Why?

Fall has started in CajunCountry! Wonder why God only created 4 seasons?

I've been the curious sort my whole life.
I wonder about everything around me and am amazed by it all.

I think my teachers feared having me in their class because they just knew I wasn't interested in hearing the simple answer to something.
It always delayed any sort of recess or break we could have in class because the teacher spent the next 5-10 minutes trying to get me to just accept what they were saying just because they were saying it. 

I got a lot of evil stares from classmates. And if our limited vocabulary skills had been more developed I am sure those stares would have instead been strings of well-crafted four letter insults.

But I am not deterred. Although no one has been able to satisfactorily answer the questions I have, I've made a list of questions that I want to be buried with just in case God allows a Question and Answer period when I see Him.

Just joking about the list being buried with me. Maybe.

Without further ado, here are my questions in no particular order.
Unless they need to be in a certain order.
Oh, someone please stop my need to put things in order!

1. If men were created to be distinctly different from women, then what's up with men having nipples, God? I know there is the whole "men used to breastfeed" theory but I don't totally buy it.
2. Why do we have tears when we cry? What purpose do they serve? I understand that they express emotion but so does my red, scrunched up face and lamaze-style breathing when I stub my toe and am in pain, without the need for liquid to come pouring out of a part of my body. Not that I want liquid to come pouring out of a hole in my body.
3. Why do we have just 2 hands? Why wouldn't 6 or 8 hands have been better? Seems like extra hands would fill a real need for the human race.
4. It seems that when women get older, we tend to lose estrogen and start to become a little more manly, what with the facial hair and all. Why don't men become more feminine as they age? Seems unfair. Except for the whole menopause thing. Thank you, Lord, that I don't have to live my whole life worrying about PMS every month! Oh yeah, and my husband thanks you, too! He still has battle scars, poor man.
5. I have tried to imagine just how long eternity is and my brain almost breaks as it approaches completing this thought. Actually, it really hurts God. Maybe that was your way of telling me not to do that again?
6. Do you like to dance? It's a weird question, I know. But I want to know.
7. What's your favorite color? You created all of them, after all. You must have a favorite.
8. Why is only 11% of the population left-handed? I thought for sure it would be closer to 50%. Does being left-handed make us your favorite children? Cuz if it does, I could certainly live with that. Or die with that. Whatever.
9. Are there cookies here in Heaven? Better yet, is there food at all? This is Heaven after all and surely you don't gain weight here, no matter how much you eat. Right?
10. Romney or Obama?  

I hope God will sit and have coffee with me and talk to me when I get there.

Wonder if he knows I like a lot of cream in my coffee?

What would you ask God if you had the chance?

Hurricane Isaac: Anticipation

I knew the fraggin' storm was coming when I woke up this morning.
This isn't my first rodeo but it was different for some reason.
It was nothing I could put my finger on and it lingered just below the surface of consciousness. 

I brushed off the weird feeling and rolled out of bed, drank some coffee and took a shower. It wasn't until halfway through my shower when CajunGuy came into the bathroom to tell me that he wanted to buy a generator that I started to get concerned. 

Growing up we may have evacuated for a hurricane twice, including Katrina.
Given the choice, my Mom would ride out the Apocalypse. Seriously.
For me, hurricanes aren't a time to panic. You just prepare and let God handle the rest. 

Yet a wave of panic rolled in my brain when CajunGuy wanted to buy a generator. Suddenly I was new to this hurricane crap and all sensibility drained from my head. I fought him a little (OK, a lot) about the generator and even he asked me why I was digging my heels in.

And let me tell you: this was no everyday purchase. Sure, I love to save a buck but that just isn't possible when, during a hurricane, demand goes up and supply goes down. You pay what they ask and just deal with it. (I hate that part!)

So off to Lowe's we went to buy a generator. As soon as we got to the checkout I started calculating all the other things we could have bought with the money I was about to spend. I was a mess on the inside but couldn't figure out why.

After the most gut-wrenching debit card swipe of my life, I drove to the bank to get cash in case we had to evacuate. As I wrote out the check in the bank lobby it was as if that feeling I'd had all day jumped out from around a corner in my brain. 

Buying that generator meant that now I was riding out a storm, away from the protection that I have known my whole life. I was making the decision to stay or go. I was in charge of making sure my family was taken care of. I had to provide.

I was moved up the responsibility line. And it terrified me.

Until I realized that I was handling it well. Because of our diligence in saving money, CajunGuy and I were in a position that we could provide for each other. We were able to get what we need to keep us going and still be OK in the long run. 

I think that newly discovered confidence was worth the price of the generator -- and all of the anxiety.

Note: for those of you who are new to the hurricane experience, I suggest looking at this handy guide if for nothing else but a few laughs. 

Hurricane Isaac: Preparations

                                    We Hurricaners know how to do it right!                                    (Photo courtesy of www.weather.com)

 Last night I had the honor (NOT!) of going to the grocery store to buy supplies. I am usually ahead of the game during Hurricane season, but this year I was way off. We had 10 bottles of water and 6 cans of vegetables left in our house. I was desperate. And so was the rest of the small town I live in.

There were more people in that store last night than there are in a month's time. And I bought more canned food than should be allowed by law. I am now the proud owner of approximately 12 cans of beans (bleh!), 12 cans of peas, 15 cans of corn, 5 cans of pineapples (which half of may or may not have already been eaten), 10 cans of tuna, 8 cans of corn and 4 boxes of off-brand mac and cheese, which can only be described as disgusting.

I doubt seriously that the storm will do more than send a few inches of rain my way and knock the power out for a couple of hours. If I'm right, Hallejuah! If I'm wrong, I'll be eating that mac and cheese until things get back to normal. 

If any family or friends are reading this and need a place to evacuate, please come here. I could use some help eating all the canned goods I bought! ;-)

Looks Can Be Deceiving

For those of you unfamiliar with Cajun Country, things here don't exactly work like they do in other places. Street names are in French, directions are given by landmarks and words are not pronounced like they look.

In fact, I get into more debates about pronunciation than I do about anything else. Why it matters so much to me is beyond me, but I debate anyway because:

1.  It's in my nature (Mom says I would have made a great attorney) and 
2.  What else do I really have to do on a day-to-day basis? Aside from a daily load of laundry and a never-ending sink full of dishes.

 I am constantly fascinated (and a wee bit perplexed) by the way some words around here are pronounced.

 See if you can pronounce these words. I've given you a hint about their origin to help you.

• Delcambre (a city) This was by far the biggest mind-bender for me. Pronunciation: Dell-come. Seriously.
• Schlumberger (a company) Not exactly an offense to the English language but not exactly how I have heard it pronounced all my life either. Pronunciation: Sh-lumber-jay. Maybe I'm wrong (that even hurts to type, HA!) but I have always heard it pronounced Sh-lum-burger.
• Retif (a company) Again, not offensive, but odd. Pronunciation: Reh-tiff.
• Domingue (a company) I have actually had a spirited debate with CajunGuy about this one. And by spirited debate I mean an epic argument over what is "correct". We're still working out the kinks of our new marriage. What can I say? Pronunciation: Dough-main-guh. (Please tell me I'm not the only one who pronounces it Dough-mean-gay.)
• Iowa (a city) Yes, it's also a state. But it is not pronounced the way you think. Pronunciation: Eye-oh-way.

Hurricane Survival: A Guide

It's been said that Louisiana has 2 seasons: Eternal Summer and Hurricane Season.
If you've lived here for any length of time you'll likely agree with me.

Hurricane season here in Louisiana is such a large part of our culture that we don't even worry about most of the things that happen in the tropics.

A storm heading for the Gulf? Gimme a square on the Hurricane Pool. Oh, and throw my name on the Saints pool, too. You know they're gonna win, right?

We're weird like that here in the Gulf States. See how alarmingly unconcerned we are with hurricanes here in the South? That's not to say that we are never concerned about them, but Katrina taught us a few good lessons:

1. Not every storm is worthy of full-blown panic. Wake me up when it becomes a Category 3, mkay?
2. Even a hurricane is a good reason to have a party. We seriously have hurricane parties here. (Why are you laughing??) Some folks have even been known to bring their stock of canned goods and do a "can swap". After all, there are only so many cans of beans you can eat, even if it is your only food until the power comes back on.
3. It's just stuff. Yes, it hurts to lose it but as someone who watched her family and friends lose everything, I'm here to tell you that stuff can be replaced. If you talk to us now, we all agree that it was easier to replace our stuff than it would have been to replace our lives.
4. Make peace with your family members now. Or at the very least, invest in some good ear plugs. You may be spending 17+ hours with said family member(s) in a vehicle headed for Heaven-knows-where, praying that your beloved relative's bad habit of talking incessantly will end, or you will have to end it for them, so help you God...Oh, wait, where was I again? Oh yeah: Assault is illegal, even during an evacuation. So is strapping someone to the roof of your vehicle for the duration of the trip. Not that I've ever thought of that or anything...
5. Being away from your home for extended periods of time during a hurricane (aka Hurrication) can be fun. We met lots of really great people during Katrina and kept in good spirits despite what was happening.
6. We make Hurricane Pools. We bet on strength of the storm when it hits land, where the eye will make landfall and how long until power is restored, among other things. Ya know, when life hands you lemons...
7. Homeowners' Insurance policies don't cover flooding. You MUST buy a flood policy to be covered. Trust us on this one!
8. MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) become a source of entertainment as well as nutrition. They're often labeled with a meal number to identify the contents. At one point after Katrina, someone was operating a website dedicated solely to MREs and their contents. You typed in the MRE number and got a list of what was inside the MRE. Handy for those times when you don't want to open the whole package just to figure out what's inside. Word to the wise: While MREs are a great thing to have in times of crisis, they were meant to sustain our military during times when food is scarce. Most have between 2,000 - 3,000 calories so be careful when eating them, lest you suddenly wonder why the pants that fit you 2 days ago no longer fit you today. True story.
9. If you are traveling with pets and one of them starts to whine like crazy, please take it as a note to pull over and let them pee. Otherwise, your mistaking their "potty cry" for their "scared cry" could get you a lap full of warm pee. Another true story.
10.  And rounding out my list of lessons: make a family member/friend who lives outside of Hurricane Striking Zone your point of contact for the whole family. Phone calls are often VERY hard to make to people in the hurricane's path and having one person to call to get updates from, and report your well-being to, can save your sanity. If you have any left after dealing with #4 on this list, that is.

Hurricanes, like anything in life, are easier when you're prepared.

Which reminds me, 33 days until the start of Hurricane Season 2012. Are you ready?

Roadkill = ....Dinner??

Yes folks. 

In my part of the country, it sometimes can be.

Fortunately for me, I narrowly avoided such a tragedy last week.

Picture it:

CajunGuy behind the wheel of our car, traveling down the road to get his Mom's house when all of a sudden a furry white animal with long, floppy ears hopped into the middle of the tree-lined road. When its eyes met with the headlights of our oncoming vehicle it froze. I, of course, screamed like a little girl and grabbed on to the seat in preparation for impact, praying and promising God all sorts of things if we could only miss this defenseless creature. (But really, what kind of damage could a rabbit do to a vehicle? I really need to get a grip sometimes! LOL)

Then it happened.

CajunGuy swerved hard. Except he was aiming for the rabbit! I'm not sure how, but he missed it. He flippin' missed it!

Then I heard the words no person EVER wants to hear:

"Dang! That would have made a good stew!"

Ummm....what?!?

I did what any normal person would do and laughed at his comment. When I didn't hear him laughing with me I got scared. Really scared.

It's time for me to start checking the tires of our car the next time he cooks and claims it's "chicken".

My Journey Starts Here

Hi there! I'm CajunGal (but my friends know me as Liz).

Fancy meetin' you here! How's ya mom an 'em?

What's that you say? You didn't understand what I said? Sorry, that's just our Louisiana way of saying "Hey! Nice to see you! How are you and your family doing?"

Glad to see you're joining me as I transition from the life of a city gal to the life of a country gal. (Wait, when did I sign up for that?!?!?)

See, I was raised in the city. Never more than 5 minutes from a Walgreens or a WalMart, within walking distance of....everything, really. 

Then, in 2009 my whole world changed. I met a guy from the country (you'll see him mentioned here as CajunGuy) and fell in love with the country lifestyle -- and him, too! :-) He asked me to marry him last year and my life has been slowly turning, dare I say.....upside down? His world is filled with dirt roads, farms and drives "into town" for just about everything.

My days are filled with finishing my degree, wedding planning (and alternating between two cities more than 100 miles apart to accomplish it!) and learning just what the country life is all about.

In the short 2 years I've known CajunGuy, much of what I thought I knew has changed, and so have I. It's my hope that I can use this blog to capture all of the memories that I know I will cherish in the years to come. 

And it's on the little dirt road that runs next to CajunGuy's house on my many drives "into town" that I have done most of my thinking, wondering and problem-solving. 
The name Dirt Road Lessons popped into my head and it stuck. And here I am.

I'm headed down the Dirt Road, destination unknown, just enjoying the ride. 
Hop in and join me!