The Hurricane Diaries-Part Three

Remember scenario G? Where God performs a miracle and all the trees fall away from my house? Well guess who got a miracle? 

That's right. Me. And my neighbors. Thank goodness!

I came home Sunday to this:

This tree is blocking the entrance to our street. It used to shade that nice house on the corner, but fell luckily in the right direction. All it took out was a streetlight and a power line. It didn't hit a single house or car. And if I had stayed home instead of at Jenn's, my car could've been parked under that tree. 

It was an absolute mess in our neighborhood, with trees and branches down everywhere. The power came back Monday morning and thankfully now most everything has been cleaned up. The tree has been split in half and moved out of the way. We all have a feeling it won't be moved before we are. But that's ok with us. Our houses are here and not a single tree fell on a house that had someone living in it. Paige said it perfectly, that God gently laid each branch in the exact right spot, protecting us. I just am so thankful that God did this for us. 

Praise the Lord and how he gently carries us through the (very literal) storms of life. 

The Hurricane Diaries-Part Two

Oh my word. My first real hurricane experience has come and gone. Thankfully before Irene hit, she moved a little more east and weakened to a Category 1. Jenn, Jackson, and I enjoyed every bit of electricity we could Friday night assuming that it could be a while before we enjoyed it again. We watched movies, ate popcorn, and otherwise surfed the internet for hurricane information. We were put on a curfew from 12am Saturday until 9am Sunday. 

Jackson saw my air mattress that I brought and decided he wanted an air mattress too. Then he decided that he wanted to sleep in the living room. So we had a big slumber party in the living room, with Jackson on the couch and Jenn and I on our respective air mattresses. Thank goodness we all decided to sleep in the same room. It wasn't as bad as the news made it seem, but it was still scary at times. Around 2 am the hurricane force winds and rain started to really kick in. We all kept waking up every hour or two listening to the storm, praying that we would be safe and so would our houses. Around 5:30 am Jackson woke up scared and traded places with Jenn. Then the power went off. We slept on and off again until close to 8am. 

We woke to a banging sound on the side of the house, which we quickly discovered was a piece of siding from the front of Jenn's house. It eventually blew off into the back yard. Part of her fence was also damaged. But, since there was no power and the storm was still raging outside, we decided to make the most of it. 

So we...

built a fort....

colored pictures....

and played "Dinosaur Train".

The power came back on much earlier than we expected it to and we had a pretty comfortable evening. I knew that the base didn't have power and that some trees were down, but I was a bit nervous to find out what I would go home to Sunday morning. But if a little bit of siding and fence damage was there was at Jenn's, I was pretty confident I wouldn't have too much damage either. I was glad we were prepared for whatever may come our way, and I was even more glad that the supplies were not really needed. And I was glad that I had a six year old to hang out with. They make pretty good hurricane buddies. 

The Hurricane Diaries- Part One

My iPhone calendar says today I'm supposed to have a party with Jenn and Paige to celebrate five months of this deployment being done. 

Instead, Paige is in Raleigh with that cute baby Liam and Jenn and I are hunkering down at her house waiting for Hurricane Irene. 

This certainly has been an interesting deployment. 

On Tuesday I bought batteries, snacks, a first aid kit, and an extra lantern. Irene was expected to be a Category 3. I worried about the three trees with branches that hang over the house. 

On Wednesday I bought water and more snacks. Irene was expected to head more east of here and stay a Category 3. I continued to worry about the three trees with branches that hang over the house. I couldn't decide whether to stay or run away. 

On Thursday Jenn helped me bring my plants in to the screened porch. Irene started moving west and was said to be strengthening to a Category 4. I called USAA to make sure that if a tree fell on my house that we were covered by insurance. Don't worry, we are. And, of course, the cars are too. Everyone else seemed to be evacuating, and I still just didn't know what to do. I finally decided to stay.

I also listened to someone tell me the story of a hurricane followed by a band of tornadoes that dropped seven trees on their house and one tree on each of their cars. Most of their belongings were ok, but the cars and house were destroyed. If she could live through it, so could I, right?

Today I finished securing everything outside, cleaned the tubs, filled them with water, packed two coolers and three grocery bags of food, packed enough clothes to last at least a week for any weather or circumstance, loaded up the X-earth, and headed to Jenn's for the weekend. Irene has kept a pretty steady path, but thankfully has weakened to a Category 2. Almost everyone else in the neighborhood has been moved into new housing or left for Raleigh. It was eerily quiet on base since all the helicopters had been evacuated to avoid the storm. 

As I packed and cleaned, I thought of all the possible scenarios. A) Nothing would happen and we would be fine. B) Power would be out for a few days, but no major damage. C) I would come home to find three trees blown over directly on my house and it would be flooded from all the rain. D) The satellite dish on the street over would be blown from the ground and Irene would throw it directly into the Sentra's rear windshield. E) Windows in every room would be broken and wind and rain would have destroyed everything in it's path. F) That I would suffer a heart attack at a young age trying to determine every possible scenario that a hurricane could create while my husband was gone. 

I couldn't decide what to pack. I stood in front of my closet. My dear Laura texted me to check in and make sure I was ok. Then, in true  dramatic girl fashion, I sat on the floor and cried. I really wanted my husband to be here. I really wanted someone to tell me what to do. I REALLY wanted to save all of my clothes and shoes. And I cried a few extra tears thinking about the potential loss of all my pretty clothes and shoes. (You can't take it with you Hilary, you can't take it with you. Store up your treasures in Heaven.)

I finally decided to hope for scenario G) That God would perform a miracle and all the trees would fall away from my house since no one lives around me right now. But just in case, I allowed myself to pack one bin of things I would save. I have joked before that I would save my microwave and DVR if there was a fire in my house. And in a tornado, there's just no saving anything. But when you have lots of time to decide, it's hard to make that decision. As I cleaned and put things away I had a sentimental memory of each item. The ring I bought when I was out with Adam, or the book that reminds me of a dear friend....what would I save if there was a hurricane? I finally decided on some pictures I didn't have scanned and saved on my computer. The scarves Adam bought me from different countries on the last deployment and the nice jewelry he's bought me. And, my reptile print four inch heel platform peep toe pumps that I bought on my recent trip to VA, because if I could save just one article of clothing I would choose those. 

So packed up, cleaned up, and secured down, I headed to Jenn's. And here  we are now waiting out the storm. Stay tuned for Part Two....even I'm waiting on the edge of my seat!

A Wednesday List

1. For more information on TGS Goes to The Pirate Invasion, visit here.

2. TGS Goes to The Beach = fail. Poor Ginger girl started throwing up in the car just before we pulled in to park. Poor Katy had it a day later. I apparently have a stomach of steel. Must be all those years working with kids. I much prefer this over buns of steel. Although, they come in a close second.

3. I am slightly freaking out about this hurricane that's headed our direction. I've never quite been at the brunt of a hurricane, much less one this category. But I keep reminding myself that the Lord has ordained my days and if a big tree branch is supposed to crash through the roof to my bedroom or on top of my car, then no amount of worrying can stop that. I've got my water, flashlights, batteries, friends, and prayer. That's all a girl really needs. Oh, that and Annie's Cheddar Bunnies. They were $1 off at Target! I stocked up.

4. I'm pretty sure that with sickness, earthquakes, hurricanes, and 5 more months of this deployment to go, everyone could use a good laugh. So I got some coworkers to make this video with me for our media specialist that retired this past June. It might be one of those "you had to be there kind of things". But, nonetheless, I hope you enjoy:





I'll let you know if I survive Irene!

Adventures with "TGS"

First, let's explain the title. "TGS", for the cool people who watch "30 Rock" (and if you don't watch it, you should.) stands for The Girlie Show. Crazy antics, witty banter, and ridiculousness beyond explanation about sum it up.  Since, Katy Evans, is the one who introduced me to the awesomeness that is "30 Rock" (again, watch this show) I figured it was only fitting that this name now be used for the story of our weekend.

So for all intents and purposes, The Girlie Show, or TGS, now refers to Me, Katy, and her 18 month old daughter, Ginger.

So, Friday's Adventure with TGS:

For a much needed Mommy break, I suggested Katy drop Ginger off for childcare and we could do lunch and pedicures. Drop off and lunch went great. We were off to a good start. Then came time to find a place to get pedicures.

First, we went to Downtown New Bern, but that salon couldn't take us. The one person who actually did pedicures there had just left. The receptionist even called her to see if she could come back. She would've, but we didn't have time to wait.

We went back to the salon by the childcare place. The sign outside asked that pets not come inside. (Really? Who brings a dog to a salon for humans?) Upon walking in, there were pictures of dogs everywhere in this place. Well, not dogs plural, but one specific dog actually. A painting, and three huge pop art canvases. And then, at presumably the feet of the owner of the salon, was the actual dog. A chihuahua. (I thought dogs were not allowed here?) Already an interesting place, two girls came up to help us. They couldn't take us either. But quietly one of the girls whispers (insert southern accent here) "If I can't get my nails done here, I like to go to the place across the street. They're Asian, but they're not allowed to speak Asian there."

So now that we knew Asian was a language you could speak, we decided to try our luck over there. This is how it went:

Asian Man 1: "How we help you ladies today?"
Us: "We'd like to get pedicures"
Asian Man 1: "Ok, go pick out you colors"

Normal right?
Wrong.

Asian Man 1sits down to give my pedicure.
Asian Man 2 sits down to give Katy's pedicure.
Why do men work at these places? It's very awkward.

So the men get to work and start talking to us. Then Asian Man 1 cuts my toe! Ouch! Asian Man 2 rolls his eyes (and continues to roll his eyes at Asian Man 1 for the remainder of our hour there). I probably should have stopped the pedicure right there and stormed out. A braver me would have. But I really wanted a pedicure. So we continued.

Asian Man 1: "Lots of ladies like to get the exfoliating treament. Make legs sexy for da weekend"
Me (to Katy): "I'm going to be sexy for you tonight." (insert joking wink here)
Asian Man 1 (to Katy) : "You welcome" (insert not so joking wink here)
Asian Man 1: "So how long you be friens?"
Me: "Oh about five years"
Asian Man 1: "Oh, I be wit my baby mama that lon too. I need to drop her. She have anger prolems. Very angwy. Too much stress. I need drop her."

Ummm, does he think Katy and I are "together"? And that we want to hear his baby mama drama? Oh, I guess he does think that.

The conversation continues about picking his kids up from school, his motorcycle, and well, his motorcycle. Lots of talking about the motorcycle. He talked about it so much I actually dedicated an entire paragraph of this post just to talking about his motorcycle. His near brushes with death. How he loves to ride with the wind blowing in his hair. He is sad that school is starting back up again because he'll have less time to ride his motorcycle since he can't pick up his kids on the motorcycle. Not enough room for their backpacks. He is sad that it's going to rain Sunday because that also means he can't go ride his motorcycle on his day off. We then learn he's only had the motorcycle for three weeks. With all his stories you'd think he'd had it three years. He obviously thinks he's pretty cool, owning a motorcycle and all.

Asian Man 1 finishes up and starts working on his next client, a Ms. Eva. I wait for Asian Man 2 to finish with Katy's toes. Asian Man 1 and Asian Man 3 get to work on Ms. Eva and her friend.
And we get stuck listening as Asian Man 3 explains in detail to his client that he cannot drink even a fifth of vodka because then he'll want to get drunk. Asian Man 1 starts talking about clams from Pennsylvania? I look around. There are five men that work at this nail salon. Five. And one woman. At least on the day we are there. Big burly men too. Not at all the kind of men you would think you'd find doing nails for a living.

So, we pretty much got out of there as fast as we could. I bought neosporin at Target to avoid infection of my toe. And we learned our lesson: Do NOT under any circumstances try to get a pedicure in New Bern, NC.

The rest of our Girlie Show day was much better. Naptime for Ginger. Take out from Outback. And a movie from Redbox.

We needed to rest up for Saturday's TGS outing. The Beaufort Pirate Invasion!

3 Quotes and A Psalm

1. "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." -Maya Angelou

2. "God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be." - Oswald Chambers

3. "If you're not scared, then you're not taking a chance. And if you're not taking a chance, then what the hell are you doing?" -Ted Mosby

Psalm 95: 1-8
"Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.

In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.

The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;

for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."

Tuesday's List

1. I remember now why I don't read books as often as I'd like. As soon as I get too far into them, I can't stand to get out of them. I just HAVE.to.know.what.happens.next. So I stayed up until 2am last night reading "The Help", woke up at 9 and stayed in bed reading until 2pm until I was finished. It was a wonderful read. Now which do I dare pick up next?

2. We got 'coons. And by 'coons, I mean one raccoon. I've named him Rocco. And Rocco likes to visit our trash can in the carport every night between 12 and 1 am. I just don't know how he gets up into the trash can and gets back out of it. Maybe Rocco is a Super Raccoon with special powers?

3. When I did finally get out of bed today, I looked out the kitchen window and found this:

I almost blamed it on Rocco, since I'd seen him sniffing around the peppers the other night. But when I went out to take pictures, I discovered I actually had hornworms. Lots and lots of hornworms.

They are apparently the larvae stage of a spotted moth. I could remove them by hand, spray the plants, or hope that a certain type of parasitic wasp lays its eggs on its back and devours the hornworm from the inside. Isn't nature cool?

I've pretty much given up on the plants at this point. They'll never re-bloom in time to produce anything this year. I'll just wait and plant some fall crops at the end of the month. Oh Well.

4. Yesterday a former student came over for a visit. Her mother brought her and her three siblings. I think they got a HUGE kick out of seeing into Mrs. Thomas' life. They played at the park, ran all around the house, and brought me some delicious chocolate cake. Their mom, a fellow Marine wife, and I had a nice conversation. She seemed genuinely interested in my life. Genuinely concerned that I wasn't going back to teaching. Genuine.  I'm glad I'll be seeing them again.

It's nice to know I made at least a little difference in a child's life this year. It's nice to know a parent was happy with the education I attempted to give their child this year. It was a really hard year.

Also, I had leftover cake for lunch. Yummmmmmm.

5. For dinner Monday I put on my apron and cooked. I usually lack motivation in the "cooking for one" department. I usually eat out, eat at a friends, or each pasta sprinkled with parmesan cheese, again. But I really wanted a meal. A real, full, homecooked meal. I grilled steak, steamed spinach and garlic, and even made fresh biscuits.

It's the little things in life, right?

6. Thank You God, that I can stay in bed and read until 2pm if I want. Thank you that it doesn't matter if hornworms eat all my crops because I don't depend on them. For food on the table, money in the bank, and friends that are just a phone call away. For a house, and two cars, good furniture, and nice clothes. For shoes, and email.  I am richly blessed.

Move, Eat, Learn

Oh my gosh now I just want to throw on a backpack and travel to all the ends of the earth.

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.


For more information, go here.  (Care of Today's Letters)

I want to go to Morocco, and Spain, and Thailand, and Italy, and Scotland, and Brazil, and....I guess I'll need to get a passport.

The District

Photos from my trip home last month.

Titanic Memorial

Jefferson

The Big Pencil (when my dad was stationed at Bolling AFB, I could see this from my bedroom window!)

Jefferson (again)

A lucky 85 degree, low humidity day that just makes you think Washington, D.C. must be one of the most wonderful cities to live in.

(As long as you don't have to drive in it.)