Tuesday

Yesterday, I went to work but only stayed 2 hours before they said we could leave. We really just needed to check our offices and make sure everything was ok after the storm, which it was. Afterwards, I went to my social work supervision meeting and my supervisor met me at a restaurant for lunch since her power was still out in her office. Today, I could only go to one of my schools because my other 3 still don't have power. They are considering bussing the kids to other schools if they don't get power back soon. What a mess! And today, our kids all had MRE's for lunch!! It seemed like a strange idea, but it worked out ok and the kids seemed to get a kick out of it. I also snuck away to lunch with my friend, Courtney, and ate at Albasha!! Yum!!!

Good news!! Well, for us it's good news! Ike is NOT coming here!!! Lesley has cancelled our reservations for our get-away plan and we don't seem to have anything to worry about from Ike. However, a lot of people in Baton Rouge and our area do not have power back, so there is still plenty to do here that will be much easier without another storm. I am very relieved! Thanks for all of your prayers about Ike!!

And, now that Ike isn't an issue (cause you have to be able to get to the store!!), Walter & I are starting the Atkins diet on Monday. If you want to do it too, let me know and we can be a support system for each other. I have some creative ideas and menus that work well for us. A couple of people have said they got sick on the Atkins diet and i'm not sure what that's about. I think if you eat a lot of salad and not so much the protein and fatty foods, it shouldn't be anything unhealthy, but everyone is different. I usually feel pretty good on the diet and always lose 10 lbs. pretty quick. People with more weight to lose usually lose it fast too, so if you're interested, just let me know. Now, I need to go shopping for the right kinds of food before Monday.

Questions & Comments:
Gramma 2 Many asked if we ever found out what happened to our waitress at Logan's Steakhouse the other night - No!! When we finally let someone know that nobody had been to get our drink order after 10+ minutes, the nice waitress who ended up taking our table said our server was "missing!" Maybe they forgot to assign that table to someone?

Ronnica asked why my step-father is so loud if he has the hearing aids. Actually he COULD and DOES turn them down if we are too loud for him, but he never turns them up so that we can enjoy the quiet! I'm guessing he has no idea how loud he is.

I appreciated hearing different opinions/advice about family problems. It does help to know that a lot of people suffer with similar issues! My mother and I are both social workers, so you'd think we could work out our own family issues, but it just aint like that!!

Now, to address Joe's question about the Elvis picture. I must remind you about my previous statement that Joe's comments are usually a request for me to tell a story, and this case is no different, well, except that I've decided to post a "JOE TRIBUTE" here before I tell the story of the Elvis picture, because you truly have to get to know Joe to really appreciate him.

This is when I taught Joe to say his name in sign language:

And this picture is from when I first met Joe, before the dental work

And this is from when Joe and I were preachers (or band crashers)!

Another very natural shot of Joe along with Walter & I

Ok, now this is Joe's celebrity moment!!

And me with the celebrity! You can tell by her wide eyed look of surprise that she was alittle nervous sitting with me. I would love to knock her out and she knows it!

The celebrity is a freak of nature that we know in person (and no, don't associate with, but ended up at a Karoake bar that she was at and we thought it would be funny to take pictures with her - and it was). This girl is an actual CAM-WHORE and actually went on the Rikki Lake show to brag about it!!! She lost her husband, kids, and well, pretty much everything, but she's doing what she wants!! I bet my friend, Dena, who stalks my blog could send me a link to the Rikki Lake show clip, if anyone is interested!!

And finally, when Joe & I were singers!

As for the Elvis picture, which can actually be seen behind me in this picture:

Someone in Walter's family started a tradition years ago of passing around a "Velvet Elvis" picture at Christmas time. It has become a joke and we all dread getting it each year. Whoever possesses the picture has to display it in their house for the whole year, and then give it (along with their real gift) to the person who's name they draw the following Christmas. Fortunately, we have only gotten it once. It even has a card in the back signed by all those who have passed it around before, so it is pretty funny and interesting to see. It also attracts a lot of attention as to why you have a velvet Elvis picture in your house. Some people never ask, but most do! Some, like Joe, are still asking 6 years later! Ok, any more questions?