8/30/11

hurricane Irene {the aftermath}

**UPDATE** As of Saturday, we have gotten the yard cleaned and mowed...but the oak tree is still here, hanging on the porch & dying on the ground. Thankfully, the insurance guy came out yesterday and tried to move us up on the list, but we don't have any way to move the tree. Prayers are still needed, readers; I know I can count on you for them :) 

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First off, we're here...safe & sound. Your prayers were so greatly appreciated & I can say without a doubt that God protected us; so many of our friends lost oh so much more than we did. Thinking of our friends from CBS who have whole trees in their house & the worst of all: our friends lost their whole on-the-water home in Nags Head. It breaks my heart to see the destruction & heartache Irene caused, but it's a testament to God's awesome power.

Irene was an all weekend event, ya'll. I'm not even kidding...we saw a change in the weather early Friday & it was Sunday before all the wind died down & rain moved away. So I thought the best things to do was break down each day in the weekend & give you a rundown of hurricane Irene's wrath

{Friday 8.26}


 Since the rain & the wind started mid-morning and only got stronger, we decided to stick around the house & clean, do schoolwork, and last minute prep stuff to the house...

...BUT! The show didn't get started until after we went to sleep; the parents made an executive decision to drag a mattress downstairs & let us sleep in the family room...the only room that wasn't over a hundred years old!
We lost power around 8PM that night & went to sleep after reading by candlelight. About an hour after we blew the candles out, the power came back on & stayed on until early Sat. morning while the weather outside continued to deteriorate. Needless to say, no one got a whole lot of sleep that night; Clark was the only one that wasn't awakened by the storm...he said the only thing that bothered him was the TV on all night. ;)

 {Saturday 8.27}


Like I mentioned earlier, we lost power for the whole day early in the morning; I woke up to Mama talking on the phone & Clark already going stir-crazy. Pop Tarts were consumed, lots of reading took place (along with a bit of schoolwork), and I even zoned out for a pre-lunch catnap. Sandwiches for lunch, another nap, and lots of pacing the living. I texted Emily for updates (I think at that point they still had power), texted other friends randomly...

While people were starting to go crazy in the house, outside the wind howled so.loud. that you really couldn't even talk. I felt like I was yelling all the time.

There was a lot of this:


Oh goodness, there was a lot of rain. Whole yards under water, the pool overflowed & we had rain blowing in every north facing window. We took turns wringing out towels & putting dry ones in their place.

Later that afternoon we ventured upstairs & saw that half of our 100 yr old oak tree was lying on the ground, along with another big limb in the front yard AND another limb about the same size resting on our porch roof. Since it was raining there was nothing we could do but we prayed that nothing else would fall for the rest of the day. 

Once we had eaten whatever we hadn't eaten already for supper, we decided before turning in for the night we'd play a board game by oil lamplight; something we do when the power goes out anyways. Mama & I ended up winning a pretty intense game of Cranium. :)



I rock at the yellow Word Worm cards & this was my rendition of  a DJ. Pretty awesome, no?





Yes, we played on a mattress. We are adventurous like that.
We went to sleep that night tired & nasty {we hadn't showered since Friday before the power went out...which wouldn't have been that bad if we had some way to cool off since the AC doesn't work without power. Duh.} but ready to tackle the cleanup we KNEW would happen the next day....at least, we thought we were.
{Sunday 8.27}


Sometime late Saturday night, the power came back down {YAY}, the winds died down, and the sunshine was shining bright early that morning. We got up, showered, ate breakfast & went outside to check on the status of everything.

Note: All of these pictures aren't as "artsy" as I would've done them {Dad took them for the insurance company} but they show the damage relatively well so here you go! 



The pool {1st picture} & patio {above} were trashed. It took almost as long to clean the pool & grass area as opposed to the rest of the almost 3 acres elsewhere.


See what I mean?! The pool was so messed up; Dad spent a whole afternoon scooping leaves, vacuuming, backwashing, etc. We pulled 8 ft limbs outta there as well!

To the right of the house; we call it the sideyard...along with it being our football yard, it also houses our pecan trees. We lost the whole pecan crop {this was going to be an awesome year} & had to rake up every.single.one of those green bombs because you can't mow over them. That was torture.
On to the front yard, which was by far the worst of the damage...

The smallest branch. THE SMALLEST.

The second biggest branch...it's the one that resting on the porch roof.

The place where the biggest part of the oak tree fell...


A wide angle view of the destruction; it was massive.


After we had gotten the necessary  pictures for the insurance company, we went back inside because man...it was HOT out there. Made a game plan & tackled the yard in 30 minute spurts.


More pictures of the downed oak tree...



There was a HUGE squirrel nest in this part of the tree; we saw it in the pool area totally brain damaged & stumbling around.



It hurt to see this: a perfectly healthy tree lying on the ground, twisted & mangled. We lost our tire swing as well & haven't been able to locate it in the tree.



The inside was completely hollow...weird!






We cleaned up until about 3 when we threw in the towel. Needless to say, we slept GOOD that night!!


8/29/11

hello monday {22}

{hello monday}

{hello 7:45 school alarm that I forget that I set again}
{hello breakfast}
{hello Internet catch up time}
{hello school reading}
{hello Anatomy}
{hello more yardwork}
{hello lunch & a little blog reading}
{hello math lesson}
{hello grocery store/Dr. Pepper}
{hello catch up blog reading [i was wayyy behind because of no Internet since Fri. night]}
{hello supper time}
{hello freak summer thunderstorm with a power loss again ::sigh::}
{hello power back on, yay!}
{hello shower}
{hello TV & more blogging}
{hello bedtime routine}

{hello monday}

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This post was inspired by the one and only Lisa Leonard. If you'd like to take part in this blogging meme, make sure to give credit where credit is due.
 
Quick Hello Monday announcement: Lisa is going to start doing a linky for HM, so if you do these type of posts make sure to link up starting next Monday; I'll definitely be!
 

8/27/11

Favorite Things Friday + Saturday Shopping {11}

Today I'm linking up with Kim's  Favorite Things Friday and Gussy's  Saturday Shopping blogging meme's. I absolutely love finding new Etsy pretties and sharing them with you, so here we go!
{
Warning: Lots of cuteness coming your way. Just sayin'.}


 In honor of my new purple and brown blog, I decided to run with that theme. Smart, huh? Not really. Purple & brown is becoming my fave color, and all the Etsy items I searched are to die for. If you haven't heard it before, I'll say it for the Etsy newbies: it's addicting. So much handmade goodness all in one place. I DIE. 

But we weren't talking about that time I died from purple & brown overload were we? On to the P&B amazingness...







 Happy Saturday readers! Hoping you're staying safe & keeping dry; by the time this post publishes I'm sure we'll be floating away in our house boat & riding out the remants of Irene.

8/26/11

hurricane Irene {prayer request}


This? This kinda scares me.

We've been through lots of hurricanes like Floyd & Isabel, but this is the first one that I KNOW I'll really remember. Watching it for the past couple of days has both scared me & made me oh so thankful to God that we haven't had a bad storm in the past couple years or so.

Although it started getting windy yesterday & the rain has already started {at times just a shower or heavy downpour}, Hurricane Irene is barreling towards us at a steady pace of 14 mph & it's projected to impact Saturday morning between 8AM and 9PM, so that's when the prayers are needed! Our main concern is about our house; it's over a 100+ yrs old & just not made to withstand lots of wind. Coupled with the fact that the roof leaks sometimes, it's not looking good but we're trusting God!

Phones are charged {or charging}, valuables & legal stuff is packed up in a backpack, non perishable food & water bottles waiting for us just in case the power goes out, and now it's just a waiting game to see how hard the rain gets & the wind blows.

Thanks in advance readers; an update will be one of the first things I do on Monday!

7 things about me {blog party}

I was inspired by my new blogging friend Erika from the Etsy shop Rouge & Whimsy  {along with the original  to, once again, bombard me readers with random get-to-know-me questions in hopes of when, someday in the future, I met a blogging friend we'll already know each other because of these types of blog posts. Am I the only one whose goal is the same when we do these blog parties? No? All right then, moving on... 

7 Places I Would Like to Visit 
1. Africa -- As always, it's the first on my list; I can't wait to go {Lord willing}!!  
2. Ireland -- I'm a 4th generation Irishman {woman?} so that's a duh. 
3. Czech Republic -- I'm also a third generation Czechoslovakian as well; Can you tell I want to go to my family's birth places? 
4. Paris -- just because I want to say I've been there...and because I want to take a picture of the Eiffel tower at night.

5. All 50 states would be pretty nice. I feel a RV trip coming on in my retirement years; who's with me?
6. A handmade market, like Creative Estates or Queen Bee Market. I could do some serious damage to my non-existent bank account.  
7. The beach -- such a lame answer but I love <3 the beach like whoa. 


7 Things I Would Like to Make
1. This camera strap {which I can't find a link for, grrr}... 

2. ...along with this flat iron cover from the same person, my blogging role model Raechel. She's crafty beyond belief. I've also got a person in mind I'm gonna make this for ::hint hint:: ;)
3. This AWESOME canvas by Lindsey -- so fun & customizable!
4. This Gussy organizer -- I'm forever making little to-do lists for post ideas & I'd love to have them all in one place to reference. 
5. A driftwood star -- Lindsey's done it again with another great idea; what a good idea for all that driftwood you collect on summer vacays
6. Crayon art -- First saw this on Pinterest & fell in love; a great way to use up old crayon bits. 
7. Ruffled Scarf tutorial -- I've looked at this tutorial for a year now trying to get up the courage to use elastic thread & jersey material. So far I'm thisclose to doing it...




7 People I'd Like to Meet (Dead or Alive)

All my blog readers would HAVE to fill up this; I'm pretty sure that I would DIE if I meet Raechel, Keight, Davene, Emily Joy,  Ruthanne, Gussy or Ilene...just to name a few Or, to be exact, 7! I totes didn't plan that one; I'm not that clever.


7 Things I Would Like to Own
1. A summer house...on the beach, of course! 

2. A Ford. Preferably an Escape or an Explorer but any Ford will do!3. My own business -- a coffee shop or handmade biz maybe? I'm not crafty but I want to be one of the cool people that has their own booming business at home.
4. An upgraded camera -- Maybe a Ti or anything with a D after it? But first I must  

5. A regular house & all I need to decorate it with aka money
6. A unlimited gift card to Target & Old navy because I need some jeans like WHOA for the Fall. 
7. Season tickets to ECU games -- something I'm looking forward to when I go to ECU is going to be able to go to games each weekend.  


7 Things That Annoy Me


1. Blogger's that make everything sound like rainbows & unicorns & Skittles. -- Homegirl knows that people want to be uplifting but sometimes you get to feeling down when you read all about their "perfect" life. But! That's a whole 'nother post, friend.
2. People chewing gum; it's gross & unhuman to me.
3. Cursing in books & film -- It's one thing to curse out loud, but in a book?! Really, come on.
4. Textures -- Velvet creeps me out & I can't touch anything slick...Sand bugs me & I can't stand anything sticky on my hands.
5. Loud things -- Yelling & the TV turned up wayyy loud bug me so bad.
6. In relation to #5, people that can't hear -- I hate saying everything 2 or 3 times.
7. The Internet not working. We have people on the moon but can't have Internet sometime?! I thought we were better than that.

7 Films I Love
1. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
2. Iron Man 1 and 2
3. Tangled
4. The Spiderman Trilogy -- that's where my nickname SA came from {from Peter calling Mary Jane "MJ" all the time, thankyouverymuch}
5. Back to the Future trilogy
6. Day After Tomorrow
7. National Treasure 1 and 2 


7 Funny Words

1. Peeps
2. Any coffee related word - I feel so stupid saying it because I'm deathly afraid of being laughed at because I said something a funny way. Plus, they're just weird words.
3. Thug {and on that note...Gangster is pretty funny too}
4. Precocious
5. Surprise {for the record, I LOVE <3 surprises I just can't spell it. that "r" throws me off.}
6. Schedule {again, the "c" and the "h" throw me off!}
7. Comfortable -- To this day I can't say that word right; I say comfy instead. 


About a billion bonus points to you if you got through all this; you are forever my friend. ;)

8/25/11

a new look + 100 followers to celebrate!

After an afternoon of blog construction dust, my new look is revealed! I've been inspired by lots o' bloggers by their new fall looks and more streamlined designs, so I enlisted the help of my IRL bestie, Emily, to help me with a new header. Thankfully I was able to keep my template from Megan & make a new header via Scrapblog, succeeding in having a new blog design for free. Wheeee!!

Lots of rearranging will be done, don't worry. I'm still trying to get everything just perfect so check back over the weekend for updated pages 7 less sidebar widgets. Thanks for sticking with me through all the blog redos readers!


And, as the title states, I've reached a hundred followers!! ::happy dance:: 102, in fact. I'm not a follower fanatic that asks for followers in every post & comment, promising a giveaway if you'd just pretty please follow my blog already!! I want my followers to follow my blog because they like it, not because they have to be a follower to enter one of my giveaways...and I think I've accomplished my goal.

Happy 102 followers to me! :)

8/24/11

last day with the Woodley's

As the title oh so bluntly states...it was our last day with Samantha & Caleb Woodley, our pastors kids whom we have "kidsat" for the past 3 summers.

It's always a bittersweet day {yes, I'm making it sound like I'll never see them again, but that's not true...I'll just see them less often} for me because I LOVE these kids to death & all the memories we make with them each summer. Not to mention the potty humor & insane amounts of Avatar/iCarly, but that's beside the point. I have to admit watching those silly cartoons with Sam is one of the best parts of hanging with them every week. 


The last day started with BeyBlade wars {many war wounds occurred this morning; apparently "Let 'em rip" means fling them at each other ripping out the cord as hard as you possibly can}...






 ...Cinnamon Toast Crunch & Apple Juice for breakfast {which resulted in a stubbed toe for Caleb & laughs from , Avatar for our morning TV time, Hide & Seek, Call of Duty for the boys, laughter over lunch, aforementioned potty humor leaving us breathless from laughing at the most stupid jokes, and a mini photoshoot with the guys while them were playing in Caleb's room...

 Note: Yes, these boys are crazy & yes, these photos capture their personalites EXACTLY. ::sigh:: Gotta love 'em... ;)




I love these two kids wayyy too much for my own good. We'll miss you guys now that you're in school, Sam & Caleb!!


8/23/11

and you thought all the "end of the world" jokes were outta my system...



We had aftershocks of the 5.9 earthquake today...something that NEVER happens in NC &amp; the surrounding areas. In fact, I heard on the nightly news that it happens about once every century! Cool & scary at the same time, am I right? 

The worst part of it was that Mama, Clark & I MISSED IT. Missed something that happens once in a hundred years, people. I am sad & relieved at the same time because I'm not entirely sure in what way I would've embarrassed myself by freaking out, but also that we had just left someone's house & was cruising down the road minding our own business while 23 states experienced tremors from an earthquake. Why?! For the record, it was such a small" tremor that if you weren't standing still you couldn't even feel it, so that's my excuse for missing the East Coast earthquake of 2011.

Also? There's a hurricane barreling towards our coast and my town is in the cone of uncertainty. Let us take a moment to reflect on the hilarity of that phrase... {make sure you say it in a doom-and-gloom voice; it's much better that way}.


...OK, you ready to go? I'm finished wiping the tears outta my eyes, so let's move on to the other thing I wanted to share.

Hurricane Irene is projected to hit this weekend, and NC is totally not prepared. We've been spoiled by 3+ yrs of non direct hits from other major hurricanes and, in true NC fashion, we have around the clock updates from the weathermen. The best part? The storm is still 4-5 days out. Hold me.

All this within the week...Is is 2012 or something? Because the world must be ending or something; What's next: the cool temperatures NC is having will continue?!


Note: As far as I know, no death, or serious injury, came out of today's events  Hurricane Irene is moving farther off the coast as it gets nearer, lessening the effect on the East Coast. All these events are serious & I realize that...I'm downplaying my fear with my ::ahem:: attempt at a humorous post because everyone knows that I'm NOT a witty person. BUT! I think I succeeded in providing a few laughs to my friends today, am I right? 

8/22/11

hello monday {21}

{hello monday}

{hello alarm that I thought I had forgot to turn off from the morning before [turns out I DID mean to set it]}
{hello rushing around to get out the door}
{hello Woodley's} 
{hello insane amounts of iCarly, Call of Duty, and softball in the front yard}
{hello lunch & laughter}
{hello new subject in school: anatomy [yay for the human body]}
{hello baseball game that ended because I whacked the ball down the street drain ::sheepish grin::}
{hello ride home with Mama}
{hello school, chores, and txting with my friends}
{hello little bit of blogging & afternoon snack}
{hello reading outside in the warm sun}
{hello taking sunset pictures}
{hello chat with Dad on the tree fort}
{hello dinner}
{hello shower & prep for the busy day tomorrow}
{hello more catch up blogging}
{hello sweet bed}

{hello monday}

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This post was inspired by the one and only Lisa Leonard. If you'd like to take part in this blogging meme, make sure to give credit where credit is due.
 

8/18/11

a sweet surprise in the mail

On Wednesday I was feeling crumby. Like, really really really crumby. I spent the day on the couch trying to get comfortable & was just starting to feel better when Mama walked in the room with an envelope...addressed to me. I LOVE <3 getting packages in the mail, and just the thought of getting a little handwritten note was enough to perk me up. But exactly what was IN the package was something I wasn't expecting at. all.

A few weeks back, my blogging friend Emily received a camera necklace from Forever 21 & I commented on it with my over-the-top enthusiam as always, ha! Little did I know Emily would send me one of my very own AND the sweetest letter to boot! Thank you sooo much Emily; I think it captures {get it?!} our personalities so well, don't you think readers?!








Thanks again Emily!! This gift was such a thoughtful thing to do for a friend. :) Also? Am I lame at taking "model" pictures or what?! Oh well, I'm still insanely excited about the necklace to care about my awkwardness.