Beer Gods

Welcome to our world Ella Louise Jump I slept OK, but not nearly as well as I did Monday night. By the time I made my way down to the kitchen it was 5:36am. I refilled my water glass, glanced at the sky out the back door, then took to the living room where I completed my sit-ups and push-ups. This was a curl day, too. I did those in the family room where I keep my dumbbells. It was almost 5:50am by the time that I leashed up Ykraps for our morning walk. It was significantly warmer than it’s been – but still only 19 degrees. But sadly, compared to the past two mornings, this was a heat wave. We were back at home before 6am and moved immediately to pouring coffee. I took Mindy her coffee around 6:05am. She was in a far better mood than she was Monday & Tuesday. Back downstairs I checked email, read the Daily OM, and then checked Grey Six’s web page to see how he’s fairing. I woke the evening before (Tuesday) while on the sofa watching TV fearing he had passed. At least his web link made no reference to his passing. At 6:15am I headed for the family room to meditate and then stretch. I was outside stretching in my running clothes by 6:33am. Because it was so clear overhead, the daylight was already prevalent. It was nice to run with a view. I finished my run feeling strong. Inside everyone was in a good mood. Mindy & I were both looking forward to having a free Wednesday evening with no kids. However, Bella was still under the weather. She was spending another day at her grandmother’s. Mindy stated that we might have Bella this evening after all. It really depended on how she felt come 4pm. Come what may. Mindy and the wee ones left at 7:30am. Even before Mindy pulled away, Jacob rushed off to his room like he does each morning to watch TV. Before getting in the shower, I stopped by his room and asked if he cared to make his mother a birthday card for tomorrow. I thought it was a good idea, and planned to end his TV viewing five minutes early to spend time designing a handmade card. When I returned downstairs to leave for the bus stop Jacob advised that he was done and had the card hidden. We left for the bus stop at 7:57am. The sunshine made a much bigger difference this AM. It was still cold, but certainly more bearable than Monday & Tuesday. But it was only in the low 20s. I headed back home after the bus scooped up the boys. Before leaving for work, I printed off the Charles Penzone’s gift card I bought for Mindy and stashed it away for safe keeping. This was Wednesday, staff meeting day. In addition, I held a meeting with my team prior to that. That made the first half of the day fly by. It was 1pm in no time flat. I left the office for a lunch break just after 1pm. I drove to Target where I picked up a couple birthday cards and a token gift from the kids for Mindy. In an unrelated purchase, I also bought some tire shine. Because I could, I drove next door to Home Depot having not been in there since Xmas, or so it seems. I bought nothing. I simply browsed the aisles. They’re getting ready for spring. I wasn’t surprised. I was back at the office by 2:05pm. The first thing I did was heat my beef & noodles. I was hungry. The noodles were scrumptious! The afternoon was busy. Almost always is. I talked with Mindy shortly after she left school. She was very much looking forward to our ‘Mindy Wednesday’. She reported talking with her mother and learning that Bella was feeling like her old self. I, in turn, planned to leave work about 30 minutes early to help get the most out of our alone time. We haven’t enjoyed one of these in months. I left for home at 5:05pm. When I called along my drive home, Mindy reported the kids being gone and having the house all to herself. For the time being, Mindy was busy catching up on household duties, but didn’t seem to mind. We weren’t yet sure what we’d do with our time. She also reported having my dad get Jacob off the bus at 4pm since she was running a few minutes behind schedule. While he was over, dad walked Ykraps. Cool! By the time that I arrived home, the house was sparkling clean and not a piece of clutter anywhere to be seen. That was a nice change. It didn’t take us long to decide on a trip to Barley’s. We were both still a little giddy about having two hours all to ourselves. We left the house at 5:30pm. The lot was surprisingly full when we parked. I am always surprised at the crowds they draw mid-week even during these hard economic times. Janet was tending bar. We haven’t seen her in well over a year, although I think we knew she moved back from North Carolina. We exchanged hugs and then found a spot at the bar. They had both of our faves on the tower - Saint Joan’s Revenge for Mindy and Centennial IPA for me. I also spotted Bell’s HopSlam on the guest tower. That practically gave me wood! I wisely asked for a sample of the Centennial before ordering an entire pint. I was very pleased to find it back to its former self. YES! The beer gods have smiled down upon us. We eventually ordered three $5 appetizers too – brisket quesadillas, K.C., and Gates-of- Hell wings. The Gates were for carryout (Jacob). After my Centennial, I ordered up a pint of HopSlam all the while Mindy nursed her first St Joan’s. Last minute, Mindy decided that she wanted another St Joan’s. I obliged her desire. She drank it quickly. Considering that Mindy gets buzzed after one or two gulps, needless to say, she had one hell of a buzz after finishing two full high-power beers. Meanwhile, we had to be home by 7:30pm to intercept both sets of kids. Mindy did some drunk dialing during our drive home. And yes, I drove. She was schnockered! She giggled and chatted with her teacher pal Kari for the entire drive home. Jimaken was already at the house when we pulled up. Once he spotted us, he got in his car and drove off. Jacob was very excited to learn that we brought him home some Gates-of-Hell wings. He tore into them almost immediately despite having already eaten his dinner. Kelly didn’t arrive with Rocky & Landon until 7:45pm. The hand-off went smoothly. Landon seemed especially happy to be home. We gave the kids a bath as soon as we could. We had everyone bathed, jammied, and tucked into bed by 8:30pm. Mindy and I retired to the sofa where we tuned into American Idol results night. I wasn’t too surprised at all with the three that passed through. After the one hour episode, we watched Lie To Me. It was good. We headed for bed at 10pm but stayed up past 11pm.