I'm been blogging here for a year! And it's been fun and enlightening. I've met a lot of great people. And I've finally been able to really budget. Unfortunately, the last month of my year's budgeting went completely haywire. I don't even know what the numbers are. But I guess having eleven months of better discipline can give way to the last month of disarray. I forgive myself.

Thanks to everyone for all the amazing support and great advice! I truly feel more in control. I smile a lot more. This has been a terrific experience. Here's to the next year....

I came home to help Hubby catch up after Humberto. And because his parents are arriving tomorrow. Hope they don't expect much because I'm still working on it. I've about dug Hubby out of under all the laundry he had waiting and the dishes and the bill paying. Granted, he usually does quite well, but the workload he's been under since the storm and combined with the week that his friend passed away has gotten him far behind. This is when you find out they realize how much you do at home.

I spent a short period stripping the fridge of all the spoiled stuff and the stuff that refroze after we got power back on. That eliminated everything left in the freezer. Nothing left in there but a couple of freezer packs and a paintbrush. The fridge looks like when we first got it. It has a few condiments, a thing of cheese, and of course, chocolate. Pretty bare. I'm not going to buy much until we find out where the storm they are predicting for the gulf goes this weekend. Before I left to see DGD, I stripped the pantry for Hubby to see what to use and take if he evacuated while I was gone. So that is in bins and the pantry is sorta bare, too.

The beds are stripped and bare, the baths are fairly bare until the towels finish drying. The only thing not bare is my desk. Piles of bills to be paid and papers to be filed. Funny thing is, the files are in boxes to evacuate, too. Hubby finished that up for me while I was gone. So the filing thingys are bare, also. And the walls are bare. I took most things down when I left in case that a window or two blew and things wouldn't blow around so much. A few of them were gifts from family members, and I'd like to keep them. I will be SO glad when hurricane season is over and I can put everything back where it belongs. And fill the fridge back up with goodies--on sale of course....

We got hit by another hurricane. Humberto. Actually, Hubby and critters went through it. I blissfully slept through it at DS's, not even realizing that Humberto had moved and gotten stronger. Earlier in the week, I had noticed that one model said it might, but I went to bed thinking they would just get a lot of rain. I am still hanging out with the new DGD. Hubby said that the kitty woke him up and he discovered that the hurricane was moving over our town. Normally, we would have been a little more alert, but our minds and hearts have been elsewhere. We made it through okay. Our neighbor had a tree that made it through Rita, but fell this time. It missed the houses and fell across the driveway. That was a big relief, especially since they have two elderly relatives that live with them. We got a bunch of water that blew in around a door and into one room. But a little water cleanup is just fine. There were people with trees on their houses from Rita that got another tree from Humberto. Hubby did have power out, but the house was back online by Thursday night. Kudos to the electric crews! His plant is going through restarting now. Three or four refineries in the area are getting power back, but it will take a few days for start up. You have to do things slow and carefully. So, I expect gasoline to rise a bit in the short term. I am grateful for it all, since the storm blew up so quickly that no one was really able to evacuate. So many people still live in trailers from Rita. Riding out a storm in the trailers must have been scary! Hubby now says that he sees what I feel. I have sat up through a smaller hurricane and listened to the winds howling for hours. He now realizes how scary that sounds. I am looking forward to him telling me I was right face to face.

Meanwhile, I am having a blast watching the first few weeks of DGD's life unfold. She is a little sweetie. And, so far, I don't think DS and DIL have plotted my demise. So I guess I'm not getting on anyone's nerves yet. But my inlaws are arriving next week, so I guess I better go home and help clean up. Course I've been gone for a bit. I was in the middle of a few projects. Maybe I can just blame the whole mess on a hurricane and just stay and play with the baby....

Little granddaughter arrived a bit early. Hubby and I dashed across the countryside and reached the hospital with three hours to spare. Nothing like seeing your DS coming down the hallway with a big grin on his face. Got to admit, the little GDD is the cutest thing. And very good natured. She doesn't like diaper changes, but even her cries are cute. I was asked to hang around for a couple of weeks, and I was honored to accept. Wild lions couldn't have pulled me away. DD made a video out of all our pictures with music, and both the new mom and I cried. It was very moving. I have a feeling I'm going to get emotional a lot in the next few years. I get to do a lot of baby holding while they are doing all the diaper duty and everything. They are going to be awesome parents. Now that I've finally figured out how to use DS's laptop, I am going to try to catch up on everyone else. Hope all are having a good start to fall. Well, guess I better get this computer thing off my lap and free up my arms. Never know when they'll be needed.....