It’s Friday! The week has absolutely flown by, especially given that it’s the first week back after vacation. And even though I had such a late “to-bed” the night prior, I still woke Friday morning right on time and ready to tackle the world. I accomplished a great deal Thursday night, so that alone was worth celebrating. There’s nothing like heading into the weekend feeling well rested, prepared, and caught up on all of my personal misgivings.
I took my dear old time doing my morning exercises, walking Ykraps, and having my morning coffee. It was a cold early December morning, and there was a very brisk, bone chilling wind blowing out of the northwest. After finishing packing my lunch and making my breakfast, I took some time to upload Mindy’s CF card to my hard drive so that she’d have her camera available for picture taking at her holiday open house later tonight.
On my way to work, I tried contacting one of my peers to hopefully coax them into meeting me at the auto repair shop. You see, I had made arrangements to drop my Trooper at Aarrow Radiator and Glass to have the front brakes replaced. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to reach any of them at their desks so I went ahead and drove into the office knowing that I could find one of them and go from there. That plan worked just as well.
Aarrow is only about 3 miles from the office, straight out Hayden Run Rd. They have proven to be very reliable and very fair over the years, so I always go back with my auto repair needs. We were back at the office by 9am and digging into the day. And my work day didn’t go to bad at all. We were busy as we are on most Friday’s, but nothing we couldn’t handle. Once 1220pm rolled around, I was ready for my run. The cold temps coupled with the cold breeze brought the wind chill down into the single digits. However, I was well prepared and thus enjoyed a brisk winter-like run. While running this afternoon I thought a lot about my daughters, especially Lindsey. I wish there was something I could do to instantly make her live easier but I can’t.
After my run, I completed a dumb bell routine, which I have relegated to every other day. That has proven to be a very good move for my oft aching shoulder. Once back at my desk I enjoyed my packed lunch (five vegetable salad, fruit medley, and honey roasted turkey slices served over a bed of lettuce with a few chunks of extra sharp cheddar cheese). In addition, I actually did a little work. J I worked through a couple of very challenging Friday afternoon issues. Too, I received a voice mail from Aarrow indicating that my vehicle was ready for pick-up. I didn’t bother calling to get the $damage$ and had failed to even ask for an estimate. I simply dropped the vehicle and asked to have the front brakes replaced and the oil changed. I asked one of my Lead Engineers for a lift at the end of the day to pick-up my vehicle. We’d have to leave a little early to get there before they close, and that seemed to sit well with both of us. J We left the office around 445pm. It was a beautiful, cold December evening. Total damage was $130. Not too bad.
After reacquainting myself with my Trooper, I headed to DJ’s carry-out on Hilliard Cemetery Rd. to pick-up some quality micro brews to take along to Mindy’s holiday soiree. A good friend of mine indicated that they carry many of the same beers that one can get at Gentiles in Grandview except that this place is essentially on my way home. Truthfully, I was a little disappointed with the selection but opted for some Bell’s Pale Ale. That is a good beer, but I was hoping they’d have some Spanish Peaks Honey Raspberry Ale, but they didn’t. The gentleman behind the counter told me that he’d try to get it though. Cool!
Once at home, I did my usual Friday evening thing, which included walking Ykraps and vacuuming. I hadn’t vacuumed since November 11th and that’s something I generally do once a week. Before heading to Mindy’s, I paid a couple of bills, and then updated my Wednesday and Thursday Blog entries. The plan called for me to spend the night at Mindy’s, so I had to make extra sure I had everything I needed to be comfortable, including taking along my jamies and running attire should I choose to launch from her home Saturday morning. Just before leaving I called Mindy to see if she needed anything. She requested I bring some ice. And when I called, no one had yet arrived, although she was anticipating about 20 folks.
Once at Mindy’s it was obvious that many guests had already arrived between my earlier call and my arrival. There were about 10 or so guests already there. Included In that mix were her older brother and his room mate, her older sister and husband, and many of her teacher friends. What was obvious from the outset was that there was plenty of food, and good food at that. Mindy worked hard making a lot of different scrumptious hors d’oeuvres. There were hot ones and cold ones, sweet ones and salty ones. And included in the mix were plenty of drinks, both alcoholic and not. It’s also important to note that the presentation was as good as the food itself. Again, Mindy out did herself making everything look good, and look festive too! And she did most of this on her own. I think I’ll keep her!
My contribution to the eats were two of my favorites, sauerkraut balls (recipe #1) and chocolate chip cookie cheesecake. As time went along, several others joined the party. Most of the guests were Mindy’s friends from school that I’d heard so much about but had never met. It was good to finally put faces with names. In that mix, I met her friend Chris with whom she’s been friends with since the first day of college at OSU, when they met in line at orientation. He is quite the gentleman and from what I gathered, practically considered family. Not long after, two familiar faces arrived, Bob and Mary Ann. I hadn’t seen them since November 18th. They brought two jugs of Barley beer (yummy)!
Incidentally, I brought my new camera but had little practice so, instead, I took several pictures with Mindy’s little Nikon that I had been using all week.
Some observations:
Mindy’s older brother, Craig, is a hoot! I really like him. He’s got a great sense of humor and a very warm and welcoming personality. And while it’s obvious that he’s smart, one would not readily guess that he’s a doctor, and a pediatrician at that. I think he had more fun than anyone. He certainly was the most entertaining!
Mindy’s girl friends were all very nice, and treated me very well. I was surprised to learn that Mindy seems like the baby in her clan, although there were a couple of young ones there, too. Her young friend and co-worker Keri couldn’t make it. I guess she opted to hang with a younger crowd.
I also learned that my friend Bob aspires for great things (see pic) and dreams of being Miss America some day.
Xmas Vacation, starring Chevy Chase, playing in the back ground was the perfect Xmas party movie.
It was nice to meet all of Mindy’s friends (Tara, Shelly, Carol, Chris, etc), as well as some more of her family. I feel like I know her even better now.
By midnight, everyone had left and Mindy and I put away the foods that were apt to spoil if left out for the night. We were both very tired and we were looking forward to getting some, eh-um, sleep!
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It’s Friday! The week has absolutely flown by, especially given that it’s the first week back after vacation. And even though I had such a late “to-bed” the night prior, I still woke Friday morning right on time and ready to tackle the world. I accomplished a great deal Thursday night, so that alone was worth celebrating. There’s nothing like heading into the weekend feeling well rested, prepared, and caught up on all of my personal misgivings.
I took my dear old time doing my morning exercises, walking Ykraps, and having my morning coffee. It was a cold early December morning, and there was a very brisk, bone chilling wind blowing out of the northwest. After finishing packing my lunch and making my breakfast, I took some time to upload Mindy’s CF card to my hard drive so that she’d have her camera available for picture taking at her holiday open house later tonight.
On my way to work, I tried contacting one of my peers to hopefully coax them into meeting me at the auto repair shop. You see, I had made arrangements to drop my Trooper at Aarrow Radiator and Glass to have the front brakes replaced. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to reach any of them at their desks so I went ahead and drove into the office knowing that I could find one of them and go from there. That plan worked just as well.
Aarrow is only about 3 miles from the office, straight out Hayden Run Rd. They have proven to be very reliable and very fair over the years, so I always go back with my auto repair needs. We were back at the office by 9am and digging into the day. And my work day didn’t go to bad at all. We were busy as we are on most Friday’s, but nothing we couldn’t handle. Once 1220pm rolled around, I was ready for my run. The cold temps coupled with the cold breeze brought the wind chill down into the single digits. However, I was well prepared and thus enjoyed a brisk winter-like run. While running this afternoon I thought a lot about my daughters, especially Lindsey. I wish there was something I could do to instantly make her live easier but I can’t.
After my run, I completed a dumb bell routine, which I have relegated to every other day. That has proven to be a very good move for my oft aching shoulder. Once back at my desk I enjoyed my packed lunch (five vegetable salad, fruit medley, and honey roasted turkey slices served over a bed of lettuce with a few chunks of extra sharp cheddar cheese). In addition, I actually did a little work. J I worked through a couple of very challenging Friday afternoon issues. Too, I received a voice mail from Aarrow indicating that my vehicle was ready for pick-up. I didn’t bother calling to get the $damage$ and had failed to even ask for an estimate. I simply dropped the vehicle and asked to have the front brakes replaced and the oil changed. I asked one of my Lead Engineers for a lift at the end of the day to pick-up my vehicle. We’d have to leave a little early to get there before they close, and that seemed to sit well with both of us. J We left the office around 445pm. It was a beautiful, cold December evening. Total damage was $130. Not too bad.
After reacquainting myself with my Trooper, I headed to DJ’s carry-out on Hilliard Cemetery Rd. to pick-up some quality micro brews to take along to Mindy’s holiday soiree. A good friend of mine indicated that they carry many of the same beers that one can get at Gentiles in Grandview except that this place is essentially on my way home. Truthfully, I was a little disappointed with the selection but opted for some Bell’s Pale Ale. That is a good beer, but I was hoping they’d have some Spanish Peaks Honey Raspberry Ale, but they didn’t. The gentleman behind the counter told me that he’d try to get it though. Cool!
Once at home, I did my usual Friday evening thing, which included walking Ykraps and vacuuming. I hadn’t vacuumed since November 11th and that’s something I generally do once a week. Before heading to Mindy’s, I paid a couple of bills, and then updated my Wednesday and Thursday Blog entries. The plan called for me to spend the night at Mindy’s, so I had to make extra sure I had everything I needed to be comfortable, including taking along my jamies and running attire should I choose to launch from her home Saturday morning. Just before leaving I called Mindy to see if she needed anything. She requested I bring some ice. And when I called, no one had yet arrived, although she was anticipating about 20 folks.
Once at Mindy’s it was obvious that many guests had already arrived between my earlier call and my arrival. There were about 10 or so guests already there. Included In that mix were her older brother and his room mate, her older sister and husband, and many of her teacher friends. What was obvious from the outset was that there was plenty of food, and good food at that. Mindy worked hard making a lot of different scrumptious hors d’oeuvres. There were hot ones and cold ones, sweet ones and salty ones. And included in the mix were plenty of drinks, both alcoholic and not. It’s also important to note that the presentation was as good as the food itself. Again, Mindy out did herself making everything look good, and look festive too! And she did most of this on her own. I think I’ll keep her!
My contribution to the eats were two of my favorites, sauerkraut balls (recipe #1) and chocolate chip cookie cheesecake. As time went along, several others joined the party. Most of the guests were Mindy’s friends from school that I’d heard so much about but had never met. It was good to finally put faces with names. In that mix, I met her friend Chris with whom she’s been friends with since the first day of college at OSU, when they met in line at orientation. He is quite the gentleman and from what I gathered, practically considered family. Not long after, two familiar faces arrived, Bob and Mary Ann. I hadn’t seen them since November 18th. They brought two jugs of Barley beer (yummy)!
Incidentally, I brought my new camera but had little practice so, instead, I took several pictures with Mindy’s little Nikon that I had been using all week.
Some observations:
Mindy’s older brother, Craig, is a hoot! I really like him. He’s got a great sense of humor and a very warm and welcoming personality. And while it’s obvious that he’s smart, one would not readily guess that he’s a doctor, and a pediatrician at that. I think he had more fun than anyone. He certainly was the most entertaining!
Mindy’s girl friends were all very nice, and treated me very well. I was surprised to learn that Mindy seems like the baby in her clan, although there were a couple of young ones there, too. Her young friend and co-worker Keri couldn’t make it. I guess she opted to hang with a younger crowd.
I also learned that my friend Bob aspires for great things (see pic) and dreams of being Miss America some day.
Xmas Vacation, starring Chevy Chase, playing in the back ground was the perfect Xmas party movie.
It was nice to meet all of Mindy’s friends (Tara, Shelly, Carol, Chris, etc), as well as some more of her family. I feel like I know her even better now.
By midnight, everyone had left and Mindy and I put away the foods that were apt to spoil if left out for the night. We were both very tired and we were looking forward to getting some, eh-um, sleep!
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