Colleen MooneyAuthor Bio - Colleen Mooney, New Orleans Louisiana In the south, and in particular, New Orleans--where I am from and live--women are southern, Catholic and guilty. We are also a lot like boomerangs. If we move away, we come back, mainly because we fel guilty about leaving. I've relocated to other cities three times returning to New Orleans in between each move before leaving again. If you count Katrina, I have moved out and back four times. I plan to stay put now. My entire family was born, raised and still live here. We are from The Irish Channel in New Orleans. Irish. More guilt. I had to start in the public school system. My mother immediately transferred me to St. Christopher Catholic Grammar School as soon as there was an opening. From there it was onward to Sacred Heart of Jesus High School and I graduated from Loyola CATHOLIC University of the South with a B.S. in Guilt, or maybe it was something else. What stuck with me from all this Catholic education was never take no for an answer, and if you aren't afraid of a nun, you aren't afraid of anything. I put myself through college working as a legal secretary, worked at the New Orleans Hilton, then was hired by Bell. The Bell system morphed, and my career followed the company renamed, down-sized, up-sized, and re-sized until I spent 20+ years working for, and retiring from AT&T. I have worked and lived in New York City, Madison, New Jersey, Atlanta, Georgia and Birmingham, Alabama. I have been an avid Scuba diver for many years and made lasting friendships from dive trips. Underwater photography became as much fun as scuba diving, and I've traveled all over the Caribbean, Mexico, Baja, and the Indian Ocean. I discovered there is no limit to how long I can live on a boat before I need to step foot on land. I love to travel, and my mother always said I was born with a suitcase in my hand. Except for a brief stint where I first bought, then had to learn how to ride a motorcycle, I have been a water baby. For one birthday I learned how to sail, bought myself a 34-foot sailboat, learned to race and raced it across the gulf. I crewed on super yachts in Key West for race week and captained 50-foot sailboats for Interline Regattas in the British Virgin Islands. I have been a member of many Mardi Gras Krewes, Super Krewes, and organizations. I belong to The Krewe of Cork and the Krewe of Boo, both parade in the French Quarter. I enjoy cooking and entertaining friends and joining in all New Orleans has to offer-sailing and racing on Lake Pontchartrain, Mardi Gras, parties, and festivals, or just having a cocktail sitting outdoors at a favorite local bar. I am an ardent animal lover and am the Director for a breed rescue, Schnauzer Rescue of Louisiana. I love to write, and I write about what I know and love! You can take the girl out of New Orleans, but you cannot take the New Orleans out of the girl! Feel free to email/contact me at colleen@colleenmooney.com, or my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/Colleen Mooney, Author and my blog www.colleenmooney.com. If you want to talk Schnauzer you can see our rescues on www.NOLASchnauzerRescue.com or email me at nolaschnauzer@gmail.com. amazon.com/author/colleenmooney Read More Read Less