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The Trip That Never Was Thanks to Hurricane Irene

Posted on August 29, 2011 9:50 am by TheAngelForever

For weeks, I have been writing up posts to schedule. At one point I had two weeks set and would not need anything until after Labor Day. Two guest posts are set for this week alone. I was on a roll, things were flying onto my computer from my fingertips. Then things changed. Our world became obsessed with watching the news, checking on weather reports, and debating what to do.

I should be on the road to Long Island, NY right now (writing this Sunday afternoon). Instead, I am home watching record amounts of water fall outside my home. I am numb. Worry for family, friends, and our own home is not letting all of the reality set in. All I can do is sit here and wait on my bed with power (for now), but no internet or cable

You see, Tuesday morning I should be getting on an airplane. TechyDad and I decided in late July that we were going to just do something crazy. We were going to figure out a way to do a 10th Anniversary trip. We looked at several different options. In the end, we wanted something magical, something that would remind us of our honeymoon. Of course, that was a trip to Walt Disney World.

My in-laws agreed to watch the boys for the first time ever. I was nervous about a quick trip (we booked in the end of July) and leaving the kids to only get back home the day before school started, but they would be fine and we needed this.

Then something happened. Hurricane Irene decided to slam everyone up and down the east coast. My in-laws asked us to try to go on Saturday. I could not do it. The storm appeared like it was going to be so much more in the NYC/Long Island area that I wanted to be at home to keep an eye on things here. Friday night, I was so restless. I tossed and turned. The what if aspect of everything was killing me. Sure, perhaps we would have a flight, but could we guarantee being able to travel from here to there? Right now, TechyDad’s parents have no power. There was no way I could leave two young kids with them for five nights without power. That was not fair.

So, just before noon on Saturday, I made a tough call. It was time to call our airlines and travel agent to cancel our trip. We needed to focus on getting ready for the storm and not worry about how/if/when we could get to our flight. Our airline was fantastic. We are not reimbursed, but have credit that must be used with us back home by a certain date. We can handle that.

When I tried to call Disney to cancel on my own, the woman asked how she could help make my day magical. With tears in my eyes and obvious sadness, I told her she could make Hurricane Irene go away. She immediately got serious and said she was so sorry. In the end, our agent called and we were reimbursed for the package we purchased.

Now, as the storm is likely at the worst. How will this week be? I know I should be thrilled that my family and friends are safe. I am, do not get me wrong. Still, with each passing day from Tuesday to Sunday it will sting. I will think about the meal we are missing. I will morn the special trip that should have been. I will be ok, but it hurts. I shouldn’t complain since the last six weeks of dreaming of the trip helped make the summer bearable. The weeks went by as we planned to meet friends, eat special meals, and more. This last week of summer vacation for the boys is going to be hard. We will be picking up the pieces from the storm, assessing damage in our basement, and wondering how and when we can reschedule the trip that we needed. Yes, I really am ready for 2011 to be over since she has been so very evil in too many ways.

Update from Monday morning: Sunday was a long day here. The rain intense and the wind got worse into the dark evening. We were SO lucky here. Some issues in our basement that we now have to look into, but no major damage. Unfortunately, others within our area were not so lucky. Irene may have only been a tropical storm when she came into our area, but she packed one hell of a punch. Mud slides, dams bursting, lakes in front of houses at the base of mountains – a massive mess. We never lost our power here, but across the street they have none right now. Sheer exhaustion from no sleep for days caught up. I went to a room where I could not hear the howling wind and fell asleep on TechyDad’s chest. Today, he managed to get to work after closed roads leading to Vermont were just reopened. Now to see what we can do around the area to keep our minds busy.

One other thing, I really wish people would stop talking about the over-hyped nature of this storm. Should more people have died? Perhaps they have not seen some of the damage and more that is coming NOW thanks to all of the flooding that is still not at the worst level. I think a lot of people living inland and in parts of South Carolina and Virginia would beg to differ. No, NYC was not destroyed, but lives were forever changed up and down the east coast. The fact that people were safe is not a fail, but something we should celebrate after the mistakes from Hurricane Katrina. We need to remember that less is more in the case of a hurricane – especially when it is not as much damage in some very populated areas. To those with damage and picking up the pieces – my heart goes out to you.

Categories:
decisions Disney family me moments messy photos summer TechyDad vent weather weekend

They Grow Too Quickly

Posted on August 24, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Categories:
brothers jsl looking back nhl photos vent Wordless Wednesday

Website Work in Progress

Posted on August 14, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Owning your own domain means that you have to host your website. This can be a drag at times, especially when things do not go smoothly. I have to admit that I am SO lucky to have TechyDad. If something goes wrong, my website it down, or anything needs work – he is a webmaster in real life.

Of course, just because he is a webmaster does not mean he can magically make things run perfectly. Often times, there are mazes that we must walk through that can complicate things.

Unlike a hedge maze, you may not be able to find your way out of this complicated problem without making a switch and starting over. Yes, sometimes hosting does not quite work properly and it is time to pack up and move.

Thanks to on-going issues, down time, and the list goes on . . . we –er TechyDad is doing some work behind the scenes. We are currently moving all of our websites one by one to the new server at a more reliable hosting company. We had hoped to avoid this, but what can you do? In the end, we will come out of this smiling.

We look at this as a time to reflect on what we need in our hosting company, ability to support a local business, and opportunity to clean up several other websites that we have. It was not what we wanted, but we will be better thanks to this.

Please note that comments are currently turned off on all blog posts until the move is 100% complete. Thank you for your support during this transition.

Categories:
decisions TechyDad vent

Time for Couples is Important Too

Posted on August 8, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Ever have one of those days where you wonder how you got to where you are? It seems to be hitting hard here over the last few months. Drama on many levels have left TechyDad and I quite stressed this year. When we celebrated our 10th anniversary with massive plumbing troubles and moving into my parent’s house for several days, it was a sign. Then, thanks to a little push from Amy (aka Resourceful Mommy), we decided to do it. Yes, we booked a kids free getaway. We tossed our senses away and decided that WE needed this. WE, as in the couple, were in great need of time to ourselves without worrying about the kids, stressing over the house, and bickering about this, that, and the other thing.

Since NHL was born, almost eight years ago, we had only gone away without the boys once. That was last summer to NYC for BlogHer. Although it was a wonderful trip, it was not exactly the romantic destination. There were many times that we were on opposite sides of the city at different events.

Could we really afford this trip? Probably not, but WE the couple could not afford to let this opportunity go. What I have learned over the last year is that you can not wish, hope, and wait for things to get better. You must be proactive and stand up for what you need and want. TechyDad and I need to be selfish for us. The kids will be fine with family, they will get to know their Bubbe and Grandpa a lot more, and we will get to be a couple again.

The last real hurrah for us was when we went to Las Vegas in December 2002. We had celebrated out 1st anniversary in June by going to Boston. Then, when some health concerns in the following months left us deciding to start our family, we booked a getaway. Thankfully, we learned from our honeymoon and took more photos of the two of us together. Check out how young and carefree we were:

Our time in Vegas was amazing and we saw so many beautiful items (more posts on that another day). Here are a few photos scanned for now:

When we arrived home, we found out that we were indeed expecting our first little Ewok. NHL was born the following summer and changed our lives. While NHL and JSL are two of the most amazing parts of lives, we, like so many other couples, have hardly had time to be ourselves – husband and wife. Our roles of B and J have morphed into Mom and Dad and rarely seem allow us to get off and remind ourselves of who we used to be.

So, have you ever been just a little selfish in the name of your marriage? Please share tips, thoughts, or anything else in the comments below.

Categories:
decisions family jl looking back losing my mind me moments photos TechyDad travel vacation vent

Facebook Fallacies about Breast Cancer

Posted on August 5, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

If you are on Facebook, then you have probably witnessed some things that you are not fond of. Whether it is Farmville, Poking, or perhaps status memes that are alive and well. The reality is that many of these items are part of Facebook streams each and every day.

Recently, a blogger friend pointed out a new variation of one that is a pet peeve of mine. Basically, a private message is sent to people asking them to post something in their status message. This is what Irene was asked to do:

Women are supposed to put the number of their shoe size, followed by the word inches and a frowny face.

The basic thought by the person that created this status meme is that they are spreading breast cancer awareness. Are they? The reality is that the meme is secretive if you are just looking at it and does not help to get the word of awareness out. On The Crafting Hobbit, Irene really hits home about it in her post titled Breast Cancer Awareness is so much more than a Facebook Status.

So why am I mentioning this now?

1 – Breast cancer has personally hit my family. My Aunt S was diagnosed with it just weeks before NHL was born. She is now an eight year survivor who has battle scars to show her strength and courage. My great-grandmother was not as lucky. She was diagnosed when she was about my age and passed away when she was about 37 years old. My GYN asked me to get this history because she needed to know to schedule my first mammogram. Yes, it would seem likely that I will be getting mine within the next year. Of course, I plan on blogging about my experience to reinforce the importance of this testing and women’s health. My little guy gets to hug Aunt S today thanks to early detection.

2 – Then, there are women like Rene Syler of Good Enough Mother who shares her story. Rene opted to have a preventative mastectomy in 2007. Both of her parents were breast cancer survivors. Although Rene was not a carrier of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes (the only two linked to breast cancer to date), she made this decision and talks to women about how this changed her life. A reader on Good Enough Mother wrote in several months ago asking Rene about Preventative Mastectomy and she wrote about it.

Much like Rene, Irene, who wrote the post I mentioned, is planning to have a double mastectomy this fall. Her mother is a breast cancer survivor, and her grandmother passed away from it at 36. She is a carrier of the BRCA2 mutation which gives her an 84% chance of developing breast cancer before she is 70. As the mother of an almost two year old, she is taking the preventative approach.

These two women are brave and have shown their dedication to educating people about breast cancer. There are some amazing resources on The Crafting Hobbit and Good Enough Mother if you want to help yourself, a friend, or family member. Let’s remember cancer awareness and early detection is key for everyone.

So my question for you this week is:

Do you have a Facebook pet peeve? What is it and why does it bother you. Also, please pay tribute to any breast cancer heroes that are in your life. We can celebrate these people now, not just in October.