emergency snack kits

Ever since I experienced the NYC blackout of '03 I thought it'd be a good idea to create a disaster preparedness kit. The infamous East Coast blackout happened the third month I lived there, which sent my imagination spiraling and my heart a-pumpin. I was always on "high alert" due to a healthy dose of anxiety and elevated terror threats. I freaked out anytime the subway paused in the tunnel longer than normal, so you can imagine my fear when all the city's lights flickered out, and stayed out, and no one knew what was happening for hours.

Well, despite my anxiety, I never made the kit...until this month! My favorite magazine, Bust, published an article essentially saying "Hey sister, don't be sitting around waiting for Red Cross when disaster strikes. Be prepared". I took the magazine and the list of kit essentials to Fred Meyer this weekend, where I filled my cart with a first aid kit, jugs of water, and a flashlight. And snacks. Lots of snacks. When I got home and filled up an old backpack with the stuff, I realize that I may not have a multi-tool, solar blanket, or a whistle, but I do have 17 different types of nuts.

The problem with the kit is: you have to be home when disaster strikes! I'm mostly not at home, which creates a problem. But at least it's better than nothing. My other problem is that now Dave knows there's a Snickers bar in the bag. I really should keep an eye on inventory.


In other news, I booked our honeymoon flight to Mexico on Saturday morning, about an hour before I walked out of the house to encounter doomsday-type headlines (are there any other kinds?) regarding the pig flu throughout Mexico. Well, shoot. I mean, our honeymoon is not till late July so we have time on our side. But it took a TON of legwork finding a destination that time of year that wasn't hurricane season, rainy season, rattlesnake season and was within our budget. I guess there's always something, you just gotta roll with it.

In much better news, I always walk past a neighborhood children's store that sells baby clothes. I spotted this ridiculously cute snail onesie, which I finally purchased for my cousin Ali. She's having her first baby, and the first baby of our generation.

a girl's gotta eat

When I'm not hanging out in tropical paradise, I find some time to work on freelance projects. Here are some recent ones. (Copywrite Shawna M, 2009!)

A Save the Date for my friends who are tyin' the knot. I'm also going to create their jack n' jill and wedding invites.


A business card for my dear pastry chef friend.

Mahalo!

We are back from a fantastic trip to our 50th state, Hawaii. Dave and I hiked, kayaked, helicoptered, drove, ate, and indulged in "general relaxation" around Kauai with my sister and her man. Kauai is Hawaii's Garden Isle, which loosely translates to Cloudy Isle. I gotta say, we were forewarned. Some friends who are familiar with the islands noted that the weather might be iffy this time of year. Regardless, we did just fine on our tropical vacay.

I'd say the highlight of our trip was an afternoon of wine drinkin' and grasshopper pie eatin' in Hanalei. Once we'd gotten our sugar fix, we walked down the road to Hanalei Bay, where Dave and Jeff hoped to catch some big boogie boardin' waves. Dave had a great idea to wear flippers so he could swim out against the surf. Jeff agreed. Watching them cruise the beach in flippers was priceless; Ashley and I died laughing from ashore. Then we realized we were being lame and decided to brave the water. Not as warm as we hoped but still nicer than Puget Sound on its very best day.

The lowlight of the trip was Dave's food poisoning, which he got from our first Hawaiian dinner. After five hours of being violently ill (and sleeping intermittently on the bathroom floor), we decided to hit up the ER. We went to one of the island's two hospitals. The doctor obviously rolled out of bed to treat Dave, the lone patient, and I wouldn't be surprised if he went surfing after he hooked up the IV (Dr. Feelgood rocked some Nike high tops and was no older than 30). Dave recovered in 24 hours but it was an odd intro to our long-awaited vacation.

All in all we had a fabulous time. It's always nice to get away from email, public transportation, the daily routine and to experience a new place. Before our trip, I  felt that a pre-wedding vacation was indulgent. My travel buddies convinced me I was being a silly nanny, and that we should go anyways. I'm happy I succumbed. Money spent on travel is money well spent.