A Banner Day Indeed

Monthly bills that weren’t nearly as biting as expected; my dentist performed a minor miracle; and the DOW rose a whopping 10.88%!  

As one would expect, I was up on time and aggressively attacking my exercise routine by 5:30am. I felt really good after a solid 7.5 hours of sleep. A glance out the back door revealed a clear, star-filled sky. A few minutes later Ykraps and I were out on our morning walk. It was cold and frosty. I later learned that it was a chilly 30 degrees. 

We were back and enjoying coffee a short time later. After some quiet, alone time, I delivered coffee to Mindy. She reported feeling a tad better.  I returned downstairs for meditation and run prep. Just before stepping out on my run I went in search of my winter cap to further protect myself from the morning’s chill. I couldn’t find the hat I was looking for but found an adequate substitute. I’d forgotten about my ear muffs, but remembered where they were just before heading out. I ended up using them. Glad I did. They made a huge difference in keeping my body heat contained. Short of my winter running jacket, I was in full winter gear and wasn’t even November!

 At run’s conclusion I asked Mindy for her van keys. I started the minivan and the defroster to hopefully prevent her from driving with frost covered windows. She appreciated my thoughtfulness. She and Bella bundled and left just before 7:30am. This was a school day for Bella.

 Jacob and I left for the bus stop at our usual 7:58am. Despite the chill, we took the football along to pass the time. Kenny was at the bus stop along with Jake. We had a fun, yet brief visit. I left for work at 8:10am. I stopped to fill my gas tank after finding the price at $2.21 per gallon. I can’t remember when it was last that low. 

Work went well. We were quite busy. I had a 2pm dental appointment scheduled that I conveniently scheduled as my lunch. I hadn’t been to the dentist in a year.  I was due for a cleaning and check-up. In addition, one of my expensive veneers had a nick in it. I was hopeful that Dr March could fix it somehow. I left for his office at 1:30pm. I had just a short wait before they called me back. The last time I was in, Faith, my hygienist, gave me crap about not flossing, yet it’s something I do every day. I was offended. Today I was handed over to another hygienist. She was much kinder & prettier. The cleaning & x-rays took about 30 minutes. Dr March didn’t come in until the end. He said everything looked good. I pointed out the nick in my veneer. He thought he could fix it quickly. He first tried to polish it out but ended up adding some liquid porcelain. I was skeptical at first, but the results were remarkable. Thanks Dr March!

 . Mindy called late afternoon to ask if I’d stop at the Roberts Rd CVS to pick-up her prescription. Apparently she had her doctor call in a script for antibiotics for a sinus infection. I agreed to do it. I also planned a stop at Kroger to pick-up something for tomorrow’s potluck. I left the office shortly after 5:30pm. At Kroger I went the easy route. I bought three dozen cookies as my contribution to tomorrow’s chili potluck. While there, I picked up a dozen roses for Mindy. She needed the pick-me-up. 

Next stop was the Robert’s Rd CVS. I picked up her pills at the drive-thru. That was very effiocient. It was $5. I arrived home a few minutes later. Leftovers were on the dinner menu. We had plenty, too, including pizza, gulasch, & spaghetti. However, before sitting down to dinner, I took Ykraps on his evening walk. 

I was the last to heat & eat leftovers. I chose pizza. I used the pizza stone, carefully placing the remaining six slices on it. I heated the oven to 300 degrees. 10 minutes later it was warmed to perfection. I didn’t think it was possible, but the pizza tasted better than it did fresh out of the oven. The crust took on a sweet, pastry like flavor that is usually undetectable. I was very impressed. 

After dinner, I built a fire and then the whole family played Apples to Apples Jr. in front of the burning embers. It was fun. We played two games. After the game Mindy got the kids upstairs and in the shower. Soon it was tuck in time. I popped some popcorn and then alerted both Jacob and Bella to it avail. They came downstairs for a few extra minutes to enjoy a handful or two. They were back in bed by 8:45pm. 

After the kids were settled, Mindy & I placed a call to an organization designed to help children. We had a prepared outline ready to use to keep the conversation on track and to make sure that we covered all the important points. The call lasted about an hour. We both felt a huge sense of relief afterwards. More on this later. 

We headed up to bed at 10pm. Mindy reminded me that I hadn’t gone to bed at the same time as her in many days. That’s true, but due mostly to her earlier than usual bedtimes.