...And Time Flies

It's hard to believe that it's been over two months since Katrina struck. It's even harder to believe that Thanksgiving is less than three weeks away and that Christmas is less than two months away. I remember last Thanksgiving and Christmas like yesterday...

Mom and Lauren came to Metairie for Thanksgiving. Jeff fried a turkey in our little side-yard and I actually cooked the side dishes! We dined on our newly received wedding china. Nobody got sick from my cooking. It was a perfect day.

Christmas was a tad different. Jeff and I hosted a small Christmas Eve dinner for our friends Keith, Jason, and Jackie. I remember us talking about the possibility of snow during the night. Jeff and I went to sleep that night planning to drive to Lafayette Christmas morning to celebrate the day with my family. It wasn't until we turned the television on Christmas morning that we discovered I-10 was CLOSED due to snow!! I was devastated. We called our friend Keith to come over and have leftovers (and LOTS of alcohol) with us. We were NOT supposed to be eating leftovers on Christmas! The three of us stood outside watching the snow fall. It was beautiful and magical, but it was causing us to have leftovers on Christmas!! When our WONDERFUL across-the-street neighbors (with whom I am now living in Baton Rouge and nannying for) heard of our predicament they invited all three of us (we were dubbed the Christmas Refugees) to eat (and drink--that's the most important part, of course) with them and their family!!!! In an instant our meal went from grub to gourmet, our spirits were lifted by amazing friends, and Christmas was saved!

The point of my telling this tale is that I've had enough chaos over the past 12 months and I'm hoping for a quiet, calm holiday season. Too much drama.