Coast 2 Coast Mom

Returning to Our Routines Post Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy and Nor-Easter Athena have kept me from updating Coast to Coast Mom these past few weeks as I've been spending all of my available time catching up on work and gearing up for my busiest time of year (now through Valentine's Day). But I wanted to share our experience surviving Hurricane Sandy in North Jersey. . .

We're lucky that we don't live in a flood-zone or coastal area, so our town wasn't as impacted as the demolished homes, beaches and businesses we keep seeing on the news. Instead, our main fear during storms is the wind. We're surrounded by gigantic trees dating back hundreds of years that start to weaken and fall when winds hit over 30-40 mph, taking out power lines and landing on homes and cars. We had sustained winds in that range, with gusts 60mph+ during Hurricane Sandy. So trees fell. Three fell on our block alone, knocking out power to half of our street for what would be 12 days.

Over 150 of these huge trees fell within a couple of miles of our home - knocking out power to 90% of our town and the surrounding towns. We usually lose power, but this time by some miracle, we didn't. (Although we acted and planned that we would lose it at any minute, keeping our devices charged, using up food from the freezer, etc.)

90% of our area without power meant that grocery stores, restaurants, shops and businesses were powerless too. Because so many trees were down around town, buses and cars couldn't get through, and the two train lines that run through town were also shut down. So we were all kind of stuck for a few days. Because so many people we knew were without power - while we had it - we invited and hosted people to hang out in our heat, play at our house, eat hot meals, charge their devices, etc. We made those days like one big casual open house. The hardest part for most was the lack of gasoline (to drive to far off family or available hotels or to keep their generators going), and the lack of heat as the temps hit the 30s at night and their home thermostats were in the 40s after several days of no heat. It was heartbreaking, and seeing the images of those impacted worse than us and hearing updates from friends, family and contact in those areas helped to keep things in perspective.

We spent our time showing off some of the exciting items I have to review (Starbucks Verismo machine, Samsung SMART TV, Sony Xperia Tablet S, BlackBerry PlayBook, phones, cameras and video games galore). The kids all wanted to play video games and use our powered devices, and with so much time spent each day powered down in the dark, we were happy to toss the screen time limits out the window. We happened to be cleaning out our basement of things we've moved around the country with but just hadn't gotten rid of yet, so a huge chunk of what we did those days was sort through our boxes of stuff in storage, to donate to various people and charities impacted by Sandy.

Here's our local DPW a couple of days later clearing the trees out of the street so cars and buses can return:

And of course, we cheered when the cable trucks arrived to fix the cable lines! :-)

Never would I have imagined that in this day and modern age that it would take a week to 12 days to get power up and running. BUT, we have a newfound appreciation this Thanksgiving for things we've been taking for granted - like school, heat, phone and Internet access.

Many families here were living like pioneers: going around collecting fire wood from fallen trees to start fires to heat their homes at night; finding places to spend their days out of the cold house during the day with outlets to charge devices; locating gasoline; gerry-rigging ways to keep a few food items cold or hot to eat.

We're so thankful for all of the power, cable and tree removal crews that traveled to help us in North Jersey - and in the surrounding NYC area. Those were cold, wet, trying times and we greatly appreciate them being here to help clean up, power up and right our town.

The kids here missed 8 days of school - and I'm sure will make for a contentious board meeting to decide when those days will be made up - but I'm positive they've never been so happy to return to their everyday routines.

While we're fortunate to be able to return to our routines this week, there are still thousands displaced and unable to get back into the swing of normalcy. Please consider some ways you can help contribute to the Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts.

 

Win One Give One Laptop with Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snacks

Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snacks has taken on the task of providing kids in Africa with laptop computers, and in the process encouraging kids here in the U.S. to help. By doing so, you could even win a laptop of your own.

In conjunction with the non-profit organization One Laptop Per Child, for every 100 UPCs entered online at WinOneGiveOne.com, Betty Crocker will donate one XO Laptop to a child in Africa to help them become more technologically saavy. These laptops are built with wireless capabilities and a screen specifically designed to be seen in direct sunlight for outdoor classroom use. Up to 1,725 laptops will be donated from November 15th, 2011 through July 31, 2012.

In order to be eligible to "Win One" - all you need to do is go to the site and enter the UPC code from specially marked packages of Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snacks.

You can even print a coupon for Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snacks here:

Here's a little more about the laptops and the Win One Give One initiative:

 

12 Days of Change ONE.org Campaign - Day 8 May Linger

I'm excited to write about our experience participating in the ONE.org campaign "12 Days of Change." My friend SelfishMom and ONE.org have enlisted a dozen mom bloggers to try one of 12 ways to help better the world by starting in our own communities and families. I hope this inspires someone to try one of these ideas to help make a difference - without spending a dime. . .

So what did I choose to do to support ONE.org in building awareness and bettering the world?

After dinner, turn off all electronics for one night and enjoy an evening with your family.

That's it.

Simple enough, right? Those of you who know me in person know that this was actually a pretty significant sacrifice for our family. I can't remember the last time we watched a movie as a family and didn't also have our smartphones, tablets and laptops nearby to quickly look up a point of trivia, investigate a reference, or something along those lines.

Ford Warriors in Pink supporting Komen Race for the Cure for the 17th Year

2011 marks the 17th year that Ford has been supporting Komen Race for the Cure through the Warriors in Pink program. To date, Ford has dedicated more than $110 million to help promote breast cancer awareness, increase early breast cancer detection and help find a cure. The Warriors in Pink program is one way they raise funds, partially through the branded line of apparel (for women, men and even tots!) and accessories (scarves, ties, hats and mugs, etc.), for which - get this - 100% of the net proceeds for each item goes to Susan G. Komen for the Cure! I love it!!

I checked out the newest line of Warriors in Pink store items last week and have a few of the items that caught my eye:

 

Toyota 100 Cars for Good Submission Deadline Monday

We were watching NBC's Chuck the other night when C2CDad and I looked at each other and laughed at the tongue-in-cheek product placement of the new Toyota Sienna during a stake out. It reminded me that there's less than a week left to enter Toyota's "100 Cars for Good," where 100 nonprofits in the US will receive a Toyota vehicle as voted by the public.

I come into contact with so many deserving nonprofits throughout my day-to-day life and I don't always have more time or money to offer them, so I'm happy to share the news that Toyota's giving away 100 vehicles over the course of 100 days to qualifying non-profit organizations (they must be a registered 501c(3)). Interested groups can submit an application until March 21, 2011, and then beginning May 9th, Toyota will profile five of the qualifying organizations on the Toyota Facebook page for people to vote for the one they think is the most deserving. Selected organizations will be eligible to "win" everything from a Toyota Prius to a Tacoma, Tundra, Highlander Hybrid, Sienna, or Sienna Mobility.

Wear Red on Friday and Capture My Flag for Heart Health

February is all about hearts and Diet Coke is reminding women not to forget about their own. In support of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's effort to celebrate American Heart Month with The Heart Truth campaign, Diet Coke is helping to send an important message to women about the risks of heart disease, the leading cause of death for American women.

Diet Coke's Capture The Flag campaign places heart flags both in the real world and online. When you find one in your real life (check in using Facebook Places) or find one online on popular websites, you can trigger donations to heart health programs. You can also plant your own flag online (like I have here on this site - over to the right) and if someone clicks on it, Diet Coke will donate $.10 to this important cause. So go click on mine!

. . .and please note that this Friday, February 4th is National Wear Red Day - to show that "Heart Disease Doesn't Care What You Wear-It's the #1 Killer of Women," - so please wear red in support of combatting heart disease. 

Design Your Own T-Shirt for Komen For The Cure

In another nod to help find a cure for breast cancer, Hanes recently launched their Design and Buy program that allows you to design your own t-shirt with messages to support the cause. They even offer some t-shirts designed by Melina Kanakaredes of CSI:NY available for purchase, or simply to inspire your own creations. Hanes is donating 10% of the proceeds from all of the custom designed t-shirts to Komen for the Cure.

While you're on their site, be sure to check out the cute Hanes Pink Collection with all of their Passionately Pink for the Cure products. This year Hanes is supporting Komen for the Cure with a $500,000 donation, and I find it endearing when a company supports the same causes that I do.

Special thanks to Hanes for sending me a sample t-shirt and to my sister for modeling it! She reports that it's comfy (as you'd expect from Hanes ;-) ) and fits "rather well."

 

Three "Pink" Tech Accessories Worth Buying

You can't really enter a store or open an email this month and not realize that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. It's fantastic seeing pink ribbons everywhere, and hearing about all of the money - and hopes - being raised to find a cure for the disease. There's a comprehensive list of all of the websites and tech-related items supporting the cause this month on Techlicious.

Three of my favorite tech accessory items with a pink twist are the Otterbox "Strength" Blackberry Curve case , the Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 Susan G. Komen Special Edition and AblePlanet's foldable active noise-canceling headphones with LINX audio.

Ten percent of the price of each Otterbox pink "Strength" case for Blackberry Curve smart phones is being donated to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade. If I had a Blackberry Curve I'd likely pick one up; I'm such a fan of most everything Otterbox makes. (Honestly, I bet we've sold over a dozen of the Otterbox iPad cases just from us using them around the city and people stopping us to see ours and ask where to get it.) For a limited time, Otterbox is including a "pink is strength" bag with each phone sold. Let's be honest, their associated marketing campaign asking people to "show off your curves" is pretty clever too.

GIVEAWAY: Extend Your Summer with Coldstone Creamery and Make-A-Wish

I remember the first time I entered a Coldstone Creamery. It must have been about nine or ten years ago when we walked into the Town & Country location in Palo Alto. The line was out the door, and we could hear the singing staff members announcing to everyone that they’d received a tip. It was a joyful atmosphere, aside from the smiles that a bowl or cone of ice cream can illicit on its own. I waited my turn in awe, pointing out the signs featuring concocted mixtures of candy, pie, cake and ice cream on the wall to my hubby and watching the staff chop and mix the ingredients together on the icy cold stone counter.

With sizes named “like it,” “love it,” “gotta have it,” and over 11 million possible “creations,” it was as though I’d found my heaven on earth. I mean, come on – they have cake batter flavored ice cream! Lest someone inject, “But that stuff’s so bad for you!” I offer you their webpage with tips for limiting the calories, fat, etc. to enjoy one of their healthier indulgences.
 

Cupcakes for a Cause this Saturday in Ridgewood

Okay, so I don't need a reason to stop into Cupcakes by Carousel this weekend, but now I absolutely cannot NOT stop in. This Saturday, June 5th, Cupcakes by Carousel will host "Cupcakes for a Cause," with proceeds from their S'mores cupcake benefitting Comfort Zone Camp, a bereavement camp for children ages 7-17 who have experienced the loss of a parent, sibling or primary caregiver.

The camps are located in New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Texas and Virginia and the children attend free of charge. Cupcakes by Carousel's goal for the day is to cover the cost for a child to attend this summer, so there's no reason to feel badly about taking home a dozen . . .even if they are all for yourself. Cupcakes freeze well . . . right? ;-)

"Hours for indulging" at Cupcakes by Carousel on Saturday are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and they're located at 192 E Ridgewood Ave in Ridgewood, N.J. next to the Clearview Cinemas Warner Quad Theater.