My eyes stay closed while I listen to the wind whipping through the trees. If it’s loud enough that I can hear it in the house, it’s not going to be pleasant outside. I reach for my Blackberry and press 8, the speed dial for work. One hour delay. Great, that’ll give me the time I need to dig out.

I carefully descend the steps of doom with Charlie under my arm. He’s all perky and wanting to go outside. I open the front door to a wall of snow. Charlie skids to a halt. He looks up at me and raises an eyebrow. I head to the bathroom and pick up yesterday’s clothes off the floor and get dressed. Looks like I’m digging out first.

I step out onto the porch, grab the shovel, and start making a path for Charlie. He takes two steps out the door and lifts his leg. Lovely. I get to work, clearing the porch and making a path to the car and the wood pile. Back into the house to get ready for the day.

Jump into the car at 9:30 with my stomach rumbling. My appetite is in high gear with the marathon training. But the cupboards are bare so it’s Mickey D’s for breakfast.

I back out of the driveway and into the lane, glad for the 4-wheel drive. Snow is about 6 inches deep. No problem. Head out, cross the spring and make the turn toward the main road. Hmmm…snow’s a little deeper here. 10 inches? I congratulate my KIA. We haven’t had the best relationship but it looks like it’s finally going to come through for me for once. Start feeling some resistance. Uh oh. Better floor it so I make it through this drift. Whew. Back to almost bare lane. I see another drift coming up. Hit the gas. Don’t want to get stuck. Bonk. Stop dead. Throw it in reverse. Spin the tires. Forward. Spin. Reverse. Spin. Forward. Spin. Smell the burning rubber. Shoot.

WoopsI go to hop out. The driver’s door opens 6 inches. Uh oh. Passenger door – 2 inches. Back to the hatchback. What? No way to open it from inside? I return to the driver’s seat, change my view of the situation from an annoyance to an adventure and begin strategizing. Worse comes to worse, I crawl out the sunroof. Back to the driver’s door and push hard with both feet. I squeeze out into waist deep snow.

I head down the lane back to house, and call into work to let them know I’ll be a little late. I grab the shovel and the bucket of ashes from cleaning out the wood stove the night before and head back to the car and start digging. An hour later I had moved enough snow to be able to start backing the car up. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the run I had when I got into the deep snow so I just ended up getting myself crossways in the lane. Time to give up.
Back to the house and call into work. “I’ll be working from home today.” My stomach sends a “FEED ME!!!” reminder. Uh oh. I have nothing to eat here. I take stock. No milk and no bread so that cuts out my usual fare of cereal and sandwiches. I start raiding the cupboard. Pancake mix (just add water!), an almost empty box of spaghetti, and a few packets of oatmeal. Pancakes it is. Huge pancakes. I post on Facebook while I wait for them to get done:

Michelle Williamson is stuck at home with an empty fridge and a ravenous appetite. Gonna have to get creative today.

I eat my pancakes and then the last couple slices of canned peaches I discover in the back of the fridge and settle onto the couch with my laptop. I contemplate what I’m going to eat when the pancakes wear off in a couple hours. Oatmeal just isn’t going to do it. I have visions of fighting Charlie for the last few morsels of his kibble. I surface a few hours later and do my usual check-ins – runner’s forum, email, Facebook, only to discover an entire conversation on Facebook from a bunch of smart-asses:

Jessica: mmmm.. i’m having super yummy pizza and chocolate chip cookies for lunch.. sooooo yummy! :)

I’d be jealous but I’m inclined to think that it was one of those “healthy” pizzas that taste like cardboard!!! Drooling over the cookies though.

Carol: Wait until Sally gets wind of this… she’ll be on snowshoes, limping, crawling and dragging herself to your place with a hot meal! LOL

[perking up] There’s hope! I can always count on Sally to rescue me!!!

Krumy: Ok – the stove is the white thing with the 4 black things on top – knobs turn it on… text if you need further instructions…

I tried that once. It didn’t turn out so well.

Leslie: The microwave is even easier. Do you have one of those?

I do. Just don’t ask me to set the time on it.

Leslie: The more techie the more likely it will get some action..…lmao

[Do not respond, Mick. I repeat, do not respond]

Krumy: I think I saw one back there – it’s more techie than the stove – she should know how to use that – at least for popcorn!

AND hot chocolate! Remember?!?

Carol: burn!

As in slam! or as in popcorn???

Krumy: Ummmmm… Oh so many things to respond with… ROTFLMAO!!!

Your second smart move for the day.

Shortly afterwards, I got a knock at my door. The neighbor had plowed me out! Time to go get my car…and head to the local pizza shop for a HUGE sub for a late lunch!

And I think I’ll do a little grocery shopping this evening…