Snow, Ice, and Valentines

I was not in the most pleasant of moods and for a handful of reasons my sleep was not great.
I slept about as late as I could get away with without botching my morning schedule. It was 5:48am when I finally drug my lazy ass out of bed and made my way downstairs. And actually, this was the second time I had awoken and headed downstairs. The first was just after 4am when the rare inability to sleep struck. I suppose it’s fair to say that a few things were bothering me enough to cause insomnia. But after a little computer time I was tired enough to head back to bed.

After scratching, taking a vitamin, and checking on the coffee, I was satisfied enough to move on with my morning calisthenics. I decided while exercising that I would do my run after walking Ykraps for fear of encountering a covered trail and terrible conditions later in the day.

I leashed up Ykraps and ventured out into the weather. While walking I gathered data to use for navagating my upcoming run. The walks were covered with about 6 or 7 inches of snow with at least another inch of sleet/ice on top – not enough to support my body weight. My only choice was to walk in the street. Because of salting, at least the snowy streets didn’t have the crunchy top coat. There were only a few miscellaneous tire tracks in the streets. These I would use as my running trail. I’ve done this before – Xmas 2004 comes to mind.

Back home I unleashed Ykraps then despite no desire, began chipping a fresh layer of ice off the driveway once again. This was getting really old! After chipping away the ice I laid down another coating of salt. Once back inside I made myself a much deserved cup of coffee. After sucking it down it was about 6:40am. I quickly dressed for a run.

I didn’t bother alerting Mindy as I didn’t think she’d want to be awaken just for me to announce my run. I knew right away the run would be tough. Not only did I have to focus on staying in existing tire tracks but also jump around from one to another – never an easy feat! I kept my chin up and forged ahead. The exercise and benefits were unbeatable.

As one might imagine, I encountered a number of vehicles stuck or almost stuck since all the roads were unplowed. And to get in four miles means I run on all the little off shoots which were even worse. However, to my surprise, a few of these were groomed. I could only surmise that someone with a plow took care of the entire little road for his neighbors. It benefited me too! But of the four miles, less than a half mile or so was in that good of condition. I just toughed it out!

Daylight had broken by the time I rounded the corner for home. Just as I was approaching the house I saw what looked like Lindsey plowing towards me in her Honda. As she got even closer it was clear to me that it was indeed her. I took immediate notice of her more than half snow covered windows as she fish tailed away. I just shook my head in disbelief. Too, though, I wondered why she was over. As I understood things, she didn’t make any arrangements for Mindy to watch Rocky today.

Once back home I quickly began peeling away my layers. Mindy was up and confirmed that Lindsey had dropped Lil’ Rocky for her to care for. I let Mindy know that I would discuss this with Lindsey later. But the more she reviewed yesterday’s dialogue, the more it seemed to me that Lindsey might have took their conversation as Mindy granting permission to bring him over despite her own comment about not going to work if the roads were bad. Regardless, he was here.

I pulled out a frying pan to make some eggs before I showered. Mindy’s cell phone rang. It was Lindsey. She was stuck just around the corner in ass deep snow. Great! She wanted me to come help. Frustrated, I geared back up in my winter protective devices and went out to warm my Trooper. There was a thick layer of ice about my windshield which took a great deal of time to free. Just as I cleared it off, Lindsey came motoring by only going the other direction. She rolled down her window and told me to forget it. A friendly neighbor had freed her.

All of this only added to my already sour demeanor, and it was Valentine’s Day. Crap! I had Mindy’s card already stashed, but I hadn’t her gifts, although I knew what I was getting her. I had hoped to get them on Monday, but due to the storm I didn’t. This, like everything else, only added to my stress. I readied for work and left by 8:05am. The good news was that my Trooper was plenty warm when I left because I chose to leave it running from earlier.

I phoned the office to let them know that I was on my way. Things were better than the day prior. And to my surprise, we only had one call-off. I stayed very busy all day long. I worked right up until 1pm. Instead of running (did that earlier) I went to Tuttle mall. My first stop was Macy’s to pick out some earrings. Next, I stopped at the Godiva shop for some fresh chocolate truffles. I felt so much better after procuring Mindy’s gifts. I would need to make one more stop for flowers but wouldn’t do that until after work.

The afternoon went quick. I finished the year-end review, merit, and bonus process with my team of engineers. Before I knew it, it was time to go home. I purposefully hurried to Kroger's skipping giving Mindy a call along the way. I didn't want to be detoured from my goal. Happily, Kroger's had an ample supply of beautiful roses, some with decorative baby's breath and assorted other accompaniments, and also some just plain. I chose a dozen orange with all the trimmings. They were $40 - a deal on Valentine's Day. I worried for a second that Mindy would've prefer red, but I stuck with what looked the prettiest and freshest. I organized her gifts in a Godiva gift bag then headed for home.

I called Mindy on the way home. We firmed plans to attend Barley's Oyster's and Stout night - her preference. Mindy already walked Ykraps, so once I was home we exchanged Valentine's gifts. I got lots of "practical" Grandma Wright type gifts. I got a tube of tooth paste, some Twix bars, Goetz caramels, massage oil and implement, some tongs, and a tune-filled greeting card. Perhaps I should've specified "practical" as in tools! Mindy got roses, Godiva chocolates, sterling silver earrings, and a greeting card - everything a woman supposedly wants for Valentine's Day save for the loving affection.
After Mindy vased her roses we left for Barley's. We only had until about 7:15pm, and it was already just before 6pm.

We arrived at Barley's minutes later. To our surprise, there much of a crowd for an Oyster's & Stout night. Usually these things draw a shoulder to shoulder crowd. Most of the attendees were Barley's frequent flyers. Word had it that the weather hurt the turnout, and a bonus they would be extending the event to Friday, also. Truth be told, I am not too big on Oyster's, but was willing to give them a go. We got a couple seats at the bar after Rebecca kindly bequeathed hers to me. And in honor of the event, we both ordered a Stout. No sooner than we began sipping our Stout Bob and Dan entered. It was good to see more familiar faces. I noticed Bob's right hand was wrapped. A skiing injury, I assumed. As we talked, we ordered food - a dozen smoked oysters and an order of Gates of Hell chicken wings.

We talked more in-depth about our fast approaching trip, and more specifically about the logistics of getting to the airport and such. As of now, it sounds like Bob will pick us up at our house after he gets off work. Soon Rick showed up. Hell, it looked a lot like a Friday night, but then again, maybe these guys show up every night. We're not sure. We teased Bob about it since we knew he was in on Monday night. Our food arrived in the middle of all the discussion. The Oysters were pretty tasty but nothing I would ever seem to crave. The wings were fantastic! In fact, mine were so good that Mindy ordered a batch of Honey Chipotle for herself. We hurried through our dinner and paid our tab. We had to get home. It was about 7:10pm. Mindy called Jimaken as we left.

While driving down Dublin Rd towards home, we heard a sudden rumble then in an instant the entire sheet of thick ice laminating my hood flew up and over my windshield launching high into the night sky. I saw it come to its crashing end via my rear view mirror. Good thing no one was behind me! Once we arrived home Mindy asked that I drive repeatedly over the snow bank blocking our drive to make her exit and entrance easier. I was happy to oblige her.

Soon the kids were home where we suddenly found ourselves in the throws of read & tuck. As usual, while Mindy did most of the work, I blogged all the while enjoying a piece of chocolate turtle pie still left from Saturday night. For entertainment, we tuned into American Idol. While watching, Mindy treated me to a 25 minute back rub. After Idol we headed for bed.