a stormy oklahoma day

when 8:45 in the MORNING looks like 8:45 in the EVENING, you know you are in for an interesting day in oklahoma.  this was the view out my office door:

it was a good storm that rolled in, great thunder and lightening and no chance of a tornado.  well, that evening things changed a bit.  oklahoma city got hit again with some fierce storms that made their way to the tulsa area about the time i was heading home from the gym.  the rain drops started to fall about two miles away from my house.  unfortunately mymichael had left the dogs outside, so they were nice and wet by the time i got home.  at this point there were about 3 different storm cells that were going on around tulsa.  while making dinner i watched the news, but it really just looked like good 'ole thunderstorms.  so we watched our typical friends episodes while we ate and then cleaned the kitchen up. 

about an hour or so later we turn the news back on to see that all three storm cells are basically converging on tulsa, fabulous!  a few minutes later we hear the tornado sirens going off and the meteorologist says that they have been told there is a "touch-down" about a mile from our house.  so, here is what i am doing...going between the radar which looked like this:

to the front door, watching the trees bend and sway with the torrential down pour and saying things like, "do you think we should take cover?  man, it's blowing hard out there!". 

here's what mymichael was doing....

preparing the bathroom for the impending tornado that was knocking on our door!  now, for those of you that know my husband, you know that he is very methodical, he is always prepared and has a plan in place.  he's the kind of guy that when you think, "man, a flashlight would be helpful right now" he pulls it out of his pocket.  or how about, "gosh, i can't get this duct taped box open, wish i had a knife" and he pulls that out of his pocket as well! 

so, in honor of my very prepared & wonderful husband, here is mymichael's tornado safety kit:

1.  shoes & socks

2.  clothes {don't want to get stuck in your skivvies!}

3.  pillows {can serve as extra padding when things start falling in OR a soft place to lay your head while taking cover in the bathtub}

4.  oscar's crate {don't want to waste time finding the dog}

5.  water bottles {full of water}

6.  knives {more than one preferably}

7.  flashlights {of the hand held and lantern style}

and most importantly:

8.  hand gun w/ extra bullets{don't leave home without it}

obviously he was much more productive than myself who was just gawking and the wind and rain! 

hopefully this will help you oklahomans out for our next storm!