Push right there!

1) A bald eagle 2) Columbia Double Whammy Parkas 3) Bella - just the bones please! 4) Jacob in wing sauce I was up just before 5:30am. It was time to return to work after a fabulous three day weekend. My built in alarm clock was functioning perfectly. I was careful not to disturb Mindy and quietly headed down the stairs. I noticed how good my back felt still this morning and once again marveled at the sudden cure during back rubs. I quickly tucked my toes and cranked out my 55 sit-ups then moved right into my push-ups. Today I did 55 ( five more than usual). I hadn’t done any curls since Saturday morning. It felt good getting those weights in my hands. I bundled in my Columbia parka and fleece underneath for my walk with Ykraps. It was cold – bitter cold (17 degrees). Given the spring like warmth that has pretty much gripped us since before Xmas, the sudden drop in temperature felt very artic like. But thankfully, I was dressed for it. The other benefit of the sudden cold was the clear skies over head. It seems like weeks since we’ve seen the sun and moon. Reality says it’s only been a handful of days, however. I failed to mention in my Monday blog that despite the Obsessive Compulsive tendencies that drove me to check the chalet from top to bottom for anything left behind, I did , in fact, leave something behind. I left the thick winter lining to my Columbia Parka. I left it hanging in the living room closet – the only space left unchecked. Once I realized I had left it behind, I was furious with myself. Mindy made it all better by dialing up the office and requesting they ship it to our home once they returned from the clean-up. God Bless her! I also failed to mention in my Saturday blog that we saw a bald eagle in route to my mother’s home off route 93 scavenging for food in the middle of an open field. One would hope to come upon our national symbol in a more prestigious setting, but this, I have learned, was much closer to reality. The morning prep went as planned. By 7:20am Mindy and the kids were on the road and I was onto the shower. By the time I had fully prepared myself to leave and warmed the Trooper, It was almost 8am. I noticed on my way to work that the price of gas had dropped another $.06 to $.1.96. That was uplifting to see. I arrived to work just after 8:15am and got settled in rather quickly and routinely. I had a barrel full of email and a host of other stuff that needed addresses. It pretty much took all morning to get caught up. Come 1pm I left my office for a much needed run. My legs were still a little stiff from the uphill running in Hocking Hills. I bundled accordingly given the below freezing temps (29 degrees). My attire was just about right for the conditions. The run was almost effortless. I returned to my office after a hot shower eager to eat my lunch. During my lunch, I exchanged emails with Tom Shepperd (Glenn’s friend from Oregon) and Bob Imber trying to nail down dates for a potential February/ March ski trip. Currently, everyone’s dates are floating over a three week span (late Feb thru early March). As the afternoon wore on I focused my attention on work related issues. I didn’t find my way out of the office until almost 5:30pm. Things just got busy over the last hour, which isn’t too uncommon. Once in route to home I called and talked with Mindy. She had wings already in the oven and was eager for me to get home. I arrived just before 6pm. I couldn’t immediately put my running clothes in the dryer because she had Jacob’s bedding drying. I put my lunch containers in the sink and headed out the door with Ykraps. It was another chilly walk. Temperatures were dropping fast and were expected to drop into the mid teens again later tonight. Finally back at home, Mindy asked me to mix the hot sauce for the wings. I did. I concocted a special mixture of Texas Pete’s, butter, and ranch dip. I like baked wings extra crispy so we cooked them about 20 minutes longer than the recipe calls for. And they ended up looking and, more importantly, tasting outstanding! After dinner, Jacob and I retreated to the basement playroom to play some “land hockey”. We played for almost a full hour. It was a lot of fun. He plays rough! Once Mindy called him upstairs to ready for bed, I took to updating my blog, which was now about four days behind. When called for the read and tuck, I took a break and joined them upstairs. Back downstairs, Mindy and I talked about the coming weekend. We made tentative plans with friends to meet at Barleys and also made arrangements for Kaileigh to visit and spend the night Saturday. I’m looking forward to that! We almost forgot to tune into American Idol but were reminded by one of Mindy’s friends. We joined around 8:20pm. It was very entertaining. They were auditioning folks from Minneapolis. And just as one might expect, there were some real characters performing. What a hoot! While the competition carried on, Mindy agreed to rub my back once again. I was growing a little stiff and certainly didn’t want to end up where I was just 24 hours before – in severe discomfort. It worked well. The knots loosened with direct pressure left and right of my spine about mid-back. Ahhh! We stayed up until Idol was over – 10pm. We went to bed immediately following the show and after securing the house.