I Could Write a Book

    Made it safely home from Gustav. I think I died when I fell into my own bed last night. Wow did that feel good. God answered my prayers of not letting any trees fall onto my house. However, one fell and crushed the car, one fell and crushed the trampoline, one fell and took out part of the swingset and one fell and nicked the corner of the gutter on the back of the house. Now, all three that fell in the backyard all fell on my deck and destroyed all the railing , squished the little grill, took a chunk out of the deck, squished my table, broke my plants, etc. but none fell on the house. I’m happy. Oh, oh, oh, my grill that I got for my birthday - not a scratch on it. God was smiling down on me this time.

    New Orleans did a great job of evacuating everyone out. What do you think is going to happen with Ike ? Do you think they will have trains, planes and buses in place ? They might. I don’t see the people evacuating though. Everyone I’ve talked to today says "I can’t believe we might be dealing with another one." UGHHHHHHHHHH.  I don’t think I’m going to unpack my suitcases. Why bother ? I’m also not buying a lot of groceries.  

    Memphis was fun but I really don’t want to go back there so soon again. Where do evacuate this time ? Disney sounds good. Wonder if they will be expecting all the rain this time. It’s got to be slow season, too. Wouldn’t you think it would be slow season ? Except for us New Orleanian evacuees that is. lol.  

    I will say if I ever do drive up and my house is crushed again - I’ll probably be moving. I just don’t know how much more of this type of stress I can handle. It is draining.  I think there is a lot of that type of thinking going on around here now.

Peace out. I’m still tired from this week. I also spent the majority of the day carrying trees and limbs and debri out of my yard. ~~I love you~~ (don’t forget to say it) 

I’m still in Memphis because there is no power where I live. From what I hear there is no food in the grocery stores, either. They are hoping to have power restored by Saturday. I can not wait.

I am bored completely out of my mind in this hotel room. Memphis has been receiving the wonderful Gustav weather. Storms, soggy , blowing wind and tornado watches. It’s a lot of fun being stuck in a hotel room with 3 restless children.

Gustav treated us much better than Katrina did. I am very happy for that. We lost one car and part of my deck on my house. I have no idea if it wiped out my grill or not. I know this is one of the reasons why I’m dying to go home. I also want to check on my little dog. I am so worried about him. My neighbors said they would watch him and that they weren’t going to evacuate and then they did. They left when our city started evacuating my subdivision because the river was rising so fast. sighs. Lesson learned - park cars somewhere else when leaving and bring dog.

I’m in a bit of a funk. I think I’ve seen everything "touristy" there is to see in Memphis and I’ve eaten enough BBQ to feed an army. No telling how much weight I’ve gained. LOL. Of all the things to worry about. See, I’m still pretty normal.

I’m praying for power to come back quickly. Can you imagine what it’s going to be like to clean out my rotting freezer ??? Ewwwwwwww. Nasty. Gas mask material.

I’m so tempted to leave and go home before power but have to remind myself of the 120 degree weather inside my house with the one million mosquitos. I think I’ll stay in my boring little hotel room watching more TV in this week than I have in the past year. Yeehaw.

I am proud that LSU got its head out of its butt and postponed the game this coming weekend. Woohoo. I might be able to catch that one and it should be cooler in November ! See, there are silver linings in the clouds.

Peace out everyone !! I’m glad you all made it through the storm. I’m glad my children made it through this one without any psychological damage.  Don’t forget to say ~I love you~. 

Today is the 3rd anniversary of Katrina and probably the least talked about anniversary so far. Why ? Because of Hurricane Gustav. It seems that one hour the weathermen have it predicted to hit very near New Orleans and the next hour it’s headed more West. What is one supposed to do ?

Well, in my case, it’s a no brainer. You pack up 5 days worth of clothes and you get the hell out of dodge. Why ? Well, after riding Katrina out and having a wonderful tree split my house in half with all of us inside of it - I think I’ll pass on this one. My eldest son is still very traumatized from that experience and being a responsible parent means doing what is best for him. When he got off the bus today he asked, "where are we going?" I told him, "Memphis." All was fine after that. He was perfectly calm. Whew.

Guess what else Gustav means besides no school, no work and hotel reservations in another state ? It means that I’m going to miss the opening LSU game. sighs. I do love my Tigers but heck, they moved the kickoff time to 10am and I’m much too lazy and amotivated to drive to Baton Rouge that early in the morning. Besides, tomorrow will be busy boarding up the house and all the other fun things that comes with a hurricane. In all seriousness, I think it is a true shame that they didn’t reschedule the game. Shame on whoever made that call. Yes, I know Gustav may end up going somewhere else but after Katrina you really can’t take the gamble and wait it out.

Mentally, this is draining. I honestly can’t believe that on the 3rd anniversary of Katrina that I’m packing up to leave because of another hurricane. Please stay safe everyone. Don’t forget to tell the one(s) you love ~I love you~. Oh, and Geaux Tigers !!!!

Peace out,

Babycakes  

    Go away - Gustav. Go away - rash. Enough said. I don’t need to deal with either of you in my life right now.

    Gustav is causing so much hype and anxiety around here right now. I’ve already got hotel reservations in Memphis just in case Gustav decides to come towards New Orleans. I’m not going through another Katrina. There has already been an "address" by the Governor listing all the plans of action the state is taking. Is this a bit overboard or just be really prepared ? Whatever it is - it is stressful.

    I haven’t heard back from the MRI. How long is "long enough" before I become a pest and call the Dr’s office to find out the results ?

"Mom"

 Yes, Tob.

"When I grow up I’m going to marry someone who cooks just as good as you."

Thank you, Tob. You liked that ?

"Mom, that was the best meal in the whole wide world."     

    Yes, I’m over here beaming. Yes, he made me forget how perturbed I was at him earlier today. Yes, I feel sorry for the girl he is going to marry one day. Hopefully, it will be a girl he marries one day. LOL.

    What did I cook ? Shrimp Alfredeaux with rice, steamed broccoli, corn bread, and a bowl of ice cream with strawberries for dessert. Sounds like a meal out of Forrest Gump. Wanna move to Louisiana now ? Dang our food is good.  Life is good.

Don’t forget to tell the one(s) you love ~I love you~. I feel so sad for the families of the firefighters in California today. I wonder if they said I love you before they left.  

Today, I  was thinking about a particular person and an accident they’ve encountered when all of a sudden I stopped focusing on the physical part of their accident and started thinking about the mental part of their accident. As we all know, every thing that happens to us in life shapes us, changes us, makes us the people that we are today. Goodness knows that my life is completely different today than it was 10 years ago and I’m a much different person today than I was back then. Back to my original thought — I started thinking "what was it like for this individual when their accident occured?" "Was there anything in their life that they wished they had done differently ? Anyone they wished they had told they loved  or that they forgave them?" etc.

After those initial ponderings, I started wondering "was anybody there with them?" "Were they alone?" And those two thoughts brings me all the way to the title of this post: "Sucide Memories". This story is not one that I talk about very much at all. Not like you can say at a party "hey, want to hear about the guy who committed suicide in front of me?" Not a great ice breaker, in my opinion.

It was December 26, 2001. Yes, the day after Christmas. The day when either the happiness and love of being with family and friends are still in your heart or either it is the day when you realize that you just spent the day before totally alone and depressed and wonder "why am I here?" Obviously, for the person in this memory, his thoughts must have run a little more towards the second question.

I was in New Orleans and driving back home. My mother still lived there. This was before Katrina. T was in the car seat, just a toddler at the time. I rounded the bend by the Superdome and was following a little sedan. Not too closely, thank goodness. I drive right under the overpass , nearest to the Dome, when the car in front of me swerves out of the blue. I look directly at the road to see that there is someone now laying on this very busy  roadway. I had seen something fall in front of the car but I really thought someone had thrown garbage off of the overpass. When I realize that this person has just jumped from above, I pull over on the side of the road (leaving T in his carseat) and I’m the second person to reach this individual. A paramedic follows behind me very closely. A preacher arrives from somewhere and kneels and starts praying over this male’s head. He is praying so loudly. I hear no other sounds around me. There is blood near me. I remember being almost afraid to touch this person because I was concerned of catching AIDs somehow.

I took his hand and held it. I started thinking "if this was my child I wouldn’t want him to be alone". I guess my maternal instincts kicked in. I stayed there and held his hand until the ambulance got there to take him away. I knew there was no way he was going to survive. He was doing "agonal breathing" and there was obviously a lot of internal damage. I remember getting up and realizing that the traffic was still zooming by us. That the noise from everything was deafening, but yet, I had heard nothing other than the preacher praying.

I watched the newspaper for days afterwards to see if I could find out his name. I did. He was 19 and at home from college on Christmas break. He had left a basketball game (I think) that he had been watching with his family and walked to this overpass and jumped off. The family said they had no idea anything was wrong with him.

To this day, I’ve contemplated contacting the mother and just telling her "He wasn’t alone. There were a couple of us with him. We did all we could."  I’m just not sure that the mother would want a wound like this to be that compeltely reopened again, so I’ve left well enough alone.

To say that the drive home that night is a blur is an understatement. I don’t remember it. I remember thinking "how can someone do this? What was so wrong that the day after Christmas they kill themselves?" It made me very sad for a long time.

To this day, I can not drive under that overpass without reliving the whole scene.

The end.  

You just never know how much you need a phone till you do not have one. The city was working across the street from my house and "accidentally" cut my phone line. Good grief. I have no phone or internet. I won’t have them till Wednesday, at least. Good grief, again.

Remember how ever since Katrina it takes forever and a year to get anything accomplished around here ? Well, this is a perfect example. When I spoke with AT&T regarding them running new phone lines they said they just do not have the man-power here to get everything done in a timely manner. All I can say is thank goodness for places like PJs with free wireless. Still a major pain in the behind.

My tummy bug is pretty much gone. Good grief, yet again. One week later and I am finally feeling a bit more normal.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Grill some hamburgers, spend sometimes outside with your family. Say a prayer that a miracle or two will happen and AT&T will get to my name on the list BEFORE next Wednesday.

One day soon, I will write my thoughts regarding the 2nd anniversary of Katrina. I truly thought I would have written about it by now, but for some reason I just can’t bring myself to type it all out. Let’s just say that I have a myriad of feelings regarding the whole experience and emotions that it brought up in me.  

Geaux Tigers ! Nice way to start off the season. Even if it was boring.  

I find myself telling "outsiders" about the amount of crime we have in New Orleans right now. Most of the time, I don’t think they believe me. Well, I found this video and it is funny, but very true. It talks about the crime in New Orleans since Katrina.

New Orleans Crime Video <<<<<<<——– click there.  

Is it sad that I find this funny ?  You really don’t want to come here right now. Trust me. No matter what they say on TV.

    One of my best ever trips in my life was to Chicago with a group of some wonderful girlfriends. When I think of those 4 days I think of nothing but total fun. We went out to eat. We went shopping. We went to see Wicked. Oh, I just bought the soundtrack 2 days ago and that’s all I’ve listened to since.

I didn’t grow up with this group of friends. Nope. We all met online. Whenever I try and explain that to "real-life" friends they think I’m totally nuts. Know what, though ? My "group" of friends would do anything in the world for me in a heartbeat. They were all there for me during my pregnancy with my 2nd son, through Katrina, through the adoption of my daughter, through my vents about my husband, mother, pediatricians, tennis frustrations and on and on and on. They give me advice. They send out hugs and cards and phone calls when they know I need them. I love them all. I don’t know what I’d do without this group of friends.

Hmm. I started this post to talk about my lust for Chicago. I tell my husband that the one city in the US that I’d move to is Chicago. I love the train you take from the airport. I love the shopping. I love Oprah. I love riding in limos and eating at Geja’s. I love the Parker House. Oh, Chicago, how I love thee. I love the American Girl store. I love the breakfast they serve in the Hilton Hotel. I love all the walking you can do. I love the little bakeries and take-out sushi places along the way.

I could really live there. Well, until winter, I think. Wintertime, in the North, (I consider Chicago - North) is when the Southern girl in me would come out. I think it is winter here when it hits 50 degrees. How on earth would I survive below freezing temperatures ? Bwahaha. I wouldn’t. I think back to the coldest day of my life at dear ole Wolf Creek, Colorado. I was skiing and coming down a run and it felt like the snow was slicing my cheeks wide-open because of how cold it was. I headed straight to store and bought a face mask. hehe. I’m sure I looked like a masked robber, but I didn’t care. I can not handle the cold. End of story.

So, Dear Chicago, I love most everything about you. I want to visit you often, but I think I’ll stick with New Orleans. Our food and Southern hospitality can’t be beat. Neither can the heat and humidity and crime rate, but those are all different stories.  

PS. Yes, I took the photos.  

    It’s been a long day. I’ve got 23 minutes to spare to get this post done before it is on the next date. So, here are the highlights :

    1) We achieved "Africa Heat" today. If any of you watched Spike Lee’s documentary on Hurricane Katrina you will know that lady who referred to the heat here as "Africa Heat". It registered 97 degrees (while I was watching a baseball game outside in it) and that doesn’t include the dang humidiy and heat index. We definitely reached "Africa Heat" today. The animals couldn’t even stand it.

    2) Tob got MVP on his baseball team today. Got to bring home the "game ball". He hit a ball that went all the way to the fence and the bases were loaded. They won the game. I’ve never seen my son or myself so proud.

    3) G - drama boy - got his first trophey ever. You would have thought he had just won the presidency or something. He was smiling from ear-to-ear. He got a participation trophey for t-ball.

    4) I just finished watching a 4 hour long dance recital. My niece is a wonderful dancer and I pray that she changes her mind and doesn’t stop dancing this year. Oh, forgot to add, that drive home was one of the hardest I remember in a long time. I was major sleepy.

    5) I got  my anniversary present today. (How many days ago was my anniversary ?) Yes, I’m bad. lol. I got the little jewelry box I wanted. I figured this time when a hurricane hits I’m going to be prepared - at least with my jewelry - and have it all together in a neat, handy dandy, jewelry box. That way I can just grab it and go.

    6) The weather got so bad here today it reminded me of Katrina. I’m going to be taking lots of mini-vacations in my future. All the weather man is going to have to say is "tropical storm headed to New Orleans" and I’m outta here. Where should I go ?

    Those are the highlights of my day. Yeehaw. Peace out.  

    Yeehaw, just incase any of you have forgotten, here is your friendly (snort) reminder that Hurricane Season started today. Yippee yeah. Get your life boat and paddles ready. If you don’t have one of your own and there is actually a hurricane feel free to "commandeer" one. I think that is  Katrina word. LOL.

    Just thinking about the hurricane season makes you stressed out around here. Again for the 2nd summer in a row, here is my declaration : If another flipping hurricane comes through here again - I’m outta here. And you can quote me on that one.

That’s your public service announcement for the day or season. I think I really need sleep. lol 

    Today we decided to forgo baseball practice and just spend the day in the French Quarter. Wow, it was busy. Today was the busiest I’ve seen it since Katrina.  We had a blast. The weather was perfect and the kids didn’t whine too incredibly much. We had sushi for lunch, ate at Cafe Maspero’s for dinner and then we hit Cafe DuMonde for beignets and cafe au lait.

    While in the Quarter we wondered over to the Aquarium. They’ve really been working on it and have almost the entire thing reopened. There were a lot more fish, too. Oh, oh, oh. I touched my first stingray today. They are so soft. Like really, really soft. I could have stood there for an hour touching them but they had this "barking" attendant man who kept saying "if you’ve touched the stingrays, please move on".

    I had to leave poor little Winkie in his kennel all day. I just knew there would be a mess for me to clean up when we got back home, but nope - not a thing. Woohoo for Winkie.

    Tomorrow is going to be another "marvelous Monday". There is no school and I don’t have to be at the club to workout till 10am. Yippee yeah. I have a late morning. I’m taking the kids to the pool and waterslide after I finish working out. We’re going to have a nice Memorial Day and I hope that you all have a nice one as well. Enjoy your holiday.

    Today was my first time to ………………………………………………. see the sky raining squirrels, or rather a squirrel. Have you ever been driving down the street and have a squirrel "rain" from the sky in front of you ? I hadn’t. Till today that is. I was on my way to my house, sorta in a daze, when all of a sudden a squirrel freaking drops in front of me. I slammed on brakes and immediately looked up because I knew there were no trees there. I had to see where this squirrel came from.  There was one teeny, tiny wire going across the road - way up high - and this poor squirrel obviously fell off it. I didn’t know that squirrels were part cat, either. This squirrel landed on its feet and took off running. Amazing ! 

    Tonight we are either going to the "dive-in theater". Yes, "dive-in".  Or we are going to go to the Quarter and just kill some time. Either one will be fun.

    I hope you all enjoy your Friday.  

    My closet is now cleaned out and organized. Wooooooooohoooooooo. Go me. I am so happy and relieved to not have that hanging over my head anymore. It took me 3 hours to get it done. I’ve got a couple bags of clothes to give away and the rest is now all arranged where I can see that I actually have clothes to wear.

    Cleaning out my closet actually brought me to tears one time. As I was finishing up with my clothes I started in on my shoes. I literally sat down in the floor of the closet and started rearranging, throwing out, etc when I happened to look up and see a pair of mismatched shoes. My first thought was "why do I have a pair of mismatched shoes together?" and then I looked at them again. I said "omg, those are the shoes that I wore out of this house after Katrina came through." I immediately started crying. It brought up so many emotions that I thought were long gone or that I was "over". I will never throw those shoes out. I have no idea what happened to the mates of those shoes. At the time, I was just thankful that I had a left-one and a right-one to put on.

    I do not know why I’ve been thinking about Katrina so much lately. I keep reliving that day. Actually, the month or so afterwards when I felt like I was in total shock, I keep reliving. Not fun thoughts.  I’m a grown adult. I know that Katrina will never come back. I’m well aware that my family is alive and that even though we were very dumb and didn’t evacuate we made it out alive. Dumb, dumb, dumb. I’ll never do that again. This is one time that I can use the word "never" and mean it without any hesitation. Maybe it is because the hurricane season is fast approaching us. Maybe it is because I know that even though Katrina was bad that she really wasn’t the "big one". Here in New Orleans you are always hearing about the "big one". When the "big one" hits it is going to wipe New Orleans off the map, etc. Before Katrina I would have said "no, New Orleans will make it." Bwhahahaha. Not any more. Almost 2 years later and I’m still not sure that New Orleans is "making" it even now.

    Okay, enough melancholy thoughts there. Today has been another very busy day. I’ve been up since 6am on a freaking Saturday morning. That ought to be a crime. lol. I’m just now stopping for the day and though I should be tired right now I feel very energized. Wired. I’m sure when my "crash" occurs that I will go out with a bang.

    My husband asked me tonight if I had plans to go to church tomorrow. I said "yes, why ?" He replied " well, I put a lot of money in the plate last week so it would cover this week, too." Shakes my head ! Am I the only person who realizes that he "just hasn’t gotten the point of church" yet ? I’ll definitely be at Mass tomorrow. That’s my weekly session of sanity.

    I hope you all have a nice Sunday.  

    Today, dh and I went to Jazz Fest. (see previous post). I had a wonderful time. It was nice to drive through a part of New Orleans that is slowly coming back to life. Last year along this route there was a "tent city". So sad. Children running around. Fires in barrels, etc. This year = construction. It’s not everywhere but there is life. Woohoo. Go New Orleans.

    It was so nice to see all the people at Jazz Fest. There honestly is no other city like New Orleans. There is a saying around here "I know what it means". Referring to missing New Orleans and not leaving it no matter what. Don’t get me wrong since Katrina we’ve been tempted many times to just up and move. You get tired of the "depression", the "brokeness" but it’s springtime now, baby and with Spring comes new life.

    I watched/listened to Frankie Ford  today. That man is a blast. A great entertainer. I stood there, melting to death, under the sun with the biggest smile on my face. He was a hoot to watch, a hoot to listen to. His jokes were just my style. For example " my ex-wife , may she rest in peace ……… any moment now". LOL. This man has got to be 75 years old, but he could still play that piano and sing. When he took his shades off you could still see the young man living inside of him. I hope to be the same exact way when I am his age.

    Now to the Winkie part of my post. I’m buying me a puppy. I’ve made up my mind. His name is going to  "Elvis-Pierre Winkie C….". He is a little yorkie-poo and I’ve fallen in-love. I’m going to carry this puppy around like he is a little baby. lol. All of my friends know I’m just weird enough to do that, too.

    Tomorrow is Monday and I’m excited. Tennis and working out here I come. Egads. I’ve got to burn off the damage from the weekend.

Peace out, Babycakes. 

We made it to the Zoo in one piece. That’s always a plus. I sorta pray the entire way across the Causeway bridge. Lol. I’ve read way too many headlines about people driving off the side of it. There’s nowhere to go but in the water, incase you didn’t know that tidbit.

The weather was absolutely beautiful. My kids and their cousins had a blast. It was so great being outside before the intense heat and humidity cranks up here in New Orleans. The animals seem to be doing okay. It was sad to see the losses of some of the favorites since the huricane. The zoo lost both camels and the hippo. Wahhh.

The one downside to the day was the wait for lunch. Oh my goodness ! One of the problems that everyone has had around here since Katrina has been trying to find "help". No one wants to work. My sister and I stood in line for one hour to get lunch. They had 3 workers in the Cafe. ugh. It’s not like we could have gone anywhere else, either. There is nothing else open at the Zoo that serves food. McDonalds closed with Katrina. Live and learn. Next time, there will be a picnic lunch.

I had no idea that the Zoo would be as crazy packed as it was. Holy moly. There were some major tour buses there. Lots of school buses, too. I’m glad to see the business returning to the city, but I sure would have liked it better if they had all gone tomorrow. lol.

I’m worn out. I walked for 5 hours today. Not the best cardio workout, but at least it was something. I’m ready to sit for a while. If I had Tv (insert ugly words here) I would be watching Survivor.  Maybe next week.

I hope you all had a nice, warm, family-filled day as well.

Peace out. 

    I’m off to the Audubon Zoo today with my sister and the "cousins". Going to be a beautiful day. We’ve only been once since the hurricane. When I get back, I’ll give a more up-to-date post on the status of things there. Poor Zoo. It really got beat up.

Dh and I are going out to dinner tomorrow night at the Pelican Club with another couple. No kids. That means the kids need a babysitter. Have you ever tried to find a babysitter on Good Friday ? It’s not easy.

So, what did I just go and do ? I hired a babysitter off of "Craigslist". Have I lost my mind ? She came with references. I’ve even spoken with her mother. Ugh, I still am freaking out.  She sounded very nice on the phone. Have I mentioned that I think I’ve lost my mind ? I think I might actually have a drink tomorrow night. lol.

No one ever told me that parenting was this difficult. The decisions. The "placing of your children in another person’s hands". I think they forgot to give me my "parenting manual" at the hospital.  

*** edited*** After I did my worrying, she called and cancelled because she had double booked herself. Yes, I did find another babysitter. (not online).  

    Here is a link regarding some public school students. Even though I’ve lived in Louisiana most all of my life, things like this still amaze me. I find it very sad. I wonder what has their upbringing been like ? Have they had any parental involvement ? etc.

     This has really bothered me. I think because I have children of my own. sighs.

    Boy howdie ! I just awoke from a 2 hour nap. wowza. More like a 2 hour "pass out". I think my busy week + cold from Hades caught up with me and just knocked me on my butt. I slept through the entire "Happy Feet" movie. lol. At least the kids said they liked it.

    If this site would get its hyperlinks working again, I’d hyperlink a song for your listening pleasure. "Exactly Like You" by New Orleans Jazz Vipers. If you haven’t heard it, go download it and listen to it. Definitely "New Orleans".  I get in moods where I will listen to one song over-and-over again. That’s exactly what I am doing right now. So, picture me in my comfy boxers, mickey mouse tshirt, glasses and the above mentioned song playing - and well, you’ve got my exciting night here. LOL.

    On that note, it’s a perfect night. Time to take my exit. I hope you enjoy your night. Tomorrow is "Palm Sunday". Do not forget to go church. (this is your mother speaking). Grins.