Not fit outside for man nor beast

Luckily I don't work today, and luckily B's dad's family Christmas (scheduled at our home) was canceled on account of the crazy weather outside. It's been snowing for almost 24 hours, the temp has dropped dramatically (and will continue to), and the winds are blowing snow into beautiful drifts and sharp face-hitting biting breezes.

I won't blog about the weather though, because I'm safe and warm inside. B is tending to some brunch. And I want to share some awesome news items:

1. There is a sidewalk plow in Chicago. Sounds pretty fishy, right? On my walk to work Thursday I saw some tracks that make me think there could be a sidewalk plow. But the more I thought about it the more I thought that there couldn't possibly be a plow for sidewalks. Individuals tend to sidewalks, I thought. Business owners, landlords, homeowners -- you see them shoveling or snowblowing their sidewalks all the time. But this morning I heard a funny noise. We didn't catch it, but thought the sidewalk out our window looked clearer. Then, as we got up we heard it again -- across the street! What a sight to behold as a city-walking person! A small, mighty sidewalk-sized vehicle with a sidewalk-sized plow, pushing snow off our fair sidewalks! It's real, friends. Believe it! Thanks Chicago! 
2. B got me a Fitbit for Christmas. It tracks your steps, sleep, miles and very-active-time. I've wanted to know how much I walk at work ever since I started being a nurse. I don't have a ton of data yet, but I do know that I walk 5-7 miles on day when I work. That includes my walk to and from the train, so that's probably 3-5+ miles of walking at work. I'm going to keep wearing my Fitbit -- it's pretty sweet to know how much I'm moving and a nice pat on the back too.
3. Christmas Rescheduled actually worked out beautifully. Working on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & the day after Christmas was a little harder than I expected. I had some challenging situations to deal with and I didn't realize how much it bothered me until I was on my way home on the last day that I was a total grouch. Thankfully I came home to friends & B cooking dinner. The next day Julie Beth, B and I drove to my parents house for a wonderful Christmas redo. We ate amazing food (made by Notorious MOM & at a sweet Japanese restaurant), watched football, laughed, shared gifts and all that wonderful Christmas-y stuff. It was a great weekend off and a great makeup for working the holiday.

That's enough from me -- I better help B in the kitchen!