Cloudy with a Chance of Hype

There was a lot of hype the last few days about Hurricane Irene, and I must say, I'm a bit dissapointed. Multiple news outlets advised stocking up on water for three to four days, have

batteries locked and loaded, and avoid going outside at all costs. My mom and I went to the grocery store on Thursday to gather provisions, and the place was picked clean of water, flashlights, and Cheerios.

Luckily they still had cheddar cheese, Sierra Nevada, and Pantene shampoo, all key for survival. I even found a secret stash of bottled water in the baby aisle. Yes, Gerber markets this stuff to hyper-sensitive parents who want triple-distilled water for their young. People asked in hushed tones, "Where'd you get that water?!" I heard from friends that yesterday was even worse, that stores were picked over like Armageddon was nigh.

The news....I hate the news. It does nothing to improve the quality of my day. On one newscast, the reporter was on the beach standing in the water. He was about three feet from the dry shore. Really, must you stand in the water? I guess he was trying to prove that he truly was getting wet. On another newscast, the reporter beefed up the drama by stating that you could actually see the whitecaps in the Long Island Sound. I squinted and tried really hard, but couldn't make out more than some choppy water. The news is a joke.

Dave was skeptical the whole time. He did not buy the hype.

The winds were howling last night and the rain came down hard at times, but this storm was supposed to bring us to our knees. I was playing out scenarios of leaping from bed to save Edie if a branch came flying threw the window, and playing cards in the basement by candlelight. We lost power for about a minute at 6am, and I was almost disappointed that the lights were ablaze all day. I mean, I love hot coffee and an Egg McChaud just as much as the next guy, but a storm can be fun when you have to adapt without everyday luxuries. Granted, major weather can cause serious damage but this one just lost its luster. I know we're lucky, we were just bracing for a bit more adventure.

One year

Happy (belated) birthday to our beautiful little girl, Edie Harper! They say it goes fast, and it does. The long, brutal nights and her falling asleep on our chests seem long ago. Now she's putting pasta on a spoon and cruising around in her beloved shoes (with assistance). What's in store for next week?

Chicken Soup for The Mattress

I was just waiting for this to happen. While things have been going pretty well with our POD, every time we request it be removed from its warehouse home (via forklift) feels like a roll of the dice. Keeping our somewhat organized chaos in order seems less and less realistic as we remove and replace this huge box from its towering POD stack.

You've heard horror stories of storage units: mice establish new colonies in your mattress, valuable files succomb to stinky mildew, your wardrobe becomes moth heaven. People's stories never seem to end well. Today Dave visited our POD with the hopes (ahem, very high hopes) of getting his classroom materials out. The stuff was packed in a box, in a wardrobe behind a lot of other big items. He didn't get his materials but he DID find an exploded box of chicken stock (thanks to the humitidy), that blew up on top of a bookshelf and attracted hordes of gnats.

Although it stinks (literally), it could be worse. Dave got some fly strips to catch the buggers but I called PODs immediately and asked for them to deliver it ASAP. They said "How about tomorrow?" and I said "Sure!" Where will we put all of our stuff? Guess we'll just push my parents basement around a bit. There really isn't room, but leaving our stuff in the bug-infested chicken soup container will be a death sentence.

I've been thinking of the tangible things I miss. It'll be nice to have them back when the POD arrives.

1. My contacts. I somehow ripped my monthly contact one week into their use, and have been running with my glasses, which fog up and slip down when I get sweaty. Also hard to water-ski with blurry vision. And I've been wearing my sunglasses over my glasses like a huge nerd.

2. My radio. This goes beyond just having music in the house. I miss our music set-up, and I miss Seattle radio station KEXP. I commute 25 minutes each way to work, and the state of local radio is getting me down. I'm seriously thinking about paying for Sirius. But on the positive side I'm caught up on the news thanks to NPR.

3. My straw hat. Critical summer accessory.

4. Our bed. A bed is pretty personal, and we like ours.

5. My recipes. I have a killer Mexican corn-on-the-cob recipe that I don't feel like digging around for online. Our summer has sadly lacked Mexi-corn.

6. My USB cord, so my blog posts aren't so spartan. Sorry.

"You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat"

What does a girl have to do to watch Jaws around here?

We've been swimming a lot- in lakes, pools, kiddie pools, the ocean, and Long Island Sound (which is the ocean, if you want to get technical). And I really want to watch Jaws, although that might be a poorly-timed idea, since I plan to continue our ocean adventures. Edie was born during Shark Week last year, so that might explain my deep-rooted desire to see the sneaky/smart fish on film.

I tried to get a copy from the library, but they were out, and Blockbuster isn't anymore, and I doubt Red Box has a "Classic Horror" section. I'm sure it's on TBS or something similar, maybe even On-Demand. There never seems to be time to dedicate two hours to a movie anyway...

...'Cause I'm busy training for a half-marathon! I've quickly accepted the fact that I'm not going to Crossfit for a while. The one that people recommend is inconvenient and out of our budget right now. I've been a runner, on and off, for about 10 years. My sister introduced me while I was in college, dividing my summer between Boston and CT, because all you need is a pair of sneakers. It's cheap and easy, so I always pick it up during times of transition or economic belt-tightening.

This will be my third half-marathon, and I use an online tool to calculate how often and how long I have to run. Sometimes I bring Edie in her baby jogger. She likes the free ride (especially with a teething biscuit in hand). My friend Kelly and I are planning to do our long runs together on Saturdays, and another friend might join me during a weekday morning workout. Tomorrow my mom will run with me. I don't listen to music, because my headphones often fall out, which is frustrating. It disrupts the momentum. Running can be therapuetic and is giving me a chance to explore our town and local wildlife.

The race I'm training for is the Hartford Half-Marathon, which will be in mid October. It's a beautiful time in New England, which seems so far away while, as we're whiddling away our weekend days at the beach.