And this...

is what my weekend looked like:

Saturday morning:

get up early.

cram everything from the deck into the shed.  bungee cord grill to the deck.  pray that the four baby cucumbers will survive.  give up on the tomatoes.

Saturday afternoon:

hunker down as the rain begins.  it isn't too bad.

crap.  power goes out at 4:30.  should have known this was only the beginning.

Saturday evening:

power comes back on at 6:20.  YEA!!!!  cook dinner.

happiness is premature as power goes out again at 8:40.

wind begins to howl.  miss raven is terrified and decides she must live inside of me for the next several years.

we huddle in bed and pray that the roof holds.

Sunday morning:

power is still out.  can't get a restoration time.

dry cheerios for breakfast.  drink emergency cup of cold coffee.

lunch time.  wind and rain are finally dying down.  not sure what is going on in the world because smart phone isn't quite smart enough to survive a hurricane.

Sunday afternoon:

a few pretzels for lunch.  am getting restless and still have no idea when power will be back on.  start to worry about all the food in the freezer.

read two and a half books on my kindle.

finish lesson plans.

Sunday night:

still no power and no idea when it will return.  it has now been out for 24 hours.

peanut butter and ritz crackers for dinner.

NEED COFFEE NOW.

hot in the house, sun going down, can't read any more.  battery on smart phone almost dead.

put miss raven in the truck, put the cell phone on the charger, head to Dunkin Donuts.

call BFF and have a meltdown on the way.  pretty sure she now thinks i am a raving maniac.

she is right.

thankfully, DD has coffee so no one gets hurt.

arrive at home.  don't want to get out of truck because i am FINALLY cooled off.  miss raven still scared and takes up residence under my shirt, barking only when necessary and shaking A LOT.

go in.  get into bed.  read kindle by flashlight.

fall into a fitful sleep thanks to neighbor's rather loud generator.

still no idea when power will be restored.

Monday morning:

still no power.

found out last night that there will be no school today.  interesting start to this school year.  have decided that it must be "hurriquake" season.

MUST HAVE COFFEE.

take cold shower and am thankful it isn't winter.

make Starbucks run.  so thankful for HOT coffee.

go to target, just to stay out for a bit.

still no idea when power will be restored.

come home.  have lunch:  cold bean burrito.  resisting opening either freezer or refridgerator.

finally get a hold of someone at PEPCO.  am told that my power will not be restored until (maybe) tomorrow at 7:00 PM. 

feel the need to be destructive with my bare hands.  feel blood pressure go through the roof.  manage to not curse out the pepco guy by reminding myself that it isn't his fault.

repeat that like a mantra for close to an hour.

read more on the kindle.

try to comfort miss raven who, i don't think, will ever leave the relative saftey that comes from being under my shirt.  no matter that she gives off enough heat to bake a cake.

decide to text a friend to find a pet-friendly hotel nearby when POWER COMES ON!!!!!!

do the following, in order of priority:

--DRINK TWO CUPS OF COFFEE
--turn on tv for noise
--take hot shower
--blog

the end

ps:  i really, really, REALLY, hate you, Irene.

on a more serious note:  my prayers and sympathy to all that are still suffering from the effects of this beastly storm.  it was no joke and the death toll is sadly rising.  if you are in a position to help someone affected, please do...