Thursday, September 22, 2005

Notes During Hurricane Rita

I don't know what to say....kinda in a crazed daze.

Baby and I are planning to ride out another monster storm on the "outskirts of destruction." We left Calcasieu Parish yesterday which is close to Texas and Gulf of Mexico and came home which is farther east. Well, the storm as moved a little farther east in its projection.

Last I heard, my trucker husband was trying to leave South Texas/Louisiana border area and come home. No word in a while.My elderly parents are under mandatory evacuation as well as my brother and sister and their children. I'm trying to get everyone here in Baton Rouge because we are a little more inland and eastern. It might be a mess here too. I don't know.

I spoke to my angelette SueElla and she's heading north to Toledo Bend. They will go further north if they have to. They are more than welcomed here, it will just be tight. My other angelette Nikki is four miles farther north than I am and we are not under any special alerts in our parish.

I'm spoke to the son of Gemma, the Katrina Storm Survivor, and she's still in the Baton Rouge hospital and doing much better with IV meds and will be in the hospital through this next storm.

I will post updates until (or if) we lose power.My prayers are with my South Louisiana and Southeast Texas OH family.

Please be safe.

Onward (in His Grace)

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Attempted OD on Little Debbie Cakes Post-Katrina

Me, baby and the band are surviving in post-Katrina South Louisiana. I don't now what to say other than we're ok. I'm a little fried and stressed. I started taking some Xanax and that seems to help; except I took it, fell asleep and Cece slipped out of bed and coated the kitchen floor with Pam cooking spray. OK- Nothing's sticking to my kitchen floor now and I save the meds for late at night.

I tried to "eat my stress away" a few days ago and I still feel the yuckiness of 3 Little Debbie Cakes and whole milk from a convenience store. I'm not an emotional eater, apparently. Yuck!

Next week, I will start "some" type of exercise routine with fellow band babe Nikki D. in Zachary, La. We've both tried drinking and sweets and they are not smoothing my angst or even that enjoyable. There's got to be a better way.

I've found a cure for the scale addition -- Cat 4-5 Hurricane. The scale is up side down in a corner and I'm laughing at the days I used to hop on it first thing in the morning. I might be losing, might be gaining, just trying to stay away from "might be nuts!"

In my spare time, I've been working for Nola.com out of New Orleans and not out of homes across America. The first week, I was posting emergency rescue request to the Web site. Now, we are just giving folks a way to stay informed, speak out some frustrations and get the help they need to stay afloat. The URL is " nola.com " and doing the Nola View Blog near the bottom right of the homepage. (PT- good pay!)

In the rest of my spare time, I've been helping OH and local wls clinic get relief and supplies to displaced patients and those who had doctors in New Orleans and now need after care. I have volunteer surgeons in 4 or 5 cities, so if you know someone who needs my help, email me. (voluntary and well rewarded!)

I've been in contact with Gemma Rachel, the woman who had to airlift out of New Orleans days after RNY. She's had a tough time, but she's a trooper. I will be posting something on all the boards about how we can help her get on her feet. She's definitely on the losing side -- 42 pounds in a couple of weeks -- but her health is taking a beating and I can't imagine the horrors she has seen.

In the rest of the rest of my spare time, I've been on a job search. I'm one of two finalists for a communications job at a local university. I feel newspapers pulling me back into the "media addiction" since the storm and I don't know if I even want this job any more. I do need a full time job though. (possible so-so pay)

My un-spare time is caring for my nearly 3-year-old daughter. She's been with my parents for five days and I'm leaving to go spend the weekend with them and her. My baby didn't have to see the horrors that many infants and toddlers are living right now. I know what a wonderful blessing that is and I'm grateful to the Lord for His grace extended to Cece and I.

My husband has been gone though most of this and it's also tearing him up seeing pictures of Louisiana all over the country and knowing he can only read about it and not be here to help us cope.

I know something that could be fun...I could visit SueElla this weekend! Yes, I will do that. I'll see SueElla this weekend and come back and burn some street rubber with Nikki. I'm the angel, but I feel like I get all the rewards of knowing my little sisters.

Well, folks, that's Frances in a nutshell -- supersize my nutshell, please.

Onward!