Home Sweet Home!!!

Howdy!  I'm back!!  I'm completely exhausted so this won't be too long or too lively.  The trip to AR was great and the kids loved it -- all, but the long A-Double-@$$ drive, I should say.  There's more to say about the visit and all but I'll save that for later.  Just want to drop an update for my Fantab fellow bloggies and my wonderful friends.

Though -- if you go to AR anytime soon?  Remember the "Deep Woods Off" when you are deep in the woods.  The prehistoric sized mosquitoes were completely immune to my "Sports Off" and were able to get themselves a tummy full of me.  My legs look like a war zone, like....well, like they were hit by IKE.

I digress.

My brother flew in from a job in Wyoming so he could ride back with me and we could view and ponder the devastation that hit Houston.  We loaded up the kids sometime around 5ish and were well on the road by 5:30 a.m.

As we got closer we realized people were in a frenzy for fuel.  I apologize to the guy who took FOREEEEEEEVER to fuel up in front of me and who was talking on his cell phone the whole 25 BLEEPIN' minutes while I waited [IM]patiently for him to finish so I could top off my own tank.

I actually cursed him and he looked at me and obviously read my lips which were saying, "Get the F@c$ off the F'ing Bleepity Phone and pay attention to what you are Bleepin' doing!!  A-hole!!!"  Yeah.  He pretty much read all of that.  I talk really fast though so maybe he only caught the "Bleep" and the "Phone" part.  Anyhow.  I apologize again.  I'm usually not like that.

So.  Lots of trees uprooted.  Big Trees!  Pulled straight out of the ground as if someone picked a weed from the lawn.  As we got closer to my brother's place (which we were told that entire area had been completely under water) there were power lines down, stop lights hanging by a thread, roofs relocated, and everyone driving -- kindly and courteously, kind of.

Thank goodness my brother's vehicle was unharmed -- except for the missing fuel someone had siphoned from it's gas tank.  And, his apartment had power returned just as we unloaded.  The power is skippy on that side of town and some won't have power for weeks or longer.

My brakes were crap because I was due a super break job by DH but he had been so busy in the field and IKE was unexpected.  And, DH didn't want me to go to break check.  So, I got to AR with metal on metal and then got the front brakes fixed to get us all home.  Talk about loud and grinding.  But, we made it.

When I coasted in the drive to the house -- I had been up since 4-ish a.m. and had been on the road with a few potty and fueling stops....it was 6:30 p.m.  DH greeted me with a glass of wine, a clean home, and a hot pizza.  Kids were pleased.  I was pooped.

So, I still have so much unloading to do.  And, so much catching up on the phone with missed appointments, and other "chores and duties" I had signed up to do -- but, didn't, because I hauled A-Double D- @$$ outa' here.

Oh, we did have ONE scare in AR while IKE meandered it's way North.  Tornado watches, YIKES Ike!  Daddy has a tornado shelter put in/under ground.  Tiny and cramped for three adults and two children.  But, we would stand it if we had too.  Luckily there too?  We were the one tiny little green spot on the weather radar.  Oooh.  Which reminds me.  I need to check in on jay at his place.

Oh, and jay?  I looked for you in Walmart.  But, I guess we shopped on different days or at different Walmarts, LOL!!!

Happy....um, What day is this?

Home Sweet Home!!!