wow

i recently visited my parents in texas. while i was there i came across this interesting piece of work...

my dad's neighbor is responsible for this, uh, thing. it is, according to him, a hurricane shelter.

now, for starters, this piece of poured concrete is definitely in the middle of his backyard. it is also only about 4 feet wide on each side (i know what you're thinking- perfect for all 4 members of his adult family to fit comfortably while they wait out the many many hours of a hurricane). i also haven't yet mentioned that, aside from the concrete, nothing about this is hurricane proof- no special windows or roof or anything.

now i know that the houston area has suffered a lot these last few months and has lost a lot because of hurricane ike, but is this really the answer?

(side note: this is a sneaky sneaky photo taken through the fence :)! )

battle of the brazos

a quick shout out to my baylor bears... who beat the aggies (texas a&m for those of you outside the state of tx) 41-21 in the 105th 'battle of the brazos'.

sic 'em bears

question...

i’m watching the election coverage on TV and just watched an update on the winners of 4 seats on the 'Mosquito Control District' in one of our neighboring counties.

is this weird to anyone else? what exactly is the need for an elected official in Mosquito Control?

election day

we voted!

my first voting experience... so cool! it was so much fun to be a part of this whole thing. i came home feeling excited and productive and like i'd made a contribution to something big.

i recently read the book '1776' and am now reading 'john adams'. having been engrossed for a few weeks in the details of the hard work of this country's forefathers' in getting us to where we are today, being a part of something like an election (and especially with this as my first to participate in) seems to have greater meaning.

now, the energy i have been feeling might be a product of the excitement of the day... there are people everywhere dressed patriotically, wearing the colors of the party they support, holding signs and waving, honking their horns, flags everywhere... it may also be due to the fact that hugh and i visited starbucks immediately following :) a fun little outing to celebrate the day, and we got free coffee to top it off! (i was told that ben & jerry's is also handing out freebies, so maybe ice cream is in my future as well, haha)

seriously, though. i've really enjoyed today so far and am wearing my 'i voted' sticker proudly.

halloween

for the first time in many years we spent halloween out.

some pics of the fun gathering...