Marieke's New Life In Texas

Its cold!

2009-11-21T10:22:00.005-07:00

Again over a month has gone by since i last wrote. I gues we all need to accept that is more of a monthly update. I really don't do much during the day, but a lot has happened though.

My mom and friend Lotte have been to visit. It was so nice to spend time with some dutchies. My mom had brought of course some dutch food. So got to enjoy that. We went to New Orleans which was a good time and did just our daily stuff. It was also halloween, they got to see that crazy season here. I'll be posting the photo's later.

Halloween we had a party. I dressed up as a flapper and thomas had his scary mask from last year. It was also biker rally right outside our door. The party was a success. Everyone dressed up. You'll frind those photo's too in the bottom of this post.

Then we wend on our cruise! I had given Thomas a cruise for his birthday as a surprise. Our friends Gary and Carlos came with us. Nov 14th it was finally time. This also happened to be Thomas' birthday! (Thanks for all the birthday wishes!) We got on board really fast since we know one of the ladies that work there. She saved us about 2 hours of waiting! We had cabins next to eachother. That day and the next were on the boat while cruising to Cozumel. We got there and took a taxi to Chankanab NP where were had a 1pm appointment with dolphins! :) I had been at this exact beach with my family 10 years prior, but a huricane 4 years ago had destroyed the area completely so it was a little different. We parked ourselves on some beach chairs and went snorkeling. A first for Thomas who would not get out of the water and therefore got a nice big sunburn. But at 1pm it was time! We got this for our birthdays from my mom. An hour with dolphins! We were so lucky, we were the only ones! No other stupid tourist in our group, just me and thomas. We got to kiss him, hug him, touch him, do a belly ride, be pushed by our feet by him, learned so much about them. It was so so cool! We got to make it do tricks, give it commands. What a beautiful animal.
After this we were totally sunburned so we decided to go back to the ship. (after i bought a really cute green dress) The next day we arrived in Progreso. A small undeveloped port. Everyone really does excursions from here. And so did we, Chichen Itza, we got this from my dad for our birthdays! I had been here before also, but this time it was much better. Mostly i was more interested in everything. We had a great guide. Thomas absolutely loved it of course. So a great day!
The next day was at sea again we mostly relaxed. The day after we arrived in the morning and were home by 10am. We live 2 blocks from the harbor :) Of course we did so much more, but thats what the photo's are for.
We had a great time, im so glad we did this!

Next week is Thanksgiving. Like other years we'll be going to the Houston area to meet with Thomas' family. After wards to Gary and Carlos most likely. Then its Sinterklaas and we'll be celebrating it too! On Dec 4th we'll be putting our shoe by the fireplace and hopefully by the morning we'll find something in it! Thst same weekend its Dickens On The Strand. A annual celebration here in Galveston, where people dress up and theres food and performances everywhere. Then i'll be annoying thomas about a xmas tree! Im getting very excited!

Here the photo's!

Cruise to MEXICO

XOXO

First Anniversary of IKE

2009-09-12T22:50:00.003-06:00

This weekend Galveston thinks back to Hurricane IKE that hit us one year ago. Much has been restored, but the city is definitely not ready yet.

Tornados hit Galveston!

2009-09-01T06:55:00.003-06:00

Shame on me!

2009-08-30T08:46:00.006-06:00

Again, im writing on here waaaaaay too late. So much to tel!!!

4TH JULY
A great turn out and lasted way into the night! We had sparkles and some people dressed up and a quiz.

TRIP

Most of you have seen the photo's so i'll just post a couple. I'll tell you as short as possible the highlights of our big roadtrip;

We drove straight to Boerne, visited town, did groceries, set up camp, swam in the pool and drove to Fredericksburg, a nearby town, for drinks and dinner. Next morning, left early, and drove on to El Paso. A great drive through the desert. El Paso was nice, not our favorite place, but we just stayed one night. We visited the 3 chuches of the Mission Trail and saw the border fence to the very dangerous town of Juarez, Mexico. Strange to be so close but not able to visit. Up early again for a loooooong drive to Sedona. The desert got beautiful as we drove through New Mexico. Stopped in La Mesilla and Phoenix (loved it!), as we drove the last few hours the scenery changed so much. Those big cacti and desert, then higher in altitude and the green came back, and then finally the red rock of Sedona. Sedona is one of my favorite places. It has a huge Spiritual community. Suposeldy there are Vortexes there. We didnt find any or felt anything "alien' :) Thomas' cousins live there so we stayed with them and got to see some more family. We visited Montzuma Castle in Camp Verde. Amazing. And did a lot of hiking in the hot Arizona sun. Then it was time... Grand Canyon! A short drive so we stopped in Flagstaff, a small young community. Very cute! As we arrived we could see the canyon through the trees once in a while... couldnt really make anything of it. We decided to set up camp first and have some lunch. Then we walked over there. As anyone i guess would say, you just cant describe it. Its like seeing no depth but yet you see how unbelievably DEEP it is. Its beautiful and scary at the same time. We walked into the canyon for a while (i was very scared!!), it has no fences, nothing. The next day we did a 3 hour trail. At times we were 3 feet from a 500 feet drop. Maybe more... I didn't look :)
Then time to go to VEGAS!! It didnt take very long, we got there around 11am, except we didnt think of time change,so it was noon! Oops! The hotel (Paris) was so cool. You are just walking the streets of Paris inside the hotel. Very well done. We went shopping at H&M and then off to see the casino's. We went to every one of them and had our free drinks and gambled. We won and lost about the same. We saw the fountains onf the Bellagio, that was amazing!!! Around 10pm we we tired, and ready for bed. Vegas was cool but hot and dirty.
On to Arches NP, this is like a blur, we had to drive long and ended up getting to the park just as the sun was setting, it was beautiful, but we wanted to come back in the morning to see it. But that didnt happen, we were up early but a friend of ours called to say he was in Colorado (our next destination and he lives in Korea) so we left for CO immediately. To make a long story short, we never got to see him, but CO is my new favorite state!! It is beautiful, everywhere you look its like the postcards. I took so many photo's. We first stayed in Grand Lake, 8000ft altitude. It was cold and we started a fire, had some ramen noodles and beer and went to bed. Scared, because there are bears. Next morning Trail Ridge Road, a dream of mine! It took 3 hours, we got out all the time to take more photo's. We got at high as 12,000ft!! Played in the snow and saw deer and elk. A recommendation to everyone!! We arrived in Estes Park and found our campsite, last night of camping! Atop a hill and very windy :) We visited the town, very cute and bought some souvenirs. At night a campfire again and beers. The stars are so amazing at high altitude. We didnt want to leave CO, but we had to. Wyoming first. We werent at the good side of WY (Yellowstone was in the opposite corner of the state). It was flat and boring. Cheyenne seemed dead, Casper was okay. We went and saw Harry Potter. Next day drove to Deadwood, that was pretty cool. Gambled some, drank a lot and walked all over the cute town. After this the scenery got boring. Stayed in Chamberlain where we just slept, then Omaha, where we saw Bruno and had drinks in the awesome Old District and then we got to Wichita, Kansas. We stayed with friends, and slept like babies. :) It was good to get closer to home. After drove on to Dallas, stayed with some other friends and then the last 5 hours home. This was also the day we decided to quit smoking once and for all. And we did, we havent smoked since! It was good to be back, the cats were happy!

ART WALK/BIRTHDAY

Before we left on the trip we had gotten a call from MOD Coffee House that they were interested in seeing Thomas' artwork. We saw them and they said yes! When we came back they called and said, please hang it next week. Woops! So quickly got everything together and in 3 nights hung all the paintings. They look amazing on the wall. It was still a few weeks till the ArtWalk so people got see them before. Two paintings sold in one week!! I'm so proud of him! When the artwalk came around on Aug 22nd we were excited! A biiiiig crowd came out to support Thomas, it was a great night. We didnt sell any others but it doesnt matter, a lot of people got to see his stuff. Afterwards we had organized an after party! We had a lot of people in our house, family and friends. It was also my bday at midnight so i got spoiled with presents and 2 cakes! Gary and Carlos stayed the night and we went and saw District 9 the next day.

LAST NIGHT

We had my bday dinner last night. We went to the Melting Pot in Houston, a fondue restaurant. So delicious and romantic! After to the hookah bar, which was dead, but a nice end of the evening. Perfect bday present!

UNEMPLOYMENT

Yes, still unemployed. We arent suffering money-wise, but i am bored out of my mind. i do a workout dvd now, but thats just 20 mins. :) But right now i have 3 jobleads. So things are looking up!

MOVE TO NL

Its beginning to make form. We have had so many plans, but now i think its in sight. The plan is, for me to move first (maybe oct/nov 2010, to find a job and an apartment. Then Thomas (and cats) will come, right before christmas. We will have been married 3 years on that dec 31st so things will become easier for Thomas (passport/visa), so Jan 2nd we will visit the alien police :) We are getting excited. Thomas mostly though. I have mixed emotions but they are now turning to only positive. So we'll be back! :)

So thats it really, whats been happening since i last wrote. Everyone is doing fine. Thomas is back to school after his 12 week summer. Cats are good.

Hopefully i'll be back here soon... ;)

XOXO

Roadtrip!!

2009-07-05T21:52:00.002-06:00

Well, of course it has been way too long again! I don't even know where to start so i am going try to keep it short.

No job yet so i filed for unemployment last week. I should be getting paid from July 12th. This is feels good, so that we wont have to eat breadcrumbs in the coming months.. :) But i really really hope i will find a job very soon, i am getting bored just to think about sitting home all day.

Thomas is enjoying his summer. We met up with a coffee shop around the corner the other day and they really liked his work, so he will be in the next art walk! This will be in August. A great change to get his name out and hopefully make some money!

Another big thing that happened is that we have been talking more and more about moving back to Holland! We getting pretty excited about it! We are looking into what we need for him to be able to work and how we are going to move. It all sounds pretty stressful Especially when it comes to our kitties! They are definitely coming with us!

Hmmm. What else...

Ah! Last night! We had a great 4th July party at our house. Things got kind of crazy! :) In a good way of course! Photo's soon.

Well and then tomorrow... thats when we start our roadtrip! We are sooooooooooo excited!! First stop is Boerne, TX. We will be camping there. And visiting Fredericksburg hopefully. Then on to El Paso, TX for one night. Early in the morning on to Sedona, AZ and staying with family. Beautiful place 3 hours from the Grand Canyon... Which is our next stop! For 2 nights, camping. Lots of hiking and seeing the sunsets. Then on to VEGAS baby!!! (after a stop at Hoover Dam!) Just one night, but we will enjoy it the whole 24hrs! We will be staying at the Paris Hotel! Next morning on to Arches NP, AT. We will be staying in Moab, close to the NP. Just a night, and camping again. The next day, on to Granby, CO, camping and visiting surrounding towns and hiking. Then its time for... Trail Ridge Road!! VERY exciting, that one! At the end of the trail is Estes Park, where we will camp again for one night. Then north to Caper, WY. Staying in a motel there before driving on to the Black Hills in South Dakota. We will be staying in the First Gold Hotel in Deadwood. Lots of sightseeing! Next day we will visit Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse! Then a quick overnight in a Chamberlain motel before arriving in Sioux Falls. Then on to Omaha. Sightseeing, finally a big city again! Staying in motel. Driving more south to Wichita, KS, where we were over Springbreak. Staying with Justin, a friend of Thomas. Last stop is Dallas, and of course staying with Kelley and Daniel. Then 5 more hours and home!

I am taking my laptop but doubt i'll have time, but i will do my best, to update this blog.

We are available for calls of course, but there are a areas where i doubt we will have reception.

XOXO

El Paso, TX

woops

2009-05-16T17:43:00.005-06:00

I'm getting more slack at this! Last time i wrote, we had Sasja coming over.

We had a great time with her. Showed her around and helped her find people to tell their stories about the hurricane. We also had a fun night out at the gay bar around the corner! She left the end of April. Betsy also moved out 2 days after. So we had the whole place to ourselves again. It was really nice having Betsy so i miss her!

Work has been same old. Right now i work 2 days at Thomas' school for an associate principal in the hopes of getting a job. The other 3 days I'm at my school. The new principal and his secretary have now also moved in the school so its definitely getting busier! I am also taking all my personals and holidays before June 30th!

Our road trip is pretty much set. We are SO excited! We leave July 6th! Soon I'll post the itinerary!

Last week we wend to the movie night around the corner. We brought some chairs and beer and sat with our friends watching ET. Its every 2nd sat of the month!

Next week we are going up to Thomas' college town, Commerce. We are going to a surprise birthday party! It will be at a house with a big yard, where we will camp out! I'm excited!

5th of May is a mexican holiday; Cinco the Mayo. We celebrated the heritage at school. The high school Mexican Dance Team came over to perform!

This weekend we got our first day out in the sun! We walked to the beach with Gary (high school friend) and Carlos and they all swam. I stayed dry and took some pics.
I got a SLIGHT change of color on my skin, but nothing to really care for! :)

I think that's it for now!

XOXO

Mexican Dance Team

Dutch visitor!

2009-04-16T06:53:00.002-06:00

This Sunday, Sasja arrives. She found and contacted me around Dec as she is doing her thesis on hurricanes and we had been hit by Ike of course. So we have been emailing and getting people together to talk about what happened. And now the time is here! It'll be a full house with both Betsy and Sasja but we are really looking forward to it! We will try to do as much as possible so she gets the most out of her Texas experience!

Other than that we are going on the Artwalk in downtown here, where we live. There has not been one since Ike so everybody is excited! Free wine while looking at art!

The 2009 ArtWalk dates kick off with: April 18.
For over 19 years the Galveston Arts Center has produced ArtWalk on Saturday nights in the heart of the historic district. Now spreading to other parts of the island, ArtWalk occurs approximately every six weeks. Not a street festival, ArtWalk takes place in existing commercial galleries, non-profit arts spaces and what are called "other walls," restaurants and retail stores, for example. Each exhibits art and welcomes viewers with open doors, later hours and refreshments. One of the Galveston Arts Center's largest programs, ArtWalk, promotes visual art and artists, offers alternative places to see and learn about art and hopes to bring newcomers, as well as welcome return visitors to the art community on the island.

Thats it for now!
XOXO

Travel News

2009-04-09T07:58:00.007-06:00

Well since we got a good tax return, we have stared looking at a new roadtrip for the summer...

This is the plan so far:
Galveston - Garner State Park (TX) - El Paso (TX) - Sedona (AZ) - Grand Canyon (AZ) - Las Vegas (NV) - Arches National Park (UT) - Rocky Mountains National Park (CO) - Casper (WY) - Deadwood (SD) - Sioux Falls (SD) - Omaha (NE) - Wichita (KS) - Dallas (TX) - Galveston.

The map didnt come out good, but you can put your mouse on the map and click and hold it and drag it up, down, left and right.

View Larger Map

Here are some of the places we will visit!!

Rocky Mountains, Colorado

Grand Canyon, Arizona

Arches National Park, Utah

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

Sedona, Arizona

Las Vegas, Nevada

We want to go camping mostly except of course in Vegas. A couple of places we will stay 2 nights. And some we have family or friends. It is 5000 miles all around. We are VERY excited! We will keep you updated as we plan!

XOXO

Photo's Roadtrip!

2009-04-05T20:33:00.002-06:00

Texas & Arkansas

Tennessee Part 1

Tennessee Part 2

Alabama, Misissippi and Louisiana

Where do I start?!

2009-04-03T14:58:00.001-06:00

Its been way too long! I am ashamed. We have been just so busy. I’ll just start with our trip..
So on Fri after school Thomas came to pick me up and we drove to Austin. We were warmly welcomed by Erin where we would stay for the next 2 nights. We hung out with Nathan and Rachel and ended up going to bed at 4am! The next day we met up for breakfast with them again and sat around with them until it was time to change for the wedding. It started at 6pm and Jenn just looked beautiful. It was a Jewish wedding and outside. It was very cold but they had little fired going and delicious drinks! We stayed till 9 and then drove t 6th street to go to Momo’s to see Nathan plan his band. It was a great show and after we all sat on the terrace and had drinks.
The next morning we drove to Arkansas. We were so warmly welcomed (as always) by Joe & Alan. Also we received out first screwdrivers within 5 mins. (Thanks Joe). Just like the evacuation days! We had our drinks and had Chinese, then walked over to Danny and Janine. It was great to see them again and one night was not enough to catch up!
On Mon we drove to Memphis, only 3 hours from Hot Springs. We dropped our stuff off at the motel and drove to Graceland. It was $33 to get in, little pricey but we spend a few hours there. We saw his house, grave, cars, jumpsuits, records, planes and so much more. Even as a non-fan it was fun to see. At night we just slept, we were very tired form the other nights out 
The next day we continued on to Nashville, about 5 hrs drive. We drove straight to Hendersonville to see Johnny Cash’ grave. It was so cool! We then found our motel and walked around the nightlife. Mostly country bands playing live, not our scene, but it was fun walking around. We ended up on Music Row, more of a student area.
Wednesday we got up early. Drove to the Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson (7th president). It was beautiful and interesting. Not a very nice man from what we heard! We then drove to Arrington for some wine tasting. We bought a very nice desert wine. Then on to Jack Daniels. A free 2 hour tour! Very interesting! We bought some little souvenirs and received shot glasses. We kept driving to Birmingham. Not a very happening town. We just bought some dinner from Wal-Mart and ate in the motel. We watched Will Ferrell’s new stand up, which was HILARIOUS! The next day was a long drive, so we slept early.
On the way to New Orleans we stopped in Montgomery. We didn’t know much about it so we just walked around. It is the capitol of Alabama. So we first went to the capitol building. Pretty but also empty. We got a map of the building with on the back a map of the town. There we saw the civil rights museum was here… it got more interesting! We walked over there and on the way there was assign outside a church that read that Martin Luther King used to be a reverend here! The museum was very interesting but also sad. It had a memorial outside of some of the people that died while fighting for civil rights. We also found out that Rosa Parks got on the bus on a square not far from there! We ended up staying about 2 hours.. It was about 7pm when Thomas and I arrived in New Orleans. We parked the car and nearly RAN to get our first hand grenade. We just walked and drank and sat in the oldest bar of NO and drank some more. Then back to our beautiful hotel!
We were woken up by the maid banging on the door. Oops! We got up and checked out. Then the long drive began. 5 hours home. Well… it became more than that. First we drove onto Bolivar (peninsula) and got to a road block. This road was still closed since hurricane Ike. Crap. Sp turned around and drove the 20mins back to the mainland. Then over to Winnie and back down to where the road was open again. We finally get to where the boat leaves to Galveston… there was a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong line. I mean it was long-long. We found out that one of the ferries had a fire and so they were running with fewer boats. We ended up waiting 2 hours to get on the boat. Not funny. But we got there and just slept.
So that was fun, 6 states in 7 days!! 
Well then came the verdict regarding my job. And it was bad. Like I thought. But I am pretty positive to find something before I actually stop working in June. I still have a chance on a different position in the school district and the hotel next to us is opening after Ike also in June. So a few chances.
Last Monday Betsy came to live with us. We cleaned up the guest room and so now we are not only sister-in-laws or friends, but also roomies! She is getting herself organized and is staying as long as she needs to!
My momma had an eye operation that I need to check on, so I will be calling her this weekend (hi mom!) I need to get a phonecard so I can make some calls!
Anyways, that it!

Its FRIDAY!!!

2009-03-13T10:15:00.003-06:00

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!! Today at 4 thomas will pick me up and we will be on our way!!! SO excited!

Well the teachers found out if they had a job next year or not, on wednesday. Eight had to be fired eventually. Initially 22, but 12 already left to other programs or school or even districts. 2 got lucky in the end.
In the morning my principal told me they were going to use my office and that i had to get the teachers from their room... Of course after the 2nd person, people started saying if marieke comes to your room, you're done! Most of them just said how bad they felt for me. It was my job, being the secretary. The worst was for all the principals who had to tell people they were no longer needed. The list of people was not decided my the principals either, so they lost some people they would want to keep.
One of my friends for fired too, she is at another school. Thomas' school will here today. He should be fine.
As for me, they postponed it to after Springbreak. I am really confused and a little p'ed off. It really would have been nice to know before this holiday. I am done analyzing and thinking, i just want to know.

So thats it for now. I hope i can update you as we travel!

Okay okay okay.

2009-03-08T20:35:00.005-06:00

Well about time to do a quick update!

Mardi Gras was a good time! 2 college buddies of Thomas came to stay. It was good to see them again. We had a PA system and managed to get a lot of people under our window. Even some boobies! :) It was a big party that lasted from 12 noon till 12 midnight.

February was also Black History Month. A big celbration in America. We had a program at the end of the month where the kids danced and performed black music through the times. It was really cute and fun. The kids did a great job! See video below.

We are supposed to hear about our jobs this week. Thomas and i went to the board meeting.
I am not sure if you can watch it from abroad but HERE is the link for anyone who is interested. Of course i will update you as soon as i hear something!

Friday we leave on our trip. We are getting really excited!! For anyone that wants to keep track of where we are, here is our schedule:

Fri: Drive to Austin after school
Sat: Wedding of Jennifer, gig of friend at a bar in the eve
Sun: Drive to Dallas to see Wahib and Heather
Mon: Drive to Hot Springs, AR to see Alan and Joe
Tue: Drive to Memphis, Tennessee, see Graceland, Drink at Beale Street
Wed: Sun Studios , drive to Nashville, TN
Thu: Drive to Hendersonville for Johnny Cash' grave, via JD Brewery to Birmingham, AL
Fri: Haunted hotel in French Quarter! Drink! :)
Sat: Drive home!

Photos:
Mardi Gras
Other

The countdown begins.

2009-03-04T08:53:00.001-07:00

I have a lot to update on, but i'll do that later today. For now a new article:

Galveston public school district trustees today will consider cutting 175 positions, including 111 teaching jobs, to curb a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall.

The layoffs are expected to save the district $7.8 million, Superintendent Lynne Cleveland said. The budget shortfall for 2009-10 has been predicted to be as high as $17 million.

Trustees shaved $2 million from the budget in early February by cutting 55 administrator and support personnel positions, including two of the district’s top-paid employees. Most of those jobs already were vacant, and some of the positions on the chopping block today also are vacant, Cleveland said.

Trustees today will consider cutting teaching jobs from every campus except Austin Middle School, the district’s only magnet middle school. The cuts will include 49 elementary school teachers, 44 middle school teachers and 18 Ball High School teachers.

Trustees are also expected to cut 64 other positions, including groundskeepers, custodians, building engineers, principals, assistant principals, counselors, nurses, librarians, secretaries, office staff and aides.

About one-third of those jobs are vacant, Cleveland said. All the laid-off employees will remain in their jobs until their contracts end in June.

At least 45 district employees already have accepted a buyout that was part of a program trustees rolled out to prevent widespread layoffs. The program, offered to 182 employees, allowed those who resigned early to get a portion of their salaries. Employees with the district for five years or fewer were offered 1 percent of their salaries; employees with the district for 20 years or more were offered 10 percent of their salaries.

The deadline to take the buyout is Friday.

Even after layoffs, the district likely will have to cut administrator salaries, Cleveland has said. The district is not considering a pay cut for teachers, she said.

The district was facing a $6 million budget shortfall before Hurricane Ike.

It’s expecting a shortfall almost three times as much for 2009-10 after the hurricane, which displaced 25 percent of its students to other districts.

The hurricane, which flooded 75 percent of the island, is also expected to put a dent in the district’s tax revenue.

Trustees will discuss the layoffs at 6:30 p.m. in the Lovenberg Administration Building, 3904 Ave. T.

+++

At A Glance

WHAT: Galveston public school board special meeting

WHEN: 6:30 p.m. today

WHERE: Lovenberg Administration Building, 3904 Ave. T

Video

2009-02-19T08:20:00.001-07:00

Click here.. for an up date on Galveston.

Layoffs, Travel and Mardi Gras

2009-02-17T08:42:00.004-07:00

I am starting to hear more and more that people are leaving the district. Hopefully some of them are secretaries! Thomas is now even applying for Chicago, Portland and other cities that we have never been but we know we'd like. Its crazy, i never thought we'd be going through this the day before Ike hit Galveston. I was reading my old posts and i was talking like we were going to be gone for 4 days at the most! We were even going to stay!! Nobody expected this. If UTMB leaves the island, we will have lost 10000 (yes, 4 zero's) people from the hospital alone. Not counting any other businesses or all the homeless people after the government housing was destroyed in the hurricane. Phew, its going to be hard!
On a lighter note.. This weekend is THE Mardi Gras Party! I got my feather boa, beads and other decorations. We will have most likely about 5 house guests, i have no idea where they will sleep but i know that we will end up on the couch I'm sure! =)
Other than that we are definitely going through with the roadtrip. I am soooooooooooo excited! We will see Nathan and Rachael in Austin, Kelley and Daniel in Dallas, Alan and Joe in Hot Springs and hopefully some of MY family in Birmingham! We'll be visiting Graceland in Memphis and eating supposedly the best BBQ in Nashville, visit Johnny Cash's grave in Hendersonville, who knows maybe a stop for some Jack Daniels at the brewery in Lynchburg, TN. In New Orleans we are going to try to stay in one of the haunted hotels!
More later! XOXO

Happy Birthday Brother Marc

2009-02-13T14:21:00.003-07:00

My brother Marc turned 40 today! Hip Hip Hooray!!!

OH ... I completely forgot!!!

2009-02-10T09:13:00.003-07:00

I started a new blog wth Shannon! I have put a link on here and its in my RSS feed. But its a blog on cupcakes; my new hobby. Im not very good at decorating yet, so i bought a book and some more supplies! I'm very excited!

www.cupcakesaretakingovertheworld.blogspot.com

Wow dude, its been waaaaaaaaaaay too long!

2009-02-10T07:22:00.010-07:00

Ooh, where do i start

Sophia! The cutie! Her and Katje 'are getting long' a.k.a. they are not fighting as much. She is really fond of him so keeps wanting to play or sleep next to him. He is starting be become a cranky old cat at the age of 1!!! I'm sure as time passes they will get along fine. Katje is also a Main Coon and they are known for only sleeping and not playing as much.

We are planning a trip to Tennessee for Springbreak! We are going via Austin first, because Jennifer, Thomas' friend from High School is getting married. Below is a map of the plans! We'll get to see a lot of friends! Plus Graceland, Johnny Cash' Grave!!! and even some family! We are also planning a Colorado trip for the summer. If that will happen... that will really be a dream come true, it is so beautiful there! But im not getting my hopes up!

Our Springbreak Trip:

View Larger Map

!This weekend is the kick off for Mardi Gras! Check out this website with video! The New Orleans Mardi Gras is much like the one we are TRYING to have in Galveston. HERE is some info. So we are having a party! Quite a few few people are coming! We are nog living downtown where its all happening. Even better is that we live above the shops so we'll be having some people below our window to throw beads at! I am sure we'll be seeing some boobies! =) We have over 200 beads plus whatever we catch ourselves at the parades! Photo's for sure!

Work.. Well not much news. We are waiting till March 6th to hear how many people left the ditrict voluntary. I do not have much hope for myself. Being the last in and no history with the district. Here is the list of people needing to leave voluntary to not have to fire anyone...

100 teachers
18 classroom aides
11 custodians
6 cafeteria specialists
6 secretaries
5 security workers, including crossing guards, police officers and security guards
3 assistant/associate principals
3 principals
3 counselors
3 librarians
3 nurses
3 building engineers
3 cafeteria managers
3 grounds crew workers
2 directors
2 custodial supervisors
2 campus monitors
1 assistant superintendent
1 executive director
1 instructional specialist
1 instructional technology specialist
1 health aide
1 music accompanist

So yeah....

Some other news...

Islands biggest employer leaving the island?

More about UTMB

Babies

2009-01-29T19:06:00.002-07:00

Same old

2009-01-29T07:16:00.004-07:00

Howdy.

Everything is going pretty well. We have both been sick but are getting better. No news on the job front yet. We are waiting for 220 people to resign before march. Otherwise they will start laying off. We are looking at Dallas and Austin, but they are laying off people everywhere plus we are not the only ones wanting to move there. We now also started looking in and around Houston which is much more feasible. There are some lovely areas to live in and we would still be close to Galveston.
The cats are doing so much better. Yesterday they slept together (well sophia hanging off of katje butt) for 3 hours on the couch. Then they were licking eachother. Later on they were fighting again though. We're still not comfortable leaving them alone.
Not many plans for the coming month. This Sunday is Superbowl Sunday, which to us means same old sunday. In March we have a wedding of Jennifer and Jacob in Austin. Thomas went to High School with Jen. So thats exciting, a weekend in Austin. But thats ways away. For Valentines we are going for dinner in Houston.

Back soon!!!

XOXO

Article on the government housing being demolished.

...Agnes Groom, who lived in Magnolia Homes with her four children before the hurricane, said she has spent the past five months looking for places to live. She said she has looked in Texas City, La Marque and Galveston, but has not found anyone who would accept her federal disaster housing assistance program voucher. She has been turned away by several landlords who said her income was too low, she said. She’s not sure where she will live once the Federal Emergency Management Agency stops paying for her to live in a hotel.

“I’m scared to death,” she said.

Of the 7,000 Galveston County families who qualify for the Disaster Housing Assistance Program, only 1,800 or 26 percent, have found places to live, Krishnarao said.

More...

From ABC13..

2009-01-22T10:03:00.005-07:00

GALVESTON, TX (KTRK) -- Galveston Independent School District is preparing to deliver some bad news to employees. The district is hurting from a big budget shortfall and a major loss of students after Hurricane Ike. Job cuts may be necessary.
While these students figure out math problems, their superintendent has her own equations to solve.
"We're still down about 2,100 students, which is about one-fourth of our population, which means we need about one-fourth less of our staff members," said Galveston ISD Superintendent Lynne Cleveland.
Since Hurricane Ike, approximately 2,100 students have not returned. Combined with a declining tax base and an estimate $65 million in school repairs, the Galveston school district is forced to consider drastic cutbacks.
Specifically, the superintendent is proposing a buyout, where employees would receive a portion of their salary, based on years of service. It's called a voluntary reduction of their workforce.
Right now, there are about 11,000 employees. At least 200 resignations are needed. The deadline is March 6. After that, the school district will consider involuntary reductions.
Since 2004, GISD has been on a steady student enrollment decline, from 11,000 to about 5,800 students.
Schools are funded by the state based on student enrollment. As a result, next year, money from the state is expected to decrease about $16 million. Regardless of the reason why, one principal says cutbacks on staff will make a difficult situation more challenging.
"A lot of these people, I hired out of college and have been with us 10, 15, and in some cases, more than 20 years," said Principal Bill Heuman. "Any time you have a staff that has come together like that and you're forced to reduce the numbers, it's going to hurt everyone."
VIDEO

6 secretaries (all departments and levels) have to resign for me to keep my job. Its going to be hard because if you voluntary resign you will not be eligible for unemployment benefits. Plus the resign package is 1% of your annual income if you worked up to 5 yrs. You can imagine that is not a lot.
so we are looking for other jobs in other cities, but with this economy its hard everywhere. So lets hope 6 ladies resign! =/

About the other schools...

Shriners Hospital for Children could be closed for monts, perhaps years..

2009-01-21T07:23:00.005-07:00

...Permanent closure of the hospital would be a “tragic loss” to the island and for patients from Texas, Mexico and South America who relied on the facility. The organization, known for members who wear red fez hats, offers all its patients treatment without charge. Shriners has treated about 18,000 children in Galveston since its inception...

More...

About the free Hospital for burned children

-------------------------------U P D A T E-------------------------------------
Jan, 23, 2009

...executives officially announced to staff that Shriners Hospital for Children in Galveston would close indefinitely as it struggles with a nearly $3 billion shortfall in an endowment that funds it and other pediatric centers.

Closing the 30-bed hospital would save the Tampa, Fla.-based philanthropic organization as much as $30 million in yearly operating expenses, officials said in a confidential letter to employees. But employees wondered what it would mean for children and burn research. The island has been home to Shriners for years....

more...

Beautiful Day!

2009-01-20T13:15:00.002-07:00

...and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath...

Sophia Graves

2009-01-17T11:37:00.003-07:00

PHOTOS SOPHIA

From the Galveston Daily News

2009-01-12T07:26:00.002-07:00

I work at Weis..

Packed school causes concern

By Rhiannon Meyers
The Daily News
Published January 11, 2009

GALVESTON — Overcrowding at the Galveston campus housing most of the island’s middle school students is hampering education and frustrating teachers, some have complained.

Since Hurricane Ike ravaged Central Middle School on Sept. 13, Weis Middle School, 7100 Stewart Rd., has housed all of the island’s students in grades five through eight who are not enrolled in the district’s magnet school program

There are more than 1,100 students at the campus that should, ideally, have no more than 950 students, according to the district’s estimates.

“It’s bordering on criminal to have as many kids as you do at Weis,” said Ed Clack, a former school district administrator and critic of the current administration. “It’s an unsafe situation. Parents ought to be raising hell about it because it’s wrong, wrong, wrong.”

More HERE

Well tis been a while...

2009-01-08T08:41:00.004-07:00

But we are alive and well! We had such a great time. We did a lot so I will try to keep it short. We arrived on Saturday and were welcomed by my dad, Brechje and the twins, Marc, Karen and Kairi. We had a drink and drove to SOEST, my home town. We unpacked, had dinner and went to go see my mom.

On Sunday we decided to go to HAARLEM. A cute city that holds the FRANS HALS. museum. We spend all day there and I found some cute boots. Which were very nessicary since I only brought my CHUCKS :). . At night we met up with Lotte and Gijs. Had such a good time, had a few beers and talked a lot!
Monday we had a relaxing day, we met up with my aunt and uncle around 4, had dinner and stayed at my moms.
On Tue we saw my grandparents. At night we had dinner with Lotte and Gijs and after we met up with some friends at my local. Joost, Jaccomijn, Jochum were all there. Wednesday I don’t remember.
Thu was xmas, we spent it with my mom. My brothers came over around 4-5 and we opened presents, everyone loved what we bought them. It was so nice spending all that time with everybody.
Fri morning we get a call that Brechje is sick so they will not go to Belgium that day, then my dad tells me Lucia is sick too so they wont go either. But Marc, Karen and Kairi are still going! So the 5 of us go in Marcs car. We get there at 5ish after a loooooooong drive including one accident. The house is cute and in a town of 40 people. Cornimont (sorry too small for a Wikipedia page) is the name. We unpack and have some cheese and wine. After Kairi has dinner we have dinner. We were enjoying the quiet because we get the news that everybody else is coming tomorrow! 6 more people!
The next morning we get up, eat and go to BOUILLON, a very old city with an old castle, from 988! Very pretty. We took a lot of pictures. Before noon we were back at the house to welcome the rest. Still a bit sickly, but at least we were all there. We read, talk and walk the rest of the day, have a lovely dinner at night. Sunday we go back to bouillon, but now with my dad. We visit the church and walk up to the castle again. After we enjoy a beer in a local bar. We also buy some different tasty Belgian beers for the night. At night we play games. Lucia is still sick and now marc is getting sick too. Thomas and I are surprised that we aren’t. On Monday when we drive back we are supposed to go with marc and Karen again but since marc is sick it’s not a good idea. So we call my mom and decide to stay there.
We leave the next day already for MAASTRICHT, . We find our hotel right in the center. Really cute. We start walking and find the city wall dating back 1000 years. Its beautiful just to walk around here. We find little squares and bars. Really nice. We have dinner at a pizzeria.
Wed is NYE and OUR ANNIVERSARY, during the day we walk to the CAVES, . Limestone caves, so cool. Check out the link! We both aren’t feeling well so we stay in our room until 11pm. Then we walk to a bar, have drink and find a spot on the bridge (the oldest in Holland), its getting busy and finally its midnight! HAPPY NY!!!! We walk around a bit more but its -5 and feels like -20 so we go back inside for a good night’s sleep.
The next morning we get up to take the train back. We go to Amsterdam first. To see Marc and Karens house. It’s amazing! They also have a little river running by their house which is frozen so we get on there. Thomas’ first time!
We then all drive to my mom’s for dinner. Arne and Brechje come too. It’s a very nice eve. Suzan and Hugo come over too for a tea and OLIEBOLLEN, . I am not feeling well at all so we go to bed early. Kairi is staying the night there too!
The next morning I get a call from Monique, my sister. We were supposed to meet up but she isn’t feeling well either. So we talk a little. We stay all day at my moms. We do groceries; cheese, coffee, brinta and a lot of licorice! Around 4 we say goodbye to mom, and dad picks us up. Our last day in Holland is almost over. We were supposed to meet up with friends in the local bar, but I am not well still so we decide to just stay at my dad’s. Arne and Brech come for dinner my grandma too! Some tea after and then it’s another goodbye! After dinner we wait around until bed time. Lights out at 11 and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Next morning, up early to take the train to the airport. Marc and Karen meet us there. We sit to have a drink and then the last goodbyes!!! So sad, but it also felt good to go home.
The flights were long but after a short delay in Chicago we made it. We were home and on the couch with our Katje around 9. We briefly visited the neighbors, unpacked and off to bed! So nice to be in our own bed!
We woke up at 4.30 and got up and snuggled up on the couch under blankets watching Six Feet Under. (I got him hooked!) That’s all we did all day, Six Feet Under and clean!
So Monday back to work. It was good seeing everyone again.

Now it’s Thursday and everything is back to normal. Photo's of our trip are in the top right of the screen! If you click on a photo it will get bigger.

Some possible bad news:

Galveston ISD Faces School Closures, Layoffs

Galveston ISD School FOX 26 News

HOUSTON -- The Galveston Independent School District has some tough decisions to make.

On Wednesday, about a hundred parents attended a meeting with district officials to learn which schools could close and why? All they heard were proposals and no definitive answers.

Click here to see the full video story by FOX 26's Duarte Geraldino.

Charles B. Scott Elementary School could possibly be shut down. GISD say the school has too much storm damage to allow students to walk in the building.

In total, four schools were temporarily closed because of hurricane Ike: either there was too much damage, or (like on Bolivar Peninsula) there were too few students left to justify opening the school building.

"It is getting me worried. Next thing you know they are going to get down to one or two schools. What is going to happen," says GISD parent Andre Sellers.

The district squeezed returning students into school buildings that are still operable. GISD superintendent Lynn Cleveland says if all the schools were to reopen they would be operating at just above 50% capacity.

"My recommendation is just to hold where we are until we get all the information about the existing damage of the schools," said Superintendent Cleveland, who went on to caution "that is a long process."

According to GISD, after Hurricane Ike, its enrollment dropped from 7900 students to roughly 5800 -- a figure, which suggests layoff are eminent.

"It is about 25 percent, so you would need about 25 percent less employees. We get funding based on how many students we have. The less students we have, the less funding we have," said Superintendent Cleveland as she prepared to address parents Wednesday night.

Long-time residents admit, cuts have to be made, but they also worry if GISD closes too many schools and cuts too many jobs, the stormed-damaged island will no longer be an attractive place to call home

"If the island gets back to its regular status are we going to have enough space for education," asked Sellers.

GISD is expected to decide which schools will be shutdown by the end of the month.

VIDEO

Wij zijn in Nederland!

2008-12-21T00:34:00.003-07:00

We got up and packed the car and hugged katje to death. Drove to the aiport via the car wash and Denny's. Both flights (first to chicago) i was so scared. But after an hour or so i would be okay, but it was bad. My dad and bothers came to pick me up with wifes and kids. So good to see them and the little ones are so big now.

We had a drink at the airport and heaed home: Soest. We unpacked and walked around and saw my mom. We wrapped the xmas presents and put them under the tree.

Thomas actually drove to my moms house! It was fun being in a little car driving through my hometown with him. We had dinner with my dad and tea after. By then it was 9am and time for bed.

Today we woke up at 6am and went downstairs and had breakfast. At 11 we are going to take the train to Haarlem, to go to the Frans Hals museum and more old badass places!

More later!
XOXO

Some pics first

2008-12-21T00:33:00.002-07:00

I need to update on some pics first: Dickens and Biker Rally.

Dickens
Biker Rally

Biker Rally was so great. Noisy but so much fun. We had a lot of people over again all weekend.

Flying Tomorrow!

2008-12-18T22:13:00.001-07:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Snow!!!!!!!

2008-12-11T06:53:00.005-07:00

Me and Jylynn (next door neighbour) in the snow which started about 9pm last night. It had been 4 years and before that who knows when! It was short but sweet!

Quickie

2008-12-10T11:13:00.003-07:00

Dickens on the Strand was nice. We had a lot of our friends over the whole weekend and lots of drinking, so it was fun! I took some photo's but i'll post those after the Lone Star Rally is over. They have already started building the food tents outside our loft! Cant wait to hear those bikes! Except i doubt Katje will appreciate it!
This sunday i have been in texas for a year. Time flew by so fast and so much has happened.
Friday in a week is our flight! I cant believe its time! 2 weeks is no where near enough!

Also, i think we topped our xmas card this year from the last one. Its just perfect and you'll be getting it in the mail soon. :)

More later XOXO

From the Galveston Daily News...

2008-12-05T08:13:00.002-07:00

Post-Ike Dickens draws national media attention

By Bronwyn Turner
Correspondent
Published December 5, 2008

GALVESTON — Hand bells and a homes tour tonight mark the eve of Dickens on The Strand weekend, as Galveston again prepares for national media attention in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

National Public Radio, The Dallas Morning News, the Austin American-Statesman and several Houston television stations will have correspondents covering the Victorian holiday festival, organizers said.

“Their really basic question is ‘How can we put a festival on with the downtown in the condition it is,’” said Molly Dannenmaier, director of marketing and public relations for the Galveston Historical Foundation, which put on the event.

The answer will be unveiled Saturday morning, when Victorian-clad carolers, jugglers, a sword swallower, acrobats, magicians, bagpipers and even a flea circus take to The Strand.

Along streets where 10 feet of water surged more than two months ago, some 135 vendors will set up shop, including many displaced downtown businesses manning booths displaying their wares.

“Now, more than ever, we need our Dickens on The Strand Festival to take place,” said Galveston Historical Foundation Director Dwayne Jones in comments on the foundation’s Web site. “Our downtown businesses are all facing extensive flood remediation right now.

“If we can aim for the Dickens festival ... as a moment when people who love Galveston can come visit and check on our progress and help us raise the money we need to continue our restoration efforts, that will be a very good thing for all of us.”

Visitors will find many of the traditional trappings of Dickens on The Strand, now in its 35th year. Her Majesty Queen Victoria will still be escorted by a colorful guard of Beefeaters in her royal parade Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Entertainers and choirs will be featured on festival stages, while costumed vendors peddle wares from street stalls.

But the setting will be somewhat changed after Hurricane Ike — the festival will be confined to The Strand between 21st and 25th streets and will take place during daylight hours. Many downtown businesses open to crowds in previous years will be shuttered this year.

Businesses announcing openings in time for the festival include Old Strand Emporium, Tsunami Exotic Tequila Emporium, Tola-Mo Bettah Market, Yaga Clothing Store and Hendley Market. While visitors may see closed doors and hurricane debris, festival organizers hope they will also glimpse the community spirit of post-Ike Galveston. The sense of community has under girded Dickens on The Strand since it began in 1973 as an evening potluck celebration of the Victorian-era downtown.

“Dickens on The Strand is more than a GHF event,” Jones said in comments published in the Galveston County Daily News last month. “It kicks off the holiday season as well as bringing thousands of visitors to the island.

“This is an economic benefit to GHF and all of Galveston,” he wrote. “That is important, but more important is that we congregate as a community in one common space — ‘the heart of downtown’ on The Strand.”

The foundation’s booth will be selling “Historic Galveston Rebirth” banners and decals.

“Dickens is a first step to officially opening a new and reborn Galveston,” Jones wrote.

To the middle and back again and lots more events this week.

2008-12-03T20:40:00.006-07:00

Okay...
So on thu 20th we had Thanksgiving dinner at school. Everyone brought drinks, food and utilities. Ms Woods and I set it all up in the teachers lounge.
Friday we left work early to get on the road to Dallas. We got to Kelley and Daniels at 8, had dinner and went out for a drink at the the Dutch bar in downtown. I found this bar randomly online and it’s a gem! It looks old in the inside and dark with candles, just like home! Anyways, in the morning we got up early and left for Kansas. It was a loooong ride, with one stop in Oklahoma City in Oklahoma. We finally we were in Kansas ! We had reached the middle of the USA! 1100 km!! So, I met Justin, Thomas’ college friend, for the first time. We walked around and later on went to a pub called the Anchor. The next day he showed us his work (he works for FOX channel) and drove around Wichita for a while. It’s a cute city. At night he invited some friends and we had a little party! On Monday we drove to his hometown of Coffeyville. We were pleasantly surprised that there was a whole lot of gang-related history here; the Dalton Brothers were captured and killed here! We also visited the house he grew up in where his mom still lives. We drove back and went out for dinner. We kept it a quiet night as we had a loooong drive back the next day! So next morning, up early and on our way to Dallas. On the way we stopped in Ponca City, where an Indian tribe lives. They had a memorial for Standing Bear, an important person in their history. You should read the link! Very interesting!
Kelley & Daniel are getting rid of their couch so we dragged it outside and lit the fire place. After we wend back to the Dutch Bar for dinner an drinks. MMMM!!! We had kroketten! Daniel and Thomas even had absinth! Ew! Anyway, great night!
In the morning we had breakfast together and then it was time to head back to Galveston!
We were greeted by a purring, orange, furry thing. We relaxed and made some stuff for Thanksgiving the next day.
We celebrated Thanksgiving in Sugarland, close to Houston. There was quite a few family. It was nice to catch up with everyone! Cousin Paige came back home with us to stay the night. She is in 8th grade so almost going to High School! The next day we had plans to go to Houston to meet up with Ms Nemitz, Thomas’ high school art teacher to visit the museums. So Paige went with us! We visited the MFA and Menil. Very cool. Of course we visited the gift shop! ☺ Uncle John came to pick up Paige and we went shopping for a little bit before meeting up for dinner with Thomas’ parents. At night we saw the neighbors getting a xmas tree, so we went over and sat with them for a while. Eventually we ended up driving to the supermarket to get one ourselves. Its huge and pretty! We bought some more decorations on sat, and even put lights around the window!
This weekend is Dickens on the Strand. Check out what it is exactly HERE.
I also managed to get all the xmas presents done, except Thomas’. So its been an eventful month and beginning of Dec!
14th Dec its my one year anniversary in the USA! I'm planning on inviting some people. Then the week after its time to go to Holland… FINALLY!!

THANKSGIVING
KANSAS TRIP
XMAS TREE

I'll organise the photo's later!

Okay i'm done!
XOXO

And so it starts...

2008-11-19T08:11:00.002-07:00

Yesterday my neighbour got laid off.

GALVESTON —The University of Texas Medical Branch campus, where a chorus of ambulance sirens once was constant and thousands of workers conducted the daily business of keeping a 550-bed hospital running, was somber and quiet Tuesday as the first of 3,000 people learned they no longer had jobs.

Most had worked at John Sealy Hospital, where workers will take the brunt of the massive cut.

Many had never worked any place except the medical branch.

Some who had held out hope their jobs would be spared sat in disbelief at the news. Others, minutes after being dismissed, attended classes to brush up their job-seeking skills.

Then, there were those who didn’t yet know. They waited in dread to enter rooms where their supervisors would deliver the news.

The University of Texas System regents last week authorized cutting up to 3,800 full-time equivalent positions after Hurricane Ike devastated the island campus that had employed 8,000 people.

The storm, which struck Sept. 13, flooded campus buildings and severely damaged John Sealy Hospital, which likely will reopen with only 200 beds.

Read article HERE

Poopie

2008-11-18T19:46:00.003-07:00

Great weekend aye!

2008-11-17T09:20:00.008-07:00

So Fri was Thomas' birthday. We worked as normal and after work went home. He wanted to go to happy hour with some colleagues but i had emailed them to tell Thomas they couldn't make it. I didn't think it was a good idea for Thomas to be drunk before the party. :) So we went home, showered, got ready and walked out the door by 6.
The plan: I would take Thomas out for dinner. Then everybody would gather at our house for decorating etc between 6 and 7.30 and we would walk in at 7.45 for the SURPRISE!!!
But on the way to the Greek i got a message from Chris & Emily AND Betsy that that would be late, if 8 o'clock was okay... sure! 30 Min's extra.. I decided to add a drink after in a bar, to the schedule. So we had our Greek and this whole time i am sure he knows something. But how could he? Then he starts texting people to come over for drinks and to go out after! Nooooooooooo! That's not the plan! :) Anyway, i tell him we should go for a romantic walk along the seawall to a bar. He agrees and we go to Landry's for a beer. All this time of course i am texting with people. :) We decide to have a cocktail at the Spot. I need more time! We find out they don't do frozen drinks! It is only 7.45 so i need to think of something! So finally i manage to get him to go to the liquor store to get the ingredients for a frozen drink. Off we go to the liquor store. We take our time buying the drinks and walk out the door at 8.10. Good timing. I text back and forth with Betsy for the best SURPRISE!!! And they finally tell me they will be hiding in our bedroom and let us walk by the room and to then jump out behind us with their horns.
We walk in and Thomas walks down the hall while i wait by the door. In the middle he stops and turns around and says: Whats going on? Later he told me he saw part of a happy birthday banner and then heard people in the bedroom. But he didn't have enough time to think because then they jumped out! So funny. He had NO idea.
Betsy, Gabe, Chris, Emily, Aaron, Jennifer, Bobby and Laura were all there. Later Steve came and David. They had decorated it so nicely and even a cake! It was a great night!
We had plans for Sat and Sun: THE RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL
! About 2 hrs from here. We packed our camping gear for the night and were on our way! When we get there its too late to go in the park as it closes at dusk. So we set up camp and realise how COLD it is! Luckily we brought warm clothes and enough blankets. We also brought beer... :) It was busy and filled with people dressed in medieval clothing. So much fun to look at! At night they had a campfire with people dancing around it and much more. We eventually went back to the tent and had beers before falling a sleep at 9!! Woke up at 7.30 after a good sleep and got ready for the day. We broke up the camp and drove to the festival at 9, which was a 40 sec drive.. The park is so cute! When we first came in they did the announcement for the day all old style on a square with lords and ladies. Then they did a dance and this girl comes up to me if i want to dance... sure, since you didn't put me on the spot at all.. :) It was fun!
We had some tea and coffee and walked around till the first show. That's was a hawk/falcon show. Very cool birds! After to the mud show where 2 comedians do a competition in the mud. The loser has to eat mud. It was pretty funny. We had some food but everything was overpriced. We left about 1pm. Drove straight home and laid under a duvet on the couch until 9pm bedtime :)

A GREAT weekend! XOXO

PHOTO'S

Quick message!

2008-11-15T10:52:00.001-07:00

I had organized a surprise party for Thomas and it was too much fun! I got to go because we are off to the renaissance festival and we are going camping! Back tomorrow with pics and stories!

Happy Birthday THOMAS!!!!

2008-11-14T06:28:00.001-07:00

Today is by hubby's bday!

Sad sad sad

2008-11-13T06:33:00.001-07:00

READ THIS about UTMB

People are still donating to our school district!

2008-11-10T06:56:00.000-07:00

School supplies expected with truckload of beans from Idaho

Students in Filer, Idaho learned about distance and giving to others when Physical Education Teacher Vicki Leach focused the annual Walkathon at Filer Elementary School to benefit students in Galveston ISD. Normally funds raised from the event go to purchase technology and other items the school needs. But this year, the goal was to walk 3,500 miles, the estimated distance from Filer to Galveston, while collecting school supplies for GISD students.

Each day of the Walkathon, students brought a designated school supply item to school as a “ticket” to walk on the track. Students brought pencils (and dressed in yellow like a #2 pencil,) notebook paper, crayons and other miscellaneous supplies. One day was “Bucks for Books” and $1,500 was collected for GISD library books.

Once the supplies were collected, Ms. Leach recruited help from a local trucking company in Idaho, Kruse Nationwide, that mainly ships farm products out of state. The trucking firm had a shipment of beans headed to Molina, Texas and would make room. So the school principal put the supplies in the back of her truck, drove seven miles to Buhl, Idaho, to the bean company, where 1200 lbs. of donated school supplies were loaded on a pallet, shrink-wrapped, then loaded onto the front of a truckload with boxes of dry beans. After delivering and picking up shipments in Nevada and California, the truck is expected to arrive in Texas next week.

More about Katje...

2008-11-09T21:17:00.005-07:00

Tonight Katje scared the s**t out of me! I go to the bathroom and when i come back i call for him as i do 5000x a day. For about 7 mins i am looking for him all over the house ringing the bell that we play with. No answer. I even ring it out the window. No answer. When i do this a 2nd time i hear his meouw. OUTSIDE!!! With Thomas on the phone i RAN outside and there he was... sitting out front the store downstairs... scared and meowing. He had to have jumped from the ledge, at least 9 foot!

And this was all in the middle of watching a documentary about Jonestown... What a night...

About Katje

2008-11-09T18:59:00.003-07:00

We recently found out that he is a Maine Coon. It has been so interesting reading about him! Everything is so recognizable in the text.

Characteristics

Everything about the Maine Coon points to its adaptation to a harsh climate. Its glossy coat, heavy and water-resistant, is like that of no other breed, and must be felt to be appreciated. It is longer on the ruff, stomach and britches to protect against wet and snow, and shorter on the back and neck to guard against tangling in the underbrush. The coat falls smoothly, and is almost maintenance-free: a weekly combing is all that is usually required to keep it in top condition. The long, bushy tail which the cat wraps around himself when he curls up to sleep can protect him from cold winters. His ears are more heavily furred (both inside and on the tips) than many breeds for protection from the cold, and have a large range of movement. Big, round, tufted feet serve as 'snow shoes.' Their large eyes and ears are also survival traits, serving as they do increase sight and hearing. The relatively long, square muzzle facilitates grasping prey and lapping water from streams and puddles.

Although the Yankee myth of 30-pound cats is just that, a myth (unless the cat is grossly overweight!), these are indeed tall, muscular, big-boned cats; males commonly reach 13 to 18 pounds, with females normally weighing about 9 to 12 pounds. Add to that two or three inches of winter coat, and people will swear that they're looking at one big cat.

Maine Coons develop slowly, and don't achieve their full size until they are three to five years old. Their dispositions remain kittenish throughout their lives; they are big, gentle, good-natured goofs. Even their voices set them apart from other cats; they have a distinctive, chirping trill which they use for everything from courting to cajoling their people into playing with them. (Maine Coons love to play, and many will joyfully retrieve small items.) They rarely meow, and when they do, that soft, tiny voice doesn't fit their size!

Temperament

While Maine Coons are highly people-oriented cats, they are not overly-dependent. They do not constantly pester you for attention, but prefer to "hang out" with their owners, investigating whatever activity you're involved in and "helping" when they can. They are not, as a general rule, known as "lap cats" but as with any personality trait there are a few Maine Coons that prefer laps. Most Maine Coons will stay close by, probably occupying the chair next to yours instead. Maines will follow you from room to room and wait outside a closed door for you to emerge. A Maine Coon will be your companion, your buddy, your pal, but hardly ever your baby.

Maine Coons are relaxed and easy-going in just about everything they do. The males tend to be the clowns while the females retain more dignity, but both remain playful throughout their lives. They generally get along well with kids and dogs, as well as other cats. They are not as vertically-oriented as some other breeds, prefering to chase objects on the ground and grasping them in their large paws -- no doubt instincts developed as professional mousers. Many Maine Coons will play "fetch" with their owners.

Description

The important features of the Maine Coon are the head and body shape, and the texture and 'shag' of the coat. The head is slightly longer than it is wide, presenting a gently concave profile with high cheekbones and ears that are large, wide at the base, moderately pointed, and well tufted inside. They are set well up on the head, approximately an ear's width apart. Lynx-like tufting on the top of the ears is desirable. The neck should be medium-long, the torso long, and the chest broad. The tail should be at least as long as the torso. One of their most distinctive features is their eyes, which are large, round, expressive, and set a a slightly oblique angle. Overall, the Maine Coon should present the appearance of a well-balanced, rectangular cat.

Throughout their history there has been no restriction on the patterns and colors acceptable, with the exception of the pointed Siamese pattern. As a result, a wide range of colors and patterns are bred. Eye colors for all coat colors range through green, gold, and green-gold. Blue eyes and odd eyes, (one blue and one gold eye) are permissible in white cats. There is no requirement in the Maine Coon Standard of Perfection for particular combinations of coat color and eye color.

Maine Coon owners enjoy the breed's characteristic clown-like personality, affectionate nature, amusing habits and tricks, willingness to 'help' with any activity, and easily groomed coat. They make excellent companions for large, active families that also enjoy having dogs and other animals around. Their hardiness and ease of kittening make them a satisfying first breed for the novice breeder. For owners wishing to show, the Maine Coon has reclaimed its original glory in the show ring.

Photo's Halloween and Prez O

2008-11-05T15:32:00.002-07:00

What a great day!

2008-11-04T22:54:00.000-07:00

Congrats to all!

2008-11-04T10:38:00.002-07:00

WHERE DO I VOTE?

Today is the day ... well, or tomorrow...

2008-11-04T10:19:00.004-07:00

I can't believe this show is about to be over! Its like the final episode of SATC, Six Feet Under or the Sopranos. But i doubt i will miss it like i miss those! It got to be pretty annoying at some point.
I am secretly confident that Obama will win, but of course anything can happen. All i know is that we will be glued to the telly alllll night (with some bathroom breaks).
Halloween! We had a small party with close friends. Chris and Emily were Slater and Jessie of Saved By The Bell. Betsy and Gabe were white trash (so aswesome), Aaron and Jennifer were Frylock and Shake, Thomas was Nosferatu and i was Cleopatra! We had black punch with eyeball and dry ice for effect and lots of delicious fingerfood. Pics when i get home!

Crazy Sock Day!

2008-10-30T13:18:00.000-06:00

Loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooots to telllllllllllllllll

2008-10-29T09:25:00.006-06:00

So Claudia arrived on Sat afternoon 2pm. It was so great to see her again! We drove to La Carafe in Houston for a drink in the sunshine and then on to Galveston. Now we see/hear somebody else's perspective of the aftermath, we think it’s cleaning up pretty fast though. So we organized a little party for her arrival which was a lot of fun. Sunday we were off to Houston, Wait came too. Walked around mainly and got to show her a lot! We had such a good time with her. We even got to take her to Austin for 2 nights! There we met up with one of Thomas co workers who happened to be there too! We also saw Rachael, a friend from Thomas’ college. We saw the capitol, drove to Mount Bonnell, had lunch at Whole Foods and shopped at Waterloo Records. Unfortunately on Saturday we had to drive back to the airport so she could get her flight. We miss her already!! I’ll post the pics!
Friday is Halloween! I am sooooo excited. We are hosting a party! Not a huge one but quite a few people are coming. Thomas found a VERY scary costume! Mine’s cool too! I’ll be sure to show some pics on Saturday! Last night me and the neighbor went props shopping at Walgreens and Kroger. I think we have enough stuff now. What’s left is drinks and food! Punch with dry ice! My first Halloween, I cant wait!
Aaaaaand the Elections! 6 more days! Things are getting really excited. Thomas voted a few days ago, I am sure you can guess who for. I think it’s so good that they have early voting; no one has an excuse to miss it!
This week is Red Ribbon. Every day the kids (and staff) get to wear crazy items. Monday was crazy sunglasses, yesterday crazy hat, today jersey (see pic), tomorrow crazy socks (I bought Halloween ones) and fri school spirit shirt (which is actually every fri)

Okay well i think thats about it for now. Oh wait actually not! We bought a badass TV!
Not bad eh? Its an LG 42". We got a great deal for 800$! We are now saving for my Wii!

Katje 's Cat Tree!

2008-10-17T15:20:00.003-06:00

MY BESTIE CLAUDIA IS COMING THIS WEEKEND!!!

2008-10-16T08:03:00.002-06:00

I got a txt message yesterday that she booked her flight!!! I cant wait! We have so many things planned, its going to be so great! More later!!!

As promised..

2008-10-10T05:30:00.003-06:00

So we have power but the cable and internet are still down in the area. Sometimes we get a signal, but most of the time not. We have an appointment on wednesday to see if something can be done. Until then you might hear from me or you might not! :)
Have a great weekend!

Tadaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

2008-10-09T10:17:00.005-06:00

We have poweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!!

Now this is a story:

We get home, tired and hot. Open the windows, then we hear a truck. Thomas says: go check. And im thinking, one more time, i am not going to keep running to the wi... Oh crap! Its Centerpoint! Thomas runs downstairs. I look out the window and yell at the guys to give us power. They ask, are you in aparment 1 or 5... ehm we are in 2. I can feel this is not going to be easy. I sit down and let Thomas handle it for a while. Thomas calls Centerpoint, apperently they have only a workorder for those 2 apartments. I call the landlord, who gets angry and calls the electrician. In the end it was the inspectors fault, a person from the city! He approved all boxes, but only submitted permits for 2 apartments.. After lots of phonecalls and yelling, we get power. It was crazy to have it again. No more MRE's or canned food!
We wachted Sex and the City the movie and our friend Bill came over for a while. Tonight i will post all the new pics. Come back!

#$#$%^^&%^#$!!!!

2008-10-08T09:18:00.005-06:00

The fuses are in so now its really just waiting for Centerpoint. We have filled our nights with vodka and OJ, reading, hanging out with the neighbours when they come over and rummicub. The weather is helping, last night was very cool. It even rained yesterday! Thats really what Galveston needed.
Our gym is completely destroyed, so we arent sure when we can get back to our workout. Our favorite restaurant re-opened though! Hopefully we'll be eating there soon! Claudia is probably coming too! I am waiting to hear if she booked it. I think we can have a great time here. It is really cleaning up where we live. And all the planned festivities are happening. From the 15th of this month it looks like, all businesses will get their permits to start building. We will see who comes back and who sells their space. I am sure that it can get back to normal. Now the neighbourhoods is a different story.
I cant wait to show you more pics! We have been taking more pics around the island and of the MRE's (military food, its awesome!!!) and random evenings.
Anyways, got to get back to work. More later xx

MRE Meal
1st school day (i work at weis)

Ofcourse not.

2008-10-06T08:44:00.005-06:00

No power. They say today but they say that everyday. One good thing that came out of the storm is that we now are friends with our neighbours. The family next door has been so good to us giving us batteries, candles and food. Also the doctor upstairs is nice. He is German and here for 2 years. So we have been cooking on a camping grill and drinking beer with everyone in the building in candle light. Its romantic for a while, but now we want power back. I can get used to no TV or AC but i like to turn the bathroom light on..
Tomorrow they are going to have a group of old NFL players doing a motivational speach. They had to mix schools so we are now with Central Middle School. Quite a few schools got flooded to the point they might not open the rest of the schoolyear. Its going to be busy and confusing, but they think 3000 out of 8000 kids will come back (whole district of course). That really isnt a lot. So you can see how many people lost their home. Whole apartment complexes close because they are unlivable. It is definately cleaning up in our neighbourhood, but elsewhere it is still looking like a bomb wend off. One of our Lebanese friends was saying he thinks it looks like home sometimes, if that tells you enough.
But so much help is coming in for the community, especially the schools. I have many collegues who are standing in line every night to get food from the Salvation Army. Some are not able to come back until they find a new place to live. I think there is only one person like me, where nothing happened.
There are stands everywhere with free things. Laundry, food, water & ice, phonecalls. Banks arent open so they have mobile homes to use and are on generators. Even some pizza places just made a temporary new shop in a caravan. Schools around the country are giving books and supplies. School across the state gave us schoolbusses to use. It really is heartwarming and i feel very lucky with the way things turned out for us.

I have more pics so when power gets back, i will post some more!
XOXO

No power

2008-10-03T11:36:00.003-06:00

as expected. I am at school right now so i can go online. I can go on Yahoo email but not facebook or myspace. Hopefully over the weekend we will get our power back. Thomas made a sign in the window. Hope this helps!

See you monday!

Work, Galveston and more..

2008-10-01T17:24:00.003-06:00

As you saw yesterday, we went to Galveston to see our house. We already knew it was okay but we wanted to clean and get some new things. As we approached Galv we started seeing the reall mess. Everywhere around here are trees fallen down, but this was the real mess. I mean boats on the highway, complete businesses dropped to the ground, telephone poles on abandoned cars.. awful. We drove via 61st to the seawall. There ofcourse we saw or i guess didnt see, hooters, souvenir shop and the balinese room. so strange they are gone. most of the seawall has power from generators and is trying to get back to normal. most bars are open with debris on the doorstep, special menus and big fans blowing around the place. We drove to downtown and saw all the mud, dust and debris. everything that was inside a store or house is now on the street in piles. it really looks bad. the workers have masks over their mouths. Everywhere are FEMA people and red cross. So much help, its very good. The shop downstairs got completely ruined. all their stuff is outside on the curb and it smells awful.
But it was good to be back, i almost cried when we set our first step in our house. i wanted to be back so bad! We started cleaning. It didnt take us long. We also decided that Katje was going to be back the next day and we would visit him as much as possible. He really is getting tired of all the new houses. Anyways, we met up with Betsy briefly and then left.
Back at the house we recieved a phonecall from the school discrict. We need to report fri!!! Yes, this Fri! At 9am, to see eachother again, share stories and hear the plan. Then we work monday and then Tue the kids get back... well whoever is left on the island. Sooooo, we are going back to our house on Thu. Today we brought Katje. He was so happy! We have no power and the water has to be boiled for all usage. Through the grapevine we heard that we should have power by the end of the week but i am not getting my hopes up. Today we drove around the island again and saw some more horrible places. A lot of houses burned down where Thomas' parents used to live. Very very sad to see. Our old apartment complex is looking bad too. We passed by the gym and they are open. Outside is a mess and tenniscourts and pool are out of order for a while but the inside is fine. We also saw some volunteers by one of the churches, we drove passed and they gave us a lot of water and 4 boxes of food. So sweet. We also applied for FEMA aid for our evacuation expenses. They told us they can help us, so that is good news too.
So, tomorrow we are back at Galv. My cell has bad reception, so probably wont be able to talk until power is restored. I am not sure about the computer situation at work.
I'll be back with more news soon im sure.

XOXO

Ike Photo's

2008-09-30T23:15:00.002-06:00

Its been a long day so i will tell you all the stories tomorrow. but here the....

PHOTO'S

Safe and Sound....again.

2008-09-29T21:59:00.003-06:00

Hello Everyone, Thomas here.
I've decided (given the circumstances lately) that I may have a little input on the goings on in Casa del Graves. Currently (as Marieke has informed you all), we are residing at the home of my cousins here in Sugarland. Last night we were so excited to see Katje, and anxious about the long drive. We only got around 3 hours of sleep in all. Marieke says that her lack of sleep was due to the noise that the fan was putting off in our room. Regardless, we were TIRED this morning. Katje arrived in the early morning, and we were off. About 8 hours later we were back where it started. Downtown Houston. Everything seems to be getting back to normal around town. Felled trees are being cleared, and power is being restored. My best friend Wait, who put us up during the hurricane, now has power. The tall building downtown that had all of its windows blown out, is slowly getting repaired. Most of the people that we know that live in Galveston, returned and tried to deal with the mess, but almost all have abandoned that plan and have left the island once again. Marieke and I set off for our first look at the island which I have so wittingly re-named "Galvanistan" ™®. So expect our little photograpaher Marieke "Ansel Adams" Balvers-Graves to post them in a timely fashion. From what we've heard so far, it's a disaster on top of a mess. As Marieke has said, our place is fine. We just want to see our place and clean a little. It probably wouldn't hurt to air it out either. We hope that all of you are doing fine, and we hope to get back home before we lose our minds. Not being able to live in your own space is surprisingly very frustrating. Check back sometime tomorrow or the day after for Galvanistan™® pictures!!!!!
Love,
Thomas

Bye Hot Springs!

2008-09-28T22:02:00.002-06:00

We are off to Sugarland tomorrow. To stay with family. We are excited to be able to visit our house, but also sad to leave Alan and Joe. They have just been the sweetest friends.
Saturday night we all got in the pool. I made chilli for the first time with Joe's help. Some friends came over and it was a lot of fun. Danny and Janine came too! Its been so good seeing them too. After MANY vodka/OJ's we went to bed.
This morning we all woke up with a hangover. Their friend Bethanie came over with the best remedie, Subway sandwiches! Thomas and i went to get some thank you cards and flowers for Joe and Alan. We also got a bottle of wine from the local winery for the couple that watched Katje. (i cant wait to see him!!!) At night we went to have dinner at Bethanie's. She made a seafood dish that i tried. As you know i dont really like seafood, but i was glad i tried. It was sweet of her to invite us over. Now we are back at the house and im waiting for the last load of laundry. Then i got to hit the sack because we have to get up at 6am!

Not sure how much i will be able to email from the next home but i'll be sure to keep you updated if i can! Especially with some pics from Galveston. Not media-hype ones, real ones.

More from Texas later!

One step closer.

2008-09-26T17:09:00.004-06:00

We are still in Hot Springs. I don’t think we have ever been more relaxed! We sleep a lot, watch movies, walk around downtown, clean up/laundry and cook. We helped out a friend of Joe who is about to move out of her house and we got to meet up with Danny and Janine. (the owners of the B&B where we got married) The other day we hiked up the mountain. It was nice being in nature and with great views!

Yesterday we got paid so we got in the car and drove off to Little Rock, the state capitol of Arkansas. We first walked down to the Arkansas River, had lunch at a English Pub. Then walked on the River market. President Bill Clinton is from Arkansas and spent a lot of his lifetime in Little Rock, he was the governor as you know. (He was born in Hope and boyhood years were in Hot Springs) so there is a whole area devoted to him. Including the Presidential Library. It has a mock oval office, gifts from other leaders, Hillary’s dresses, daily schedules and so much more. For $7 it was well worth it! Afterwards we drove to the Art Center and looked at some great pieces. Then … shopping! We were desperate for some new clothes. After buying half of Old Navy we drove back to Hot Springs.
We decided to take Alan and Joe out for dinner. We had a lovely night at Don Juan Mexican Restaurant. After we met up with Chris and Tommy, 2 friends we made last time we were here at the Ohio Club. We met their cuuuuute dog Baxter and had some drinks. A great day.

Today we decided to leave next Monday. We will be staying with family of Thomas in Sugarland, close to Houston. At least a step closer! We will be able to reunite with Katje again and sort some things out. Most importantly we will be able to visit home; work on it and leave again to healthy water and AC in Sugarland.

We are sad to leave Alan and Joe’s, we have been so lucky with them and they really made us feel at home. But we have been away from home for 2 weeks now and we feel we need to do something. We cannot thank them enough for everything they have done for us. We hope some day we can return their sweet gestures!

Today we saw our house on a video online. It was a quick moment but so sad. I posted it HERE. Have a look, the first 20 mins are in downtown, right where we live! The first place he visits is Fisherman's Wharf… yes my old job. Its awful and very sad.

Now go watch the debate! Go Obama! :)

PHOTO'S HERE

The luckiest evacuees..

2008-09-20T19:43:00.005-06:00

Exactly one week after Ike, we are still in Hot Springs. Enjoying our free time and friends. We are anxious to go home and get about our normal lives. Not to mention i miss Katje a lot. But right now we are in the best place anyone could be. Alan and Joe are taking such good care of us. I stopped thanking them, because it was probably getting annoying... :)
So far we have been relaxing. Hot Springs is a cutesy little town in a National Park. Lots of hiking trails and near a lake. So enough to do! Thomas has been drawing a lot in the park, while i check out the shops and take photo's around town. Today we went to a car show, all these old vintage cars. I took lots of photo's but i'll put those up later. The pics i attached are from around the house and town.
So, we dont know much. I check the school website everyday. There is a place where staff can type a little something to tell that they are okay. Some lost part of their house or their cars. Very sad to hear their stories. But they are all with their family and as far as Vegas!
All they told us was that 3 days after Galveston gets power back, we will start again. The question is; when will Galveston get power back. Our friend Wait in Houston still doesnt have power.Isnt that awful! So we just wait and see. Our neighbours decided to go back home. They are going to go in our house and air it out and clean our fridge. So sweet of them.
Anyways, we are in a good place and trying to relax.

Now check out the pics...

PICS

And read a bit about Hot Springs.. Its interesting! from gangsters to mineral water..

Hot Springs

Hot Springs!

2008-09-18T09:39:00.003-06:00

YES! We are here! After a few more days of yes/no yes/no, we decided to go! Plus Joe and Alan pretty much insisted... And who can refuse a trip up there! We still had no power in Waits house. We drove our 7 hours up there, with Katje of course (who slept most of the way), and arrived around 8pm. We were welcomed with a warm hug and chilli. Katje is being taken care of at a friends house in Hot Springs Village. We talked for a long time and sipped off of our vodka/OJ drinks. We are in luxury. They have a pool and a beautiful big house full of antiques, 2 sweet dogs and just a walk away from the little center. Danny and Janine are the owners of the B&B where we got married and they will be back sunday from their alaskan cruise. We cant wait to surprise them! Joe and Alan have been the greatest friends. A link to Alan's blog is in my sidebar.

Our house is okay. That was a big relieve. Our neighbours went there a few days ago. They arent staying there but they got to 'look and leave'. Hardly any flooding on the groundfloor and we are on the 1st! The windows are fine and it just smells muggy.
I called my boss yesterday and we will get paid. Another relief. She also will be calling me back today with more information regarding work.
I dont see how we can start wor anytime soon without power and water. We dont want to go back until we have it in our house.
Anyways, we are fine. Only just now got internet. Ike went through Hot Springs too and knocjed over a telephone line down the road. I'll be posting pics later today or tomorrow.

Thanks everbody for their sweet emails and posts on facebook!

XOXO

Hot Springs, AR?

2008-09-14T16:55:00.002-06:00

Well it looks like we'll be taking on the offer of our good friend Alan and Joe to stay with them in Hot Springs. This is where we got married and where we met them. Katje will be staying with our other sweeeet friends Chris and Emily. They have a sweet old dog and cat but im sure Katje will be fine. He has all his toys, his toilet and bed and he gets used to things so fast.
It will be nice to get out of state and be in lovely cute Hot Springs again. We dont have to work anyways.
Well this is the plan for now...

XOXO

Electricity for a few hours

2008-09-14T13:21:00.002-06:00

We are at a friends place right now that has power. We just had a shower and feel so much better. We are re-charging our phones and our bodies.
Like i said, we evacuated to Houston at 4am. We got there in no time, there was hardly anyone on the road. The friend we are staying with is Thomas' best friend Wait. He has a small place but we are safe there. We slept some more while the cat sniffed around. In the eve we bought some more drinks and alcohol. Pretty much watched the news all night.
When the storm hit us it was pretty scary and bad. The telly kept turning off and at some point we lost power. Thats when i got scared. And things got worse. From the window i could see power cuts and just junk flying around. Katje was brave. Thomas and Wait slept through most of it. I didnt get much sleep. It was all very intriguing.

So since then we pretty much just sat around and drove around to see all the messed up stuff. Until this morning we hadnt seen any footage. Just friends telling us. From what we hear its bad in Galveston. All the businesses on piers are gone. Parts of the island are gone and my work has 2 feet of water. Our street we dont know much about. People say different things; between 3 and 6 feet of water. We have no word of when we will get power or when we can go back to the island. We think we wont be back at work for 2 weeks.

So no email or anything but our phone work! I'll put some pics up of Houstons damage. Other than that im sure everyone has seen enough.
PICS

Some more pics

2008-09-12T15:10:00.002-06:00

Neighbour helping us cut the boards See you in a few days! Stay dry! Our alley at 5am this morning

We are safe

2008-09-12T10:50:00.002-06:00

Hi y'all!

Thomas and i left 4am this morning after our street started flooding. We are now staying at a friends house in Houston.
Last night we hung out with the neighbours, putting wooden boards up and we walked down to the harbor. Thats when we saw the water was getting too high for comfort.

Anyways, we are safe.

More later

XOXO

Before Ike

2008-09-11T18:19:00.004-06:00

The local news paper

Our street deserted

News Crews

A reporter at the end of the jetty

We are staying

2008-09-11T14:44:00.006-06:00

Eventhough it is mandatory. The reason is that the traffic is already blocked at NASA Rd 1, which is 20 mins off the island. We might still leave in the middle of the night, but i think not.
Please do not worry. We are safe in our building. Like i said before this building has survived many storms. We are between tall buildings. Nothing will happen to us. We are afraid for our car, but we are going to park it a few mins down the road. We are boarding up our windows and we have enough canned food, water and beer to last us 4 days. The neighbours are staying too and we live next to a hotel that offered help if we needed it. We have people around us. The mayor was talking on TV but she sounded like she was mainly talking to people in wooden houses or mobile homes who are not behind the seawall. There a quite a few people staying. You can call me, i doubt i will be getting much sleep.

Trust me, as soon as we feel we will be in danger, we will leave.

What to expect here from Hurricane Ike
02:20 PM CDT on Thursday, September 11, 2008
KHOU.com staff report

HOUSTON—As of Thursday afternoon, Ike’s track indicated the storm would make landfall in Brazoria County as a Category 3 hurricane.

A Hurricane Warning was issued for Liberty, Chambers, Galveston, Brazoria, Harris, Matagorda and Jackson Counties Thursday morning. Paul said Ike’s storm center was only about 10 miles wide, which means the wind circulation is very tight.
If it stays that way, the worst weather from the storm would be along the narrow path of the hurricane’s center and in areas just to the right of that path.
Even though Ike was drawing ever closer to the coast, the cone of uncertainty still extended from Cameron, Louisiana, to near Corpus Christi.
The good news is, Ike isn’t expected to linger over the Greater Houston area and become a major flooding threat.
Only areas affected by the storm surge were forecast to be at risk for flooding.

GALVESTON ISLAND

Along the coast of Galveston Island, winds over 120 mph were expected. The storm surge there could be anywhere from 12 to 18 feet. “What that means is, Galveston Island is inundated with water,” Paul said. He said mobile homes there will also be destroyed, and trees and power lines will be downed

On the map we are just below Houston on the coast. It will hit right beside us, about 50 km awayon our left. If we definately stay i'll be sure to take photo's and video! :)

Be safe!

Update

2008-09-10T20:55:00.002-06:00

We are now also off tomorrow. So thu and fri. There is no mandatory evacuation (yet). So we are going to stay put. Our house is over 100 yrs old and on the 2nd floor. We will park the car in a parking garage closeby. We went to the store to buy some canned food and water. If it will become mandatory we will go but we dont want to go through that trouble right now. More soon.

Galveston Daily News

It is not looking good.

2008-09-10T14:28:00.003-06:00

Another hurricane. This one is getting too close for comfort. I got an automated call from the superintendent of the school district that we will be released tomorrow at noon and then we are off on friday. i am sure we will have to take care of some things at work tomorrow to try to keep all the childrens files safe, electrical equipment etc. Me and Thomas will later on discuss if we will evacuate. The main thing is to see what the mayor says. If its mandatory we will have to. But nobody worry please. We will be safe. I will tell you more as soon as i know more.

From the newspaper:

Residents of low-lying areas asked to leave

By Leigh Jones
The Daily News
Published September 10, 2008

Officials are calling for a voluntary evacuation of flood-prone areas all over Galveston County ahead of Hurricane Ike.

Residents of the Galveston’s West End, Jamaica Beach, the Bolivar Peninsula, Tiki Island, Kemah, Bayou Vista, Clear Lake Shores and low-lying areas in and near Bacliff are asked to secure their property and consider waiting elsewhere for Ike to pass.

State officials will close the Bolivar ferry at 11 p.m. Thursday.

The storm, which was of Category 2 strength about 2 p.m., is expected to make landfall early Saturday morning near Matagorda Bay — about 100 miles from Galveston.

But with a wind spread of 300 miles, island residents are sure to feel the effects, Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said.

High winds and tide

Officials late Tuesday said they did not expect to call for any kind of evacuation. But after listening to late night reports of rainfall and tide levels, repeated again Wednesday morning, the city’s leaders decided to call the voluntary evacuation, said Galveston City Manager Steve LeBlanc.

By noon Friday, Galveston likely will be buffeted by tropical storm-force winds, about 40 mph, LeBlanc said.

The wind will strengthen through the afternoon to as high as 60 mph, he said.

On Saturday morning, as Ike makes landfall, wind speeds on the island could top 74 mph, hurricane strength, LeBlanc said.

At the same time, the storm surge on the West End could be dramatic, inundating the low-lying area with flooding, he said.

Impassable roads

Forecasters expect tide levels to be between 4 feet and 8 feet, which will make some roads on the West End impassable.

Roads in Jamaica Beach start going underwater with tides of just over 3 feet, Mayor Vic Pierson said.

Officials did not expect heavy property on the West End damage but residents who stay could be trapped in their houses for a while if the roads flooded, LeBlanc said.

High winds could cause power outages, and the city might have to shut down a portion of the water system if it gets damaged, he said.

LeBlanc asked West End residents to voluntarily shut off their own water supply at the meter, to help prevent the system from filling up with floodwater if the pipes were damaged.

Before shutting off the water, residents who intended to ride out Ike should fill containers with as much water as they thought they would need during and after the storm, he said.

Residents who have medical conditions or other circumstances that would make isolation dangerous should strongly consider leaving, he said.

Storm conditions are expected to last for at least 10 hours.

Emergency declaration

Galveston city council voted unanimously to declare an official state of emergency at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, giving Thomas the authority to act on their behalf if need be.

The declaration does not mean that officials expect an actual disaster, Thomas said. But it gives the city the right to ask the federal government for reimbursement for any repairs necessary after the storm.

High tides likely will cause some erosion on West End beaches, Thomas said.

Officials from Jamaica Beach and Galveston County also declared official states of emergency on Wednesday.

Meetings canceled

Officials have no plans to close city hall ahead of Hurricane Ike, but the Wright-Cuney recreation center will close on Friday.

Thursday’s city council workshop meeting, scheduled to begin at noon, is canceled. The council will hold its regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. to vote on several items that cannot be delayed.

The city does not have any plans to stop operating Island Transit buses, although the routes could be affected by street flooding, LeBlanc said.

Areas behind the seawall that usually experience street flooding — Heards Lane, Hollywood Heights, Harborside Drive and some parts of downtown — likely will see some short-term flooding as the storm passes by, LeBlanc said.

Other closures

State officials will close the Bolivar ferry at 11 p.m. Thursday.

School districts in Galveston County plan to announce later today whether they will close school early.

I bought a winterhat in TX!

2008-09-07T20:16:00.006-06:00

As always our weekend started fri afternoon. Betsy came over at night for a bit. Then we got a late night call from Bill, so we all headed over to Molly's pub a few mins walk from here. It ended up being a late night so we woke up at noon. We looked out the window and we saw our friend Kristen walk to Speculoos, A european breakfast place right across the road from our house, we yelled hi and she invited us! So we had a great breakfast and caught up with her. She is a shark fan and got the news that at a certain bay on the island, sharks come out at night! So soon we will go out and see them. Cant wait. We hung around the house and then Wait came over. I wanted to go to the army store around the corner. Co. Bubbie's. Its a very cool place filled with WW2 artifact and lots more! I bought a swedish army hat and Thomas a T-shirt. After we walked to the harbor and where all the shrimp boats park. We saw also some sharks that these guys were cutting up. Yuk. See pics! We had lunch at Sonny's, a hole-in-the-wall restaurants with great sandwiches and burgers. When we got back home we bought the ingredients for pina colada's and had a few while watching the Sarah Silverman Program (VERY funny). We heard loud talking and singing outside which seemed like a concert. So we walked down a block to the square and we saw there were showing 'Casablanca' on a big screen! Everyone brought drinks and a chair and was sitting on the square. Very cute! Wait left and we were off to bed. This morning we slept in and drove to Old Town Spring just above Houston. This is where the Dutch Shop is! We stocked up on licorice and coffee and were back on our way to Galveston. A great weekend, definately check out the photo's!

It looks like Claudia might visit us at the end of the month! We really hope so. She needs to take care of some stuff at work, but she should be able to get the time off. We are also planning a Halloween party. I hope we will be able to do it as it will be my first real one! We have the perfect house for it with the long high ceiling hallway.
Also Thanksgiving is coming up! We will go spend it in Sugarland with Thomas' family. We will be off the whole week! So... we are planning a new trip! First we will drive up to Dallas, stay with Kelley and Daniel, then we drive through Oklahoma to Kansas to visit Thomas' Friend Justin in Wichita! So exciting! I love our little trips! On our way back we are going to try to stay in Tulsa, OK.

So again lots to look forward to. For now its Sunday and tomorrow i have to work...

PHOTOS

XOXO

The night of Gustav..

2008-09-02T16:50:00.001-06:00

Speaking of hurricanes...

2008-09-01T10:28:00.012-06:00

The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 made landfall on the city of Galveston, Texas on September 8, 1900. It had estimated winds of 135 mph (215 km/h) at landfall, making it a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
The hurricane caused great loss of life with the estimated death toll between 6,000 and 12,000 individuals the number most cited in official reports is 8,000, giving the storm the third-highest number of casualties of any Atlantic hurricane, after the Great Hurricane of 1780 and 1998’s Hurricane Mitch. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is to date the deadliest natural disaster ever to strike the United States. By contrast, the second-deadliest storm to strike the United States, the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane, caused approximately 2,500 deaths, and the deadliest storm of recent times, Hurricane Katrina, claimed the lives of approximately 1,800 people.
The hurricane occurred before the practice of assigning official code names to tropical storms was instituted, and thus it is commonly referred to under a variety of descriptive names. Typical names for the storm include the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the Great Galveston Hurricane, and, especially in older documents, the Galveston Flood. It is often referred to by Galveston locals as The Great Storm or The 1900 Storm. There is existing film of the damage caused by the storm, which is considered the oldest motion picture film of a real-life occurrence surviving today, and was filmed by Thomas Edison's employees.
The highest measured wind speed was 100 mph (160 km/h) just after 6 p.m., but the Weather Bureau’s anemometer was blown off the building shortly after that measurement was recorded. The eye passed over the city around 8 p.m. Maximum winds were estimated at 120 mph (190 km/h) at the time, but later estimates placed the hurricane at the higher Category 4 classification on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.At the time of the 1900 storm, the highest point in the city of Galveston was only 8.7 ft (2.7 m) above sea level. The hurricane had brought with it a storm surge of over 15 ft (4.6 m), which washed over the entire island. The surge knocked buildings off their foundations, and the surf pounded them to pieces. Over 3,600 homes were destroyed, and a wall of debris faced the ocean. The few buildings which survived, mostly solidly-built mansions and houses along the Strand District, are today maintained as tourist attractions.

As terrible as the damage to the city’s buildings was, the human cost was even greater. Due to the destruction of the bridges to the mainland and the telegraph lines, no word of the city’s destruction was able to reach the mainland. The citizens of Houston knew a powerful storm had blown through and had made ready to provide assistance. Workers set out by rail and ship for the island almost immediately. Rescuers arrived to find the city completely destroyed. Eight thousand people — 20% of the island’s population — had lost their lives. Most had drowned or been crushed as the waves pounded the debris that had been their homes hours earlier. Many survived the storm itself, but died after several days trapped under the wreckage of the city, with rescuers unable to reach them. The rescuers could hear the screams of the survivors as they walked on the debris trying to rescue those they could. They realized that there was no hope.
The bodies were so numerous that burial was not a viable option. Initially, the dead were taken out to sea and dumped; however, the currents of the gulf washed the bodies back onto the beach, so a new solution was needed Funeral pyres were set up wherever the dead were found. In the aftermath of the storm, pyres burned for weeks. Authorities had to pass out free whiskey to the work crews that were having to throw the bodies of their wives and children on the burn piles.
More people were killed in this single storm than have been killed in the over three hundred hurricanes that have struck the United States since, combined, as of 2006. Thus, the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 remains the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

Our building survived this storm...

More HERE

Off the hook...

2008-09-01T08:44:00.006-06:00

.. by a hair! We are very lucky. (Galveston is about 1cm from the storm) We are just going to have some very bad weather. But we need some water here! Of course New Orleans isnt so lucky, altought it has gone down to a category 2. Now theres another hurricane forming heading our way, but im going to take a break from worrying!

Yesterday we went for a walk to the beach and once there, we went barhopping. A lot of fun. When we got back home we had dinner and after out for some more drinks. Even ran into a friend and some London tourists! The link is for photo's from the walk. Oh and we bathed katje! :) And all made with the new camera!

Today is Labor day so we are off! Its great working for the school district! Well off to start our day!

PHOTOS

XOXO

... Still awaiting instructions

2008-08-30T17:56:00.003-06:00

Gustav is getting stronger. Almost category 5. We are still not sure if we have to go. I really really hope we don't. Our house will be fine, but to be without electricity and for days is not pleasant or recommended. We keep checking the weather channel and the school districts channel (to see if we are off Tue). We are off Monday for Labor Day, lovely. But it seems to be filled with rain. So movie and board game time! :)

Other than that we are excited about the weather getting cooler soon. But only 3 and a half more months until our trip to Holland! Winter!

Thomas has started school aswell ofcourse. He is doing good and is happy so far. A lot of kids in his class but that will be sorted out. At my school, all is good too. The kids are cuties although there are some baaaaaaad ones! :) My job is still hard but slowly its getting better. Everyone is really sweet and welcoming!

Below a link to some pics.

Some August Images

Not Again!!!

2008-08-29T12:55:00.002-06:00

But apparently so. Sigh... If this one come close to a 2 or 3 category, we have to evacuate. That means sitting in traffic forever with Katje... We will most likely be staying with Wait, a friend of Thomas in Houston.
At work we are preparing. Taking PC's away from windows, covering them with plastic. The school therapists (like Thomas' Mom) are boxing up files that can't be lost, they will be brought to storage on the mainland. Bladibla. We'll see what happens.

More later XOXO

THE New Camera!

2008-08-24T21:10:00.003-06:00

Ready for LOTS of picture-taking!!!

I was a Birthday Gal!

2008-08-24T13:45:00.007-06:00

Thomas surprised me with cake and balloons and gossip magazines! We hung around the house all day untill Clint arrived (college friend from Thomas), we got ready for the night and drove to Houston. Everybody was already at the Cadillac Bar. Kelly, Frank, Chris, Emily, Aaron, Andrew, Wait, Betsy and Gabe. A good crowd! We had a lovely dinner, I got some nice presents (inlcuding a Urban Outfitters girftcard!!) and cards! After we wend on to the Ginger Man Pub in Rice Village. It was a great time!
Today we are going to get my birthday present, a camera! I'll be sure to let you know which one!

Of course .... PHOTO'S

XOXO

Katje playing

2008-08-16T17:09:00.000-06:00

Happy Bithday to Princess Kairi!!

2008-08-07T13:52:00.003-06:00

Not posted on the bday, but never less meaningfull. My sweet niece became ONE year old last Monday!

Biiiiiiiiiiiiig Texas kiss!

NOLA: The Story

2008-08-05T07:59:00.010-06:00

So after work Thomas picked me up and we drove straight to Houston to go and pick up Chris and Emily. After putting their bags in the car we were on the way! Just outside of Houston a quick bite to eat at Wafflehouse and one more stop for gas before we got to NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) at 1am! The hotel was Baronne Plaza. And it was one block from Canal Street. The room was pretty small for 4 people but we only need it to sleep... We were in New Orleans!! We showered and went to bed, it was late and had worked all day.

The next morning we woke up at 10ish and all had showers and were ready to start the first day! We had breakfast/lunch and started walking around the French Quarter. It was so beautiful and European-looking. I loved it! Of course NOLA is all about drinking and their most famous drinks are Hurricanes and Hand Grenades. And both VERY strong but oh so good! So we found the Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop on Bourbon Street. The oldest bar in the USA since 1772! It was dark and old and with a big old piano. Perfect. It started raining at the same time, really bad. So we sat down and had 2 hurricanes. You get all your drinks in pubs in a plastic cup so you can walk around with it. Classy. Hurricanes done, rain done and we were back on the road. A little more lightheaded. All day we walked, looked at old buildings and popped into a pub once in a while. Then we thought it was time to try out the hand grenade.. its evil.. We drank it on the way to the hotel, where we did a change of clothes to start the night. We first went to a strip club. Yes we did. :) There are many many strip clubs. A lot of them Larry Flynt's Hustler Club. But we chose the least classy one for some reason. It was funny and we stayed for one beer. After we walked around some more and found another bar where they were playing piano. We got pretty tired and went back to the hotel. We got back at 10pm! We couldnt believe how early it still was! But then again, we had started drinking at noon...

The next morning we woke up hungover and thirsty but ready for some more NOLA! We had lunch, had a look at the river, walked around the French Market (bought some voodoo dolls and a mask) and had some famous Louisiana beignets at Cafe de Monde! After we visited the Louisiana State museum, which had a Napoleon exhibition with some really cool personal items from him. Outside the museum was the Satchmo Summerfest. Some great music! Below is a video.

We didnt drink that day, we just enjoyed NOLA and even did some shopping at Urban Outfitters! (yay!) We went to the hotel to change for the eve. We had booked a ghost tour for 8. We had dinner and met up with the rest of the tour. It was 2 hours and we walked all around the French Quarter in the dark with a man telling us about age old murders and their ghosts. It was great. We then went to a bar for one last drink. I really didnt want to leave, i love it!

But as always it has to end. We left the next morning around 11am. Stopped in Baton Rouge for lunch and then straight to Houston to drop Chris and Emily off. We got home to a sweet cat and 3 netflix movies... mmm! 2 posts below are the pics of NOLA in case you missed them...

Edouard

2008-08-04T12:18:00.005-06:00

It shouldnt become a hurricane, but just in case all of the employees here at the school district are off from 3pm and tomorrow. Ofcourse i love that but i hope not much damage will happen.

But dont worry mama, we'll stay inside!

GALVESTON, TEXAS - Tropical Storm Edouard took aim at Texas' Gulf coast at the height of tourist season Monday, threatening to pick up strength from warm Gulf waters and gain near-hurricane speeds before a projected landfall a day later.

Neighboring southwest Louisiana also braced for the storm, with one parish evacuating homes nearest the Gulf.

Emergency teams were activated as Gulf residents prepared for their second strong storm in two weeks, although Edouard is forecast to hit a different stretch of the Texas coast or Louisiana than Hurricane Dolly did last month.

Edouard is not forecast to bring the 100-mph winds to Galveston that punished South Padre Island on July 23, but the timing could not be worse: the Texas coast banks on tourism at this time of year, with much of the state baking in 100-degree weather.

Edouard was expected to make landfall somewhere in Texas or southwest Louisiana on Tuesday morning. It was moving west near 8 mph, and forecasters said the warm waters of the Gulf provided the right conditions for the storm to intensify and approach hurricane strength with winds of 75 mph or more.

At 11 a.m. EDT, Edouard had maximum sustained winds near 45 mph, with higher gusts. The storm's center was located about 160 miles south-southeast of Lafayette, La., and 265 miles east-southeast of Galveston, Texas.

New Orleans!

2008-08-03T19:22:00.005-06:00

Too tired to write the whole story tonight, so i will do that tomorrow but here are the PHOTOS of our trip to New Orleans! We had such a great time, so lots to tell! More manana!!

Toobin'

2008-07-27T18:40:00.005-06:00

On friday we left around noon and drove straight to New Braunfels. We checked in, showered and got ready for dinner at Sarah & Lee's. Their house is amazing. Huge and with a beautiful garden AND on the river. It was so nice to see everyone again and meet some new family members from New Jersey. His family is always so sweet to me and make me feel so welcome. We ate, drank, swam, played ping pong and talked. Great night! Back at the cabin, Thomas and Gabe went for a night swim in the river, but i didnt dare so went to bed.
In the morning we had a delicious breakfast at Jim's cabin, then got our toobs and started floating the river! So much fun! We also floated the Guadalupe River, which was really cold! Back to the resort and got ready for dinner again at the house. This time it was taco's! But other than that pretty much the same deal as the night before.. Lots of drinking and talking! Since Thomas' family keeps in touch with great aunts and 6th cousins :) i started making the family tree to see how everyone is related. It turned out to be a big job and it was fun. And i finally got it! We left around 11 and drove back to the resort for a swim in the pool with Susie. We talked for a while but all this waterfun makes you tired so we were off to bed at midnight.
This morning we woke up at 9 and packed. Walked over to the New Jerseys and spend some time with them. Then on to Sarah and Lee's where everyone was going to say goodbye. It was such a great weekend. I think the photo's will show it the best! :)

PHOTO'S

When we got home we booked our hotel for the trip to New Orleans! And we are going with our friends Chris and Emily! Emily is from Louisiana so we will get a good tour!

xoxo

Aftermath

2008-07-24T13:20:00.003-06:00

Dolly has moved on from the coast and is now a tropical storm. A lot of damage has been done, but fortunately no deaths. I hope they will all have their homes back soon. We didnt really have anything. We had some heavy rain today, but now the sun is back.
Tomorrow is our trip to New Braunfels. It cant be 5.30 soon enough! Work is good but there isnt much to right now. Plus there is no one here to talk to! :)

Till next time!

Yikes.

2008-07-23T07:40:00.001-06:00

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Hurricane Dolly strengthened early Wednesday as its leading edge lashed the Gulf Coast near the Texas-Mexico border with heavy rain and powerful winds.

The center of the Category 1 hurricane was expected to make landfall later Wednesday and dump up to 15 inches of rain, threatening flooding that could breach levees in the heavily populated Rio Grande valley.

Dolly, upgraded from a tropical storm Tuesday, had sustained winds of 95 mph, just short of becoming a Category 2 storm. At 9 a.m. EDT Wednesday, the storm's center was about 40 miles east of Brownsville, moving northwest at about 8 mph.

A hurricane warning was in effect for the coast of Texas from Brownsville to Corpus Christi and in Mexico from Rio San Fernando northward.

Una Fin de Semana Muy Loco! (pero muy bueno!)

2008-07-22T08:21:00.007-06:00

The weekend was pretty tiring and started Friday lunch time. We had 2 of Deborah's friends over to go for lunch. They brought us trashy magazines and champagne! Yes! We wend to Yaga's and had some lovely sandwiches and talked.

As soon as they left Kelly & Daniel (college friends) arrived from Dallas. They are artists who have their own studio for ceramics. We already have some of their work. (They made a vase for our wedding) Now they also started working with glass, they gave us a cheeseboard made out of a champagne bottle. Absolutely amazing! Plus they gave us a gorgeous bowl and Kelley spoiled me again with some of her necklesses. I will post some pics and her website later. That was a good start of the weekend!

We first went out to the Strand for a walk along the shops. It was very hot so we decided to go back in and get ready for dinner. Ofcourse (!) we went to Salsa's on the Seawall! :) We got there at 6ish so for the next hour it was $2.50 margarita's! They went down well.

Afterwards we had a walk on the beach. It was a nice eve, but not for long. At some point, we are already close to the car, we hear a car drive into another car. Not that hard but it made us turn around. We see a white pick-up scooting across the seawall coming from a sidestreet, over to the otherside, onto the sidewalk! He got to a hold for a few secs, realised what he had done and then scooted from the sidewalk onto the road between 2 parked cars and hit 3 motorcyclists! Two of them got up, but the last one didnt. It was awful. The prick also fled the scene. We all started running after him to get the license plate, but he was too fast. Anyway, we stuck around for a while to get some news on the last motorcyclist, apperantly his leg is pretty messed up. (the next day we heard the guy got caught) That kind of put a downer on the eve. Kelley & Daniel are motorcyclists so that was pretty close to home. We got home and watched some TV and had some last drinks, we were all pretty knackered and so we went to bed.

The next morning we got up around 11 and Thomas made lunch, it was very nice! We set up the icechest with beer and goodies and got ready for the beach. We went to Stewart beach as we got a call from Wahib (Thomas old college roommate) that him and his family and friends were coming down from Houston too!
Stewart beach isnt a drinking beach. So within 5 mins we were told to bring the icechest back to the car. Great. It was pretty far to the car, but sweet Thomas did it. Anyway, we hung out on the beach for a while with everyone.
Off home and dinner. We were going to have a little party. Then we get a phonecall from Joe and Erin, more college friends from Thomas who had no idea K & D were in town! Hayes and Kristen came over, Wait and Lisa. It was a lot of fun and lasted until 5am.

Sunday was tough, but we made through. K & D left around noon and Thomas and i drove up to Houston for dinner with the Hariri's (Wahib & Farouk +1's). We hung out, ordered pizza, wend to a coffeeshop and left around 7pm. It really was a good weekend. Im still not top fit, but it was all worth it!

So now back to work. Its been really good. This week is a little boring but i find some things to do. In a bit Thomas' parents are picking me up for lunch! This weekend is the trip to New Braunfels. Im so excited! Not many people are coming but we dont care. We want to tube down the river and drink beer in the sun!

Then the week after we are off to New Orleans on the Thu! My first time, im again VERY excited. Everyone tells me how crazy and fun it is! We stay 3 nights and we have our eye on a hotel in the French Quarter. We just need to wait till payday! Which is friday, i'll be getting my first one from the school district!

Also, the first hurricane is about to hit Texas. We are lucky as its more towards Mexico. And it shouldnt get that bad although lots of people are packing up. We have the dark clouds from the outside of Hurricane Dolly.

Thomas starts school 18th, the weekend before he has a wedding in Commerce, his college town. I unfortunately cannot go, i have to work. So if you have nothing to do, call me! :)

Last but not least, im turning this blog also into a scrapbook. I have printed all my posts and pictures and now im going to stick it all in a notebook. Plus of course all the comments that have been left. Once i have cuaght up to date i can just print it every month or so and keep it up.

Well, thats all i have! Plus PHOTO'S as always!

xoxo

Pics 'n news

2008-07-16T22:35:00.007-06:00

Quick message as im falling asleep as i type. All is going well at school. Its really such a good change and im happy i have been given this opportunity. If you look HERE you will find the district i work for. Then HERE some pics. They were taken with my phone so not very good quality.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAND... we are going to New Orleans! Thomas surprised me today! One last weekend away before the school year starts. Im VERY excited!
Before that though we have friends from Dallas coming to stay and our good friend Hayes is coming back to Galveston before jetting off to Korea. Next weekend is the family reunion in New Braunfels. So lots to look forward to!
allright nighty night!!

And a week later...

2008-07-15T17:51:00.003-06:00

Greencard in hand, no more USCIS for 2 years!!!

Katje the dog

2008-07-11T17:27:00.000-06:00

Katje fetching his stick toy.

Today was THE day!

2008-07-08T15:49:00.003-06:00

I got approved for my greencard! What a surprise on such a random day! Im so so happy. I can leave the country. Now, dont think we are done with immigration. This one is for 2 years. Then we apply for my 10 year one. For now though, YAY!

Mañana yo trabajo!

2008-07-06T18:20:00.004-06:00

4th July was great. We had a good time! Of course photo's!
4th July Photo's

Tomorrow i start work, im so excited. Nobody is really there over the summer so i'll be by myself, getting used to my new environment. I get to play music and work on some things they need me to do.

I will keep you updated as always!

Happy Independence Day!!

2008-07-04T13:36:00.000-06:00

Big Bend NP & Garner SP Week!

2008-07-02T20:43:00.004-06:00

Well we are back from our camping trip! We covered over 1000 miles and came across many cowboys and species! You will find a link to the pictures... HERE!!

And so here our story:

On Thu we woke up at 5am and got ready for the loooooooooooong 12hour drive to Big Bend! And later Garner State PArk! At 6am we finally left and headed towards Houston. Our first short stop was in Luling, we had to mail some stuff at the postoffice and stretch our legs. Via San Antonio to Kerville, here it was already getting more hilly and deserty, we stopped for some mc donalds before heading more west. In Sonora we stopped to get some groceries and beerrr. It was getting pretty country by then and there was only a town every other 30miles. Yikes! Then a short stop in Fort Stockton for some last gear to survive the desert. Then the last 60 miles to Big Bend! But thats when the rain started. Bad. Like really bad. It was pretty scary going through the deep puddles and with limited vision, but Thomas and the Scion pulled through! And around 7pm we arrived at the welcome sign. Well that means nothing, then it was 20 miles to the visitors centre, which appeared to be closed, so then on to the campsite, which was another 20 miles! Yes, Big Bend is huge! It is three times the size of the province of Utrecht! But it was still light so we got to see a lot while driving. It is so beautiful, endless mountains, cactusses and many many different animals. We got to the campsite and... there was noone there! No other campers, no cell phone reception, none. This creeped me out. But no choice, so we picked a spot and set up camp. It was a short evening as we were knackered! I had a lot of trouble sleeping being so scared. There were so many noises and being the only one in a huge amount of space, got to me a bit. But eventually fell asleep. Early wake and ready to see some pretty things.
We wend on a hike to see the Rio Grande, the border between Texas and Mexico. It was gorgeous and great to see my new surroundings. There were walking sticks put there by the inhabitants of Boquillas del Carmen, a tiny village across the border, secluded from anyone. Since the borders are closed they have hardly any income so they live of donations from tourists. They sneak across the border to put their arts& crafts on hiking trails. Very sad to see.
After we drove to Boquillas Canyon. A pretty hike down to the river and surrounded by mountains. As we were walking down we heard "AYayayay...." This voice came from across the river by Viktor, 'the singing mexican'. He is a local from the town of Boquillas. This is his way of making money, donations for his singing. Her a VIDEO and an ARTICLE about his life. Very interesting, i do suggest to read it. So we gave him some money. One of his friends swam across and met us on the other side, then quickly swam back!
The next hike is in Chisos Basin. Absolutely beautiful area. It has another campsite, shop and restaurant. We sat down for some sandwiches and chose our hike. We decided on the hike down to 'the window' a beautiful view over Big Bend. Well on the way down there it was prett tough, but we stayed pretty positive as we knew the view would be awesome. After walking paths, jumping stones and waving away insects, we got there.. It was well worth the sweat and muscle pain. We rested for a while and realised we had to walk the same way back.. crap. Oh well, we made it down so it should be so hard. We were wrong, it had gotten much more hot and we were out of water. The hike back was at least an hour. And uphill. I have never been more thirsty in my life. We both got chapped lips and a big big sunburn. It was awful. But we made it back and drank A LOT of water. We were done for the day. We drove back, had a shower and started the grill. In the evening we got one neighbour. It made me feel a lot better though, having some people around us. After some beers, off to bed.
Up at 9, had breakfast and quickly on our way to visit some 'nearby' towns. It took, 30 min to get out of the park. The first town is Study Butte, maybe 150 inhabitants. We kept driving, it was amazing to see these little towns. You dont understand WHY people live here. The area is so rough. Next town was Terlingua. Its a pretty touristy town. They are a ghost town and live of off that. So all souvenirs are to do with skeletons and death. Its cute, small and had a awsome graveyard. We bought a tex-mex cookbook and left. Onto the next town of Lajitas. The road got windy and hilly and the scenery was pretty. We stopped first at a Visitors Centre to see some exhibitions of local species and historical artifacts. We first had lunch. Lajitas is a resort town. Thomas' parents own land here. There are only 50 people living there. Most of them work for the few businesses there. There is a golfcourse, hotel, restaurant and some shops. There were quite a few Jamaican interns, for some reason. We felt bad for them, they didnt know what it was like before they came over. And will be staying for a year. Its beautiful for sure, but there is nothing, NOTHING here. Even Big Bend is by now 2 hours away and $20 entrance. So we left and drove on to Presidio, the closest official border crossing to Mexico. We drove up close, then turned around.. not much to see and i cant leave the country yet.. So we got some gas and beer and turned around to go back to Big Bend. On the way back we stopped at Fort Leaton. An old fort, which was pretty interesting.
Then straight back to the park. We stopped, once inside, at the hot springs, that was pretty cool. I set foot in the Rio Grande, almost touched Mexico. Back at the tent we had beers and burgers. MMM! Last night in hot hot Big Bend!
We got up at 5! Packed up and had breakfast in the dark and left around 6. We saw foxes, javalina's, deer and killed one bird. Yuk. As soon as we got out of the park, it started raining. Hard. Like on the way over, but worse. We had to stop in the first town to calm our nerves. We got back on the road and had to drive in this crazy rain for about an hour. Then all of a sudden it stopped and the sky was clear in front of us. Phew! Via Del Rio to Uvaldi, we stopped at Wal-Mart for some new groceries. It felt good to see buildings again and to have cell phone reception! Then only 30 mlies to Garner State Park! Water! After the 110F desert we were ready to swim! The river is called Rio Frio (cold river) and we were excited! Getting there was pretty ofcourse, hilly and green.
We got there around 3pm, got a campsite for 2 nights and quickly set up camp. And jumped in the river. It was clear and a pretty view of a big mountain. A lot of families and young people. This was going to be fun! We had some lunch and wend back in with some beer. Just floated around and enjoyed our new surroundings. After dinner we walked to the nightly dance they organise. Oh my, it was so fun. Its a square with a big tree and everyone just circles around doing the 2step. We had to join in! And so we did, to some awful country music. But its cute, an old tradition and everyone, young and old, dances.
The next morning we got up at 10, we slept great and hiked up the mountain. It was a great view of the campsite. Then back down and in the river. Swang from the ropes! We headed back to the tent and started dinner. Thomas also started the campfire. A great last night of our lovely and exciting holiday!
We got up at 7 and packed up, drove to San Antonio where Thomas surpised me with a lovely lunch on the River Walk. We love SA and will be consireding it if we ever move out of Galveston. So back on the road and drove back to Galveston in 5 hours. It was so strange to see big buildings and normal people. :) But it was good to be back and to see our kitty again!

Now my fingers are blue and i need some sleep. Hope you liked it! We sure did!

We are leaving tomorrow!!

2008-06-25T22:17:00.000-06:00

Off on our camping trip so no email until july 1st!

Photo Update

2008-06-23T21:52:00.003-06:00

Hi there all,

Some pics on the link below. Had my first day at my new job. I will tell you more after tomorrow. Thu we are off you Big Bend (pic-->) and Garner State Park for some camping! VERY excited! xox

Photo's

I am a secretary!

2008-06-19T18:33:00.002-06:00

I am starting monday at my new job! Secretary to the principal! Im so excited! More later.

Six months and going!

2008-06-15T14:40:00.008-06:00

Today i have been in the US for 6 months! It feels much longer, but time has flown by. Im happy with how things have turned out. The only thing still missing is my Green Card. Thomas and i are going so good and things a now also financially falling into place.

Lots to tell. First of all my job. So im a hostess at Fishermans Wharf. Its ok, not the best job, but its something to do and brings in $$. I work with some nice people, although much younger usually and with babies. Not the place to find friends really. Its a Landry's owned restaurant. For people who dont know them, they also own for example the Rainforest Cafe chain. They have 300 properties all over the world. Including hotels and casinos. And as long as i work there, i get 50% off all of them!
But i have an interview tomorrow at a middle school here. For secretary to the principal. Thomas has been putting a good words in for me with people. I hope so much i will get it. Good holidays and $$! :)

Katje is doing well and growing like crazy. Still cute as ever though! And very curious about cords and open doors/windows. The other day i found a tiny little kitten outside work and i decided to catch it and call the shelter. My boss agreed and so it happened. It made me feel good even though my co workers thought i was crazy. You see that so much here, stray pets. Very sad.

One of our good friends Hayes left for Korea, it was sad saying goodbye, we will miss him. See pic! Also i have been trying to watch the cup. Holland is doing so well. I really think we have a chance!

Last night we came back from our Austin trip. It was short but sweet. We drove up with Bill and Amanda (Bill works in the theatre department of Ball High), first registered them at the conference place and then checked into the hotel. They had to go back for a session but i got to sit by the pool. We also realised that it was biker weekend, so it was busy! They came back and we all wend out for dinner at a south american place. Very good. Then ofcourse on to 6th Street! Austins nightlife street. I had in the meanwhile seen that Thomas' friend Nathan had his CD release party that night so we got ourselves on the guest list! There were some other friends of Thomas' college so he was happy! It was a lot of fun seeing everyone again ans to see Nathan play. Then back to the hotel and zzzzzzzzzz.
Next morning they left to the conference and i sat by the pool again. When they came back we drove around Austin and walked around the University of Texas campus. After we visited the Church of Scientoligy...for fun (dont worry). It was hilarious. There was no one in there except the people who work there. so we got all the attention. We think she knew we were joking though, but she told us about their beliefs and all that crap. Then on to Rachael and Nathans new apartment to say goodbye to everyone. It was a good trip! Made us think of moving there too...

Weather-wise things are going downhill! :) It is 95F/35C everyday now and very humid. The hurricane season has also started. Yikes! And how can i forget about the joyful politics news! Its finally decided and over (well for now..)

Our next trip is the weekend of 25th July for the family reunion. So we are excited about that. Until then.. work!

xx

Happy Fathers Day, Papa!

2008-06-15T14:36:00.000-06:00

I have integrated!

2008-06-09T00:51:00.001-06:00