Hurricane Preparedness - Isaac is Coming!

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With Hurricane Isaac headed toward the Gulf of Mexico, I wanted to remind my friends and neighbors to be safe and to be prepared for what might be coming.

Although the last predicted path has shown that it will probably not hit the Orlando area directly, we are likely to get heavy rain and winds, and maybe a tornado warning or two.

My dear friends in the Florida panhandle and other Gulf states, (Trisha, Lynsey, and others) may get hit much harder, so my thoughts and prayers are with you and your families.

With that in mind, here are some of the recommendations from FEMA to be prepared for the coming bad weather:

To begin preparing, you should build an emergency kit and make a family communications plan.

Know your surroundings.

Learn the elevation level of your property and whether the land is flood-prone. This will help you know how your property will be affected when storm surge or tidal flooding are forecasted.

Identify levees and dams in your area and determine whether they pose a hazard to you.

Learn community hurricane evacuation routes and how to find higher ground. Determine where you would go and how you would get there if you needed to evacuate.

Make plans to secure your property:

Cover all of your home’s windows. Permanent storm shutters offer the best protection for windows. A second option is to board up windows with 5/8” marine plywood, cut to fit and ready to install. Tape does not prevent windows from breaking.

Install straps or additional clips to securely fasten your roof to the frame structure. This will reduce roof damage.

Be sure trees and shrubs around your home are well trimmed so they are more wind resistant.

Clear loose and clogged rain gutters and downspouts.

Reinforce your garage doors; if wind enters a garage it can cause dangerous and expensive structural damage.

Plan to bring in all outdoor furniture, decorations, garbage cans and anything else that is not tied down.

Determine how and where to secure your boat.

Install a generator for emergencies.

If in a high-rise building, be prepared to take shelter on or below the 10th floor.

Consider building a safe room.

I hope all of you and your families are safe during the storm - and always.  Please check in with me here on the blog or on Facebook or Twitter to let me know you are safe.

For more information, check out the FEMA website.

Image Credit

UPDATE:  My friend Lynsey at Moscato Mom has some exremely practical list of things to do to be prepared for a hurricane. Please head on over to her blog to read post, she has experience with hurricanes and makes a ton of sense.          

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Happy Groundhog Day - Prediction from Puxatony Phil

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Photo Credit

Happy Groundhog Day, the day when Puxatony Phil in Pennsylvania comes out of his hatch to predict weather (pun intended) we will have a short winter or a L-O-N-G winter, depending on his ability to see his shadow or not.


Well here it is, folks.....




Isn't he a cutie pie? So it looks like winter will be six more weeks. I wouldn't mind having six more weeks of the wonderful weather we have been having here in Florida. We have been having temps in the mid 70's to 80's and sunny. It is beautiful..... come on down. =)

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I Love Christmas Post #11

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Christmas in Florida is the best.....

Weather courtesy of WKMG ClickOrlando.com

Monday's Music Moves Me: Aug. 29, 2011 ~ This Weather Sucks!!

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<br /><a href="http://thenewxmasdolly.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz61/xmasdolly/Decorated%20images/th_retromusic1-1.gif" /></a><br /><br />
Welcome to a Monday's Music Moves Me, the fantabulistic music meme hosted by me, my dearest of friends Dolly from XmasDolly, Larry from Cakeblast, Callie from Jamerican Spice and the wonderful Stacy from Stacy Uncorked. This week is FREEBIE WEEK, so you can post anything that moves you!

Since so many of us have been facing such really crappy weather over the last week - earthquakes, hurricanes, and even tornadoes, I decided to post some songs about the weather. So with my prayers and hugs going out to all of you in the storms path, here are my choices for this week.....

Hurricane ~ Bob Dylan
**NOTICE: This has some lyrics that may be objectionable to some people**



Riders on the Storm ~ The Doors



The Unicorn Song ~ The Irish Rovers



Goodnight Irene ~ Nat King Cole




So what's moving you today? Write up a post and let us know... Here is all you need to do to play along:


First step: Head on over to You Tube, or anywhere you get your music videos and post them on your blog! Upcoming themes are to you LOWER RIGHT of XmasDolly's blog.

Second Step: Grab our "Monday's Music Moves Me" Button, mine is on my right sidebar, or off of any of the hosts' sites.

Third step: SIGN THE LINKY - Follow your hosts, grab their buttons too when you visit them and show them some love by leaving a comment.. (mine is on my right sidebar above the 4M button)

Final step: Go visit the other Rockers on our Linky and PLEASE show them some love by leaving them a comment, you know you like comments, they do too!


Once you write up your post, link up with us (on any of the host's blog - they are all connected) and you may be chosen as our SPOTLIGHT DANCERS like this week's lucky couple in our #1 and #2 linky spots.....

Stacey of ArtSnark's Artifacts ~~ and ~~ Denise of RunDMT

CONGRATULATIONS!!

If you are one of the lucky ones who is chosen for our spotlight dance, don't forget to grab the Spotlight Dancer Button from Dolly's right sidebar and proudly display it on your blog... WooHoo!


Now, don't forget to sign the linky, visit the participants, and leave a comment - you know you like them, so does everyone else. For more Monday music fun, visit Lady Estrogen and my friend Denise at Run DMT.






ROCK ON, MY FRIENDS!!

**HOPE YOU ARE ALL SAFE AND SOUND, AND DIDN'T SUFFER ANY DAMAGE FROM THE HURRICANE... HUGGLES!**

We're very sorry to say there are some people not playing along just using our linky to get traffic for their blogs! Unfortunately, these bloggers will be marked and ignored, you will not get any benefit from our linky, so don't bother. All we ask is that you leave a comment, grab our button, ad/or follow us. If you don't want to post a video, you can post a link to a video, or post some lyrics, but please - at least attempt to make it music related. Thank you for your understanding. We will not follow you and we will not promote your blog!

*** Just one more thing...

PLEASE, we are family friendly blogs and while we really don't want to censor anyone,

but we do ask that you keep your songs rated PG13 or less.

If you find that you need to post songs of an explicit sexual nature or language,

please find a different venue. If your song does contain a small amount of questionable language, please put a disclaimer BEFORE the video. 

Thank you very much!***

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Wordless Wednesday: August 10, 2011 ~ Stormy Skies

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Welcome to Wordless Wednesday..... I'm looking forward to to seeing all of your photos, so if you leave a comment, please leave your email address so I can come on over and take a look.

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, head over to the WW Hub, leave your link, check out the other participants, and don't forget to leave a nice comment - you know you like comments, they do too!!


And don't forget about our recipe sharing meme tomorrow: "Recipe Swap Meet Thursday" - have you got your recipe ready??? Don't forget to grab our button and play along... Happy cooking!



<br /><a href="http://wmjshewbridge.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket"src="http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz61/xmasdolly/Female-Chef.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /><br /><br />

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Monday's Music Moves Me ~ Colorful Weather Songs (HUH??)

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<br /><a href="http://thenewxmasdolly.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz61/xmasdolly/Decorated%20images/th_retromusic1-1.gif" /></a><br /><br />

Welcome to Monday's Music Moves Me the fantabulistic music meme hosted by me, Dolly from XmasDolly, Larry from Cakeblast and Callie from Jamerican Spice and this week you actually have a choice of TWO different topics... You can either post songs about Colors or you can post songs about the Weather.  Or if you are really creative.... Colorful Weather. =)


I've had the poem, "March winds bring April showers and Aprils showers bring May flowers" in my head, so I was the one who thought about posting songs about the weather.... then of course Mother Nature decided to dance her way across the country, so I am also dedicating my songs to the men, women and children who have lost their homes over the last couple of weeks. May God bless you and help you recover soon.


The first one is from a movie that a lot of us probably know and stars two of the most handsome men of all time... how can you not love those blue eyes.....

Rain Drops Keep Falling on my Head ~ BJ Thomas




The next song is also about rain and I have always liked it since I was a kid. Now it just makes me sad thinking how depressed Karen was and what she was going through in her life.....

Rainy Days and Mondays ~ The Carpenters



And of course how could you forget the outstanding entertainment of....

Singing in the Rain ~ Gene Kelly



Now to balance all that rain and bring you some sunshine and cheer you up, a beautiful song from one of my favorite singers (Bill can't stand him so I don't get to listen to him very often) who was taken from this world way too young.....

Sunshine on my Shoulders ~ John Denver




So, no ugly rockers for me this week - everyone is fairly attractive if I do say so myself. =)  What's on your mind this week? Let us know ~ we'd really love to know, here's all you have to do:


First step: Head on over to You Tube, or anywhere you get your music videos and post them on your blog! Upcoming themes are to you LOWER RIGHT of XmasDolly's blog.


Second Step: Grab our "Monday's Music Moves Me" Button, mine is on my right sidebar, or off of any of the hosts' sites.


Third step: SIGN THE LINKY - Follow your hosts, grab their buttons too when you visit them and show them some love by leaving a comment.. (mine is on my right sidebar above the 4M button)


Final step: Go visit the other Rockers on our Linky and PLEASE show them some love by leaving them a comment, you know you like comments, they do too!





Once you write up your post, link up with us (on any of the host's blog - they are all connected) and you may be chosen as our SPOTLIGHT DANCERS like this week's lucky couple in our #1 and #2 linky spots.....

Stacey at Artsnart Artifacts ~~ and Dave at The Moody Mix

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Now, don't forget to sign the linky, visit the participants, and leave a comment - you know you like them, so does everyone else. For more Monday music fun, visit Amanda, Lady Estrogen, and my friend Denise at Run DMT.

 
 
 
 
ROCK ON, MY FRIENDS!!
 
 
We're very sorry to say there has been some people not playing along, and just signing our linky so other people will stop by their blogs for giveaways or whatever! Unfortunately, these bloggers will be justifiably deleted without prejudice or notice. Leave a comment, grab our button, or follow us. If you don't want to post a video, you can post a link to a video, or post some lyrics, but please - at least attempt to make it music related. Thank you for your understanding.
 
 

*** Just one thing to note... We are family friendly blogs and while we don't want to censor anyone, we do ask that you keep your songs rated PG13 or less.

Thank you very much!***

Weather Report for Disney Social Media Moms Conference

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I just wanted to let everyone who is coming down to Florida for the Disney Social Media Moms Conference what the weather is supposed to be like.  I have copied the 8-Day forecast from our local TV station Local 6 WKMG so you can see for yourselves:

Things look like it is going to be just beautiful for all of us down here!! I do recommend bringing a jacket or sweater for the evenings, but it has been absolutely gorgeous during the day.  You might want to bring a rain jacket, because you never know when there will be a shower, but we aren't expecting any.  And of course - don't forget your St. Patrick's Day garb for Thursday the 17th!!

I cannot wait to see and meet you all..... Godspeed and safe journey to you all and lets have a blast when you get her.  Please make sure you look for me, I'll be the one in a wheelchair grinning from ear to ear! 






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Did You Ever Have One of Those Weeks?????

  Boy, oh boy, what a week this was for us... I am still recovering.


It started out on Monday, the 13th with my poor husband breaking a tooth eating an ice cream bar as we were picking up my prescriptions (which by the way cost $106 for 2 generic prescriptions, UGH!) - it was, of course after 5:00pm, so the dentist office was already closed.


Well, Tuesday I woke up to discover that Mandie, one of our six doggies, oh yes, they are all still here (explanation to follow) had gotten sick with diarrhea all over the living room carpet. The poor baby was afraid I was going to hurt her as she is still not used to people loving her since she is a rescue dog that we have only had for about a month. So I had to clean up her mess and comfort her letting her know that we still loved her and everything was still OK.

We managed to get Bill a dentist appointment on Wednesday here in town at noon, which of course messes up the whole day, but we are trying to get this fixed for his class reunion in Connecticut the first weekend of October - you see it is his front tooth  - go figure! So, anyway, an hour and a half and $100 later, with nothing done but some poking around and an x-ray, we find out that it is going to cost over $3,100 to fix everything.  Great!!  Now we have to figure out what to do, we have the money for it - it's what we have put aside for the trip to Connecticut. Hrmpf.....   

Now comes Thursday... my good friend (the one with the dogs, who has her own problems right now) has a friend who is a dentist in downtown Orlando, and she's graciously offered to fit Bill in at 8:00am. Oh, joy, we get to drive into Orlando with all the other commuters, but that is OK, we are being done a favor and we really appreciate it, so we get up really early and take the doggies for a walk, which completely confuses them, and off we go. Forty-five minutes later we arrive right on time and my darling goes through a really thorough examination and another x-ray, 3 hours later, it is determined that he needs a full set of dentures on top and bottom. While the bottom can wait, we really need to do the top right away to fix his broken tooth. The cost for this, with a discount and a complete set of x-rays is $2,900... Yippee!!       We decide that our Connecticut trip will have to be cancelled (which also means I won't be able to see my youngest son, Alex - totally bummed now, don't worry sweetie, I'll get over it, you need to have this done and I love you from the bottom of my heart!)  because Bill really needs his teeth to eat and talk, those things are kind-of important... so he is fitted and we make an appointment for next Friday for his oral surgery... more joy: for him because of the pain and for me because I am going to have to drive back from Orlando... I don't really drive anymore, I am a wreck thinking about it already.   

Wait.... things get better.  We get home, and notice that all the digital clocks in the house are blinking. Turns out, the house was without power for about a 1/2 hour while we were gone which explains why it is so warm in there - mind you, we still have temps in the 90s here.      So, after resetting all the clocks, I start working on my blog and answering emails when I doze off for a bit because I have gotten up way too early compared to usual and my back is really killing me from the scrubbing of the carpet in the morning.  At around 4:30pm there is a short loss of power again, but it comes on about 5 minutes later, this happens several more times. Not so around 5:15 when it goes off again.... oh, no, this time is goes off and stays off, I have just turned on the oven to make chicken - damn!  So, I call the power company and find out that it should be back on by 6:30 and they will call me if there is going to be a delay. I get a call around 6:15 from the power company asking if my power is back on... UH, no! They tell me that it should be back on by 9:00pm... there goes dinner.  So now we have to go out to eat and we have found out that it is the whole town that has no power, so the restaurants in town are out of the question.  Boy it gets dark here with no lights and it gets really warm without A/C or the ceiling fans. Well, we find that Chick-fil-A is open and has power just on the out-skirts of town so that is where we eat - I love their chicken strips. I even get some nuggets to bring home to the puppies because there won't be any of my chicken to add to their dog food for dinner - YES, they are super spoiled.   

After dinner, we go home and feed the doggies by candle light and then go sit on the balcony with them by citronella candle and FINALLY the power comes back on around 9:30pm and stays on. It takes about 10 more minutes for the DirecTV to reprogram itself, and we watch one show then head off to bed because I am so stressed, in pain and thoroughly exhausted. 

Friday, I start working on on catching up on my emails and my blog when I discover that during one of those power surges, some of my emails have disappeared - CRAP! So, if you have sent me something that was important and I haven't responded to you, please resend it and forgive me, I am not ignoring you... I am totally overwhelmed and wiped out! Now here is the reason for still having all the dogs: My good friend has been trying to buy a house here in town and she even put down a deposit only to discover that there is a lien on the house and the current owners are refusing to sell.  Where she is living now doesn't have room for the dogs, so, we still have her three dogs along with our three dogs... don't get me wrong, I love them all, but it really is a TON of work and it is causing me a lot of pain in my back and neck and doesn't give me as much time for my own blog or visiting all my wonderful virtual friends - whom I miss terribly!! But how can you resist these faces:

We were really lucky enough to go out to our favorite Shannon's Irish pub on Friday night for their "Half-Way to St. Patrick's Day" party and have a fabulous dinner and Guinness on tap, plus spend time with some great friends with splendid music.

Saturday morning I was awakened at 4:00am with a mind-splitting migraine with excruciating pain, nausea, sensitivity to light, sound and any kind of movement. (Those of you who don't get migraines have NO idea how debilitating they can be, and I am so grateful you don't have to suffer with them.) I ended up taking one of my heavy-duty pills (at $33 each) around 6:00am and it hardly did anything. I stayed in bed - along with 4 doggies making sure that I was OK - minus the times I had to get up to vomit {pardon the visual} - taking another of my $33 pills plus my regular pain pills, migraine meds, and regular medication once the vomiting stopped, until 4:30pm when I was at least able to stand up and walk. I went outside with the dogs for a walk to get some fresh air (wearing VERY dark sunglasses) and then came back in the house and lie down on the couch to watch a little TV with my eyes 1/2 open and the sound lowered with all 6 doggies surrounding me, taking turns to make sure I was OK and licking my face, hands and feet. Good thing Bill had some left-overs from Friday night because I really wasn't up to cooking, I was able to put the chicken that had been marinating since Thursday {remember the power-outage?}  in the oven and he and the doggies had a piece of that... I drank water for dinner and then had a little ice cream mixed with a banana to raise my potassium level. I figured this migraine was from all the turmoil in the air pressure with the fading hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Igor off the east coast of Florida and the tropical depression a bit farther out in the Atlantic... when all these depressions smack together over central Florida and the barometric pressure fluctuating rapidly, it really effects my migraines and this one was a doozie!

Sunday I was still feeling kind-of weak and sick to my stomach, so I didn't eat very much all day, just a couple of bites during our usual breakfast out with the doggies at Shannon's Irish Pub - the babies ate everything I didn't.     We walked around town for a little while and came home to watch football. To add insult to injury, the week ended with our poor NY Giants losing the game on Sunday night.     I'm so glad the week is over... lets hope this week is better.


So how was YOUR week?

Photo of the Day (Not Mine)

I found this photo on This is Photobomb and thought it was simply amazing.  I don't know if it was photo shopped or not, but it looked so cool that I had to share it with you all.  With all the tropical storms we have been having around here the last 10 days or so (plus I know a couple are headed up toward New England, so please be careful, my friends) it really struck a chord with me.

{Click photo to enlarge}

Hope you all enjoy the rest of your summer and have great weather during the holiday weekend..... be safe.

Caught in the Rain

One day last week on our walk, we were just on our way home (about 1/2 mile from the house) and it started to rain.  We took shelter under one of "nature's umbrellas" - because I forgot to bring one of our own - a big beautiful tree.  This seemed to keep us mostly dry for about 10 minutes until it really started coming down and we started getting soaked.  We finally gave in and started walking home, here is the result:

They don't look very happy, do they?

Of course, now I'm getting the look, "Stop with the photos, mommy, and get me a towel!"

I, of course, had to share what I looked like - my poor hair!! 

(Note where I cropped the photo: wet top + air conditioner = NO blog exposure!! TeeHee)

Here are the babies getting dried off, they really like to be cuddled in their towels.  If you'll notice, Mia has a pink towel and Nano has a blue towel... I'm nothing if not coordinated.  I love the look on Nano's face as he is looking at Bill, right after I took the photo, Nano gave Bill a big kiss.

About 10 minutes after we got home, it stopped raining... figures!

Until next time..... Lorie

Central Florida Weather Report for Social Media Moms Celebration

Since I live in central Florida, I wanted to share with those of you coming down for the Social Media Moms Celebration in Disney World, our local weather forecast. So, courtesy of our local CBS affiliate WKMG channel 6 website:

It's not really going to be that warm or sunny, so I recommend pants and at least a sweater or jacket for the conference. They tend to keep the buildings air conditioned and they can get quite chilly - even cold, so dressing in removable layers is the way I usually go when we visit Disney: t-shirt with a sweater/sweatshirt, then a jacket if needed.

I am really looking forward to my FIRST conference and meeting you all. I'm very excited and a bit nervous, too, so if you see me, please come up to me, say hello, and be nice. :-) Enjoy the next couple of days packing and getting down here... see you all Wednesday, look for me!!

Until next time..... Lorie

Would You Believe Possibility of SNOW ???

OMG, it's so cold down here in Florida that they are even predicting the possibility of flurries!! The following is from the WKMG Orlando website:

"Snow In Central Fla? It's Possible
Orlando Area Could See Snow Flurries Over Weekend

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

With cold days and freezing temperatures being the norm for the past week, many Central Floridians wouldn't mind seeing some snowflakes in the air.

And Local 6 meteorologist Eric Wilson said it's possible over the weekend.

'It's been a long time since we've had even a chance for snow in this area,'Wilson said. 'The question is whether or not there's going to be moisture in place to turn that cold air from rain into flurries over the weekend.'

Cold air has invaded the region all week, and although high temperatures will reach the mid-60s on Friday, a cold front currently over the Gulf of Mexico is expected to bring freezing temperatures back to Central Florida over the weekend.

The new front is expected to push through on Friday afternoon, with a 40 percent chance of rain.

Wilson said snow could fall in Central Florida on Saturday morning if a current frontal boundary stalls and provides moisture from the south and the west.

'Some of that rain could transfer over to flurries north of the jet stream,' said Wilson, who showed the jet stream north of Orlando. 'We'll have to keep a really close eye on whether all those things come together.'

High temperatures in Orlando are forecast to be 46 and 51 degrees -- more than 20 degrees below normal -- on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The low temperature Sunday morning will reach 34 degrees in Orlando, with a low of 27 forecast for Monday morning.

Icy Road Warning

Meanwhile, Florida's Department of Emergency Management said drivers in the Panhandle and north Florida should watch for icy spots on roads and bridges Friday morning.

Rain is expected as a cold front moves through the region Thursday night and Friday morning.

Meteorologist Amy Godsey said there is a possibility some rural bridges and roads may have ice.

Overnight lows are expected to dip into the lower 20s and high teens across the region on Friday and Saturday nights.

Temperatures in the region were in the upper 50s and lower 60s in advance of the approaching cold front Thursday afternoon."

This terrible cold weather is also hurting our poor sea turtles, more than 100 turtles were found floating in the Mosquito Lagoon and rescued Wednesday after cold water shocked their systems. We really need warm weather soon.

I have had enough of this.... I moved down here for the warmth and sunshine, not these 20 - 30 degree temperatures. I am tired of having to wear hats, gloves, coats, sweatshirts, etc. YUK!!

And, I don't want to hear from all you people saying, "You think it's cold there, you should be here in..... {so-and-s0}..... " I live in Florida because I DON'T want to be cold, I want to be where it is WARM, I don't like the cold. I used to live in New England where it was cold, snowy and icy - I LEFT THERE!!! So no comments like that people, let me whine... I hate the cold!

Please come back my wonderful weather that belongs here... I really miss you!

Until next time..... Lorie