Stormy weather

It stormed today. Enormous clumps of ice dropped into my backyard. Dark clouds swept across the sky like a group of dangerous boys--if I could have crossed the street to avoid them, I would have. The lightning sizzled. The thunder sounded like big potatoes rolling across a wooden floor.

And it rained. And rained.

I hate stormy weather. It makes me want to dig a hole in the ground and hide until tornado season passes. Of course, in Oklahoma, tornado season seems to be at least six months out of the year.

I know people who love it. You probably know them, too. They stand out on their porches and watch tornadoes. They hop in their cars and hunt for them. I would need to inject a whole lot of crazy into my system before I could do either of those without investing in Depends.

Hurricanes in NJ?

In desperation last week, I called the lactation helpline at Valley Hospital. After talking to the consultant, she said I needed to send my husband right away to pick up a breast pump. I wanted to wait at least two weeks before bottle feeding or pumping, but I was so tired and upset and Max was so frustrated and hungry that I would have done anything for some peace.

Like most of the staff at Valley, the consultant was helpful and friendly. She said Garrett needed to hurry because a hurricane was coming.

"A hurricane?"

"Yes, it's headed this way."

Those of you who know me realize I'm geographically challenged. I was trying to picture just how close we were to the coastline and it didn't make sense in my head. I couldn't imagine waves crashing near my doorstep.

I said, "We just moved to New Jersey in January. Are there precautions we should be taking?"

The woman said, "Yes. Be sure you prepare for flooding and batton everything down to prepare for the high winds."

"How high?"

"They're saying 20 miles per hour."

I think I might have laughed aloud. A 20 mph hurricane isn't impressive compared to Oklahoma tornadoes.

You know what was impressive? The breast pump.

32 weeks

My mom took this picture while visiting this week. We decided to take advantage of the special parking available to expectant mothers at Babies R Us. Since she brought the Oklahoma heat with her, we appreciated the close proximity to the air conditioned building!

OWFI Receives Stormy Welcome to Midwest City

Oklahoma Writers' Federation, Inc. hosted its 40th annual conference at a new location this year where over 399 attendees and various speakers gathered to celebrate. JA Jance was the keynote speaker for Friday night and her humor and storytelling prowess let us all witness just what makes her a best selling author. We also had such big wig authors as AC Crispin and Bob Mayer in addition to top agents and editors. Check out our website for more information. Maybe you'd like to attend next year!

The Sheraton Reed Center in Midwest City is our new home. The fact that the May 3 tornado obliterated the original conference center did not deter us from moving there the same weekend. Storm chasers weren't disappointed. The first night of the conference was interrupted by tornado sirens. Community members as well as conference attendees congregated in the enormous tornado shelter. Marcia Preston, our 2008-2009 president, didn't let a little wind and hail deter her, though. She continued her session in the shelter!

Here is my mom holding some of the hail after it had melted a bit. Most of the hail was golf ball sized. However, at one point they released us to go outside when the sirens went off again. For a brief period of time the hail was enormous. As my mom commented as she retreated to the shelter again, "I'm going inside! It's the size of snowballs!" A lot of cars were damaged.

I miss friends and family in Oklahoma, but the weather is truly awful. My allergies went nuts while there. No wonder. This article from Forbes.com lists Tulsa, OK as the #1 worst place for spring allergy sufferers. Oklahoma City ranks 15. Anyone who has ever been around me during a tornado threat knows that I'm a complete wimp. Returning to NJ was a bit of a relief since Garrett told me that they announced on the news that Oklahoma is the most dangerous state to live in for natural disasters. Eek.