Is it possible that I've been wrong all along?

Just left the new chemo doctors office. I'm sitting waiting at the lab
for a whole slew of tests to be done.
Before I even argued my case against chemo the doctor suggested
possibly skipping it. He said that first I need some labwork done and
he needed to brush up ok my medical history. As he thumbed through my
records he came across something that suggested that this may not be a
local recurrence. He noted that it looked as though I might have had
an amplification on my Her2 pathology from my original cancer and this
recurrence. If this is true then it's possible that this isn't a
recurrence, but a secondary occurrence - meaning it may have been a
whole new cancer.
Stumped by his observation I decided to go through my records and see
for myself just what he meant. Upon looking at my past results it
appears that I may have been wrong all along. I found things in the
reports I've never noticed before.
I'll post more later. It's time for my blood to be drawn.

Angi

"Whoever said winning isn't everything never had to fight cancer"

Http://scrapaddictnv2.blogspot.com/

Sent from my iPhone

Alligator Festival

Natalie and Charlie ride the Avalanche.

Ruben and the saw

Today we had all of our hedges removed from the front of our house
along with two of our trees. Ruben saved the one to use this winter as
firewood.

LO Challenge

Heather challenged me to create a layout this week WITH pictures on it, so here they are. They're 8x8 and not what I had intended on doing, but I found this kit I purchased and thought it went well with the pictures Ruben & I just took. I'll do Natalie's Punk Rock Chic layout next week. So what do you think?

HELP!!

Dear Internet Followers,
I am in need of your expertise. Last night I filmed Natalie's first guitar lesson with hubby's camcorder - which I have never used before. To my dismay, I came home and found that everything recorded in a MP4 format and my Windows Movie Maker gives me an error every time I attempt to use it to edit this format. I tried some other program I found online that converts any format to any format - the only problem is that it too gave me an error, and I am at a loss. I don't know what to do! I want to edit the video so I can post tidbits of the class online, but I don't know how. Can anyone offer some advice or program to use?

Rock on....

Serious 'Tude

Can't help but to laugh

Ready To Rock

Her first lesson didn't teach much more than how to tune a guitar, but
did include a book and homework to practice. She was one of three
girls in a class of seven. She even seemed to flirt with an older
tween boy, telling him he had a nice guitar. I'll check the footage
that is if I even worked the camcorder right and try to post it later.

Rock On!

Today is the start of Guitar Lessons for Natalie. I'm so excited yet so worried. Learning to play guitar will not be easy - and I seriously wonder how big of a difference it would make between a 4string bass and a 6 string lead. To me I think a bass would be easier since you have less strings - yet if you learn to play lead, does that mean you can play either? I was hoping to get in touch with an old friend that plays guitar back in Vegas so I could get a little insight. But since chemo my memory isn't what it once was and I'm having problems locating him. Oh well, I think it's too late to exchange our guitar anyway.

So once Nat gets home from school, we'll have to rush to eat, do homework, take her bath, take pictures, load everything up - including the camcorder. It's going to be busy - and I hope I don't forget anything! Ruben's out of town today so he'll miss seeing her - but that's what the camcorder is for. I'll upload photos and video probably tomorrow.

I've got lots to do this week. I've got errands to run - like packages to ship, go to the store, these lessons. Homework and studying with Natalie - she's having some problems at school, but the funny thing is she's fine at home. I don't know what to make of it, but I have to get to the bottom of it. If she falls behind in school it's because I'm failing as a parent. Then I also need to complete a scrapbook LO, cause Heather challenged me. My studio is a disaster and I have no idea how to organize and clean it. It's a major job that's going to require some help. I've got stickers and die cuts strewn across the floor and table top that need to be straightened up. I don't know how I'm going to find anything to do this page - AGH! Then to top it off Danny leave this Saturday. Man that's gonna suck - though I am feeling a bit better, I still feel lethargic at times. I really need to get my thyroid checked by a specialist. Though what I feel now won't even come close once I start chemo. I'm so not looking forward to that! I see the doctor on Monday. I have some questions and tests I'd like done. It's a bit strange, but I want my estrogen levels tested. Since I had my ovaries removed in 2005, my estrogen levels should be very low - but what I have learned in the last few months is:
1) having PCOS is a main cause of adult acne, not just stress - and PCOS never goes away even with removal of the ovaries.
2) my cancer returned because Femara failed to prevent my estrogen from binding with my mutant cancerous cells.
So I'm curious just how high my estrogen production is and why. If what the other doctor said about my cancer possibly returning is true, well then it would be because the estrogen made it grow. So is the a way to prevent it - cause I really, really hate this cancer shit. Twice in three years is enough for my lifetime - thank you very much!

I think I have a new favorite song. Have you heard Pink's So What? I LOVE it. I dig her music. U & UR Hand happens to be another favorite of mine!
Here's the video - it's so funny - I love when she chops down the tree!

Pictures to Share

Just wanted to show off some pictures -

The first is the picture I took Wednesday night just after I pulled Natalie's 9th loose tooth.

Then we have the scrap layout I did today @ the Book Of Me class.

Lastly, is a picture of this beauty I found on my way home. It's my first, so I had to share - I've been waiting for a year to actually see one of these - and YES they do live close to us. I found this one down on Highway 90 by a little fishing shack Pier 90. Luckily it's miles away - and dead!

Hooray For The Weekend!

Tomorrow is a *ME* day and I can't wait! I booked a scrap class over at the Mandeville Scrappersaurus store. I'm so excited because my *idol* Heather is teaching it. I've got my crop bag all packed and have printed 15 photos that I adjusted using Adobe CS2. I wasn't sure which finish would work best with the paper we're using in class, so I just printed a batch. It's been so long since I've gone to a crop or class - so it will be nice to de-stress and have an afternoon away and all to myself.
Thursday after my dentist appointment I stumbled upon Ruben at Party City and we bought our new Halloween costumes. Yay! It's going to be so much fun. Our new neighbors are trying to organize a block party, but if that doesn't work out then I'm sure we'll be returning to Imperial Woods again. We always have such a good time there. Never has Halloween been that big a deal to us till we moved here. Now I look forward to it every year! I'm just glad we got our costumes early this year!
Next week Natalie starts her guitar lessons and we are so stoked! The only bad thing about next week is Danny goes home - and it's going to be super hard on all of us to see him go after spending yet another summer here with us. As much as it's going to hurt Ruben to see him leave, I feel that he'll get over it fairly soon. Him and the new neighbor seem to be bonding quite well. It's nice to see him hanging out talking and having a beer with someone. Since we've moved so much he's lost touch with most of his friends.....and we just seem to click with these new neighbors. Again I think it's the whole southern hospitality thing that just makes them so open. Earlier this week when I encountered some problems with the school, they offered to mediate for us as they are really involved with the school.....and when Ruben bought a chainsaw to prune the trees, the neighbor insisted he return it as he has a monstrous one he loaned us to use. I'm glad that such nice people bought that house - I was afraid it would be empty forever in this market. I mean as it was, it had been for sale the whole year and a half we've live here and like some 6 months or more before that. They have a 9 y/o son, who Natalie has become fast friends with. She is such a little tomboy!
I watched that Zeitgest documentary, and found it wasn't quite as disturbing as I thought it was going to be. Ruben didn't want me to watch it - but honestly I found that it was nothing but repetitive actions that all may be just coincidences. There were only a few parts that did shock me and left me feeling outraged. But then again, who really knows if any of it is true or if it's all just speculation. It's definitely interesting! Check it out and see for yourself.

The things kids say

Last night I had to assist Natalie by pulling out her 'dragon' tooth -
which is one of your fangs - cause it was dangling from her mouth.

Fast forward to this morning and I asked her if the tooth fairy came.

She said she did and had gotten $20.
I said wow, what are you going to do with all that money.

She yold me - put it in my piggy bank cause daddy said when the bank gets full I can get a credit card. LMAO!

I asked Ruben what he told her and he said he did not tell her credit card - he said gift card. LOL.

Sent from my iPhone

Yum, Yum, Yum

Last night during the new episode of House I caught what I believe is the first televised preview of the new Bond flick Quantum Of Solace. OMFG, Daniel Craig is just one damn sexy freaken bad ass. I think he was the perfect choice for this role - look at his hard ass body and ruggedly handsome good looks! It appears to be as action packed as Casino Royale - which I have saved on my DVR with other favorites like Live Free or Die Hard & Transformers. I'm looking forward to November 7th cause I definitely want to see this one on the big screen!

I can't help but to keep watching it, but first I need to check out some documentary by zeitgeist. I won't say what it's about, but you can Google it and see.

Did I read too much into my last doctors appointment?

Yesterday I had my post-radiation therapy follow up appointment. Everything went well - my site looks great and is healing well, so he released me from his care.

As I've recently noted, I'm in the position where I really would rather not do chemo - but since I was unable to get an Oncotype DX test done on my tumor, I honestly have no clue as to whether I would benefit from chemo therapy or not. my research show me that the Oncotype DX test is most effective for first time diagnosis, as it maps out your risk of recurrence and whether or not chemo would be beneficial for you or not. Since this was a recurrence for me that test would be useless. So I figured I'd ask my radiation oncologist his thoughts on it. you know how you'll talk to one doctor and they'll say or you don't need this treatment you only need this one (which happens to be the one they're pushing.)

OK, so I've mentioned how I'm not sure if I want to do chemo because of how it may affect my liver. This doctor assured me that there are tests they can do to monitor my liver function - which I know about. However these tests seemingly some how missed the fact that my mother had cirrhosis until it was already end stage, and was too late. Which still has me baffled. Thus the reasoning behind why I don't want anything that will be bad for my liver as I take plenty of medication and like an occasional drink. My mom NEVER drank, but was on all kinds of prescriptions - though they blame her cirrhosis on a gastric bypass procedure she had done in 1979 - a procedure I would never undergo now because of it's known liver complications.
So here I am looking for some kind of advice from my doctor to support my reasoning when he tells me something that I has me wondering did I hear him right or am I over-dramatizing the conversation. I asked him if he thought chemo would benefit me, and if this was the end. According to him the radiation eradicated the cancer in my breast, so it will likely NEVER return there (or at least SHOULDN'T) - BUT - since I have already had a recurrence is is possible that the cancer CAN return somewhere else. WHOA, did he just tell me that my cancer will likely return or did I make a mountain our of a molehill? I am still confused about what he told me (he has a very heavy accent, so it's hard for me to understand him at times.) He didn't really say yay or nay on the whole chemo or no chemo thing. It's just chemo is a systematic treatment and radiation is a localized treatment. Also what I know about this recurrence is that it is believed that 3 years ago when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy that one tiny little cell was left behind and that my medication Femara failed to prevent my estrogen from binding with the cancer cells, so it grew. My only problem with this theory is that my pathology on my mastectomy came back clean and clear and I've had a hysterectomy - so how would it be possible for one little cell to be left behind and grow when my estrogen level should be very low? Also I did not receive radiation the first time - had I did then a chest wall recurrence would not have happened.

So am I looking at fighting cancer for life? Will doing chemo really prevent it from returning? As it is, my cancer has not spread - so why would I need chemo. Can't I just do hormonal therapy (a new AI treatment like Femara) and get annual or bi-annual PET scans to spot out cancer clusters - then deal with them as found? Because seriously, if the cancer were to return a PET scan would be the only way for it to be detected besides blood marker tests.

I'm still unsure of the whole chemo thing. In fact I think I am more confused now as to what to do. If it were you, what would you do?

I'm not one for politics....but

This SNL skit is too freaken funny!



Both my husband and I are not ones for the whole political BS. I'm ashamed to say that cause as we've gotten older, I realize that we should be voting. I haven't voted since I turned 18. Mostly I think I don't participate cause I tend to make bad decisions when it comes to things of this nature. I just don't follow politics all that well. I know where I think we should go as a country, what we need - but to me, it seems most politicians are just liars....good ones at that. Personally I was shooting for Hilary, but Obama beat her out. I'm just not sure if I feel that he's the one for the job. I'm not really too sure about McCain either, but for some reason I am drawn to Palin. Even though she is surrounded by controversy, I think she's be a perfect VP. In fact the only other person I can think of that would make a good candidate is Gov. Bobby Jindal - Louisiana State Govenor. I don't know if this makes me a Republican or what. I think it's more the person rather than the party that gets my attention. I'm seriously thinking about voting this year. guess I should first make sure that I am registered!

The saying goes if you don't vote then don't bitch - but at the same time I shamefully agree with Brooke Hogan when she wrote that most people only vote because “it’s cool” and (like herself) have no real idea what’s going on in and around the White House.....and it's so true cause this whole Rock the Vote thing pushes younger college kids to exercise their right and vote, though they likely know very little about politics.
So I'm torn - should I vote though I have no clue, or should I try to educate myself in the coming weeks so that I can place my vote? What would you do? Do you exercise your right to vote?

This IS NOT cool

Ever since Gustav I have a new favorite blog that I read daily for news affecting my area - The St. Charles Parish Blog. Today this was posted....

Willowridge Update
St. Charles Parish residents who are signed up through EOC's telephone alert system received a message this afternoon regarding rising water in the Willowridge subdivision in Luling:

Water in the Willowridge area is rising and may continue to rise. We expect some possible street flooding due to this, but at this time we don’t anticipate any homes flooding due to the rising water.

The ring levee behind this subdivision has been experiencing seepage since this morning.

A front is now bringing winds out of the southwest, which is preventing quick receding today as had been expected. As water is receding from areas near Hwy. 90, that water is now filling the swamps and marshland behind the subdivisions south of 90 in Luling.



This just happens to be the area where we live. Though the water is not close to our home yet, it could be come morning if the winds don't change direction. Just effing great - we survive Gustav with minor damage and now we could possibily flood cause Ike hit Texas some 200 miles away. Seriously, WTF?

This kid rocks

Natalie's guitar lessons start on the 23rd. Though I think she has a LONG ass way to go before she gets here, I truly hope that one day she does - cause let me just say a guitar and amp kit is not cheap! We're both super excited about the class - I'll be sure to post some videos when the time comes. But for now check out this prodigy child....too cool.

8 Year Old Shredder @ Yahoo! Video

From My Sister

My sister recently blogged about the benefits of blogging - it enables us to keep up with one another's life despite thousands of miles and a 5 hour time difference. We get to be informed without spending countless hours on the phone. Gotta love technology. In addition to blogging, I love the Stylem App for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It allows us to instantly send little greeting and messages to brighten our day and let us know we're thinking about one another. Wish my nhbby could get this for his Blackberry. Maybe I should get him a Touch afterall.
Anyway, here is the greeting she sent me....

http://stylem.com/greeting/q17v2k

Sent from Stylem iPhone App

Sent from my iPod

I'm a sick lil scrapper

Once again I'm having problems with my sinuses or I have a head cold. Started hurting yesterday and hasn't really stopped despite all the Tylenol and Advil. My damn teeth even hurt. I can feel that the congestion is about to give. Natalie is also sick. She's been throwing up all day again. Oh wonderful. At least she's been making it to the bathroom in time today, so that's a good thing.

Even though I am not feeling well, I have been pretty productive. I scrapped another mini album that I'm thinking about giving away. Originally I planned to keep them all, but I decided yesterday that I need to stop hoarding every little album I get. Sure I have tons of pictures to scrap, but I also have a few people that I need to do something nice for - and what better way to say thank you than with a handmade gift? It's not like I want to give them all away, but I should share at least some of the wealth.

I posted some pictures on Flickr, but I also put together this little mosaic of the main pages - so enjoy!

Now that I am done I'm contemplating starting another album or resting....hmmm.

Mother Nature has her own plans....

....and luckily we are prepared for it.


Wednesday night our neighbor came by and offered us a generator that his buddy was selling. I came in mid-way through the talk - but from what I gathered it had very little use, will just about power our whole house and we can even buy a part and hook it up to a natural gas-line to make it more energy efficient, rather than leave it run on gasoline. I told him we'd take it and we got it last night. Our neighbor is going to set us up with some kind of cable/plug so when a storm hits we'll just plug it in and fire it up. I need to talk with someone from the gas company about running a line and such since we don't have any gas powered appliances before I go buy this part - but at least I know we can use it regardless. Besides we got it for a pretty decent price and we know that Craig will help us out with it if we ever have any problems. He's a pretty stand up guy and quite handy and mechanically inclined.....not to say Ruben isn't, it's just Ruben's more into building pc's instead of engines.


So yesterday as Ruben was leaving for work he saw a couple guys working on the roof across the street from us. He told me to go talk to them about the patch we need - and not only did they fix it but they also fixed the siding that was falling - AND they did it all super fast and for a very good price! After work Ruben went over to get the generator and I assembled a mini-album from Scrapbooking with Lisa Bearnson. I'm thinking of giving this one away as a gift. While I was out after my dentist appointment yesterday I stopped by Target to get a few things and found some $1 goodies as well as some clearance scrapbooking merchandise. I've posted all the pix on Flickr if ya wanna take a peek.

Then last night we got a call from the Parish School Board. Due to Hurricane Ike (though it's 230 miles away at the moment) school was cancelled for today as we were expecting to receive Tropical Storm force winds and possible flooding due to storm surge. It actually worked out quite favorable all though I was supposed to have a PTC today. It's a good thing it was cancelled as well cause I would have been one cranky bitch. First off getting to sleep was difficult cause it sounded as though the window might break, then once I did finally fall asleep the tornado siren sounded sometime around 2 something. When the watch was over we went back to bed. It seemed like barely any time had passed when the siren went off again. Now it was 5ish. Ruben decided to just stay awake. I sat up with him for a bit, but then decided I better try to get some rest. It was right about 7:30 when Natalie came in disturbing my rest to let me know that she threw up all over her floor. It was truly disgusting. I cleaned it up and gave her a Pepto for kids - she then proceeded to puke that up as well. I scrubbed the carpet the best I could, but does that pinkish color EVER come out? Finally I gave up, convinced that I had gotten it all. I lay back down and I'll be damned if that tornado siren didn't go off again. UGH! Now this time we have a warning instead of a watch......and it was extended from 9am to 1pm. The news said they had a confirmed sighting of a touch down near us. Awesome. I've had little sleep and now I have this to worry about on top of a sick child - but hey, I still have power - so at least there is some good news!


Here is the album - check out the rest on Flickr!

In Remembrance

On this day seven years ago, our country experienced one of the world's greatest tragedies. Lives were lost of countless civilians and heroes alike. There are many people out there that speculate that 9-11 was one huge conspiracy orchestrated by our government (there are lots of different film theories floating around the web that highlight questionable events of that day.) I don't know if I can allow myself to believe that cause if I do then I will also have to give into the whole possible theory that the government has a cure for cancer - but since it is a billion dollar industry they have not released it. What I do know is that since that day we have lost countless more lives in a war that has produced very little - and courtesy of this Bush Administration era, we as a country are on the sinking verge of another mass recession. Gee thanks Mr. Bush, I know that I for one think that you did one awesome job of putting this great country into the crapper - but hey at least you'll be remembered for something.

Here are some amazing pictures I came across last night and one that a friend gave me. Enjoy.

"Evacuation" Over

Since my cancer recurred this year we did not have a real vacation - but thanks to Gustav we had an evacuation. Now that it has passed, most power has been restored, and Ike appears to be heading to Tex-Mex, school is back in session starting in the morning. Which means it's about time for me to hit the sack as I've got to get up early tomorrow.....blah.

Yesterday I had to run into town to the pharmacy. While I was there I stopped at the scrap store and signed up for a Book of Me class on the 20th at the Mandeville store. The teacher is someone I met on Scrapbook.com. I'm so excited - I can't wait. In preparation of the class I bought some Cricut cartridges from Creative Xpress......shh, don't tell Ruben, LOL!

Today I got an estimate for chopping down our trees in the backyard. All I got to say is OUCH! I'm not sure what would be more cost effective - cutting down 8 trees that are 10 - 30 feet tall or paying the deductible if one fell on our house. I've got a few companies coming tomorrow and hopefully one will have a good price.

Then Thursday I go back to the dentist - yay! Actually it's not that bad, he's a really cool dentist and he's very reasonable - I just have to remember to do some work on my iPod before I go. While I'm there I need to see about getting Natalie in there, but since school is back in session it will be hard to find a time that will work. As it is I know she'll be getting out early one day as I need to schedule her a check up to make sure she has all her shots and stuff. I have to be careful about the time she misses from school as she signed up for some club activities (art, music and some athletic sporty one - but I'm not sure which activity she got as it's first come first serve) and if she misses school or has so many early outs she could get the boot from the club - but ya know you can't lapse on the important medical/dental stuff and since they work the same time as school, I'm going to have to work something out!

Our Debris

We've cleaned up our yard - here's the aftermath.
I posted pix from Gustav at Flickr so check them out.

Google "Needs" Meme

I saw this meme over at Lora's place, and I thought it was hilarious, so I'm doing it as well. All you have to do is a Google search, typing in your first name followed by the word "needs" and see what comes up. Like Lora, I'm doing ten:

Angi needs....more time (yes especially with Ike coming into the Gulf)
Angi needs.....your support (I do need lots of help and support)
Angi needs....to be comfortable (YES, comfort at bedtime is hard to achieve!)
Angi Needs.....an energy drink (I don't care much for the taste of most of them, but I could use a boost)
Angi needs......a lot of rest (how right they are - cleaning up all that debris was tiring!)
Angi needs.....to follow her heart and not worry what others have to say (always good advice and I think Natalie needs to follow it too - there has been too much kid drama!)
Angi needs.....to be on a diet (I'm trying, I'm trying - but it's hard when you have to trow all your food away and try to eat healthy when you're staying in a hotel!)
Angi needs......to stay healthy (um yeah, no more cancer please!)
Angi needs......an attitude adjustment and I need it now (guess I could use one, but I'm actually quite fond of my attitude - in fact I can think of many others who could use an attitude adjustment!)
Angi need.....all the motivation I can get (so much to do, so little time - and no energy to do any of it!)

I've been awarded with a Blog Award!!

Heather awarded me with a Blog Award. YAY!

Thank you Heather! You are so very sweet, and I'm very flattered! I originally met Heather on SB.Com - she's an amazing scrap artist, makes digi-goodies that you can check out on her blog - and she is also a teacher at a local scrap store near where I live. I'm very excited that I will be taking her BOM class later this month (pending Hurricane Ike) and meet her face to face! She's one of my scrap idols!

So now I get to pass it on.

Here are the rules:

(1) The winner can put the "I :heart: your blog" logo on their blog.

(2) Link the person you received your award from.

(3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs (if you can).

(4) Put links of those on yours.

(5) Leave a message on the blogs of the girls or boys you’ve nominated.

So I am going to choose 7 people and here they are (in NO particular order!):

1. Deb

2. Lora

3. Cynthia

4. Melissa

5. Sonia

6. Undomestic

7. Florrie

You girls rock! Pick up your award, and then follow the rules!

A Piece of Home

Got home earlier and found LOTS of debris and branches. Our fence took
a beating. One section fell apart but all pieces were found and Ruben
already put it back together. Other parts were crooked where the wind
blew the panels around and one post sunk a bit. We have a section of
siding that is falling off the upstairs portion of the house - but I
think Danny can get up there and nail it back down. Then of course we
lost some shingles from the roof but it's not bad. The neighbors
across the street lost quite a bit right down to the bare wood.
After unpacking the car we started on cleaning up the yard. Ruben ran
up the street and dumped the old food. Still gotta scrub the fridge
but we're too tired tonight. It seems the cable is working ok so we're
watching Ike closely.
All in all we fared quite well. We consider ourselves very lucky!
Just hoping to not have to repeat all this again in a week!

Heading Home

Our neighbor called last night and told us the power has been
restored. Not sure about the Waste Water Lift Stations though. I
reasly don't want the sewer to backflow - just cleaning out the fridge
will stink bad enough! Besides the hotel was costing us a fortune.
One week was almost as much as our mortgage and if that weren't bad
enough we have to buy new groceries as well. Let's hope that Ike
doesn't come here cause we can't afford to do this twice!

At the Roadhouse

Texas Roadhouse that is. Haven't eaten here since before Natalie was
born. I think the last time had been with Lora and Karl.....and yes,
they still serve peanuts in the shell and you can still throw those
shells on the floor. One thing I really like about this place is
walking by and seeing the big cuts of beef laid out on display. It's
like looking at a lobster tank at Red Lobster.
The fresh baked rolls are served hot and they're still as good as I
remember. I just hope my steak is to die for....

Some Good News at Last

Just got a call from one of my neighbors who drove home today despite power outages. She called to let me know that our house appears ok - no trees fell on it or on our neighbor's house. It's the best news I have heard in a LONG time! It doesn't mean that we don't have roof damage from the wind or something - but at least our house and belongings should be ok. I know we'll be sleeping well tonight!

Yahtzee

Fun and games in the hotel - brought to you by The Parker Bros.

Finally a little info

Found a link for St. Charles Parish. The blog lists many updates and so far things sound like it may be ok - though I seriously worry about the 6 huge trees in my back yard. I worry they may have fallen on my house or our neighbor's. I'm hoping to talk with one of my neighbors later and see if I can find anything out, though I don't know if any stayed...........

Today's Headline Here in Shreveport

Picked this up this morning while I was getting our free breakfast
here at our hotel - which I must say has a very impressive spread.
Apparently they also serve a free dinner during the week. So I highly
recommend Residence Inn - though we don't have the large suite Ruben
usually gets cause we added a day at the last minute.
We're not exactly sure of the damage back home, if any. We're watching
our local Fox news on the net, but we've yet to see anything regarding
our particular area. They're saying it's come on shore as a strong cat
2 instead of the predicted cat 4 or 5. So I think this storm may have
been highly sensationalized. Though it did not hit New Orleans
directly, where we live is on the east side of the eye of the storm -
which is always hit the hardest.
They just reported that the storm shifted to the north and the eyewall
is now over Houma which is about 35 miles away from our house. Not
good for us. Suddenly I feel sick from breakfast! I wish they'd do a
local report from Luling.
I'm pretty sure almost all of our neighborhood evac'd - or at least
everyone I have phone numbers for. Most people Ruben knows evac'd as
well. He does have a friend from work that stayed. At the moment she's
ok and has power. Traffic was backed up horribly on I10 despite the
contraflow - where they opened up all lanes of traffic to go one
direction. It took some many hours just to drive to Baton Rouge an
hour away.
Keep your fingers crossed that all is well!