Waaahhh!

I slept like a baby! I’d sleep for about an hour, wake up and cry, go back to sleep for another hour, wake up and cry, etc, etc. Not really. I slept like a rock! I didn’t even stir during the night, or if I did, I don’t remember doing so. I woke at 6:06am – late! Not to worry though. I wasn’t at all concerned. I told myself to just take my time and do my usual routine. I am far happier when I am not rushed. The sun was just about to rise as I whizzed through my exercise routine. And by the time I had walked Ykraps and settled down for some coffee, it was already 6:30am, the time I generally begin making my breakfast and lunch. Again, not to worry. I enjoyed my coffee and even retrieved my camera to take some pictures of the deck basking in the sunlight. By the time I had finished packing my lunch and cooking and eating my breakfast, it was 7:20am. But before heading towards the shower, I added the pictures which I had already picked and edited for my weekend blog entries. That put me in the shower at 7:30am, or about the time I usually leave the house. I showered and primped quickly but not too fast. I decided to wear my contacts today too. I hadn’t worn them since the “Moisture Lock” scare. But with vacation approaching I want to be able to wear my sun glasses and read at the same time, plus, I need to allow my nose to rest. The bridge of my nose is a little sore from my glasses resting on them so much. I ended up leaving the house just before 8:00am. I arrived to work just a little behind schedule but in plenty of time to get involved in the day’s early events. I worked hard through the morning, right up until about 11:30am when a peer walked in my office and asked if I was going to go to the 12noon training. Ahh ...yeah – of course! I hurriedly gathered my things, including my gym bag and headed off to the mandatory training. I would have to postpone my run until about 330pm when the training’s slated to end. Too, I’d likely forego lunch until at least after my run and likely all together. There’s nothing worse than sitting in a training class with a belly full of food and no run done. I’d be asleep like that! The training just about put me to sleep. Thankfully it wrapped up a bit early. I headed directly to the gym and without passing go. The weather was superb for running. It was about 73 and partly cloudy/sunny. When I returned from my run it was already 4:15pm. Just another 45 minutes and the day would be over. I decided to pass on lunch except for eating three slices of turkey. Mindy was making dinner tonight and I wanted to be sure and be hungry for that. I left he office just after 5pm and made a quick stop at Home Depot where I planned to have an extra key made for Craig’s vacation home in Florida. Apparently having keys made after work is a hot item! There must have been four of us al converged on the key machine. The new key making machines are almost completely full proof. Even a five year old could do it. I was out of there in a matter of minutes, despite the crowd. I told Mindy that my best guess for an arrival was between 630 & 700pm. I’ve learned that trying to be sooner only serves to get me flustered. She hoped that I’d be there closer to 630pm though. But I understand, her and the kids are used to eating earlier. At home I rushed through my chores so that I could have a little time to try my buddy Ken’s power washer on the deck. It wasn’t powerful enough to clean concrete but my internet research indicated that its 1300 psi would be plenty for the deck. I wasn’t so sure. But, after hooking it up and trying it out, it seems to do a pretty good job. The boards that straddle each side of the new stuff looked much worse since now they’re residing by brand new stuff. They are the dirtiest and most weathered since they typically have planters resting on them therefore staying wet a great deal of the summer. The power washer removed most of the grime and dirt. It also removed the tannin from the stucco where the decking boards butt firmly against. I didn’t have time to do a thorough job but all the areas I hit looked decent. I’ll know better once it dries. But unfortunately, I won’t likely have time to do a good job until I return from vacation. It was 6:30pm. I had to ready for Mindy’s. She was expecting me soon. I still had to get gas too since I was running on fumes. I called to let her know that I was close once Wal-Mart was within my sights. As I pumped my gas and watched the total pass $50, I could only shake my head in frustration. When it was all said and done, I had spent $56 on 20 gallons even. I was bone dry! I made it to Mindy’s by 6:57pm. The kids were waiting on the porch. For dinner we were having what’s known in the Thompson household as hodge-podge (leftovers). We had brats, Italian sausage, cheese burgers, pork chops, green beans, and calamari. The calamari was freshly made, and a recipe out of the Adkins book. Everything was gooooood! Well, accept for the calamari – sorry Princess! Realistically, that’s the first thing she’s made that didn’t turn out so well. We both agreed that we’d keep calamari on the dine-out menu. So far, no one’s calamari compares to Tucci’s. Try it! After dinner Jacob and I threw the baseball in the back yard. I wanted to walk to the pond but Mindy really didn’t want to since it would get us back after the kids usual bed time and she knew better than I that they were showing the tell tale signs of being tired. So, bath time it was. I helped a little but mostly tormented the kids through the bathing process. Soon they were both in their jammies. They asked for a story. I pulled them both together to kill two birds with one stone. I’ve gotten wise. I made up a story about Jack & Jill and the two-headed green monster in the forest. Not sure they liked it much, but it was fun. They were in their beds with blinds pulled and lights out by 8:30pm. Mindy and I spent the next half hour or so sitting on the front porch watching her neighbors toil in their yards. This is the kind of subdivision where they cut the grass even when it doesn’t look like it needs it. They even have big expensive riding mowers for their postage stamp yards. Ahh, the suburbs! We then went in and sat on the couch for another half hour before I left for home. I didn’t end up leaving until about 9:45pm. I was home by 10pm. I played around on the PC and then played some guitar before going to bed. I went to bed just after 10:30pm and read until I fell asleep just before 11pm.