let’s get is started in here
One of the more depressing days in my household is the day after the Superbowl.
Just like one of the happiest days in my household is the opening day of football season.
That day was last night.
If ever Keith and I just wanted to be happy; it was last night.
The Saints vs. The Packers. Well hello, NFL, glad to have you in my life again.
However, this football season is going to be sad for me. My favorite all-time player on my favorite all-time team is hurt. Like may-not-play-the-season hurt.
Who? Peyton Manning, obviously. Do you not know me at all? š
Oh Peyton Manning. He’s got a neck injury (complete with 2 surgeries now) and not many people are not giving the Indianapolis Colts much of a chance without him. Some are saying they will go 3-13 without him.
I WILL NOT GIVE UP ON MY COLTS!
In good times and bad.
For all you Tennessee, Jacksonville and Houston fans…live it up…but it won’t last.
Oh let the trash talking begin.
It’s football season baby!
Are you as excited for football season as I am?
normalcy
Hi friends.
Things are turning around. The fires are getting more and more under control everyday although we still have not had rain. We need rain so badly. So badly. There seems to be some small disturbance in the Gulf that hopefully will produce some rain for us next week. We hope. Until then we all need to be REALLY careful about outdoor fire hazards.
My county, Williamson, has gone as far to start handing out fines to people smoking outdoors. It’s serious.
I would ask that everyone keep praying for all the victims. Keith and I know some people who lost their homes and the aftermath is just tragic. I can not imagine the horror and the long road ahead of those people.
Thank you to you guys for taking an interest although many many many of you do not live in Texas. It has not gone unnoticed. š
So now I would like to try to maintain some normalcy.
I have one confession.
I haven’t cooked dinner in 4 days.
FOUR!
I thinkĀ if KeithĀ had to eat cereal for dinner one more night he was going to start contemplating moving out.
So yesterday I made dinner and I made comfort food. My kind of comfort food.
White Chicken Chili
1 pound bag great white northern beans
6-8 cups chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium onions, chopped (divided)
1 tablespoon oil
2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chilies
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt, to taste
4 cups diced cooked chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
Soak beans overnight (or at least 4 hours prior to cooking)
Combine beans, 6 cups of chicken broth, garlic and half the onions in a large soup pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 3-4 hours or until beans are soft. Add more chicken broth as necessary.
In a skillet, saute remaining onions in oil until tender. Add chilies and seasonings and mix thoroughly. Add to bean mixture. Add the cooked chicken to the pot and continue to simmer for 1 hour.
Serve topped with your favorite chiliĀ toppers. Serves 8.
Ā I think Keith would agree that things are starting to be back to normal.
Ā At least he started unpacking his bags. š
Ā
breathe
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
For all the tweets, prayers, comments, and emails that poured in yesterday. It has been a long couple of days and for some the nightmare is still going strong. For others the reality of having lost everything is sinking in.
My heart hurts for so many people.
I pray for rain. We just need rain.
I am sure you can understand my mood.
Instead of forcing it I just decided to “Be Kelly” and allow myself to feel the grief and sadness I have for so many people whose lives changed forever over one holiday weekend.
For those of you living in the Austin area please donate clothing, foods, furniture you don’t need, pots, pans, etc…anything you can spare to help some of these people temporarily get back on their feet. The people of Bastrop are going to need us more than ever once the fire is under control.
I pray that day is today.
And for everyone else, I urge you to find what is really important in life and forget about the minor things we allĀ bitch about. I do it too.
It’s too hot.
My legs are ugly.
My workout was too hard.
The rain ruined my run.
I hate my hair.
I wish I drove a cooler car.
Etc. Etc. Etc.
There is nothing like a threatening situation to make you realize how small those things are, how little our material things matter and how much we should tell each other how wonderful we are. Our community is amazing and the support and outpouring of love has been monumental.
Thank you, Austin. This is why I love it here.
We still have fires popping up all over the place which is so scary. I feel like we are all just waiting to see where next a fire will be (and hopefully there won’t be anymore!) Our resources are tapped and our fire fighters exhausted.
Be grateful.
Please continuing praying.
Hopefully I will be back tomorrow in a more “bloggy” mood.
Love.
24 hours in fear
It’s been all over the news; Central Texas was on fire yesterday. Austin and surrounding areas were (and still are) burning to the ground. So far we have burned through acreage the size of Connecticut. One of the hardest hit areas, Bastrop, has a fire still going right now roughly the size of Manhattan. Yesterday I asked for your prayers and today I will again. Thousands of people have been evacuated and hundreds have lost their homes. The devastation is total. Here is a picture of what Bastrop looks like:
The poor people of Bastrop are still fighting and fire fighters are desperate for relief. As of right now it is not contained although the winds have died down which will help.
My home was right in the middle of several fires (about 30 miles from Bastrop)Ā and Keith and I were on high alert all day. Steiner Ranch, where Keith works and several of our friends live was on fire. Mandatory evacuations of over 5000 people and 35 dear people lost their homes. As for today it looks like that fire is under control and people should be allowed to go home.
The cause of the fires was the severe weather conditions we are having. We have had record heat all summer with no rain. So little rain that our lake levels are 30+ feetĀ low. We are on water rations andĀ our land is crisp. A cold front blew in giving us relief from the heat but it did not contain rain. It dropped our humidity levels to 12% (which is almost unheard of) and brought us winds of up to 35-40mph. The already dry conditions just made conditions right for stray sparks to fly (from cigarettes, BBQ’s etc.) and the winds took those sparks and lit us up.
I spent the day yesterday tweeting information as quickly as I could while also packing important papers (my marriage license, passports, home owners insurance, bank information, etc..) into a box along with getting my camera and making a video inventory of everything in my house. I then looked around to see what I wanted to take with me in case of a quick evacuation notice. And you know what? It is all just stuff and stuff can be replaced. In the end I packed some clothes, my wedding album, my prescription medicines, my important papers, my computer and our sweet Ā Kodi’s ashes. After that there wasn’t much more I needed or wanted to bring with me. It was a lesson in perspective. I got some boxes and punched holes in them for my chickens and then all that was left to do was wait and pray.
Central Texas in still in a world of hurt right now. I know the Red Cross is set up to take donations and multiple places around Austin need supplies for shelters and for the firefighters. I will tweet more updates as they become available (see hashtag #centraltxfires for complete information)Ā Thank you all for your prayers and your continued support.
I am grateful for the firefighters from all across the state who have come together to help us. Bless you
What Kelly Said 