How We Prepared for Hurricane Hanna

We've been fortunate that where we live has been fairly mild when it comes to hurricanes. Everyone out here is starting to say, you know... It's going to be our turn soon. Our family who live in the path of IKE, didn't fair as well. They got bumped pretty hard. They are in the process of recovering and are more fortunate than some.

That being said, this is a fun post and I am in no way making light of the terrible destruction and suffering brought on by IKE. I am just grateful our family was unharmed in IKE and that the death toll in 1900 in Galveston was not repeated last week.

Our prayers and any help we can give go out to those who lost so much.

One more disclaimer: Hurricane preparedness is not a joke and we are prepared as best we can be out here. Okay, maybe we could improve in some areas... Always there's that. However we have a plan. Hopefully we'll never have to really see if it actually works. In the mean time, enjoy hurricane preparations for what ended up being a non-event for us.

So to Hanna. We weren't sure what Hanna was going to end up doing when she headed our way, so we did all the usual.

There is a sense of excitement when a hurricane is nearing. Sick I know, but I think in my defense it's all the negative and positive ions colliding into each other. That's what they do you know - bump into each other and if you're in the way I think you get caught in the cross fire; that's what makes your adrenaline pump.

(If you're looking for serious preparedness lists, this is not the post...) I'll try to do one of those just for Jen so she can actually legitimately post me on her Homemaking blog... I don't usually get highlighted there... Not sure why....

So What does one do? Well, I can only share what we did. And I'm thinking we could do it differently next time. A few things anyway.

First: Go grocery shopping. I mean SHOP! Take out the third seat in your SUV and fill it up with food, water, and propane tanks. I was clutching the check writing counter area with white knuckles as the scanner beeped fast and furious almost as if laughing manically at me as my checking account rapidly dwindled. The scanner beep is the negative cha-ching sound.

Make sure you buy flowers. This is VERY crucial to survival if you get into a situation like Hurricane Ophelia in 2005 that sits on you for HOURS and HOURS. A little bit of un-destroyed beauty is nice to glance over at while winds whirl around you.

Now make sure you have a friend. This is one of my last ones here, not sure where they all keep disappearing to. I'm trying to think of something nice to do for her so she'll play hurricane day with me again. I accidentally made her get really really really wet. Leaving the grocery store it began to rain. It started 4 hours earlier than my predictions. Not sure where I went wrong.

Kelli: "Um, hey, good friend who will refrain from stabbing me."

Good Friend: "What." (she doesn't even get a question mark, and you'd understand if you heard how she says what to me.)

Kelli: "The jeep top is down. The Marine will kill me" The Marine was driving in from 1500 miles away arriving in like 4 hours.

Good Friend: "Okay, well let's go straight to your house but first stop at the dollar store so I can get some carpet cleaner for your giant dirty SUV"

Kelli: "Uh, oooo-kay"

The good friend had started cleaning the inside of my Yukon with baby wipes while she was waiting for me to come out of the grocery store with my groceries. Her bill was only half of mine, she got out quicker.

Once started, she was on a mission. Part of it was because she is a cleaning machine when she gets going, it's in her DNA, the other part is because she was in AWE -literally of these baby wipes. I was fearful for her son's t-hiney skin when I saw how well they were cleaning. I forbid her to EVER wipe her beautiful child's butt with those caustic cleaning wipes again! I doubt she heard me. She was almost euphoric as she kept exclaiming OH MY GOSH!!! I can't believe how clean this is getting your disgusting vehicle!!!

I was quite happy with her now single minded mission, except the rain was coming down harder. And the top on the jeep was still down. AND THERE WAS A HURRICANE COMING!!

So I'll skip over the part about making us re-do the jeep top twice because the rain was pelting down so hard I couldn't see (I didn't have a cool baseball cap on) and there was already a pool I could have back stroked in that used to be the passenger floor board. This darling woman glared and said bad words to me, but she was there! Her clothes were wet, like large sloshy saggy diaper wet. She was glaring at me and I actually almost feared for my life. But we got the top up and she went back to her mission. My carpets.

Um, Hey... Shouldn't we be doing some other stuff?

Yoohoo... I mean hurricane... it's raining....

"These Wipes are SO COOL!! "

Okay, so finally she'd done all she could until the carpets dried AND we used the last of the toxic dollar store baby wipes. I have to say, The Marine was driving back that day with the van we bought from my mom and he will be driving the green beast, so she actually probably saved my marriage, it was just weird timing, you know, what with the HURRICANE and all approaching.

So after you shop, and detail your vehicle,- clean up your yard. I mean everything. No projectile missiles from our house!

Then take down your fence. Especially if you buy the awful vinyl kind because it "looks pretty". Yeah, NEVER again. I wish I could wake up one morning and have the ugly wood fence. Every big storm we have to take the panels down. If you're short like me, it's not easy. AND I got made fun of by the good friend AND she made up a song about how I'm always making her do hard labor and dirty work and something about I hate Kelli or something like that, because now she'd been drowned and was getting a work out lifting and carrying and stacking the horrible horrible fence panels.

Turn your trampoline upside down. The kids thought this was cool. Why? I have no idea.

Make sure your kids and their friends come straight home from school and make room in the garage for the fence panels. And your rocking chair. And your teacup planter.

Finally, once you've done all you can do, kick back and take a nap! We were lucky, Hanna didn't turn out to be scary, just wet. And my friend is still talking to me. I really only hang out with her because she is freakishly strong and look at that baby. Who wouldn't hang around just to snuggle him?