Tornados and Hail and Fires...oh my!

Dorothy said, "lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" But today I'm saying, "tornados and hail and fires, oh my!" Why? You may ask, well today has been full of fires and hail, thank God no tornado watches or warning...not yet anyways. So we woke up to a typical sunny and HOT Oklahoma day, the day was going great...Josh working away and me unpacking, cleaning and organizing still ( I got my teacher's corner all set up!) but as I was saying things were going great....then Josh rushes downstairs and I outside...he comes back in and goes back upstairs to work, again he rushes down the stairs and go outside....I ask,"What are you doing?" He replies, "Haven't you heard anyone of those sirens? A fire truck just drove through the parking lots." Me, "Josh, I just moved here from Chicago...sirens don't phase me anymore." So we both go outside to see what's going on...over across the way, in the apartment complex next to us, all we can see is black, black smoke shooting up into the sky! It was bad! We walk a little further down from our apartment where we can now see that it's coming from an apartment building on the far side of the other complex...fire trucks, people, and camera crews were everywhere!! At this point we can see the orange flames shooting up along with the black smoke. Well about an hour and a half or so of watching, going back to the aparment to watch the news about it, and watching it some more we decide we are going to go home....it was very sad but luckily we don't think anyone was hurt. By now it was about 5:00 p.m. and we had plans to go meet Josh's friend Bruce for dinner down at Moe's. Before we could leave I needed to shower though because it's June in Oklahoma which means it's at least 100 degrees outside. So, after I am all done we leave to go meet Bruce....the men are talking and I'm listening, we get our food, we eat and then all of a sudden the workers run to the window....it's hailing!!! Being a yankee, as they all call me down here, I'm not used to this, so in a panic I hand Josh my keys saying, "GO DO SOMETHING!" Still in a panic I walk to the back of the restaurant, where no one can hear me freaking, and I call my dad asking him what I'm suppposed to do. Well I hang up, go back out and it's still hailing. Josh asks if I am ready to go, so in the midst of the hail we dart to the car. We drive home and I could only wish I could have recorded the sound the hail was making on the roof, hood, and trunk of my car. I mean we were both ducking down in the car as if it was going to hit us. Finally, we get home and Josh says, "That's really bad." And before I can even look I get all upset...as you can imagine. I mean you hear it on your car, but it doesn't actually occur to you that your car is being beaten up. So, as I sit here now...trying to calm down, watching Psych with Josh...I hope and pray that my call to Rich tomorrow morning is, "Don't worry, Mo...we'll get it all taken care of for you."

Let's hope tomorrow is a less eventful day because in the less than 48 hours I've been here, not including my eventful roadtrip here, there have been way too many events that have me asking Josh when we get to move back to Illinois. :)

OKLAHOMA where the wind comes sweeping down the plain...

Well we finally arrived in Oklahoma City last night. It was a long, long drive, but it was definitely worth the whole 13.5 hours it took. Our journey began Friday evening as we packed up my whole apartment into Josh's truck and my car....it was a tight fit and we may not have been able to see out of any windows, but almost everything fit! After we finished packing we headed to Pontiac. Of course, it started raining the minute we got on the road and of course, I had cardboard boxes full of school stuff in the back of Josh's truck, so I crossed my fingers and sang, "Rain, rain go away, come again another day...we are going to O.K...rain, rain go awat" Well, the rain did stop for a while, then it started again and finally it stopped. By the time we got to Pontiac though, it was sunny and completely cleared off. Since I had called my Mom about 30 minutes earlier she was on her way out of the drive way to go pick up our Mario's pizza just as we pulled up. After our delicious pizza we all sat down and chit chatted a little bit, Josh and I also discussed whether we were going to get on the road or just stay the night, we ended up staying the night. Sunday morning came way to quickly and before I knew it, it was time to say goodbye to my parents, the one part in this whole process that I dreaded the most! Well, I said goodbye, trying with all my might to hold back the tears, and we hit the road. It was already about 8:30 a.m., so with zero stops we would not get home until about 6:30 p.m. and who are we kidding, we were going to have to make gas stops, food stops, etc. so we both knew getting home at 6:30 was not going to be the case. Our first stop was a quick pit stop for Josh to get gas just outside Springfield, the exit for Lincoln's New Salem. Our next stop was in St. Louis at Ihop to see my Aunt Joyce, Uncle Bob, my cousin Kim and her two daughters Gabriella and Vanessa. The breakfast/lunch was great....lots of talking and yummy food. The time came again for another goodbye, so I said goodbye to all of them and again we got back onto the road. Now the time was about 1:15 p.m. and with about 8 hours left in our journey knew that that 6:30 p.m. arrival was now impossible. However, we knew that we could drive for a few hours before needing to go to the bathroom or get gas. Now if you knew Josh, and well, I do this next part would maybe annoy or even frustrate you, but because I know him and love him, I expected this to happen....Josh has a hard time remembering to charge his phone, but this time it wasn't his fault. First, the dogs ate his car charger and next his wall charger was at the bottom of the truck under all of my stuff....long story short Josh did not have a charger and his phone was almost dead. When we started our trip he had about 10% of his battery left. I knew this would only last an hour and two at the most. The came time for me to get gas....we were in Rolla, Missouri on highway 44...I try to call Josh, it goes straight to voicemail, I try to wave in hopes he sees me in his driver's side mirror, I flash my brights, I honk, I turn my turn signal on to get off at the ramp....Josh sees NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!! So, since I've already pulled off there was nothing I could do. In a panic I pull into the gas station, start pumping gas and luckily Josh had just enough charge left to call and say, "Where are you?" I tell him everything (very quickly) and say to pull off and wait at the next exit. He does this, I go meet him and now we are back on track. We drive a few more hours and stop in Springfield, Missouri for Josh to get gas and to get some dinner. I wasn't too hungry, so Josh got a sandwich at Hardees (yuck!). Back on the road again, at this point we are at the border...my thoughts: WOOHOO!! The only problem in Oklahoma though is the turnpike....Josh has a pike pass, so he can go straight through. Me, I have to stop at the tollbooth and pay each time. Well the first tollbooth and came and went, Josh went through on his side, pulled over to the side of the road, I went through my tollbooth and met up with him. Now the second tollbooth took FOREVER...so again Josh goes through his side....while I wait and wait and wait. I finally pull out of the tollbooth and Josh is nowhere to be seen. He isn't pulled over to the side, he isn't driving up ahead, slow enough for me to catch up, he is nowhere. So here I am in a panic, freaking out, yelling, about to have a meltdown, but before I can do that I see Josh pulled over at a rest area. He sees me and pulls back out on the road. FINALLY, we are inside the Oklahoma City city limits, my gas light is about to come on, it is one line about the red line of empty and we get to the final tollbooth before home. Only, it's not the tollbooth we need...I go through the tollbooth thinking it is the correct one, but I'm at the point of no return...I can't turn around and I can't call Josh for help because his phone is dead. So the meltdown happens now....tears, freaking out, panicking....I have no idea what I am supposed to do. I call Josh's cousin Joe and he tries to help but I was hysterical, I couldn't listen to him because all I really wanted was to sit there and have someone come find me, in the midst of talking to Joe and my hysterics, Josh calls...he had gotten home, charged his phone enough to call and get me home. By now it is almost 10:00 p.m. and my gas light was on, I was exhausted and upset and all I wanted was a shower and bed.

It was an exhausting, yet eventful trip. But we're home now and in the process of unpacking all of my stuff....organizing my stuff and reorganizing Josh's stuff.

Say Goodbye to Chi-Town

As I sit on the floor in my Chicago apartment, with my boxes all around me, I start to think about all the memories I have in this very same position in our living room. Like my first night in this apartment when I didn't have my bed yet, so I slept on the floor here or all the times I played solitaire or chatted with friends, either on gmail or on facebook....I have lots of memories of this very spot. I will miss Chicago greatly, but it's hard to be sad. I'm excited for the next chapter of life, my very own book that I am writing.
For this next chapter, I have found a very special person for whom I will get to share every moment, like my first memories in my next apartment, in hopes that I find a very special spot, just as I have found here.
Tomorrow morning my adventure begins; my couches will be taken away bright and early followed by Josh's arrival to load up all of my "stuff". The next part of the day will be the hardest part, stopping in Pontiac to say goodbye to my mom and dad. I have some pretty amazing parents and am extremely fortunate for their love and support throughout my whole life, but especially through this time and this move. I found a song that is absolutely perfect for my mom, it's Carrie Underwood's Mama's Song because it says, "mama you taught me to do the right things, so now you have to let your baby fly, you've given me everything I will need, to take me through this crazy thing called life....he is good, so good, he treats your little girl the way a real man should, he is good, so good." Hugs and kisses will be exchanged along with I'm sure a few tears, but then Josh and I will be on the road to begin our twelve hour drive, but also our new life together.

Goodbye Chicago! I will miss you!