Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! We have 14 people coming to our house! This year, I am thankful that I have a husband that cooks so I can sit around and do nothing...oops, I mean "entertain our guests" this Thanksgiving. Have a great holiday!

YES WE CAN!!!!

I am so proud of this country right now! Electing Barack Obama is the first step towards getting our country out of the mess it has been for the past 8 years. When it was announced that Barack Obama was the president elect, I got teary-eyed because I felt hope for this country. Barack Obama wont be a perfect president. He will make mistakes as all presidents do, but I feel that he is the first president in a long time that is on my side and is working for me and not corporations and lobbiests. I know Obama will do all he can to be not just be a president, but be a great president. I can't wait to see what changes are in store for us over the next four years. GOBAMA!

My Grandfather

I got news that my grandfather passed away this weekend. Most of you who are close to me might not even know that I had a grandfather who is living. I talk a lot about my grandmother but not about my grandfather (they got divorced before I was born). The truth is, I didn't really know grampy that well. I usually just saw him once a year at Christmas time. I never really understood this since he only live two or three miles from my parents. That's just the way it has always been and I've never really questioned it- not out loud, anyway. The last time I saw him was at Christmas time. He talked more on that day than I had ever heard him talk in 32 years. Maybe he knew his time on earth was coming to an end and was making one last attempt to reach out to all of us. This is what I found out that day- Grampy was a World War II Veteran. He got a Purple Heart because he was shot in the leg during the war. He told us about all the places he had been during the war. He and my grandmother got divorced when my mom was in high school. He went on to marry Isabelle. Isabelle was a nice woman who died last November. Mom and her brothers and sisters were with grampy when he died. In the end, he only wanted to be with Isabelle. As he was dying, he reached his hands up in the air, like he was reaching for her. I hope they are together now. Writing this blog is hard because I have always resented my grandfather for not being a part of me and J's life. I never understood why he didn't want to be. I'm sure he had his reasons. I'm sure there is a lot I don't know. I am grateful to him because without him, there would be no me. I just hope he is at peace now.

A Day of Rememberence

I just want to take a moment to remember the people who died in the terrorist attacks seven years ago today and their families. This day is a sad day for our country and thoughts and prayers need to be focused on the families of the dead. Keith Olbermann made an interesting special comment last night about how September 11th has been turned from a day of rememberence to a trademark used to justify certain policies and ideals. I usually think Keith's special comments are a little over the top but the one is right on. It is posted below.

Dissertation Update

This post may seem like a senseless promotion for a pat on the back...and it is. To update everyone, I just sent Chapter Four of my dissertation to my advisor on Sunday. Only one more chapter to go and I'm done. Unfortunately, Chapter 5 is the hardest to write and I'm ready to throw my ibook out the window. So, I need encouragement from you, my loyal readers (all four of you). Any praise you want to throw my way will be accepted and appreciated :)

Happy Anniversary

One year ago today I married my best friend. Everyone says that the first year of marriage is the hardest. If this year is the hardest, than the rest of our lives should go pretty smoothly. We've had a great year together in which we've built a strong partnership. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us. Happy Anniversary Baby! I Love You! SGK

Lessons Learned???

Almost exactly three years after Katrina hit New Orleans, the city is again bracing itself for another massive hurricane. Hurricane Gustav is supposed to hit ground on Monday as a category 5- the most powerful hurricane. To put things in perspective, Hurricane Katrina was only a category 3 hurricane. According to the coverage on MSNBC a mandatory evacuation order has been issued. New Orleans will not offer emergency services to anyone who chooses to ignore the order- those people will be on their own. Unlike last time, residents will not be allowed to take shelter in the Superdome. The only options for evacuation are to drive or take a bus north out of the area. According to coverage, most of New Orleans are choosing to leave. It is a good thing that Katrina wasn't so long ago that people have forgotten the devastation.

New Orleans is also offering options for people who might not leave their homes because of their pets. As an animal lover, some of the most heartbreaking scenes from Katrina for me were stranded animals. The stranded people were sad too, but they had a choice to stay or leave, the animals didn't. Anyway, New Orleans is offering an animal registration program. Pet owners can register their animals and leave them in a safe shelter. When they return to the city, they will be able to claim their pets. A lot of people did not evacuate during Katrina because shelters do not allow pets. This option takes away that excuse for people who are considering riding out the storm.

The major question in all the coverage seems to be, Will the levees hold? No one seems to know. We can only hope that they do. One the lighter side of all of this, it is reported that President Bush will be unlikely to be at the Republican Convention on Monday in order to respond to the hurricane. It does take a lot of time and energy to fly over a disaster area. I'm sure he needs that time to prepare for his flight :)

Has the area learned its lesson from Katrina? Only time will tell. My hope is that they have. Even though this post focuses on New Orleans, Jackson, Mississippi and Texas are also targeted to be hit by Hurricane Gustav. My thoughts and prayers will be with the people of that region this weekend.