Because my power came back, yo. (Sorry. I had to make it rhyme somehow.)

I feel like I've just come back from an extended stay in Amish country. Life's little modern conveniences - heat, flush toilets, running water, flush toilets - feel like the lap of luxury to me now.

Our power was restored Wednesday morningish, sometime between the time my dad and I got back from the hotel to pick up my car so I could go to work and the time my mom and the two little ones got back from the hotel a few hours later.

Yes, I came home from work and discovered that we were spending our second night without power at a hotel in Leominster, Mass. - it was the closest one we could find with any vacancies. I had to pack all my toiletries and clothes for the next day in the dark. My younger sister was initially assisting me by holding the flashlight for me, but then she got sidetracked and started doing shadow puppets, which take up all the light and are very unhelpful. My little brother's method of helping consisted of stumping downstairs in his snow boots every five minutes and exclaiming, "We're only going for one night!"

I *know* we're only going for one night. I just can't accessorize in the dark. You cannot rush the work of a fashion genius. I once succeeded at putting together an outfit where each piece of clothing - accessories, stockings and shoes included - had some kind of glittery, sequiny, or furry embellishment on them, and managed not to look like an elementary school arts and crafts project. If that doesn't take some couture savvy, I don't know what does.

Before we settled into the hotel, we grabbed dinner at a nearby Applebee's. We were so happy to be warm and not eating granola bars:

Mom: Wow, the food is so nice and warm!

Waitress (a little confused): Uh, yes, that's the way it's supposed to be.

Me: Sorry, we don't have power, so we get excited about things like that.

In fact, it was so nice and warm, and I was so exhausted, I almost took a header into my salad. Power outages can be really draining, no pun intended.        

The hotel was a semi-blissful experience. Five people sharing one bathroom and one sleeping space can get complicated, and my adulthood was further proven by the fact that I was given the rollaway bed, "because Teresa needs her own bed so she can get up for work in the morning." My younger siblings protested - they wanted to experience the awesomeness of the rollaway - but it was of no avail.

The rollaway was nice and soft, and the only place we could fit it was right in front of the heater. It was heavenly. I think I accidentally fried my family with my choice of heat settings, but they were good sports about it.

We're now back home and getting things straightened out. Cleo (our cat) read us the riot act about not feeding her as much as she thinks we should have before we left, but she has since calmed down and begun the process of forgiving.

I called the Comic Store in Nashua today and asked if I could have a few extra days on my anime rentals - sadly, I did not end up getting to watch Slayers Try as I had optimistically planned. They kindly agreed to give me some extra time without charging me a late fee. They also now recognize my voice on the phone, which is a source of dorky pride for me.

I'm still keeping my flashlight handy, though - I heard we're supposed to get hit really hard with snow this weekend. I hope we don't lose power again. Nearly three days without power is plenty for me.

How are all of you doing? Is there anyone left who doesn't have their power back? Feel free to share your power outage adventures here - I'd be interested to read them.