Come On, Irene!!

For the last three days, I've definitely been walking around singing "Come On Irene" to myself... only to find out that it's actually "Come On Eileen." I believe that at some point in time in my past I knew the actual words, but with all of the hullabaloo going on about Hurricane Irene, it's kinda been on my mind.

Luckily, since we're a decent distance away from the actual downtown area of Boston, we should be just fine once the storm actually arrives-- lots of wind and rain, but that's about it. Regardless, after receiving warning emails at work yesterday about potential disaster conditions and constant texts from my Texas folk about staying safe, I got myself a little worked up yesterday.

If you don't know me "in real life" then you likely aren't aware of the fact that I have two settings (unless, of course, these settings are so intense they're conveyed through the blog... in that case, my apologies): very laid back and calm (this is rare), and Type A obsessive compulsive planner who has to have every second of every potential situation planned. This day was the latter. I got so worked up in fact that I...

a) called our super to check if there's anything we can do should we lose power. My main concern was whether or not we would have running water should the power go out. Now, before you think "Really, Katie?" I've heard that in high-rise buildings the water is pumped to the higher floors electrically... hence my concern. I left a voicemail and he called back to say that should the power go out, we couldn't really do anything... and to make sure to tie down anything on the porch. So helpful.

b) created a list of things to survive should we lose power. This was essential to me. After researching various Hurricane Emergency lists, I made the following purchases to ensure that we would be safe and sound and comfortable should we be stuck inside for the next couple of days:

*Have canned goods/ foods on hand that can be eaten without being heated.
Check! I have a sick childhood attachment to Chef Boyardee... I love it. Since getting healthy and checking my eating habits, I NEVER eat this kind of stuff. However, if there's going to be a natural disaster, I'm gonna eat this and justify the heck out of it.

*Stock dry foods (chips, crackers, cereals, granola bars) that can be eaten and transported easily, if necessary:
Check!

*Have stock of comfort/stress foods in the event that your situation get intense (I changed the wording my swear on my days that one of the lists advised to stock stress foods. I'm thinking the chances that a PMSing woman compiled the list are quite high):
Check!

*Have beverages on hand that can be consumed without purification:
Check!

And check again!

*Have flashlights and candles convenient in the even that you lose electricity:
Check! If we're going to potentially have to sit in the dark, why not smell cupcakes while we're at it?! BTW, this candle is from Target, was $9.99, and smells di-vine.

All in all, I think we're set. The rain isn't supposed to hit until tomorrow, so we're wrapping up tonight with takeout Thai, a Real Housewives of New Jersey DVR marathon (for me) and the Patriots game (for Brian), and a good night's sleep in air conditioning. I'm hoping to make it to the gym tomorrow morning pre-storm so I can come home and hunker down with a pot of taco soup on the stove.

Sidenote: When I told my Mama this afternoon that I'm making soup tomorrow, she said that she's just delighted that someone somewhere in the world is cool enough where they can stomach the thought of a steamig bowl of soup. When she left my cousin Jack's birthday party today (in Texas, at a swimming pool, at 2pm), it was 110 degrees. Have mercy. No soup for the Texans.

I'm getting back into the swing of running so I can run this little baby IN TWO WEEKS. It's a 9.11k (5.66 miles) in observance of the 9/11 ten year anniversary. At first I wasn't sure I could kick up my game in time, but I finished 4.5 miles last night and felt amazing, so I think it's going to play out pretty well!

Have a fab rest of your Saturday, my lovelies!!