Our cat, Pita, is sitting by our French patio doors leading into our backyard. She is begging to be let out. This only proves that she has no depth perception.

If I step outside right now, the snow will reach my knees. And Pita? She'd instantly be buried.

I cannot believe that two of my neighbors have already left their driveways. As Jason said, "How important are your jobs, anyway?" I've seen news reports of the freeways, for crying out loud, and even THEY aren't cleared. My Buick was not meant for off-roading. It's still snowing. And they've even made an announcement on the news that all parking meters downtown are closed so the city can plow the roads there. I'm thinking my job isn't as important as my neighbors'.

The neighborhood kids are loving this, as you can imagine, both for the snow days and for the unprecedented opportunity to play in this much snow. I know that I will have to keep Veronica well-stocked in little boots for such occasions in the future. And myself too, as I've like to point out that most local daycare centers are closed today due to the weather, and there's no way I could resist joining her.

*yawn*

I really shouldn't be posting. I should be working on some laundry and heading to bed. But motivation's been low, as I've been homebound for about the past 36 hours or so.

It's not due to complications with the baby. On the contrary, she's kicking up a storm and seems to be having a grand old time. No, it's been the weather.

We have a foot of snow outside.

It's covering our yard, our cars, and most importantly, the road on which we live. Jason tried to venture out this morning but was highly unsucessful at actually getting somewhere. Oh, he made it down the road a little ways, then back, but I believe it was mostly steering and sliding, with little "driving" actually involved.

It's been this way all weekend, to some degree or another. I've already called in late to work tomorrow, and feel perfectly justified as our Sheriff's website states we are under a Level 2 snow emergency (which means, only drive if necessary and call your workplace before you go in. Past that, keep your ass put.) Plus, it's a government holiday tomorrow, and I'll tell you right now that little work gets done at a law office that can't contact the Court.

This DOES connect somewhat to the baby, as we've used all this indoor time to work some more on getting the nursery in order. We even washed all the newborn-3 months outfits and all the blankets. (Veronica has 13 flannel receiving blankets alone now, and this isn't counting the non-flannel, fluffy blankies. In total, she has well over twenty at this point. Kid should stay warm, wouldn't you say?) This storm also makes me all shades of glad that I'm not due around now. Hell, it wasn't that bad on Saturday, and it took us a good half hour to dig out of the driveway then. Add another seven inches of snow on top of that, and you can see why I wouldn't look forward to being rushed to a hospital any time soon. People keep telling me "You're due in May? Spring is a wonderful time to have a baby!" and I'm having to agree at this point. (Although being big n' pregnant during the worst Ohio winter anyone can remember does have it's own, special way of sucking. Yeah, navigating icy parking lots on my way into work is SO EASY when I have the coordination of a hippo on Valium.)

Oh well, still need to do laundry. I called our HR director and told her I'd be in tomorrow at noon, so it'd be nice if I actually had something to wear at that time. :-P I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll say that I don't need to come in at all, making this the first time since I've been out of school that I've been granted a snow day. Wish me luck.

My girlfriends are holding me a baby shower!

*insert girlish squeal here*

I am so excited! I can't wait, and it's not so much about the possible loot as it is people joining together in celebration of little Veronica. I want to see a little baby-themed cake and talk about all I know about her so far, which isn't much I know. (Although I do know from our visit to the Shadowbox Cabaret last night that she likes Republica's "Ready to Go", as she was rumbling like crazy the entire time they played the song.) I want people to be as happy as me and Jason that she is on her way. I want people to be happy for US. I want a celebration, and now one will occur - big or small, I know it will be wonderful. :-)

The shower is being hosted by my friends Susan and Heather. Susan's having it at her place, and has printed up directions; Heather is sending out the invitations. It won't be until March, but I cannot wait. I'm very grateful to both of them, and to whoever turns up there. :-)

In the meantime....

Today was fun, as Jason and I headed down to Athens, taking Heather along, to pick up Bobcat baby gear for Veronica. We bought her a couple onesies, a pretty little green OU dress, and a stuffed bobcat, but we also had a really good time walking around Athens and campus, chatting with Heather and checking out all the changes from the last time we were there. The weather was nice for the first time in weeks, our waitress at a local diner was great, the campus was uncrowded and all in all, it was just a really wonderful day. Plus I'm not supposed to travel after 30 weeks; as I'm 27 weeks pregnant as of Tuesday, this was our last trip to Athens in a very long time. I haven't had that good of a time there in ages, and I can't wait to take little Veronica there the next time we go.

Today was good enough to make up for how busy I've been at work. I worked again on Saturday and will be in very late tomorrow night. Today was such a good day, I didn't even remember how tired I've been, although now it's catching up with me.

Totally off the subject:

I've had some odd observations of late too. Just wanted to mention them. First off, after seeing Bill Who? at Shadowbox doing a wonderful cover of "More Than a Feeling" makes me feel like a little less of a nerd for always blasting that song when I'm alone in my car, listening to every note and singing along in a really awful voice. Secondly, the world would be a better place if "Big Yellow Taxi" had never been recorded. I hate that song more than any other ever made, and while it was bad enough that Amy Grant covered it a few years back, now the damn Counting Crows of all people have covered it too. That frigging song is on the radio all the damn time now, being sung by a band I actually liked, and it really pisses me off. Thirdly, I've figured out why my butt's getting bigger even though it seems to have no correlation with my bearing a child. Even the Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy couldn't really explain it, and all the other books just ignore the phenomenon. But it's simple: The big ole' butt is there to even out the weight. Otherwise I'd just tip forward all the time. It's like putting sandbags in the trunk of your car in the winter. ;-)

The last observation is how hard it is to concentrate when posting anymore, as we've moved the computer into the living room and I'm so easily distracted by the background noise of the TV. I keep typing, but none of the words come out right and I always think it sounds stupid. I'm hoping this is all coherent, as I've re-read it about five times and it still doesn't sound right. With a current readership of zero, it doesn't matter so much now, but I'm eventually going to print this out someday to be a journal of my pregnancy. I'd like for Veronica to someday think that I have at least some semblance of writing ability, or at least that I didn't completely lose my mind or cohesive thought process while pregnant.