Kelly Leahy writes the weekly column "Life on the Isle" for bloggingneworleans.com from her Carrollton home. She is a stay at home mom of one girl with one more baby on the way,

How's ya mama and dem? My folks are great. Although both are native Vermonters, they've finally flown south to Florida where they don't have to shovel the driveway anymore. My brother lives in Virginia with his wife where he puts bad guys behind bars.

Where'd you go to high school? When I first moved here, people would ask, "where did you go to school?" and I would go on a long description of my undergraduate studies at UMass and SACI, Florence. To their credit, they were very patient and then clarified, "where did you go to high school?" This is the only place in the world that I think this question carries any weight. I went to pubic high school in Essex Jct., Vermont. Private schools were not nearly as common as they are here.

So how long have you been here? I moved here with my husband (then boyfriend) in the summer of 2000. I would never recommend moving in August if you can help it. We bought our first house in the fall of 2002, were married on the river in 2003 and delivered our first child here in the summer of 2005.

Were you here for the storm? Where did you spend your evacuation? We knew better than to stay in New Orleans for the storm but we didn't go far enough. We rode out the hurricane with friends in Mandeville. We had our two cats and eleven day old baby with us as well as my mother who was visiting. From there we traveled north to South Carolina for a couple of weeks and then I took the baby to Tucson for a couple more weeks while The Husband returned to New Orleans for his job. We were back in our house by early October.

What's the weirdest/most interesting/unusual thing you've done in New Orleans? Aaah. Hm. That would have to be something called "propane hunting" which I can't go into specifics about but it was by far the most unusual thing I've ever been a part of. Second to that would be SantaCon New Orleans which I did for a few years. SantaCon entailed getting dressed up in a cheap Santa suit with several other Santas and making our way through the Quarter singing dirty carols and drinking.

What's the stupidest question anyone's asked you about New Orleans? I guess that the stupidest assumption is that I've bared my breasts to get beads. Next to that, people have tried to engage me in conversation about Katrina and the recovery when I am traveling. I love to discuss the city with people who truly are interested but I get really annoyed when people bait me with things that they have heard on talk radio about how there's no point in rebuilding the city because it's doomed geographically, socially or economically. This was especially hurtful while I was evacuated and didn't know if I still had a home.

Do you have any good New Orleans hangover remedies? Any other voodoo up your sleeve? My "remedies" always involved clutching the toilet bowl the morning after. However, a trip to The Trolley Stop before bed never hurt.