Seems Dolly Likes to Do the Tango in Two Countries.

Hurricane Dolly is a Category 1 hurricane currently located just inland in extreme South Texas. Dolly was the fourth tropical cyclone to form during the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. Dolly developed on July 20 from an area of disturbed weather in association with a strong tropical wave. It was named Dolly at the same time it formed—skipping the tropical depression phase entirely. This marked the earliest time a fourth named cyclone has formed since the 2005 season, which holds the record.[1]
The tropical storm made landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula near Cancún early on July 21, leaving at least 17 people dead in Guatemala.[2][3] It moved into the Gulf of Mexico and strengthened to become a Category 2 hurricane, tracking westward and making landfall at peak intensity on July 23 in South Padre Island, Texas, where 36,000 customers are currently without power. Heavy rain and high winds are currently affecting the coast, with high surf affecting all of the Texas coastline.

Hurricane Dolly

Is currently pounding "The Valley" as I sit here and write. It is coming inland as a category 2 with sustained winds of 100 mph.

I've spoken with my dad and luckily at this moment they are only getting a lot of rain and although the winds are pretty strong, there is not any blowing around of things going on.

Here is a picture I got from a local newspaper down there. It's of South Padre Island and the furry of what is to be Dolly coming in.

Round Number Two!

Well I just got back in about an hour or so ago from down south - yes again. I left with my sister, Eva, on Friday after work and headed out to the valley once again, this time to go and pick up my Sydney poo, whom I had left behind at her grandmas.

We left here around 4 p.m. and considering it was Friday afternoon, encountered very few difficulties along the way. We figured we'd see if we could pull off the entire 8 hour drive straight through instead of stopping so that we could at least get a full day in Donna so that in turn the drive back wouldn't be so horrible.

We got in right about 12:30, again, with little incidents, even in Austin, considering that place is always horrible when it comes to traffic. The only trouble were 2 accidents, which even then is few compared to what I have seen other times.

I swear, as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out like a rock. I really didn't get much sleep the night before and my day had not been one of my best ones (emotional issues) and so my head was pounding from a combination of things and all I wanted was to close my eyes and get some nap time.

We set the alarm and woke up around 6 a.m. as we had made arrangements to get Sydney by 7 a.m. then meet up with my dad's to go have breakfast at 8:30. I decided I would fore go the shower, I know, pretty gross, to get in another hour of shut eye.

Hey about the shower thing, we had plans after breakfast to go to Las Flores and unlike our trip from 2 weeks ago, it was not raining and so the temperature was at it's normal 100+ degrees with terrible humidity - so seriously I would have been covered in sweat just as soon as I stepped outside - so I was like I'll just wait and shower until I come back and then just chill.

We went to go have breakfast at this hole in the wall restaurant, Diana's Dinner. It belongs to one of my sister's friends. Let me tell you, I'm not much into breakfast food of any kind, and much less from a restaurant, BUT this food was GREAT.

I had me some barbacoa with refried beans and some cooked potatoes. Then to top it off, I had some atole de arroz. Oh my goodness, that stuff was delicious, so much so, I went for seconds, which is a rarity even for me.

We finished with breakfast and headed back home to drop my dad off then headed out towards Las Flores. I really was just going along for the ride as Eva was the one that had some items to buy for some people. We were there maybe a little over an hour then headed back home. Even with driving over the bridge and walking a short distance - the sun and heat were enough to make us want to run home.

We headed out to the house were Sydney and I got dropped off and the rest of the afternoon we took a nap and basically did nothing but just lay around. I was so tired and all I wanted to do way chill which was quite nice for a change.

Eva came back home around 9:30 and we headed back to the hotel to call it a night and get ready for our trip back.

The alarm rang at 5 o'clock this morning and we still slept for like another 30 minutes then decided it was time to go.

Headed out on the road - all the while I rode in the back seat with Sydney per her request by means of signaling to me to sit.

Did some good time back considering some traffic and a brief stop for gas and nutrition.

Now I'm here in my casa. I've already done my rounds with my Dyson - which wasn't bad since the apartment has been tidy the entire week really.

I've got a couple of loads of laundry to do and some ironing I think I'll do as well.

I plan on making it to bed early to get ready again for the rat race of a week that is sure to await me.

Missing my Sydney!

I had attempted sometime last week to call and speak with Sydney and as it would happen no one answered. I left it at that thinking maybe it was for the best that I didn't speak with her.

I decided today, I'd give it another try and hope that she as well as myself didn't loose it at the end. I called and her cousin, Gabby, answered and I asked her where Sydney was and she said watching tv. I asked her to give Sydney the phone.

The moment I said, "hi Sydney," she responded, "hi mama." I instantly got all choked up. She didn't say much for a while, just laughed and giggled.

I was trying to think of something to get her to say anything then on her own she went, "Ma, ma, " to which I responded, "yes Sydney," and well for those of you that know my little kid, you'll know what the next words out of her mouth were going to be. For those that don't, I'll finish her comment....she said, "baby!"

Oh, this was such a joy to hear although it normally gets on my last nerve because she'll constantly say this and will go on for hours with the same thing.

I asked her if she was ready to come home and see Milo, this would be her dog, and she responded, "si." I told her how much I missed and loved her and on her own she said "I love you."

Of course being her mom I understood - but she seriously did say it, I'm not making it up.

I have really missed her a ton these last 2 weeks but will be seeing her again in 3 days hopefully.

She really is the little person that keeps me going and everyday my prayers are that God give me the strength I need to make sure she never is without.

"Karoshi"

This is a term used in Japan to describe sudden death caused by stress from working too much, which is a prominent problem in Japan.

Frank was kind enough to send me the article that talks about this. I haven't been able to open it from my computer here, but I'm sure it applies to me and the outrageous hours I work with very little down time.

I do hope that someday not very long from now, I'll be able to lead a normal life again - meaning one job so that I can go home at 5 every day and just relax like most people.

In the meantime, send your thoughts that "karoshi" doesn't happen to me, as I still have a lot to do here on Earth.

Glorias

Frank invited me to go out to Gloria's in Addison on Friday night. This specific location has a section that turns into a dance floor after 10:00 p.m.

Frank arrived to pick me up around 9 p.m. We headed out to Gloria's and after a wait of about 45 minutes, which mind you is the longest we've ever waited patiently at a restaurant, we were seated.

We were seated outside on the patio, which I was glad for, since it was much nicer and not as freezing cold as it would have been inside.

Frank ordered a chimichanga and I ordered some chicken enchiladas. While we waited, we had some black bean dip and salsa with some chips.

Our food finally came out and enjoyed that - it was real good. I even tried a piece of the chimichanga and that was good too.

After sitting there for a while, and realizing the dancing was going to start inside, we decided to head indoors for the fun.

I'm not much of a dancer - and I say that because I swear I have 2 left feet. Frank on the contrary is an excellent dancer - so good, he can even make my 2 left move with the occasional having to set them back into rhythm as seriously when it comes to dancing, I cannot keep it together.

The live band played about 5 songs then it was on with the DJ which played great music as well, after a while the band came back and it continued with great music.

In the middle of all the dancing, we lost track of time - I suppose because we were both having such a good time.

Finally reality set in and my feet were like, ok lady, you've got to quit now or we are going to give out on you.

We called it a night there a little after 12:30 a.m.

Headed back to the house and I'll leave it at that and say I had such a great time - truly enjoyed the evening.

Christmas in July!

The radio station I listen to at work, 1037litefm, is playing Christmas music right now.

I know just the thought is depressing since the temperature is a scorching 100 degrees outside, instead of maybe a cool 30 degrees for those that care for the cold - as I myself will take the heat any day!

But just in case you were wondering the awful question: How many days until Christmas?

We've got.......drum roll...........163!

So start getting those lists together instead of waiting to the last minute.

DON'T PROCRASTINATE!!!!!!!!

White Elephant

My friend Christina invited me to go with her this past Sunday to see one of her friends perform. Her name is Rachel Stacy http://rachelstacy.com and she was playing at the White Elephant http://whiteelephantsaloon.com at the Fort Worth Stock Yards.

She came by my apartment around 5:15 and with the assistance of her sister Jennifer's Tomtom, headed towards another friend of hers house, Chris, that she had invited as well and who lived in Fort Worth.

The drive over there was pretty smooth and considering a minor accident on I30, which is always an occurrence, we made pretty good time.

We arrived at Chris' house where Christina proceeded to change out of her Tony Romo jersey and into a black blouse and then we were ready to go.

Because Christina had I believe only printed out directions from her house to mine, from my place to Chris' and from his place back to mine, she gave up driving rights to the Stock Yards to Chris, which made sense since he does live in Fort Worth and I'm sure at least knows the area better than us - me for sure - I had never even been there.

So we at first are asked if we would like to ride in a SMALL car or a BIG truck - and really that was the truth about the size of them. Then we were basically told the small car was easier to park downtown than the big truck so Christina was like, then in the small car we go.

We walk out to the garage and low and behold in front of us - the small car, a Porshe. Okay so honestly, with as much money as that car I'm sure costs, I would never spend it on that kind of car. I say this because I of course was like "I'll ride in the back seat," and boy did I find out real quick the back seat is really nonexistent - I mean the 2 holes where you are suppose to sit are there, but it doesn't deserve to be called a back seat. Luckily for me, I'm quite small in height and was able to squeeze my feet together and duck a little so that my head wasn't hitting the low lying roof.

Oh and just to point out what the other vehicle that was difficult to park downtown was, it was like a Ford F350 - I mean seriously, that thing was huge. Talk about going from one extreme to the other.

Anyways, we head out to the Stock Yards and find a parking space that was easy to parallel into considering the car was no bigger than a monster truck tire!

We started walking around looking for this place, the White Elephant, and finally spot it.

We go in and Christina immediately sees her friend Rachel, and we stop to say hi and introduce ourselves - she seems to be a very sweet, down to earth girl - very pretty too.

She tells us to make ourselves at home, which later I would realize to her it was almost like home, because basically a bunch of friends and relatives came out to watch her.

Prior to the show beginning, Christina, Chris and I are just sitting and she and Chris are having these heated conversations about relationships, etc. It was pretty interesting - those 2 are like brother and sister and the weird thing is that Christina (and this is her account) went on one date with Chris and they have been good friends for 5 years now.

Anyways, the show finally gets going, and honestly turned out to be really nice. Prior to going I had my reservations. For one, it was going to be at a bar and well since I'm not a big drinker, I don't frequent bars, I've been maybe at the most and that is probably too much, 5 times with Frank to watch him play pool.

Two, I can't stand the smell of cigarettes - I'm not kidding either, I get these horrible headaches and it just grosses me out to no end. I was extremely lucky that the entire time we were there, maybe 3 people out of the entire place were smoking and it wasn't one cigarette after the other either.

So, after about listening to her for about 2 hours, we decided to head out, as all three had to wake up the next morning to go to work.

We arrive at Chris' and Christina walks in to get the clothes she had left behind and then we proceed to head out to her car. This is where the fun begins - well in my point of view - I'm sure Christina will beg to differ.

So we hop in her car, strap our seat belts on, and the car won't turn on. She turns to me and says, "Elisa, my car won't turn on." I'm like, "are you sure?"

So she tries again, and again, and again, and nothing. We both sit there for a minute in dead silence and then she gets on her phone and calls someone.

She finally decides to call Chris to see if he had jumper cables - we assumed maybe the battery was dead but were in doubts because all her lights were coming on. At first she was hesitant to call Chris thinking maybe he didn't have jumper cables, but I was like if he's got a Ford, what are the odds he wouldn't have them. Well he did and in the process chewed her out some more for us sitting outside of his house and not calling him earlier.

While we wait for him to come around the front with the truck, I tell Christina, let's get the hood opened. We are trying to figure that out when a neighbor from across the street that happened to be watering the lawn comes over and asks if we need some help.

Christina informed him that her friend was coming around to see if some cables would jump her possible dead battery but she told him in the meantime we were trying to figure out how to open her hood. Seriously, I'm not stupid when it comes to these things, but boy was that one difficult hood to open - finally the neighbor figured it out. On her car, you actually have to push the lever down and not sideways like in most vehicles - just a tidbit to remember for future emergencies.

We quickly figured out that the battery was not the problem and started to wonder if maybe it was the starter. The nice neighbor, an older gentleman who obviously has worked on bad cars before, tried to bypass the starter and tried getting it to start with a screwdriver - that was not happening either.

We ended up checking some fuses thinking maybe one of them had gone bad - as the car now sounded like gas was not getting through and maybe the fuse had killed the car computer system and NOTHING. That car was not going anywhere that night for sure.

Christina called another friend of hers, Joe, who also lives in Fort Worth, and he was kind enough to bring us back to my apartment.

We ended up getting home close to midnight when our original plans were to be home by 10 at the latest.

I kept telling Christina that things happen for a reason and that everything would be okay. I mean seriously, it could have been way worse - broken down on the side of the road on I30 late at night and with nowhere to go.

So with that said, that was my eventful Sunday night - Christina felt so bad. She was like I can't believe the first time I go out with her and her car DIES! I was like happens to all of us, even if you drive a new car.

Adios Donna!

We woke up after about 3 1/2 hours of sleep at 5:30. The alarm was actually set for 5 a.m. and although I heard it, I was like forget you....I'm still sleepy. As for our friend the rooster, no signs of him this morning - maybe he was dead!

We finally got up and started getting everything together to leave. Ruth, Rebecca and Liz and I jumped in the truck and pulled out of my dad's.

As had been the custom since day one and today not obviously being the exception - guess what? Yup, you guessed it - it was STILL RAINING!

We pull out of Champion Street and head North down 483 (Salinas Blvd) with Albert following closely behind. I pull unto Highway 83 and head West with our next exit being Edinburg - N281- back towards civilization and home as we knew it.

Trying to get out of the valley would prove to be quite a feat as for some reason, it must have enjoyed our stay as much as we hated it, that it didn't want to let us go. I say this because right before we entered Edinburg, we were confronted by a terrible downpour.

The rain was so bad, you could hardly see the road - literally, I could barely see the white lines. People were pulling off to the side and I started to think if maybe I should do the same. At that point, we got a call from Albert and he said as long as I could see the road and felt sure about driving, he would follow behind. So I thought, like heck that I'm going to get stuck here when I've had enough - I'm outa here.

The downpour stint last about maybe at the most 15 minutes or so then it was all over. I was so glad I did not decide to pull over to the side of the road as I probably would have been there the entire day - I heard later that it rained that way all day on Monday in the valley.

The trip back was pretty uneventful and quiet. This thanks to us missing a BIG part of our caravan crew - none other than Sydney poo! I really missed my little brat and wished if only once she was there in the truck to tell me, "Ma, ma, ma, to which I would answer que quieres Sydney (what do you want?) and she'd answer, baby." This mind you, continuing on with no end in sight.

We finally arrived HOME at around 1:30 - did some great time even considering the horrible start to our departure. I was so glad and I think even my truck was - it hadn't been dry for days.

To sum up this mini adventure of 5 days in Donna, all I have to say is I'm proud I didn't get a rare rash from the red rubies, managed to keep my stomach in good spirits considering some incidents, and still smelled quite nice regardless of all the rain we took in, I could have smelled like a little wet dog.

Even knowing what I would endure, I would do it ALL over again - it was all well worth it and it definitely created some good stories to tell!

Hope you enjoyed! With the omission of some embarrasing stints, this is basically the way my mini vacation occured through my eyes! (I am working on getting some great pics to go along with the stories and I think you'll enjoy).

Las Flores (Nuevo Progreso)

Woke up Sunday morning around 9:15 or so which was a bit late for my standards and heard it was STILL raining! I think part of me being able to stay in bed had to do with my prayers finally being answered about the rooster giving us a much needed break from the morning serenatas (serenades). I had gone to bed the night before and I asked, please, pretty please, just let that darn thing forget his days from nights so that it will be 3 p.m. and he's just then getting up and I promise I won't complain. Wish granted!

At this point, it didn't matter. I didn't care about the rooster, the rain, or anything else, all I knew is that we would only be in the Valley that one day and come Monday it was back home - my real home, my bed, my apartment, my stuff, just away from the rain and the Valley.

We got dressed and headed out to Las Flores and spent what amounted to be about 2 1/2 hours there - shopping. The bulk of the shopping was done by Ruth and Rebecca - a lot of looking around, but quite a bit of shopping as well.

My deal was to get some cookies for my aunt Pipa and basically that was it for me.

The rain, although somewhat annoying, did help during our visit, to keep things cooled down a bit...I think the high every day was maybe in the high 80's if that, which was really nice considering we were ready for 100+ degrees and out of the roof humidity.

We finally headed back into the US and made another pit stop at the taco place and I had another round of those.

That afternoon I headed out to see another one of my friends from high school in Edinburg, Erika. Sydney had a good time playing with her daughter, Itzel, and after about 3 hours there, we left.

Headed back home and came back to find Albert and Lala had arrived from Lala's parents.

Stayed up talking until about 2 a.m.

Let's just say that the whole trip involved bugs of some sorts we did not appreciate and other things that I will refrain from writing about and just say made for an eventful trip.

South Padre Island.......

was not happening as scheduled. We woke up on Saturday, July 5th, to another round of crowing (remember bad music) by the rooster....I think even the covers stuck with him and I swear it wasn't 5 in the morning when he woke up, he was kind to all of us to sleep in himself just a little while longer. On top of having to deal with the awful serenade, the downpours continued coming with a vengance. It was so bad, we decided we would put off our trip to Las Flores, Nuevo Progreso, Mexico, as well just because it can get so messy trying to walk the strip.

I had mentioned to Martha that I wanted to visit her dad in Reynosa and if she would go along with me since I no longer feel comfortable driving by myself in Reynosa with all the military that is set up because of all the drug related killings in broad daylight.

She called and said if our plans to go to the beach were still on and I told her they were off due to the rain and so she said if I would go with her and her husband earlier than planned as they had another engagement also in Reynosa they were going to.

I told her that was fine and around 12:30 headed to Hidalgo to park my truck so we could leave with them to Reynosa. It had been 3 years since I'd been to the valley but longer than that since I'd driven into Mexico through Hidalgo - as I always use the Pharr International bridge that is more of a clear cut drive through the back roads.

Everything is so changed, I would have definitely been a lost woman which would not have been good. After going through what seemed like a maze with overpasses and a ton of cars going in all directions with pedestrians crossing literally at their own risk, we finally arrived at el Senor Pancho's house.

It was really sad for me to see how bad (physically) he is doing. He is so thin and looks so frail and moves somewhat slow. He seemed to be in good spirits though, which was comforting - nothing like a positive attitude when it seems like everything around you is falling apart.

We spoke for a while and I attempted to get some pictures of him and Sydney together but my kid was not budging - she was in a foul mood from the moment we left and continued to act that way.

The whole purpose for Martha visiting her dad was to take him some medication he needed to take - so she along with her dad, her husband, Ruth and Liz walked to the pharmacy behind his house so that he could get his needed injection.

I volunteered to stay behind with the girls (Gabby, Abby, Rebecca and Sydney) since trying to cross La Calle 20 is a sure set up for getting run over. On top of that it seemed like the brief break from the rain was not permanent.

As I guessed it, about 10 minutes after they left, the rain came a pouring with a vengeance. The girls and I just sat out there enjoying the rain. At times all the girls piled up in the hammock that el Senor Pancho has set up on his enclosed cement porch and that was a ton of fun - that thing can definitely hold some weight.

About 20 minutes after they were gone, the house phone rings and Abby picks up and she is like Elisa, it's my mom. I come to the phone and Martha is telling me how they are stuck at the pharmacy waiting for the rain to let up so that they can come back. She mentioned that Juan, her husband, was going to try and catch a taxi back so that he could pick up the truck and pick them up.

We hung up and 5 minutes later, I see a taxi pull up and out they come. Liz came out first and right as she did, a huge deal of water fell directly on top of her from one of the pipes that are built into the roof of houses over there to drain the water.

That was so funny...they all looked like soaked duckies - even though I'm sure the feeling was not pleasant, they too were laughing which made it even funnier.

We said our good byes to Frank's dad and headed back towards the USA. That would prove to be not an easy feat.

On our way back, Juan decided to make a pit stop for some food at "El Pollo Loco," which is one of my all-time favorites in Reynosa. They basically sell grilled chicken but it has this particular flavor and they sell the best "hot" sauce to go along with it too!

We walked in and it seemed like all of God's creation was there as there was absolutely nowhere to sit - some people finally started getting up and down we sat - since we were all very hungry.

Juan ordered what turned out to be about 1 1/2 chickens (whole), and by the time we were all said and done, the only thing left was bones.....nothing but bones....it was pretty amazing but we were hungry.

On we went along our merry way, avoiding getting hit by a greyhound bus looking charter thing that was not able to stop but by a miracle did right before it hit us. Whew! That was a close call.

Then Juan proceeded to take the road he normally does to head back towards the bridge crossing and low and behold because of all the non stop rain, the bridge had been closed by the transitos (local police) because of flooding and if you didn't believe it, all you had to do was look and see several cars just stuck - basically going nowhere.

He gathers he can find a different route all the while dodging cars that won't stop and people too and hitting some bumps (bad ones) along the way. After hitting one of those, Gabby, one of the girls, I think she is 12, made the following comment, "Ay, creo que ya se me acomodo el pollo," which basically translates to ,"whew, I think my chicken finally settled down (in her stomach)." That was hilarious, being that she was riding in the front, that just goes to tell you how nerve wracking it was to see things close up - I was of course glad I was in the back seat and didn't care to have my eyes fixated on the road - even to avoid my car sickness that I get - I'd rather deal with that than a heart attack.

We finally make our way to the bridge crossing and see how different again the set up is. What looked to be a sure hour or so wait, turned out to be only about 15 minutes even with dodging the peddlers that according to the posted signs are PROHIBITED. Do they care, obviously not, all they want is for you to take back a little piece of Mexico before you cross back.

Personally, I'd had enough and all I wanted was to be back in Donna - as strange as even that was!

We finally made it home - went back to Weslaco to do some more damage shopping then called it a night again - vowing to make our trip to Las Flores on Sunday morning - RAIN OR SHINE!

Independence Day (July 4th!)

So, here it was, a new day, a day to celebrate America's independence and we would be doing everything BUT that! We all got awoken bright and early at 5:15 in the A.M. by none other than a terrible horrible version of opera by no other than the local rooster. I swear, I know we are supposed to be greatful for each new day....but this rooster must have been thanking the good Lord for the past year that he forgot, as he would not shut up! He kept a crowing until I finally drowned him out and fell back asleep somehow.

On our drive in the day before as soon as we passed San Antonio, it began to rain, and here we were 4 hours, 220 miles away, and the same darn "system" was still lurking above us - and would become our best friend (and worst enemy) for the remainder of our mini-vacation as we would soon find out.

We gathered that this would possibly pass and maybe on Saturday like we had planned we would make it out to the beach - but that was still something up in the air.

I left my dad, sister and nieces for a brief while and headed to Martha's, Frank's sisters, house to have Sydney visit with her and her cousins (Gabby and Abby). We were there for a while and Sydney managed to walk out with a Hanah Montana poster who she called "Mermaid," I'm sure thinking it was The Little Mermaid - forgive her she doesn't know any better - the long hair must have confused her!

We then headed for her grandma's house and that was a trip in itself. Frank's sister in law has a Maltese (basically amounts to a big fur ball) off a dog - and too bad for her, Mariposa, was in for a beating at the hands of a 6 year old.

She hugged, carried, squeezed, and did everything else to that dog that you can imagine, all the while just wanting to love the crap out of it. At first it seemed like Mariposa was all about the attention of this little 30 pound, possibly 3 ft something, 6 year old - BUT she quickly found out that if she wanted to have normalcy - she'd have to find a way to play with her toy duck ALONE - away from Sydney.

The only thing that saved Mariposa from Sydney was my phone ringing, which mind you, was weird enough, because I don't think even my phone liked the valley - it acted up the entire time. My emails and text messages would come through hours later, and I of course had no reception, great!

It was Liz calling saying my dad was hungry and if I was on my way to his house. I decided at that point it was time to go so we said good bye and left.

We went and had dinner (yummy greasy tacos) at the local Taqueria Palenque - that is one of the few places I look forward to going to every time I visit.

As much as I'm going to sound like an oink oink, I am not ashamed and will admit I ate, 6 tacos de bistek with a huge baked potato and some frijoles a la charra. YUMMY, is all I have to say, working it off would just have to wait.

We came back and Liz and my nieces and Sydney and I headed out to visit Janet, one of my high school friends, at her place in San Benito via Military Highway past the 2 bumps down 483 (Salinas Blvd). These bumps, if you go at the right speed, or if you are lucky and sitting in the back of whatever you are traveling, will make you feel like your intestines are wanting to leave your body against the will of gravity. Totally fun - not so if you don't like the "roller coaster feeling," because this is somewhat what it feels like.

After about a 30 minute drive, past Los Indios Bridge (which going across will lead you to kill me now Matamoros, Mexico), and past a flashing yellow light on Leal Rd, we arrived at Janet's. She greeted and welcomed us in to her home where she was brewing a home made storm of flour tortillas and what seemed to be frijoles a la charra. Never a party involving Hispanics, where both tortillas either corn of flour, and some frijoles a la charra are not part of the entree.

We stayed for a while, chatted some, got to see her mom which was nice and then decided it was time to get back to my dad's.

Before we went home, we went to a shopping center in Weslaco and did some damage but walked out with some very cute stuff!

We stopped at a fireworks stand since even though Donna prohibits the use of fireworks, they are set up everywhere and people still pop them INSIDE city limits. Liz bought Rebecca some dazzlers - basically a stick with some paper on the end to help light the "firework" and once it catches on fire it sparkles for about 1 minute then burns itself out. I don't really know how many she bought, but we (Ruth, Liz and I) got into the action as well after Sydney and even Rebecca for a while, were having issues with the fireworks. We did that for maybe 25 minutes then our 4th was done and over with!

Pretty late in the evening called it a night.

Doritos!

So, this is still Thursday, July 3rd and we have been at my dad's for a while now doing nothing because we were really drained from the drive/trip.

All the while my dad is at church, we decide we are hungry and are in the mood for sandwiches, of all things, so we head out to the local H-E-B, where practically everybody in high school works part time and some unfortunately even 9 years after graduating are still there - nothing against grocery store people, but that's just basically the mindset in Donna and the main reason why I left as fast as I could and like the story in the Bible (not being disrespectful by any means) Sodom & Gomora, I'm not turning back fearing I could become stuck.

We gather our stuff and head back home down the same old road that drives you through the cementary (where my dear mother is buried) and get to the house to make our sandwiches and kill our hunger.

By this time, my dad has already gotten home and joins us for some sandwiches. We are sitting there having a good conversation when out of nowhere Ruth gets up and heads for the restroom and shuts the door behind her.

Nothing is thought of it until seconds later we hear what appears to be coughing/choking sounds coming from the restroom. Liz proceeds on getting up, with this horrified look already overcoming her face, and opens the door.

Ruth is slouched over the sink attempting to cough and spit up this not so nice chip that has become unwelcomly lodged in her throat. She seems to be okay after a while then goes back to acting strange again, at which point I ask if she needs us to call an ambulance and she says yes.

Considering I know my dad's house has no reception, you literally have to walk out and practically go across the street to the canal that runs in front of the house to get signs of life, I decide I'm NOT going to use my cell phone to call 911. I tell my dad's wife if she can hand over the house one, since she is on it with one of her daughters, so that I can make the phone call. You would think she'd just be like, I've gotta go and hang up - but no, she goes on telling her daughter how she has to hand up because I'm wanting to use the phone to call an ambulance, blah, blah, blah, - all the while, I'm thinking lady, come on, this is an emergency.

Well after the fact, her taking so long to give me the phone really didn't make much of a difference. I finally get the phone and dial 9-1-1. Keep something in mind as I write the following: Donna has a population of maybe but no more than 20,000 which is pretty small, they do have a police department, most of which consists of corrupt relatives or friends, and a volunteer fire department, last time I checked they had one.

The phone gets answered, "911, what is the location of your emergency?" I said 1910 Champion St. Next question, what city? I was like are you serious, but answered Donna, TX (said TX because it's just usual for me to name city and state together - although after what happened, it wouldn't surprise me that someone in China or India was answering the call). Next question, and no it wasn't, "what is your emergency", it was, "inside or outside city limits?"

I was like inside! No more questions, she just said, "please hold." Then after a brief moment of silence, I get another person, "911 what is the location of your emergency?" I won't drag this out but she asked the same series of questions and I answered in the same fashion and guess what? I got transferred once again to be put through the same questionnaire.

I am not kidding but by the 5th, yes FIFTH time I was transferred, I was not a happy camper, and when the lady answered the phone, before she even asked the location of my emergency which by now, even a useless person could have located on Google maps, would have found us, I said, "Are you going to get me am ambulance or what? This is the 5th time I've been transferred....I didn't even wait for her to ask for the location of my emergency, I just gave it to her and told her it was inside the city limits and the reason for the ambulance being requested was because we had a possible choking victim.

You will not belive after all that she asked me to calm down (how dare she) and still had one TINY request to make - if I could please turn on the hazards to the nearest vehicle close to the street so that the emergency personnel wouldn't MISS the location of the emergency.

UNBELIEVABLE!

The ambulance finally showed up, checked Ruth out and told her she was going to be okay and NOT going to die like she so willingly wanted to do and was insisting was going to occur!

After Tropical Storm Ruth passed, everything went back to "normal, " or what we will call, although it was nothing short of unreal, for our stay while in Donna, and we headed to bed - tired of the first days drama.

Where is a Tomtom When You Need One! July 3rd

Okay, I've honestly not had time to sit down and write about my exciting very soaking 5 day stay in good ole Donna, Texas during the 4th of July weekend.

My sister, Liz and 2 nieces, Ruth and Rebecca, along with my Sydney poo went along for what would turn out to be quite an adventurous, non-exciting, pretty darn boring - yet funny and involving TONS of CHILLING mini-vacation.

I should have known that some good times were in store for us when before heading out of town on I635 to then take 20W then 35E southbound - I had to stop at my leasing office to drop off my rent payment - unless I wanted to come back to an eviction notice - I still have my priorities straight mind you.

So, I head down Broadway and make a right on Town East Blvd then a left on Town Centre, drop off my payment at like 5:30ish in the wee morning hours of Thursday, July 3rd. I've been down this road before a lot of times mind you, and knew for a fact that at the next light, you can turn right and get on I635 going North, so not really remembering, I assumed the same could be said for going South. I'd find out that I was not quite right and what I really need to look at investing in is a Tomtom (this would be a navigation device!).

I quickly realize that I first have to drive on the frontage road but it's not quite taking me where I want to go and before I have a chance to react, I pass up Gross road, which would turn out to be my last hope to avoiding death by the low cost of 6 for 1 in ghettofied Balch Springs (no offense to those that HAVE or CHOSE to live there) but it's the honest truth.

Next thing I know, I'm on 175 and where I'm exactly going, I of course don't know. I think I turned around once and went over some bridge that said Town East Blvd thinking maybe we were headed in the right direction - but ended up in some industrial part of Mesquite that even we did not know existed. The frustrating part or funny, whichever you look at it, is that we could see the top of Town East Mall, you know the huge peak type thing that holds it all together, and unfortunately, even that didn't help navigate us in the right direction.

I finally stopped at some gas station on Lake June Rd (also a bad place) and asked a nice young service attendant for directions. As I stood there listening to her tell me go here, turn right there, past the Walmart, yada yada yada - I thought to myself, I cannot even begin to believe that I am lost in Mesquite and still "in town" of all places. I felt like such a fool but regardless walked out with her directions and headed back into my truck hoping to be headed in the right direction.

So, I drove, and drove, and drove, and eventually ended up in Balch Springs somewhere. I know unconsciously somewhere along the way after passing up some hoodlum looking places, I might have checked to make sure the doors where locked even though they lock automatically - that's just to show how mortified I was that one I was lost, and two, it wasn't in the best of places - of this I was certain.

I decide to stop at another gas station and this time tell Liz to get off and ask for directions, maybe she'll have better luck than I did in getting good ones and understanding where to go. After about 5 minutes of watching her bob her head left and right, laugh a little and nod her head up and down - all the while Sydney, Ruth and Rebecca sat in the truck watching some little frail looking lady that seemed to be picking up trash from the parking lot, Liz comes out and says, "Ok, I think I've got directions to get us out of here."

Those words were like music to my ears. Low and behold, the road right in front of us was St. Augustine - a road I've seen and driven past on I635 and 20W a million times from traveling back and forth forever.

We took that road and then walah....next thing we knew, we were on I20.

The funniest part of all of this was that we NEVER, EVER, drove on 635 like the start of the trip usually entails.

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. Well I say that except for the constant chatter of Sydney, going, "Ma, ma, ma (and she'd do this until I'd say...) que quieres (what do you want)Sydney, then she would just say "baby!" This would be her referring to CJ, Erica's baby. I'd then respond, "yes, Sdney, " and the cycle would begin again 2 seconds after that!!!!

Even after the whole lost ordeal that last about an hour, we still made it in to the valley at 3:30 p.m with a grand total of 508 miles (that included about roughly 20 miles of lost time).