When I woke up Tuesday morning, it was -18F, with a -36F windchill. Wednesday morning was slightly warmer (-8F with a -22F windchill or somesuch). I managed to work from home both days – will today (also to be bitterly cold) be the day my boss demands my presence at the office? Can’t he just wait until Friday, when the projected +9F means I might not even need a coat?! 😉 (Update, Thursday, 1/15/2009, 7:30 am CST: It’s -21F. *whimper*)

It’s good I was home Tuesday afternoon, because otherwise I would never have known how this happened:

A squirrel clung to the side of my building (I’m on the third floor) and gnawed a hole in my nearly brand new screen while two very overwrought black kitties thumped their (obviously ineffective) Paws O’ Death against the glass mere inches away. Yeah, it was really cold out there if dying a bloody death was looking good to that insane squirrel.

Reading Update
Dawn’s Awakening (The Breeds, Book 4) and Mercury’s War (The Breeds, Book 16) by Lora Leigh. Ok, so technically Mercury’s War is the fifth book, but apparently it’s the 16th story if you count everything that’s been in anthologies and whatnot, so the numbering went really weird. Whatever. These continue to not be the best written stuff you’ll find. They also continue to be pretty graphic. Mercury’s War had several gaping plot holes to make the story work. Only – it didn’t really, because hello! Plot holes.
Flat-Out Sexy by Erin McCarthy. Steamy, well-written NASCAR romance with a sequel on the way.
Wait Till Your Vampire Gets Home (Broken Heart, Oklahoma, Book 4) by Michelle Bardsley. Very light, chick litty paranormal romance. Best quote: “Yep… We need a loogie from a real dragon.”
On the Prowl (Tales of an Urban Werewolf, Book 2) by Karen MacInerney. Austin werewolf Sophie Garou returns in the second book of this series. I have no qualms about continuing to follow her adventures.
All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire (Love at Stake, Book 5) by Kerrelyn Sparks. Ok vampire tale – not great, but definitely readable.
Fangs But No Fangs (The Young Brothers, Book 2) by Kathy Love. A blogging vampire living in a trailer park and waiting tables at a karaoke bar? Yup.
Unravel Me by Christie Ridgway. The second in this chick lit knitting series was another good read. (The next book, out in June, will be Dirty Sexy Knitting. Hee hee.)
Dog Days by John Levitt. The first in a newish urban fantasy series about Mason, a San Francisco jazz guitarist and magic practitioner, and his dog/ifrit, Lou. I’ll definitely keep reading – in fact, the next book is already in my TBR stack.
A Hunger Like No Other, No Rest for the Wicked, Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night, and Dark Needs at Night’s Edge (The Immortals After Dark, Books 1-4) by Kresley Cole. Ok, I let the traditional romance-style covers of the first few books in this series scare me away for quite a while, but I’m glad I got past that (and not just because the guy on the cover of Book 4 is so hot) – this is an excellent paranormal series. Highly recommended (sorry, Carrie K – while there are werewolves, there are also vampires).

“It is ever so exhausting having Mom home all the time, because I have to keep track of her and bring her fetch toys to throw for me every time she goes to sit down on that shiny white chair.” -Mayhem