Winter Weather and Holiday Spirit

Early in the week I came down with an icky virus.  Was too sick to do anything - including blog.  Following that I was of course busy trying to catch up on work.  Hello Caturday!  It's good to see you again!

I'm currently watching an episode of Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals.  She is making meatballs and I am thankful for this.  It answered my question of what to make for tonight's Bedlam Football party that I will be attending.  Thanks Rachel.

The rain is coming down pretty hard right now, but it is still in liquid form.  We are not expecting it to turn to snow until Monday.  Yesterday, they showed a 60% chance of snow.  That has now been upgraded to 80%.  This will be my first winter in Oklahoma in over a decade.  I get the distinct feeling that I should be stocking up on knit hats, gloves, scarves and heated suits.  I shiver like a Chihuahua when the temperature drops below 78 degrees, so I will need some heavy duty gear to leave the house until spring comes back.

I have broken my own tradition this year.  I have started my holiday shopping already.  I am usually one of those last minute shoppers but the idea of going out there with the crazy holiday frenzy overrides my desire to wait until December 24th to shop.  I'm going online all the way this year. I went to Walmart the other day to purchase a Christmas tree and saw a lady throw a temper tantrum simply because the lady working the check stand in lawn and garden was busy checking people out and unable to give a price on a cheap plastic planter with the three seconds that the crazy mad lady seemed to require.  The poor older lady working was almost in tears after that so we that were waiting in line took it upon ourselves to try to make her feel better. 

I did get my first real tree in many years.  It is full, beautiful and adds the lovely smell of pine to the house.  I guess that's a fair trade-off for having pine needles all over the carpet and having to be vigilant about house fire.  The cats love it too.  They like to nibble on the lower branches and sleep behind it.  They have never been outside a day in their life so I suppose it is satisfying their natural desire to pretend they are in the wilderness.  Luckily they have yet to try to climb it... so far.
*crosses fingers*