Q Tips

I know we're not supposed to stick anything smaller than our elbow in our ear, but come on! Is my eardrum really gonna rupture? Is earwax really going to be smashed in there so much that I go deaf? I'm gonna need concrete evidence before I stop one of my favorite daily activities!

Heaven Help Us

Is anyone else worried about the economy these days? As I watch our 401k getting smaller and smaller, even though we're adding more and more money into it, I get worried.

I admit, I don't really understand whether that whole 700 Billion Dollar bailout would have worked, but I worry that nobody's doing anything; that congress is stuck in their political circus, not actually getting anything done.

And I wonder what's the answer? Is there an answer? Everything is so complicated and intertwined, is there really a solution?

And can John McCain or Barack Obama really do anything about it all?

What's your take?

A New Generation

I only knew a handful of you during one of my favorite life moments: Playing Maria in Kennedy Middle School's production of The Sound of Music. But my love for anything related to Julie Andrews, nuns, and puppets started long before the age of 13.

I have loved the movie ever since I can remember. Every Easter it would come on TV and I would watch the whole thing, dancing around like Gretl in the Gazebo, and swirling on my own living room hill, singing "The Hills are Alive..." (Thanks, Mom, for letting me stay up past my bedtime to watch it!)

It is one of the only movies that I know pretty much all the lines. So when it came on TV a few weeks ago, I couldn't pass it up. Brad, Ty and I watched and watched, and I was amazed that Ty fell in love with it, too! His favorite is the "Flibbertigibbet song," but he was entranced for the whole thing. When I cried at the end when they climb to their freedom, he was very curious. I told him it was just a happy cry. Now when he's crying for real, he says it's just a happy cry, in between sobs!

Since I had the CD in my collection but had never played it for Ty, he quickly played it over and over at bedtime. Soon, he knew all the words, too! When I saw the movie for two bucks at the thrift store, I couldn't resist!

And that is how our home--and some very public places--have been filled with the magic of the Sound of Music once more! We find ourselves singing those songs all over town, in our head, anywhere!

All is Calm

Updated 72-hour kit: check

Flashlights and batteries: check

More water than we would ever need: check

Non-perishable food: check

Outside items stored in garage: check

Ty's school cancelled: check

Brad's appointments cancelled: check

Storm:..........? Storm:................? Storm:.......................?

200 miles to the east.

San Antonio is such a weather vacuum!!! We got nothing!!! We never get anything!! Just sunshine and a 95 degree day ahead of us. Nothing!!

(I'm sure our Houston friends who are without power would trade with me in a heartbeat, so I'm trying not to be too disappointed that we got left out.)

Preparations

See that projected path? The center of it is Corpus Christi, where Brad had appointments scheduled for tomorrow. Thankfully, Corpus is in full Evacuation-mode, so we do not have to go down there!

But do you see that first red hurricane symbol after it hits land? That is over San Antonio, where we live! We're not supposed to get hurricanes here, we're 140 miles inland! But it's a possibility. Also very possible, and some even say likely, are tornados. And power failure. And flooding.

So, today, instead of traveling to Corpus, we are taking out our dusty 72 hour kit to do a few updates. Ty is no longer a size 3-6months. We live in Texas now, not Utah, so we probably don't need the heavy warm clothes we had in there before.

We're filling up our gas tanks. We're getting some cash in low denominations. We're storing our BBQ and patio furniture. Copying all our important documents. Gathering our flashlights and batteries. Getting lots of water.

I was at the church last night, and the Ward and Stake are preparing, as well. It's comforting to know we have a church family.

Anything I'm forgetting?

*Update: As of Thursday morning, the storm seems to be inching further east, so hopefully we won't be in the direct path anymore.

Budding Photographer

What to do when, because of last minute scheduling conflicts, you end up bringing your 3 year old to a weeknight meeting with a Bishopbric member?

Well, after a measely pen/paper combo doesn’t excite, give the boy your camera and pray he doesn’t break it!

The result: Life through the lens of a 3 year old: