This Just In!

I just received this text from Mom:

POWER BACK ON!!

and this one from Dad:

WE HAVE POWER!!!!!!!!

Looks like we're in for cold milk and hot water tomorrow!!!

Aftermath

Looking back on Monday day feels like looking back on a completely different week. Monday night, after cleaning day and errands, our family spent FHE planting some new plants Mom bought to further fill in our little garden along the front path. While planting, we were worried that our daisies and zinnias wouldn't take to our clay-filled soil, but those woes were quickly overshadowed when at about 10:00, Colorado was hit with a massive storm, with our neighborhood at it's core. Within seconds, the cool, pleasant night turned to a tempestuous storm, with the strongest winds I've ever seen. Hail the size of ping-pong balls pelted trees, windows, cars, and plants. The power to 57,000 houses went out, plunging our street into darkness while the sky flashed blue, red, and white with lightning; the sound of the wind drowned out the thunder, though. The storm itself was pretty exciting, but the aftermath has been sad and frustrating. This storm turned our week from normal and comfortable to a week dealing with no electricity, mass amounts of debris, and sadness over massacred foliage.

Our driveway, I think. It's hard to tell.

This is a sampling of hail stones, held in my hand to exhibit the size of these destructive ice balls.

This is what happens to a car when it's windows are left down during a tremendous hail storm.

At least our flowers are still colorful. :(

Foolishly, I woke up expected the power to be back and everything to be just fine. I was very wrong. There was no power. There were, however, leaves everywhere, (except the trees from which they were blown, which now stand naked) holes in our house and shed, dents in our window frames, and sparse stalks where our flowers used to stand.

Those used to be pretty.

Yes, that is our insulation showing through the holes in the siding.

Would anyone like a souvenir piece of our shed? There are many to be had.

Unlike many of our neighbors, our windows all made it without breaking, but the frames will need repair and replacement.

Flowers or debris? Your guess is as good as mine.

I'm so grateful that our house sustained no water damage, unlike many nearby homes. It's sad to drive around and see the barren and broken trees and destroyed gardens. Grandma and Grandpa's backyard, which was once a sanctuary of beautiful trees, flowers, and bushes is bare and messy with debris. The plants will grow back eventually, but for now, our greatest frustration is that we are among the 116 homes that remain without power. Aside from our food going bad, I'm lamenting the loss of all the shows that could be recording on our t.v. I've been spending the night in Grandma's cozy basement because I: a) don't like getting around by flashlight, b) prefer to blow dry and straighten my hair before leaving for work, and c) enjoy warm showers, because our hot water went out yesterday too. Luckily, Grandma and Grandpa were only out of power for a few hours, so the whole family has been filling their outlets with our phone chargers and computers. And they have wireless internet, which rocks. Xcel has promised power by 6:00 a.m. tomorrow, but I'm not getting my hopes up, seeing as yesterday they told us that our power would be up by 6:00 p.m. tonight, at the latest.

We got our yard cleaned up pretty well yesterday and we're all safe, so I shouldn't complain. Could be worse!

Good luck to all those in the area cleaning up their own messes!

Nineteen!

Monday was my birthday, and I must say, it was probably the best I've had. Our family makes a big deal of birthdays, and I love that we do. Your birthday is your day, and you don't have to do anything that you don't want to do. Mom buys sugary cereal, you open presents at your leisure, and you spend the day doing what makes you happy. It's pretty nice.

So, what exactly makes a birthday the best ever?

1. An Adventure at Sam's Club

My birthday cereal is always Marshmallow Mateys. (the off brand of Lucky Charms.) They are delicious, but only when the Matey to Marshmallow ratio is satisfactory. This year, one of the three bags of cereal in the jumbo pack was 2/3 full of straight cereal Mateys with no compressed, colorful, sugary marshmallows. Mom and I decided that this was not okay for birthday cereal, so we went back to Sam's, laughing at what the customer service desk workers were going to think when we explained why we were bringing back a partially eaten box of Marshmallow Mateys.

We were fully refunded, and the employees held their mocking while we described our Matey to Marshmallow ratio discrepancies. This time, however, we were going to make sure our Marshmallow needs were met. This resulted in my slitting open jumbo packs of off brand cereal with my car key and examining the contents.

The second box met our birthday cereal requirements.

We liked the look of our groceries on the conveyor belt.

And what would be a birthday without a fountain drink? And Sam's Club has Coke Zero in their dispensers, which makes them superior to any gas station.

2. A Matching Outfit

I wore my poppy maxi dress, an early birthday present from Uncle Fred, matched with my new favorite chunky poppy beaded necklace, and the night before, I painted my fingernails with my new "Perfectly Poppy" Ulta nail polish. I love coordination. The universe was on my side, too, because the Red Box booth went right along with the poppy plan.


3. A Delicious and Adorable Cake

While she was here, Aunt Linda got me the Wilton giant cupcake pan, so Mom and Grandma and I tested it out for my birthday cake. We used the recipe that came with the pan, because it was more dense, and we figured it would hold up better than our lighter recipes. As it turns out, the cake was delicious, and after a scare when we thought the top was going to slide off the bottom, it ended up holding together! Mmmm. I really want a piece right now. I'm really excited to continue experimenting with the pan. Thank you, Linda!


4. The Best Family Ever!


The best part of the day was dinner. Mom made flank steak, salad, brown rice, and angel biscuits, and it was soooo good. There's nothing like being surrounded by people who love you to make a day awesome. I went to bed that night, officially nineteen and feeling so loved and happy. Thank you to everyone who helped kick off my nineteenth year so wonderfully!

Three Cheers!

The King Soopers employees can keep their jobs, because I, Emily Wood, am employed! The temp agency called yesterday with a part time job helping a small company in North Denver catch up on their filing. I'll work three days a week, 4 hours a day, and I get to pick my schedule. As a bonus, the office is just a 15 minute drive from home. The pay is great and the flexible schedule will let me keep my cleaning and babysitting jobs and still do whatever other odd jobs come my way. It really is the perfect job to get me through the rest of the summer and help me be financially set for this fall. I am so grateful for all the jobs I've had this summer and for all the friends and family who have been on the watch for me. I had just about given up on finding anything regular, so getting this job was such a relief and answer to prayer. "Filing Clerk" will now be added to my list of summer employment, which also includes: house-cleaning, chauffering, babysitting, front desking, and training to be a scab. I'm so excited about this job!!!

Read with Caution

One of the kids I babysat today wanted me to read a book about reptiles with him. Accompanying each reptile's profile of the expected facts and stats was a gruesome and graphic tale of reptilian horror. I snapped some pictures on my phone and have included some samplings below. Please remember that these are not for the faint-hearted. Proceed with caution.

The Life-Ending Lancehead

A fisherman ventures on to the island to pick bananas, but as he wanders through the forest a golden lancehead strikes his ankle. Panicking, the man stumbles back to his boat, suffering several more bites from lanceheads hidden along the track.

Racked with pain as the terrible venom eats away at his flesh, the fisherman casts off. As he drifts out to sea he cuts the bite wounds and tries to suck out the venom, but soon collapses into unconsciousness. He bleeds to death long before anyone spots his boat, and is found sprawled in a pool of his own blood.

Mangrove Massacre

A mangrove snake is lounging on a bare branch above the waters of a mangrove creek, soaking up the tropical sunshine beaming on its exposed perch. But the splash of paddles nearby gives it a rude awakening. The snake fixes a wary eye on an approaching boat that has a fisherman and his son on board.

Intent on navigating their craft between the trees, the two do not notice the reptile. The boy grabs the snake's branch to steady his craft, and tugs the beast into the boat.

The lad grabs the snake's tail and tries to fling the animal overboard. But the angry serpent whips round and clamps its jaws over the child's arm, pumping venom deep into his tender flesh.

Viciously Venomous

In the forests of Costa Rica, a farmer treads a shady path. Watching the uneven ground, he fails to spot the eyelash viper resting on a low branch overhead. His head brushes against the reptile.


The disturbed snake whips round and plunges its fangs into the intruder. It hasn't eaten recently, and its venom glands are full--and the man is doomed.

Who comes up with these horrible anecdotes? This book was surely meant for little boys, who would probably think that these tales of vicious snake attacks are really cool, but I'm slightly horrified.