five years

can you believe that on sunday it will have been 5 years since hurricane katrina destroyed new orleans and numerous lives? it feels like just yesterday that i was in my women studies course and our professor told us that she was heading down to new orleans to see what she could do to help. her husband and her ended up bringing back 2 families to live with them until they were able to get enough money to start a new life. i've never forgotten that professor and she will always inspire me.

when i was in seattle a few years ago, j and i went with my best friend to volunteer for pasado's safe haven. she had organized a work event to go and volunteer and we were lucky enough to be able to join them! we helped them load up all of their equipment as they were about to drive all the way down to texas and louisana before hurricane gustav hit. they didn't know for sure if it'd hit louisana, but they were making the drive regardless to ensure that any abandoned, misplaced, or injured animals were taken care of. during katrina, they were the first rescue organization on site and rescued over 1200 animals! how amazing is that? they also have 85 acres which is home to hundreds of dogs, cats, cows, chickens, ducks, goats, turkeys, pigs, and donkeys (most were brought to pasado's due to abuse or neglect and now live out their lives in peace). after loading up the trucks, we got to drive an hour outside of seattle to see this sanctuary and it was so magical. all of the animals get to roam free and they have some incredible views!



here's the crew after a hard day's work!

see what i mean? anyways, if you are a huge animal lover and want to support an awesome organization, definitely check out pasado's.

sorry for the tangent, but as i was watching the today show this morning and they discussed katrina, it was ironically relevant considering i just finished reading "zeitoun" by dave eggers for our next book club meeting. it is a book that tells the story of the zeitoun family, a muslim family, before, during, and after hurricane katrina. although i've never been a huge dave eggers fan (actually i've always been anything but), i did actually really enjoy this book. it highlights how so many families stayed behind like they had done numerous times before with minimal damage. it is a story of heroism and horrible government injustices. i don't want to say too much since we haven't had a chance to discuss it yet in book club; however, i definitely recommend the book. plus it's so important that we don't forget the atrocities that occured 5 years ago and the book even ends with resources so that you can continue to help rebuild new orleans.


happy friday! have any fun things planned?
j and i may be having my niece over for a sleepover, but other wise we're going to take it easy. i just want to spend as much time together since i'll be traveling for work all of next week. hope you get to spend some time with your favorites this weekend!

♥