Fear the Nut?

1) Just a Nut 2) Everyone's ready for the game 3) pregame interview It should come as no surprise that Monday’s wake-up came easier than most. After all, it was national championship Monday. The Buckeyes would play for their second national championship in the last four years later in the day. And most Buckeye fans were more than confident that our team would put on one hell of a show. Naturally, I was pumped. That aside, it was like most other Mondays. I was up doing my exercises and walking Ykraps before the cock crowed. It was a tad blustery and very windy outdoors. The clouds that hung overhead were being blown to the east at a very fast clip giving way to clear skies & stars to our immediate west. I noticed a trash bag from our overflowing trash can had blown out and onto the street. I promptly reloaded it into the can as the garbage guy generally arrives just after 6am. My hands got cold and achy during our walk. It was plenty cold enough for gloves. My hands, for whatever reason, are more sensitive to cold than most others. Plus, they crack and dry somewhat easily in the winter. Too much exposure to bitter cold temps during my Time Warner days I suspect. As usual, I poured our coffee once back inside. I took Mindy hers and placed it on the night stand. She reported being overtly tired, mostly from dealing with Bella five different times during the night. All of her wake ups were unwarranted. This has gotten progressively worse over the last week or so. I returned downstairs to meditate, read, and ready some food. I had tuna fish and fruit already in the fridge at work from last Friday, so I would only need nuts and a salad. That cut some prep time out of my morning. I made fried eggs and cut fruit for breakfast. Mindy was downstairs in her Buckeye garb by 7:00am ready to eat. Jacob wasn’t far behind and full of energy. He was already psyched for the big game! Bella, of course, was still asleep. Seems she was too tired to get up after getting her mother up so many times during the night. J Mindy loaded and warmed the van before fetching Bella from her bed. When she finally did, she simply scooped her up in her jammies and whisked her off to the van. They were gone by their usual 7:20am. I took a quick shower then dressed in jeans and my brand new OSU sweatshirt. I guess you could say it was informally jean day. Before leaving the house I decided to bring in all four of Mindy’s small Xmas trees. There were two on the deck and two on the front porch. Three of the four were lying over from the moderately heavy winds. Now the only remaining Xmas decoration, inside or out, was the large wreath hanging at the peak of the garage. I-270 traffic was frighteningly light for a Monday. I guessed that many took the day off for the national championship game. Not sure how that works but the eyes don’t lie. I arrived to work just a smidgeon after 8am. The parking lot was emptier than usual, too. In our center, the mood was light and the energy high. Everyone was dressed in their Buckeye garb and upbeat for the game. While work was only moderately busy for the center overall, I was very busy. We had a handful of ‘carryovers’ from the weekend that required my attention. As usual, I worked hard right up until runtime. I was in the gym by 12:55pm. I dressed in an extra layer since the temperature was barely above freezing. It was 34 degrees. And since I’ve become accustom to mid 40’s or higher, I even wore my running gloves and a warm fleece hat. All that gear made it just a tad warm, but I survived. There was a very stiff wind blowing almost directly out of the west that challenged me all the way out. Thankfully, it served me well on the return. I was back to my office by 2:15pm after a shower & then a short visit with my boss. I was hungry and looking forward to eating my packed tuna salad, even if it was four days old. And except for the slightly limp lettuce, it tasted as fresh as ever. It was yummy! I couldn’t say the same for the fruit, though. It was terrible. I threw most of it away. The rest of the afternoon went smoothly. Most folks were talking some heavy duty Buckeye smack by now. I left work at 5:10pm after making certain that all of my I’s were dotted and my T’s were crossed. I was home by 5:21pm, helped along by very light traffic. The kids were pumped, especially Jacob. I noticed Mindy making tacos for dinner. Yummy! I unloaded my gym bag, threw my running clothes in the dryer, then leashed up Ykraps for his evening walk. While I was busy tending to my chores, Bella was having a full blown melt down over losing her Leapster for the night. This was punishment for “waking the mommy” five times the night before. I guess the best way to influence desired behavior is to hit ‘em where it hurts. And right now, for Bella, it’s taking her Leapster. She’s never been one to leave you wondering how she feels about anything. She’s noisy! She sat on the steps to the upstairs crying and pleading for it back. Mindy held her ground, however. Eventually Bella conceded. She promised NOT to wake Mindy tonight, which would earn it back come Tuesday. While walking Ykraps, he took a huge troublesome dump. I wouldn’t normally make to big a deal about it except for the fact that he couldn’t shake the turd loose. Oh boy! On closer observation, it looked like he had eaten a paper towel, and it wasn’t coming out easily. It just hung there, largely still in tact. Finally, after several pushes and thrusts, he was able to pass the Bounty. He had a distraught look on his face while dealing with the problem. Back at home, I settled down in front of the PC to blog while Mindy put the finishing touches on our Mexican feast. I had enough time to post Saturday and Sunday complete with pictures. However, I would later learn, thanks to Mindy, that they were both in dire need of editing. But what can I say? You can most often tell when I haven’t proof read my entries. I’ve never been one to have thoughts flow gracefully mind to hand. I enjoyed a few tacos, as well as a large helping of leftover scalloped potatoes. Still yummy! By the time we finished cleaning up the kitchen it was darn near 7:00pm – 1.5hrs from game time. Mindy hurried to get the kids bathed and ready for bed while I watched the Fox pre-game. The next 1.5 hours went extremely fast. All the hype and anticipation was about to end. Kick-off was minutes away. If facial expressions could tell a story, I thought Jim Tressel looked a bit disturbed waiting there in the tunnel. It was almost like he knew his team was flat. The opening kick-off put most minds at ease. We ran the damn thing back for a touchdown! Just like that, the Buckeyes were up 7-0 only sixteen seconds into the game. Sadly, that was about it for the Buckeyes. No more highlights and no more magic! From there on we got our asses handed to us, plain and simple. No excuses. I felt a little like a fair weather fan turning off the TV, but I did. I knew I had to get up at 5:30am and it was already 11:30pm. But there was no hope for the Bucks tonight! Maybe next year!