Hurricanes and Preparedness

As Hurricane Florence approaches and we've tried to figure out what we need to be ready I thought I'd write down some of the thoughts running through my head. 

Normally I feel like we're reasonably prepared.  We have food storage and water and the like and if we had to weather a storm at home we'd be ok.  You know, like a blizzard or something.  But right now we're in a darn hotel and all of our stuff is packed up.  We realized that we may need water and a light source if we lose power here so we were out last night and learned a few things about preparedness.  They aren't new - they were just reinforced.  The immediate lead up to the storm is NOT the time to prepare.  There was no water anywhere.  Fortunately we had bought a case on Saturday and right now we're just refilling any bottle that we drink.  We looked at 3 stores before we found a handheld spotlight for $35.  We have that and some fresh batteries for flashlights in our cars. 

Also, just like with a blizzard, bread is one of the first things to fly off the shelves.  It must be a comfort thing.  

Here are some things that have come to mind:

·         If we lose power, we have no way to charge our phones which means we have no way to communicate with anyone. 

o   We need a hand crank and/or solar cell phone charger.  If the cell towers are down that may not be much help immediately but having a charged battery once towers are up is important.

o   I’ve thought about getting a NOAA weather radio before but haven’t done it.  It’s on the top of my list. Especially since we’ll be living in the country.  We'll be reliant on satellite for internet and TV and that's almost always knocked out with a bad storm so a NOAA radio could be helpful to get information from.

·         If we lose power, we’ll be eating a lot of junk food because we won’t be able to cook anything. And fruit.  We do have fresh fruit and carrots.

o   We need an alternate way to cook.  And fuel for that cooking method (i.e. propane for a grill, etc.).  We'll have this once we've moved but what if we couldn't grill for some reason. Just something to think about. 

·         We have one case of water.  Water is essential to life in so many respects – drinking, cooking, cleaning, bathing… 

o   One of the first things to build back up in our food storage once we’ve moved in

·         Cleaning – I don’t think Clorox Wipes are a good solution for regular cleaning, however, in a situation where water is at a premium I think they would be a good temporary solution.  They would be good enough for short term cleaning so it would be good to have fresh wipes in storage.

o   Also, I think having some dry shampoo would be a good thing. I do have some – just not with me…

·         Light – having light diffuses tension in any situation but especially in a scary one and especially if you have kids (we don't have little kids but we still need light)

o   We have a bunch of lanterns and flashlights (currently in storage) and when we get moved in I need to be more intentional about where I place them and also need to check regularly that their batteries are changed/fresh

Why do people wait?  I have to say that I was surprised to see how calm people were.  No one has been nasty or impatient in the stores even with the long, slow-moving lines.  And it’s also amazing to see how much people have to buy.  Dave noted that normally we wouldn’t have to go to the store because we have what we need.  I’ll also note that that exact point drives me crazy!  We really do try to be prepared with food and water and equipment we would need but all of our stuff is packed up and honestly, it never occurred to me that we could be looking at this while we’re staying in this hotel.  We’re praying that the Lord will be merciful to us and we won’t have a power outage or flooding.  That said, I'm also pretty sure that we're the most prepared room in the hotel at this point.  ;)  

I’ve always marveled at the pictures of people running to the hardware store to buy plywood to board up their windows when a hurricane is coming.  If I lived on the coast I would have plywood and tools in my shed or garage because you know someday you’ll need them.  I’ve always wondered why they wait and rush at the last minute?

Which brings me to another wonder.  Why do some people refuse to evacuate?  There’s no way they don’t know it’s coming. I’ve always wondered that from afar but now I’m here in the general vicinity and let me tell you, there’s no way that you could miss it.  The news is everywhere!  The evacuation orders began going into effect last night and today which should give people time to get safely out of town but there are always some who stay.  Why?  And, as cold-hearted as it may sound, why should someone else be expected to risk their life to save yours because you were being stubborn and refused to leave?  That’s not right.  (It's different if someone *can't* get out but that's not usually who they parade on the news - it's the macho guy who thought he was bigger than the storm.)

Anywho, the latest models show the storm taking a more southern route and hitting North and South Carolina the hardest with southern Virginia getting a wallop (we're in central VA).  They're still saying we'll likely have one heck of a rain party up here but not nearly as bad as it could have been.  The problem for a lot of this area (VA, NC, SC) is that rainfall has already been really high this season and the ground is saturated so we'll be looking at major flooding in some areas. Hoping and praying we can avoid that - both here are the hotel and at the house that we're closing on on Monday!  

The good news is that I do have books to read during the day if the power goes out!  :D  

My Love-Hate Relationship with Mornings

I have a love-hate relationship with mornings. I'm not really sure I'm a night person but I'm not so much a morning person either. I'm a middle person? Well, I'm not sure what that would even mean...

Love - I really can be so very productive in the mornings and I l-o-v-e that! Really! If I get moving I can get so much done in a short amount of time and it feels great. Love it.

Hate - I h-a-t-e waking up in the 5's. The 5's were not meant for being awake. The other day the radio alarm went off and the DJ (do you call the announcer on classic music radio a DJ? Probably not...) anyway, the announcer guy said, "you're enjoying night music on Classical 89.5." SEE? My point exactly! It's night not morning. And since I've heard that announcement more than once I consider it solid fact that the 5's are nighttime. One should not arise then and certainly not before then and I have a really hard time doing so. Maybe there will be a day in the future when I can wake up in the 6's and see if I like that better but I'm not holding my breath. I really prefer the 7's but that's totally unreasonable except for weekends. (Which is a good reminder, if you want me to do something on the weekend that will require my waking before the 7's I make no guarantees of cooperation.) Hate it.

And lest you get too worried, I don't sleep past the 7's except for on very rare occasions and never to the 9's - I mean that's full blown morning and I'm decidedly up by then and even at the 8's I start feeling like I've wasted away the whole day. Maybe that's it - I just like the 7's.

Perhaps someday I'll get over the hate-it part but...let's not hold our breath. In the mean time I'll try to focus on the love-it part. And go to bed so I can get up in the 5's - and only hit snooze 1 or 2 times before doing so...

I Fell Off the Blogging Planet For Awhile

...and really, I'm not sure if I'm totally back. See, I was going to blog about our fun Halloween party -

But I didn't get to it. Then I was going to blog about.... well, no I was going to skip Thanksgiving. So I was going to blog that Christmas was coming -

but it already came and went along with all the family -

that was here that I could've blogged about... Missed that too.

So here's the latest. I was released from the RS presidency after 3 1/2 years. It's bittersweet. I'm excited for the new presidency because as much work as it will be it will also be full of sweet blessings and so much growth. It was truly an awesome calling. So, what does that have to do with blogging? Well, not much really. I first thought maybe I'd be better about blogging but let's be honest, I probably won't. But I suppose I can't say it's cause I'm too busy now...

Maybe I'll blog about my most unique Christmas present - onion goggles. Stay tuned...

What're You Reading?

What are you reading this summer? Or what are your favorite books? I'm trying to find a book that I'll love but nothing is pulling me in or holding my interest at all. I'm still at the "fluff" stage after school, meaning I can't, and don't want to, read anything I have to think about just yet. Maybe I should just read Count of Monte Cristo again... hee hee. Really though, I just want a fun, engaging story and I seem to be hitting brick walls. What are some of your favorites?

Summertime

I was looking at the flowers

this morning (yeah!!) and enjoying the comfortable temperature and at the same time realizing that it will clearly be a hot day. Then I did a little weeding in the garden where produce is really starting to grow and I was excited that summer is finally here. After years of mostly hating summer the last four summers have been so much more fun and enjoyable. Here are a few things I love about summer:

Visiting family and meeting my newest niece! Little Ava is so tiny and cute. She made Cameron seem so big which really made Mia seem huge.

Playing with the locals. We're on a mission to try new parks this summer and find a great place for family photos in July. This was at Lair O' the Bear park.

Fresh herbs in the garden - I have parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary, chives, and cilantro. Yum - well, except for the cilantro, that's not so yum... hee hee

Fresh fruit to eat and make yummy things with. Avery and I made this galette that was so yummy. (Unless you ask Avery, she wasn't so thrilled about it.)

Here's to a great summer filled with family, friends, fresh, delicious food, and lots of adventure!

The End is Near

Just a little randomness...

I'm really glad it's raining because it's beautiful and I love rain! AND because I think it's keeping me from going insane while putting together my bibliography - the rain is soothing. I don't especially like writing sociology papers but I really hate doing the bib. And that goes for any paper. I think that's the worst part of the whole process.

And I just remembered I didn't put dinner in the crockpot yet. I guess it'll be plan b tonight.

Only one more book to read (oh, no, make that two), two more big papers to write, one paper to edit one last time and then finals. In only two weeks. Scream with me, you know you want to! I hear there's light at the end of the tunnel I just don't have time to look up and see for myself.

Ok, I think I'm better now. ;)

Sparkly Kleenex?

Have you ever noticed that the really soft Kleenex is sparkly? What's that all about? I mean do you need to draw more attention to your Rudolph nose?

In case you missed my bright red nose, now it's bright red aaand sparkly!

Huh.

I was gonna blog today...

but then I decided, school starts next week, why get anyone's hopes up?

Random Carrie

I was tagged to post 10 random things about myself (forever and a day ago!) - so here goes...

1. I *love* office/school supplies! White boards, pens, clips, etc., etc., etc.

2. Don't ask me directions. I have no sense of direction and I get lost going anywhere and everywhere. That whole north, east, south, west thing is ridiculous. I know where the mountains are but when I moved so did the mountains. Then what was I supposed to do? There is no such thing as an internal compass in me. At all.

3. I love to organize and plan things. I guess that fits nicely with #1 doesn't it? I'm not so good at coming up with creative, original ideas but I can help you execute it.

4. I like poison frogs. You know the little dart frogs? They're so cute! I love their bright colors and they're tiny which I always like. I don't want to hold one or get in it's way because I don't want to be poisoned you know, but I do like to admire them from afar. See, look: Cute, huh?

5. If I'm in a bad mood, Elvis can usually fix it. Usually.

6. I don't like red candy. Especially red M&Ms!

7. I'm both fascinated by and terrified of fire.

8. I don't think there will ever be enough time on this earth to learn everything I want to learn.

9. As J says, "If it's old, my mom will like it."

10. I took ballet and tap dance lessons when I was little and always had a secret desire to be a ballerina.

Dog Sitting

Last week we watched Becky's dog, Dakota, while they were on vacation. She was pretty good, she's calmed down substantially in her old(er) age which is nice because she was a total spaz when she was a puppy. Anyway, I came home last Thursday and Dakota was acting really weird and jumpy and kept going to the treats. Now, she always likes a treat after you've left her, whether it's for 10 minutes or 10 hours so I gave her one but that's all. (I did learn from this that we humans are not the only creatures that like a treat when we're feeling out of sorts.)

After a few minutes she started trying to hide under the desk and I noticed that her ears were back - and then it hit me! It was stormy outside and there was lots of thunder and Dakota hates thunder - quite terrified of it. So, of course, being the good doggie aunt that I am I sat down with her and pet her. After petting her for a few minutes, hair is flying everywhere and a nice little collection starts. If you think you've ever seen a dog that sheds a lot, wait until you see these pictures...

This was after petting her for about 20 minutes (and of course there was plenty left on the carpet, my clothes, floating in the air, etc.):

I put the movie next to the collection of dog hair just to give you a size reference:

This is pretty normal. She sheds like it's going out of style! I put up with it because, well, what else am I going to do? But also because it was fairly entertaining sitting there with her. She put her head down and rubbed against me and she tried several times to climb into my lap. Dakota is NOT a lap dog, as you can see:

Then she buried her head against my leg and covered her eyes with her paws. Any time it thundered she'd look at me and whimper. Poor Dakota! I feel sorry that she was so nervous but honestly it was quite humorous and endearing.

Summer Poem

I was looking for quotes to put on our RS calendar today and I came across this poem:

Bed In Summer Poem

In winter I get up at night,
And dress by yellow candle light.
In summer quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day,

I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown up people's feet
Still going past me in the street,

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?

by Robert Louis Stevenson

I had to laugh because I totally remember this feeling when I was a kid. Going to bed when it was still light was so unfair! Of course, as a parent I had no problem with that rule... But I'm pretty sure the J didn't care for it... heh heh.

Glasses Clapper

Remember those old commercials for "The Clapper"?  You could put it on your lamps and just "clap" them on and off. It seems like there was something similar for keys so you could find them. I need something like that for my glasses. I don't need my glasses all the time, although that seems to be changing but I'm going to continue to deny that, so I pretty much try to wear them as little as possible. I don't like wearing them and contacts are out. First off, as you'll remember I don't need glasses all the time so why wear contacts? Second, I cannot get the darn things in my eyes. 

The problem is that I have a bad habit of taking my glasses off wherever I am and forgetting them. When I need to leave (especially when I'm in a hurry) I can't find them which of course leads to a frantic search. I can't drive without them so I really can't leave without them so if I'm late for something there's a good chance I couldn't find my glasses because I'm generally a very on time person.  

Sometimes when I take them off and set them on, say, my bed, my nephew jumps on them and smooshes them. I know, I know, I should really just leave them on my face. But let's be honest, I'm not going to. I just need a homing device or a clapper or something in them so I can find them when I need them! Is that so much to ask?

Cooking Classes

We are without a cooking group leader (small enrichment groups) for the moment so I'm trying to plan the summer months so that when we have a new leader she won't have to come up with something instantly. (Perhaps this will be an incentive for the new leader?) In June we'll be doing Dutch Oven cooking. In September I think we'll be doing a class on making and canning your own salsa.  

What would be fun for July and August? Last summer we did summer salads and desserts and we did grilling... I'd love any suggestions that you'd like to see. And if you're in my ward you can still suggest something and I won't ask you to be the group leader. Unless I feel so inspired...  ;)

hair styles

I went to get my hair cut yesterday and I was hoping to find a new style. This raised a couple questions. Well, not so much new questions but for some reason they really annoyed me yesterday.

1. Why isn't there a magazine with haircuts for real people? Ok, I'll admit, I've seen a few of those seriously crazy styles on campus but 99.9% of us would not wear our hair like that and when we want to look at style options... that's not what we want. Or am I alone in that?

2. I often wonder when I do find a cute haircut, "...but will this hair look good even if I'm fully dressed?" I mean what if you got a haircut that only looked good when you were pretty much naked? That would annoy me!  

Same beef with a google search. In fact, you have to be a little more careful there because if you decide that you like a certain starlets hair, for example, and you search her name... Whoa! You may be a little shocked. It's best not to search stars I guess. Maybe I should search "short hair that real women who are fully clothed wear"

Random Thoughts from Utah

I still can't wear a normal shoe except for tennis shoes (too tight and painful) so on Sundays I have to wear one regular shoe and my surgical shoe.  I was getting my shoes out of my suitcase and Avery said, "Are you just looking for matching shoes?" Who knew a 7-year old would be embarrassed that her aunt was wearing mismatched shoes?

Kelton adores Justin. All weekend he told J where to sit (right next to him if possible and close by if not), and just loved to be with him. I wish J could see how much those kids look up to him and adore him.

Jeremy decided that I'm perhaps more of a nerd than him. (Although he's a math/science nerd which is hard to beat... seriously.) In a nutshell, Elvis came up in the conversation and I had to correct some facts. Jeremy didn't know I knew so much about Elvis. I believe his exact quote was, "And people call me a nerd." Funny. He doesn't all about Elvis? Oh, you mean it's possible that most people don't know the exact date the king died? Hmm. Guess that places me squarely in the nerd category. But I've been there for long time... I'm good with that. 

Just TCB baby!

And for those of you with toddlers - bubbles are a lifesaver in the car! Becky saw the idea on a website so she brought bubbles along. As soon as Mia was fussy I'd start blowing bubbles at her and she immediately calmed down. Now, my back was a little wrenched from being twisted around for so long (but that might have to do w/the cereal fight too...), but the baby stopped crying and that was fabulous. The boys were a little sad that they bubbles didn't reach all the way back to them but it was still entertaining for them too. If you have little ones - try it!

Slowin' Me Down

My surgered foot is slowin' me down! You're probably thinking "duh!" - let me assure you I did expect this... It's just that I'm a little impatient - shocking, I know.

Generally I walk pretty fast - there's no need to mosey, just move it. I go nuts when I get stuck behind someone who is taking their sweet time and especially when I get behind a whole group that has to spread out and take up the whole sidewalk and meander and move at turtle pace - just kills me. I mean seriously, what is the deal? Dawdle if you must, but leave room so people can get around you. It's not that I have to be anywhere or that I'm always late, I'm not - I tend to be an early bird - I just walk fast, plain and simple. (But there might be people who do need to get somewhere so really, don't block the whole sidewalk. But I digress...) 

Come to think of it, I have a tendency to leave people behind and not even realize it. One minute they're there, the next they're way behind. What's the deal? Keep up already, ja? Perhaps you've noticed this? Maybe it's better if you haven't. Yeah, I'll hope that you haven't and this is all just a surprising revelation, or confession, to you.

When J was little I'd hold his hand and walk like I normally do until he said, "Mommy, you're going to fast!" Poor kid! He was running to keep up and I didn't even notice. (I'm not talking about one isolated incident either.) But don't worry, I slowed right down. For a minute or so. I'm pretty sure I've done this to my nieces and nephews too. Yeah, I seem to remember Avery telling me to slow down once. Or twice...

So maybe this is a good thing for me. I can learn not to travel at warp speed (ok, I'm not that fast!) and I can see what all the fuss is about dawdling. Or perhaps I should say 'strolling leisurely' - that's a more positive spin. But, let's be honest, once my foot is healed --- there will be no more moseying so be prepared to keep up. 

The Wasp

It seems that sitting outside at school (I have a rather long break between classes) may not be my best plan this semester.  Last week I got a sunburn. Hey! It really hurt! Then today I was sitting in class, before it started, and the guy behind me said "Don't move" and put his hands on my shoulders.  

"You have a bee on your back.  You aren't allergic are you?"  

"No."  

"Well, actually it's a huge wasp."

"Oh." (I mean, what else can I say?) 

Then he said to stand up slowly and he used his notebook to try to shoo the thing off my back and it really didn't want to go. Maybe I smelled like flowers? Hmm, maybe not... I was a little concerned for a minute that he was going to try and smash it on my back - like he was lining up his notebook for a good hit but he was just angling to get my little yellow jacket friend to leave.

He finally did shove (push, scoot, whatever term you like) it off and the wasp was ticked off! It went tearing around the room - and don't worry, half the class was watching by this point - and we all watched it zoom around the ceiling for awhile. I'm not sure where it went in the end but thankfully it did not end up back on my back. 

Girl Scout Cookies

It's Girl Scout cookie time!  And let's be honest, who doesn't love Girl Scout cookies!? (I always felt a little deprived in Utah because they're much harder to come by - maybe the Activity Day girls need to start selling cookies? Nah. I think the Girl Scouts have a lock on this one.) I remember going door to door selling GS cookies when I was a Brownie... Ok, I didn't love that cause I've never been a salesman, BUT I've had a love affair with the cookies ever since.

Somoas are the best! Sometimes I wish they were available all year. Then again, if they were I'd eat them too often. And then they would lose their charm after awhile which would be sad. So I guess I'm glad they only come around once a year...

And what's the deal with Thin Mints? Why do they always leave tiny black crumbs in your teeth? Even if you only eat one cookie? My word! Maybe that just means that you should eat a Thin Mint then follow it up with a Somoa so that the crumbs go away...  See? It always comes back to the Somoas...

Library Movies

I started checking movies out from the library, mostly because it's free, and I just reserve them, the library emails me and says they are ready and I just have to run in and pick them up.  So convenient. The only drawback, that is only a drawback sometimes, is that it can take a really, really long time to get the movie you want. Long time as in 6-12 months sometimes. Since it takes so long and I never know when one will be ready it's sort of a nice little surprise and I can pick it up and watch it on the weekend. I'm talkin' new release movies, etc. I can usually get documentaries (duh! Of course I watch those!) and older movies pretty quickly.

Clearly this doesn't work for everything since sometimes I want to see a movie sooner than that, in which case I just have to break down and rent it or try to get to the theater before its gone. 

I just read an article the other day that said since the recent economic changes (don't you like that positive word choice?) library patronage is up. Oh great! I mean, I'm all for people using the library - that's what they're there for. But it makes me think that my wait time for movies is going to be more like 12-18 months. Nuts!

Feelin' Guilty

We were scheduled to have the missionaries over for dinner tomorrow but they just called and canceled. They have another appointment that will conflict. My first thought was "Yes! That's goo-ood news." Then I felt a little bad. I wonder if he could tell how eagerly I accepted his cancelation? "Oh, no worries! We'll just reschedule another time." 

It's not that I don't want to have them over, it's more that I'm just feeling tired tonight and it sounds like a lot less work for tomorrow if I don't have to clean the house and make a big dinner. Is that really bad or what? That's probably a mark against me so now I better be extra good to make up for it, huh?