Thunderstorms

It was humid, and I told people that it needed to rain. My mistake...

So, rain it did. Stormed, to put it more accurately. It thundered and lightened like I haven't seen in a long time. And poured. And the wind howled through the windows. And my puppy was scared...

He spent the entire night in my bed. On top of me. Hyperventilating. And shaking.

Once, he got down, and I thought he was OK. I found him huddled in the farthest corner of the closest, still shaking.

I didn't get much sleep. It's hard to sleep with a 60 lbs dog on your chest. He didn't sleep, either.

In the morning, there were flood warnings all over. Standing water around my place, and all my running routes flooded.

It had rained 6 inches over night.

I don't think I'll be requesting rain any time soon.

Clothes Shopping

Let's be honest. I hate shopping. And, there's no shopping I hate more than clothes shopping.

Today, I found myself clothes shopping. I have an important meeting tomorrow that I was told to dress up for. I rarely wear "dress up" clothes. It's not my style. Most of what I have is far too casual for a meeting in which I want to impress. The one thing I do have that would be dressy enough, I have typically worn to the symphony and is far too low cut to wear to a professional meeting. Bummer.

So, forced to the stores, I found myself clothes shopping. I hate clothes shopping. (Have I emphasized that enough?) I'm picky about clothes and have sensory issues, which is why I tend to find one brand, one clothing line, one thing that works and buy a bunch of it. It's too tight, too loose, too girly, too rough, too itchy, too short, too binding, not long enough or soft enough. The list goes on and on. It gets even harder to find clothes when I'm shopping for "dress up" clothes, which are notorious for being everything I hate about clothes. Hard to fit, fabrics I hate, hard to care for, etc.

I went to 4 different stores before I lost my patience and my frustration tolerance had reached it's limits.

I bought a pair of pants.

Any suggestions for what to do about shoes and a top?

In the past 4 days...

• I've driven 2200 miles in 36 hours. Craziness. I don't recommend it.
  
• I've been back in the Midwest for all of 48 hours and sat through 2 tornado warnings already. Welcome home.
  
• I've moved into a new apartment, gotten a new driver's license, registered my car, registered my animals, applied and been accepted to the university, eaten at my 2 favorite bagel shops, and hung out with old friends. More tomorrow as I start my new job. A whirlwind of largely bureaucratic processes.
  

I'm tired.