April 27, 2011

I wrote this post shortly after April 27th, but have not had the nerve to post it until now.  It was difficult to write, but also therapeutic in a way. I have a "day after" post that I need to piece together, but I thought in honor of the anniversary, it was the perfect time to share.  Note, this has not been edited as I had a difficult time writing it, so please excuse any errors you might find.  

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We had been told several days in advance that it would be a bad weather day. They kept comparing it to 1974 and predicting a possible "historic weather day". I had some relatives that died in the 1974 tornados and my grandmother had a commemorative book that had pictures of the devastation. I remember looking at that book numerous times and hearing the stories from "that day in '74", so I understood the reference. For someone who is terrified of storms (I blame it on that book), this made me sick to my stomach. So much so that I told my little brother (and my mom just in case) that he needed to come home as SOON as he got home from class (He's notorious for just doing his own thing and not stressing about the weather)

Tuesday evening I stayed up late working on a final paper and ended up falling asleep on the couch. I woke up early Wednesday morning to the sounds of thunder and heavy rain. I flipped over to one of the local news stations and sure enough, the bad weather was starting. Not too long after, we were put under a tornado warning and I went over to my brother's apartment just to make sure he was up in case we needed to take cover. Thankfully the storm went north of us and all was fine. Josh went back to sleep and since I was already a nervous wreck and had no chance of going back to sleep, I went back to my apartment and tried to work on my paper.

Josh went to class as normal. I was glued to the television and iPad as the storms began moving into North Alabama. Since our news stations cover from Cullman down, I had a difficult time finding out exactly what was going on at home. Every time I heard that a storm was heading their way, I called them just to make sure everything was ok. Did I mention I was trying to finish my paper during this time? Emphasis on the trying because I was not getting very far...

At one point, they flashed to a skycam image of the tornado going through Cullman. Cullman was one of our biggest rivals in High School and pass through there every time I drive to Tuscaloosa from home. Needless to say, I know the area pretty well. I was upset as is, but when they told the track, my hometown was one of the cities listed. I felt so helpless watching that tornado tear up a town I knew so well an thinking about it heading toward my home terrified me. I, of course, panicked and called my mom and dad checking on everything. Fortunately (for us), it went below us and I was so thankful that my hometown was spared. Our weatherman kept reminding us that although we had been out of the woods all day, our turn was coming later that afternoon/evening.

I continued to work on my paper and Josh made it home from class. He called and asked if he could walk to Jack's next door to get something to eat (remember, I told him he wasn't allowed to go anywhere when he got home from class). I told him that was fine and he went and came back quickly as to not receive the wrath of the stressed out big sister. I got an email from my professor canceling class for that evening, and then another email from the university a little while later saying that classes were suspended. I breathed a sigh of relief that I didn't have to worry about getting out in this mess, nor did I have to prepare for class. I turned my attention back to the weather just in time to see a tornado heading our way from Mississippi.

The power flickered an knocked my TiVo out which meant I couldn't watch TV until it went through its reboot (which often takes a while) so I went over to Josh's to watch it over there. His high school friend, who lives on the third floor of our apartment building, was over there too. We watched as the tornado changed course and went above us, but the weatherman said there was another really bad one coming our way.

Let me say that Tuscaloosa gets a lot of tornados...I mean a lot. As I mentioned before, I am terrified of storms, but living in Tuscaloosa and being under numerous tornado warnings over the past, almost 8 years, has made it us all a bit callous, but this time it was different. As I am writing this, I remember that sick feeling that began to wash over me. The next little bit was a blur because I'm sure my blood pressure was through the roof. I remember pacing through the house a nervous wreck hearing the weatherman saying it was headed toward campus. I remember pleading with the boys for us to go ahead and take shelter as I grabbed quilts, pillows, and blankets from Josh's hall closet. I remember the weatherman saying "This is not the usual Tuscaloosa tornado folks. You need to take shelter NOW!" and insisting the boys go to the bathroom to take shelter.

We grabbed Josh's handheld radio he had just randomly bought before going to play golf one day, his laptop, our cell phones, my iPad, turned up the TV and turned it to face the hallway (so we could lean out the bathroom and see it) and went to the bathroom. We found a random radio station on the radio because we figured it would knock the power out soon. The next thirty minutes or so was a bit of a blur. I remember the announcer saying it would hit Bryant Denny Stadium at 5:15. I remember texting Mom, Dad, and Alex telling them at 4:50 telling them we were taking cover and we loved them. I remember updating Facebook saying "Taking cover...stay safe folks!" I remember the radio announcer saying it was a mile wide and approaching downtown Tuscaloosa. I remember Josh looking out the bathroom door at the TV and turning to us and saying "This is the real deal" after seeing footage of the tornado coming into Tuscaloosa. I remember the radio announcers saying that it was tearing up downtown and they (the station was located downtown apparently) would be losing power soon and as soon as they said that, we lost power too. I remember trying to find a radio station with my trembling hands in the pitch black dark bathroom. I remember finding one and hearing the radio announcer praying over the air for Tuscaloosa saying he was pretty sure it would wipe the city out. I remember them saying it hit near Stillman and that they thought downtown was gone. I remember them saying, it should hit campus in 15 minutes and I immediately texted my parents letting them know. I remember sitting in the floor, with my knees pulled up to my chest, rocking back and forth, and crying and praying for our safety. I remember the scared look on my normally calm and strong little bother's face and me feeling so helpless because I realized there was nothing I could do about it but pray. I remember thinking about how Mother's day was a little over a week later and that my mom could possibly lose both of her children at the same time. I remember being the most terrified I have ever felt


Around 5:20 or so, the announcers started talking about it going down 20/59 heading toward Birmingham, so we knew it was over. We never heard it, so we were anxious to go see what it looked like outside. We went into Josh's den and peeked out the window and not seeing anything, we walked outside. There was not a single piece of trash in our parking lot. I walked into my apartment fully expecting the windows to be blown out, but nothing had been touched. We assumed that it completely missed us, but quickly heard that there was utter destruction just blocks away. I updated my status saying we were safe and immediately got lots of comments asking about things in Tuscaloosa. I quickly scanned FB to see who had updated and who I needed to call. My reception was spotty and could FB, but getting texts and calls out were a chore. I could, however, receive calls so I spoke to Alex who told me not to look at pictures on FB and for once I listened. He relayed messages back and forth to my parents who were also without power and completely unaware of how bad it was in Tuscaloosa (I think that was a blessing in disguise because my parents and Alex too would have been a mess). Alex didn't quite know the extent of it either, but he watched the radar just in case another storm was coming.

I quickly started texting people and attempting to call the ones I couldn't get in touch with. I was very blessed to have others doing the same with me. I cannot describe how happy I was to receive a text from a friend saying they were ok and every mini conversation ended with "Call me if you need anything. Love you!" and I truly meant it.

I was completely numb hearing stories that were circulating around the complex about my beloved city. They were saying places I had been just the day before were completely gone. Homes of friends completely destroyed. At one point, I remember going into my dark apartment and just sobbing as it all sank in. They were tears of relief that we were spared, tears of guilt because so many others weren't, tears of pain for my precious friends and adopted hometown and of course tears of joy that my friend's were ok. Words can't really describe my emotions and writing this long after the fact still brings back that odd feeling and tears to my eyes.

Alex was ready to come get us as looting had already begun, our water was possibly contaminated, and they said we could be without power for up to 3 weeks. Darkness fell and I told Alex just to stay put...that we'd be ok for the night and we'd figure everything out in the morning. We didn't know what all had been damaged and with our normally brightly lit town being completely dark, I didn't want to risk him injuring himself when we were fine.

Josh went upstairs and grilled with some of our neighbors, but I was so mentally and physically drained that I just wanted some rest. I wasn't hungry and had actually not eaten anything all day because I had been stressed about the weather. Because it was so dark, I didn't want to sleep in my room since it was in the back of my apartment, but instead opted to sleep on my couch. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to wind down, so I pulled up an episode of Real Housewives of Orange County on iTunes in my iPad (yes, I watch trash TV and I desperately needed something to take my mind off everything), watched a few minutes of it, and decided I was too tired to do anything but sleep. I closed my eyes and I remember praying that I would wake up and this entire day would just be a bad dream....




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Phone Dump Friday

1.) I bought a peacock clutch this week.  Did I need one, not really, but I loved it so much that I bought it.  Plus it was 20 dollars, so even better.

2.)  Easter basket from Alex’s parents, from an awesome candy shop back home.  Every bit of it was divine!

3.)  A birthday gift for my sweet friend who is also a new Mommy.  I monogrammed it with her little one’s initials…I loved it!

4.)  When mom’s hospital closed, she got TONS of little plastic bins.  I’ve been using them for everything, and this week I organized my office supplies in them.  Pretty sure if armed with containers and my trusty labelmaker, I could rule the world

5.)  The chocolate bunny from our Easter basket from Alex’s parents.  His mom made it quite clear it was all mine.  Once opened, he only lasted a day.  My tummy was happy, but my waistline isn’t so much.  It was worth every calorie though!

6.)  I live on flavored creamer (well, it is the only way I can drink coffee), and I got a coupon for a free creamer via their FB page….LOVE!

7.)  I have been looking for a floral arrangement to sit on the table in my hallway.  I couldn’t find one so I bought the flowers and did it myself.  Not a huge fan of the vase, but they were out of the one I was looking for, so my trusty old vase from some flowers I received in college will have to do for now.  This was my first time arranging, so I’m pretty proud of myself!

8.)  I have been on a major cleaning spree lately and my bedroom has been a sore spot for me for a while (only room with a door so it becomes a catch all).  I haven’t seen this corner in years.  I sent this picture to Alex and he was pretty impressed

9.) I’m officially out of sweet stuff because I haven’t been to the grocery store in a while and have been living off the leftovers from Alex’s visits.  Unfortunately, he’s not coming this weekend so it looks like I’ll have to visit the grocery store.  Anyway, I was dying for something sweet today, and so I opened the candy cane crunch chocolate I got from Alex’s family friends and ate a piece.  It was yummy, even though it is the wrong season.  Sign of an addict?  Probably, but I am totally fine with that!

Have a great weekend!

Phone Dump Friday x 2!!

I missed last week because my sweetie got to come in on Wednesday, so I didn’t have a chance to post, HOWEVER, now I present you with two weeks worth of pictures

Enjoy!

 

 

Friday, March 30th – Alex made cornish game hens (or as he calls them, “shot-put chickens” ), squash, and a veggie medley for dinner…it was delicious and not too bad for us!

Saturday March 31st – Alex found a VW swap meet at the State Farmer’s Market.  Although we didn’t get to stay long, Alex bought a little beetle (with his dream paint job), and some VW Beetle earrings for me to wear to the next car show   Thanks, babe!

Saturday, March 30th – 1.) My little plate at the ACS Crawfish Boil and that’s all I had.  2. & 3) Alex’s aftermath, plus one more.  Yep, 6 baskets total!

April 4th – Alex came to visit and brought his Italian uncle’s homemade spaghetti sauce and handmade Italian noodles.  Definitely put my spaghetti recipe to shame!

April 5th – Loving on my friend’s sweet baby at lunch.  I think the flash scared him, and who knows why we’re both super pale….

April 5th – Alex got to love on Baby Hudson too and Baby Hudson LOVED Alex.  I held him most of our lunch and he napped, but by the time Alex got him near the end of lunch, he was a happy camper!  Too cute!

April 5th – My sweet Alex brought me an Easter basket filled with all kinds of goodies:  Hershey’s kisses, a giant Turtle, chocolate covered peep, cotton candy jelly belly crayon (jelly bellies inside a crayon…so fun!), Cadbury cream egg, and a coconut chocolate bar from World Market….yum!  Note:  MOSTLY everything was purple or green, including the grass…too cute!  I felt really badly because my plan was to make him a basket too, but didn’t have a chance before he came into town

Easter décor – Subway art, ribbon basket full of mini eggs (that sparkle, of course), and Easter egg table runner, with Easter rabbit cookies   Simple, but all I had time for this year!

I whipped out two new cups for my hairstylist from Maegie Sue’s Boutique.  Thanks for the order, Christy!

I went to Ulta to get some new spring polish, and couldn’t pass this little set up.  I definitely did not just buy it because it was ballet themed….ok, maybe I did.  Cute though right?

My new spring polish – Senrorita Rosealita from OPI.  Love it!  It is this pretty goldish, pinkish, coral color.  Unfortunately, I can’t wear the crazy spring colors, so this was the perfect compromise!

 

I’ve been dabbling in a little bit of graphic design, and I spent the day Wednesday working on a baby shower invite for my sweet friend Lauren.  This is just a sneak peek, but I will reveal the whole thing as soon as they arrive at our guests’ doors.

Little bro was inducted into an engineering honor society last night.  They only invite the top 1/8th of the junior engineering class, so huge honor!! He also got inducted into the Pre-Med honor society this week too.  So, so proud of him!

That’s about it for now!  See you next week!

 

M