Earthquake now Hurricane Irene!

First and foremost, I hope everyone in the path of Irene is well sheltered and stays safe. Second I am in no way poking fun of the situation, I know it's a serious storm. Third this is purely to display my family's experience and share with you some of our story.

1 EST So she has arrived and she is making her presence known. With the eye of Irene right off the coast the Chesapeake Bay is preparing for the storm surge, flooding and high winds. We have evacuated those that are waterfront and in low lying areas. Grocery stores are depleted of water, bread and the other necessities- i.e- batteries and rolls of tp. We are prepared to bunker down if needed, we are on a wooded lot with large trees so our concern is more for power outage and high winds. So far it's not too bad, it has begun raining and the winds are mild.


2 EST - As time passed on the winds have definitely picked up and it is RAINNNN-ING! You can see the bands of rain being pushed by the wind and we are beginning to hear the rustle of branches and leaves being pummeled by the rain. Just remember this is not our first bout with extreme weather this week, need I remind you we just has an earthquake. SO THERE! It's so typical of Maryland, now we just need a sand storm and then a blizzard and I think we will be done. Nothing to significant though, still hanging in there. Hopefully I can get some interesting photos or videos to keep you all updated.



5 EST- So it's 5:30 here on the east coast. Irene is about 50 miles off Norfolk, VA. When it approaches Maryland & Delaware she will be 30 miles off the shoreline. Ocean City, Rehoboth & parts of the bay have been evacuated. Winds are about 100 mph in the storm. Not so exciting right now, I wouldn't even say it's a crazy rainstorm at this point. Here is another video and my chocolate lab Diego, decided to make an appearance. More updates in a bit.

Tie it all together

This has been the craziest and weirdest week EVER! Ok so as if I don't have enough going on, 1 month old, 2 yr old, laundry from the beach, 30 orders sitting in my log, busy season for my husband's carpet cleaning business is approaching, my 13 yr old cousin down from NY to visit, what more could be piled on. Ohh, I don't know how about an EARTHQUAKE and lets do that in the midst of preparing for a hurricane. NO BIG DEAL!

Never in my life did I think I would experiences an earthquake especially in Maryland, but low and behold, there it was. Scariest thing ever, I couldn't appreciate the power and significance of it merely because I literally ran out of my house as fast as I could with a newborn in a football hold.

I was watching TV in bed one minute then there was a small rumbling which I brushed off as my dryer with my comforter and towels in it, then the whole house began to shake violently. West-coasters this is the point where you all laugh and say "a 5.9 is nothing to sneeze at." Well, here in my state aka Maryland on this coast aka East. WE DON'T DO EARTHQUAKES! Blizzards with 3 or 4 feet of snow, floods swamping our harbors & low lying towns, the occasional hurricane or tropical storm off the coast but an earthquake, no thanks. Things falling off shelves, pictures shaking off the walls where they have sat for up to 15 years. It was CRAZY. Once I realized there was no way in hell that was my dryer, I yelled to my cousin to grab my 2 yr old from her crib as it was nap time and "get the hell out of the house!" I grabbed my phone and the newborn then tore down the stairs and out to my back deck.I thought it would be safe there until I heard the beams of the deck screeching and rattling. I mean what the heck do I do? In Maryland we know how to do a lot of stuff, we can drive in feet of snow & ice, kayak through town during a flood but I was clueless. I tried to call my husband which was fruitless as I was not the only genius with that plan so lines were busy. So after a half hour outside, we returned to the house to rehang photos, tidy up and watch the news to see what our next move would be.



Someone sent this to me and believe it or not people here already have "I survived the Maryland Earthquake" It's funny now, but I can assure you there was real damage
to our historic buildings.


My family in NY felt it too so they were eagerly trying to get a hold of my cousin and I to check on us, as was every other member of my family. We were ok, a little shaken up (no pun intended)but ok. THANK GOD!

So now that it's Thursday the threats of another earthquake are diminishing, which is great except for this little thing they call Hurricane Irene. So now I have a real hurricane coming, it looks like a hurricane already went through my house and my sanity could use a good hurricane with vodka and ice. I'll let you know how it goes, but I'm off to tie it all together.

My Review of Tidbits Boutique

Tidbits Boutique is a page operating out of my local area creating custom items with decals. I have always wanted decals for my car so I was very excited to see the one's that were made for other fans. I asked them to create a family of shoes as I wasn't interested in the stick figures or flip flops, I wanted something special. A converse, high-heel and 2 mary janes fit the bill.


I also asked Courtney @ Tidbits to recreate my family's coat of arms. The results are awesome. My family was excited to see our family's symbol that we immediately asked Courtney to make 10 more shields, for family members from Arizona to NY.

You must visit her page and see all that Tidbits has to offer. So many cute and customizable items & ideas. Especially great since the holiday's are around the corner. I may have started a decal addiction and I'm sure I'll be ordering more from Courtney very soon. Check her out and tell her I sent you from In the Nest of a Busy Brunette!

Would you like me to review your product, item or page, more info can be found on the Page Pals tab.

WELCOME!

My 1000 Fanebration is underway, my BoGo event flooded my order log & Santa Day is right around the corner. A review of my minipods will be listed on a fellow blog in September and I will be featuring a review for Tidbits Boutique soon. If you are new to my Facebook page this is where you can keep up-to -date on my crazy life, ideas, news and events. I may start doing how-to videos too.

Have an idea, comment or thought? let me know?
Are you s bride-to-be or mommy-to-be? tell me so I can create something for you. it may be added to my collection permanently.

My Review of Empty Bottles & their Jewelry.

There is something so simplistic and beautiful about wine bottles, which describes this review perfectly. A fan of my Peapods page shared with me her creations and I have to admit I melted. Stephanie over at Empty Bottles and their Jewelry creates the most beautifully decorated flattened glass bottles, I personally have ever seen. She takes wine, liquor or standard bottles and with the help of a kiln, flattens them to be used for a variety of purposes. Some are flat enough for use as a cheese tray, some are bowls for crackers, dips or use as a catch all, some are small and can hold business cards of be used as a spoon rest.

After they are flattened she wire wraps the neck of the bottles with beautiful swirls of beads, crystals and charms, giving each one it's own name and personality. For my bottle, I made my own charms, then mailed them off to her where she matched her work to what I had created making my bottle personal and perfection. My bottle is a clear water bottle, fired into a bowl with a purple amethyst & crystal charm, freshwater pearl & LOVE charm and of course a white shell Minipod, to represent my two girls. I am using my bottle as a catchall on my nightstand, an easy destinations to toss my bracelet, earring and other nonsense (like a pacifier) before retiring to bed. I LOVE IT!




You can even mail her a bottle from a special event or your wedding to have it transformed into something functional and spectacular. You have to check her out, these are AWESOME gifts for holidays, showers or birthdays. If you are interested in having me create a special charm set for your bottle please e-mail me the CODE - IWINEONE to receive 40% OFF my charm set + I'll ship it to Stephanie for you.


Check her out on Facebook and tell her I sent you!

Back to the grind

I swear without my morning cup of coffee you'd probably find me rocking back and forth in a corner nonsensically rambling about applesauce, diapers and baby barf. My 2 yr old daughter even knows my coffee fix, when I ask if she wants to get a drink at the store she replies "STAR-bucks?". Nice right, embarrassment or pride, I don't know. Somehow in the scheme of the last 2 yrs a forgot what newborns were like. Jo never cried this much, she would quickly suck down here 4 oz bottle and back to sleep she'd go. Aly on the other hand likes to take her sweet time during her early morning meals. I fed this little being from midnight until 3:30 last night, she was so slow I swear she digested it faster than she drank it, because I kept having to give her another ounce. I thought I was going to lose my mind, at one point I looked at my husband and mouthed a slew of profanity to which he laughed.

With that being said there is some positive light, I am absolutely in love with my family. I feel that our number is complete, not that I wasn't happy as a family of 3 but in retrospect I think Alysa was our missing piece. My husband has been amazing, not that I didn't love him before but lets just say the pregnancy wasn't easy on us as a couple. We are very active together with going out, entertaining and in the winter snowboarding and over the 9 months I was horribly limited especially needing to stay home with Jo. It wasn't easy, since Alysa has arrived life is bliss. I surprised him yesterday with Daddy appreciation day by having a couples massage at a local spa them a Spanish tapas and wine date. Finishing up the meal with coffee before heading back home. Life is good, there are moments where I look at myself and say "YOUR CRAZY, you take on too much!" but I don't know that I'd honestly have it any other way.

My husband is planning our 3 yr Anniversary as I type and I am looking forward to it, though it will be our first night away from our girls. I have an awesome review to write for another AMAZING Page on Facebook, so keep an eye out. Don't miss this one.