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!!

Dear Gustav...

You know, it's just something we deal with here - hurricanes. I have lived through them for 40 years, most of them nothing but some real bad rain & wind, some nothing at all after we went through a lot of effort to prepare, some pretty darn bad and scary, and then came Katrina. I don't know that I can ever casually sit through another hurricane after what went on during and after Katrina. And now here is Gustav. Please leave! Many of the kids in our school system lived through Katrina...through the bad stuff you saw on tv...and evacuated to our towns and many are still here. And when they hear rain, they get upset, so imagine when they hear a hurricane is coming, they remember and panic. And so do I. My in-laws lost 7 homes in Waveland, Mississippi and suffered a major lifestyle change. One of those homes was one that we co-owned. After the storm, we couldn't find 4 family members for several days and when we found them, we learned that they'd survived a hurricane, tornado, and water up to the 2nd floor of the 2 story hotel they were at. Walter & I were unable to help search for them because we could not find gas to get to them, and we went to every gas station for miles until we realized that we would be left on the side of the road if we continued. My mom and step-dad were driving home from a trip and got caught in miles and miles of traffic with no options of buying gas, ran out of gas on the interstate and 2 angels came by in an old beat up pickup truck and happened to have gas in a can in the back of the truck and were willing to share a couple of gallons. I will never think about an approaching hurricane the same. Will I still have a hurricane party? Sure. That's just how we roll. But I will never underestimate the power of nature. Do you know that in Waveland, Mississippi, where Katrina made a direct hit, that a 35 foot wall of water sucked every house for miles into the gulf? Seriously. There was nothing left but slabs and broken trees. And 3 years later, much of the area still looks the same. And yeah, Friday is the anniversary of Katrina. Ok, sorry about the trip down memory lane, but Gustav, please, just go away.

I've had several comments that say going on the trip would avoid the storm, and while that's true, what I learned from Katrina is that I may not be able to fly home on Monday. And assume the airline flies me to another airport, I may not be able to get a rental car or find gas to put in one. Then my pets are home alone (they can manage with extra food & water for a long weekend), and my son comes home on Monday. Now, i'm sure his dad would keep him longer, if needed (he used to REFUSE to keep him any extra time, imagine that), but I don't want to put myself in a situation where I can't get home and also miss time with Cameron for a vacation. So, while Brent & Cathy are still deciding what to do, I know I can't go after looking at the radar this morning. Landfall is expected just a few hours before we are scheduled to fly home Monday morning, and I don't want to fly on a GOOD day, much less like this, so unofficially (meaning the rest don't know it yet!), Walter & I aren't going.

Say what??? A favorite things swap??? Count me in!!!!!!

Here's how it's gonna work...
1. Let Wendi know you want to participate.You will need tp RSVP by August 30, 2008.
2. If you choose to participate, you will simply pick three (or more) of your favorite things to share with your partner.
I am sure no one would complain if you wanted to send more.
This does not have to be expensive.
It could be your favorite book, a new mascara, or a book of your favorite recipes.
It might even be some personalized note cards, or a box of your favorite chocolates.Items can be new, bought, or even homemade.
Just remember to send a package that you would be excited to receive.Be creative!
3. Email Wendi at becausewendisaidso@gmail.com with the following information.
Your nameYour mailing addressYour email address
Your website/ blog /or flickr address.(you must have one of these)
A little something about yourself.
Please let her know if you would be willing to ship internationally.
4.She will email you the information about your swap partner shortly after the sign up deadline.
The delivery deadline is September 22, 2008.
Be sure to have your packages ready and postmarked by then.
So...are you ready to join in the fun?Share this with your friends! Tell your neighbors!
Email your associates! O
kay.....are you ready to swap?Me too!*
Contact Wendi at becausewendisaidso@gmail.com with any questions

I absolutely LOVE getting anything in the mail and I think this is going to be SO fun!!! I'm doing it and I hope you will too!!! I can't wait to see who my partner will be!!