This is a participation post – comment away – GO AHEAD – COMMENT!!!

Cheers to Direct TV for carrying WDSU during the evacuation.
Jeers to all the local stations for barely covering St. Tammany.

Cheers to the media for decent coverage.
Jeers to the media for obviously being disappointed Gustav wasn’t worse & for hanging in the French Quarter half the time.

Cheers to the National Guard for doing such a great job.
Jeers to the thugs who shot at them.

Cheers to Ray Nagin for being strict with looters.
Jeers to any low-life scumbag who tried to loot. Hope Angola served you well.

Cheers to the South Shore for their great evacuation plan.
Jeers to St. Tammany for not having an evacuation plan for elderly &/or elderly with pets.

Cheers tor I-55 doing such a great job with contraflow.
Jeers to I-59 for doing a lousy job with contraflow.

Cheers to CLECO for restoring power ASAP.
Jeers to the trees that dare fall on people’s homes.

Cheers to Rouse’s & Winn Dixie for opening up so quickly.
Jeers to my hubby for trying to coax the kids into eating SPAM (what is that stuff anyways?)

Cheers to Bobby Jindal for being a great public communicator.

Must…look away…from the weather – UGH!!!

House cleaned, car cleaned, stuff unpacked, pictures back on wall, yard cleaned up, lawn furniture out of garage, hubby and kids home for a solid week (need I say more). People are still returning, areas are still without power, grocery stores are getting stocked up, I bought ice in a bag today, the weather is gorgeous, one neighbor never unpacked. Neighbors are cleaning the their houses after trees fell through them. My husband wondered if he should put our lawn furniture back in the garage. Football practice this weekend, school on Monday, hubby heading back to work and then….Ike.

This quote from @bsicomics on Twitter today cracked me up “Wonder Twins powers activate. Form of giant Tina Turner: to bitch slap Ike out of our path.”

Now go away Ike, turn around to any unpopulated area and just go. We don’t want you here!!! We are friendly here in Louisiana, but not for the likes of you!

I don’t usually listen to my hubby, why should I start now? Mr. Engineer and I ass-u-me, “dabbling meteorologist” can be added to his resume now, has a little graph going and he has the storm going far due West. He refuses to leave until Sunday when he knows if we should absolutely have to go. Logical but yet, making me crazy. Our fear in this house is the amount of trees surrounding us. So today, we will secure everything outside and I will head to the Lakefront Gazebo to collect signatures for the recall. Then I will come back and pack up the car and be ready to go either later today or very early tomorrow morning. Everything is almost completely packed and storm-proofed and I have my last minute list.

On the list today…beer and cash!

Computer models are hard to figure out. The truth is, nobody knows what Gustav will do in the next 48 hours. My family is ready to go if we have to, but we aren’t leaving until we have some more definitive answers. I’ll finish packing today and make a video of our current belongings – just in case.

Let’s hope this is a test.

I have earned some rank for being experienced with military moves. Having a house packed up and ready to go in a couple of week’s time, is not that difficult. It is all temporary stress and nervous energy that keeps you moving to get the job done. Once everything is on the moving truck, many say, “Say good-bye to your stuff.” A quirky saying for something so serious, but I’ve heard it hundreds of times from friends and neighbors throughout our career. But you know, it is true, because all the matters is what you have inside your personal vehicle and possibly the U-Haul behind it. Now, I am not saying that losing everything you own is not devastating and fortunately, that has never happened to us. I actually always looked forward to the moment the moving truck closed it’s doors and pulled away. It seemed my life was suddenly simple and not filled with material things.

As I am packing the necessities for an evacuation, looking around the house, there is not that much that I will feel bad about if I leave it behind. I won’t have a U-Haul, just my vehicle with my 3 kids, 4 cats and Chulo the Stupor Dog. I love pictures and will have those with me, along with some military memorabilia, and some jewelry. Hubby will have his truck filled with his belongings…and we are off. We can’t look back and we can’t worry about the pine tree next door that is leaning over our roof.

My job, is to get the kids and pets to a place that is safe and make sure they will be cared for. I’ve got that covered. As I watch people around me panic, I feel guilty that I am amazingly calm in this current situation.

Stacy, get ready for the Perry family!

Not in panic mode, just in getting ready mode. The last time we evacuated for a hurricane was during Bertha, a couple of hours after I gave birth to my first child (12 years ago). At the time, we were stationed at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. When a base says mandatory evacuations – you evacuate – no options.

This time I have a whole bunch more to think about and am having the, “Greta, you have way too many fuzzballs and kids to fit in one vehicle,” thoughts. Thank goodness for roof luggage carriers! A dear friend and Soldeirs’ Angel lives in Jackson and has offered to take my whole fam damily in case of evacuation. This is one offer she may soon regret.

Here is what I bought today: chainsaw oil, motor oil (our neighborhood is all trees), a tarp, batteries. water, propane, soup, charcoal, paper towels, garbage bags and an extra flashlight.

None of us have any control over the storm and can only worry about what we have control over. Chins up and a positive attitude everyone. If I leave town, I’ll be wearing my tiara while driving!