the seam on the final play of practice against the reserves for a long reception.

Day 1: Afternoon

* TE Jeremy Shockey catching a pass in the flat and turning it upfield, muscling his way past pursuing defenders.

* Shockey making a sliding 20-yard catch between the safeties on a pass from Brees.



Day 2

* TE Jeremy Shockey making a nice catch and run for a nice gain.

* Shockey catching a pass in front of Sharper, who reached in and wrestled Shockey for the ball as the two fell to the grass field. Shockey retained possession of the ball.



Day 3

* TE Jeremy Shockey made two nice receptions during the second portion of the team drills.



Head Coach Sean Payton Talks About Shockey

Q. Is this the Jeremy Shockey that you wanted to get, the player we saw on the field today?

A. “It was our first practice and he’s healthy, so you were able to see him move around better. But it’s early and we’ll see.”

Q. Is he as healthy right now as he has been since you traded for him?

A. “I think that’s true. He came here off the injury in New York and then he had the sports hernia. There has been enough time between both of those injuries now to where if he’s not 100%, he’s getting back into a rhythm.”

Q. Has he been at the OTAs?

A. “We had four OTAs that he was excused from. I use that term although he doesn’t have to be excused from them. There were four OTAs that he wasn’t able to be at, and we’re here at minicamp with eight more OTAs left.”

Q. What was your reaction to Shockey’s hospitalization? Did you talk to him?

A. “No, I didn’t. I’m sure I’ll have a chance to visit with him here. Really, outside of that, I know it happened on the weekend and out of town. What’s important is that he’s healthy and he gets back to what we’re doing here and getting on the same page with what we’re doing offensively and our quarterback. These repetitions for him – not only at the minicamp but at these next OTAs – are going to be important, especially coming off his injury.”

Q. Are you happy with his attitude throughout the offseason?

A. “This is the first offseason to my knowledge that he’s been around and been working. I would speak first from a group standpoint and I say this at the team meeting last night, we have a chance to where we’re over 35 players now that are over 100% of the workouts and that’s probably double where we have been in the last two or three years. This is the first year where everyone has been here; in other words we haven’t had a player holding out or not involved. There are various degrees of how much each player has been involved, but overall it has been our best offseason by far.”

And I am Continously Spoiled.....

I am kind of doing my posts out of order, but I need to take some pictures of my Mardi Gras goodies before I can do my post on my Mardi Gras experience. So, I will do this post first.

Now, as I said in my previous post, my husband surprised me for Valentine's Day by letting me have a "mini shopping spree", then surprised me with balloons and candy. Well, my spoiling didn't stop there. On Sunday, February 15th, he bought me dinner at Olive Garden. Granted, we ate it in our hotel lobby, it was still sweet. And while this may seem strange, on the 17th he paid for me to have 4 body piercings done (eyebrow, nose, labret, and navel) and on the 19th I got 2 tattoos. After that it was Mardi Gras weekend and then Fat Tuesday so there wasn't much surprising and shopping then.

Now, on February 27th, I get more. It's still a debate on whether it is still Valentine's spoiling or an early Anniversary gift. First, I really hated my cell phone. We got them because they were cheap and affordable at the time. I really missed my QWERTY keyboard for texting (I LOVE to text!), so we went looking. I had found one online for a decent price but honestly it wasn't what I wanted. So, after looking at AT&T, I went to Best Buy and went ahead and paid for the Samsung Pantech Matrix. Love it so far. Then I had to take the 2 pair of wrong sized pants back to the Black and Gold store. Since they were sale items I could only exchange rather than refund. So, I chose a Saints outfit (pants, tank top and jacket). I also REALLY wanted an authentic jersey which normally run $225. Well, they had them on sale so I got that too; Jeremy Shockey #88 of course. The next "gift" is kinda for both, but mainly for me. Soon, Chris has to leave for a couple of months while they wait for the next phase of this project. So, he bought the Tom Tom One XL GPS for me to use while he is gone. I can literally get lost anywhere! That was really all that was bought today.

He also took me by New Orleans Daiquiri Shop and I got me a 32 oz. Mudslide. Gotta love Louisiana and their drive thru Daiquiri shops!

Tomorrow I want to go to Grand Isle to see the Gulf. Doubt it, but I can hope.

Well, here is a picture of "The Swamp". Ok, it's Leeville where hubby is working. LOL

Valentine's Day 2009

First, my thoughts on this "holiday". Ok, so Valentine's Day, in the West, is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionary. Okay, I don't do all that. And besides, why do I need someone to tell me that on this one day, I'm supposed to show love and devotion to my husband. Shouldn't I be doing that all year round? Plus, I HATE the element of surprise. I don't know why, but I hate it. I don't mind having attention showered on me, but I don't want you to surprise me with it. And I dislike real flowers. If you're going to give me something to symbolize your love for me, don't give me something that will die.

Ok, so on February 13th, dh got off work early. He came home and announced that I could go anywhere I wanted to. Well, I wanted to go to the Black and Gold Sports Shop in Metairie, LA to look for my white Jeremy Shockey jersey. Well, needless to say, I walked out of there with a whole lot more. I think it was a PJ set, white jersey, 6 other Saints shirts, a couple pair of PJ shorts, and a pair of Fleur-de-lis earrings. Then I went to Wal-Mart and got some new jeans, a new pair of pjs, and a pair of black pants. In all he spent $500 on me. I need to take a few things back and exchange them. I had grabbed 2 pairs of pants from the Saints store but they were the wrong size. I may exchange them for a pair of Saints crocs and a maybe some Saints scrunchies. LOL Pictures of all this stuff will be coming soon.

On February 14th, Chris surprised me with 3 balloons and candy (hence read the first paragraph). Then I dressed up, kinda, and we did a poker game with his co-worker. I drank a few drinks. Nothing major.

The balloons:


The candy:

25 Randoms

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you (or even didn't tag you), it's because I want to know more about you...

I'm not doing the whole tag thing. If you post this about yourself, leave a comment so I can read yours.

25 Randoms About Crystal

1) I never dreamed of going into accounting. It was the page I flipped to and so I chose it. When I did all my personality assessments in my College Orientation class, my answers always came back to Accounting as one of the best majors for me. Guess something was telling what to do when I enrolled!

2) I do not trust very easily. If I give you my trust, don't blow it because you will never have it again. I won't eliminate you from my life, but I will never trust you 100% again.

3) My favorite toy as a child (and I was an 80's child) was Cabbage Patch Kids. I had 6 of them including 2 sets of "twins". Was it a glimpse into my future?

4) I used to be very active in 2 charities: March of Dimes (for my miscarried babies) and PanCan (Pancreatic Cancer Research in memory of my granddaddy). I miss it.

5) I love History. I could sit in a history class all day long and never be bored. When I was 10 I could tell you the chronological order of every Civil War Battle with general's names and casualties for each side. I have since forgotten this information!

6) When my first child was born, I did everything as I was told to. By the time #2 was 6 months old, I discovered I had a brain and capable of having my own thoughts. I am technically, by definition, classified as a "Crunchy Mama".

7) I was raised as a Washington Redskins fan. I always have been, until now..... Louisiana takes control over you and I am now a Saints fan. I still love the 'Skins though!

8) I love spicy food, which works out great considering I'm in Cajun Country!

9) I am 100% a computer geek. I taught myself everything I know on a computer. And if, you want the answer to something, I will find it!

10) I am a Republican. The only thing I will not agree with the republicans on is banning gay marriage. I believe they have just as much right to be miserable like the rest of us. Just kidding, about the miserable part. But, yes I believe they should have the same right to legally be called married as I do.

11) I find great fault in the Welfare system of this county. There are too many benefits abusers in the system and obviously nothing is being done about it!

12) I hate that the mother to my youngest nephew doesn't let me have contact with him. No matter what my brother does or says, I love that little boy and want to be in his life. I've already missed a year!

13) My favorite color is Pink! I LOVE PINK!

14) My dream is to one day have my house with palm trees in the yard.

15) I love to cook. I will cook all the time. I just hate cleaning it all up! I make up recipes, I collect recipes. I just love to cook! End of story.

16) I was anorexic/borderline bulimic in high school. By borderline, I mean I never made myself throw up; I just exercised my tail off. I starved myself for almost 4 years; eating little to nothing each day. I weighed anywhere from 80-90 pounds all 4 years. I weighed 85 the day we graduated in 1996; 90 when I got pregnant in 1997. I stayed that way until 2001. I'm not proud of it and I don't need criticism.

17) I can get lost anywhere! But I can always find my way back out, just don't ask me how I did it!

18) I have an above average IQ and graduated with honors, barely. I never applied myself in high school. One of my major regrets!

19) I believe everything happens for a reason, even if it hurts like hell! I've made mistakes, hurt myself, hurt other people, but in all honesty, if I change those mistakes then I change who I am today. And I don't want that.

20) I have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. My cabinets have to be a certain way. My drawers have to be organized a certain way. Clothes folded right. Dishes washed in a certain order. I will even eat my food in an order 90% of the time.

21) I have 7 piercings: 3 in each ear and my tongue. Want to get my navel done.

22) I was once a volunteer firefighter/EMT. I left when I became pregnant with my oldest twins (2005). Sometimes, I miss it.

23) I love the shows "Girls Next Door" and "Keeping Up with the Kardashians". Also like the show "Jon and Kate plus Eight". The Duggars annoy me so I rarely watch that. My favorite show is House though.

24) We all have a "celebrity crush". No matter how old we get. I don't know many people that don't. Mine is Jeremy Shockey, TE for the New Orleans Saints.

25) I have 2 items on my current wish list. Jeremy Shockey jersey's. One is from the Saints ($60) and the other was his college one ($190). I've been granted permission to buy the NFL one. Chris about passed out over the College one. LOL

A Look Into 2009!

Again, better late than never! Here are my goals for 2009:



1) Already broke this one: Blog every day. So, I'm changing it today to Blog at least 3 times a week. Maybe that will work better for me. I have 4 blogs, so this will be easy or a challenge depending how I look at it. Blog at least 3 times a week no matter which blog or blog at least 3 times a week in EACH blog. Hmmmm........ Please be sure to check my other blogs out.

2) Stay on schedule, if not ahead with my schoolwork. Last semester I allowed myself to fall behind which really hurt me. So, now I plan to stay right on with the syllabus, even if the professor gives until the end of the semester to have quizzes and such done.

3) Another school related one - Pull my GPA up to a 2.5. It's possible but I have to stay focused in all of my classes!

4) Find more interesting ways to teach the girls. I so hate structured school (hence why i take online classes).

5) Get us all officially moved to Louisiana.

6) Meet Jeremy Shockey (of the New Orleans Saints). Haha....... Just kidding although it would be cool!