storm-tastic in tennessee

yesterday some massive storms rolled & twisted through my area. the 3rd of 5 rounds knocked out our power, which was nice because we wouldn't have wanted to be the only ones in our city to have electricity. it just wouldn't have seemed right. so as i was sitting in the dark last night, i was bored. chris was at work, brooke was snoozing on the couch, so what's a girl to do? that's right, blog. it occurred to me that even though i didn't have a functioning computer, i could do it the old fashioned way & then copy it over here today. and with that, here we go...

it's been about 5 hrs so far without so much as flicker of electricity. i'm actually writing on paper. with my right hand. my left hand feels somewhat left out, but glad he has a job to do - holding the flashlight. it feels so archaic to write words with only one hand.

chris is at work, so brooke & i have been entertaining ourselves. we sewed paper stuffed animals because nothing says "fun" like threading needles in the dark with a child while sitting on the floor, bathed in the flicker of multiple yankee candles. it's smelling like a regular fruit basket up in here. probably a good thing. it'll mask the odor of the food rotting in my fridge.

we went for a walk before it got all the way dark. the 3rd storm was gone & it was dusky, but didn't seem so bad. we were halfway around the block when the rain kicked up & we found ourselves running down a hill with our coats flapping, being pelted by hail as the tornado-esque winds whipped the trees sideways. that's when i yelled to brooke that maybe this wasn't one of our brightest ideas ever. but as we jogged the rest of the way home, we saw more of our neighbors sitting on their porches than we've ever seen in the 4 years we've lived here. i'm guessing we've been pegged as the crazy neighbors now.

we got out a little makeup set & did each other's faces, in the dark. it's the first time brooke has ever let me put eyeshadow on her, which was fun, but i couldn't see it to enjoy it. she used some blacks & browns (i think) to paint willy nilly all over my face & based on the pics we took, i'm pretty sure she gave me a goatee. i bet it's a good look.

the highlight of my evening was at 9 when i sighed and mumbled how i wished i was watching america's next top model. that's when brooke got out a box of old polly pockets, dressed them fashionably & used them to act out an episode of top model, complete with commercial breaks featuring cover girl, scrubbing bubbles and the dog whisperer. she even made them walk a runway with photographers at the end & some disco flashlights.

now the girl is asleep, the house is dark & silent. i just finished the book i've been reading & i'm having a little snack: some cadbury eggs and warm milk. not to help me sleep, mind you, but because it's been spoiling in the warming fridge and it seems a shame to waste it.