I would be remiss for not mentioning the events of the last week or so. I have not written about #Sandy, largely because I don’t usually write in real-time on this blog. And by “real time” I mean that I write about comings and goings in my family, but often there is a lag of days or weeks when I write. I need time to gather my thoughts. But the events of last week were so stunning that I am compelled to write about them.
My family essentially battened down the hatches and stayed indoors for all of Monday and Tuesday. School was canceled for all three kids and my school administrator husband. We stocked up on batteries, purchased milk and snacks, and checked that all the outdoor toys were secured. That was all we really could do. We had no idea how severe or not the storm would be. Would we lose shingles on the roof. Spring a leak in the basement. Who knew? All we could do was sit it out.
Since we live in a home with a well and we lost power all the time, we always fill a bathtub with water so we can flush one toilet. We stock up on hand sanitizer since we won’t be able to wash our hands if the power is not on to run our well. We buy bottled water so we can brush our teeth. We make a half-hearted attempt to cook frozen food in the freezer. Our freezer is filled to the brim so we could not eat everything in the freezer. If power is off for more than 48 nours, we are out of luck and also out of food.
We didn’t lose power. Though the wind was fierce and noisy, we had no leaks and no damage to the outside of our house. I’m thankful that I never cut back the insidious weedy trees at the edge of our property line. Because of this growth of trees over thelast 10 years, we were spared wind damage. Our deck furniture did not move. I was able to stack all of the outside toys on one-side of the garage, which left only a Rubbermaid deckbox on the driveway. The box didn’t move probably due to all the pool/water toys stowed inside.
We were very thankful to be spared Sandy’s wrath. But others were not so fortunate. Staten Island and other boroughs of New York were hit full force with Sandy. Ocean City, NJ, and MD, were also affected. The hardest hit seem to be the coastal areas of New Jersey. These areas instructed residents to evacuate, but nothing could be done to save the homes and boardwalks. Most hard hit…Belmar, New Jersey…here’s a New York Times article describing the devastation. How can you help? You can donate to the American Red Cross. Or start a drive in your community to help those who were in Sandy’s path of destruction.
Before I forget..I was able to do a bit of work here and there…for those of you who are not subscribers to this blog…and really why aren’t you a subscriber? Here’s what you missed…
Winners!
- Melissa & Doug’s Suspend Game — Congrats, Mary!
- Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Crust — Congrats, Naomie!
- Orioles Junior Dugout Club — Congrats, Leah!
- IHOP Simple & Fit — Congrats, Danielle!
- Celebrate Family with National Pork Month and Costco — Congrats, Amanda!
- A Giveaway for Everyone — phone, DVDs, Kinect game, book, and more — Congrats to all winners!
- Family Dinner Night? Try KFC Original RecipeBites and Chicken Littles — Congrats, Hollie!
And new giveaways to be posted VERY SOON!
- Sesame Street for XBox Kinect
- KFC Chicken Checks for New Dip’ems!
- LeapFrog Explore
Congratulations to all winners! I must give a huge thank you to all the amazing companies that give me awesome stuff to giveaway on my blog. I love SHARING what I love with you…my readers.
And Musings from Me isn’t just about giveaways…you can read posts about tips for working from home…tips for shopping with little kids…and tips for making easy school lunches.
I test drove Carbonite as a means to secure my digital photos. I reminsced about apples and doggies and toddler speak. I thought about all the neat toys in my local neighborhood toy store. I explained my son’s love for Skylanders…he’s obsessed with them…really…full review to follow…
So how was your week?
