Oh, baby, it's cold outside.....

According to WOKV.com, the temperature here is "only" 62 degrees at 8:00 a.m. this morning. And I do not think it is going to be much more than this the rest of the day, which is predicted to be overcast and misty....As long as we do not have the wind-driven rains, we should be okay. My washer is busily handling the towels, blankets, and sheets used to soak up the dripping water, and I go on record as saying, "I hate folding sheets!"!!

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Jill called me last night to report her computer has "worms" or what we would refer to as a virus! She recently had the computer repaired for the same type of illness and now it is acting up again, so the repairman is doing this fix gratis. Only, she has to physically take it to him for the fix since he does not have a car. I cannot even begin to imagine trying to disconnect, lift and carry, and then reconnect this monster "AlienWare" computer which gives me wings to tour the world. The last time I needed work done, on my previous "regular sized" CPU, Steve came here to disconnect and take it away, and then returned to hook it back up. I wonder if he is still in business....this economy has been rough on small business people.....and big business, too!

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At this moment I am enjoying a nice bowlful of taco salad leftover from yesterday. Mmmm.....When it began to thunder, the Lawcock's and I came upstairs and Emily watched me as I threw the taco salad together. The final ingredient to add was the container of grape tomatoes, which made the salad look so pretty, lying on the cheese layer on top. As we sat around the table in the family room with our plates piled with salad, a meal in itself, all three adults sat there, pushing the grape tomatoes off to the side of our plates! I just had to laugh because if I had known none of us ate them....obviously, I could have omitted the tomatoes! Emily and Paul loved the rest of the salad, though, with Paul commenting that he even ate the diced tomatoes mixed in. Oh man! Emily said later that she is fussy about green peppers and onions, too, which were in this salad but did not mind them being in the famous salad! And you thought I was the fussy eater???? I also picked up a container of fresh fruit from which Sarah ate only the cantaloupe, digging deeply into the dish to garner. As I looked at it this a.m., I made a mental decision to eat some of that fruit so it won't go to waste, remembering I have another can of Cool Whip in the fridge leftover from Sandy's key lime pie......

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Not long after eating, Sarah was asking for something to eat, and Paul kept saying, "No!". I asked if I could get something for her and Paul told me she only wants to eat junk food. Emily said Sarah does not generally eat beef (i.e. taco salad) and I said I had some chicken in the fridge that I picked up at Winn-Dixie, drumsticks and breasts, etc. Nope, Sarah will only eat nuggets, like from McDonald's. Emily asked if Sarah could have some potato chips which, of course, she could. I had the snack mix leftover from the Youth Group but from that mixture Sarah only wanted the M & M's, throwing the raisins and nuts back into the dish! Oh, it has been a long time since I have had interaction with little ones!!! I cannot wait to see the boys in Sheboygan!

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I have been in communication with a young lady from church who is stressing about how and when to discipline her kids, etc., always second guessing herself. One of the remarks she made was about "picking your battles" and I had to tell her that I missed that in my era. Battles? Are you kidding me? Bottles, yes, picking battles, I do not know..... One thing I did comfort her with was that age and a fading memory allows me (and probably other moms, too) to recall primarily the good things the kids did, the type of things one captures on film or tape. Fortunately the temper tantrums and raised voices don't often make it to 'preservation format'! How I wish I had a recording of Justin telling us at bedtime, that he could not stop talking because "I have words left over..."

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Oh, oh! I have gone into the "danger zone" of my time frame for being on the computer before leaving for Bible study so had better finish up. I might put on a long-sleeved top due to the cold, nasty weather, which will go right through me once I leave the building. Saturday I got an e-mail from one of the maintenance guys declaring the snake is dead, and he included a picture of it. Sadly, Miss Chardonnay reported to me that this is NOT the same snake which was intertwined in my kitchen door grille-work so the heat is not off as far as that fear is concerned. Oh, if only Eve had not eaten that forbidden fruit......