Consequences of Blog Failure

One of the things I've loved about keeping my blog for the last several years is that I when I finally get around to scrapbooking photos, I can look back at my post of that event and use the journaling for my pages. I typically would blog about something we did pretty quickly after we did it, so that the thoughts and memories were fresh in my mind. It might be a year or two before I get around to scrapbooking those photos, though, so having my blog to reference the things I wanted to document was really handy.

This morning, I'm sitting at my scrapbook table trying to get caught up on some photos and journaling and am sad to see that my case of the blogging blahs covered the time frame I'm trying to document. DRAT!!! I guess I'll have to do better from now on!!!

National Scrapbook Day Weekend Crop

Those of you who are not scrapbookers may not realize that this past Saturday was National Scrapbook Day. My friend Jeannie & I celebrated by attending a weekend crop at our favorite local scrapbook store - Scrapbooks & Supplies From Nanny's Attic. As always, Deborah had lots of nice giveaways (Jeannie & I each won a set of acrylic stamps from Bo Bunny Press), lots of yummy food, and fun games. We had a great time!

Best of all, I was actually productive at this crop!! If you've ever scrapbooked with me, you know how slow I am. It usually takes me hours to complete a layout because I'm just too darn picky about what I put on my pages. I finished (or almost finished) six two-page 12x12 layouts over a couple of days this time, though, and so I was really happy! Some of them still need a few finishing touches, but I wanted to share anyway! (Click the images for a larger version.)

This is a simple layout I did with some pictures I took of Bogart chasing Brandon on the lawnmower a couple of summers ago. The patterned paper & stickers are from the Café Mediterranean line from Die Cuts With a View. I bought the stack a few weeks ago & love it!

This layout still needs some work. Jeannie & I went to see Wicked when it came to The Orpheum in Memphis, and these were really the only photos I got, although we had a great time! The layout is super-simple, but I am proud of my title. I came home and found the image online then cut it out with my Cricut using Sure Cuts a Lot. I dressed it and the photo corners up with some black Stickles. I still need a couple more embellishments & some journalling to call this one complete.

I had tons of pictures from our trip to the water park, so I had a hard time narrowing down which ones to use and putting this layout together. I really like the way it turned out though. I still need some journalling, but it's pretty much complete as is.

This was layout #2 of our trip to the water park, which ended with a stop at the local snow ball stand. It's simple, but I'm happy with it. I especially like the snow cone image I found on one of Deborah's Cricut cartridges!

One of my favorites: A layout about our trip to Disney's Princesses on Ice. I got to use lots of glitter paper and Stickles on this one. And check out the cute glitter transparency frames I found at the store! Fun & girly!

Another simple one, but I love it. I used more of my Café Mediterranean stack, and the paper I chose matches Landon & Logan's yellow shirts perfectly. I thought it came together well!

Tornadoes in the South

As most people are aware, the South was hit hard by multiple tornadoes on April 27th. One of the first ones to touch down started just a mile from our house around 3:45 am. We knew it was stormy and that we were under a tornado watch, but there was no warning issued, so we were in bed, trying to sleep, oblivious to what was going on just down the road.

By 4:30 (when my alarm goes off for work), I started receiving phone calls & text messages from several co-workers and friends. The gist of most of them were, "Are you OK??? There was a tornado near you!!" Needless to say, when I got ready and left for work that morning - with the power still off at home - I was shocked and sickened to see the devastation and destruction in our little town, and so close to our own home. I literally shook as I drove through town and saw the trees through roofs, some buildings completely destroyed, with trees & power lines scattering the ground.

Later that day, another round of strong storms came through. I was at work, and Brandon was still at home in the dark. He had no way of keeping up with the weather other than me keeping an eye on the warnings & letting him know. Around 10:30, the tornado sirens started going off. A tornado was coming our way from the direction of home. I was so worried about Brandon - especially when I couldn't get him to answer the phone. We all huddled into our storm shelters (which happen to be the restrooms) at work as the sirens wailed & the power flickered. It was really scary. Thankfully, we were all OK and I finally heard back from Brandon, who was fine as well. The only damage at home from that round was his large stainless steel grill being blown off the porch and into the backyard. It broke the handle & the thermometer, but that's about it. We are not complaining; it's nothing compared to our neighbors' damage from earlier that morning!

The day went on, with tornado watches & warnings over and over. It was nerve racking, but thankfully our town wasn't hit again. The nearby towns of Smithville, Phil Campbell, and Hackleburg weren't as fortunate...not to mention Tuscaloosa & Birmingham. We thought our town was in bad shape, but all we had was structural damage...no one was seriously hurt and most buildings hit are repairable. Those towns, particularly the three smaller ones, were devastated. Obliterated would be an appropriate word for some of them. The loss of life and property was tremendous. Many of my coworkers and/or their immediate family members lost everything they had that afternoon. My heart goes out to them and those who lost loved ones!

Brandon and I have been building on our emergency kits for a while now but still need a few items in them. This has been a huge wake-up call that we need them finished ASAP. I have since ordered a NOAA radio which has a built in cell phone charger & flashlight and plan to stock up on more candles, batteries, and non-perishable food this weekend. Disaster can strike in an instant, and then it's too late to out looking to purchase these items. Who knows if you will even have a store left to purchase them at or if there will be anything left on the shelves? If you don't have an emergency kit prepared, do yourself a favor and start working on one today!

Here are some pictures and videos I took while driving around our little town. Click the photos to enlarge.

This is what's left of an old factory which was thankfully no longer in use. I snapped this picture on my way to work. The rest of them were made that evening around 5:30.


This one shows the business next to the factory which was totally destroyed.


Large trees uprooted like this one were all over the town, many on top of homes.


A friend's yard after many of the trees had already been cut up. You couldn't see his house that morning.


This car had a tree on top of it when I went to work that morning. You can't tell from this angle, but it's really smashed up. If I understood correctly, someone was in it when the tree fell, but he was not hurt.


If you look closely (click to enlarge), you can see a mobile home right in the middle of this picture. The person living here was in it when the tornado picked it up and flipped it several times. Thankfully, she walked away with only some cuts.

My drive home from work that afternoon:



Later that evening, Brandon & I drove into town for pizza since our power was still out. Clean-up had already begun: