photo talk

For those of you who don't have smartphones or use Instagram, they now have a profile for their users for the rest of the online world.

I have a page (used name: cottage_girl) where you can see all my crazy photos.

It's been my blog replacement for the last few months that I have been "internet deprived" at home.

Bits and pieces of my everyday life.

And at the moment, I'm in the middle of a photo challenge with my friend who is a legit photographer, not just a "play at photography" person like me.

Plus, I'm two months away from finishing my first 365 project.

One photo every day for one year.  (I started in the middle of January when I got my iphone)

It has been one of the most fun/challenging projects I've done in years.

Oh, and I did a "photo-a-day" project this summer too that I just printed into a Blurb book.

This year will be completely documented in iphone photos.  And you know what?  I'm totally okay with that.  I've taken more photos than I have ever taken.  EVER.  And the record of the memories is more important than DSLR quality photos.  I'm totally loving my year of iphone photography!

Fingers crossed

I'm working on our Internet issues here at the Cottage.

What does that mean?

Well, basically there is a chance that I will be able to figure out some major computer technical jargon/hardware installation and get the Internet to work at our house.

That will also mean that I will be back to a normal posting schedule which will be so wonderful because I have a huge backlog of posts building up in my brain.

Exciting on so many levels.

You'll get to hear all my crazy ramblings and the 5,000 stories I haven't been able to tell in this space.

I'm still on Instagram. @cottage_girl. In 2 months I will finish my 365. A whole years worth of photos. And one of the most challenging and fun things I've ever done photography-wise.

There you have it.

Fingers crossed...I'll see you again soon.

Crazy Fun Color Run

You guys....

I did the Color Run.

Here's the proof:

Up bright and early.  It was chiiiilllly outside.

All decked out in our white duds. They look so sparkling white.  They won't stay that way for long though.

6,000 Color Runners.  And this was a small one, or so one of the officials told us.  People of all ages.  Kids too!

We got near the start of the line.  Oh, the excitement!

And then, we were off!  Every kilometer there was another color station with color volunteers ready to douse you with beautiful colored powder.  Oh, it was incredible.  And fun.  And amazing.  I had to take a photo along the way so I could remember the cloud.

Here we are after the blue station, headed to the finish line.  The DC run was right along the Potomac.  Beautiful!

Almost finished!

Crossing that finish line was such a fun thing.  A big deal for me, it being my first 5K.

And then, the Color party at the end.  Talk about a color fest.  Every 10 minutes or so there was a color throw.  And yes, it was that beautiful every single time.

Tons of free stuff is thrown out like fanny packs, sweatshirts, T-shirts, socks, head bands, bags, color packets, you name it.

There's lots of fun music playing and everyone is dancing and throwing color and laughing.  

All the runners get a color packet to throw at the end.  And then they throw out 100's of packets to keep the color fest going for a while.  It's crazy how happy a little packet of colored powder can make you.  AND happy you are.  Ecstatic.  Tossing it about like you are the happiest, messiest person on the planet.

I didn't pull my iphone out while we were in the cloud because it got dark as night and the dust would have destroyed it.  It was tough to breathe, so you just had to hold your breath and laugh until it disappeared.

Thankfully, we had a perfect weather day and the breeze just swept the color away after a 30 seconds or so.  You were just left covered in glorious color, laughing and dancing to the music.

One of my favorite shots of the day.  Tara could either be at a Hillsong concert or trying to snag some more free stuff.

Ben decided that he wanted to be first across the finish line.  Mission accomplished.  Very first.  He ran that thing FAST.

The aftermath was even pretty.  Color splattered/covered asphalt.  We picked up the trash, of course.  And eventually the color was swept away with leaf blowers.

Before and after.  Oh my gosh, I would do it again this weekend.  And every weekend.  It was incredible.  I love my running buddies, Michelle and Tara. We just had fun.

So if the Color Run comes to your hometown, GO!!!  It's ridiculously fun.  You don't even have to run.  So many people walked or pushed strollers with kids, jogged, danced.  It's just for fun and no one times you.

*All photos were taken with my iphone. I just put it in a Ziploc when I wasn't taking pictures.  It got powder on it, but I just dusted it off and it was fine.

***We had one more friend who came along, but he got snagged by the Color Run people to take photos for them for the day.  He had been taking photos of us with his fancy Canon and they saw him and hired him on the spot when 2 of their photographers didn't show up for the day.  

******All the color cleans up pretty easily.  I got most of it out of my clothes and shoes with OxyClean and cold water.  Only an old white cotton shirt had a few stains, which I kind of love.  And there are a few spots on my shoes, that I could have gotten out, but I kinda like the little happy reminder there permanently.  That white, long sleeved zip-up in the photo above is totally white again.  All that beautiful color....

in town

My whole entire family will be in town this weekend.
From near (Maryland) and far (Utah and Michigan).
Hey-o!
Time to drag that DSLR out of the closet and dust it off.
I've been hankering for a reason to take a photo adventure.
Adventure ahead...

once more

What song have you had on repeat lately?

This is mine:

Shall we?

(source)

I miss my dear little blog.  

And all of you.

I miss connecting with people.

I miss writing so very much.

But I don't have internet at home right now and it's just not possible to write when I want to.

That's so frustrating and sad to me right now.    

So let's just pretend I can invite you all over for a nice cup of iced tea or chocolate milk.  We can have a face to face chat instead.  I can tell you all about my trip to see my sister last week and my love of the new iOS6.  We can trade photos.  You can tell me all about your favorite TV shows that are back on the schedule and the best movie you've seen lately.  I can tell you all about how my Netflix queue is full of TV shows (ER season 15 and Breaking Bad).  We can talk about the books we are reading (me:  My Life in France by Julia Child which I found for a quarter at the thrift store). We can sit and watch the river turn into a pink and purple and orange wonder during sunset on the most beautiful Fall evening.  Then we can watch The Avengers because I had to run out and buy it the day it came out on DVD.

Let do that instead, shall we?

raised hands

(my little iphone camera amazes me sometimes)

A few nights ago, my amazing friend Tara and I went to see Hillsong Live in the big city.  It was one of those spur of the moment decisions back in June.  The tickets were pretty cheap, and it's always fun to have something to look forward to at the end of summer.  Plus, Tara isn't living at camp any more, so we made up a fun reason see each other and have a friend date.

The concert was really great.  There is something about seeing 1,000's of people worshiping Jesus together that gives me chills and makes me think of heaven.  We sang pretty much all of my favorite Hillsong songs. The band/singers were really fantastic.  Bonus... Australian accents for 2 hours!   It was very worshiped focused too.  Not about those leading the worship, but about all of us together singing about Jesus.  Loved it.

It was one of those nights that just filled me up and let me focus on Jesus for a while and not the insanity of life.  It was all about who He is and how He loves me/us/all.  Raised hands.  Closed eyes.  Singing as loud as you want to because no one else can pick your voice (no matter how bad it sounds) out of the crowd.  Amen.

rambling weather post

There's this part in Jane of Lantern Hill (a favorite book of mine since I was young) when a big storm comes.  It blows and howls and shakes the house.  And when it's all over, summer is over as well.  Fall arrives with its crisp cool weather and fall foliage shortly behind.  It has always stuck in my head and I look for that storm every year.  That big last hurrah of summer.

That pretty much describes this storm.  We had had some ridiculously hot and humid weather for most of August and the beginning of September.  Now, I love summer.  It's my favorite season of all.  I love the hot weather and steamy days.  I don't really love the humidity, but that's inescapable if you live on the east coast during the summer.

Anyway, on Saturday, this lovely sky came rolling through.  I knew it was coming because I had been checking the weather all day.  There is nothing more incredible than watching a storm roll down the river.  It's equal part terrifying and amazing.  I ran down to the beach to snap a photo or two and watch it roll in.  There wasn't any thunder or lightning, which was really odd, but the wind was pretty incredible.  A great end of summer storm that really did bring some of the most beautiful weather behind it.

Rambling post all about the weather...complete.

a long 5 months wait

Having to wait until January seems like torture when the UK gets it next week!

Angela

Because it's Thursday.

And because the early 90's were my high school years.

And because this show that seemed so perfect, even back then, is still so great today.

Jordan Catalano, people.  Jordan Catalano.  

Mmmmm

I made this yummy dish the other night.
I found it on one of my favorite blogs, Cakies, a while ago and have been wanting to try it.
It was a hit for my roommate and I.
Definitely will make it again.

And then, since I had all the ingredients on hand, I made one of my favorite new desserts.
This one comes from the pages of one of my favorite cookbooks.
It can also be found on PW's website.
I can't even explain how ridiculously easy this recipe is.
Nor can I put into words how delicious it is either.

It was a Happy Labor Day meal.
Just because.
Because I wanted apple dumplings with vanilla ice cream mostly.
Now I have to invite more people over to eat these apple dumplings because I will eat them all myself if I don't.

Luna and the Color Run

(amazing artwork by Viria)

Without reliable internet at home, I feel like my blogging has dwindled down to nothing.  

Sighhhh....

Makes me so sad, but it's just such a pain to take hours to post just one little thing.  

Anyway...

What I've been up to lately:

Watching the Harry Potter movies again.  How brilliant are those stories?  I mean, really.  I know we've all heard the pomp and circumstance over them a thousand times, but I'm still in awe when I rediscover them after a while away.  I just re-discovered my love of Luna Lovegood (and the absolutely perfect casting of her character in the movies).  And then there are the Weasley's.  I can never get enough of them.  

Instagramming it up.  I'm obsessed.  I think it's been my "blog" for the year.  My sweet little iphone has been the only consistent place that I can get internet access, which means Instagram is about the extent of my online-ness (besides some email and a little Twitter).  

Running.  It's a love/hate relationship we have.  I hate doing it, but love that I have done it when it's over.  I do think having a goal to work toward is helping immensely.  Oh, right....my goal....The Color Run.   I can't freakin' wait!! Lately, I've been listening to Pandora's 80's Cardio Radio while I run.  So many great song.

Still missing camp.  It's just so quiet around here.

Getting super excited for the Renaissance Festival, which starts up soon and very soon.  It's my favorite tradition of the Fall.  The food, the shows, the people watching.


So for those of you that have been asking (my sister included) where I've been, there a tiny post for you to read.  You're welcome.

reading now

Has anyone ever read Wool?
I found it on Amazon when I was looking for books for my Kindle.
It took me a while to get into it, but now that I'm in Part 4, I'm hooked.
I enjoy dystopian novels and this fits right into that category (Brave New World, anyone?!).

What are you reading right now?
I'm really far behind on my Summer Reading List.
It's going to have to roll over into a Fall Reading List.

roller coasters and camping

Hooray for calm, relaxing, camping weekends.

My family was (and still is) big into camping.

Let me define camping...travel trailer with air conditioning, bathroom and sink.

That's how we roll.

Anyway, this weekend has been my light at the end of the long summer.

A weekend away with my parents at the campground I grew up going to.

Plus....wait for it....a trip to King's Dominion.

Hey-o! Roller coasters galore.

We also went to downtown Fredericksburg to do a bit of antique shopping.

So many fun things.

And such crazy expensive prices.

Vintage is "in" now and the prices reflect that.

Our day at the park was amazing.

No lines.

Walked on to almost every single roller coaster.

The weather taunted us for a while but ended up being perfect.

Cool.  Cloudy.  No rain.

It was a sheer delight.

Dear S came down to share in the free fun as well.

My dad's company had given him 4 free tickets to the park plus free food too.

Free day.  Good weather.  No lines.  Brilliant.

This was the roller coaster that actually scared me when I first saw it.

I'm big into roller coasters and will ride just about anything without a second thought.

This one...eeesh.

That hill looked crazy high and straight down.

I was nerrrvous.

But I walked up to the line, got on and screamed my head off with glee.

I may never ride that one again though because after the hill, everything got fuzzy.

Out of focus and wouldn't go back into focus.

Tunnel vision and things started to get grey around the edges.

Yes, I almost passed out on the ride.

Had to close my eyes and breathe.

It was so fast.  SO fast.

My mom had the same experience.

Never had that happen to me before.

So while it was THE BEST hill I've ever been on on a roller coast, the rest of it was too intense for my little body I guess.

We had a super fun day and rode tons of roller coasters 

and finished up early because of the "no lines" thing.  

(yes, my parents ride/love/are obsessed with roller coasters.  they instilled that love in all their kids)

We did a little more shopping the next day and found some gems like this clock.  

And this sign that Don Draper must have left behind.  

And this sign that I wanted to get badly, but had a price tag that was beyond ridiculous.

All in all it was a fun, happy end of the summer weekend.

Every summer should involve a roller coaster ride or 10.

Echoes

(a perfect ray of light over a perfect water lily in the neighbors pond)

Camp is full of echoes this week.

By that, I mean that every little nook and corner is whispering of all the things that, just one week ago, were full of life.

Walking by windows, I hear voices of counselors and campers talking and laughing and getting ready for the day.

The beach is nothing but echoes of glee filled screams and splashes.  The sounds of the boat motors that I can pinpoint from any place on the property (even inside my house).

The pool, right now so still and serene, echoes of diving board jumps and whistle blows.

The gym, which used to be lit well into the night, is now closed up and dim.  No dodge balls banging off of walls or music playing while kids cheer.

Snack shop has no lines and only the echoes of cans opening and ice cream wrappers being torn open with reckless abandon.  There aren't hoards of people waiting there to chat and cool off.  This is especially disheartening.

I see it like a movie.  The main character is looking out over their surroundings and the empty background transforms into shapes of what they miss.  A face.  A child running in slow motion, almost transparent.  A happy group of friends waving or smiling.  That's how I picture it.


This week, every year, is always so difficult.  One would think that after 14 years I would have learned to deal with it all better.  The emptiness.  The loneliness. The quiet. The giant hole that is left in my world when every one leaves and camp is over.

I know it's really rather silly to feel so down and depressed over something that really isn't the end of the world.  But it still is hard.  It's the end of something I held dear for 10 weeks.  It's goodbyes with people I had come to love and spend time with.  When you are forced to abandon everything and everyone else that exists outside of this property, these people, these kids somehow take on a comfort zone of familiarity.  And then it's ripped away yet again.  I have to discover how to exist without them once again.  I'm allowed to go back to those friendships I've ignored and it's almost confusing.  What?!  Who am I?!  Where have I been?!  In a coma?!

These are my feelings this week.

Happy and full of life, right?

Prescription:  one week of misery and then it's time to get over it.  No one likes a Debbie Downer.

And thank you, Jesus, for the friends that are here to stay.  They are my lifeline.  I adore them.

return

I never know how to return after being gone so long.

For example...what do I start with?

Do I tell you how melancholy I am today because camp ended Saturday and life is too quiet and lonely?
That seems like a huge downer.

Or do I tell you about the time we went to the carnival to celebrate my roommate's birthday and we rode the Tilt-A-Whirl and I laughed till my sides hurt.

Or perhaps about Smoothie Night 2012 and the crazy 80's outfits that abounded.  Such a good time.

Or how our water at camp has been un-drinkable for 4 months and turned half of my clothing and swimsuits orange, not to mention my skin and everything in our bathroom.  Grr...so frustrated.

Or perhaps how I have 517 (honest Abe, that's the number) posts to read in my Google Reader because I haven't been online in weeks.  Overwhelming.

Or how about how I'm back in the office and being inside all day feels like torture after a summer in the sunshine.

Or maybe I'll show you how I completed my summer photo challenge and posted a photo every day of summer camp on Instagram.  56 photos.  Actually, I've been posting every day 8 months, but the summer challenge was specific to camp.

There are so many choices.
So many stories.
So much of life that has gone by.
I'm learning to accept that there are times when it will be desolate here.
And that's okay.
But for now, it's good to be back.
I missed you.

xoxo,

Cottage Girl

spilling out

I miss writing.
Oh, how I miss it.

I miss mixing words together.
Stringing thoughts into paragraphs.
Thinking up the best word to exactly fit what I am thinking or feeling.

I miss the click-click-click of the keyboard as I type.
I miss the scratch of the pen on the paper of my journal.
I miss re-reading the words that spill out.

These things, and so many more, I miss so much.
I've always been a big writer.
Stories, journal entries, blog posts.
Since I was a little girl, I had to find a way to get the words out of my head and on to something tangible.

I start to feel a bit crazy when I can't write.
Like my mind is completely filled and the faucet needs to open up and empty everything out.
I run around looking for pen and paper and just start writing.
Everything comes spilling out.
Word after glorious word.
It's fantastic.

Anyway,
I miss writing here.
So very much.
Just wanted to tell you that.

on my radar

I have a small semi-life outside of camp during the summertime.  

Okay, not really, but I like to pretend I do.

Here are a few things on my radar as of late:

Amazon MP3's and Cloud Player app for iphone ~ this is, like, one of my favorite things all summer.  The app was just released for iphones a few weeks ago and it is already my favorite, besides Instagram, of course.  

Great things about it?  Well, #1: it's not itunes (itunes = my extreme dislike) #2: Amazon gives away free music/free music credits all...the...time.  I have 41 one songs (including two full albums) in my cloud right now and I paid about $2 for all of it.  Follow @amazonmp3 on Twitter for all the freebie info.  They were giving out $3 mp3 credits just last week.  

Music I'm loving right now:  The Bloom album by Beach House (99 cent sale on Amazon) and the new Cornerstone album from Hillsong Live (99 cents after $3 in free credits).  Plus Rivers and Roads by The Head and the Heart (sniff, sniff, Chuck) and some Ingrid too.  

TV:  Our DVR died, you guys.  Sad, sad day.  We lost all of Downton season 2 and a bunch of Sherlock episodes and my favorite Emma that the BBC did a few years ago.  Ugh.  Plus, Dish (our current provider) dropped AMC.  Not okay.  No Walking Dead or Mad Men?  Not okay at all.   

I've watched very little TV recently (besides my Dr Quinn marathon when I was sick 2 weeks ago).  Truly, it just hasn't been appealing lately.  I've watched a few episodes of White Collar season 3, and they were fantastic.  That's a great summer show.  I love recommending that show to people who need something to watch.  

Books:  I am now currently in the middle of 5.  Wool by Hugh Howey (a self published book I found on Amazon and downloaded to my Kindle).  The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester (not to be confused by The Boy Who Could Fly, the 1980's Disney Channel movie that I watched about 45 times as a child.  anyone else?) The Story Girl by L.M. Montgomery (free on my Kindle). Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller (I will finish it this summer and return it to you, my dear brother.  I will.).  And I just started The Soulkeepers by G.P Ching (free through Amazon Prime on my Kindle).  I like variety.  Always been one of those people who is in the middle of a bunch of books at once.  And I'm still loving my Kindle.  

Treat:  My favorite thing at snack shop right now is Horizon's Chocolate Milk.  Good gracious, it's delicious. A perfect bit of chocolate without all the calories and fat that are in candy.  

Movies:  I've seen two movies lately and both were just ho-hum.  I think The Avengers ruined me for the summer.  It's bad to start out with the best one because everything else just pales in comparison.  The two "ho-hum's" were Brave (it was fine, but didn't wow me like most Pixar movies do. ex: Wall*E and Up) and The Beasts of the Southern Wild (it didn't live up to the ridiculous hype it's been getting).  The Dark Knight Rises is up next.  Oh, and I watched The Artist again and it was just as lovely the second time.  

Podcast obsession:  A few months ago, I found Kevin Pollack's Chat Show by way of hearing that a certain Zachary would be on it.  After listening to his episode, I dove in head first into the library of over a 100 other interviews, downloading them and listening to them constantly.  I just finished Damon Lindelof's, and can I just tell you that I was entirely enthralled.  No joke.  It was fascinating to hear the story of how he became a writer for TV and ended up doing Lost.  I'll be listening to that one about 7 more times, I'm sure.  Nick Offerman's is also fantastic.  He is fascinating.  

****WARNING:  I would rate this show with a giant PG-13 or higher.  There are no censors online, so the language can be harsh at times.  You've been warned.  

Other than that, it's just been boat repairs, hot summer days, lots of sand and brackish water and a couple children.  Okay, more like 200 children.  I do love that summer is a completely different lifestyle for me.  I don't miss TV.  I don't get bored often.  I'm busy and investing in people and trying my hardest not to melt into a puddle.  My days are filled with things that most people dream about doing.  Driving boats and having conversations.  Getting snack shop treats and going to the pool.  Don't get me wrong.  It's tough and exhausting.  But I wouldn't trade it for any other summer job.....well, maybe a house sitter on Oahu's North Shore, but still.  This job is pretty fantastic.  

Side note:  It has taken me four days to post this.  If I could just get a decent internet connection... It's so incredibly frustrating.

the third week

Week #3 of Summer 14.

Week 3 turned out to be pretty crazy.  Why?
Well...

1) We started a day late because of the power outage caused by that crazy storm the Friday before.  First time I think that has ever happened and I hope it will be the last.

2). It was blazing hot.  I mean, I felt melted by 10am H-O-T.

3) I got sick with a yucky cold.  I realized just how sick I was when I was sitting on the beach on that hot Tuesday morning and I wasn't sweating.  It felt comfortable.  Fever.  Yes, indeed.  And I lost my voice too after all the yelling I do at the beach.  It still isn't back.  I miss it.

4) Lots of great conversations with the staff.  So very much younger than me, but oh, how I love them.  I just l-o-v-e them.

5) I got to spend a good chunk of time in our neighbor's backyard while my roommate was house sitting for them.  It's a dream of a back yard (Day 15).  A pond, full garden, green house, chickens, flowers everywhere.  I sat for a long time watching the frogs in the pond and wandering through the yard.  I didn't even mind the crazy hot evening.

6). The jellies are here.  They arrived with a vengeance this week. We didn't have a single jelly fish last summer.  Well, this summer is making up for that already.  They are everywhere.  And huge.  Some of them are the size of a dinner plate.  Jelly fish stings are happening constantly now.  I hate it because there is nothing you can do for a jellyfish sting to make it better. I feel so bad for the kids when it happens.


On to week 4.  Or Teen Week, as we call it.  Lots and lots of boating going on.  But it's only going to be in the temperature is only going to be in the upper 90's.  Bliss.

written everywhere

If only the Lord would write words on Target's parking garage walls.  

Imagine seeing the Psalms written all over the place.  

In the sky.

On the road.

On buildings and roof tops.

In ocean waves and sandy shores.

On rolling hills of green.

Sounds like a perfect idea for my next photography project....

Sweltering

Week #2 of my #campsummer14 project on Instagram.  

Because of the power outage last week, I couldn't post last weekend, so here it is a bit later.

Week 2 was lots of HOT days.  Close to 100 degrees mostly every single day.  Yes.  Hot.

I was talking to one of my camp co-workers about the weather the other day.  You know how people say that you talk about the weather if you can't think of anything else to mention?  It's like a safe topic of nothingness?  Well, when you spend 85% of your day outside, the weather becomes essential.  I check the updated forecast about 37 times a day.  Praying for rain (we haven't had a good rain in over a month).  Looking out for storms that would affect our activities on the waterfront.  Planning my day around the hottest part of the day if it's going to be sweltering.  Case in point:  the weather is important when you work outside all day. 

Week 2 was also one for the books because we had that crazy storm that knocked the power out on Friday night.  No running water.  Trying to feed the kids breakfast with no power.  No phones.  We managed (read: the Lord showered mercy upon us) to have one random phase stay on giving us limited electricity to get the necessities.  And we got two generators hooked up so that we could have running water.  

The campers were gone by 11am and we were left to die of heatstroke in the extreme heat.  Thankfully though, the kids were pretty much unaffected by the loss of power.  Had it happened a day or two earlier?  Nightmare.  But, as hard as it was the days that followed, the Lord was gracious and the damage was minimal.

And lastly, Week 2 was the week we had problems left and right with our boats.  Those two old workhorses are showing their age with a vengeance this year.  We haven't had two boat working simultaneously even once this summer.  It's been tough, but again, the Lord is gracious and we've been able to move the schedule around and get all the kids through their activities with just one boat.


So there we go.
A quick re-cap.
Week 2.
Over and out.

Zombie apocalypse

When I look back over the past few days, I realize why it seemed so entirely overwhelming:

Friday Night 11pm: the power goes out during one of the worst thunderstorms I've ever witnessed. I literally thought the cottage roof would blow off. Tree branches and trees crashed down.

Saturday morning: try to feed 120 kids breakfast with no power. Initial clearing of debris from walkways.

The rest of Saturday: temperature soars to 100. No AC or fans. Venture out into town, but it's like a zombie apocalypse happened. No working streetlights. Flares all over the roads. Grocery stores with empty selves and no power. Restaurants crammed with people trying to stay cool.
Go to a neighbors house for a party. They still had power and blessed AC. Sleep at this house because the cottage is now 90 degrees inside.

Sunday: No church because there is no power there. Fight the 500 other people at Panera trying to get breakfast at one of the few shops with power in the area. Temperature is close to 100 again.
Call every family that is supposed to be coming to camp that night to tell them we don't have power and can't have camp. On our cell phones because we don't have working phones. Every single family for 170 kids.
Have a meeting with the staff asking them to go to a house with power because we can't take care of them.
Sleep at neighbor's house again still too hot to go home. Get sore throat.

Monday: wake up with a cold. Perfect. Start cleaning away debris at 8am. It takes 4 hours with 15 of us working.
Power finally restored!! Call back 170 families to tell them camp will open that night.
Clean out fridge full of spoiled food at the cottage.
6pm Registration for week 3.
10pm management meeting.
Cold now in epic form. No sleep. Watch TV and drink hot tea because medicine won't work.

Tuesday: morning activities on the beach. Try remain conscious, but now have a fever. Get coverage for the rest of the day and spend the afternoon and evening on the couch sleeping, drinking water and watching lots and lots of Dr. Quinn. (I love you DVR). In the AC. Glorious AC.

I'm so ready for things to get back to normal. And I'm also incredibly thankful the Lord kept us safe during that crazy storm. Now I just need to feel better...