The fun just keeps coming today...
I've lived here for 18 years now, and I've never seen *anything* like the events of the past 24 hours...
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Aw, hail...
It's Been a Tense Morning Around Here...
Having weathered the storm, and having gotten power back - we decided to venture out in search of breakfast.
(I didn't feel like facing the fridge/freezer to determine if stuff was or was not safe to eat after being without power all night...)
We took a slight detour to check out Cabbagetown, and it was hit much harder than I would have imagined. Downtown is getting virtually all of the media coverage - and to a degree I suspect that is due to a bunch of journalists being down there to cover the SEC March Madness stuff, kind of like the huge LA earthquake that coincided with the World Series many, many years back.
So - it was a little bit shocking to see just how hard Cabbagetown was hit, and it really reinforced just how fickle tornadoes can be. There would be houses that were utterly devastated next to homes that suffered nary a scratch.
We then went and had a leisurely breakfast. Sigh. I might have been a bit cranky due to not much sleep last night, but it seems that wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed by a big cup of grits and a country ham biscuit. (Yup, I'm a Southern pup through and through...)
We returned home to have several worried sounding voice mails - "Where are you? There's supposed to be another tornado between 1 and 1:15! We hope you're somewhere safe. If you get this message, you need to get somewhere safe and soon!"
A quick look at the clock informed us that it was 12:50. We needed to figure out what was going on and where. We spent a tense 45 minutes or so glued to the television, where we found much normal programming set aside in order to cover the storms. To make a long story short, there were some horrible storms, but all north of us. I do hope that everyone out there fared as well as we did last night...
Seems all storms have left the area and/or have dissipated. And I don't know about y'all, but I am wore out.
And I am so, so, so thankful that Bubba and Schecky's camping trip got canceled for this weekend! I can't even imagine how frantic I would be if we hadn't all been together....
(and it goes without saying that I would like to take back any and all crabbing that I may have done when I learned that their trip was canceled! I am no longer mourning the loss of my "all alone" weekend, and it seems petty and small that I felt that way at all!)
And let me reiterate just how grateful I am to all the people who called us, and all who emailed to inquire as to how we were. I'm feeling awful loved today....
Some Cabbagetown pictures:
(I didn't feel like facing the fridge/freezer to determine if stuff was or was not safe to eat after being without power all night...)
We took a slight detour to check out Cabbagetown, and it was hit much harder than I would have imagined. Downtown is getting virtually all of the media coverage - and to a degree I suspect that is due to a bunch of journalists being down there to cover the SEC March Madness stuff, kind of like the huge LA earthquake that coincided with the World Series many, many years back.
So - it was a little bit shocking to see just how hard Cabbagetown was hit, and it really reinforced just how fickle tornadoes can be. There would be houses that were utterly devastated next to homes that suffered nary a scratch.
We then went and had a leisurely breakfast. Sigh. I might have been a bit cranky due to not much sleep last night, but it seems that wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed by a big cup of grits and a country ham biscuit. (Yup, I'm a Southern pup through and through...)
We returned home to have several worried sounding voice mails - "Where are you? There's supposed to be another tornado between 1 and 1:15! We hope you're somewhere safe. If you get this message, you need to get somewhere safe and soon!"
A quick look at the clock informed us that it was 12:50. We needed to figure out what was going on and where. We spent a tense 45 minutes or so glued to the television, where we found much normal programming set aside in order to cover the storms. To make a long story short, there were some horrible storms, but all north of us. I do hope that everyone out there fared as well as we did last night...
Seems all storms have left the area and/or have dissipated. And I don't know about y'all, but I am wore out.
And I am so, so, so thankful that Bubba and Schecky's camping trip got canceled for this weekend! I can't even imagine how frantic I would be if we hadn't all been together....
(and it goes without saying that I would like to take back any and all crabbing that I may have done when I learned that their trip was canceled! I am no longer mourning the loss of my "all alone" weekend, and it seems petty and small that I felt that way at all!)
And let me reiterate just how grateful I am to all the people who called us, and all who emailed to inquire as to how we were. I'm feeling awful loved today....
Everyone Here Is OK...
"Yop" series to bring you this breaking news bulletin...
Bubba, Schecky, the Things and I are all just fine, as is - quite luckily - our house, cars, etc.
Some of you may know this, some may not, but I'm a little over a mile from the Georgia Dome and closer still to Cabbagetown - both places where a tornado (or tornadoes) touched down and did some serious world-of-hurt last night.
When everything started to hit last night, our power went out - right at 9:40. The boys had been watching Star Wars, and I was actually on the computer, ogling weather.com, watching the big purple splotch that was the impending storm draw closer and closer to our area. There were flood and hail warnings, but nothing about a tornado.
We were starting to wonder what was going on when the power didn't come right back on within minutes. But it wasn't until our old fashioned plug-into-the-wall phone* starting ringing off the hook with friends and family calling to inquire about us did we have any idea of the scope of things...
The power just came back on, after 11 hours, and I saw that I had several emails as well - so thank you for that, that's really, really sweet and I am quite touched by it. We are all just fine, and amazed at the pictures that we're seeing on CNN, etc.
I knew that it must have been something big - I was up for all but about 45 minutes last night. For some reason, I'm one of those stupid people that can't sleep when the power goes out. No matter how I try, I can't get any rest until it's back on. There's no rational explanation for it, it's just how I'm wired...
There were two more big storms during the night, both were short in duration, but intense - and it was really eerie just how many sirens (fire? police? ambulance?) I heard last night. It seemed like I heard them for hours...
This morning, I'm not hearing sirens, but there is a constant drone of helicopters overhead. I'm assuming these are news copters out getting footage...
I've only been looking at footage/video/etc for a few minutes - but here are a few links for those of you curious about what this storm has wrought...
- CNN Coverage of the Downtown Damage
- Atlanta Braces For Another Storm
yikes! Hope that our good luck continues...
*It's good to have one of these. Just for instances like this...
Friday, March 14, 2008
Yop, Part II
Another thing that I was doing in February instead of blogging??
Kicking the Diet Coke habit.
Which might not sound like such a big deal to the average bear, but trust me - this was a big freaking deal.
Long story short: I'd become a junkie. I was drinking way too much Diet Coke, all day long. I'm not even sure what my daily intake was, but conservatively? 4 or 5 cans a day. Maybe even 6+. And that's got to be a sure sign of addiction right there, doesn't it? Not keeping track???
Anyhow - one morning I woke up, mindlessly went to the fridge for the first Diet Coke of the day. And as I opened the door to reach inside, I thought "No. You don't really want that..." and I shut the door.
Not sure where that voice came from, or what it was all about. But that was all she wrote. I didn't drink that Diet Coke, nor any subsequent Diet Cokes. And that was 3 weeks ago on Monday...
And how do I feel about this decision? Pretty good. I think I just got tired of being a junkie (after all, it's so passe...)
How did my body respond?
Dude - that part sucked big time. I had a few days of just killer headaches - think brain freeze that lasts all day. Plus, had nice bouts of nausea and was insanely cranky. (yes - even more than usual!)
Then I got sick for real a few days later - had a raging fever, was miserable, and had to cancel an exceptionally rare date night with Bubba. We had a baby-sitter and everything. I'm still mourning that loss.
Oh - and let's not talk about my skin... Within a week of that last Diet Coke, my face had broken out like *never* before. We're talking cystic acne, and that is so not pretty. (shudder)
Ironic, isn't it? Seems like eliminating that much artificial crap from my diet would have been a good thing. Instead, it seemed that Diet Coke was the only thing keeping me healthy. And acne free.
Hmph.
I'm still off the stuff, though. I figure in the long run, it's for the greater good. But if my face doesn't clear up soon? I'm drinking a couple of 2-liter bottles worth - just for the good of my complexion!!!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Yop!
Thought I'd take a cue from all those Whos down in Whoville, and let out a small "Yop!" to let y'all know that I'm still here.
And I'm doing just fine. There's not a lot going on around here, but there's certainly nothing bad. Honestly, I think this just needs to get filed under "unexcused absence"...
Not sure how this unintended blogging break started - but I find that as I try to break this non-posting streak, I'm hit by conflicting emotions: "I don't have anything to say" vs. "I've got TOO much to say, where do I start???"
So - I thought I'd start small*.
Maybe breaking up the "WhereI'veBeen/WhatI'veBeenDoing" (or NOT been doing, as the case may be) into smaller bite-sized chunks.
Here, then, is the first chunk...
Well, perhaps the single most important thing was that I got through February with all my "X"es intact. (What's this about???)
I'm telling you, this is insanely motivating to me for some reason - I can't figure out for the life of me why making my shiny red X each day is so important to me, but it is.
In February, the goal was to walk 3,000 steps or 1.5 miles over and above my everyday routine. And February was tough - there were several rain days, and even a day (or two!) of walking in the snow. But I got 'er done, and that - in the long run - was more satisfying than the temporary discomfort of walking in the rain. Or snow. Or just with a generally poor attitude...
(It's funny, this walking thing. For some reason, I've been eschewing taking FreshHotSmallSquare with me, and just concentrating on my Really Deep Thoughts.
Which some days are something actually approaching Really Deep Thoughts.
Other days, my RDTs are more along the lines of "How many steps have I taken? 1,349. 1,350. 1,351. Ugh, I hate this. 1,352. 1,353..." I wish I were kidding about that, but sadly, some days are like that. I do find that I notice more, am more observant of the world around me, when I don't have earbuds in. And I like that aspect of it...)
Since we're in March, I'll go ahead and share what I'm doing this month: 4,000 steps or 2 miles over and above each day. And so far, it's going well - despite the fact that I was really sick at the beginning of the month - I felt oddly like a martyr hauling myself out there with a fever of 102° . (Did I mention that I'm insanely motivated by the X? I'm entranced by them...) I'm not sure yet what April is going to bring. The obvious answer is to bump it up again to 5,000 steps/2.5 miles - but I feel like maybe I need to shake it up a little??? Must ponder this...
Sadly, the one big thing that I did not do in February? Lose any weight. In fact, I gained .8 of a pound. And honestly, the only surprise about that was that it wasn't more. There was some good eating in February. And, oddly, more drinking than is usual for me. But I'm chalking that up to the fact that February is a bitch, and you do what you need to do to get through it! :)
So - I guess for the year, I'm still down 4.2 pounds from where I started. Which is not particularly impressive, I know. But the goal wasn't to impress. It was to end the year 20 pounds lighter. So - as long as I stop this slight upward trending, I am still on track for meeting the goal. And that's not bad...
Later 'skaters!
(And thanks for bearing with me, even when I drop off the face of the earth for no good reason...)
xoxoxox
*'cause I sure do love my baby-steps...
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