Winter in Texas

The couple of weeks have been very odd weather-wise. This freakishly cold weather is doing us all in! Texas homes & people were not built for this kind of weather. I realize we're SO very lucky, though, in comparison to so many other places in the country who experience these sort of temps every winter, but it's just so strange for us to go 10+ days in a row with nothing but freezing temperatures every day.

At the school where I work, we have a recess time every day on the playground. Many of the cold-natured teachers will hesitate to go outside if it's chilly because they are big weenies. (ha ha) I, on the other hand, am hot natured & figure that as long as the kids have a coat, we can go out! A few weeks ago, one of the other teachers came out to the playground & approached me saying "I asked the office if it was warm enough to go outside today & they told me you were out here with your class. I just laughed & told them 'Liz will go out there in a blizzard, though, so that doesn't tell me anything!'." She knows me well.

Today, I wrapped a scarf around my neck & folded it up over my nose and ears. As I stood there helping Larry with something on his truck, I started thinking "Have I EVER used a scarf for its intended purpose like this before?" and I couldn't honestly think of a single time when I have!! Folks, I am 34 years old and have lived in Texas my entire life...and I've never used a scarf to warm my neck, face & ears before. That should tell you, it's freaking COLD!

This morning, we woke up & realized that the water in our bathroom and laundry room would not come on. The pipes were frozen! Luckily, when they thawed nothing had burst & we have no leaks. (that we know of yet, anyway!) I'm telling you, we are just not equipped for this kind of weather. It's crazy.

I've told people for years that I wish I lived somewhere that got some REAL WINTER weather. I think I lied. This stinks!