Friday, August 26, 2011

There's a Hurricane Coming!

I have not written in so long. I am so out of loop with my blog and I am so mad at myself for letting the summer go by so quickly and not updating as much as I had wanted to. Life's just crazy and we had so much going on this summer, I kind of threw the blogging thing on the back burner. So it's taken a hurricane for me to get back into it...

A hurricane.  I really don't know much about a hurricane, well except for the drink ; ) but, I never had to actually experience one before. This will be my first REAL hurricane experience in Virginia Beach. Growing up on the Jersey shore, I don't ever remember the "panic" of a hurricane coming, it was always more hype. I mean I've experienced some bad storms, Nor Eastors', tropical waves, storms and maybe even an outskirt of a once formed hurricane that brought lots of rain and wind and of course blizzards. Does anyone remember the blizzard of 2003? I remember we were snowboarding in the Poconos with a bunch of friends and we literally got snowed in with minimal food and had to snowboard to the one and only restaurant open in town to eat. I remember finally being able to leave PA and driving home on 80 and 287 and there were 3-4 foot walls of snow, it was pretty crazy. So, yea, I've experienced some bad storms, but never a hurricane.

I don't know what to think of it. Is it all hype? The media and meteorologists eat this stuff and wait all year for something like this. I really didn't pay much attention to this thing until yesterday when I realized how serious it was becoming.

So I started prepping. The first thing I did was check the wine sitch in my house. I mean really, I can't be stuck in all weekend and wishing I had a delicious glass of Pinot Noir to calm my nerves. So I stocked up a bit, and double bonus we got our beer club shipment yesterday (thanks UPS!) I also went to the food store and bought everything I saw in everyone else's carts, well except Spam (ew do people really eat that stuff?). I got water, batteries, sippys for the kids, dry foods, fruit and canned goods.  We filled up the gas tanks, went to the ATM, starting putting away all outside items in the shed and garage, charged portable DVD players, made sure the Flip had fresh batteries, charged my camera batteries and did laundry. How much more prepared can I be for this thing? After all said and done, I've become one of those nuts who I used to make fun of.

I have the news on 24/7 in the background tracking this bad boy, I'm peering outside every 5 minutes to see if its getting windier, and I'm calling Hubby to see if the military knows something I don't know (not really sure why they would, but maybe they have some secret connection with mother nature). I'm obsessed with the hurricane, which leads to me writing a blog about it, seriously?!! Who am I?

I am prepared for the worst and praying for the best. I'm nervous the leak we had near our skylights in the fall and was fixed is not going to hold up.  I'm nervous about that tree in my front yard falling. I am nervous for my NJ friends and family on the coast as well and am really nervous for our little beach house in Lavalette, NJ that has been in the family for decades. I need a Xanex or something!

Although all worrying aside, I do believe everything in life, good and bad, happens for a reason. I believe everyone you meet in your life is for a reason, some more so than others. I believe in fate. I believe in events that happen in your life is why you are the person you are today. And I believe the reason this hurricane is coming is so I stay home one weekend, guilt free, instead of running around like a maniac. I believe this is the weekend I am supposed to do all the things I said I was going to do at home this summer, and didn't. I just hope I can do it all with power and not a leaky roof.

So as the hurricane approaches I am really hoping its worse than they are making it seem, because I will admit I am kind of scared. I am hugging my babies (and house) tight tonight and praying its over soon. So stay safe everyone..and get all that stuff done this weekend at home you've been putting off all summer too.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

A Maternity Shoot

A few weeks ago I had to do an "Environmental Portrait Portfolio" for my photography class. Knowing right away I wanted to do a maternity shoot I contacted my friend Rebekah who is going to give birth in September. Her and her husband Andre were more than happy to help out. So with permission from new mom and dad to be, she's letting me share my VERY amateur photos. Check out the slide show below.