I think a lot of us were shocked when we woke up to the news that Texas would be experiencing rolling blackouts due to the winter storm. As a guy who is stuck watching the kids and working from home, I decided to think ahead to what I'm going to do if the electricity goes off.

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Stay Warm

Obviously. Priority number one is staying warm. I've already dug out blankets, have the heater going, and have banned anyone from opening anything that remotely resembles a door to the outside.

While we can argue all day on whether or not it's the right thing to do before a blackout, I've cranked the heater to a little bit higher than usual just give us a little extra "padding" should the lights go out.

Charge Your Phone

I'm leaving my phone on the charger, just in case. If we should find ourselves without power for an extended amount of time, I need to have a way to get in touch with several people. Considering we live outside of Amarillo, I need a tether back to civilization.

Prep Food

While the idea is that the power won't be out for long before it is restored, I'm not banking on other people or systems getting the job done right. To make sure we're not having to dig through the fridge, I've decided to go ahead and whip up some snacks and plan my dinner.

Board Games

Keeping kids preoccupied without electricity while stuck indoors is tough. Thank God we've got a pretty decent stable of board games stuck back for times like this.

Stay Warm

Seriously. Dig out those blankets. Get out the comforters. News reports have been coming out from all over the state that the "rolling" nature of the blackouts hasn't worked as expected in some areas. Instead of a rolling blackout, people are just without power.