That's A Wrap!

I woke at my new holiday wake time which has been about 545am. Despite falling asleep the night prior at 1018pm, I was still a little tired. That might have had something to do with getting up and seeing Mindy on her way around 1145pm, or the three beers I had over the course of my evening at Barley’s. Regardless, I was ready to get the day going. I went about my morning exercises as normal then lassoed up Ykraps and went for a walk about the neighborhood. The morning air was noticeably warmer, probably somewhere in the mid 20’s. And that’s a far cry warmer than it’s been for the past couple of weeks. After our walk I did the usual thing which is to bless Ykraps with a treat and make myself a cup of coffee. Then, after my morning meditation, I sent my princess a good morning email. This was her first day of Christmas break/vacation. By the time I was done at the PC, it was 700am – time to get crackin’ on my lunch and breakfast. I gave a moments thought to doing another morning run. Reason being, I still had several Xmas gifts to fetch at lunch time. But in the end I opted not. I don’t know, call me lazy! When I finished readying myself for work, I took a few minutes to play the sax and then the guitar. Believe me, that elevated my mood! Soon, however, I was out the door on my way to the office. At work the day went as well as one might expect just a few days before Xmas. It was slow, which was good. Still, before I knew it, the morning had faded into afternoon and it was time for a run. The temperature was officially above freezing for the first day in some time. It was 33 degrees. However, it was quite breezy. After my run I showered and headed directly for the Trooper, intent on finalizing (or coming close) my Xmas shopping. My destination was the new Mill Run Target & Home Depot. My targeted (no pun intended) gift recipients were the younger sect of nieces and nephews (already finished the older group). I have them broken down into three groups, actually. My shopping spree was a success. I was able to find fun gifts for each of them. I felt relieved to complete that task given that there are only two shopping days remaining. That left me with only one person yet to gift and I planned to get that on my way home. My next stop took me next door to Home Depot. There I picked up outdoor light bulbs and furnace filters. It was time to get back to work. I completed my shopping task in just over an hour. Not bad! The afternoon in the office was for the most part uneventful, and soon it was time to depart. That moment was commemorated with a beautiful sunset observed from the fifth floor! My evening goals were simple. Wrap gifts! If I don’t do anything else, I must get a number of gifts wrapped. But for piece of mind, I had a bunch of little tasks that would need to be checked off the mental to-do list prior to starting the wrapping thing. I had to put the garbage out, replace an outdoor spot light, water the Xmas tree, and prep for Friday AM. By 630pm, I was ready to begin the painstaking process of wrapping. To help brighten the event, I poured myself a Barley’s IPA and warmed some left over pizza. For the next 2 hours I wrapped gifts with reckless abandon. Come 845pm I had had it with the wrapping thing. Over all, I wrapped about 20 gifts. That was quite an accomplishment given the amount of detail I put into the process. However, I still had about 40 more to go, but they would have to wait. I was spent. After cleaning up my mess, princess gave me a call. While chatting I uploaded Tuesday and Wednesday to my blog, minus photos (I’ll add them Friday AM). After exchanging good nights, I decided to spend at least a few minutes reading. After all, I can’t neglect the things that make me feel whole! I’m glad I did the reading thing, too. Not only does it relax my mind before sleep, but it settles my nerves and helps center my universe, the one I share with all God’s creation!