Jessica Saggio

1 week ago | nola.com | Jessica Saggio

As I sat in the park with my baby girl, the minutes passed like molasses. I was reading her a book as we sat under a tree, listening to the sounds of the children on the playground and the wind gently rustling through the trees. Time felt like it was standing still. Gosh, I thought. I haven't taken the time to do this - just sit and relish a moment - in a while. With two older children, our lives are packed.

2 weeks ago | nola.com | Jessica Saggio

It was 1995 when Tim Ellzey got word that a community choir was starting up on the northshore. Ellzey, an engineer for Shell at the time, had always enjoyed singing, but life didn’t take him down the path of a career in music. So the engineer with a tenor voice took a leap and was one of the 150 who auditioned for the group in the living room of then-director and founder Laura Lane. He made the cut.

1 month ago | nola.com | Jessica Saggio

The annual Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off, one of the state's preeminent culinary competitions, is headed to the northshore for the first time this summer. The action will — quite literally — heat up on June 27 when renowned chefs from across the state head to the Harbor Center near Slidell to face off.

1 month ago | nola.com | Jessica Saggio

It was an emotional drive home, as the tears flowed from my daughter’s eyes. It was another disappointing day at the ball field. Yet again, she was playing a position she didn’t want. Yet again, she had to sit an inning. Yet again, I didn’t have a great answer as to why. She’s been playing her absolute best this season, putting in the work and keeping a positive attitude, performing well. And still, yet another disappointment.

2 months ago | nola.com | Jessica Saggio

I never wanted to be an old mom. It’s complicated, I suppose, why. I was raised by a mom who had me at 39. My siblings are both much older than me, the oldest being 16 years my senior. And I spent much of my childhood far too aware of my parents’ mortality. Not to mention, in the '90s, it was a little less common to have “an old mom” — taboo even — and I can remember being teased for it. Then, subsequently stressed about it. “Wow, your parents are old.