We have managed to get the plumbing snake stuck in the drain.

God help us.

I'm thinking we were better off renters and I could have just bought a piece of land for a garden. Really.

I have someone coming to look at our heat pump on Wednesday, in addition to all the plumbing hoopla there is trouble with the heat pump. I know they don't work when its below 34 degrees, but I want to know if there is a back up system in this one that's not working, or if we need to have one installed. Because when its below 34 degrees is when I especially want heat. What I'd like to do is have a wood stove installed, but yeah, that costs some money I don't have right now. If we insulate the attic better that will help the heat situation, I expect. There are bits that don't exist up there that need putting in- like "collar ties" and "knee walls" which can also be insulated. I am waiting till my brother or dad come visit for that adventure, however.

We still haven't gotten the electrical system fixed up, so I'm still line drying clothes. I just had to replace my lap top and then our car got replaced so money is short. The electrical problem is creeping to the bottom of a long list. The driveway needs help. This I feel confident that we can do ourselves, but it will also require some money.

All I want for Christmas is for things to quit breaking.

Ellen Tebbits by Beverly Cleary. I actually bought this use for Lu, but read it in the aftrenoon before she got home.

In other news, cranky.

I'm not gonna make it to 50 books. That damn russian novel and teaching those damn kids have proved my undoing.

But they are being over shadowed by our bathroom sink, which is stopped up. We have tried removing and replacing the stopper bulb arm thingy, and we tried using a plunger. I'm trying to remove the trap, but the plastic joint won't budge. This should be straight forward. But it is heartily not. I'm starting to wonder if they didn't use some sort of sealant on the joint? They shouldn't have, you should be able to remove the trap. But I really can't get it to budge, and neither can Jj. Damnation!

And I should be grading, not engaging in plumbing adventures.

I finished and mailed the job application. I do not expect anything to come of it. My letters of recommendation are all late too, so oh well.

Now to write about something more fun: egg nog lattes! I love them. I am not much for SolKawanXmasIca or "The Holidays" but I am all about the egg nog with coffee.

I have thus far tried egg nog lattes (must be made with actual egg nog, not flavoring) at the following spots:

Cup A Joe - Hillsborough Grade: A-
The egg nog latte at Cup A Joe had a nice balance between the sweet egg nog and the coffee. Whipped cream with nutmeg sprinkled on it topped it off. Very nice.

Starbucks - Chapel Hill Grade: B-
A bit too sweet. Low on the egg nog flavor. Whipped cream with no nutmeg. Still Yummy though.

Sugarland - Chapel Hill Grade: B+
The creamiest of the egg nog lattes I have tried so far, it had a decent balance of egg nog and coffee. But as are all things at Sugarland, mmmmrph sweet! Truth in advertising with the name of the ol' Sugarland bakery, no doubt. Whipped cream on this one, no nutmeg.

Daily Grind - UNC Chapel Hill Campus Grade: C+
I think the vegan dude making the latte had it out for egg nog and just waved it over the beverage. Not enough egg nog! Which is a pity, because I expect the coffee portion here is the best of the lot, they can pull a good espresso at the Daily grind. No whipped cream or extra nutmeg, either. Its a bit sad, the old barista there made my first egg nog latte, which was the bomb (perfect blend, so carmelly) so I have high expectations for them.

I need to see if Caribou has an egg nog latte, but I don't think any of the other area coffee shops do. If there is a place I'm missing that I should try do tell. Damn I love egg nog lattes.

I have always felt that my physical performance is best around 4 PM. I've noticed this phenomena for a long time. But I did wonder, because I could think of no reasonable explanation, if I was imagining things. I wasn't imagining things, according to this NYT article, performance is best in the early evening. Ha ha! Instinct vindicated.

All right, back to the grindstone or to bed. I'm trying to finish up a job application and its about killing me. I don't know if I really can work on my research statement right now. I've been migraining, the weather being so topsy turvy windy has been awful. And its hard to write when I'm migraining, or after I've taken one of my groggy pills. Bleh. There may be just enough time before I go mentor a grad from AL in archeobotany methods tomorrow morning to finish the damn thing up. I hope so.

This week/weekend are just grueling. I'm so ready to be done with everything on my plate. Monday! Then maybe I'll finally set up my office nearly three months after moving in.