It was no thing! I was up at 5:30am thanks in part to my Blackberry, which was beeping away while resting on the night stand. I have the alarm set for 5:30am each morning. Most mornings I turn it off when I get downstairs, but since I was on-call I had it by my side. The alarm startled me – the very reason I don’t use one.
I proceeded to take my anti-inflammatory and then ran back upstairs to grab my Prilosec OTC. I skipped a vitamin for no good reason. I soon had my toes tucked under the edge of the sofa ripping out my sit-ups in no time flat. I finished my entire complement of exercise by 5:48am and headed out doors with Ykraps. It was 8 degrees which actually felt warm after the last two mornings. The good news is that the weather should be moderating over the next couple of days.
We were back inside for phase II of morning prep by 5:55am. By the time I got Ykraps a treat and poured my coffee it was 6:00am. I spent a few minutes on the PC before moving onto meditation. Once again, Mindy didn’t need to be woken since this was MLK Day – a holiday for her and the kids.
I dressed in my warmest running attire again today. One shirt and one jacket. And even though it was actually colder yesterday, there was no sunshine to counter the chill. I could only hope that I’d be as comfy as yesterday’s sunny zero run. Turns out, I was fine. I could feel the chill on my fingers through my running gloves for the first couple hundred yards but I warmed quickly. The weather was a non-factor. The streets were largely barren since it was a holiday for many. I didn’t mind. In fact, I enjoyed the peace and tranquility.
Upon my return I quietly went about preparing my breakfast. Lucky for me, I still had Friday’s lunch in the fridge at work. I headed upstairs just after 7:30am for my shower. Jacob was in my spot in bed with his momma. I went about my prep process all the while they relaxed from bed. I did my goodbyes from upstairs, too. Mindy didn’t bother getting out of bed.
Downstairs I warmed the Trooper for a good ten minutes before actually departing. It hadn’t run since Friday night. I left for work at 8:10am.
Traffic was a non-factor. I arrived at work by 8:25am. And because I was on-call, I really never let go of work mode all weekend long. That always makes Monday morning more palatable. We talked about the football playoffs while carrying out our usual tasks. On a more personal note, I contacted World Market at Easton & Polaris looking for the media stand I saw on their webpage. None in Columbus they reported. Crap! I decided that I’d drive to Target to see what they might have available during lunch. They had nothing attractive or that fit the bill. I did buy two storage containers – one for 2008 bills and another for CD storage. I also, bought some gum.
I headed back to the office being gone only 40 minutes total. I ate my lunch as I kicked off my afternoon of work. Ashley called around 3pm to give me an update on her apartment search. She’s looking for a place in Grove City. She also gave me a blow by blow of her latest doctor’s appointment. I talked with Mindy, who was taking all the kids, Lil’ Rocky included, to their 6 month dental appointments.
Work was fairly busy during the afternoon. I was determined to leave work as close to 5pm as possible wanting to stop at Michael’s Crafts to check-out & possibly buy a frame for our original “Out of This Whirled” by G. Wright. I left around 5:10pm and drove through old Hilliard. It’s always a slow drive down Hilliard-Rome Rd but the most effective way to get to Michael’s (just north of the Giant Eagle & Wal-Mart). There’s a lane widening project underway that’s been long overdue. I arrived by 5:30pm.
I’ve been there before. I found the 24X36” frames easily. I selected a solid black wood frame. It was normally $60 but on sale for $36. Good clean living! I also snagged some picture hanging hardware. I bought stuff to hang a frame weight of at least 50lbs. Mine would be no more than 20lbs, however.
By the time I left for home it was already after 6pm. I spent a good 30 minutes in there. I phoned Mindy to let her know that I was on my way and to see how the afternoon went at the dentist office. Turns out that she had her 6 month exam, too. She didn’t realize it before hand. She said the kids were cooperative. Jacob & Bella each had a one new cavity on their first molar’s – baby teeth. Rocky, surprisingly, was cavity free! Sounds, too, like Mindy had a very busy afternoon going here and there. She even made it to a chiro appointment.
I arrived home around 6:20pm. After unloading my stuff, I walked Ykraps. The kids were playing with the Wii – something they haven’t been able to do for about a week due to our ongoing painting project. For dinner, Mindy made leftover roast beef and scalloped potatoes, along with a fresh garden salad. The roast was crazy good, although a tad tougher than usual. It was nearly 7pm by the time dinner was over and the kitchen cleaned up. Mindy had a stated goal of having the kids in bed by 7:30pm since they both exhibited tired behavior earlier in the day. They all headed upstairs.
During my alone time, I updated Thursday & Friday on my blog. I have the weekend done too, but didn’t get around to posting. After I finished I decided to prep the frame for the wall. Mindy brought down our tube of art. I already had the frame opened and ready to receive the piece. I had already Windexed the inside of the frame, too. To my chagrin, the piece was about one inch smaller than the frame all the way around – 23X35”. If I knew it, I had forgotten. That meant that there’d be about a half inch gap around the frame without a frame border. You can’t buy 24X36” frame borders at most frame or photo supply centers either. I’ve looked. You can, however, buy them online. We decided to center the piece on a white background sheet cut perfect to the frame. It looked fine like that, so we decided to hang it that way. Although, before hanging, I still had to mount the clips and supporting wire. I took great care to do a professional job.
I had the picture ready for hanging by 8pm. I carried in and strategically placed the extension ladder against the high north wall. First I had to measure for its locale. Mindy agreed that it should be centered top-to-bottom as well as side-to-side. Not done easily as one might think. To accomplish this, one must take into account the placement of the clips and the slack in the wire. It’s certainly not rocket science but challenging nonetheless. I confidently calculated and found the exact spot to drive the heavy-duty picture hook. I was also careful not to mare the freshly painted wall with the ladder or the art. Mindy offered to assist by carrying the piece to the loft where she could then hand it to me already on the ladder. That was a much better idea than having me carry it up the ladder. And by the way, after much consideration, we decided to hand our piece horizontally (because of its abstract design, it could easily hang either way).
After much angst, I was finally able to snag the hook with the coarse wire. Good thing, too. My arms were growing weary! I did my best to eyeball level, but knew that I needed a level to finish the task. I spent a good five minutes getting it perfectly level to both the eye and the tool. That wasn’t easy either since the ladder had to be off to the side just enough to place the bubble out of an easy eye shot. But I made do.
After dismounting from the ladder, Mindy and I admired our work and the piece itself. Admittedly, I was a tad worried that the color scheme wouldn’t match as nicely as it did. I was most concerned with the blue and the lack of any purple, but that was unfounded. It looks awesome!
I put away the tools and carried the ladder back outdoors. By 8:20pm I was ready to relax. The kids, despite Mindy’s best effort, continued their recent string of repeated calls for her attention even after the tuck in. This aggravated me much. What to do about it, however, I’m not certain. For me, well, I poured myself a Jack & Coke. :)
We sat together on the sofa and further contemplated the idea of mounting our stored Plasma TV on the family room wall all the while the massage pillow massaged our feet. We both love that thing! We headed up for bed around 10pm.
I proceeded to take my anti-inflammatory and then ran back upstairs to grab my Prilosec OTC. I skipped a vitamin for no good reason. I soon had my toes tucked under the edge of the sofa ripping out my sit-ups in no time flat. I finished my entire complement of exercise by 5:48am and headed out doors with Ykraps. It was 8 degrees which actually felt warm after the last two mornings. The good news is that the weather should be moderating over the next couple of days.
We were back inside for phase II of morning prep by 5:55am. By the time I got Ykraps a treat and poured my coffee it was 6:00am. I spent a few minutes on the PC before moving onto meditation. Once again, Mindy didn’t need to be woken since this was MLK Day – a holiday for her and the kids.
I dressed in my warmest running attire again today. One shirt and one jacket. And even though it was actually colder yesterday, there was no sunshine to counter the chill. I could only hope that I’d be as comfy as yesterday’s sunny zero run. Turns out, I was fine. I could feel the chill on my fingers through my running gloves for the first couple hundred yards but I warmed quickly. The weather was a non-factor. The streets were largely barren since it was a holiday for many. I didn’t mind. In fact, I enjoyed the peace and tranquility.
Upon my return I quietly went about preparing my breakfast. Lucky for me, I still had Friday’s lunch in the fridge at work. I headed upstairs just after 7:30am for my shower. Jacob was in my spot in bed with his momma. I went about my prep process all the while they relaxed from bed. I did my goodbyes from upstairs, too. Mindy didn’t bother getting out of bed.
Downstairs I warmed the Trooper for a good ten minutes before actually departing. It hadn’t run since Friday night. I left for work at 8:10am.
Traffic was a non-factor. I arrived at work by 8:25am. And because I was on-call, I really never let go of work mode all weekend long. That always makes Monday morning more palatable. We talked about the football playoffs while carrying out our usual tasks. On a more personal note, I contacted World Market at Easton & Polaris looking for the media stand I saw on their webpage. None in Columbus they reported. Crap! I decided that I’d drive to Target to see what they might have available during lunch. They had nothing attractive or that fit the bill. I did buy two storage containers – one for 2008 bills and another for CD storage. I also, bought some gum.
I headed back to the office being gone only 40 minutes total. I ate my lunch as I kicked off my afternoon of work. Ashley called around 3pm to give me an update on her apartment search. She’s looking for a place in Grove City. She also gave me a blow by blow of her latest doctor’s appointment. I talked with Mindy, who was taking all the kids, Lil’ Rocky included, to their 6 month dental appointments.
Work was fairly busy during the afternoon. I was determined to leave work as close to 5pm as possible wanting to stop at Michael’s Crafts to check-out & possibly buy a frame for our original “Out of This Whirled” by G. Wright. I left around 5:10pm and drove through old Hilliard. It’s always a slow drive down Hilliard-Rome Rd but the most effective way to get to Michael’s (just north of the Giant Eagle & Wal-Mart). There’s a lane widening project underway that’s been long overdue. I arrived by 5:30pm.
I’ve been there before. I found the 24X36” frames easily. I selected a solid black wood frame. It was normally $60 but on sale for $36. Good clean living! I also snagged some picture hanging hardware. I bought stuff to hang a frame weight of at least 50lbs. Mine would be no more than 20lbs, however.
By the time I left for home it was already after 6pm. I spent a good 30 minutes in there. I phoned Mindy to let her know that I was on my way and to see how the afternoon went at the dentist office. Turns out that she had her 6 month exam, too. She didn’t realize it before hand. She said the kids were cooperative. Jacob & Bella each had a one new cavity on their first molar’s – baby teeth. Rocky, surprisingly, was cavity free! Sounds, too, like Mindy had a very busy afternoon going here and there. She even made it to a chiro appointment.
I arrived home around 6:20pm. After unloading my stuff, I walked Ykraps. The kids were playing with the Wii – something they haven’t been able to do for about a week due to our ongoing painting project. For dinner, Mindy made leftover roast beef and scalloped potatoes, along with a fresh garden salad. The roast was crazy good, although a tad tougher than usual. It was nearly 7pm by the time dinner was over and the kitchen cleaned up. Mindy had a stated goal of having the kids in bed by 7:30pm since they both exhibited tired behavior earlier in the day. They all headed upstairs.
During my alone time, I updated Thursday & Friday on my blog. I have the weekend done too, but didn’t get around to posting. After I finished I decided to prep the frame for the wall. Mindy brought down our tube of art. I already had the frame opened and ready to receive the piece. I had already Windexed the inside of the frame, too. To my chagrin, the piece was about one inch smaller than the frame all the way around – 23X35”. If I knew it, I had forgotten. That meant that there’d be about a half inch gap around the frame without a frame border. You can’t buy 24X36” frame borders at most frame or photo supply centers either. I’ve looked. You can, however, buy them online. We decided to center the piece on a white background sheet cut perfect to the frame. It looked fine like that, so we decided to hang it that way. Although, before hanging, I still had to mount the clips and supporting wire. I took great care to do a professional job.
I had the picture ready for hanging by 8pm. I carried in and strategically placed the extension ladder against the high north wall. First I had to measure for its locale. Mindy agreed that it should be centered top-to-bottom as well as side-to-side. Not done easily as one might think. To accomplish this, one must take into account the placement of the clips and the slack in the wire. It’s certainly not rocket science but challenging nonetheless. I confidently calculated and found the exact spot to drive the heavy-duty picture hook. I was also careful not to mare the freshly painted wall with the ladder or the art. Mindy offered to assist by carrying the piece to the loft where she could then hand it to me already on the ladder. That was a much better idea than having me carry it up the ladder. And by the way, after much consideration, we decided to hand our piece horizontally (because of its abstract design, it could easily hang either way).
After much angst, I was finally able to snag the hook with the coarse wire. Good thing, too. My arms were growing weary! I did my best to eyeball level, but knew that I needed a level to finish the task. I spent a good five minutes getting it perfectly level to both the eye and the tool. That wasn’t easy either since the ladder had to be off to the side just enough to place the bubble out of an easy eye shot. But I made do.
After dismounting from the ladder, Mindy and I admired our work and the piece itself. Admittedly, I was a tad worried that the color scheme wouldn’t match as nicely as it did. I was most concerned with the blue and the lack of any purple, but that was unfounded. It looks awesome!
I put away the tools and carried the ladder back outdoors. By 8:20pm I was ready to relax. The kids, despite Mindy’s best effort, continued their recent string of repeated calls for her attention even after the tuck in. This aggravated me much. What to do about it, however, I’m not certain. For me, well, I poured myself a Jack & Coke. :)
We sat together on the sofa and further contemplated the idea of mounting our stored Plasma TV on the family room wall all the while the massage pillow massaged our feet. We both love that thing! We headed up for bed around 10pm.
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