The weekend +

Sammy and Jordan both now have blogs! They're very cute with them. If anyone wants the address to either blog, please email me. And if you pass it along to anyone else, please let me know that, too, because I'm monitoring it as closely as possible.

We have a super busy mixed bag of a weekend ahead!

Tonight I'm spending in the hospital for testing relating to my stupid migraines. Whee!! It's funny, sometimes I daydream about either having the flu or being in the hospital because I would get to loll about and no one would expect me to lift a finger. Now that I actually "get" to be in the hospital, I'm seriously bummed about it. It's going to be boring, I have to be there by myself, blurg.

Saturday evening we're going to be driving about two hours north of Indianapolis to attend a party being thrown by some of Jamie's oldest friends. I'm really looking forward to it because they have always been such nice friends to my husband and now, me, too, and they're really fun to hang out with. Plus, we get to see the adorable no-longer-a-baby, L.!

Claudia and Bobo.



On the way to the dog park. Apparently, our dog has ninja moves. When he's playing chase with another dog and the other dog is chasing him, he'll run, stop suddenly, roll over, forcing the other dog to jump over him and then our dog will run the other way. Jamie said he did this like four times.


Watching tv.

Sometimes Project Runway makes me mad.

Gotta go with a classic

Monday

Happy first day of Autumn! I would be excited if I didn't have a stupid migraine. Again. For the I don't even know how many days in a row this makes. And I can't get any migraine medicine because I've exceeded the limit according to Dr. Insurance Company. And you know, it's not like it's a pain killer subject to abuse. It's not. It affects the blood vessels in my brain. So why? I have no idea. Don't ask me to think like Dr. Company.

But hopefully by next week we'll know something about the migraines. I have an appointment at the hospital tomorrow night for testing and then they're keeping me overnight on Friday night for more testing.

So. The weekend. Sam was at her mom's house, Jordan went to the Irish Festival on Friday night with a friend and spent the night with her friend as well. Claudia went to a Quaker church service with her Sunday School class yesterday. Friday afternoon, Claudia walked Bobo with her friend, A. and they found a dog park! Jamie and Jordan took the dog there a couple of times this weekend and that dog wasn't all that interested. Jamie said he spent most of his time trying to find a way out of the fence. We all watched the Emmy's last night and have decided to give Mad Men a try, since Jana highly recommended it. (not the little girls, of course).

I read two books lately--Year of Wonders and Bridget Jones' Diary. Both very good. So happy to be reading again!

Ikeyness + the weekend + other stuff, also

1. I heard from Miss Jana and they're ok in Baton Rouge.

2. I think we got more weather off of Ike than my parents did in Austin, unfortunately. After multiple days at 100+ degrees, they were hoping for rain and it didn't come. In fact, Ginny rescheduled Bailey's birthday party for nothing! In our yard, however, trees were downed with high Ike winds.

3. Galveston and that section of the Texas coast looks awful! It's heartbreaking.

4. Houston also looks terrible and also FEMA isn't all that.

5. This weekend we organized stuff in our bedroom and the little girls' bedroom and I cooked a lot--Greek food (tiropeta, chicken, green beans, potatoes, salad) and a black plum upside down cake.

6. After church I was holding our friend, C.'s baby, and the baby started to cry and I got her to stop. I still got it! Babies love me!!

7. I seriously *Loved* this essay by Bret Anthony Johnston about memories of hurricane parties.


8. My home town showed up in Money Magazine in a list of "6 Terrific Towns on the Water" to retire to. I beg to differ with the "terrific town" part of that, as do I guess my parents who moved to Austin to retire, but the photo they ran with the article was a really bad one. Marble Falls is really beautiful and the photo doesn't do it justice.

9. The economy is sucking, but it is *so* fun to talk to Jamie about it. I want to take some classes now.

10. America's team won last night, y'all!

11. My sister, Amy, had a deep fried twinkie at the LA county fair and reports it was tasty! I could have sworn that deep fried twinkies were discussed over at Ennui Central but I can't find it.

12. I had to wear a hard hat at a construction zone today and I got serious hat hair from it.

13. Jamie's currently reading The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky and I'm reading Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks which I highly recommend. So good!!

14. Sounds like Jordan had a really fun day at school after the testing was over.

15. We're having cheese enchiladas for dinner tonight made with Rob Walsh's chili gravy recipe I found on the Homestick Texan Blog, with homemade salsa and guacamole. Because I have to make my own mexican food here!!!

Oh, No, Houston!!!

Oh, Noes!! Houston and Galveston!! Ike is the badness (and incidentally, I remain Super Pissed that they never, ever name a hurricane "Susanne".) You can follow the progress of Hurricane Not-Susanne with the Sci Guy blog on the Houston Chronicle website. Also, speaking of hurricanes, Jana has some really interesting posts about their recent experiences with Gustav over at Ragsland. And cool photos, too! Love the hurricane supplies, Jana. Next hurricane, we're coming to your house!

I love Houston so much. After kids are in college (7 years) Houston is on the short list. Houston is a great city, a great place to live and it was an important, significant place in my life. Life in Houston wasn't easy, it usually wasn't fun, and some horribly painful things happened there. But out of the bad and painful, came good as well. Houston is where a painful part of my life came to an end and I found out I still had a place in me that wasn't broken to start over with. Houston is where I found myself after having lost me almost completely (did I ever know me in the first place?). Houston is where I found my adulthood and my independence, despite the fact that I had been married for 13 years and borne two children. And Houston's also where I found Jamie.

At the time when Rita came blowing through, life for me was all about putting out fires and surviving. And the experience of running from that storm was a little nutshell of all the bad, all the scary, all the horrible that we were dealing with on a grander scale every day just then.

I feel pretty silly saying that watching the evacuation plans for this storm, Ike (such a stupid name) is upsetting to me when I'm 1000 miles away from it, but Houston Love + I still have PTS flashbacks from the Rita evacuation three years ago means that I'm feeling near tears pretty constantly right now.

So hang on, Houston! I love you ever so! And you, too, Galveston! We'll see you next summer come hell or high water.

Miscellaneous Other Stuff

1. Jordan tried out for a musical (The Sound of Music) at school this week. I'm so proud of her for doing that! I don't know when we'll know if she got a part.

2. Claudia made first chair in band! Wooo!!!

3. We had a great time at the Greek Festival last Friday night. Jordan brought a friend and they got to run around by themselves and check in via cell phone so they had a blast and even learned some Greek dance steps. We had gyros, chicken in pita with tzatziki sauce, fried calimari, saganaki, and greek salad. I need to learn how to make tiropeta because Jordan loves it a lot. In fact, that might be one of the few foods all three children will eat.

4. I'm finding Face Book to be a major time drain and sort of stressful, but it's fun so I'll keep it! Today I made Jamie flair with the heart nebula on it. I love flair and the fact that they call it flair makes me happy. Jamie and I are in competition on the number of people we have friended so that's pretty fun, too. If you don't have a face book page, get one, ok?! (but just tell me about it! No need for Jamie to know).

5. The Texas evacuation headlines last night made me teary. I swear, I still am having PTS over that.

6. Jamie's about to gear up for another round of hard core studying.

7. Jamie packed me a lunch this morning. Nice husband, eh?!?

8. Does anyone want a beagle? That crazy dog broke into our bedroom this morning and took my handbag apart. Not happy with Bobo!!!

9. My friend, Diana, invited me to go to an art show opening for someone we know tomorrow night.

10. We're thinking a lot about Jamie's mom and Grandmother. Seeing his grandfather's passing separate wife from husband was heartbreaking and I can't get it out of my mind.

Love you all,

Susanne

Funeral

We buried Jamie's grandfather today. The service was beautiful and the priest officiating knew Grandma and Grandpa and their family for years so it was especially moving.

The family met for final goodbyes at the funeral home before processed over to the church. After the funeral Mass, we processed to the cemetery where there was a graveside service and then we all met for dinner.

At the funeral home.




Aunt Leah taught the little girls how to play pool while we waited for the meal to start.


Before dinner.





Jason, Jamie and Andy.

Requiescat

Last night my grandfather died. Rest in peace, Grandpa. We'll miss you.

The Weekend

1. we went to a Super Fun party yesterday. We seriously had the best time!
2. Jamie and I are now both on Facebook.
3. The dog has finally been trained to sleep on a dog bed and to sleep in a contained area at night and when we're away!!!
4. Jamie took Jordan swimming on Saturday. It was the last day that the pool was open for the summer.
5. Trees are starting to turn.
6. PTS from all the hurricane coverage this weekend & also fretting about Jana & Co.
7. Jamie made the best waffles I've ever had on Monday. Ever. Waffle savant.
8. My hours at work are changing so now our mornings look like this: we all get up at 6, kids leave for school at 7, I leave for work at 8, Jamie leaves for work at 8:30. This means every morning we get an hour to hang out with the kids, an hour to hang out together and Jamie gets some time alone. Yay!
9. Claudia shared a movie she loves with me and Jamie on Friday night (Outbreak)
10. Jordan went to a birthday party on Saturday for one of her two BFF's.
11. Jamie got a very short haircut and looks very handsome!!!