Arctic Blast

Baby, it is cold outside! I'm still wondering why I'm at home this morning, as it's not snowing yet and the morning temperature is about 15 degrees warmer than yesterday. I am a bit confused as to why, but I am still enjoying the bonus day with no work responsibilities. I am also anticipating that we will not return for the rest of the week as the snow is supposed to arrive this afternoon and continue overnight with arctic temperatures moving in and blizzard speed winds blowing the snow around.

My bewilderment started late last night. I had felt pretty good about getting to bed at the reasonable hour of 9 p.m., although I was a bit stiff and sore from my previous days' workouts. I was not only surprised, but a bit disoriented, when the phone rang at almost 10:30 p.m. and woke me up. Okay, the no school message was received, and then I had to pass on the information to the next person on the phone tree. When she ansered the phone, I said, "Hi J, this is Sheila. I just got the call that we are not having school tomorrow." I obviously had woke J up as she said, "Okay, there is school today, but not tomorrow then?" It took me a second to figure out she thought it was morning already, so I explained it was just late and still Tuesday. Well, I was really awake by then, and it took me at least an hour to get back to sleep. I started checking to see whether the little boys would have school. No message, so I finally went back to bed and slept until nearly 6. This morning it was determined that the boys were having school, so I bundled them up and sent them off to the school bus.

So now I'm thinking, what should I do with my "snow" day? Hmmmm... there are many possibilities.

Another Day of Melting

I could get used to this. The other day I was wishing that the patio furniture was still out, and today I am feeling the same way. The melted snow left a vision of brown grass on the lawn. I could get used to the warm, but since winter is only a week old here, I am not holding my breath. I ended up taking a walk, but it ended up being a bit muddy with all the melting happening.

Anne and Kevin left today and the house was quiet for about three hours until Joe and Steven returned from their time away. Joe was visiting his dad with a few of his siblings and Steven was visiting with his Grammy.

Winter Arrives with a Dip...

...In the temperature that is. We had a high of 9 degrees F today. As I am on the recovery side of this cold bug, we didn't go out today at all. The Chiefs lost yet another game to end their season. I couldn't even watch them play in the cold. It was no advantage to their game with Miami Dolphins.

More cookies were baked today; chocolate chip walnut and peanut butter.


The surprise today was the book, "Bialosky's Christmas", another Golden Book. A bear prepares for a Christmas party, and it is fun to see the mess behind each of his creative efforts. There are only three cookies left on the cookie ribbons now.

Cats in the House

Rain and snow are in the forecast for the rest of the day. We are expected to get snow until this evening, with just a couple of inches of accumulation but lots of blowing around. There was no day out of school for a snow day here.

The Countdown Surprise tonight was the book "Christmas Cats". Daniel could read many of the pages after I read it to the boys.

Friday is finally here

This winter weather is really affecting my mood. We had one day this week that would really be considered okay weather. Next week is supposed to be better, but we have to make it through a cold, wintry Friday and Saturday before the warm-up. I can make it through this. I can make it through this. It snowed all morning, but didn't have much as far as accumulation. In fact the streets never did get any coverage. Next Tuesday they are forecasting 62 degrees. Since it only got up to 22 degrees today with 10 degree wind chill, I really will have to feel it to believe it.

"IT'S GROUNDHOG DAY!!!!!!!!"

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today. That means, according to the tradition, there will be six more weeks of winter. YUUUUUUCK! Phil is my favorite forecaster, especially since watching the 1993 movie with Bill Murray. I loved him better last year when he didn't see his shadow. Of course, I don't usually refer to him as a groundhog, as he is also known as a woodchuck. See the things you can learn reading my blog. Now, how much wood can a woodchuck chuck? Huh?

Today I did my traditional watching of the movie Groundhog Day. I like to think about the Groundhog Day concept. The things that Murray's character went through to get it right. How many times did he relive that day, and how many different wrong roads did he try before he got it together and became a great, genuine guy? We usually make a mistake and then have to recover from it and learn from it at the same time. Not an easy task considering our days are numbered and we don't know how many we will have. We need to find the right road, get on the right road and stay on the right road. We need to live each day like we are accountable for it. What we say matters. What we do matters. It needs to be done right the first time. Oh, and did I mention the movie is funny too. Love it, love it.

The little boys are watching Jack Frost, another family tradition. It was great for me that the day fell on a Saturday. In this stop-action cartoon, the groundhog shares that he has a conspiracy with Jack Frost to see his shadow every year so that Winter will last longer. The groundhog is not really a part of the rest of the story, but it's a nice little program we watch once a year.

Happy Groundhog, er, Woodchuck Day!

Down and Dark

It's the time of year that I just get through. I am not fond of winter. Yes, I can handle a beautiful snowy day from time to time. I can even appreciate a fire blazing in the fireplace on a cold winter evening. But I really don't like the early darkness that comes with it all. If I had time during the day to enjoy outside, I might feel differently. In the winter, daylight is most certainly burned before I can even arrive home from work, before I can even think to enjoy moments of time with my boys, with Joe or time for myself. I long for Spring. I yearn for the daylight hours to grow each day. I am in hopes that Summer and its long lit evenings will be here soon afterwards, and my spirits will be high as well. God bless the winter, and its ability to make me appreciate when the Earth is awake and alive with an abundance.