June is almost over!

And where have I been, you may ask?

Still here, of course, but unfortunately consumed with other things. For starters, the A/C in my temporary house went out June 5, and it did not get fixed until TODAY. Yes that's right, a grand total of 18 days of no A/C in 90+ degree weather.

Needless to say, Jennings and I had to bounce from friend to friend's house over the last few weeks, and we event spent three nights in hotels. So life has been a little out of sorts, lately. I probably won't get back to my new "normal" until I get back from my beach trip next Wednesday, and maybe not even until that weekend after working tow days. Sigh.

All of that happened right as I started my grand plan to sell cookie baskets to raise funds for the tornado. I had about 7 orders right away, but it got increasingly harder to do them when I had to use someone else's kitchen. Also, I had someone say that the icing had melted in the process of shipping, so I have decided to refocus my efforts on getting the rest of my goal locally. The baskets are still listed on Etsy to ship, but order at your own risk with the heat we have been having!

Anyway, in other news, I have started UA's Summer Slimdown program. I go to a group exercise class twice a week and get to see a nutritionist every other week. So far, I have only met with the nutritionist once, and she told me a whole lot of things I already knew: I'm overweight, I should get my weight under control now because of my family's history of high blood pressure and diabetes, I need to exercise more and eat healthier foods. So our first session, I had a mini-meltdown. I would go into detail, but suffice to say that I just overwhelmed.

But now, a few weeks into the program, I am feeling better. I could not make class a few times due to work-related things, but I was still able to work out to make up for my classes missed. It has been really nice to have nice people supporting me too. One of the trainers even came to work out with me today since I missed, and let me borrow her watch so I could keep my times right. It's pretty rare that people will just willingly and unselfishly give like that. I have hope that the way they have encouraged me so far will help me keep on track.

As part of this process, I was encouraged to make a list of goals for myself. Not all related to a number - weight, clothing size, etc. - but more so things I'd like to do, or ways I'd like to see myself. I'm really taking that to heart and will be working on that this week.

And since I can't do anything without making it pretty or organized, I'm thinking I may splurge on something I have been eyeing on paper-source.com. It is a scrapbook/journal called a smash book. Here's a cute little video about them:




I think it is good for people like me who are constantly having ideas, but have no real way of organizing them. Also I am very visually oriented and like to make things look aesthetically pleasing. So as soon as these babies are back in stock, this girl is gonna get one. =)

Doing my small part to help

So I have finally figured out my niche in the recovery process. I decided to go with what I know, and what I know is baking and crafts.

I have decided to donate to the UA Acts of Kindness Fund, which was established to help UA employees and students who were affected by the tornado. I'm going to donate the proceeds from cookie baskets I am selling for a limited time on Etsy.

If you are interested in getting one, check out the Blue Bird Baskets blog for all the details.

Happy June everybody!

One month ago today...

a tornado hit my city.

I was planning to do a proper "one month later" post with some videos and photos, but instead work has been keeping me from taking any new photos or videos. But I did find this on Facebook this morning, and it really got to me. It was made by someone who took footage of the storm and set it to the music and themes from the 2009 Alabama Football "hype" video (the year of the National Championship). They do one every year to get people pumped before the games. Here it is:




There is another one that this guy, Sam Woodard, has done with more "recovery" footage. Here is a link to it (you have to be signed into Facebook to see it), but he may be taking it down soon because UA has requested to use it at the upcoming candlelight vigil:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=10150191034985213&comments


There is a part where the Auburn and Alabama colors come together with the words "United." I know people think we are crazy in our state for our football rivalry, but I think shows that when it really matters, we can come together.

Also, the "We're Coming Back" signs are all over my old neighborhood of Forest Lake, and that makes me really happy. I've talked to so many people about why they loved that neighborhood, and I couldn't agree more. We only lived there two years, but it actually felt like a neighborhood. I am sad to see how it has changed, but seeing these efforts and reading about the efforts of the city to be careful about rebuilding, makes me think that it will be even better soon.

Finally, I will leave you with this shot, from someone who posted it on the Forest Lake Neighborhood Facebook page:

Hangout Fest and life in general

So Jennings and I got back from Hangout Fest yesterday. It is only halfway through my workday and I am already mourning my incredible weekend.

Needless to say, the festival was awesome. Not only did we get to see a ton of great acts, but we got to do it all in gorgeous weather - ON THE BEACH. A computer in an office will never ever compare.

The whole weekend was relaxed - except the first night where Jennings lost his iphone (he eventually got it back) and we almost walked 6 miles back to the condo because the shuttle lines were too long - and it was really nice to not be in Tuscaloosa.

As hard as it was to live through the storm, to move out of our house, and try to start over, the hardest part of this whole thing is seeing it every day. When I'm on campus, it's easy to forget there ever was a tornado. The hedges are trimmed, there are no downed trees, and even the summer flowers are all neatly blooming in rows. But as soon as I make my commute home, I have to relive the devastation all over again.

I predicted that all of this would not really catch up with me until later, and true to form it hasn't really until now. It was not until I walked out of the darkness and into the light that I saw how much my city has suffered.

I have used the phrase "lucky" so much lately to describe how fortunate we are to have our lives, jobs, cars, and most of our possessions. But sometimes, all I can think about is how unfortunate it is to see this city still in shambles. I know it will take a while to come back, it may not even be "back" until Jennings and I move in a few years. But for right now, it is still a big mess.

Too much too muc too much

I am finding it really hard to concentrate today. I know Mondays are not really my forte to begin with, but today is somehow harder than other Mondays in the recent past.

Since taking off work last week half a day Thursday and all day Friday, it was non-stop work for me and Jennings. We moved things from one place to another, I cleaned the new temporary rental house like a mad person and we even tried to attack the yard that had not been kept up in 6+ months. But alas, even with all that work, there is still so much to do.

I still have some dirty dishes I found that were in the kitchen before the storm (gross, I know, but they went MIA for a while). There is still little bits of laundry that have been lurking around waiting to get done. We still have to return our damned cable box to Comcast and tell them not to charge us for a service we are clearly no longer receiving. There are floors to be swept and mopped, weeds to tackle, trash to discard, and the list goes on....

And when all that "fun" is complete and I can sit on my couch in a house that I feel comfortable in, we get to begin the unenviable task of sorting through receipts of things we had to purchase because of the storm to claim for insurance. We have to catalog all the lost or damaged items and make sure we have proof that it is damaged.

Mind you, our list of claims will be small in comparison to most folks, but I feel like just sending the insurance company a picture of my neighborhood and saying, is this enough proof we were damaged?


Sigh.

I think I am just exhausted. All of the last few months have caught up with me, and I am feeling like I may just switch off any minute. I guess we all reach that point.

For me, that point is today.

The worst of times and the best of times...

There is probably no way to capture all of the things swirling around my head in the wake of this tornado in Tuscaloosa. So I won't even try. But suffice to say, I am so thankful to be alive, safe, untouched, and unharmed after the scariest experience in my life. The same goes for my incredible husband and all the people we know in town who are still alive today.

For those of you I have talked to or messaged personally, you have probably heard some of the details. For those of you I haven't spoken with, please let the following photos and videos tell the story for me. I am tired and am reaching a point where I can't really say a whole lot more about it. But, still having some of those lingering journalistic tendencies in me, I felt it was my duty to document. So here it is:

This was my house in the Forest Lake subdivision of Tuscaloosa shortly before we moved into it in 2009:


This is my house the day after the tornado, on April 28, 2011:



Although it was damaged, it was still standing. I can't say the same for many houses in my neighborhood. The major casualty was the side porch:

A word to the wise - if you ever build a side porch on your home, go ahead and enclose it with some kind of walls - it will NOT survive a tornado. Every home in the neighborhood with similar construction had the same problem.

Also on Thursday, I did a video of getting into our street and the damage inside the house:

Tornado tour from Kelli Wright on Vimeo.

(Please forgive the narration, I didn't even know if the camera I was using took sound, so when I started talking I didn't know if I was talking to anyone or not.)

For some more photos of my neighborhood, here is the Forest Lake gallery from The Tuscaloosa News.

At any rate, now it has been several days since the storm. Each day I go through the neighborhood, instead of all the damage, I am seeing all the progress they have made. One day it was seeing all the debris trucks taking up the stuff from the yards:

Another day it is seeing new power poles being put up in the neighborhoods again. All of the progress and assistance has been astounding. Although our community does not look the same as it did a week ago, it is on track to rebuilding.

Jennings and I have moved all of our stuff into storage and are temporarily renting a friend's parents' house. In the meantime, we are still looking for a permanent home and the next adventure in our lives. Thanks to everyone again for your concern and offers of help. They have all been taken wholeheartedly and appreciated. But since we are in good shape now, I urge all of you to channel your altruism into those who still need it. UA has put together a tornado relief page to provide info on what can still be done: http://www.ua.edu/tornadorelief/

Until next time...

New Etsy adventure

I don't know if I've really mentioned this on here yet, but I have started a sort of new adventure in Etsy land....

A month or so ago, I decided to take a little hiatus from my gift basket business. It has had its high points and its low points, but I just felt that it was time for a break. This way I can re-evaluate and come back with something even better. If you'd like to read more about that, then go here.

In the meantime, I have really been thinking about art and creating things. This is something I used to do a lot of when I was younger, but often have very little time to do as an adult. Sure, I get to write and create stories each day, but there is something more tangible and exciting about something you can hold and look at, something a little better than just words on a page (or screen for that matter).

I love getting my hands dirty with paint, stain, wood chips, anything at all in the name of making something cool. As my husband will tell you, the apple does not fall far from the tree - I am my father's daughter and I have to have a project to do.

So with all of this in mind, I have a new Etsy shop and a new blog to go along with it. All of you should check it out, it is called noon apple dreams. Ten points goes to the person who can name the author and poem who penned that phrase - GO!