Go Away Gustav!!!

Published: August 31, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala-- Mayor Larry Langford said the Magic City is helping Gustav evacuees with compassion and love. At last check Birmingham has already housed more than three thousand displaced. The city expects the number could double to six thousand people.
Red Cross is housing people from Louisiana and Lower Alabama. In fact the Associated Press describes New Orleans as a ghost town, saying residents are really taking the mandatory evacuations seriously. At the BJCC people are constantly arriving, being processed through Red Cross.
Langford is encouraging evacuees to become familiar with Birmingham during the day so that everyone returns their respective shelter by 9 p.m.—to get a bed count and ensure everything goes smoothly.
“We are praying to God that the hurricane has minimal impact on New Orleans. We want to make the people comfortable while they are here. We do need volunteers to come down and help us and at the same time if everything goes well Birmingham will have once again risen to the occasion,” said Langford.
Officials are looking for more space for some three to four thousand people because evacuees are headed by the busload by the hour.

These poor people; haven't they had enough already? I ran into an acquaintance this afternoon in the grocery store. When I asked her what was new, she said they were preparing for another round of evacuations. I had forgotten that she's originally from NO and still has family there. She had a shopping cart full of food and was trying to get organized before her family made it to B'ham sometime this evening. I told her to call if we could help w/ anything -- extra sheets, towels, etc. Our neighbors on one side called yesterday to say that Gary's family was driving in from NO and they were probably going to have to park everyone's cars in the cul-de-sac. Again, told them to holler at us if they needed anything. I'm sorry that Gustav is going to hit but I'm glad that my friends here are in a position to help out their loved ones. And, I'm glad the citizen's of NO are taking this seriously.

On a sillier note, my husband is threatening to call Al Gore on me and vote Democratic this November. We've lived in this house 9 years and I still have no idea what day garbage and/or recyclables are collected. Since Chris has been travelling a lot lately, I've totally forgotten to take the cans to the street. Now the recyclable can is overflowing and Chris thinks I'm being an irresponsible citizen.

hot sweaty slimey friday night

Lots of fun last night at the football game. Tailgated w/ Rick & Tracy pre-game and had fun in the stands checking everyone out! I love seeing all the kids and chatting w/ the parents. Obviously, I don't watch much of the game, I'm more of a people watcher. I consider myself a "social" football game attendee. I was paying attention when Justin made the first touchdown. Dang, that boy can run! Looked like Justin was back to his usual perky athletic self last night!

Picture of KJ and the Buccaneer, our neighbor! He takes his job very, very seriuosly!

T had a little meltdown prior to game time. She had originally asked me to meet her at the High School around 4:30 to bring her costume and help her w/ her make-up. She called the house around 4:15 in a total panic and told Chris she was the only one not dressed yet. In the e-mail from the dance team instructor, she had to be ready by 6 PM, pre-game would start @ 6:30 PM, Kick-off @ 7 PM. So I rushed down to the High School, she met me in the parking lot, grabbed her bag and disappeared for half an hour while I stood in the dance room wondering where the heck she went. I don't know if she was nervous or PMS-ing or what but she was a wee-bit bitchy. She did a great job during pre-game, no prancing this week however.

Here's a picture of KJ in the t-shirt we made. She told me last night Mrs. Julie told her she liked her shirt every time she saw her. Wonder if Mrs. Julie knows how "craft challenged" I am and forgot to take the adhesive off the letters before I ironed them on!

Football Frenzy

First Varsity football game tonight. Last night KJ & I stopped in at to Michael's to buy t-shirts and letters and scull & crossbone appliques and make a t-shirt for her. All the school shirts she has are long-sleeved. I thought the orange shirt came out really cute but I couldn't figure out why the letters weren't sticking so well even after I ironed them on. So this morning I dusted off the sewing kit and tried to sew the letters on. That wasn't working out too great either. Chris takes a look and realizes I left the paper backing on the letters and never exposed the sticky part. So, I had to tear apart all the little stitches I made, peel the paper backing off each letter, re-position them and iron them on again. Much, much better! This just confirms what I've said all along: crafty I am not.

So Gov. Bob Riley has declared today "Wear your College Colors Day." I only have 1 Alabama t-shirt I like so I'm gonna save it for tomorrow when they spank Clemson. I bought the t-shirt at the Victoria's Secret Pink store. T wanted Penn State stuff from their new collegiate collection so I had to go on-line and buy her a t-shirt and sweatpants. The sweatpants look really, really comfy and now I regret not buying an Alabama pair. I told my brother he could buy her some of the Penn State stuff for her at Christmas because it would be local for him (each store carries their local school) but he flatly refuses to walk into Victoria Secrets and buy something for his 14-year old niece! Try explaining that to the sales girl! ha! ha!

I think T might have her first little part-time job. Tuesday night I dropped her off at 5:30 PM when I dropped KJ off at dance. T sat there and did her homework until her dance class started at 6:15 PM. Ms. Shannon grabbed T and asked her to help out w/ the little, little kid's dance class. T said she asked her if she could come in at 5:30 PM each Tuesday to help w/ the little ones. If T can get some kind of discount of her tuition, I'm all for it. Last night Ms. Shannon asked T to participate in the tap class. She gave T a pair of tap shoes and let her take part in the class. T said she stunk at it and didn't really like it.

T had to watch the Democratic National Convention last night for one of her homework assignments. She had a worksheet to fill out highlighting key points in the speech: terrorism, healthcare, environment, energy, etc. She was at dance class late last night so she missed the first 15 minutes or so but was still able to complete most of her assignment. Chris got home right in the middle of it so we watched the majority of the convention as a family. I'm glad she watched it and has a little bit more understanding of how politics work in the US. I, on the other hand, found Obama's speech to be fairly negative and full of empty promises. Hurricane Katrina is a horribly sore spot w/ me and I was terribly offended when he made a comment about GW allowing a city to drown before our eyes. So, what are you saying? GW has control of the weather now??? Hurricane Katrina was a series of unfortunate events. You had a natural disaster followed by a man-made disaster exasperated by a un-prepared local and state government. The violence and looting that occurred had absolutely nothing to do w/ the levees breaking. Where were the reports of folks in the mid-west demanding FEMA trailers and restitution when the floods occurred earlier this year? There were no reports because it didn't happen. I'll NEVER forget a news report I saw during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. A woman in her late 40's/early 50's was being interviewed and she was bitching up a storm because "she'd be in this shelter for over 24 hours and ain't nobody offered her a hot meal yet!" A hot meal? Are you freakin' kidding me? Your city is under 10 feet of water and you're demanding a hot meal??? You knew this storm was coming for a couple of days and you didn't prepare? Where was your hurricane readiness kit? Where were your emergency supplies? You didn't have an evacuation plan in place? You can't tell me you didn't see this storm coming -- we have cousins in NO and they boarded the house up and left 2 days prior to Katrina hitting.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Really looking forward to the long weekend. Chris has been travelling alot and he's in desperate need of a break.

The girls got up well this morning and both made it to school on time. Poor KJ! She has gym first thing in the morning (actually, that might be best for her. Kind of get her going in the AM). T packed her lunch this morning and used the Harrod's lunch bag she bought in London. She looked like a proper British school girl! NOT!

Last night was our "free" night (no dance). T needed "sticky boobs" for her dance team costume (basically it's just cups that adhere to your skin -- backless, no straps) and a couple of other things for Friday night (a hair net, hair spray, bobby pins, etc.). We went to the new Target and it only took 12 minutes. We had dinner at the Mexican restaurant in the same shopping center and were home by 5:30 PM. The new shopping center is still being built but I'm curious about one store in particular -- a Nestle Toll House shop! What could it be? Just a cookie store like Mrs. Fields (who recently declared bankruptcy!) or maybe like the Great American Cookie store at the mall? Maybe more like a Starbucks where you can sit, relax with a hot chocolate and a warm cookie???

After KJ did her homework we watched part of the new Cheetah Girls movie we TiVo'd and after she went to bed T and I watched Project Runway. I also stayed up to watch a Lifetime movie I TiVo'd about the Texas "Fab 5" cheerleaders. OMG. It was so horribly cheesy and the acting was terrible. There's 2 hours of my life I'll never get back.

Can You Actually Die from Embarrassment???

The dance team was supposed to have a practice w/ the band today on the field in preparation for Friday's season opener. However, practice was cut short and moved inside due to all the Fay rain we've rec'd. KJ and I got to the high school a few minutes early and were able to catch the dance team practicing their "pre-game prancing" (Chris & I make neighing horse noises when she does it in the house). So, being the smart-ass mother that I am and KJ being the equally annoying little sister that she is, we decided to honk the horn like morons and yell "Go T-Bone" as the dance team pranced around the parking lot. Didn't go over to well with T. She was shooting daggers out the corners of her eyes (but she never missed a beat!) and the minute she got in the car she yelled, "PLEASE DON'T EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN." Just doing my best to keep it real for my home-girl.

bitten by the bug

"Without travel I would have wound up a little ignorant white Southern female, which was not my idea of a good life." -- Lauren Hutton

Came across this quote from Lauren Hutton (super-model from back in the day, big gap in her front teeth). Anyway, I thought this described T to a, well, to a T! Although she knows she has a nice life here in B'ham, she can't wait to hit the bricks the minute she's old enough. The other day she told me "there's too much to do and too much to see to stay in one place too long." I just don't think she's a true GRIT (Girl Raised in the South), she's got to much Yankee in her (KJ, on the other hand, has already informed us that she plans to go to school at UAB so she can come home EVERY night for dinner. Shit!!!). T really wants to go school abroad and wants to see the world. Penn State, however, is Plan B. We went to the high school last night for a meeting on a future London trip. The itinerary was incredible and hit the spots we just didn't have time for in June: Stonehenge, Oxford, Stratford-on-Avon, Globe Theater, etc. Back-to-back Europe trips would have just about sent Chris over the edge (his toes are hanging over as it is). Plus, Miss Priss is sure to be looking for a car at some point next year.

I've been closing my eyes a lot lately and chanting my new mantra hoping this will all just go away: I'm not ready for this. I'm not ready for this. I'm not ready for this.

Starfish

The Starfish Story

adapted from The Star Thrower

by Loren Eiseley (1907 - 1977)

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It matters to that one."