Saturday

Good news on the diet so far! Since Monday, I have lost 5 lbs. and Walter has lost 4! It hasn't been very hard to stick to the diet and we are going to keep going! We will likely not be able to stick to the diet tonight because we are taking Cameron & Bryce to a Mexican restaurant for Cameron's birthday and there really isn't anything low carb on the menu. You may think that a taco salad without the shell would be ok, but seasoned beef is full of carbs, I've discovered! So, we are just going to enjoy a nice dinner and then go back to our diet once we get home.

Work was busy yesterday, but went by fast and I'm glad to be home for the weekend!!! My co-worker, Joan, & I held the first Why Try group with some of my 6th graders, and it went ok, but the kids were really silly when we first put them together and were only somewhat cooperative, but as they get used to the group, it should be better. We had the kids introduce themselves and tell a little about themselves, then explained briefly what Why Try was about. The teacher was supposed to have the kids come straight to our room at the scheduled time, but that didn't happen, so we lost 15 of our 30 minutes just waiting to have someone find the kids. Overall, it was ok and i'm looking forward to next week. Joan had to lead the 7th grade group at another of my schools by herself due to the meeting I found out about at the last minute, and that group did not go very well at all. We really do need to have 2 of us, at least at first, to keep the peace and settle the kids down. Unfortunately, I can't make it to that group next week either! I offered that Joan could just skip next week, but she wants to go ahead and have the group again. Many of the kids think automatically that they are in trouble or that the group is for the "bad kids" and it really isn't. It is for kids who need motivation, help making good choices, and dealing with peer pressure, but I know it causes some anxiety for the kids at first.

Thanks for all of the kind comments about JP's poem, and yes, I do plan to frame it! He said in his letter that he hoped I would frame it or put it on the refrigerator. He called last night to get some addresses of people who wrote to him, including my friend, Lesley! You can never imagine how much it means to hear from people when you're in a place like that. What's crazy though is that they can't have the envelope, so he doesn't always have a return address. What do they think you can do with an envelope? Anywho, he is doing good and was very happy to have gotten some mail. I found out yesterday that his Maw Maw (his dad's mother) completed her chemotherapy for lung cancer and the cancer is gone! She still has to have radiation to "sterilize" the area, but the cancer is gone. She & her husband both have other health problems, but at least that is not a problem anymore. They live about 15 minutes from me and I try to check in on them when I have a chance. They are good people and helped me so much with JP when he was little.

Walter's 50th birthday party was scheduled for today and I'm so nervous that people didn't get the email about us rescheduling it and will show up today!!! I made sure I cleaned the house good just in case!! Things like that just happen to me, so I know better than to think nobody will show up! Walter wants to rent a daiquiri machine for the party like we did at my graduation party and i'm excited about that! It was such a great idea and everyone loved it!

Yes, you know what night it is!

Yes, it's steak night!!! The best thing about the Atkins diet is that I can eat my favorite ribeye steak, sauteed mushrooms and veggies!! We will go whenever Cathy & Brent get home, which hopefully wont be long from now. Walter is stopping on the way home to get his hair cut at a little salon down the street but i'm sure he'll be home before them. I went and got my hair cut this afternoon and it came out cute. I'd take a picture except that I didn't get the girl to blow dry it, so I'll do that this weekend.

I got a poem from JP in the mail today and it really touched me. If you can get past the drug use and subsequent behavior problems, he is a wonderful person, and I have always been able to get past that to see him for who he is, but can't allow that in my house or around Cameron. He is a former "gifted" student, although I never liked that label. He was tested for the program in 2nd grade and we were told that only 1% of the population has an IQ as high as his. So, to see him end up where he is today, in jail, and possibly for the next 40 years is really hard for me. But as I've said, I turned him over to God even before the incident happened that landed him in jail 18 months ago and I feel certain that God is going to give him a second chance. Ok, but here is why I said all that...check out the poem he wrote me. I really had to laugh about the "always on time," because I am, neurotically, always on time. He is that way too, thanks to me, which I guess is a good thing!

I was tagged by Anissa for this meme!
1. Where were you 10 years ago? Just starting to date Walter, partying like a rock star with my friends, working as an office manager.

2. What is on today's To Do List? Drop boys off at school, work, hair cut, steak night, read blogs and new book.

3. What would you do if you were a billionaire? Pay off all my bills, give money to all of our family members, set up savings accounts for our kids, pay for anyone to go to college that wants to go, donate millions to charity, start a shelter for cats.

4. Name 5 places you have lived. Baton Rouge, Louisiana; East Point, Georgia; Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Birmingham, Alabama; City I live in now, Louisiana.

5. Name 3 of your bad habits. Talking too much, worrying too much, snacking too much.

6. What are your favorite snacks? Ice cream, bread pudding, chocolate

Who will you tag for this meme? Anyone who wants to do it!!!!

I've been fighting with Cameron this week about spending an hour each day doing homework or studying. It is always obvious when his dad doesn't stick to the rules because now I get an argument since he isn't making him do it on his week. We agreed at the beginning of the year that we would BOTH (not just ME) require him to work on school work an hour each day after school whether he has homework or not. There is always something to read over or catch up on or even work ahead!! Cameron told me he was NOT going to sit there for an hour if he didn't have homework. I informed him that he WAS and yes, for the record, he did. He pouted the whole time and that's his choice as long as I don't have to see it. I emailed his dad and asked him if he's sticking to our agreement and it could be that missing so many days from the hurricanes just created some laziness with Cameron, but I want to be sure. Cameron told me yesterday that he'll just go live with dad all the time, something you always wait to hear with teenagers when they don't get their way, but i've never heard it before. I told him he'll want to check with dad about changing schools because dad drives him 45 minutes to school every day of his week and 45 minutes home every day of his week. He might not appreciate that too much and Cameron isn't going to switch schools. So yeah. Call dad!

Alrighty then, I'm outta here!! Have a great night!

Worryless Wednesday

JP called last night and is doing fine!! Yay!! He said they were only out of power for 6 hours and out of phone service until yesterday. I'm surprised they got power back so fast, but even without it the jails have generators to keep the lights on, but no a/c. I guess you want to get the power back on fast when you have 4,000 inmates in each of your buildings. He sounded good and was happy to hear that my friend, Lesley, and I are planning an October road trip to visit him. Thank you to everyone for your thoughts, support, and prayers!! Having a child in jail is a tough thing to have to go through, but having support makes it easier, even if it's just having someone to listen or ask how things are once in awhile!

The steak restaurant that Cameron picked for his birthday was Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. I say "was" because we talked him out of it!! It can get so expensive there and he has never been there before, so we asked him if he was really set on going there and he said no, that Las Palmas would be good too! So yeah, we will take the boys there this weekend and try to get my step-son, Sean, & his girlfriend to come too since we haven't taken Sean to eat for his birthday. Sean's birthday was in August, but we haven't seen him lately. He didn't get a birthday present since he didn't pay us back for getting him home from Thailand last year when he went there alone for several months with no money just cause he wanted to. But that's a post for another day!

Walter & I both weighed this morning and after 2 days of dieting, I lost 4 lbs. and he lost 3 lbs.!! We were both very excited. It was hard resisting our nighttime snacking last night, but we both had some sugar free jello and did fine. My friend, Chelle, asked about my stir fried pork chops. Really, I'm not much of a cook and totally uncreative, but here's what I did. I sauteed a cut up onion & bellpepper in olive oil, then cut pork chops into bite size pieces and threw that in to cook once the veggies were tender. I put some salt & season-all and ate some of it in a low carb wrap and some just like it was. It came out good, but was certainly nothing special. Tonight, I cooked a roast in the crock pot again since we both like that and Cameron will eat it too. Cameron wont eat rice, so I just didn't cook any at all. We can put some roast beef in a low carb wrap or just eat the roast (with onions & mushrooms) by itself. And no, we did not make it to work out!! Walter was very uninterested and I was barely interested, so it didn't happen. I'm pretty sure he has a board meeting tonight for the homeowner's association and tomorrow night is steak night, so yeah, I don't see working out in our near future. And for anyone who remembers (or cares), we did win the small claims suit against the crazy neighbor who wont pay his homeowners dues (which are $80/year), so if he still doesn't pay, our Constable is planning to seize a piece of his property and auction it off at a sheriff's sale. I think it would be pretty funny if they seized his boat and we bought it and all cruised past his house in it! That's really funny if you remember the post about him yelling, cursing, and staring at us when we passed by his house in our boat! Ok, well, anyway...

I got the 2nd book in today of the Twilight series, New Moon. I am anxious to start reading it tonight!! It is another big one, like Twilight and has about 560 pages. I'm sure work will interfere with my reading, so it may take me more than 2 days to read it!!

Speaking of work, today was really busy. I am trying to set up a few meetings that have me running in circles. It's important to note that I have NEVER set up meetings or led meetings before. I am the type of person who will figure it out as I go, but I feel like I've bitten off more than I can chew lately!!

I am excited about the "my favorite things" swap that I participated in!! I mailed my package off to my swap partner & new friend, Marla this morning and can't wait to get a package from her! I am so excited just to get mail, so the things inside are just a bonus!!! I just realized when I re-read the page that I was supposed to WRAP the items that I sent! DOH!!! I'm sorry Marla!!! Please forgive me!

My supervisor sent me this link to an incredibley inspiring video! It's 8 minutes long, but you should watch it!! It's awesome!!! http://www.webertube.com/mediadetails.php?key=fb8f1eda792ae6471f8f

Alrighty then, that's all I've got for today! I'm off to read some blogs and then dive into my new book!!

Sunday

Walter & I went to eat at Albasha's last night, which is a Lebanese restaurant about 20 miles from our house and it is soooo good! I could eat there every day!! We've been doing good with eating at home more (partly because no restaurants had electricity for awhile - but still), so we decided to treat ourselves last night. Tomorrow we are starting back on the Atkins diet. I have been on the diet off & on recently, but Walter hasn't tried it in years. He agreed to try it with me now AND we are going to exercise at that gym that we're paying for absolutetly no reason because we haven't been there in months!!! I went to Walmart today and got Atkins friendly foods and there aren't a whole lot, but I've learned to be creative. The only unhealthy item I picked up to make snacking easier for Walter is pork rinds, but otherwise everything we'll be eating will be a healthy mix of grilled foods and salads. I want to lose 15 lbs. and hope to do that as well as keep it off afterwards.

We made the decision today to postpone Walter's 50th birthday party until October 18th. The party was scheduled for next weekend, and our backyard will smell horrible because of all the dead fish in the river for a week or two and that just isn't going to cut it. Once I re-sent the invitation to everyone, my mom emailed me to say that the invitations are going out this week for my step-niece's wedding (to a guy she has been dating 6 months) and the wedding is that same day, so they wont be able to make it. I am fine with my parents not coming because they are recovering alcoholics and there will be a drinking at the party, plus if i'm invited to my step-niece's wedding, now I don't have to go! I barely know her and the drama is out of control in my step-dad's family, so this worked out pretty good, if I do say so myself. My parents want to take us to dinner sometime next week for Walter's birthday, so that will work out just peachy.

Several people asked me to talk more about the Twilight book. I don't want to say too much because I don't want to spoil anything for future readers, but I will give a small review for those who might want to read it. When I bought the book, I had absolutely no idea what it was about, seriously. I saw the pictures of all 4 books on every blog I went to it seemed. I have been bored with the books i've tried to read lately, so I figured I would buy the 1st book and just see what I thought. And also let me say, I would not have bought it if I thought it was about a vampire. Sorry. I would not have. As a social worker/school counselor, i've worked with a rather "odd" teenage girl who is all wrapped up in vampires and books about vampires and from what i've seen they are always dirty, a bit raunchy, unbelieveable, and the readers end up dressing in black and looking a little freakish. I have tried to work with her to keep her from being seen as "odd" for being so into vampires. I actually read the first chapters of Twilight wondering what in the world was going on with Edward, one of the main characters and was totally fascinated with him. Once I got to the part and realized what was going on, it was too late! I was hooked! I fell in love with him AND with the other main character, Bella. The author is such a good writer and the story line is so great that it really doesn't matter! I am the type of person who will watch a movie and just have to stop watching because "this couldn't really happen," or "this is so fake," but this book never made me feel like that. At some point, you realize you are totally wrapped up in the character's lives and that doesn't happen to me very often. And yes, I started the 500 page book Friday morning & finished it Saturday night, so vampires or no vampires, this is such a well thought out, well written, book that you should read it too!!! I think it opened my mind a little bit because if I was so caught up in this book already by the 2nd chapter, then I could keep reading once I saw the word "vampire" and give it a chance. Now, am I going to read the dirty, raunchy vampire books like the teenage girl at school? Oh hellllll no! But this book was so not like that! Nothing dirty, but everything beautiful! And a lot of thought provoking things about the choices that all of the characters have to make. Wow! If everyone could be open to new things and want to understand people just because they love them, what a world this might be!! Just read it!!! I still haven't had anyone ask for my copy, so if anyone wants it, i'll gladly ship it to you for free! I would hope that you would pass it on when you're done, but that's up to you!

And remember how hard we worked to scrub and hose down our dock after the river went down from Hurricane Gustav? Well, Hurricane Ike wants us to do it all again!! The good thing is that the pool isn't looking so green anymore!


Still no word about my son, but I think in this case, no news is good news. While FOX news had a reporter standing in downtown Houston reporting yesterday, I emailed them to ask if they could mention the status of the jails, but never heard anything. I am certain that if there were problems at the jails, we would be hearing about it on the news. Thanks for your prayers for my son! I really appreciate it!!

Ok, so Ike is NOT coming here? Did someone forget to tell Ike??

Because it sure feels like he's here and this is really scary to me. We woke up during the night to the worst winds we've ever heard. The wind is still blowing like crazy, but it's settled down a little. Our power is out! And the schools in my parish are closed today! My friend, Lesley, texted me last night to ask if the schools were going to be closed and I was thinking to myself that yet another rumor has been started, but then, I checked when I got home, and the schools are going to be closed! I was really confused as to why, because the storm doesn't come near us. Well, now I know and let me say this...I am very scared for those in the path of Ike because I don't think we've ever seen anything this size. I am praying that Ike takes it easy on all of us, but it's already like we're having a Category 1 hurricane at my house right now! Well, maybe not right now, but definitely during the night. Please pray for everyone in Ike's path because I think this is going to be a bad one.

My sister, Donna, and her husband decided to stay in Pearland, about 20 minutes outside of Houston and I'm pretty concerned about them. She says they were on a voluntary evacuation order until yesterday, and then after yesterday were told to "stay put." What does that mean? That you've waited to long to leave or that it's safe to stay? Donna is known to be quite dingy, so i'm scared she may have misunderstood the meaning. We offered that they could stay here and my mom offered that they could come there. She says they have a generator and gas, which is good, but after the storm and all the power is out, you can't find a store to refill your gas cans. And I think trees and power lines are going to fall like crazy. We've lived through many hurricanes here and i've never seen anything like the damage that Gustav left throughout Baton Rouge and many other areas. I feel certain this storm is worse.

So, no work for me today since the schools are closed. It's frustrating to get so far behind in what I've got planned to do with the kids. And now, for the next week or two, I don't plan to do anything with the kids except talk about the hurricane and how it affected them. My west side schools just got power back yesterday and the kids were going to go back today - some still living without power for 2 weeks now. Many of them live in poverty, some in the projects, and depend on the government for help. Food was not available to them for most of the storm, or if it was, you had to drive to a distribution center to get it. How can they do that with no car or gas? And you can say it it their fault or their problem, and maybe it is, but you still have to think about those children who are home in the dark with nothing to eat, no clean clothes, no water, etc. As a matter of fact, when I heard that the schools would open today originally, knowing much of the area doesn't have power, I wondered how the kids would get clean school clothes! It's such an eye opening experience and I'm grateful for this opportunity to be exposed to some of what this population is going through. I have every intention to make a difference there!

Anyway, i'm home today, which is nice but i'm afraid i'm getting used to not working so much!!! After having the summer off, and then missing so many days, I may be getting spoiled all over again. I do have some paper work to do and meetings to reschedule, so I'll find some productive things to do today. Steak night was DELICIOUS last night!! I wish I could grill a steak like they do! Yum!!!

I want to thank everyone for their kind words and prayers for my son, JP. That really means a lot to me. I know that some people don't like to talk, hear, or think about those types of things, but that is my reality and I really do appreciate you!

Questions & Comments:
A few people left comments about my honesty and my unconditional love for JP. I do love him unconditionally and will support him in whatever way I can if he is living a drug free life and trying to do the right things. This whole situation is even harder for me because, while i've always offered him emotional support, I did not have anything else to offer him while he was involved in drugs. We put him through treatment and tried everything imaginable to help him help himself, but ultimately, we had to cut him loose because he was affecting our family and his younger brother with his choices. It does make it hard to see where his life went from there, but help for his drug addiction was always an option but he wouldn't take it. Today, whether by his choice or not, he is living a drug free life and I have been here every step of the way. I always make sure he has commissary money, I write to him, visit him, and he knows he is always welcome to call. It is so hard knowing the right thing to do, but I truly believe that everything I've done for him was the best I knew how to do. Now God is in charge!! I think great things are going to happen! And thank you for those comments too!

My friend, Kimi, who doesn't have a blog but should, asked if the neighbor next door was the same one who brought some magazines over when Kimi & her family were visiting. YES!! And that is exactly the kind of thing I mean by overly involved!! He saw me get a "People Magazine" out of my mailbox (or could be that he checked my mail for me one day and saw it - not kidding), and realized I like the gossip magazines. Well, his wife and several relatives save theirs and pass them around to each other, so he decided that I would want to be on their "list" and receive the magazines when they finished with them. Hmmm, ok. I didn't see any harm in that and I do like some of those magazines, so I went along with it. The first stack of them I got was from 2002! No lie! Walter & I were so tickled about it and read through the magazines and got a big laugh out of it. But then, the magazines got to be a chore. I was expected to save them and give them back to pass on to other people. And I really wasn't reading them, so then i'd have to hold on to them long enough to seem like i'd read them and give them back. And the neighbor really stressed about the whole thing - calling to see if i'd found them on my porch, seeing when I'd be giving them back. I managed to politely back out of it one day when another relative wanted "in," so I just said I really wasn't having time to get to read them since I was working, so I didn't want to hold them up!! Whew!!! And yes, I'm quite sure at the exact moment that we had company, that would be when he would have decided to deliver the precious magazines!!!

Tam made a great observation about the pre-schooler that bit the teacher yesterday. Imagine how hard it would be to not speak any English and be put into an English speaking classroom. He came to the school last year too, but due to his aggressive behavior, the teacher can only let him come 2 days a week, in the hopes that he would adjust and they could increase the days. I believe the little boy is also Autistic and is non-communicative. We want to place him in a classroom where he would do better, but we have to be able to document the problems to present the case to the school board, and he doesn't come to school enough to do it. Yesterday was his 2nd time coming this year and he bit the teacher within the first 2 hours there. And yes, that is something to document, but you have to have more than that. We are holding a meeting next week and will include a Spanish interpreter to help us figure out the best setting for him. We also want to help his mother with parenting skills. She is really harming him by letting him do whatever he wants.

And yes indeed I'm taking Lesley up on her offer to visit JP with me!! We can stop and have lunch with Kimi & Shayne on our way!!! Woohoo!!! Thanks sista! I love you!

And the power just came back on!! Yay!

Yes, it's STEAK NIGHT!!!

Ok, so I'm really stressing out about the Ike/Houston thing. Yes, I prayed that Ike wouldn't come here and I'm thankful that it didn't. However, my son, JP, is in jail in downtown Houston (Harris County) and the area is being evacuated. JP called Tuesday night and we talked about the storm, but it wasn't really headed to Houston at the time. I asked him if he thought the inmates would be evacuated if the storm did come to Houston, and he said he didn't think so. The building they are in is 7 stories high and is a really sturdy, brick building. I think right now they are evacuating lower areas of Harris County, so maybe it wont affect the inmates. I can't stand the thought of something happening to him during the storm, but I can't stand the thought even more of how they would evacuate 10,000+ inmates! I know some people don't think of them as people, but they are! And they're someone's children or parents or husbands or wives and it's such a stressful thing to be taken out and put somewhere that nobody in the world wants them. I am praying for God to take care of JP in this and all situations and I really hope that the officials will feel that they are safe where they are and not try to move them.

But JP did sound really good when he called. He's got a few people writing to him and he really enjoys that. If anyone out there in blog land has it in their heart to write to a 24 year old who's trying to get through a terrible time in his life, let me know and i'll give you his contact information. I asked him if my mom happened to visit him while she spent 5 days in Houston while evacuating from Louisiana, but she didn't. My sister lives 30 minutes from the jail but nobody ever visits him until I come to town to see him. She has tried once recently to visit, but there were problems at the jail that night and she hasn't been back. When the weather settles down, I want to plan a weekend trip to see him. It really makes me feel good to visit him and see how good and healthy he looks. As bad as the whole situation is, I feel so lucky to still have him and to be able to see and talk to him. I honestly don't think he would be alive today if things hadn't happened to land him in jail the way they did.

Speaking of people in Houston, my sister, Donna, is under a voluntary evacuation due to Hurricane Ike. She is actually outside of Houston in Pearland and says they were told to "stay put." I have offered that she & her husband can come stay here if needed. It's a little awkward, because I wont have her sons here who are drug users/sellers, but they don't live with her currently and she didn't mention them coming, but that's probably because i've made it clear that I wont have that in my house. I am the anti-drug. Drugs have destroyed my oldest son and I've made a stand to not allow it around my younger son. Kids come in contact with drugs all the time, but I wont welcome it in my house. Did I mention both of her kids have been arrested for dealing drugs in the last 6 months? Yeah. Anyway, she said they will probably "stay put" as they are being told, plus nobody is 100% sure that Ike wont turn and come here! And just to give credit where credit is due, for all of us who prayed that Ike would stay away from Louisiana, God has answered our prayers and sent this storm all AROUND Louisiana, but is keeping it away from us so far!!

Tonight is steak night at Hilltop! Yay! It's my favorite night of the week! Brent is out of town for work, so Walter, Cathy, & I are going. I am so ready!!!! I had a long day with a few meetings at work, so I'm ready to relax alittle bit. 2 of the kids I went to see were absent, so I didn't have a whole lot to do. One of them (pre-k) was actually sent home after he bit the speech teacher! So yeah, I have my work cut out for me with him. He doesn't speak English and really doesn't speak at all.

Have I said how wonderful my husband is lately? Not only is he the smartest man I know, but he's the sweetest man I know too! I should add the phrase he adds for me when he says things like that. He says, "Ohhhh you are SOOOO sweet - when you want to be!" He he he. Anywho, I have been really sad about the fish dying in the river. Seriously, when you look in the water, they are either already dead and floating or gasping for air. Last night I asked him if there was ANY way to help them, like, I don't know, put oxygen in the water or something. He said that there really wasn't. So, later last night I was locking the house up before we went to bed and he said not to lock the garage because he still had a hose going out to the river. I said, a water hose? He said, no, the air compressor hose to see if the air going into the water attracted any of the dying fish! Awwww!! Maybe he can save a few? I thought it was really sweet! But i'm sure they're all dead anyway!

No word from the neighbors about the missing swimming pool ladder. Good thing, because I am totally ready to defend my position and to let them know that we aren't comfortable with the little girl being in the pool anymore because of the lack of supervision, plus we are having to make repairs due to other people's use of the pool (jumping off the ladder, hanging on the sides), when all I use the pool for is to float and read my book. It really isn't the little girl's fault that she is so obnoxious, but it is still hard to be around her. Her mother is a single parent who adopted the little girl, so I guess she just spoils her and lets her do what she wants. I am sure when I tell her that I'm not comfortable with the little girl in the pool without someone watching her, she will tell me i'm wrong - she'll say something like "I can see her from the house and she's fine," or something. I will have to say, "It is MY pool and MY rules, not yours." The neighbors truly are nice people and the niece and brat don't live there - except for now until their power comes back on (please hurry Mr. Nice Electricity Man). I will say that ever since that night, her car has not been next door, so either her power came back on or they had a fight about her letting the little girl in the pool and she left. I'm just sayin...Anyway, they are nice people, but the man is just too involved in our lives. I think they think we are the kids they never had or something. But we aren't! I've already got a set of dysfunctional parents, but thanks anyway!! This is the same neighbor who called and woke me up recently to let me know I forgot to take my garbage out! I do try to be patient and we do look out for them since they are older (in their 70s), but I'm not going to put up with any craziness. A few people asked about putting up a fence, but the only thing we can really do in our neighborhood is put a fence around the pool, which would look kind of funny because above ground pools are already so tall. Our neighborhood has restrictions against fences in the yards because of the view of the river, so we can't put anything between our yard and theirs.

That's all I've got! Have a great evening!!!

Day 4 of no power

Things are really looking better today. The estimates for restored power are crazy (2 - 4 weeks), but I'm starting to hear of people in different areas of Baton Rouge having their power back on. Sean (Walter's son) called last night and has power, Walter's niece on the other side of Baton Rouge has power, and so on and so on. Now, I'm not in Baton Rouge, but we are only about 30 minutes away and I feel like ours will be back on before the weekend. However, ZERO percent of our parish currently has power. Walter and I have a bet about when the electricity will come back on; I say before 2 weeks and he says not until 3 weeks, so wish me luck because I have a dinner of my choice riding on this one!! Plus I would like having the electricity back on. I'm still waiting to hear from Elizabeth, but they don't have a "land line" and cell service isn't great right now. I am guessing she is at her mom's with the boys and I will try again to get through to someone over there today.

I don't usually vent on my blog, but today I need to just a little. Before I do, let me just say that I don't mind caring for other people's children, especially ones who otherwise might go without. I have had 2 extra teenagers here since Sunday and I'm glad they were able to stay here, be safe during the storm, and enjoy the electricity afterwards. It isn't costing us any money to provide the extra propane/electricity for them here or space in the house. They both stay in Cameron's room with him, so we still have plenty of room if anyone else needs a place to stay. They also don't cause any trouble and sometimes we don't even know they are here. But...have you ever fed three 15 & 16 year old boys? Good lawd! And if your 15 or 16 year old child stayed with someone for a week, wouldn't you send some snacks or something? And if your teenage son was staying with people during a time when stores are closed and food can't be found, wouldn't you at least ask if you could bring them something or do something? But no. Nothing. I am not surprised because one of them, Bryce, has lived with me off and on for over a year and his mother has never offered a dime for food or anything. And currently she lives about 7 houses down from us, but no. Bradley's grandparents probably don't have much to offer, but I'm just talking about a couple of bags of chips or a 12 pack of Coke. Part of the problem lies with me and I have learned one important lesson during the course of my life (well, i've learned more than one, but here is one i've learned) and that is nobody can take advantage of you unless you let them. I'm not going to demand anything or call and request food, but the next time a parent calls to check if the kid can stay longer, i'll just say, "sure, but we could really use some drinks and snacks for them." Now, lets pretend someone will call and ask!! I really hate to fuss or sound cheap, but we are supplying five people with food and drinks for at least a week and it would be nice to offer some help for them. I'm just sayin....

I sat out on our porch tonight and was really struck by how lucky we are. It might be hard in this situation to think of being lucky, but sometimes just having quiet time to reflect can help put things in perspective. I am such a lucky girl and I really have to say that I have everything I need and everything I want and I am very thankful. The only exception that I could think of is JP, but in all honesty, while he is in jail and could be for the rest of his life, I still have him in my life and can see him, talk to him, write to him, but I can't make his decisions for him and I have let go of that.

What I came up with for my own life:
*I have a relationship with God
*I have a wonderful husband who treats me like a princess
*I have 2 healthy sons who mean the world to me
*I have Elizabeth and her boys in my life and words can't explain how great that is
*Walter & I have our dream home that managed to keep us safe and comfortable during a terrible storm
*It took almost 20 years, but I met my goal and earned a Master's Degree
*My Master's Degree landed me the best job in the world working with kids I love more than I could tell you
*I have some of the best friends imaginable
*I have my dream car
*I have a pool (so it's a $300 Walmart pool - I love it!)
*We live on the river and have a boat (being on the water is my favorite thing ever!)
*My parents, brother, & sister are great from a distance!
*I have the best in-laws imaginable

What do you have to be thankful for in your life?

Speaking of JP, he called this week to check on us before the storm and said he is doing ok. He is biding his time until the trial in December and seems to have a positive attitude about everything. He and Walter's oldest sister have really bonded through writing to each other. She is 70ish and it's amazing to me how much they enjoy each other's friendship. I pray that he will be released soon and I can take him to visit with her sometimes. I would also love for him to see his Maw Maw & Paw Paw who live near me before it's too late. Neither of them are doing well and I don't think they will be here a year from now. It's very sad. But JP is doing ok and that is what is most important right now.

Questions & Comments:

BlogStalker asked if there is police presence to stop people from looting and honestly, in my area, we have never had problems with that. I saw the National Guard at the place that was supposed to be giving out supplies near our house yesterday, but that was just to protect the area and people handing out supplies (which weren't really being given out at that location). But, I will say, I have not ventured more than 5 miles from our house since before the storm on Sunday, so i'm really not sure what it looks like "in town" and at the stores, etc.

Pre-Gustav

Here is a cute picture I have to share from Hurricane Lily in 2002. Walter doctored the scene a little bit and created this shot, mostly to amuse Cameron, who was quite amused! We emailed it to our friends and family to let them know we were doing ok during the storm!

And speaking of storms, New Orleans' mayor called for the evacuation of New Orleans yesterday and called Hurricane Gustav "the mother of all storms." Alrighty then. It does seem to be coming straight at us and there is an air of nervous excitement all around. No matter where you go, you hear people talking to friends and strangers about their plans. "Are y'all leaving?" "Is your area under evacuation?" "Where will y'all go?" I heard this morning that our Walmarts are shutting down as of this morning. I guess their employees need to be making plans and evacuating like everyone else. My next door neighbor is taking pictures of all the rooms in her house incase she needs them for insurance purposes. Not a bad idea. Some of her relatives came by on their way out of state this morning due to their home being in a low lying area and the guy said he already applied with FEMA this morning because he knows he will lose everything. And I am worried about one of my friends who is in an area that is under a mandatory evacuation, and she is not leaving. For those of you who know me in real life, I'm talking about Valarie. She was in danger during Katrina and this storm is going to hit her area harder and I'm very concerned about her. I asked her to come here, but she is staying where she's at.

The wind is starting to pick up here which is our first real sign that this thing is coming. The trees are all swaying and before long will be bending a bit as they sway. An evacuation has been suggested for our area of the river for low lying homes, but we are not low lying and feel safe to stay. None of my neighbors are leaving, so I think it's ok. I do think we will be flooded in due to the roads around us flooding, but we'll be fine here at home. If we do get flooded in, I would worry about my neighbors who are in their 70s and in poor health if their family couldn't get to them, so all in all, we'll stay here and look out for each other. Walter & I have done all of our hurricane supply shopping, which somehow ends up being a huge junk food festival, and now went back today for our final few items:

I have been really impressed with Cameron's maturity in the last few days. He talked to me when our New York trip was still planned to let me know that we would have trouble getting home on Monday due to the storm, and then today, he voluntarily went outside and helped Walter secure the boat and all of the plants & things in the back yard. I hope this is a new stage he is going through! Hurricane Katrina was stressful on us, and i'm guessing he's remembering that.

Now, I have a couple of awards that I've gotten lately that I need to pass on! Nik at Exceptional Voyage and Veggie Mom gave me the "You're looking at a kick-ass blogger" award! Woohoo!!! And I have to pass it on to 5 bloggers who are as kick-ass as me! Woohoo! Thank you ladies!!!

I am going to have to cheat this one time and just pass it on later due to my hurricane status!!!

And my real life friend, Chelle at Chelle's" World gave me the "I Love Your Blog" award!!

The rules of this award are:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated

And again, I will pass this on later! But just wanted to say thank you to all 3 of these ladies and show off my awards!!

I found these cute pictures of JJ when he was little and had to post it! He was so tiny, so we aren't sure how he grew to be so gigantic!!

A year or two later, I tried to put him back in my overalls, but I wasn't very successful.

And here is Cameron a few years ago with his big baby.

And then JP's coke problem started:

And while I'm on the subject of cats, my scaredy cat, Nadda, has odd habits that usually involve him leaving treasures for me in his food bowl. I haven't shared any stories lately because he hasn't really done anything, but this morning I recognized a clear pattern. Every morning when I have gone to feed him for the last 4 mornings, I've found my pink pony tail holder in the food bowl. I'm not sure what he's trying to tell me, but he doesn't take it back out and play with it. He leaves it there for me to find. Sometimes I find socks and shoes in there, but not lately.

We went to an Italian restaurant called "The Little Village" with Cathy & Brent tonight. Cathy reasoned that we don't know if we'll be able to eat out next week due to power outages, etc., so we went. We are really starting to eat out too much again.

Ok, well pray for us that Hurricane Gustav will weaken and go easy on us! I'll keep you posted as to how we are doing when I can! I really appreciate all the support and prayers from my blogger friends!

Sunday

Walter came home around 4pm from his "brothers weekend" in Mississippi. I sent my camera with him and like a good husband, he took some pictures!! They caught/cooked fish yesterday and checked their crab traps today and boiled crabs for lunch. Boiled crabs are one of my favorite things to eat and yes, you know he loves me, because he brought some home for me! Yay!! That will be my after dinner snack!



In the picture above, from left to right - Walter, Brien, Ed, Rickey, & Tommy.

I haven't done much today. I took Cameron & Bryce to Taco Bell for lunch today - their choice! It's amazing to me that they'll pass up some really good eating for Taco Bell! Tropical storm Fay is passing through our area for a visit. It's been raining since I got up this morning and I guess that is what I can expect for the whole day! I don't mind though. It is pretty relaxing to sit and listen to the rain, especially on the metal roof. I am cooking the cajun crawfish casserole AGAIN tonight, but using shrimp instead of crawfish. Walter will love this casserole and it came out SO good, so I decided to make it again and show off my great cooking skills, since he missed it Friday night!

After having so much fun with my post last night, I couldn't help but "yearbook" my sister and brother-in-law and email them the pictures! Did they think it was as funny as I did? Probably not, but I got a good chuckle out of it!!

Questions & Comments:

MBKimmy asked if JP was older than Elizabeth - no, I sometimes confuse people because I call JP my older son, but that is just to distinguish him from my younger son, Cameron. Elizabeth was born 2 years before JP. Also, she asked if Elizabeth has said she had a good life - yes. She is very different from her adoptive parents. They are very quiet, sort of non-social people and Elizabeth's personality is just like mine - outgoing, loud, center of attention kind of girl. They have been very good to her and she was raised in a happy, stable, loving home. I think meeting me and my family helped her to see "the other side" and it's a good fit for her. Here is a picture of both of our families during Christmas the year after we met.

From left to right: Elizabeth, me, my sister Donna, my mom, a family friend, Elizabeth's mom, & Landen.

That's all I've got for now! Have a good rest of your weekend!!

Saturday

Thanks for all the supportive comments about my post last night! What I didn't say is that my mom, sister, brother, and I are all much better people due to what we have been through than we would have likely been if we had grown up spoiled and materialistic. Today, we are all successful, well eduated, happy, solid people who have worked hard for what we have and appreciate it. I do know that all of my experiences in life have made me who I am today, and I will be honest, I love who I am! So, I work hard at letting go of the old stuff and just being glad that all of it helped to make me who I am today.

Bobbie at 40 Shades of Pink posted this recipe a couple of days ago and I made it last night. It is SO good! You really need to make it!!! It was easy to make and delicious! Cameron & Bryce ate it too and enjoyed it. Bryce isn't all that picky and will eat most anything, probably because he isn't my kid, but Cameron is very picky and he really enjoyed it too. I am already looking forward to eating the leftovers today for lunch!

My sister, Donna, did go to visit JP last night, but wasn't successful in getting to see him. She said when she drove up to the jail, there were fire trucks everywhere and people were leaving the visiting area saying that no visits would be allowed for the night. Now, that happens from time to time if something is wrong in the jail. It is a huge facility that houses 4,000+ inmates, so if there is an attempted escape or a hazard of some sort, they wont allow anyone in and will just cancel visitation for the rest of the visiting hours. Well, Donna said she wasn't about to just leave with all of that going on and not know if there was a fire inside or something! So she waited around until all the trucks left and it was clear that there was no danger. She said she didn't want to call me to say, "well, I went to visit but there were fire trucks everywhere and the visitors had to leave, so I went home." Yeah, I'm glad she waited!! I'm sorry she didn't get to see JP though and I hope she'll go back again soon.

I got up this morning and went to Walmart. I love shopping there, but can't stand the crowds and long lines, so if I'm going, I go as early as I can. I went around 9am and it wasn't bad at all. I got what I needed to last us until we get back from our trip to NEW YORK next weekend! Our friends/neighbors, Cathy & Brent invited us to stay at Brent's boss' beach house on Long Island for Labor Day weekend. Everything is paid except for our airfare, so we decided to go. I am really excited about it, except that i'm a tad bit nervous about flying! I've only flown once when I was 7 years old, but I'm going to "get out of my box" as my mom frequently tells me I need to, and do it. We will get to spend time at the beach, go to Niagara Falls, and are planning to drive into Canada! I'm really excited!

Not much else is happening around here today. The weather is beautiful! It is around 80 degrees with the wind blowing a little bit, and no rain in sight! The pool is still a little green, so I probably wont get in it, but it is looking almost back to normal. I am going to clean up around the house a little bit, bake some COOKIES I bought at Walmart, catch up on some work stuff, and play on my computer!

I hope you have a great Saturday!

Friday night post

I'm so glad it's Friday!! It's been a long week and I need a little rest and relaxation time! I am so excited to have a weekend alone (well, Cameron is here, but he doesn't talk to me much, so i'm pretty much alone). Walter and his 4 brothers are having a weekend alone at his oldest brother's camp in Mississippi. And when I say camp, it's only because that's what they call it. It's bigger than my house, but anyway...this is the first time in the 10 years I've been with Walter that they've ever done this and i'm really glad that they are. They lost their dad last year (he was 89) and I think even though they are already very close, it made them think about their relationships and spending some quality time together. Walter is the 7th of 8 kids and there is a 20 year age difference between the older ones and the younger ones, so that means his oldest sister & brother are in or near their 70's. So anyway, i'm glad that they are bonding with their 4am fishing trips (and very glad i'm not!) and also glad for a weekend alone. I am usually the one off visiting JP in Houston or doing things with my friends, so i'm happy that Walter is doing some of that too. And for the record, his entire family is awesome. I couldn't be luckier or have better in-laws. And I think if we ever split up, they'd keep me instead of him. I'm just sayin!

And speaking of JP, I've been worried about him since the trial was rescheduled because I haven't heard from him much and feel like he may be getting depressed. I mentioned it to my sister, and she is going to go visit him tonight. I am glad she offered. I get a little upset sometimes because he is 20 minutes from her and in the 1 & 1/2 years he's been in jail, she's maybe been to visit him twice (other than when I go and she goes along with me), so I'm glad she said she'd go tonight.

I did not have a very productive day at work. Things got off to a slow start and I just couldn't seem to pull it together!!! A couple of us changed our schedules around to pick up some things from our main office, and once we got back to our office, just couldn't get motivated! I did finally get to my school at 11, just to leave to meet the same 2 co-workers for lunch at 11:30!! Afterwards, I had a meeting that lasted most of the afternoon. I have a Kindergartner who was totally out of control last year while in Pre-K, and I sat in a class with him for a little while this afternoon and he was SO great! He's gotten on some medicine over the summer and what a difference it made. He is one reason I begged to keep that school and i'm glad I can still work with him. Braces Boy is at that school too and was in ISSP (in school suspension) again this week. GRRRRR!!!!! I also have 2 kids at my west side school that are having big issues, so I will have to try to get over there Monday and see what I can do to help, if anything. I'm pretty sure one is headed to our alternate setting school.

I am so happy to be getting more comments now since the Blog Around the World started!!! I really love meeting new people and reading other blogs, so please, leave me a comment so I can visit your page!!

Ok, so you want to hear the story of my dad. I'll warn you now, it's not pretty, but I am an open book and you can feel free to comment or ask me anything you want. First, let me say, my dad & I were never close. My parents never really planned to have children and were sort of faced with having 3 children in 4 years. I wasn't the first child or the first boy - I was the middle child and we just never bonded. My sister & brother have different memories than I do, and different from each other, so this is just the story from my point of view. And I have made peace with my father. It's hard to forgive and forget, but I have tried to understand his position and moved on with my life. But, it is my life and my story, and I do have a right to tell it, so here it is.

My dad was a business man, mostly dealing in insurance, and his business ventures were more important than anything else, including family, stability, etc. We moved so much throughout my life that I never went to the same school more than 2 years. Wherever the money was, that is where we moved, and we definitely had the money. We were pretty spoiled growing up. We always had a big home, fancy cars, in-ground pools, etc. I'm not sure when my dad first got involved with Louisiana insurance and politics, but we lived in Baton Rouge from 1970 - 1973, moved away, then moved back in 1976. My dad was involved in some state insurance business with our former (and now imprisoned) Governor Edwin Edwards. There were apparently some inside deals going on between state insurance and the governor (who should have been indicted YEARS before he actually was), and something went really wrong. Governor Edwards had co-signed a half million dollar loan for my dad, and then something happened...money was being lost, a new governor was coming into office and questions were being asked...papers were being hidden to keep Governor Edward's name from being connected to state insurance/retirement policies that didn't really have any worth - something along those lines. So, suddenly people want to talk to my dad about these things...and he is suddenly KIDNAPPED!

Now, when this happened, in 1982, I was a 16 year old pregnant teenager. My parents had separated a year earlier, but my mom didn't work and he continued to pay all of our bills. I had been living with my boyfriend for several weeks, and things weren't working out when I was notified that my father had been kidnapped. I moved back home to help my mom deal with this situation. The story was that his apartment had been "turned upside down," and there were reports of threats made against him, and he was missing. My sister (18) was pretty much into her own world with her boyfriend, and my brother (15) wasn't able to deal with things, so at 16, I helped my mom, who had been a recovering alcoholic for several months, figure out what to do. My mom had pretty much shut down and was not able to deal with what was happening. We were being sued by every company imaginable in Louisiana for debts my father owed and our house was eventually put up for sheriff's sale, our cars were repossessed, newspaper reporters were in our yard daily (thank God it was before the days of media frenzy like it is now), and we were falling fast. My paternal grandmother, Essie, lived with us, and was an amputee who had her own handicapped apartment connected to our home. Essie was the kindest, sweetest woman I have ever known, and had been living with us for 6 or 7 years, since open heart surgery complications caused her to lose a leg. So, I helped my mom find us an apartment to rent, an AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) friend of hers gave her a car to use, I found someone to buy nearly all the furniture from our 6 bedroom house that wouldn't fit in a 2 bedroom apartment, etc. It was a total nightmare, the FBI were calling non-stop looking for information on him, and he became (and i'm quoting from a book) "the most famous missing person in Louisiana since 1968." An uncle of mine showed up from Georgia to rescue Essie, giving us the impression that she would be moving in with 2 sisters of hers, but then put her in a nursing home. If I wasn't already broken by that time, that broke me. I also had to make the decision to give my baby up for adoption because there was no way we could take care of a new baby when we weren't sure how we were going to take care of ourselves, but I knew this was best for the baby due to my age, so that wasn't as painful for me as what happened to Essie.

My dad had cheated on my mom for most of their marriage, and she pointed the FBI to the woman's house where he was likely living. After seeing the kidnapping story on the news, a man came forward who remembered selling a car to my dad, then the car was found at the airport. He had gone to live with a secretary/girlfriend, in Pennsylvania, leaving us to deal with his mess!! The FBI actually went to the woman's apartment to look for him and we were told later that he was hiding in the closet!! They never found him, well, until almost exactly a year after he disappeared. He was found dead of pancreatic cancer in a V.A. hospital in Pennsylvania! The girlfriend didn't even bother to call us and let us know that he was dying.

So, that is why he is in some Louisiana history books. He wasn't all that important, but what he knew about former (imprisoned) Edwin Edwards was very important to those who wanted the information. One book he is in is called "The Last Hayride." He is chapter 13. It was neat because I was able to give Elizabeth a copy of that book when we first reunited and it helped her to see what led up to my decisions about the adoption.

And there is a silver lining to every cloud, as they say! Or I think that is what they say, whoever THEY are! A local investigative reporter was doing a story about the whole Edwin Edwards fiasco and ended up dating my mom and eventually marrying her! They have been married for 20+ years now and he is way more of a father to us than my dad ever was. And yes, I have let him know that and thanked him.

Now, just when you think the story is over, there have always been rumors, some coming from my sister and brother, that my dad faked his own death and is still alive. And at the funeral, the man in the casket didn't look anything like my father, but dying so quickly from cancer can really change the way a person looks. My mother made the funeral home people show her scars that my father had to prove to her that it was him. And really, where would he have gotten a body to send to his funeral? My brother's friend told him way back when all of this was going on that his father was "in the know" on that sort of stuff and that my dad is in the witness protection program. And I have said repeatedly, if that is true, my father might want to be sure to call one of them if he's looking for us, cause I aint answering the call!! Personally, I don't buy into the rumors.

So, there you have it. Any questions or comments are welcome! I don't mind talking about any of it and it is therapeutic to talk about it sometimes.

Questions & Comments:

Kimi asked if I bought my purdy new shirt for work - yes! I like to wear my khaki or greenish khaki jeans that don't look like jeans and I love shirts that go with them! That shirt will match both pairs! And yes, my mom most certainly remembers the Girl Scout incident!!!! I don't know if she'll ever let me forget it!!

Saturday

Today has been a quiet, rainy Saturday and we have just been doing things around the house and running errands. We had to drain the pool about 1/2 way to fix a leaking valve, then we went to Lowes and Office Depot, then had lunch at Raising Cane's (yum!!). Walter bought some metal for his porch project (covering up the white wall) and some wood for a shelf above it, and I shopped for supplies for school with my debit card that the school board gives us ($180).

I enjoyed figuring out what I need to keep my records organized as well as supplies for the "Why Try" groups I will do. I think I will actually be able to leave things in my office at my "west side" school where I will spend most of my time, so I am very happy about that! I also have a computer (that hopefully works) in both of my offices. I am really excited about my new schools and the kids I will be working with. I have 25 kids on my roster to start with, but before long, more will be referred to me when they start getting in trouble. I will also probably take some kids off my roster once I meet with them and determine that they are not having behavior problems, especially based on how they did last year.

I haven't heard from JP much lately. I still send him letters and pictures anyway, and I keep sending his $20 a week. Walter's sister, Mickey, has been writing to him and says he writes back often and seems to be doing ok. I hope that he is doing ok. My sister plans to visit him soon to check in on him.

Landen had a good first week of school, although he said he doesn't like his teachers. I hope he will get used to them and change his mind about liking them! I'm sure 1st grade is a little more demanding than Kindergarten, so he'll adjust soon enough. He had such a busy summer that I think it is hard to get back to his daily life where he has to stay at his own house, do homework, get up early for school, etc. I took him home the night before I had to go back to work and he asked me, "well where am I going to spend the night?" I said, "at your house?" He said, "noooooo!!" Funny boy.

Not much more going on over here today. We are watching the Olympics some and just hanging out and being lazy.

Questions & Comments:
Chelle asked how Cameron's 1st week of school went. He's been with his dad since Monday, so I don't know! He was mad at me when he left because of the computer restrictions, so I haven't heard from him during the week, but normally we don't talk too often while he's gone. I hope his dad enforced the restrictions we talked about, in which case, he will be handling it better when he comes home Monday.

Happy Birthday to my Elizabeth!

Today is Elizabeth's birthday!! She is 26 years old today and I am always so very excited to be able to pick up the phone and call to tell her happy birthday!! Until I reunited with Elizabeth, my mom would send me a birthday card every year on Elizabeth's birthday, just to let me know that she'd never forget her and hope that we would be able to know her someday. I don't get the cards anymore, Elizabeth does, and I'm ok with that!!! She is such a big part of my life now and it still amazes me how things turned out and that's just one more thing that I know God has done for me. I called Elizabeth this morning & left her a message letting her know that I have some birthday money for her. She LOVES having money to spend, so unless she has something specific that she wants for her birthday, I usually give her $100 to do what she wants with.

It's kind of nice to have nothing planned for the weekend! I have put myself on the sofa for the entire day with my laptop and a book (still reading A Good Yarn), and hopefully my mystery fever will leave me forever! It's been going away during the day and then sneaking back in the evenings. I'm not feeling bad at all and I don't think I have the stomach virus, so here I am, just resting and hanging out.

Walter is working on the pier today and it looks like he is pretty much finished with it. He is so incredibly smart and talented and i'm glad I have Mr. Wizard (as we affectionately call him) as my very own. He wants to build a covered deck next that will come off of the back porch so that we can move the bbq grill out there and have some more room for entertaining.

I will be leaving on Friday (if i'm cured of the mystery fever) for a weekend in Atlanta for my niece, Daphne's, 1st birthday. I'm going to ride with my mom & step-dad, and Cameron is possibly coming too. That isn't my week with him, so he's supposed to be deciding what he wants to do. It's about an 8 hour drive from here, so it isn't too bad. We will be staying at my cousin's house on Lake Lanier, so i'm excited about that, as well as seeing my cute little niece! I have only seen her once when she was about a month old.

I do appreciate the kind comments about JP and his situation. It is an uncomfortable topic for many people to talk about, but it is my reality and it helps me to talk about it, so hearing positive comments is really helpful to me, so thank you to my commenters!

Questions & Comments:

Chelle asked if Nadda (cat) meows when he's up to his nightly antics. No. And to be honest, he lives his life in "stealth mode" and only comes out of his closet bed if I'm home alone. Lately, he is able to come downstairs when Walter is home and due to the nightly sharing of pudding, they have bonded a little, but otherwise Nadda will freak out and run (picture back claws skidding across the wood floors until he makes it through the house & up the stairs.) Have I mentioned that he is on anxiety medicine? Another interesting thing is that he has JUST started to meow at all in the last few months. Cats learn to meow when they are communicating with people, and he never learned to speak up because he was a feral (wild) cat for the first 5 months of his life. If you don't tame a kitten in the first 8 - 10 weeks of their lives, chances are that their "window is closed" for making friends with people, and in the case like Nadda, where they are still able to make friends, they typically only bond with one person. Recently, I let him go outside with me and now he's started meowing at the door to go back out. He has the FUNNIEST meow i've ever heard, and now that he has learned to do it, he is starting to meow a lot!

Friday

I don't think i've mentioned that i've had a low grade fever off and on since Monday, but nothing much really and no other symptoms. I noticed it Tuesday evening, but then realized that while I was up 3 times Monday night with foot cramps and was having chills, that I must have had fever then. So, I've been resting, taking Advil, and feeling ok until last night. I could not fall asleep for anything, and I never have a problem with that. I was freezing and got up to get an extra blanket and 2am and decided to check my temperature and it was 102. Yikes. That is unusual for me, so I took some Advil and figured I'd better call the doctor when I woke up this morning, but then I woke up at 9:30 and no fever at all! Even now at 5pm! Weird! I hope it doesn't come back and I have a sneaky suspicision that it may be a stomach virus because my tummy isn't 100% happy, but hopefully it wont be anything too bad. I was going to have dinner with some of my graduate school friends tonight, but don't want to infect anyone, so I let them know that I will be staying home. Wahhhhh!!!

Walter & I went to look at some patio furniture at Home Depot today (he bribed me with lunch, so I drug myself out of bed) and saw a few sets that we like for the porch. We also found a really cute swing for the pier, but have to make sure it isn't too big. It is covered and really comfy. We went to Brewbachers for lunch and I had a grilled shrimp cobb salad. I have done good on my diet and am only within 2 lbs. of getting back to where I was when I cheated last Saturday. We did have a great dinner last night at Hilltop, although I could tell my stomach wasn't as happy as I was about eating, so I didn't eat a lot. It was delicious though!

I've been following the story about the 2 year old little girl, Caylee Anthony, who is missing in Florida. How sad is that story? It seems pretty clear that the mom knows where Caylee is and she probably isn't going to be found alive. The mother & grandmother have mental problems and it's sickening to watch them lie and cover up important details to protect themselves when the little girl is still missing. If you haven't read the detective's statement about all the mom's lies, you should! It is scary to think that someone could lie so easily and so often.

Not too much happening here today, especially with my self-inflicted bed rest (and mandatory Scrabulous game time on Facebook!!), so Walter & I will just be hanging out at home tonight. I hope you have a restful Friday night too!!

Questions & Comments:

Kim asked me if Nadda (the cat) does his silly little antics every day. I would say that most days he has done something, but they aren't always as funny as finding my sandal in his food bowl or socks in the toilet. This morning he went into the garbage can (or maybe it was on the floor next to the garbage?) and got the wrapper to the Listerine bottle and put it in the food bowl, but that wasn't anything big. He has actually dragged my shoes all the way up the stairs to get them to the food bowl!

Lesley asked how JJ (our gigantic cat) is doing. He is great and is in love with the screened in porch! He tries to jump into REALLY high windows in the house that Nadda can easily jump into, so he's a little frustrated lately, because he's entirely too big for most of that!!!

And Lesley wantedto know how I can "not pass out" when things happen with JP. I guess it comes from going through all that I have with him over the years. His drug addiction has made his life so unpredictable and you learn to anticipate a shock with every phone call from him or anyone calling about him, or in the case of being in jail, just learning that there is absolutely nothing you can do about anything - all that makes you learn to sit and wait. And honestly, I know that he will be okay because about a month before this nightmare started, I started to pray for God to work His will with JP (instead of the things i'd been praying for - keeping him safe, making sure he had food, etc.) and in no time, JP was "plucked" out of the lifestyle that he'd gotten too deeply into to get out and was put in jail where he is safe, has food, has a bed, has electricity, and I can see, talk, and write to him. I honestly believe if this hadn't happened, he would have been found dead by now. He refused to go back to treatment or do anything to change his lifestyle, so I had pretty much let go of him. He's been in jail for 17 months and is doing better than he's done in 10 years. He's drug free, mentally stable, and is learning serious lessons in life. There is really nothing I can do but offer emotional support and commissary money for snacks and writing supplies (he made a budget of $20/week, so I am fine with sending that - most inmates get nothing), and I can offer support if/when he gets out, IF he is willing to get help with his drug addiction, which he currently says he is. Currently, the DA's lowest offer for a plea deal for JP is 40 years! I am choosing God's plan because I know that he did not save JP from himself just to have him spend the rest of his life (and mine) in jail. So, I worry some, try not to think about it some, pray about it often, and wait and write! I will email you his address again and he did ask me the other day to see if other people would write to him, so if you're intersted, just give me your email address.

Steak night!!

Yes, for real this time!! Hilltop is open tonight and we will be there!!! I have been missing my steak and mushrooms! I grilled some steaks last night (usually I get Walter to do that) and they just really weren't that good, so I'm really looking forward to tonight!

I had a realization this morning about Leon (the neighbor) calling about taking the garbage out. My best thoughts come to me during my long soaks in the bathtub, and this morning it hit me! When I did go to take the garbage out (and I made Leon sweat it out - he called at 8am & I intentionally didn't take it out until 10am!!) this was our conversation:

Leon: "girl, you better get that garbage out!"

Me: "yeah, I got it."

Leon: "I know you & Walt (somehow EVERYONE in the neighborhood calls him WALT) got those 3 cans to put out."

Me: "uh huh."

Leon: "Did I wake you up when I called?"
Me: "yeah, you did."
Leon: "Oh, well I didn't even know if you were home or not." (that's cause I hide the car in the garage so he DOESN'T know)
Me: "uh huh."
Leon: "Is your boy still here?" (he has a name and we call him CAMERON)
Me: "yeah, he's leaving with his dad in a little while though." (have to tell him if something is happening or he'll come investigate when Neil drives up.)
Leon: "He came over to get my key because you locked him out of the house yesterday."
Me: "Actually, Walter locked him out, but thanks for letting him in."

So, then i'm thinking about it this morning because I know that I need to say something to Leon, but in a nice way because he is a nice man who really means well. And it hit me. He didn't know (or think) I was home. He was calling CAMERON to tell him to take the garbage out!!!!!! If that is the case, I will tell the man that he better NEVER think he is going to mind my business and tell my son what to do. It's one thing to aggravate me, but he has no place and is WAY beyond his boundaries if he is going to even think about telling my son to do something. Cameron does take the garbage out when he's here, so I guess that got him thinking that he was slacking on his duties. We'll have to have a little talk pretty soon! Yikes!

So anyway, I went to Walmart this morning and picked up a few things. My diet is really easy for me to stick to if I have those things I can eat handy - like the pre-cooked bacon, which I was out of. I also like to have veggies handy to snack on, so I got some of those too. I decided to allow myself my beloved glass of wine at night after doing some google searching about it. Atkins says not to drink any alcohol, but wine does not have carbs in it. It seems that the concern is about causing cravings for sweets due to insulin levels fluctuating after drinking alcohol, but I can resist the junk food and want to give it a try. I still can't force myself to go to the health club that we ARE PAYING FOR, but i'm working on it. It's so easy to go once you're going regularly, but once you stop, man it's hard to go back!

Cathy & I booked our flights to New York yesterday!!! It was a bit more than I thought due to taxes and fees, plus we are going Friday and they are going Thursday, and their flight is a little bit less. I get 10 days off per year (plus I have 5 that I have rolled over from last year), but only 2 can be used for personal days, and I don't want to use my only 2 personal days all at once like that. Plus, if JP's trial should really happen in December, I will need 5 (maybe more) days off to attend that. And that may seem odd to only get 2 personal days, but I only work 182 days a year (have 183 off), get off work at 2:30, and don't work in the summer, so I have plenty of time to do personal things without missing work. But anyway, the tickets for Walter & I together were $800, but we don't have to pay for a place to stay, rental car, food or anything while we're there.

Speaking of JP, he called last week and while we were talking, the phone cut off. It is very expensive to call ($5 for the first minute, then $1 a minute after that for a total of 20 minutes, then the phone will disconnect.) He had only been talking several minutes, then the phone cut off. He didn't call back and I figured it was because of the cost to call back and we'd talked about the main thing he'd called about. Then I noticed on the jail's website the next day that he'd been moved to a different "tank." Then the worrying started! They move the inmates around a good bit, but with the phone cutting off and him not calling back and then being moved, it worried me. He's had seizures before and in a different building (there are about 5 jail buildings on a block in downtown Houston) I know that the 7th floor is a medical floor, but wasn't sure about his building, where he's been moved to the 7th floor. So, I called and finally got someone to help me and they made some calls and determined that in his building, the 7th floor is not a medical floor. So then i'm worried that someone hung the phone up and he got in a fight or something. My only option is to wait it out, which is very hard when your child is in a system like this. If I were in Houston, I would be able to go there and check on him, but I'm not, and my sister & her kids aren't really interested in visiting (of course, 1 of her kids is actually IN the jail now too), so I wait it out, which I've learned to do fairly well. I did send a letter letting him know that I noticed he was moved and asked him to call when he can. Well, yesterday I got a letter from him letting me know that he was moved and it was because someone hung the phone up while he was talking and that he said something but handled it the right way, did not get written up or in trouble, and the guards thought it was best to move him to prevent any other problems. Wow. It's nice to hear that he did the right thing AND that the guards actually knew about it, cared about preventing a problem, and did something about it. They don't normally really give a darn about anyone and they don't see the inmates as people, and they are. People have died on the floor while inmates have pleaded with guards to check on someone who is sick or having seizures or something. All of the inmates are someone's kids, parents, sisters, brothers, friends, etc. and although people make bad choices, not all inmates are bad people. JP said he is happy where he is now and feels that he can stay out of trouble through the time waiting until the trial date in December.

On a lighter note, some people enjoyed hearing the stories about my funny cat, Nadda, who is named that because he's "Nadda our cat" after I stole him from the "bad cat neighbors" a couple of years ago. He is terrified of people, except me, but is probably the sweetest cat I've ever seen. He snuggles on my pillow with me at night, but only after Walter is asleep! Nadda actually waits for us to turn the light out before he will get on the bed. He will let Walter pet him if he feeds him pudding, but that's another story (this was taken with my new IPhone that I haven't quite mastered yet):

Anyway, I showed a picture the other day of Nadda's latest antic, which was taking Walter's shoe and putting it in the cat toy box. Nadda always takes my things and leaves them in his food bowl, water bowl, and sometimes the toilet. Well, this morning, he picked up a pair of Walter's socks and took them into the bathroom and dropped them in the toilet!! He really cracks me up. His ultimate plan is to fish them out of there, but I put a stop to that game!!

I learned how to create the super cool links to my previous posts from Mama Kat and I'm so amused by it! I can usually figure these things out on my own, but could not figure out the links for anything!!! Thank you Mama Kat!! I plan to use these way more than people probably would like!!!!!

I am going to go sit on my awesome screened porch and enjoy the rain!! Have a great Thursday!!