I'm back!

And married!

Pictures from Ike

Unfortunately, we lost the charger for Cory's camera and therefore couldn't take pictures of Ike. But this link pretty much says it all. The images of Surfside Beach and downtown Houston hit very close to home.

More Ike Aftermath

This is what the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands looked like before Ike:

This is what it looks like now:

Ike-tastic

Jeffrey, I'm sorry to have made you badger me for so long about writing a new blog. Life is just generally chaotic at the moment.

Wedding stuff is going okay. As of today we're exactly 3 1/2 months away (who's counting?) but it feels like it's tomorrow. At least my anxiety level would make it appear as if it was tomorrow. I'm a pretty detail-oriented person, but even this is kicking my butt. I'm mostly ready for it to be over. I just want to wear my pretty dress :)

I was down and out for a bit battling a sinus infection for a couple of weeks. It wasn't a very pleasant experience. The doc put me on a cocktail of stuff and eventually I got through it. Unfortunately I was sick the week before the season opened...great timing!

And I have a new niece as of yesterday! Samara (pronounced Sum-ar-uh) Jade was brought into the world yesterday evening, weighing 6 lbs 3 oz and measuring 19 1/2 inches long. You couldn't find a happier aunt! I wish my schedule would allow me to get up to Pittsburgh to see the little squirt, but I don't think it'll happen until Thanksgiving.

And as you all know, we've had our hands full with Ike. Cory and I both had Friday off as we prepared for Ike to roll in. We filled up the bathtub, bought tons of groceries and water, and made sure the candles, flashlights, and radios were ready to go. The wind really started to pick up around 9pm. Cory and I sat on the porch while he smoked a cigar and watched the clouds move in their weird circular patterns. Around midnight the winds started to get up to about 50 mph, so we came in and watched through the windows. About 3 am we lost power, and around 5 am the wind was so loud and terrifying that I moved into the closet and fell asleep. When I woke up at 8 am Saturday morning it had pretty much run its course. Cory and I were the irresponsible folks who went driving around to see the damage. Buffalo Bayou was covering Allen Parkway, Memorial Drive and parts of I-10. We also lost water pressure that day and had to start taking wonderfully cold sponge baths. Monday afternoon we finally got power and water back, so we're some of the lucky ones. A good 1.5 million Houstonians still don't have power. I go back to work tomorrow to deal with lots of cancelled performances and confused patrons.

Thankfully my parents' house in Angleton is fine. They have cancelled school for most of the week, but as a whole the community is okay. Lots of fallen trees and wind damage, but their power has been restored and my cat made it through okay.

Thanks to those of you who sent frantic phone calls and texts throughout the experience. Cell service was really spotty so I'm sorry if I didn't respond right away. It will be a long recovery process, but Houstonians are ready to get after it.

-s

:-/

I've gotta admit, the blog is losing its appeal to me.

Unlike the fab John Mackey and Lyric Hassler, I don't have pictures of new houses, cats, and adorable babies. And I know from experience how boring blogs are without pics. So I apologize for my few and far between posts...I have a hard time believing people want to hear about what's going on in my life, seeing as it's all wedding, work, and wedding.

Regardless, here goes. We now have a florist and photographer, so I'm glad to be done with both of those. Cake testing begins in several weeks, and then I start dealing with the uphill battle of narrowing down a guest list and getting invitations printed.

Upcoming plans: For July 4, Cory and I will drive down to Angleton for a cookout with my parents. I think we're doing a shrimp and crab leg boil, which sounds pretty close to heaven. Next week I leave for Cincinnati to see the fam for a bit. Aria needs looking-after, and Chloe needs someone to spoon her at night (she's the most perfect dog). I think it'll be a nice getaway. Work has been nonstop, and normally this is our slowest time of year. I hate to think of what it's going to be like in August and September. Finally, later this month Cory and I will fly to Chicago and spend 4 days up there. I'm really excited since I've only seen Chicago during the winter, when you can't even fathom spending time outside.

Besides that, there's really nothing to report. Cory and I are going to see Dave Matthews in August and we got Coldplay tickets for November. Wayyyy excited!

-s

Oh snap

Hold the phone...I'm posting a blog.

It's been a while eh? You know, I really don't have much of an excuse, I admit. I can blame it on all the Harry Potter reading (on book 6 now), or I could blame it on the sun-bathing (getting my fill before we hit 95-degree days, which are quickly approaching). I can even blame it on my ridiculous obsession with Scrabulous. But at the end of the day, I should be keeping up with this thing better. When even a first-time mom of a month-old-babygirl keeps up her blog better than you, you know you have a problem (hi Aurelia!).

Since the last post I've been back to Austin for a girls' weekend with my sister and mom, complete with massages and unhealthy food. Pluckers was somehow even better than I remembered it, if that's possible. I'm loving their new digs, and can't wait to take advantage of their new full bar and back porch.

I now have bridesmaid dresses (in platinum shade), and now we're beginning the quest for wedding bands. I've also made some florist appointments, and cake-tasting and photographer-scouting will be soon to follow. Hooray! I'm getting more excited by the minute!

Cory and I have gone to two concerts recently...Houston Symphony did Saint-Saens' Organ Symphony (mediocre) and the Mahler 2 (not bad, actually). Both times we were seated in the aurally defective seats, five rows back from the stage to the far right, but beggars can't be choosers I guess. They were both free. Because of this, the balance seemed way off, and you could hear every single intonation problem or missed entrance. But you know, I was actually very impressed with Hans Grafs' Mahler 2. I had prepared myself for a potentially terrible performance. I'm used to listening to Bernstein with NY Phil, so the bar was set high. But even Charles Ward (symphony reviewer of the Houston Chronicle) didn't think it was bad. And he's normally pretty tough.

I found out about a week ago that my sister is having another baby girl! We're all very excited, but my poor brother-in-law needs some male company! We're hoping they move to Houston quick so Cory has a Guitar Hero playmate.

That's it for now...hopefully my next update won't be so distant.

-s

It's been a long time

A few things of note have happened in the last month or so:

My 24th birthday came and went on Sunday. On Saturday night Cory and I had made reservations at Gravitas after hearing good reviews (the Zagat Guide said the chef was a "culinary genius"), but I got sucked into the NCAA tournament and we ended up watching basketball and eating a bucket of fried chicken from KFC. Speaks volumes about how much I love basketball.

My good friend Nichole got married a couple of weekends ago. She was the first person I met in college (besides my roommate) and was my constant study companion. The wedding gave Cory and I a good reason to spend a long weekend in Austin, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We're still trying to figure out when we're going to permanently relocate there, but we figure we should get the wedding out of the way first.

Wedding planning is going fine. I *think* I may have found a bridesmaid dress that is decently priced, so I'm crossing my fingers. I've heard this is the hardest part of wedding planning (although I have to disagree...I think it's narrowing the guest list). But things are clicking along and I'm actually very happy that we will have a 14 month engagement.

Work is much more relaxed now than it was about a month ago, thank GOD. I've had time to look for summer interns and a whole host of other things that take the back seat during February. Hoorah!

I've been a reading fiend lately. I finally got through The Pillars of the Earth (great) and The Kite Runner (I think everyone in America should be forced to read this book). Now I'm delving into the Harry Potter series!

That's about it....looking for guest hotel accomodations and doing engagement pictures this weekend, and having an engagement party next weekend!

-s