Seriously - It's Winter Already?

What in the world is up with this weather? Literally one week ago it was 80 degrees here and I was running around in shorts and a tee shirt and this morning I am bundled in my winter coat and wool sweaters! It’s only mid October! Did I blink and miss Fall?? Is it really time to break out the wool socks, oversized sweaters & scarves already? Who says there is no such thing as global warming!?!

As if it were not enough that Homecoming weekend at Wingate was borderline miserable due to the unexpected chill and uncooperative weather, Steven and I had the unfortunate experience of sleeping last night in a house that was 50 degrees! Apparently the breaker to the AC/heating unit was somehow flipped during our recent bathroom renovations. We have had our AC unit turned off for the past week so we did not realize this mishap. The sudden temperature drop prompted us to turn on the heat yesterday afternoon only to find the heat did not work. We just assumed that it was broken since we have not tried to use it since last winter. Considering it was Sunday, we decided our only option was to bundle up and suck it up. Around 11:00 we grudgingly drug ourselves to the bedroom and prepared to shiver ourselves through a sleepless night.

Thank the Lord for Dixie & Bauer! I generally hate sleeping in the bed with them because they both give off an enormous amount of body heat. Usually I wake up drenched in sweat with no covers on my body because I am so hot due to my doggy blanket. Not last night! Steven and I welcomed Dixie and Bauer into the bed and happily allowed them to get under the covers and curl up around us. I swear the only reason my toes did not get frost bite throughout the evening is because Bauer insisted on using them as a pillow. Again, any other night I would have hated having his 15 pound head on my legs because I always wake up in the middle of the night with tingling, numb legs. Last night on the other hand, I figured tingling, numb legs were a much better option than frozen solid legs. As always, Dixie resolved to sleep directly in between Steven and myself (heaven forbid we show one another more affection than we show Dixie!) I was more than willing to lay aside my jealous tendencies last night and allow her to sleep in the middle. She provided perfect warmth for both of us! Without a doubt the only reason I did not wake up to chattering teeth is because my overly affection dogs were more than eager to curl up with us all night long.

Our house was so cold that even Bauer didn’t want to get out of the bed this morning. He wakes every morning at 6:30 and begins pacing circles around the bedroom floor until I let him outside. Not this morning! He jumped out of the bed, realized how cold it was and immediately got back in bed and burrowed himself under the covers. When I finally willed myself out of the bed and looked at the thermostat, I swear it read 51 degrees! I could literally see my breath. What a great wakeup call.

While taking my scalding hot, incredibly long shower and worrying about how much money I was going to have to shell out to fix this heating problem, it dawned on me: The heating unit wasn’t broken – the breaker had been flipped while Steven was trying to cut the power to master bathroom earlier this week! When Steven didn’t jump out of bed the first time I explained my theory to him, I not so politely demanded that he check it out! Voile! It worked – we slept in a freezing cold room for nothing. But at least I’m not going to have to shell out tons of money to keep my house warm this winter! I’m sure Dixie and Bauer will be very disappointed when they aren’t allowed in the bed tonight. Yes I know – they really are so mistreated!