Post-Gustav Musings

Hurricane Gustav has come and gone and hopefully Ike will stay away. I think the last hurricane that affected me personally this much was Andrew back when I was fresh out of college and living in Baton Rouge. Katrina and Rita were huge for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, but not horrible for me.

Gustav made sure we would never forget him. It sounded like the wind was going to blow the house down, John M's swingset collapsed, my mom's pool looked like a swamp and our yards looked like doomsday had struck. It took A LOT of cleanup and it was baking hot, we were without power for 8 days, and groceries were hard to come by. Oh yeah, and Mark's barn blew away. In the end, our house had no major damage and everyone was safe.

The funny thing is, most of our time after the storm (we were off of work for a week) was good. Why? I'll make a short list.

1.) We spent it together, with my mom, and my sister and her family. The kids played in the puddles, made lots of play dough art, and laughed a lot.

2.) We got back to basics. I cooked 3 meals a day (well, for a while, until McDonald's reopened!) We hung clothes out on the line to dry. I think I'm gonna leave my clothesline up; I found that I loved having one.

3.) The storm brought a little cool weather for a couple of days. There was a nice breeze blowing off the lake and for 2 nights, we slept with the windows open and had to cover up with 2 blankets. Amazing, when the usual September weather is in the 90s.

4.) When things started to get back to normal we appreciated things we usually take for granted. Mostly air conditioning!

Now, let's all cross our fingers that Gustav's friends leave us alone and I can use my clothesline because I want to, not out of necessity. I'm off to buy some clothespins . . .

Stormy

Gustav is on his way.

Thank goodness for Mark otherwise I'd be totally unprepared. I'm more the 'It's not gonna be that bad' type. We're pretty far inland so we usually get some wind and rain, but nothing really bad. That's the way to jinx us, huh? Knocking on my head right now.

I'm also Mrs. Last Minute and went to the store in my hometown today at 1:00, only to find that had closed up shop at 12:00. You snooze, you lose.

We do have a few batteries, a couple of working flashlights, a generator, and lots of junk food. Isn't that all you need?

I'll check in after Gustav leaves town.

Oh, and the book giveaway. The lucky winner is Cheryl! And it's her birthday weekend too! Cheryl, send your mailing address to me (frogola69@yahoo.com) and the book will be coming your way.

John's Wish

You know that big, blue octopus? Oswald.
We were watching that last night; Oswald had a wish coming to him so he was consulting all of his animal friends on what his wish should be and what they
would wish for.

John M. looks at me with this 'duh' expression on his face and says 'Well, I'd
wish for a big, big, big slip and slide that went all the way to the sky'. He
seemed to be thinking 'Why does Oswald even have to think about it? Doesn't
everyone want one of those?!'.

I . . . (stolen from Cheryl)

I am: burnt out with work lately. I need a vacation (or possibly early retirement!)
I think: I need a margarita to help me feel better.
I thank: God that my family is healthy and happy.
I know: that my kids are growing up way too fast.
I wish: I could lose those 6 lbs. I just discovered I gained.
I hate: obnoxious people.
I miss: my friend, Jolie.
I feel: hungry!
I shop: online way too often. I started Xmas shopping today.
I crave: a big Ol' Timer burger from Chili's with fries and jalapenos!
I wonder where my lost pair of sandals are.
I dream: about seeing my Daddy again.
I love: my Guitar Heros on the right.
I always: eat too much.
I sing: to my Sugarland CDs in my car.
I cry: way too often.
I don't always: make my bed, wash the dishes in the morning, etc.
I write: with my left hand.
I pray: in my car on the way to work.
I lose: sandals, apparently.
I listen: to my girls' music because they make me!
I am scared: of the dark.
I dance: like a spastic chicken.
I need: hugs from my kids.
I surf: WAY TOO MUCH.
I dread: the dentist.
I anticipate: summer vacation!
I laugh: a lot. People around me crack me up.

Are you still around? If so, Wake UP! It's over now.

Lookout Summer, Here We Come!

As you probably know, SUMMER is my favorite time of year. Yes, it's steaming hot down here, but for a woman with the body temperature of a king snake, this is a good thing.

I thought I'd make a little list of things I hope the summer has in store:

- lots of days at the pool

- popsicle after popsicle

- some rainy days for splashing in puddles

- a day or two at our local water park

- oh, feasting on some Dippin' Dots at the above water park

- a nice, relaxing vacation

- another trip (or two!) to the beach

- backyard barbecues!

- some tubing on the lake for the kids (I'll watch from the boat!)

- taking the boy fishing

Here's to summer!

Mud Puppies

A couple of weeks ago, we had lots of rain. Which, in my yard, equates to a lot of mud puddles.

This is what happened next.