Rain, Rain , go a away!

I officially missed the second hurricane to hit our area in 8 years. Eight years ago we evacuated for Hurricane Isabel, and 4 days ago we left town right before Hurricane Irene got here.  Thankfully there was no damage to our house, no trees toppled in our yard, and our roof is still in tact.  There was a water main break on our cul-de sac and power outage for three hours, tremendous rain and wind for 24 hours straight!  Our favorite place -The Outerbanks of N.C. got slammed pretty hard.  When I mean pretty hard I mean, houses lost completely or damaged severely and parts of Highway 12 are gone!  I don't even want to begin to talk about those who survived and decided to stay in the Outerbanks and now can not get to the main land because guess what? No Highway.  My heart sank when I saw the very same area I was  in last week devastated by this Hurricane.  My only hope besides prayer is that we who can help others in the aftermath of this storm, do the right thing and help and make a choice not to be too busy to aid those who's lives have been devastated.  Yes, I am my brother's keeper.

A whole lotta shakin' goin' on.

Yes its true, there was an earthquake today on the east coast. And yes, my house did shake.  In other parts of the state damage was reported but, I am happy to say that we are safe and sound. Of course my mind raced and reflected on the Bible verse that says that in the last days there will be earthquakes in diverse places.  Can I assume we are living in the last days?

Ride the Tide

This weekend was the "grand opening" of a commuter train in our area, appropriately named the Tide.  From Friday til Sunday night, all rides were free.  So instead of church, I took the kidderinos  to one of the stations- in the blazing sun, and waited about 30 minutes to board the "light rail".  So what did I think?  I wondered what the whole point was and who will actually be using it?  It  has a couple stops in a downtown area of one town, one at a minor league ball field, a stop at a university and a medical school but, short of that-and a few extra stops, its not like it was commuting itself to other major towns in the area.  I used to live outside of New York city so our local train hit tons of towns in our area and of course headed to New York City.  Maybe I'm just spoiled but,  I wished I would have tracked the project closely enough so that my voice would have been heard in the planning stages.  Will I use the new system in the future? Probably not. The reason?  Well , by the time I drive to the station, I could very well be at my destination. But who knows, I might find myself blogging in the future about another ride on the Tide.

Computer time

I don't know why I tried to enforce computer time in the first place, the chart I made indicating whose computer time it was at what time is gone! AND Dolly-who is 4 I might add, seems to know how to get on PBS Kids and time she feels like it.  Everyone abuses computer time!  I tried securing a password on the thing but, that didn't work because the password screen never pops up. Short of disconnecting the modem, I'm at a loss!

It has been either too hot to go out side to the pool or to the beach because well- ITS BEEN TOO HOT or the wildfires that are burning are blowing in our direction making the air thick with smoke and making it unbearable to go out side. It has been rocket science to juggle the indoor activities so that no one is bored, maintain the peace, monitor the tv time, and the all dread computer time all the while trying to get major house projects done.  What projects?  Did I forget to mention that all of the deferred maintenance is now being taken care of? Or should I say worked on?  Floors, walls, yard, roof, paint, weeding, deck, trimming, purging, decluttering, cleaning, hauling.  Need I say more?  All this and what's at the top of my list? Trying to keep my people from being sucked away into the land of virtual reality.

Interestingly enough, during one of my insomnia attacks, I logged on to facebook and read one of the most intelligent, updates!  "Later for all the friending and defriending drama on Facebook" I mean really!  I have been defriended by a couple of people I barely knew and the few that defriended me I havent talked to in close to 10 years anyway.  Facebook is a mixed bag. I was hooked when I first got my acct but, its corny to me now.  I am a lurker. I go there peek at peoples pages and leave.  I also have to admit that I don't go on facebook too often.  This is because I have one of my emails hooked up so that I can see if anyone has invited me to anything or wants to friend me or sent me a message.   And of course if I'm thinking of someone and want to let them know I might give them a shout out but, I just don't have the time.  Primarily because someone is always hogging my desk top.

What can I say?

I don't care about what other bloggers say bout not owing their readers an explanation about why they haven't posted in over a month... Here is mine: Ive been busy.. and  my little blog although I though about it, had absolutely no precious time to post anything about anything.

So to bring everyone up to speed here are my random thoughts.

• after 5 1/2 years of sitting in the hallway, my wood floors are finally installed.
• Dolly and Noahkeem now know how to swim.
• I'm still in the decluttering process and am tossing stuff left and right.  I have no more room in my house or life to keep things that I absolutely do not love.
• I have totally stepped back from many activities that suck away my energy more than they give energy. I'm finding that stepping back is something we just need to do from time to time.
• In the process of applying to  a myriad of jobs-which is a job in itself.
• In the midst of the busyness, exercise as came to a sloth-like pace.
• My new exercise regimen starts-today- since tomorrow never comes.
• Cookie officially turned 11, Rocco 8 & Noahkeem 6.  
• Dolly is proud that she and Jesus have winter birthdays.. It gives her a competitive edge.

I can't say that's all that has happened because its too early in the morning to remember everything.