This Full House Archive

Tag: Hurricane Sandy

  • The Afterglow of Giving Back: Helping Us Get Past Hurricane Sandy

    It's been a month since Hurricane Sandy made landfall here in New Jersey (I blogged about our experience, once we got power back) and although the news crews and Weather Channel folks have since moved on to other more immediate and pressing matters (sadly, there is bad stuff happening in the world, all the time)  reminders of just how cataclysmic this storm really was remain and, well, the devistation isn't going away anytime soon.

    I realize that some folks may be growing tired or even a little weary of hearing about yet another Sandy story (I'm looking at you, dude on my Facebook stream who insisted that Jersey should just get over it already) trust me, we get it.

    On the other hand, a large percentage of my husband's customers are small business owners who lost both their homes AND their livelihood, excuse my Jersey when I tell you:  he hears it ALL friggin' day.  In fact, there are people STILL living it, every day.

    Either way, the sense of helplessness is incredibly overwhelming.

    Elizabeth and her son at Samaritan's Purse
    So, when my good friend, and fellow NJ Digital Mom, Elizabeth Norton  (that's her up there with one of her adorable sons!)  suggested we get together and help give back by volunteering to serve dinner to the good folks of Samaritan's Purse (a non-denominational Christian organization providing relief to victims of war, poverty and natural disaster) I was all, like, FRIGGIN'YAH!

    Holly and Me at Samaritan's PurseI got to share the experience with my oldest daughter and, honestly, she and I were a little nervous about how the evening would play out. 

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  • Hurricane Sandy: Getting Back To The New Normal, Here at the Gateway to the Jersey Shore

    WITH A GREAT BIG SHOUT-OUT TO MY DEAR FRIEND MELISA:  THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR AWESOME GUEST POST WHILE WE WERE HURRICANE-ING!

    A week ago, at this very moment, I posted a semi-lighthearted Facebook status — something about my husband Garth (not his real name) going out and hunting down donuts before we all go Amish for the next few days — having lived in the Bayshore area of New Jersey all our lives, we are no strangers to storms. 

    Hurricane sandy dad on the roof

    It's a bird, a plane, HOLY CRAP dad is on the roof!

    Truth be told, considering Hurricane Irene ripped us a new one a little over a year ago, my husband and I were more than just a little concerned about our roof riding out the projected monster of a storm known as Hurricane Sandy (a.k.a. #Frankenstorm, #Blizzicane and/or #Snor'eaterscane). 

    Hurricane Sandy Dad is on the Roof for Real

    Reinforcing trouble spots, courtesy of Hurricane Irene.

    Our house loses power whenever the town burps or hiccups (see also:  FUBAR) so, stocking up on can goods, batteries, candles, lots of ice and Ibuprofen (okay, that last one was for me) is pretty much the norm.


    Hurricane Sandy Prep

    At our house, everyone gets their own flashlight!

    I continued posting snarky stuff on Twitter too, like:  whoever came up with #Frakenstorm is most likely NOT from Jersey, better known as #Frigginstorm.

    Or, contrary to what some folks believe about NJ, how I did NOT plan on being very warm and/or welcoming…sorry, Sandy.

    Then the lights went out, we lost ALL contact with the outside world and stuff in our town started blowing up.

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  • Hurricane Sandy Can #SuckIt.

    Well, hello!

    It's me, Melisa. I'm guest-posting for Liz today on account of the fact that she's not sure when she'll have internet again, and she wanted everyone to know that she and her family are fine.

    Let me back up a bit, first.

    As you are well aware if you are a regular reader of This Full House, Liz lives in New Jersey. In fact, it won't surprise you–due to the fact that she has been experiencing some, shall we say, not-so-good fortune this year–that Hurricane Sandy was heading right for her town. (Probably her house: let's be honest.)

    In our phone conversations last week (There were many: we talk all the time.), Liz was getting a little nervous about the storm but was totally into hurricane preparedness: she was purchasing supplies, cooking the food she had in the freezer, and doing laundry so she might possibly escape what happened when they had no water earlier this year.

    Garth (NHRN) was even up on the roof with his caulk gun (ahem), sealing everything up in preparation for the storm. Liz and I often discuss how awesome it is to be married to "manly men", and you can call us traditional in this regard if you want, but we think it is totally HAWT to see our guys fixing stuff and taking care of things around the house. HAWT. 

    Wait…where was I?

    Oh yeah. The storm. ANYWAY…

    Liz and I got in one last phone call before the heavy winds started to blow, and resorted to texting after that. I tried to make her laugh because I knew she was freaking out a bit while trying to keep it together for the kids. This exchange was a personal favorite:

    Me: "Take cleansing breaths as if you were in labor. Hee hee HOO. Hee hee HOO. (Not to be confused with HOO-HA, which is a different thing altogether.) By the way, tell Garth (NHRN) 'NO HURRICANE BABIES.'"

    Liz: "Hurricane babies, now I'm cry-laughing and throwing up in my mouth a little bit."

    That's what I was going for, actually.

    Anyway, after eventually receiving some terrifying texts about how badly the house was shaking and that transformers were blowing up in her town and lighting up the night sky, I was sufficiently worried. Then the texts stopped coming. Though I was clearly in a more comfortable situation here in the Chicago suburbs, what with electricity and cell phone service and such, as a control freak it was driving me batty, not knowing what was going on and if they were okay.

    It was also driving me batty, not being able to talk to her on the phone. WITH her, I should actually say, because I started leaving her voicemail messages every couple of hours. Some were funny, some were just checking in, and one was panicky. That last one was early this morning, when I suddenly realized that Liz might not have access to her caw-fee during this ordeal, and I was struck with a weird sort of terror on her behalf. About coffee. I know: shut up. 

    Naturally, when I went upstairs this morning for FOUR MINUTES so I could get dressed, I missed a call from Liz.

    I WAS GONE FOR FOUR MINUTES. Her timing was impeccable.

    I called her back and it went right to voicemail, and I thought I would lose my mind until she tried me again just a couple of minutes later. When I picked up, we shrieked together for a full ten seconds, completely giddy that we finally connected after a really, really, REALLY long time (okay, it was just a few days but in internet time it was practically FOREVER.). 

    Long story short (You're welcome!) (I get it from Liz.), Liz and family are doing just fine. After days without power, cell phone service, and internet (yikes!), everyone is getting along and they haven't killed each other. Liz's parents and in-laws are fine, too. Garth's (NHRN) work on the roof with that caulk gun of his gave the house the extra protection it needed and it only sustained minor damage that Liz says is cosmetic in nature. They aren't sure when the lights will be back on, but as we were talking on the phone an electric company truck pulled up. It wasn't there long but I'm guessing they were assessing the area and will be back to start work soon.

    So there's your update, This Full House readers! Liz is missing the blog and all of you, and will be back just as soon as she can.

    And Hurricane Sandy? You can #suckit.

  • Twas The Night Before #Snor’eastercane

    Hurricane Sandy
    Having lived in Jersey all of my life, I feel it safe to say that we East Coasters are used to freakish weather, experiencing all 4 seasons, sometimes ALL in the same day.

    This week, however, I am pretty convinced that surviving the Zombie Apocalypse has got nuh'thin' on the monster that is Hurricane Sandy.

    Thanks to the Weather Channel, I now have apocalyptic catch phrases running around in my head like:  #Frankenstorm, #Blizzicane and my personal favorite: #Snor'eastercane.

    Sounds like a friggin' hybrid holiday, yes?

    So, in an effort to get Jim Cantore out of my head (dude, it's way too crowded up there already) I present to you, Twas The Night Before #Snor'eastercane:

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