Live Blogging a Snow Day

4:45 am: Woke up, looked out the window, did not see the 12+ inches of snow we were supposed to receive overnight. Said "Feh" and went downstairs to work out.

5:40 am: Came upstairs, logged onto the internet, read through the Rockford Register Star and Chicago Tribune stories that say that the storm is moving slower than expected and snow will start at 9 am and accumulate a couple inches of snow per hour all day, ending with 12+ inches.

5:46 am: Stared out the window for six minutes at car stalled in the street in front of our house, trying to figure out if it had been there all night. Tow truck arrived. Tow truck did not slide backwards down the hill like every other car does. Said "Feh" again and wandered away.

5:55 am: Called Dad and said "Is there any point in going to the office today or will we close up shop at 9 and work off of our cell phones the rest of the day?" Voted for cell phones. Called and left a message with answering service. Briefly considered accidentally shutting off my cell phone.

6:12 am: Decided not to go back to bed, but to clean the kitchen and make pancakes, eggs and bacon instead.

6:14 am: Got distracted by shiny internet. Decided to write this post and take pictures at regular intervals all day after the sun comes up. Briefly considered how stupid this will look if the storm never arrives, then remembered that one of my most popular posts ever was an entire day's worth of what I was eating, as I was eating it. My readers are easy.

6:20 am: Watching Aaron Wilson on WIFR23 reporting live from Riverside and North Main and hoping he slips and falls on the ice.

6:25 am: Wondering how long I can be quiet and not wake Duke up. Postpone breakfast until he's awake. I'm the best girlfriend ever.

6:26 am: Thinking today will be the perfect day to finally catch video of cars sliding backwards down our hill. While pondering, notice that asshole neighbor who never snowblows his part of the sidewalk is snowblowing his part of the sidewalk. Bravo, jerk!

6:38 am: Briefly consider waking Duke up to say "Why the hell don't we have a dishwasher yet?"

6:48 am: Duke wanders into the kitchen, I give him the weather report, he wanders back to bed.

7:05 am: First photos, of backyard and view from kitchen window.

8:12 am: Ate breakfast. Duke still sleeping. No blinding snowstorm yet.

8:55 am: Duke still sleeping. Aaron Wilson still a dumbass. The Cherry Valley fire department up the street just emptied out, headed towards the interstate. I am turning into my Grandma Wanda, because every time that happens, I curse myself for not having a scanner so that I can find out what's going on.

10:00 am: Fell asleep on the couch with Wrecks laying on my chest.

11:45 am: Woke up when Duke finally wandered into the living room.

12:20 pm: Duke rings the doorbell while snowblowing to say "Put some real pants and your boots on. We're going to the Backyard for lunch." Getting dressed to walk 2 blocks to the little bar and grill that is hopefully open.

12:30 pm: Storm is every bit as bad as they said it would be. Here's our house from one block away. See it?!

12:45 pm: Decided that I love my bar even more for being open just for us.

1:50 pm: Returned home. Uploaded a million photos and one video of a very pathetic dog.

Snow Dog from Duchess Jane on Vimeo.

2:12 pm: Power now blinking on and off every 5 minutes. Duke continues to build a snowboarding jump in the backyard, oblivious to whole pesky electricity situation.

2:20 pm: Power hasn't gone out once since I reported it. It's like how I say "Hey, how do you get rid of hiccups?" and as soon as I say it, they are gone.

2:26 pm: Have a very philosophical discussion with Duke about whether we'll ever have the opportunity to sit in the hot tub drinking beer at 3 pm on a Wednesday during a blizzard ever again.

2:28 pm: Turn up the temperature on the hot tub and head into the house to find my bathing suit.

3:00 pm: Get distracted by 1985 Bears vs Redskins game on DVD.

4:15pm: Actually get into the hot tub, wearing our swimsuits and stocking caps.

5:20 pm: Get out of hot tub carrying empty bottles. Dash to house and dry off while Duke has to close up the tub.

5:40 pm: Put jammies back in and settle in to watch some TV.

6:18 pm: Briefly wonder if Duke is out of his mind making me watch The Day After Tomorrow on a snow day. Conclude that this is only the tip of the iceberg of reasons he's out of his mind.

6:30 pm: Eat Buffalo Chicken Dip for dinner.

6:44 pm: Finally get a good rear-wheel-drive candidate for sliding backwards down the hill. Turns out to be our neighbor, making his dive into the neighbor's snowbank much less interesting.

Minivan on the Hill from Duchess Jane on Vimeo.

7:14 pm: Still watching Da Bears from 1985. It's nice to see Theismann with two full legs.

7:45 pm: Wander absentmindedly into my own American Idol chat room, forgetting that AI is on.

9:00 pm: Watch new Project Runway.