Pummeling Blue

Glad it was the weekend but because I was on-call I couldn’t fully appreciate the euphoria that usually surrounds it. I got my day started at 7:30am when I rolled out of bed and headed downstairs to make some coffee. Once the coffee was on I checked my Blackberry. Work was going smoothly. For that I was thankful. I was then able to turn my full attention to calisthenics. I completed the full cycle; sit-ups, push-ups, and curls. I was pretty stiff during and after. Afterwards I bundled warmly after checking the temperature. It was a cold 18 degrees. Ykraps and I headed westward. While on our walk, I pondered the day’s big game (Michigan vs. Ohio State), and I also gave thought to last year’s game. I remember the day well. It was hard to fathom that another year has passed so quickly. To be sure, I’ll be writing about Xmas day in the blink of an eye. This season’s early cold snap caught me off guard. I still have some outdoor winterization to do, like putting away the lawn furniture, stowing the hoses, and winterizing flower pots. I’m counting on an early December thaw timed nicely with one or two of my many days off. Mindy remained in bed while I enjoyed coffee and played on the PC. I was able to get my Friday blog entry written before anyone else was awake. Mindy must’ve gotten up around 9-9:30am. Bella was chomping at the bit for some maple sausage links. She even tried to get me to fix them. While Mindy contemplated starting breakfast, I dressed and left for a run. It was cold but sunny. I wore full winter gear. I ran the longer Trabue & Hague route. Traffic was a little heavy on Trabue. I guessed it due to the Buckeye game. Trabue provides an almost direct route to the campus. I finished strong. The sweet smell of maple sausage enveloped the house. My timing was impeccable. Breakfast was served. We had maple sausage links and chocolate chip pancakes. Mindy shared that she talked with her BFF, Teri through the duration of my run. That left her with a good feeling. It was just after 10am. The morning was moving fast. It would soon be game time. Unlike the past few years, we had no party to attend. Instead, we’d simply stay at home and watch the game as a family. Never heard from neighbors Pat & Lisa, and neighbors Crissy & Kenny were heading to the game. As cold as it was, I was very happy to be watching on TV from home. At Mindy’s prompting, I decided to get a quick shower before the game and before her. She’d be leaving for the grocery immediately after the game. I poured a beer – a Cols Pale ale – just before kick off. This might be the earliest I’ve cracked a beer all year long – 12 noon. The game started slow. Our defense looked phenomenal while our offense struggled. But just like he has the past two years, Beanie soon got things going in our favor. I think it was the fourth series when he hit a big one for a 59 yard TD. A few minutes later it was 14-0. Could a blow out be in the offing? It sure looked that way. The Buckeyes were driving for yet another score when we suddenly found ourselves facing a 4th and 1. We tried a long pass but our receiver couldn’t hold on, so we turned the ball over on downs. To that point, Michigan had -1 total yards. But Michigan had other ideas and eventually caught fire with the help of two different plays, a short swing pass and a run right that we just could seem to stop. They drove the length of the field for a touchdown. Suddenly the game was close. 14 -7 at halftime. Now we were getting serious! With just a 7-point lead, I suspect the entire Buckeye nation was feeling nervous. I know that I was. All the halftime talk was that Michigan had the momentum heading into the second half. In addition, they got the 2nd half kick off. After receiving the kick things started looking good again for Blue. They marched almost 40 yards but eventually stalled and had to punt. The Buckeyes didn’t waste anytime driving for another score. After that, Michigan was never really in it. We piled it on until the score was 42-7. The worst beating we’ve given them in 40 years. This made five in-a-row, something I doubted I’d ever see. The victory made the day extra-special! Soon after the game ended, Mindy darted off to the grocery. While Mindy was gone I got busy with a few chores. First, I started the BM’er since she hasn’t been run in a few weeks. Next, I hung the family bikes from the garage ceiling for winter storage. The end goal was to have the garage ready to accept Mindy’s minivan. All that’s left is to get the new grill out of there. Mindy wasn’t gone too long at all. However, she was gone long enough to gather a van full of food. She did her level best to fetch everything we thought we needed for our Wright family TG day celebration along with our usual weekly treats. We didn’t really have that much time left before we needed to ready for Buca di Beppo, (according to Wikipedia roughly translates to ‘Joe’s Basement’). We were headed there to celebrate two birthdays – brother-in-law Larry & Danielle, a family friend who just turned 21. Mindy readied herself & the kids while I walked Ykraps. It didn’t take me long to get ready. I changed my shirt, brushed my teeth, and grabbed a sport coat. We left the house at 6:45pm. We arrived in the arena district just before 7pm and quickly found a parking meter fairly close to the venue, but neither of us had enough change. We opted instead for the Arena Grand parking garage right around the corner. It was still very chilly. None of us looked too forward to the short walk to Buca. To our amazement, Bella emerged from the back seat of the Trooper sporting a thick application of hideous blue eye shadow. Neither of us had any idea that she put it on. She must’ve done it while we were in transit. Mindy wasn’t pleased at all after telling her she couldn’t put any on at home. I wasn’t pleased either but wanted a picture of the moment. She was also sporting a tiara. We knew she was wearing that. We were pleased to find the warmth of Buca after our short walk. Most of the dinner party was already there. We were given the usual guided tour back through the kitchen and eventually to our table. We weren’t sure how many others would be there. Holy smoke! I believe there were 20 of us all totaled. Their beer selection isn’t the greatest. I ordered a Sam Adams Winter Ale. I forgot that their beers come in a huge glass. Probably like 22 ounces or something close to that. Buca’s menu selections come in family sized portions – small and large. We collectively decided to allow one person to coordinate the selections, of course with input from everyone. That person was Cheryl T. She did a fine job. The nice thing about family sized portions is that one gets to try many different things. Halfway through my meal I ordered a second Sam Adams. It went down just as well as the first. Buca is a loud place by design. Tommy Petit announced to the world that it was both Larry & Daniel’s birthdays. He asked everyone to join him in singing happy b-day. And not too surprising, everyone did. I got a few cool pics. We finished up dinner around 9:15pm. The next big task was splitting up the check. We split the check according to adult bodies – young kids counted as a half. We were accountable for three units, but agreed to pick-up Jodie and Larry’s tab too. After all, it was his 50th b-day. Jacob and I walked to the parking garage to fetch the car while Bella and Mindy waited outside of Nationwide Arena. It took a while to get out of the garage and to settle up on our tab. I got out of there for just $3. Mindy & Bella must’ve gotten tired of waiting and met us at the garage exit. We were home before 10pm. Mindy quickly got the kids into bed. We stayed up and watched some Saturday night college football – Miami versus Georgia Tech.