Thursday, April 28, 2011

storm-tastic in tennessee

yesterday some massive storms rolled & twisted through my area. the 3rd of 5 rounds knocked out our power, which was nice because we wouldn't have wanted to be the only ones in our city to have electricity. it just wouldn't have seemed right. so as i was sitting in the dark last night, i was bored. chris was at work, brooke was snoozing on the couch, so what's a girl to do? that's right, blog. it occurred to me that even though i didn't have a functioning computer, i could do it the old fashioned way & then copy it over here today. and with that, here we go...

it's been about 5 hrs so far without so much as flicker of electricity. i'm actually writing on paper. with my right hand. my left hand feels somewhat left out, but glad he has a job to do - holding the flashlight. it feels so archaic to write words with only one hand.

chris is at work, so brooke & i have been entertaining ourselves. we sewed paper stuffed animals because nothing says "fun" like threading needles in the dark with a child while sitting on the floor, bathed in the flicker of multiple yankee candles. it's smelling like a regular fruit basket up in here. probably a good thing. it'll mask the odor of the food rotting in my fridge.

we went for a walk before it got all the way dark. the 3rd storm was gone & it was dusky, but didn't seem so bad. we were halfway around the block when the rain kicked up & we found ourselves running down a hill with our coats flapping, being pelted by hail as the tornado-esque winds whipped the trees sideways. that's when i yelled to brooke that maybe this wasn't one of our brightest ideas ever. but as we jogged the rest of the way home, we saw more of our neighbors sitting on their porches than we've ever seen in the 4 years we've lived here. i'm guessing we've been pegged as the crazy neighbors now.

we got out a little makeup set & did each other's faces, in the dark. it's the first time brooke has ever let me put eyeshadow on her, which was fun, but i couldn't see it to enjoy it. she used some blacks & browns (i think) to paint willy nilly all over my face & based on the pics we took, i'm pretty sure she gave me a goatee. i bet it's a good look.



the highlight of my evening was at 9 when i sighed and mumbled how i wished i was watching america's next top model. that's when brooke got out a box of old polly pockets, dressed them fashionably & used them to act out an episode of top model, complete with commercial breaks featuring cover girl, scrubbing bubbles and the dog whisperer. she even made them walk a runway with photographers at the end & some disco flashlights.

now the girl is asleep, the house is dark & silent. i just finished the book i've been reading & i'm having a little snack: some cadbury eggs and warm milk. not to help me sleep, mind you, but because it's been spoiling in the warming fridge and it seems a shame to waste it.

28 comments:

  1. OMG - super cute - she looks just like her mommy! xx

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  2. LOL - you look just like me when I come in from working in the yard on a hot day!

    You were very creative in coming up with activities to distract both of you from the misery of 17th century life in a 21st century house. Just think how much more you appreciate your electricity tonight, having been without it for long enough for it to hurt! I hope your food didn't really rot.

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  3. Too cute! So glad you guys are ok! I am just in awe of the damage these storms caused!

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  4. Who knew there was so much fun to have during a power outage?!? We always keep cheap glowsticks on hand for those nights and the kids still enjoy them even as teens. Never thought to do makeup by candlelight. Brooke did a fantastic job! I'll let her do my face anytime!

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  5. Glad you're doing okay. My niece sent a photo by cell phone of a tornado near her work place in Chattanooga. I hate it when rotation is seen to the west of my area and a wall cloud is spotted to the east, and weather station is saying find my safe place, and I'm thinking there is no place in this house I feel safe at tornado time. Take care.

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  6. awww Im so sorry you guys had to endure the power outage but glad your area didnt get the brunt of it. Love the makeup job and the story! Youre such a fantastic mommy =)

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  7. It sucks to be without power, but I'm jealous to know your kid didn't freak out. Mine would be basketcases and I would probably go delirious from non stop crying.

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  8. You have power again! Praise God. So glad you are okay. Thanks for checking on us. I wish we were there for the Polly Pocket fashion show and makeup adventure. We were playing Sorry and Uno by candlelight in the basement. I hope we don't ever have to go through that stuff again.

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  9. I want brooke to be my friend. She and I would have sooooo much fun! You sound like a wonderful mom. Props!

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  10. I loved that whole idea of you sitting at the table, flashlight in one hand and writing with the other....just like the olden days (tee,hee)

    the storms must be frightening. I have 2 neices in Tennessee and one in Alabama...the BIG tornado just missed them.
    sheeesh..........guess I shouldn't complain to much about my wretched annoying snow.

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  11. Candles are awesome. We always have a ton for when we lose power.
    Another idea if or when it happens again is shadow puppets. That's what we do.
    Glad you have power again and hope it stays that way.

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  12. Those pictures are too cute. At least you two were able to have some fun together

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  13. Brooke does look a lot like you. In fact, when I looked really quick, I thought it WAS you. Oh, just an observation....I find it interesting that the pronoun you use for your hand is "he."
    I agree with Wendy. Those storms must be really frightening. By the time they reached Pennsylvania, most of the bluster had blown out of them. Even so, I spent most of the day trying to calm down hyper kids by telling them it was NOTHING compared to what happened out your way.
    Finally...hmmmmmmmmm....Cadbury eggs

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  14. what? I always wish my power would go out! it never does.

    You had such a good time with your little girl...sounds fun. I like the idea of sewing paper...

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  15. i'm just glad that even though it was dark & quiet here, we didn't have any house or property damage.
    i think it's funny that no one on here has yelled at me yet for taking my kid out for a walk during a tornado. in fairness to myself, i didn't realize it was actually tornado-y til later.
    al, i think the left one is a he & the right one is a she. probably because brooke named my feet Mr and Mrs a few years ago & i think that extended to my hands as well.
    looking up at these pics again, i guess i can see that we look alike. funny how i don't usually notice it.
    mom, i just ate some cheese, so i guess we'll know in a few hours if it really rotted. might be the making for a new blog post.

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  16. I would have saved my batteries for something else ;) but hey- I'm so glad you wrote this blog it had me snorting out soda from my nostrils. yes, that was attractive... but I can't help it- you make me laugh! :D (crazy neighbors come "hail" or high water{or in this case high winds} you can pull off fun, and crazy...and I love it!)

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  17. Wow, glad you and your family are safe, some of those tornadoes have been crazy. Also, it's good every once in a while to be reminded of the simpler times, no? And you made great use of the time with the blog posting!

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  18. I actually thought about yall!! Glad all is well there.
    While our electric was out, it killed my soul to pour out almost a half a gallon of milk....ugh!
    Thankfully, we were able to get some ice and put our meat in the cooler.
    ANYHOOZERS.... the makeup fest looks like fun! And the eggs sounds seriously YUMMY! Save me some?

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  19. Sounds like some great mother/daughter bonding time!

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  20. it's weird being without power isn't it? I kinda enjoyed blogging on paper during my power out day though. Looks like you two passed the time nicely though. Can't stand helplessly watching my food go bad though...oh well, purge, purge, purge.

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  21. This season has been crazy with storms this year! I'm glad you're okay. It sounds like you had a great time with Brooke. Even when running home in the hail. :)

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  22. How endearing! I love having the chance to write by hand. The pen to the paper feels so nice, kind of like a massage for my fingers.

    Sounds like your little one is a definite keeper!

    (I'm visiting from the "tea party" over on the lady bloggers page. Very happy to have found you!)

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  23. Hilarious! What a great idea! Dropping by from the LBS... nice to meet you!

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  24. So, then you could "cheat" with another man if you were to mast.....oh, never mind. My head hurts.

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  25. The weather has been bad here, too. Glad you are OK. We had unprecedented overland flooding from the snow melt.

    New Follower via Lady Blogger Social Tea Party
    Life Below Zero
    http://casinofreebies3.blogspot.com/

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  26. EEEEEEKKKK, be careful out there.

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  27. I replied to your comment on my blog already that it was unfortunate that you missed ANTM, but it sounds like your Polly-Pocket fashion show was pretty awesome! :)

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  28. Catching up, glad you're alright. Amazing what can happen when there's no modern technology.

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