Three Things Thursday...Again!

Today is Thursday and that means another day of rambling thoughts, because that's just how my life seems to be going here lately.

Have I mentioned before how much I hate hurricane season? Everyone here in the south is always on edge and on their toes, just in case. It makes the traveling process tricky, because you seriously never know. Some years might bring along zero hurricanes and others might bring along several back to back hurricanes.

 Hurricane Irma

Thanks to Hurricane Irma, my cruise has officially been cancelled by Disney Cruise Line. Yes, we were scheduled to be on one of the three sailings that were cancelled. When we received the news on Tuesday night, we immediately began looking online for another cruise date and spent several hours doing so, trying to work with work schedules and off time. I'm not mad that the cruise has been cancelled AT ALL as I appreciate Disney looking out for everyone's safety. Our cruise was supposed to be an Eastern itinerary and have you seen the devastation on some of those islands after Irma passed through? It's insane. On top of everything, we have received a full refund from everyone and everything we booked (except airfare) and are receiving a 25% credit off a future cruise booking with Disney. Since I'm fully packed and honestly would like to stay that way, we are looking at an October or November cruise date instead. The devastation that Irma is causing on these islands is mind blowing. I feel so bad for everyone because I know a huge chunk of their income is travel related. Definitely keeping them and Florida in my prayers.

Southwest Airlines

So I mentioned that I was able to receive a full refund on everything except airfare, but I have a cool story with this one, too. As we sorted through possible dates and plans, I also searched for the price of airfare on our projected dates. A lot of families on our sailing received a credit from Southwest which is what I was anticipating as well. After choosing the October date, I realized that with a credit, we would still have had to pay an additional $300 to fly the October dates (due to the higher price of these specific October flights). Southwest has been great through this whole ordeal and online, I was actually able to choose my current flight and change my round trip flight from September to the October dates without any extra penalty. They honored my original booking price for September! I've always enjoyed flying with Southwest and will definitely continue to do so every time I'm able!

Madalynn

If you've been following my Madalynn saga, you know that she gave us a big scare last week when her vet discovered a lesion on her hard palate. The lesion was removed and sent off for biopsy to determine exactly what was going on. Her vet and I then discussed possible treatment options if it was cancer which ranged from another surgery to radiation, both of which were probably impossible due to the location. Well as of yesterday, I hadn't heard back from the vet and since I'd already had some bad news, I figured why not. Within a few minutes, the vet returned my call and I seriously couldn't believe my ears. Y'all. It's NOT CANCER! Somehow, she must have chewed on something which caused a foreign body to get stuck in her palate and her body had an inflammatory response which caused the ulcerated like lesion to form! OMG. I could NOT believe my ears. I had to get her to repeat herself because I was floored.

So as you can see, it's been a roller coaster of a week. I also haven't had a chance to read and commend on blogs as much as I'd like this week due to our serious scramble to change plans last minute, but I'll get back to that today and tomorrow for sure!  Oddly enough, I am grateful for the ups and downs of life as it causes us to be more grateful for the things we have and the relationships we have in our lives!

Have you ever had to change travel plans due to the weather or a storm of some sort?

Hurricane Harvey Birthday Weekend

My oh MY what a weekend! This is the third birthday weekend I've shared with a hurricane and each has its own set of stories to tell. Perks of living off the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, right? :)

Despite the storm, tornado, and flash flood warnings from Hurricane Harvey, I still managed to make the most of it all and enjoy my birthday weekend!

On Friday afternoon after work, I took Madalynn to the vet to have that spot on her face checked out. I was seriously nervous that something was VERY wrong, but thankfully it seems fixable. They told me that a cracked tooth became infected and the infection spread up into her sinus cavity and presented as a sore on her cheek. I'm taking her in today to have that tooth surgically removed and everything should resolve itself! (Say a prayer for her today if you think about it! Thank you!)

After returning home from the vet's office, I decided to take my chances on a run as I figured Saturday's forecast wouldn't allow for one (well, outside at least).

The run ended just a few minutes before the first outer bands of Harvey hit our area.

The heat index was at 85 degrees which actually felt pretty nice compared to the heat index we've had the past several weeks!

On Friday night, we had dinner with my parents at one of my favorite restaurants, O'Charleys. We somehow managed to maneuver between rain storms and made it to and from dinner without any mishaps!

Dinner was delicious as always and afterwards, we returned to our house for cake and gifts!

Y'all, this CAKE is amazing. I've had this same cake for the past several years and I look forward to it every year. This one is chocolate with whipped peanut butter icing. OMG.

Side note, how am I already 35?! What the heck.

Jason had to work on Saturday, so Brayden and I spent the day together! We played with #allthetoys and once the rain stopped (for the time being), we made our way outside to pull weeds!

We were in and out several times throughout the morning in between storms. While I did all of the dirty work, Brayden had a ball playing in the mud puddles, dirt, and water. This kid is 100% all boy and I love it!

On Saturday night, my friends and I had dinner at Rotolo's! Despite the off and on rain, it didn't really start to get bad until Sunday.

Sunday morning was my actual birthday and that's when all of the fun began! I made breakfast for Brayden and I, then we headed to church.

While there, my friend put me to work in the coffee shop! I've worked the coffee shop off and on for the past several years but never learned the big machine. It's actually easier than I thought!  Latte, anyone? :)

Midway through church, we were alerted to a flash flood watch that continued on throughout the day.

The bad part about this whole situation is the fact that the roads in my town flood...BAD. Even with just 20 minutes of a hard rain, it's impossible to get around town. So, instead of having dinner at a restaurant after church, we drove to my house (which is right down the road from my parent's house) and had takeout for lunch!

We decided on fried chicken! I seriously love fried chicken but hardly ever eat it, so this was truly a treat!

After lunch, my friend Kim stayed to hang out and we basically laid around and watched the weather channel all afternoon during Brayden's nap! Sounds thrilling, right? 

My family and friends also know me all too well! The majority of my gifts were Disney related! :)

Despite the crazy storm and weather, my birthday weekend was a fun one and definitely one I won't ever forget! Also, I'm very thankful that our area didn't receive much damage from this storm system and hope it continues to stay that way. SO many prayers to our Houston neighbors who can't say the same right now. :( My prayers and heart goes out to you guys as sadly, it still isn't over.

I hope you guys all had a great weekend and if you're in the Houston area, stay safe! My thoughts and prayers are with you guys!!