Burning Up

It is certainly time to pray for some REAL rain for Texas. We are burning up. I am glad that I live in an area where there isn't an active fire. However, we have fires to the west of us and fires to the north. Sadly, there are choking clouds of smoke everywhere. I am tired of smelling and breathing it.  We even had ashes falling around our house on Monday evening.  The weather has finally gotten a little cooler and now the smoke forces us to stay inside.

On Sunday, my son started announcing to people that a hurricane is coming. I don't know why.  We hadn’t been discussing it or anything. I am simply hoping for a very wet tropical storm, one that lingers for several days and soaks everything.

Ike Comes Closer

Still keeping an eye on the storm...YIKES! By the way, I don't think anyone here has hurricane shutters. In fact, I don't see many people preparing yet. Maybe today? They are talking about the storm, but acting like life goes on as planned. I guess I am used to Miami where everyone knows they will be bunkering down for a few days maybe more. We'll all be learning the hard way, especially if it hits as a Cat 4 like they were talking about last night.

In the Cone

This is the time of year when Southerners suddenly become a lot more interested in the Weather Channel and sites like weather.com. This past week, we've been tuning in a bit more often. See the little red star in the cone of Hurricane Ike? That is where we live.

Before living in Florida, I would have never guessed that I would actually turn to the Weather Channel and watch for extended periods of time. That just seemed boring. I am guessing that if I hadn't lived there I would still not be able to have it on for more than a few minutes.

Should I even admit that when I lived in Miami I actually wished for hurricanes and tropical storms to come near? I guess since I wrote about it on my blog back then, it isn't a secret. I didn't want them to damage any homes or hurt anyone. I mainly wanted the county to be scared enough to shut down. That was my only chance for a day off of work due to weather. Some of those days turned out to be quite pleasant.

Now that we are living in Houston, have kids, own a place (that I still need to get home owner's insurane for the interior on), and don't have hurricane shutters; I have can't see any personal benefit of hurricanes. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that I am working at home? That means that as long we have power & internet, I must work. I am definitely NOT going to wish for the power to go out. The temperatures are still reaching the mid 90s here. We would melt!

I know I have a laid back attitude about the storms, which isn't a good thing. In my defense though, it is a good balance to my husband. The worst hurricane I have been through was Katrina & Rita (in Miami where they hit as a Cat 1). My husband was living in South Florida when Andrew hit (Cat 5). He helped with the clean-up and re-building. Because of that, these storms seem to cause a bit of fear for him. He wants to go out and buy a generator, plywood or shutters, and all of that. I just make sure we have gas, water, and food.

...So, it looks like over the next few days we will be tuning into the weather channel. I just hope we don't make the national news because of the damage it causes. Oh & Jim, you seem nice, but feel free to stay away.

Dog Days of Summer

I have been looking forward to this summer for the last 6 months. I was excited about taking Lexi and our friends to the various pools (beach club & waterpark) in our community. Now that the heat & humidity has hit,....I think I've changed my mind. We may have to live at the pool. I guess I am looking forward to my family reunion in the Grand Canyon in July. Perhaps, I'll consider that cool.