Shopping Spree

Sleeping a little late would cause harm to none of my plans, so I slept in until 8am. But I was up early as compared to Mindy. She slept until almost 10am. It was cloudy when I first got up, but the sun came out a short time later. However, by the time that Mindy got up it was cloudy again. In fact, the weekend weather forecast was all over the place and had changed a number of times over the past few days. Saturday was sunny but predicted to be cloudy. Sunday, on the other hand, began cloudy but was supposed to be sunny. I did most of my routine before Mindy was up. However, I didn’t complete my run until nearly 11am. We planned an afternoon shopping spree for after my return. While I ran my four miles, Mindy showered. After my return I showered up in a hurry and readied to head off for a handful of stops. On our roadmap were Kohl’s, Target, Home Depot, and Sears. The intent of our shopping spree was to get Jimmy some birthday presents. I was skeptical, however, having shopped many times past with Mindy. Somehow or other , I often end up spending a boat load of money on stuff never before on our list. We chose to shop Kohl’s first. On my list was a pair of new jeans and some long sleeved black tee-shirts. Mindy helped me find what I sought. I ended up getting tow pair of new jeans, five long sleeved tee shirts (3 black, 1 white, and 1 brown), and two black dress shirts. The best part was that Mindy paid. Moreover, she bought herself nothing. Target is directly across the street. I thought that we’d stop there next. Mindy opted not. Instead, we headed north toward Tuttle. However, because we were hungry, we decided to stop for some food first. We ended up at Burger King. Mindy had a salad. I had a Jr Whooper combo. We ate inside. Next, we headed to Tuttle where we visited Front Room Furnishings. We hoped to find the perfect coffee table for our family room. Not only did we find a couple black coffee tables, but we also found a few chairs and a sectional Mindy liked. She’s very good at the up sell. We bought nothing. After we left Front room Furnishings we headed to Sears t o look at air compressors, the original gift I told Mindy that I wanted. We entered on a different level than where their tools reside. It’s a confusing layout. If you enter from the north you enter on the first floor. However, if you enter from the east you enter on the second floor. We happened upon appliances first. We checked out ranges and dishwashers. We found the two we liked. Unfortunately, we didn’t come to buy appliances. We moved on. I already knew that Sears had a seemingly endless selection of air compressors. I also knew that most models were far more feature laden than what I really needed. I selected the smallest model after stewing over a couple others. I would imagine that they up sell folks just like me all the time. You see the one you want, but also see the one next to it for just another $20 and a little bigger. Next to it is yet another for a few more dollars. This goes on and on until you’re looking at compressors fit for a tire shop. I managed to keep my sanity. The model I chose should serve me well. We could’ve headed home as time was beginning to get away from us. It was after 2:30pm. We made one last stop at Home Depot so I could pick-up a couple of gutter parts for Gloria’s house which will help divert water away from her foundation. We were in and out of there in a jiffy and headed home. The kids, meanwhile, were already at home. Jimaken brought the mat 3pm. Mindy called and apologized for being late. We were home five minutes later. I badly wanted to get the grass cut before heading off to Sunday dinner. I changed into yard work attire and headed outdoors. While I did that, Mindy ran to Target. I managed to whack, edge, and cut with the push mower. All I had left to do was to cut with the tractor and then blow. If we managed our time correctly, I could get those two things done when we got home. After a fast shower, we headed to Gloria’s. I hadn’t been to Sunday dinner for several weeks. It seemed strange being there. I took the two gutter gadgets out back to install them right away. Dinner was ready after a short wait. We had baked steak (chopped steak), potatoes and green beans, and coleslaw. I had more than my fair share. I realize now as I type this that one big reason that I’ve stayed trim all summer is by staying away from Sunday dinner. I almost always over eat. After dinner I retired to the lower level where I tuned into some NFL action. I watched part of the Browns an Cowboys game. The Browns looked pathetic. It wasn’t long before dessert was ready. We were having chocolate pie - my favorite. To boot, the few family members there sang the Happy Birthday song to me. I joined in too. I had a gigantic piece of pie. Too big, really. I was stuffed! I was eager to get home knowing that I had to get the rest of the mowing done. We arrived home around 7:20pm. Bella agreed to walk Ykraps to eliminate yet another small chore from my list. I appreciated it. I finished up just before darkness set in. While the kids were bathed, I tuned into Sunday night football, which pitted the Colts against the Bears - a rematch of the Super Bowl two years removed. The Colts lost badly.