The weekend's Nowak news

So let's be honest: All weekend, you were sitting around thinking, "Sure, I'd like to know who the father of Anna Nicole's daughter is, but what I really wonder is: What's going on with Lisa Nowak?" Fortunately, the media provided a heathy dose of astronaut-related updates over the weekend. Here's what you might have missed:

• On Thursday, some friends had dropped by Nowak's Clear Lake home for a visit, according to an AP report carried by KHOU. The AP couldn't get access to the coffee klatsch, but it did catch up with one of Nowak's friends, Ellen Ochoa, who echoed everyone else's shock at hearing the news of Nowak's arrest. "My first question was, are we sure it’s the person that works at NASA? Could there be some mistake?" Ochoa said.
• KTRK and KPRC were there Friday to catch Nowak heading to the Johnson Space Center for her daily psych evaluation, then returning home. According to Channel 13, Nowak and her escort, astronaut Steve Bowen, had to wait several minutes before getting into the JSC, though it's not clear why. Also Friday, astronaut Bill Oefelein, the apple of Nowak's eye, asked for some time off from NASA. "NASA really doesn't track where its employees go on vacation. And, so, we don't have an official monitoring of that, so I can't tell you where he is," James Hartsfield, a spokesman for the agency, said.
• Also on Friday, KHOU carried the news that Nowak's husband Richard returned to work for the first time since her arrest. Richard Nowak works for Barrios Technology, a NASA contractor; last year, he was named one of the best controllers and computer engineers in the International Space Station's control center.