%$#@&^+!!!!

Our first big snow storm of the season hit last night. People need to learn to drive all over again. Every freaking year. Okay, I admit, I need a little time to rethink how to handle the slippery, snowy roads too. But you know, if you really feel like you can't go any faster than 20 mph, you seriously need to pull off and let the 10 people backed up behind you (including me) pass you!

Hey, I got to work with a minute to spare. A lot of other people were late.

It was there we discovered a fellow third shifter had called in. Boy, talk about a convenient night to call in 'sick'. So we worked short. Again. Luckily, it wasn't too bad of a night. It was actually the slowest night I can remember in the ER in quite some time. Apparently though, even a snow storm isn't enough to keep people at home. Special test of the the night: Fecal white cell exam. Yeeeshh. And I'm talking some serious Hershey squirts, too.

Nuff said on that.

They were fumigating the Microbiology department last night for fungus. And it stunk to high heaven. We were blocked off from going into that area, and so couldn't do any work in there. We sat there at lunch, wondering what kind of liver damage the chemicals might be causing.

I have the driveway roughly 1/3 shoveled. I couldn't get the snow blower started, so I grabbed the shovel and went to it. Maybe I'll get enough done so I can back the truck into the garage, and then Tim can pull the car up to the cleared spot.

Speaking of Tim, he is still not home from work yet. He has spent at least 12 hours out of every day at work. He is getting pummeled every night. And is not getting enough sleep during the day. I don't know what else to do for him other than keep the hot coffee and hearty meals coming. And exercise as quietly as possible when I get up so he can sleep longer.

I tried a new biscotti recipe today. It looked wonderful. Tastes wonderful. However, they don't really resemble biscotti. More like dog kibble. The damn things wouldn't slice into the nice cookies pictured in the Food&Wine article. WTF? Too crumbly. Guess these won't be getting served to anyone but Tim and I. Back to the drawing board on that one. But instead of writing 'Forget it!!!!' across the top of the recipe (Orange Wino and Bryan, you know what I'm talking about), I will just try to retool the recipe. Chocolate and pistachio biscotti...it's too damn good a concept to just give up on!

And why, oh why do these birds keep doing the kamikaze into our windows?? I have heard at least 3 thumps this morning. No, make that 4, another cardinal just smacked the glass again! While I was shoveling, I found a dead cardinal in the snow in front of our bay window. It really kind of depressed me. I didn't know what to do with her. She was so pretty. So I arranged her on the wreath hanging on our porch. And I shut the blinds, hoping that will stop them from thinking they can fly through our house.

Happy Holidays, everyone!!