gumball machine

Brooke made this today. Thought you might like it. 

blogging when i should be packing

I realize I haven't updated this blog since the lightning strike!

We are off today on our annual spring visit to North Carolina. I have loads of packing to do after tackling mountains of laundry yesterday. I always look forward to this trip as it is my official "spring has finally sprung" trip. Traditionally this means no more snow after our return. However, this being Michigan, you just never know. It snowed on my birthday last year (11 days from today).

Anyway, I am rambling here with no real purpose. Must. Go. Pack.

holy bowling angels batman!

Our house was struck by lightning last night! I swear this is not an April fools joke. I wish it were.
Everything is fine, the house didn't burn to the ground or anything, but there were a few minor casualties:

sprinkler system--roasted
old fridge in the garage that was only used to keep extra beer cold--roasted
deep freeze freezer -- we think this no longer works either
dvd player in the living room--roasted
cable box--cooked, but it gave its life for our television

We originally thought the tv was zapped along with the cable box, but upon further inspection the tv is ok -- we think. The high definition channels only come in green. So either we have a bad (new) cable box or the tv needs to be repaired.

UPDATE! The freezer and the fridge in the garage are ok! They were plugged into an outlet that had a reset button on it. Mark pushed the reset button and they started right up! Yay!

Next, we talk to the insurance company to see what they have to say.