Hurricanes, Hysteria, Heat, and Hope

Living in Central Texas, our focus for the past few weeks has been hurricanes. Austin is housing thousands of survivors from Katrina and Rita. Again, please continue to give every month until these people are settled. As Rita crossed the Keys and went into the gulf, Austinites went a little nuts. Across two counties, there wasn't a single bottle of water to be had. People panicked and bought weeks worth of canned food, water, batteries, candles, matches, etc. We also ran out of gas. Literally every station I passed had signs out front that said their tanks were empty, or that they only had diesel left. It was crazy. Thankfully, the Austin area felt only a few strong breezes. Ironically, we could have really used the rain. We are in a heat wave that just won't end. Yesterday, when I had car duty at school, it was a balmy 107 degrees. Today it was about the same. I'd expect temps like this in August, but it's almost October! A cold front is supposed to come in on Thursday and drop the temps into the eighties. What a relief that will be!

My second-mom, Linda, and I went to a women's conference at Shoreline this weekend. The music and the speakers were awesome! If you get a chance to see Chris Caine or Lisa Bevere in person, I highly recommend it. I really got a lot out of the conference. It's always nice to have the change to stop for a few days to take a look at you life and decide what areas need a little work. As usual, the conference stirred up my restless spirit and made me start thinking about what I want to do next in my life. Peace Corps? Missions work? Mercy Ships? writing? Who knows...when I figure it out, I'll let you know.

Rumors of my death...

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to let you know that I am indeed alive and well. The month surrounding the beginning of school is always insane! Plus I really haven't been doing that much outside of school. So, here is my last month in a nutshell.

1. Katrina - My deepest sympathies go out to all those whose lives have been devastated by Hurricane Katrina. If I could take them all into my house and clothe and feed and hug them, I would. If you haven't already, please donate to an aid organization, not only this month, but every month until the Big Easy is back on its feet. The cleanup will be toxic and dangerous and rebuilding will take a while. We should be willing to support our fellow citizens for the long haul. As for the thousands of lost souls, may God bless them.

2. Punkin - My sweet baby is growing like a weed! He goes to get fixed on Saturday, and his Mama is a little nervous.
Isn't he precious?!? ( I know, I know, it's nauseating. Moving on...)

3. Movies - Amy's 2 second movie reviews - The Island 3 stars, pretty but forgettable; Dukes of Hazzard 4 stars, great 70's nostalgia, questionable casting choices; Red Eye 3 stars, loved Rachel McAdams, but a pretty flat script. On Netflix, Spartan was surprisingly good, A Very Long Engagement was pretty, but confusing, and the Manor House series was great.

4. TV - With the fall season upon us, my new absolutely-can't-miss favorites are Lost, Veronica Mars, Survivor:Guatemala, House, and Desperate Housewives. Newcomers Prison Break, Reunion, and Commander in Chief look promising. We'll see. For great TV dish, read Kristen's column each week. I love this girl!! If stalking was legal, I would be this girl's shadow in a heartbeat. :)

5. Serenity opens September 30! - If you haven't seen Firefly, see it. It's awesome. (You can rent in on 4 discs, or just buy it. It's worth it. It's also on SciFi on Friday evenings for the next few weeks.) If you can only see a few episodes, watch "Serenity", "Ariel", "Out of Gas", "Bushwhacked", and "Objects in Space" to get the gist of the series. Serenity, the film, picks up with the Firefly crew six months after the series ends. Please give the series (and the film) a chance. It is smart and clever and worth a look.

Baby Pictures

I finally have pictures of my baby Punkin. Isn't he the cutest thing! I love him so much! I've never had a cat before, so all this mama-love is new to me. My favorite parts of the day are when I fall asleep to his purring (he sleeps on my pillow above my head) and when he gives me kisses and cuddles in the morning. It's so nice having another warm body in the apartment.

In other news, we began school on Tuesday. So far my kids are talkative, but pretty good. I really hope that this year is better than last. I wonder if I'll ever have a year where I don't spend every day thinking of how to get out and do something else. A sign of unhappiness maybe? Hmmmmm.....

A few other Random notes.....My friend Lisa is back in Austin for a while. Yea! While I wish her husband wasn't stationed in Baghdad, I'm glad to have her close by again....There exists a small possibility that my best friends, the Happys, might return to Texas before Baby Happy comes to join us. Just the thought gives me shivers of happiness and causes spontaneous giggles...My friend Laura has been wonderful in helping me settle into becoming a cat mama. She has been checking in on me, but I've been so busy I haven't called back. Sorry Vel, I love you, and I swear I'll call you soon... {{big sigh}} I love my friends :)

Sad News

My father just called to tell me that my Uncle Wayne passed away this afternoon. He was diagnosed with breast cancer about two years ago and with pancreatic cancer several months ago. My uncle was never very close with his family and had no children of his own. He and my Aunt Vivian were married for about 30 years. I'm sad for her loss, even though I barely knew them. What breaks my heart is that I know for sure that he never gave his heart to Christ, so he will spend eternity away from God. To learn more about a life with Christ, please give me a call. To learn about cancer research and survivor stories visit the Komen Foundation, LiveStrong, or the American Cancer Society.

Favorite TV Episodes

Last night I was watching television when Fresh Prince of Bel-Air came on. Always a fun show, I kept it on while I was making dinner. I soon realized that it was my favorite episode, the one where Will's father (played by the wonderful Ben Vereen) returns for a brief moment, only to disappear and disappoint again. I thought to myself, "Of all the episodes of this show, I think this one is the absolute best." I started thinking through old television shows and picking my "best" of each of them.

My next thought was The Jeffersons. I vaguely remember a Halloween show where "Weezy", who I think was dressed as Mae West, witnessed a murder and then the murderer, who I think wore a rabbit costume, came after her.

My favorite episodes of All in the Family were both sad ones. I loved the one where Edith was assaulted in her home while Archie was next door planning a party for her. I also love the one after Edith died, when Archie sits alone on their bed and talks to her about how lost he is without her. This scene remains one of the most touching in my TV memory.

Archie walks into his and Edith's bedroom. And closed two empty drawers in the dresser. Archie sits down on the bed and finds one of Edith's slippers on the floor. Sadness encompasses him. To Archie the slipper represents Edith.

ARCHIE
It wasn't supposed to be like this. I was supposed to be the first one to go. I always used to kid you about you going first. You know I never meant none of that and that morning when yous was laying there. I was shaking you and yelling at you to go down and fix my breakfast. I didn't know. You had no rite to leave me that way.
[Archie starts to cry.]

ARCHIE
Without giving me just one more chance to say I love you.

Not all my favorites were sad, though. I love the episode of The Cosby Show where Theo moves into the "real world," the early episode of Facts of Life where the school flooded, and the Maltese Falcon episode of Kate and Allie.

I'm sure there are many, many more that I'll think of later. What are your favorites?

Hot, hot, hot!

It has been even hotter than usual lately in Texas, so it is pretty uncomfortable down here. I have been uber-busy with getting ready for the next school year. I trained for two weeks in the use of Lego RoboLab in the classroom, and I did another few days on language-arts curriculum improvements. I've also been house/dog sitting, and I have a friend in town for a couple of weeks, so I've been REALLY busy.

Punkin is great, although he is growing WAY too fast. Also, we found out last week that my best friends, the Happy family, are having a boy. Yea!

Thanks in part to the One Campaign, major changes are heading to Africa. Another yea! I've been thinking a lot about preparing for foreign aid/mission work in Africa in a year or two. Please pray for me to recieve strong guidance from the Lord.

On a final note for the day, I send my very best, most peaceful, loving, healing thoughts and prayer to all those effected by the London bombing. Go in peace.

Here Kitty, Kitty...

I am finally an official Mama. I brought my new kitten home on Tuesday, and he is so cute! He is an orangey-blond with pale stripes on his back and little pale spots on his tummy. He is about eight weeks old, so he is still a baby. After a few mishaps, he is now using his litter box like an old pro. (Thank God!) He purrs like a little warm motor. I think I'm gonna like having a kitty. His name is Pumpkin, which in Texan is Punkin. When he's being good, I can coo over my little Punkin-head. When he's bad, I can call him a little Punk. As soon as I get some pictures, I'll post a pic.

In other random news, my interest of the week is Airstream trailers. The main character of one of my favorite series, Wonderfalls, lives in an Airstream that looks like the inside of Jeannie's bottle. I went to an RV dealer the other day to see what they're really like. They are awesome!! Cute, distinctive, roomy.... so cool! I could absolutely see myself hooking a trailer up to a truck and hitting the road. There is so much of America and Canada that I would LOVE to see. Ahhhh.... Maybe someday, when I can be a writer and work from anywhere.

Speaking of great writing, Wil wrote a great post called "the seat with the clearest view" on video games and his youth. He is such a good writer! Also, check out Amanda's new British roadster. Wow!

I've been using Netflix to relive some old TV shows. Right now I'm watching Popular and Freaks and Geeks. I'd forgotten how good they were. I love how many series are on DVD now.

Have a great 4th of July!!