Hey, north Texans, have you ever turned the air conditioning on in February?

I don’t remember ever doing so but today–Feb. 1, 2012–I did just that in my car because it was downright toasty when I got into it mid-afternoon. Sauna-like even. No need to think about a coat.

Let’s rewind to last year. According to the National Weather Service, the high temperature for Feb. 2, 2011 was 20 degrees. February of last year had the fifth highest snow totals in Dallas-Fort Worth ever. It was as if we opened the door to welcome Alaska to take up residence here.

And if you’re remember, we were in the national spotlight because Super Bowl XLV had come to town. Yippee. Our turn to show off all we had to offer…football, friendly people, barbecue, Mexican food, museums and lots of bad weather. Nasty stuff. Icy roads. School closings. Sheets of ice literally slid off Cowboys Stadium’s roof, injuring people. http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/health/Man-Still-Affected-By-Injury-From-Cowboys-Stadium-Ice-138618459.html

What  a difference a year makes.

Same song, fourth verse.

As I’m perusing the store aisles, I’m automatically drawn to the Valentine section. Yes, it’s mid-January, but we’ve gotten through Christmas and New Year’s. It’s time to decorate and think of the next holiday.

But what does appear to my wandering eye? Cadbury chocolate eggs! Yes, Easter candy so grandly displayed next to the Valentine candy.  Oh my.

Easter this year–in case you’re wondering–is April 8.

I’m telling you. We need to give each holiday it’s due. A little respect. And a little breathing room, too.

Who is surpised that Miss Texas, Kendall Morris, won the swim suit competition?

It could be a very exciting weekend for Texans at the Miss America Pageant.

Miss Texas, Kendall Morris, is competing there for the Miss American title, and earlier this week she won a preliminary award in the swimsuit competition. That, plus the fact that Texas is one of the “pageant states” where competition is keen just to get to be on the Miss America  (www.missamerica.org) stage, makes her a favorite to make the finals for the Miss America crown.

Before being crowned Miss Texas last summer, Morris was a featured twirler at Texas Christian University and she had represented Frisco at the state competition. It was her talent as a pianist, though, that made her the second TCU student in a row to win the title. A broadcasting major, she is a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority.

After a few years of being a pretty lame reality TV show, the Miss America Pageant again will be broadcast on a major TV network. You can watch it at 8 p.m. Saturday on ABC. Now if only we could get them to move it from Vegas back to Atlantic City, where it belongs.

So after two weeks of  cooking, cleaning up, cooking, cleaning up, cooking, cleaning up…I’m d-o-n-e.

The holidays are fun. Love seeing my family. Love relaxing. Love the decorations. Love the music. I even love all that food. That food that I’ve cooked and cleaned up over and over.

But this little red hen has had enough. I’ve made breakfast casseroles galore. I’ve marinated meat in special sauces. I’ve bought wine by the case. And I’ve run out of dish-washing detergent.

So when these BCS football bowl games ( http://www.bcsfootball.org/) have extended into 2012 for days and days, I want to protest. Who thought we needed to keep up this celebration mode for weeks on end? Seems like an excuse for the chips, dips, cakes, cookies, malt liquor and champagne to remain on constant display. Dare I say it was a man who has yet to fix his own Frito chili pie?

Some people like to discuss their favorite Christmas movie. Others like to list their favorite Christmas songs.

What about Christmas commercials?

When I lived in Oklahoma City, the impending holidays would be signaled by B.C. Clark’s “anniversary sale” commercial with a snappy little jingle everyone in Oklahoma City knew as well as “Jingle Bells.” A sled goes sliding over mounds of snow in an animated commercial that was shown for years. Just thinking about it makes me remember “Jewelry is the gift to give…lalalala…some sales are after Christmas, but Clark’s is just before.” hmmm hmmmm. Want to see it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LJBB65r-9o

I really like the new Target commercial with Santa Claus jogging pretty fast for a fat guy. With his red hat bouncing, he turns into the Target parking lot to get something he must have forgotten.

But my favorite, all-time Christmas commercial is for Folger’s. Peter, coming home from college, gets dropped off at his front door, where his little sister greets him. Together they make great coffee for the whole family, and that great coffee aroma wakes up Mom. Mom comes down the stairs to be surprised by Peter, and then the whole family drinks coffee while opening presents. Love it. You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4kNl7cQdcU

Got a fave?

Robert Griffin III, Heisman Trophy winner.

So, I hate it when my Sooners lose.

I even hate that I hate it. After all, football is just a game, hardly life and death.

But if my University of Oklahoma Sooners have to lose to Baylor University for the first time ever, I’m glad some good came from it.

Robert Griffin III, otherwise known as RGIII, took home Baylor’s first-ever Heisman Trophy Saturday night after a terrific season, and I want to congratulate him. He had a whole heck of a lot to do with Baylor’s very decisive win over OU, and I’m glad the Heisman voters noticed that and everything else he did all season to help his team, hardly known as a football power house, win this year.

I like that his acceptance speech was filled with the word “we,” instead of “I.” I like that he appeared on David Letterman poking fun at himself. I like that he wears fun socks with his tuxedo.

Congrats to a RGIII, a deserving winner. I hope more good comes your way.

This year, the BCS trophy should go to Oklahoma State University or Louisiana State University. No do-overs, Alabama.

I was Sooner born and Sooner bred. And when I die I’ll be Sooner dead.

Got it? I’m not Oklahoma State University fan. To quote the Boz, orange makes me puke. So here’s a stab at me being objective.

I have to go on record saying this BCS bowl shenanigans is messed up (www.bscfootball.org). OSU beat my beloved Sooners in a game that I’d just soon forget. They won, and some might even say they killed us. Whatever. The OSU Cowboys made their point that, at least this year, they are a force to be reckoned with. I hate to admit it, but that’s the truth.

Louisiana State University likewise has shown some might on the gridiron, and LSU deserves to be playing in that championship title game Jan. 9 in New Orleans. What isn’t right that the University of Alabama will be playing there, too. That’s just plain stupid.

The championship match-up should be between LSU and OSU.

Here’s why:

• Alabama didn’t even win its conference
• Alabama already lost to LSU
• The SEC is NOT the only strong football conference
• OSU beat three teams ranked in the top 15; ‘Bama only one
• OSU won its conference

For years I’ve just shrugged my shoulders while others complained about the BCS system. Now, I see how ridiculous it can be. It wasn’t even my Sooners who made me see it; it was those blasted orange Cowboys.

You’re welcome, OSU.

Good golly, it’s Halloween.

I’m so happy that fall weather is here. Happy that it’s football season. Happy the leaves are turning. But you know what else this all means?

It’s eating season.

Yes, today and tonight it’s candy for breakfast, lunch and dinner followed by popcorn balls and a spiced-cider chaser. And now it’s just a hop, skip and a jump until it’s 2012, and from now until then, we eat.

Turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, egg nog, Grandma’s fudge, the kitchen wallpaper. Put it on a tray, play a little background music, and we’ll call anything a party. Reason fairly waltzes out the door.

So what did I do in anticipation of this impending eat-a-thon? I practiced. This weekend, as I was reading one in a series of Sweet Potato Queens books written by Jill Connor Browne ( www.sweetpotatoqueens.com ), I tried one of her many decadent recipes. These recipes, always found in the back of the book, are sure to clog your arteries and pop your buttons.

So, I’m happy to report that “Little Larva’s Homicidal Maniac and Cheese”  from American Thighs was on our training table. A couple of pounds of macaroni, a ton of cheese (give or take), a whallop of sour cream–plus bacon–and we are off and running. Yum and yum.

At Thanksgiving, I’ve already got a list going for what I can say I’m truly fortunate to own. I know I can say I’m thankful for elastic waistbands.

Oh woe is me, woe is me.

Things are getting worse. Like an epidemic that can’t be stopped. Like an avalanche that can’t be turned back.

So I’m very disappointed to have to report this but…here goes…Christmas decorations are already in the stores. I’m going to let that sink in while you catch your breath. Yes, the “Christmas alley” has taken over the second floor alcove of the department store. Red-and-green-wrapped candy greet you at the door. Holiday cards await your signature.

Oh gosh, I used to plead that we be allowed to celebrate Thanksgiving without Santa Claus. Now, heavens to Betsy, we’ve got full-blown tinsel and garland and twinkle lights BEFORE HALLOWEEN. I never thought I’d see the day when the friendly jack-o-lantern had to compete for porch space with Rudolph. Spare me.

I remain president (actually prefer the title Queen) of the Society to Preserve Thanksgiving. I ask you who are loyal to the cause, do we need a name change? Do we update the bylaws to make it the Society to Preserve Fall Holidays? If not, is the Fourth of July in danger of being overtaken by wrapping paper?

The anxiety is almost over for all the parents who’ve sent their sweet babies off to college, and more stressfully, to sorority rush.

Most large universities complete sorority rush–now called “recruitment” for reasons I’ll never understand–before school starts. The really cruel ones make the sororities have their bid days on the first day of school (add that to the list of things I don’t understand), so that the girls can accept their semester syllabuses while biting their fingernails.

Meanwhile the parents at home are left to wonder how their baby girl is doing, while fielding phone calls from curious friends who just might have gathered all the reccomendations needed for such a pursuit. Especially in the South, y’all, this sorority deal is a team effort, and the sorority alumnae keep score just like it was a football game.

Sorority rush seems to be gaining momentum. After being Greek took a nosedive in the late ’60s and early ’70s when the hippies were popular detractors, I see a resurgence. More and more high school girls are attending Panhellenic forums, and these pledge classes are monstrous. At the University of Arkansas this year, pledge classes numbered upward of 130. Yes, too many to know well.

And all this flurry of activity happening over less than a week is a very exciting time for a newbie on campus…unless it isn’t. Unfortunately, there is sometimes heartbreak for no good reason. The sorority rush process is far from perfect, but so are many things in life. It’s just too bad when this unfairness happens just as these girls are starting a new adventure, usually away from home.

So, college presidents and Panhellenics, I’m asking you to look at broadening the number of National Panhellenic sororities on your campuses. Obviously the sorority experience, now more than 140 years old, is seen as a valuable one. Let’s expand it so everyone who wants to be a part of one of the 26 national sororities can be a part. Let’s keep the numbers down to a manageable few so that the members can know each other and live together.