Never send a man to do a woman's job...

In preparation for the storm, I sent my husband out to gather food for our weekend hibernation. I was out and about so I didn't really have time to go myself. He went to Sam's Club, so I thought, "Awesome, he's totally gonna stock up on good food for us AND in bulk quantity!" So when I returned home I was pleased to see 5 cases of bottled water in the garage. I park my car, go inside the house and into the kitchen to see what other goodies he's purchased. Low and behold, all I see are two bags of sun chips (I'm thinking, "Okay I like sun chips."), macaroni and cheese (I think, "What if we don't have power or can't use our gas stove - how will we boil water?"), and then....vienna sausages (18 cans?), twinkies (eh?), and clorox wipes. I just couldn't stop laughing at him (sorry babe!). I called almost all the women I knew to tell them what he bought and the whole time he kept saying, "I don't get it? What should I have bought?" I try to imagine what was going through his mind as he shopped for us. Like did he think, "If Margaret and I are trapped in the house for days, what can we eat? Bingo! Vienna sausages and twinkies!"

Thank goodness Target was still open later that evening and the shelves weren't stripped too bare. I was able to pick up some real food we could survive on.

***EDIT: If you don't hear from me after the storm, it's because I'm on my hands and knees soaking up the flood water with the Clorox wipes. I'm also sweating out all the sodium from the vienna sausages and chips. My blood sugar has shot up from all the twinkies. The vienna sausages aren't so bad when you top them with the powdered cheese from the macaroni boxes.

Hurricane Ike

One thing about living in Houston - we definitely have our share of hurricanes! Our newest visitor will be here soon, Hurricane Ike. The lines at the gas stations are starting to pour into the streets. The grocery stores are full of people stocking up on supplies for their evacuation trips or for their homes as they stay to brave the winds and rain.

There are several storms that I remember. Alicia, when I was a little girl. I remember my parents taping up the windows. When she hit my brothers and I watched the trees writhe in the wind. Allison, because she flooded the entire Texas Medical Center. I remember my aunt who worked overtime at the hospital caring for patients and making them as comfortable as possible. The power stayed out for days and the buildings became uncomfortably hot. Katrina. My parents don't live far from the Astrodome, so I drove by and saw swarms of people brought in from Lousiana. It was a heart-breaking site. Imagine everything you have left in only a black trash bag. I remember seeing people with the wristbands at Target. They shopped for necessities. Underwear, socks, toothbrushes, soap, food. Instantly you knew they had gone through the horrific aftermath of the storm. Then there was Rita. Although she didn't do as much damage as most thought, it was the evacuation that became the nightmare. Today I still hear people's stories of being in the car for over 24 hours, just to get 200 miles away from Houston.

Everyone please be smart and be prepared this weekend! I pray that everyone stays safe and dry :)