Visit Home
I had a really great trip home over Veterans' Day weekend. The only downer was seeing all the blue tarps flying into Houston and Baton Rouge. My parents' house still has three tarps on it.
Friday afternoon, I got to see Ru's cats. This is particularly entertaining because Kai, a long-hair, had just got back from being shaved at the groomer's. He looks really dumb. Since only his body was shaved, it looks like he's wearing leg warmers. Bijou, one of the two Hemingway cats Ru fostered, has grown quite a bit since June. She is also a long-hair and hopefully will not have to suffer the indignity of being shaved like Kai did.
Saturday, Dad took me tailgating and to the LSU-Alabama game. It would have been the most awesome day ever if LSU had won, but it was still a really good game. The food at the different tailgates was very delicious as well. One surreal moment from tailgating came when I saw two boys sitting to the side of their tailgate and reading. One looked 10-11 and was reading a Kingdom Hearts II manga. The other looked 8-10 and was reading Twilight. 0_o? I just don't understand kids today. After the game, Dad took me to Coffee Call for hot chocolate and beignets. Of course, I got powdered sugar all over myself, but at least I managed not to inhale any this time around.
Sunday, I had my awesome birthday party with bbq, dobage cake, and homemade butterfinger ice cream. I highly recommend Voodoo BBQ for anyone in the Baton Rouge area. Ru and Stelly came as did most of my Dad's family and some of my Mom's. I got way more presents than I was expecting. It's been a while since I had a big family birthday party like that. Since I only brought a carry-on for the trip home, there were some gifts I couldn't bring back with me. The electric knife being the main problem. I don't think airport security would have been ok with me wandering on a plane with that. I started to build a stack of stuff to be brought home at Christmas since Brooke and I will be driving and will have lots of room for stuff.
Monday, Mom and I visited Grandmother since her busy social calendar kept her from being at my party. I had gotten her one of those personalized puzzles for her birthday. You give the company an address to be the center of the puzzle, and they create a puzzle that is a map of a 4 mile by 6 mile area centered on the given address. Grandmother went on and on about how much she loved it and how it was so interesting. It's a good feeling to know that an unusual gift is appreciated. That afternoon, Mom and I went to the mall, so I could pick out a jewelry box for Christmas. I've never had a proper jewelry box, and I've been getting tired of having my things strewn about my vanity or crammed in the gift boxes they came in. Mom and I both found jewelry boxes we wanted on sale at JC Penny's, so I had to take Dad back later to buy Mom's for her present.
Tuesday I flew back to DC. Wednesday I did nothing on my actual birthday. Thursday, Brooke and I went to dinner with one of my uncles who was in town for training. The food was really good, I had leftovers, and my uncle paid. All in all a very satisfactory evening.
Yesterday, I went to the Join the Impact rally in DC. Unfortunately my camera batteries died after about 30 minutes. At that point I found out that my backup batteries were dead, too. Not that it really mattered, 15 minutes later the torrential downpour started. I wouldn't have kept my camera out in the wind and the rain anyway. None of my pictures really show the size of the crowd. The AP story estimates the crowd at 500+, but other sources say the number was 5000+. I think we were probably somewhere in between, maybe 2000 people.
Friday afternoon, I got to see Ru's cats. This is particularly entertaining because Kai, a long-hair, had just got back from being shaved at the groomer's. He looks really dumb. Since only his body was shaved, it looks like he's wearing leg warmers. Bijou, one of the two Hemingway cats Ru fostered, has grown quite a bit since June. She is also a long-hair and hopefully will not have to suffer the indignity of being shaved like Kai did.
Saturday, Dad took me tailgating and to the LSU-Alabama game. It would have been the most awesome day ever if LSU had won, but it was still a really good game. The food at the different tailgates was very delicious as well. One surreal moment from tailgating came when I saw two boys sitting to the side of their tailgate and reading. One looked 10-11 and was reading a Kingdom Hearts II manga. The other looked 8-10 and was reading Twilight. 0_o? I just don't understand kids today. After the game, Dad took me to Coffee Call for hot chocolate and beignets. Of course, I got powdered sugar all over myself, but at least I managed not to inhale any this time around.
Sunday, I had my awesome birthday party with bbq, dobage cake, and homemade butterfinger ice cream. I highly recommend Voodoo BBQ for anyone in the Baton Rouge area. Ru and Stelly came as did most of my Dad's family and some of my Mom's. I got way more presents than I was expecting. It's been a while since I had a big family birthday party like that. Since I only brought a carry-on for the trip home, there were some gifts I couldn't bring back with me. The electric knife being the main problem. I don't think airport security would have been ok with me wandering on a plane with that. I started to build a stack of stuff to be brought home at Christmas since Brooke and I will be driving and will have lots of room for stuff.
Monday, Mom and I visited Grandmother since her busy social calendar kept her from being at my party. I had gotten her one of those personalized puzzles for her birthday. You give the company an address to be the center of the puzzle, and they create a puzzle that is a map of a 4 mile by 6 mile area centered on the given address. Grandmother went on and on about how much she loved it and how it was so interesting. It's a good feeling to know that an unusual gift is appreciated. That afternoon, Mom and I went to the mall, so I could pick out a jewelry box for Christmas. I've never had a proper jewelry box, and I've been getting tired of having my things strewn about my vanity or crammed in the gift boxes they came in. Mom and I both found jewelry boxes we wanted on sale at JC Penny's, so I had to take Dad back later to buy Mom's for her present.
Tuesday I flew back to DC. Wednesday I did nothing on my actual birthday. Thursday, Brooke and I went to dinner with one of my uncles who was in town for training. The food was really good, I had leftovers, and my uncle paid. All in all a very satisfactory evening.
Yesterday, I went to the Join the Impact rally in DC. Unfortunately my camera batteries died after about 30 minutes. At that point I found out that my backup batteries were dead, too. Not that it really mattered, 15 minutes later the torrential downpour started. I wouldn't have kept my camera out in the wind and the rain anyway. None of my pictures really show the size of the crowd. The AP story estimates the crowd at 500+, but other sources say the number was 5000+. I think we were probably somewhere in between, maybe 2000 people.