So, yeah, there was a hurricane.

We just got back from the grocery store, and that was quite an experience. Power is still out most places in town (as far as we can tell). Praise the Lord that our power is already back! The grocery store we went to was running on a backup generator and wasn't selling any perishable items. I don't think I've ever shopped in the dark before. They let customers in a few at a time, in order to avoid riots. We had to scrounge around finding boxed meals that didn't involve any meat or dairy, as well as cans of soup and fruit to tide us over until real food comes back. It was very weird for me since I tend to cook primarily from scratch. I'm making mac n' cheese from a box tonight, something I don't think I've done since college! I'm so glad that we're at least safe and have water, power, and food, since I know so many Houstonians don't.

Trees are down everywhere around here, and most of the billboards we've seen have been blown out. The live oaks here are some of the most beautiful trees I've ever seen, and now so many are missing limbs or falling over. There was some structural damage to the Texans' football stadium down the street. We only lost some shingles from the roof of the apartment.

We decided to stay here through the storm so as to avoid the evacuation mess of Hurricane Rita. They let us off of work early on Thursday and cancelled work Friday so that we could all make our preparations. Friday was actually pretty slow for us--I cleaned out the fridge, we got some supplies, and basically we sat in front of the TV watching the 24 hour coverage. I actually slept through most of the storm, since wind and rain doesn't bother me as much as thunder and lightning.

We went up to Dallas after realizing that the power would be out for a long while. It was nice and relaxing to get away, but I'm definitely glad to be back. We had our first day back at work today, and most of the people I work with are still without power. The whole experience has been a bit surreal. I'm very glad that the baby didn't decide to come when we were away!