Lakeshore Drive

As I mentioned in my previous, my friend Sophie and I had plans to cross the Causeway yesterday (the longest bridge in the world!) and hike through Foutnainebleau State Park. We made the hour drive, Vera in tow, only to find out when we got there that the park has been closed SINCE ISAAC. Of course there was no mention of this on the website, nor did the man I talked to yesterday morning when I asked if I could bring my dog mention that leetle detail. As if I was speaking in generalities, "if I ever were to come to your park, would it be okay to bring my dog?" Anyway, we made the best of the hour drive and took Vera to a huge and awesome dog park and then Christian gave me directions to the lakefront. This was my first trip to Mandeville and walking along the lake was well worth the drive. My day's mission was to see some of Louisiana that I haven't seen before, so although it didn't go as planned, my mission was accomplished.

House along the drive

Sophie and Vera

look how far out that man is!

running 

Post Surgery and Evacation

taped up windows ready for the storm 

Sunday afternoon C and I were laying out in the blazing sun, next to the pool, not a cloud in the sky when he begins sharing with me his concern about this storm heading for New Orleans and about how surely my school will be closed this week.  And of course with no experience with hurricanes or evacuating, I say, "Look at the sky, you're being irrational. There's noway they'll cancel school." Two hours later I get a call that school is closed through Wednesday. We head to the store to get supplies and they have been all but emptied of anything nonperishable. That's when I start to believe, him and my concern about his scheduled surgery begins to build. We packed our bags and agreed to head to Mobile right after the surgery.

Preparing:

In spite of the storm I go ahead with cooking my healing chicken and dumplings for C after surgery, it's a combination of my mom's chicken soup and my mother in law's chicken and dumplings soup.

 We taped up the windows, got all the important stuff out of the way, packed our marriage certificate, passports, wedding albums, hard drives, and the family jewelry. We sat everything by the front door ready to go so that when I brought C home from surgery all I had to do was pack the coolers with everything perishable, pack the car, and drive East.

Surgery:

Before hand I cheered C up by showing him some memes. Here's a scene from our future car ride:

ready to go

after surgery, standing already!

 The car ride:

Erin, my BF from high school, was along for the ride

C in the back seat, leg propped up, pets in tow 

A Walk to the End of the World

We call the end of the levee "the end of the world." It feels like you are in another world once you reach this quiet retreat, surrounded by water, which seems so far away from the city. This is also the site of one the famous levee breaches that happened post Katrina in 2005.

Days after the storm:

Most of the images of people waiting on their rooftops for helicopters to rescue them, were taken only blocks from where we live. So, maybe "the end of the world" is an appropriate name in more ways than one. Regardless, I walk Vera here on a daily basis and it is one of my favorite places in the city.

6 1/2 years later:

Welcome! by Lauren

My name is Lauren Hardy and I have been an avid blog follower for the last several years. Reading other people's blogs fulfills my constant longing to be involved in other peoples' business without them ever knowing I was there. There was even a time a few years ago when I had my own blog (check it out here) but it was short lived because my purpose was limiting, and I was super lazy about updating it, and I was confused about who my audience should be...

Solution: a new blog, and a partner (my husband) to make sure that we are always up to date. You see, in so many ways Christian is strong where I am weak, and visa versa. For example, I hate to sweep and he doesn't seem to mind, I know the ins and outs of every account we have from Chase to Netflix and he pleasantly takes the backseat. In this same spirit, Christian is much better at keeping track of his online presence, and I often forget about these things, sometimes for weeks. 

So, there you have it, a blog with a purpose: to open up our life to our family and friends around the world, who we often don't see enough of. And who knows, maybe you'll learn something about love, being thrifty and earth friendly, and what happens when two people meet the love of their life at 18 and decide to make work: f-o-r-e-v-e-r...

Oh, and we're super obsessed with our animals, so please excuse the many photos to come that we clearly think are too adorable to keep to ourselves: