New Year, New Moments (Not Sports Related)

Patty V • December 31, 2022

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Forgive me in advance, there are no sports discussed in this article.


What is it that brings you happiness?


As we head into a New Year, we all (hopefully) have hopes and dreams, goals that we would love to accomplish. Most people take the change in a calendar year to plan for their future. They look towards how they can better themselves.


For me, I take the change in the year as an opportunity to reflect. The last few years have been extremely challenging for many folks. Politics, health, crime, heck, even sports misery can factor in to why folks look to plan for a better tomorrow. If you're anything like me though, you live in the moment. You feel in the moment. After the moment has passed, you quickly move on to the next thing. I am constantly trying to better myself, so resolutions for me are non existent.


As I reflect, it allows me the opportunity to look at how I've grown through the year, and how I can better focus heading into the next chapter of life. Im aging. We all are. How do I continue to grow whilst managing day to day life?


There's a book that I'm very fond of. It's called "Power of Moments" by Chip and Dan Heath. Essentially this book discusses how small moments in life carry an immense amount of power. It's why when we take vacations we remember the highs and forget the lows. One defining moment is both memorable and meaningful.


In 2022 I faced many things. For me, 2022 represented more change than I have seen in recent history. I experienced every spectrum of emotion, and somehow have had to manage those emotions, channeling them into a better life for my loved ones. I got married, we moved into a new house, created many great new memories as a family, grew closer with friends, changed jobs, learned crafts, built things, and joined on as a writer/podcaster with The Kneaux. I also lost though. I lost one of my dearest loved ones. He was special, and left one of the largest impacts on my life that anyone has.


In dealing with this loss, it has made me wonder how I can overcome the hurt. How do you overcome the pain of loss? For me, I am an eternal optimist. With this, I go back to that book I discussed, "Power of Moments". This book states that there are five things you can do to find great good in great suffering. They are: Look for small peaks, celebrate and honor relationships, acknowledge your strength, identify new possibilities, and look for spiritual insight.


Now you may be wondering, "Patty, why are you sharing this junk, what does this have to do with resolutions or 2023?" My answer to you, is that I suggest as you look towards 2023, and you look for resolutions or changes, incorporate those 5 recommendations into your daily life. Everyone wants to lose weight, or stop drinking, and those things certainly matter. However, I implore everyone to make their 2023 memorable, make it matter, that way when you look back at the end of next year you're not wondering why you couldn't stick to your resolution, but you look back fondly of all of the memories made.


Expanding on this more, a little more sideways, go create moments. Go live, respectfully, full of love. Create happiness in the dark. Be the beacon of light for others who need it. I am so thankful for the memories I've made this past year.


May your 2023 be blessed with happiness, wealth, and health.


All the love in the world,



Patty


Follow Patty V on Twitter.


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By Chrissy Smith December 15, 2025
Team Stats (Pelicans @ Bulls) Final Score: 114-104 Rebounds: 53-43 Assists: 21-26 Blocks: 5-5 Steals: 7-10 Turnovers: 14-13 Stat Leaders (Pelicans/Bulls) Scoring Leaders: Jeremiah Fears, Trey Murphy III, 20; Coby White, 20 Rebound Leaders: Trey Murphy III, 10; Nikola Vučević, 8 Assist Leaders: Derik Queen, 6; Josh Giddey, Coby White, Tre Jones, 5 My Player of the Game: Trey Murphy III Takeaways The Pelicans have won two games in a row! James Borrego has figured something special out with this team, and it's so fun to watch . For the first time in five years, Zion played his first minutes coming off the bench, and it was so good to see Z back on the court weeks ahead of schedule. New Orleans started off the third quarter on a 10-0 run and ended up winning by 10 points. This team is so talented with everyone playing an important role in games. The Saints won today so to have them win as well as the Pelicans was really good for the city. The Pelicans play their next two games at home on Thursday and Saturday. Follow The Kneaux on X , and follow me there too @SportsChrissy.
By Greyson Jenkins December 15, 2025
New Orleans Saints 20 - 17 Carolina Panthers Let me start by saying this is officially the happiest I have been as a Saints fan since the hot start the Saints had in 2021 with Jameis Winston. I felt great when the team started hot last season, but I also recognized what Derek Carr was for the organization: a placeholder. I don’t mean that as a slight to Derek Carr by any means, but the team needed to find a young and promising quarterback for the team to actually reset for the future. Well… that time has come with Tyler Shough beating the two top teams in the division in back-to-back weeks. Have the games been perfect? No, but I didn’t expect them to be with a rookie quarterback and a roster depleted of talent. That being said, as someone who doesn’t live in New Orleans, I have to imagine that the city is riding on a high tonight, and hopefully that continues into the offseason. With all of that being said, let’s break down the awesome performance by Tyler Shough and Co. Tyler Shough Shough has continued to improve every single week as a starter, and he seems to consistently take over in clutch moments. Against the Dolphins, he gave Olave a chance to win the game for the team, but it was dropped. Against the Bucs last week, he took over with his legs to take the lead in the fourth. This week, he once again showed up against the Panthers and delivered as perfect a pass as you will see in the NFL to Chris Olave against all-out pressure with Jaycee Horn in coverage. You cannot ask for more from this young rookie, and I will continue to be baffled if I don’t see all of the NFL pundits on ESPN and the other sports networks putting the word out there that Tyler Shough may be the guy for the Saints. Shough finished the night 24/32 for 272 yards and a touchdown, in addition to being the leading rusher of the day with 32 yards. Not only did he elevate this Saints offense, but he also did so even after Cesar Ruiz, Devin Neal, and Devaughn Vele went down. As much as I love Rattler, I can’t say that I believe he would have been able to overcome a similar situation. The Saints have their quarterback of the future, and now the question is, do they give him weapons or try to go and get pieces to make the defense more disruptive? In my mind, they should go and get Jordyn Tyson, Carnell Tate, or Jeremiyah Love and do whatever it takes to see what Shough has in him in 2026. The Defense After allowing another opening drive touchdown in this game, the Saints’ defense has allowed the opposing team's offense into the endzone in five of their last six matchups. That being said, the defense has played well enough in these games to allow their offense chances to make plays to win games. I love what I am seeing for Chase Young, as he has exceeded all of my expectations since coming back from injury. He now has six sacks in the nine games he’s been healthy, and I can all but guarantee he’d have more if the opposing offenses had anyone else they had to worry about on the Saints’ defensive line. If the Saints do go defense to start the draft, Arvell Reese will be the obvious first choice, but I’m not sure they’ll be in the range to pick him. So instead I could see them going with Caleb Downs if they choose to go that side of the ball with their first, or instead wait to go defensive line with their second. I believe the Saints can wait to take a corner in this one, with Quincy Riley and Kool-Aid both showing they are at least average cornerbacks in the NFL. Yes, Quincy Riley did allow a touchdown in this one, but it was mainly because he tried to look for the football instead of simply playing the receiver after being beaten. This will quickly be coached up and is a common mistake you see made by cornerbacks across the league. In my eyes, the key to truly making this defense take another leap would be to fix the interior defensive line. Although they can somehow stop teams repeatedly in goal-to-go situations, opposing teams have found dominant success with inside run schemes. Once the team can fix that in the offseason or in the draft, this defense may find itself in the top half of the league for the foreseeable future. Kellen Moore If this game ended at halftime, I would once again be on here with numerous negative things to say about Kellen Moore. He made a bad challenge on the Panthers' first drive, he wasn’t aggressive to end the half, the offense started slow once again, and the penalties began to pop up, similar to earlier in the season. That being said, the game didn’t end at halftime, and Kellen Moore helped lead this team back in a divisional game, building more and more confidence for this team and what they’re building. Moore finally won his first challenge of the season, and his playcalling on the final two drives was textbook. He knew exactly how to take advantage of the clock and the Panthers’ “soft” defense, and was a major reason the Saints were able to win this game. If Kellen Moore can continue to build hope and make it look like he knows what he’s doing while navigating this roster in the middle of a rebuild, he’ll keep me in his corner. Let’s see what he does to start next week’s game against a Jets team that just let Trevor Lawrence look like he was back playing at Clemson The Irish Hammer I don't have too much to say, but a huge shout-out to Charlie Smyth for going two-for-two on the day with two 40+ yard field goals and a 47-yard game-winner to take down the divisional rival. Charlie Smyth is still developing, but it appears the Saints have found their kicker, and I'm excited to see when he gets the chance to break the new 67-yard field goal record. Cheers to the Irish Hammer. Offensive MVP: Tyler Shough Defensive MVP: Chase Young Special Teams MVP: CHARLIE “THE IRISH HAMMER” SMYTH
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