Laura's Kindergarten Pictures

Laura got her Kindergarten pictures back yesterday. She's such a cheese monster.

In Memory of Grandma Groves

Tim's Grandmother has been sick for quite some time and this morning she lost her battle. Luckily Tim was home 2 weekends ago and was able to visit with her. We will miss her dearly.

Sarah Palin's CBS Interview with Katie Couric

I didn't watch the interview the night that Sarah spoke because I was getting packed for our trip to Nashville. However, I was able to watch it online and I have to say it was excrutiating to see. Sarah Palin proves she is just not ready for the job at hand. Attached, you can watch a portion of the interview in which Couric says to Palin, "I'm just going to ask you one more time - not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation." Palin responds with "I'll try to find you some and I'll bring them to you." What kind of response is that of someone who could be a VP of our country?


This is another response from CNN Reporter, Jack Cafferty, on one of the questions Couric raised to Sarah Palin:


I'm looking so forward to seeing Joe Biden chew her up and spit her at Thursdays VP Debate. It will be something to see.

It's been a while......

I've taken a while to make a post to my blog, but it seems like things have been full speed ahead since Hurricane Ike hit. It seems several people are still without power. I was out of work for a week because we did not have power restored until the Saturday after the storm. Residents of Galveston Island were finally allowed back this past Wednesday. Thousands are still without power, and may be for several more weeks.

Keith Urban @ The Grand Ole Opry ~ September 27, 2008


Well, today is my Birthday and for such a special occasion, Tim planned a trip to Nashville. We left last night and arrived around 6:00. Because we were so tired last night, we just went to dinner and came back to hit the sack. Today we have been out shopping and walking around downtown Nashville. Every restaurant/bar has someone singing in them. Laura bought a Hannah Montana microphone earlier in the day, so she was singing away every time she walked by a bar with music. Tomorrow is Demo Day for Northern so we will visit all of Tim's stores for the day. Laura and I actually like Demo Day, because we get to ride go-carts that we get to ride while Daddy works. We seem to have a great time. After Demo Day, we will be going to see Keith Urban @ The Grand Ole Opry. I look so forward to it. I think he will put on a great concert. Sunday we will head back home and start the week over again.

Today is also the 1st Presidential Debate. Of course Tim joked a few weeks back by saying "Well I know what we'll be doing in Nashville". At the time I said "no we won't be watching the debate". Well, it's 7:11 Central time and we're sitting here waiting for the 8pm debate. Surprisingly, Tim is interested in watching it to. I think most of it has to do with the 700 Billion Dollar Bailout that is going out. I think he wants to see what's going on with the economy. Last night he was up watching Cramer on Mad Money to see what all is happening with the economy. Tim LOVES that show and could watch it all day long!

Well, I better get going so I can get ready for the debate. Talk to you guys later. Take care!

Chelsea Lately on E!

Have you guys watched The Chelsea Lately Show, wich Chelsea Handler, on E!? I swear, it's one of the funniest late night shows out there. It's on the E! network @ 11:30 Eastern, 10:30 Central on channel 236. It's a must see!

Here's a clip of one of the funniest roundtable' from the show:

Florida police use Taser on nude man walking a dog

Being home from Hurricane Ike has resorted me to "stupid news" such as this. I came across it anc cound not quit laughing. Obviously I need to get out of this house...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A 40-year-old man walking his dog in the nude was Tasered by police when he refused to follow an officer's commands. David McCranie of the Tallahassee Police Department said an officer on patrol spotted the man shortly after 8 p.m. Friday.

When asked what he was doing, the man told the officer, “Allah told me to watch a Bruce Willis movie and walk the dog,” McCranie said. “He was obviously having some sort of emotional distress,” he said.

McCranie said using the Taser was the only way to subdue the man without having to hurt him. The man was then sent for mental-health evaluation and treatment.

Sorry but the last time I checked, being tasered hurts like hell!!!

Found on Yahoo news:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080916/ap_on_fe_st/odd_naked_dog_walker;_ylt=AptIxX1UwOpMAPd3G9YrMrEuQE4F

Nights In Rodanthe

Well, during Hurricane Ike, I've finally gotten the chance to finish the book I've been reading. It's called "Nights in Rodanthe", by Nicholas Sparks. I have to say it was a great book. Since the movie is coming out on September 26th, I'm not going to give anything away about the book. However, I bet it will be a MUST SEE! The movie, stars Richard Gere and Diane Lane. It may be more of a chick flick, but it could entice a few men as well.

Check out the trailer below:

The Aftermath of Hurricane Ike

Here are more photos of Hurricane Ike's aftermath:

Tim. Laura and I went out yesterday around 1:00. Tim wanted to show Laura all of the fences that were down around our block. He took us around the block, which took about 45 minutes. During that time he touched based with some of his stores. Many of the employees had not had any food that day.

You see, we have very limited supplies of food & water in the Houston area. So, from that phone call, Tim was on a mission. His first priority at that point was to find food for his employees. We finally found a Jack In The Box, close to us, that was open. So, we were able to get 60 cheese burgers and 20 tacos to supply his Houston stores with 2 burgers per person along with a few tacos. Next, we had to hit all of his stores before 5:00, which in and of itself created a problem. Tim called Gulf Fwy first and found that they had a "den mother" take care of them and proved them with sandwiches for lunch. However, the other 3 Houston stores had not had breakfast or lunch. So, now it was time to divide everything out and get to the store. The first store was SW Fwy. They had no power to the building. Their staff was limited as well as their customers. It hard to open a store when you have no power, however, they were actually opened. Our next stop was NW Fwy. They also had minimal power (generator provided power) so they did not have much customer base either. Then we made it to the North Freeway store. They were unbelievably busy. The parking lot when we arrived was completely full. When we got inside it was just as bad. They had generator customers wrapped around the perimeter. It was absolutely crazy! I could not believe it. Tim remained at the front, becoming a cashier, and found that most of the customers had been in line for 7 or more hours. He could not believe it and because I do not work in that industry, I couldn't wrap myself around it. I don't know that I could wait in line for 7 or more hours. However, his dedicated customers did.

We helped for several hours in the N. Fwy. store (I don't know how much help we were) and finally around 8:00 the doors were closed to any more customers. Remember the store closes as 6:00 on Sunday's. After we left, it was getting past Laura's bedtime, so our next challenge was finding somewhere to get her something to eat. Surprisingly we could not find anything until we got closer to our home. Most places are closed in our area (fast food, retailers, etc.). While Tim ordered food, I ended up getting in line at the gas station. We got in line around 9:00pm and it was well after 10:00 before we actually got gas. It was unbelievable the number of people that were in line. More than that, it was unbelievable how many people had to be pushed to the gas tanks. I ended up having to get in the driver's seat so that Tim could help people push their cars to the tank.

We finally made it home between 10 and 11:00, and Laura was exhausted! We got her to bed and as soon as our head hit the pillow we were out ourselves.

I can not believe what an impact this has made. It's hard to believe that so much has changes in less than a week. Electricity, Water pressure, food, electricity and phone service has been completely compromised. They say it could take weeks to restore power. We are very lucky in that we have power, water pressure, food and phone service. However, for most of our Houstonian's can't say the same. It's very sad. As one news reporter said, "Power has been cut to nearly 4 million people, and may be a month away from full restoration.". I can't even imagine.

2008 Election Satire

Regardless of what party you're supporting, this is funny!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Take A Hike Ike, Tina's Not Here!

AHHHHHH, what a sigh of relief........

Finally the rain and winds have stopped. Lots of people are making their way out of their homes. The clouds are still in the sky, but thankfully the rain has passed. I didn't sleep at all last night so I have been so sleepy today. Laura got plenty of rest last night so she is full speed ahead. That in combination with the way I feel don't really go hand in hand but she's being really good though. I call her my little storm trooper because she's been such a good girl.

Tim has gone in to some of the stores to assess the damage. He's calling to let me know he's ok when he has to move from store to store. Hopefully he will not be out that much later. I think one of his stores had significant damage, so that may take some time.

Attached is a slideshow of images of Hurricane Ike:

Hurricane Ike ~ 7th Update

Tim and I went out in the front of the house around 11:00 last night and winds had picked up a great deal. However, not enough for there to be a threat of flying debris. The transformers in and around the neighborhood started blowing up around midnight and soon after we lost power. To loose power in Texas can be miserable as humid as it is here.

Laura went down around 9:00 so she was asleep before the storm hit. Luckily she slept through the entire night. How I don't know, but she did. She woke up around 6am and the winds were really whipping. She had her own flashlight, so she, Tim and I made our way to the den and we sat around watching our little trees blow in the wind. I'm so surprised they made it as hard as the winds have been. We have been very fortunate to not have any damage to our home. However, our neighbors on both sides of us do. It's still really windy outside, even at 11:00 in the morning, and still raining but the worst looks like it's behind us.

We have a very large retention pond in the back of our house and it is completely full. It makes it look like we've got a small sized lake back there. Hopefully the rain doesn't keep up all day, because we could have some flooding to deal with. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Well, I wanted to let you know we're doing fine and I'll check back in later.

Hurricane Ike ~ 6th Update

Well, Laura is ready for her sleepover in her tent and she's pretty excited.


The winds have picked up, but we've had wind storms that would equate to what we're dealing with right now. I'm sure it is just the beginning, but we are doing well.

Here is the current look at Hurricane Ike:


I'll try and check back in with you later. By the way, our webcam is still up and running. The street lights are on, so you can still see pretty well what's going on here.

Hurricane Ike ~ 5th Update

For our family linked in to Yahoo Messenger, we've got our webcam up and running for you to see what's going on outside.

Not too much is happening right now, but if you want to see for yourself, just view our webcam.

Talk to you afterwhile.

Hurricane Ike ~ 4th Update

Here is latest look at Hurricane Ike:



It's about 2:06 and the clouds are finally starting to roll in. I've gotten the laundry done, I've cleaned the house and Laura and I are just hanging out. She has been on my laptop most of the afternoon. She's only 4, but I swear she's so good with computers. She's already gone searching for laptops of her own, too funny!!

Well, I just got a call from my father and he said my brother, Eric was watching the news (if you want to call Geraldo Rivera news) and Eric saw Geraldo fall over from the wind. Well, I think he's being a little over dramatic. I'm watching The Weather Channel and they have women reporting in Galveston Bay and the winds are not that bad. I hate how some news media make things out to be a little more serious than it is. It makes it very difficult when you live in a different state than your family does. I walked outside to assure my father that the wind wasn't really blowing here yet so he would feel a little better and I think that helped some. I'm not saying I don't think we'll get wind and rain, I actually think we'll get a significant amount actually. However, I wish the news media would report it like it really is.

There is already flooding in Galveston, not because of rain, because it's only drizzling right now, but from the storm surge (waves are about 18-20 ft). Other than that, things are not that bad here.

I'll update everyone in a few hours as things progress. For my family and friends, things aren't probably as bad as your news channels are making it, but I'll update you as things start to turn nasty.

Talk to you soon!

Hurricane Ike ~ 3rd Update

Here is the latest view of Hurricane Ike:


Laura and I left out this morning around 7:30 and headed in to work. The roads were very clear, it almost felt like a ghost town, which is hard to imagine with a city that has 5.6 million people in the city and surrounding suburbs. Laura was so excited to see Ms. Stephanie and Mr. Jack at work. In fact she helped Mr. Jack get things out of his office and away from the windows. We hurried to get everything away from windows and got out of there.

The weather here today is actually really nice ~ it's hot, sunny and for the time we have a very nice breeze. However, I'm sure that will change later this afternoon to a little stonger winds. The coast, which is about 45 minutes away from us, is already seeing significant storm surges and even flooding. It's not started raining at all but the waves are really affecting the Galveston area.

Tim left to go to some of his stores this morning at 3:00am. I'm sure he is swamped with trucks and customers. I've gone by Lowes and Home Depot and their parking lots at 7:30 this morning were unbelievably packed. If that's any indication, he slammed today.

Well, I'm getting ready to finish up on laundry, dishes and get the house in order so we can sit around and wait for the storm. Tim has got lots of fun things for Laura to do in case the power goes out, which we've been told is a big possibility.

I'll update you guys later this afternoon. Take care!

Hurricane Ike ~ 2nd Update

Here's the latest update of Ike:



The drive home this afternoon was not that bad. Normally it takes me an hour to 1 & 1/2 hours to make it home. However, this afternoon it only took me 45 minutes. Most companies shut down today around noon or late afternoon so the drive home was a breeze (no pun intended). When I got to Laura's school, she was so excited ~ there is no school tomorrow for her and that was music to her ears. I am actually going in for a few hours, but as soon as I get the computers shut down and everything taken care of, I'm out of there. Laura will be going in with me and Tim will be making his rounds to the stores before the storm hits.

Luckily Tim was able to run to the store again this afternoon and he picked up a few things I didn't get on my trip. During our conversation, while he was in the grocery store, he asked "where can I get some glow sticks for Laura?". So, I quickly told him to go around the corner to Party City. I didn't know by telling him that, he would end up spending $100.00 on "fun stuff" for her to do during the hurricane. Tim wants to make sure Laura is aware of the danger of a hurricane, but he doesn't want her to think it's too scary either. We're letting Laura put her inside tent/bed in our room so she can be with us in the event Ike hits tomorrow evening. She's pretty excited about that too!

I'll check back in later. Take care!

Hurricane Ike ~ 1st Update

Well, Stephanie and I went out at lunch to make a grocery run before the storm hits and it was absolutely crazy out there. The grocery stores and convenient stores are crammed pack with people trying to stock up with food and water. The gas stations have lines like you wouldn't believe. This storm has really gotten people a little frazzled.

As of right now, the storm is suppose to hit at a moderate Category 3 Hurricane with sustained winds reaching 120-125 miles per hour. Ike is currently coming in a little West of Houston. Down near the coast, they are looking at 15 to 20 feet storm surges.

Galveston County is under a mandatory evacuation and parts of Harris County are now under a mandatory evacuation as well.

I'll check in later with you all! Take care!

Here's a current look at Ike:

Hurricane Ike

Well, it looks like Hurricane Ike might be heading straight for us this time. We'll keep our family and friends back in NC posted as the day progresses.

First Day of Kindergarten

Well, Laura started school a few weeks ago, August 25th to be exact. However, I was having trouble retrieving a picture of her so I held off on writing about it until I got one.

She was so excited about school and I am just amazed that she's old enough to even be going. I just can't believe how quickly it goes by. It seems like just yesterday she was born, but it's been 5 years this October. Because of Laura's age, she was not suppose to start Kindergarten until next year. However, she's so ready for it that we just couldn't hold her back. She's so smart and such a little sponge. Everything that comes to her, she takes it all in. She's so inquisitive and has a question about everything. She also has an answer for everything too. Sometimes, she amazes me with what she comes up with.

Luckily it wasn't too hard on Tim and I since she is going to the same school she went to for Preschool. Now next year may be a different story though. We're still not sure about Public or Private. We've got to start really thinking about what we want to do and what's best for her.

Anyone have any suggestions? What do you prefer, public or private schools? I'm really curious what people think.

2008 Presidential Predictions

Our 8th Anniversary!

Tim and I will be celebrating our 8th Anniversary on Tuesday and as always Tim loves to surprise me. Well, he didn't disappoint this year.

Saturday morning I woke up to breakfast in bed and a beautiful bouquet of pink flowers on the night stand. After breakfast, I was told to be ready by 10:15. Tim took Laura shopping for a gift, as she had a Birthday Party to attend that afternoon. When they got back, they brought company with them ~ Ms. Carissa. It seems Tim and Carissa had been working on my surprise for a few weeks.

The surprise was something I don't get much of, an all day date with my husband. Of course I still had no idea what all was in store, but I knew he would have it all planned out.

We started off the day at the Heights Massage & Day Spa. Tim and I enjoyed a couples massage. They pampered us with fruit and chocolate covered strawberries. After our massage we left and had a light lunch at Java Java. When we arrived at the address we had no idea we were actually at the restaurant because the awning read, "The Flower Shop". After walking all the way around the building, we finally decided to go in to the flower shop and ask for directions. Little did we know, it was Java Java the whole time. After lunch we ended up going home to get cleaned up since we were so greasy from the massage. Tim then took me to Barnes & Noble to pick out a new book. I picked out my book and we headed for Herman Park where I was able to sit and read, people watch and enjoy a beautiful day under the trees. Surprisingly, it was not that hot. In fact we had a nice breeze come through that afternoon. After spending a few hours there, we headed to the Alamo Draft House. Tim and I love watching movies here, because you can eat and drink while watching a movie. We ordered a bottle of wine to have with our meal. The movie we chose was The Dark Knight. I wasn't much of a fan of the movie, but I'm also not a Batman fan either. I thought Heath Ledger did an outstanding job as the Joker. He was truly dark in this movie, but it was a great performance to see from him. After the movie, we headed home just in time to tuck our little one in to bed and give goodnight hugs and kisses.

I had such a wonderful time on my date with my hubby. It's hard for us to get a chance to do stuff like that since all of our family lives in another state. So, when given the opportunity we don't pass it up.

Link to the Heights Massage & Day Spa
http://www.heightsmassage.com/
Link to Herman Park
http://www.hermannpark.org/index.html
Link to Alamo Draft House
http://www.drafthouse.com/

I promise I had nothing to do with Operation Code Pink last night!

Based on all of the protesters in the audience last night at the RNC, I would say it didn't go as smoothly as McCain would have liked.

"McCain Votes Against Vets" Demonstrator

I have several issues with McCain's speech, some of which I'll share.

McCain makes the following statement ~ "I’m running for President to keep the country I love safe, and prevent other families from risking their loved ones in war as my family has." If I'm not mistaken, isn't he one of the ones that voted to send our families into a country that we had no business being in, in the first place? He, along with President Bush and other members who voted for the war, have put thousands of families in harms way and for what? I keep hearing "we will be victorious in Iraq." Victorious over what? We invaded a country on the grounds that they had weapons of mass destruction, which they did not! We went after Saddam Hussein because he was considered a threat. Not to say that Saddam was not a threat, but Saddam was not the one responsible for 9/11. Once again we went to the wrong place at the wrong time looking for the wrong guy and for all the wrong reasons. It's an unjustified war and a war that needs to come to an end. Not later, but as soon as responsibly possible. My comments do not mean that I don't support our troops. I support them 110% if not more. However, I don't now and will not ever support those who voted to send our fellow Americans into a war without just cause!

McCain also says in his speech "I will ask Democrats and Independents to serve with me". How can he expect our service or our support after he bashes us? I don't know how you can go for 19 months bashing the views of Democrats and Independents and expect much support. If you can't show unity before the election, why would we think it would be any different after the fact. McCain specifically says he "will veto every bill that has earmarks". I'm afraid of what all McCain will end up using his veto power on. I'm afraid of the power he'll use period!

The biggest difference I noticed between the DNC and the RNC is that the DNC reflected people of all different race, age, religious background and sexual orientation who all came together in Unity to celebrate such a historic opportunity for our country. It was a celebration of what could be ~ Hope For Change and a Change We Can Believe In. I did not get that from the RNC. The RNC reflected one negative attack after another. I also didn't think McCain did a very good job at outlining what he plans to do for this country. He made specific reference to Palin's lack of experience by saying he "can’t wait until I introduce her to Washington". He can't wait to introduce her, because she's never been. I heard someone say the other day, "could you imagine, if McCain becomes President, Palin is just one heartbeat away from that spot". That's a scary thought to me. She is not ready to hold the position of the President.

Thank goodness we're only 59 days away from the Election!

Code Pink Demonstrators escorted out of RNC

By the way, the 1st Presidential Debate will be held on Friday, September 26, 2008.

September ~ National Cholesterol Awareness Month

Make a date with yourself to have your cholesterol tested, then learn how to manage your levels and lower your risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke.

http://www.hearthub.org/hearthub/hc-cholesterol.htm

Enough Already!

Thank goodness there are only 60 more days until the 2008 Presidential Election. I have just about had my share of the negative attacks. I was really frustrated and might I also add a little disappointed while listening to the RNC speeches last night. I must say I think Sarah Palin did a decent job with her speech. However, I was pretty perturbed by the end of the night listening to both Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin bash Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Don't get me wrong, I think you need some of that from the politicians. However, I thought their remarks were just nasty and uncalled for. It really doesn't have to get to that, does it? Just tell us what you stand for, add a few left jabs here and there, and keep going. All the negative remarks are not necessary and in my opinion show what kind of campaign they are running in the first place.

Labor Day Weekend

I'm just now getting back from Labor Day Weekend. It was quite busy. Laura and I went to SeaWorld with Wyatt and his Mom, Lisa. We spent all day Saturday at SeaWorld and then all day Sunday at the Riverwalk. Unfortunately, Wyatt and I got sick before leaving for San Antonio, so we had to deal with that for most of the trip. You wouldn't have known it though, we all had so much fun. The kids were so mesmirized by Shamu and the Beluga whales. The shows were great, but boy were they packed. We also got to enjoy the Lost Lagoon Waterpark. The kids, and even Lisa and I, loved the wave pool and the water slides. The two most talked about rides with Laura and Wyatt were the Rio Loco and the new rollercoaster, Atlantis. I was so surprised at how much they enjoyed Atlantis, because it was a really steep rollercoaster.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. What all did you get in to?