Riders on the Storm

Well, I have a lot to update about, but for now, I will just write a little about our eventful Memorial Day.

Brendan's mom called us Monday around noon and asked us to drive up to Wichita, KS to pick her up (long story). Well, our air conditioner was broke (again) so we wanted to get out of the house, and Wichita is only about a 2 hour drive each way, so we figured "why not?"

So, we ended up heading out to Wichita around 6:00. It had looked a little overcast all day, but hadn't stormed or rained or anything. About 40 minutes in, we stopped at a Dairy Queen off the highway. When we came back out to our car, the sky started to look pretty menacing, but it wasn't raining or storming.

After driving for about 1o minutes more, we saw wall clouds start to form. (If you've never lived in the midwest, "wall cloud" is code for "cloud that a tornado could drop out of at any moment.") So, we turned on a local radio station, and within 5 minutes the radio station was struck by lightning twice. After driving for a few more minutes, it started raining. And then hail. And then raining so hard that we couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of our car. And then bigger hail.

So, at this point, we decided it was time to pull over. Not only could we not see the other cars on the highway, but if a tornado formed, we wouldn't be able to see that either. Luckily, we were right beside an exit, and there was a little gas station there. So, along with about 50 other cars trying to escape the storm, we pulled into the gas station and ran inside. After waiting there for about 30 or 40 minutes, the storm passed (luckily without a tornado ever coming over us), and we met up with Brendan's mom safe and sound (but a little wet from running to the gas station, and me shaking like a madman because I was scared out of my mind).

Here are the pictures I managed to get from my car window before it started raining/hailing (click to enlarge):

Fahrenheit, Fun, & Food

I am happy to report that I am totally enjoying my break. I even stayed strong to not wanting to burn out and turned down a few custom orders. Granted, I felt pretty guilty about it, but I really need this time off. I am also happy to report that I have almost gotten to the point where I am sleeping like a "normal" person. For the past few days my sleep schedule has been from about midnight to 5:30 or 6:00 am. That's the most "normal" sleep I have gotten in three of four years. Yay! More good news: my air conditioner is fixed in the apartment. Up until this past week, I had held strong to just opening the windows and using the fans, despite temperatures being in the low 80's. However, we have officially breached the 90's now, and it's just a little too hot not to have A/C at the peak of the day. The poor cats have been laying around with their tongues practically hanging out of their mouths. Chef has stuck to laying on the linoleum right inside of the front door because it's cooler than the carpet:

(No, it's not an optical illusion. He really is ginormous.)

Brendan and I have been having a nice time together this week. His classes ended on Tuesday, so Monday I went to his school and had lunch with he and his friends, something he had been wanting me to do all year, but it always conflicted with my class schedule. We also went out on a "date." We ate at Eskimo Joe's - a complete Stillwater staple. We then went shopping, and I picked up a new bathing suit since they opened up the pool at our apartment complex this week. I've got to say - it's a lot more revealing than I'm used to, but I tried it on and it made the girls look so hot I just couldn't resist. Hehe.

(Look closely at the right side of this photo, and you can spot some fresh cat nose.)

Yesterday we got up early and headed out to the Farmer's Market. It was *great*, and everything was pretty much the same price or cheaper than the grocery store. Brendan is crazy about fresh vegetables, so he loaded up. They're already about half gone already, hehe. We also bought homemade honey wheat bread handmade with organic flour and local honey. It's some of the best bread I've ever had in my life. All in all, we spent less than $15, got great food, and supported hard-working Oklahomans. I think the Farmer's Market is going to become a staple in our weekly routine.

Congrats

First of all, I have no clue where this week has gone!


Brendan's award/program completion ceremony went well. He didn't trip on stage or anything and he got to get together with his family afterwards. We had dinner and Brendan had something like 4 margaritas (which is completely out of character for him). While I was driving us home, he developed what seemed to be a margarita-induced Irish accent. I was laughing so hysterically I nearly had to pull over.

Tomorrow (or later today, technically) is Brendan's cousin's graduation in Tulsa. I'm still debating if I want to go. I tend to get lost in the shuffle of Brendan's family, and I really should stay home and get some work done. This has been an amazingly unproductive week in terms of the shop. Then again, with gas prices so high, it's a very rare that we can justify leaving town. I may need to seize the opportunity to leave city limits for a few hours.