Are you smarter than my Wizard?

My last post about my dilemma regarding our airline tickets wasn't so much a plea for advice as a chance to see if anyone thinks like Walter the Wizard. I sure don't, so I was just curious. And really it wont be the end of the world if we lose the $300 and can use the other $500 for a credit on airfare if used in the next 12 months, but honestly, we'd love to just have the money back if possible. I told Walter what the policy was: there is a travel advisory in our area on our flight, so we could reschedule the flight within a week without losing any money, but we have nowhere to fly to and no time off from work to go anywhere next week. BUT, if the airline cancels the flight, we can get a full refund, so he said to reschedule another flight for the exact time the hurricane is hitting New Orleans and the airports will shut down and cancel all flights!! I was like....DOH!! Good idea!! So, I rescheduled our flight for Tuesday, September 2nd around 10am lol. Now, if somehow that doesn't work out, we'll just call and cancel and use the $500 credit later, but I really think he has made this happen.

I appreciated all of your suggestions and advice. I do have to address one comment in particular. And that would be Joe. My dear, beloved Joe. I have known Joe for 12+ years and have to alert the public that there is generally a hidden message in his comments and I had to laugh when I read his ideas today. He is asking me in his own little way to tell about my birthday weekend in New Orleans about 10 years ago. I can't remember which birthday, but Walter & I were dating then, so let's say 1999. Did we party like it was 1999? YES!! We had a large group of friends meeting in New Orleans for dinner somewhere (my friend, Dena, my secret blog reader will have to email me the name of the restaurant) and to go hang out in the French Quarter. We got to the hotel to check in and were in a hurry because there were a lot of people waiting for us at the restaurant. Now, i'm not good with details, but Joe is, so maybe he can fill in the blanks or correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like Walter, Joe, myself, and maybe another friend (Tammie?) got to our hotel room to open my gifts quickly and then get to dinner. When we got to the room, someone else was in it! I ended up having to open my gifts in the hall and we had no room at all. I had a piece of that hotel manager for dinner (not literally) and by the time I finished with him, he gave us the room free (and this was a nice hotel) and offered to bring us to the restaurant to make sure we made it on time, but we drove ourselves, giggling all the way. But really, I was mad. I don't mind paying for anything, but I get mad when I have to pay for something that is wrong. So anyway, thanks for the comment & the laugh Joe!

There are evacuations being ordered, including some areas around us, but mostly because they are low lying areas. Our house is up high and we are not in any danger of flooding, even living on the river. The worst we can expect as far as flooding is being trapped at home due to surrounding roads, but I'm ok with that. We have plenty of food, water, and will never lose power if our generator works as planned, so it will be ok. I am betting that we wont have work/school Tuesday or Wednesday, but we'll have to wait and see how the weekend goes.

My sister-in-law, Honey (not her real name - a nickname because all 3 of my sister-in-laws are named Mary...seriously) and her family might be coming from Waveland, Mississippi to ride the storm out with us. She, her husband, and teenage son were 3 of the 4 family members that we couldn't find for days after Hurricane Katrina. I am thankful to this day that we never heard it reported on the news that Waveland was "wiped off the map" until after we knew they were safe. Walter's nieces actually braved the flooded roads and the warnings and went and rescued the 3 of them and their dad, who was with them. We tried to help them, but could not buy gas anywhere to make the drive. Honey & the others didn't stay in their homes during Katrina, but went to a hotel MILES away from the beach to ride out the storm. A 35 foot wall of water sucked the houses off their slabs and flooded the city for miles. They were in a 2 story Holiday Inn and thought the 150 people there would have to go on the roof during the storm (150mph winds) to escape the flooding water that was almost COVERING the hotel, but fortunately, they didn't have to. A tornado destroyed all of their cars in the parking lot, as if they would have survived the floods anyway. So yeah, if they want to LEAVE Waveland this time, I welcome them in our house! Fortunately, she is boarding her THREE Bassett Hounds & ONE Blood Hound! I can imagine how much my cats would enjoy their company!

Work was crazy, buzy again today. I met with some kids I hadn't gotten to yet and got my schedule all worked out. I also did some planning with my co-worker for our Why Try groups that we will start next week. I'm excited about that!

As previously mentioned, I grew up with Mover Dave of the Imagination Movers! I've known him since I was probably 12 years old and i'm so proud of how far they've come in such a short time. Something you might find interesting, some of the Imagination Movers lost their homes in Hurricane Katrina! Anywho, Mover Dave's mom sent this link to my mom - the Imagination Movers were on the news talking about their Disney show. I haven't figured out how to save this video and post it, but here is the link!

http://ws.mymovo.com/Search/servlet/PlayServlet?reqsrc=RSS&title=+The+Imagination+Movers!+&providerName=ABC+News

I hope everyone has a safe weekend!!! Thanks for all of your prayers & support!! Hang in there Louisiana girls!!!