Three Squared

Happy 51st B-Day Jodie! At last, I finally got the kind of sleep I’d been longing for. I woke maybe twice through the entire night (9:30pm-5:30am) but that was only to pee and then the other to sip some water. I felt really good come 5:30am. What a relief! Everything is so much easier when I feel rested. I felt good both physically and mentally. I whizzed right through my exercise routine. In between sets, I checked the temperature. It was another cold morning, 10 degrees under clear skies. Ykraps and I headed out into the cold at 5:45am. Our walk lasted all of ten minutes, and not a second longer. Back inside I prepped coffee. I tinkered on the internet for just a few minutes before delivering a cup to Mindy, who was still sleeping rather soundly. Once again, she wasn’t her usual jovial self. Downstairs, I spent several more minutes online, but broke away for inside stretching and meditation around 6:20am. I got dressed for my run at 6:35am, and after stretching my hammies on the front porch I dashed off for my run, probably near 6:40am. It was daylight immediately out the door. Nice! However, as much as I am enjoying running in all-daylight, I know that’ll change abruptly this coming Sunday morning when we once again ‘spring’ forward an hour. I finished my run between 7:15 & 7:20am. Mindy was just serving up my fried eggs. She reported Bella sporting a 102 degree fever and the need for her to stay home. Lucky for us, her mother volunteered to keep Bella company so neither of us would have to miss work. Thanks Gloria! Mindy left on schedule with the wee ones. I finished eating then headed up for a shower. Jacob was already off to his room to watch TV. We were ready to leave the house at 7:55am. I warned Jacob that it was cold and to bundle accordingly. He took heed and bundled warmly. At the bus stop, the sunshine was brilliant but it did little to provide any spring-like warmth. I was happy when the bus finally pulled up. The driver angrily motioned for both boys to get back up on the sidewalk until she came to a complete stop. I warned them that she might do that. I took care of a few things in the house before leaving for work. I didn’t get out of the house until 8:20am. And because I thought that I might run errands at lunch, I was determined to stop for gas on my way in to work. I stopped and refueled at Thornton’s. I paid $1.82 per gallon. The Trooper took roughly 17 gallon. I arrived at work around 8:40am. My peer, I learned, was out of work ill. That made my day a bit more challenging, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle. If nothing else, it kept me focused, which made the time fly by. I thought about running errands for lunch but never did. I did, however, stop long enough to pay off my credit card bill online – paying off our snow skis. It was nice to get that out of the way. For lunch, I enjoyed a bowl of beef & noodles along with some mixed fruit. I left for the day around 5:25pm. I was impressed with the amount of lingering daylight. The days are undoubtedly getting longer, and next week it will become even more evident after springing forward. I called Mindy on my drive home. She was busy making tacos, a favorite of mine and Jacob’s. She said Bella was feeling much better, however still not fully well. I arrived home by 5:45pm. It was about 28 degrees. I leashed up Ykraps soon after putting down all of my gear. We walked north, the path least traveled. It felt chilly but nothing like it did the past two nights. It wasn’t too long after I returned that dinner was ready. Mindy got the kids taken care of first. Bella, Rocky, and Landon had beef & noodles. The rest of us had tacos and Mexican rice. I ate three. Jacob ate five. No kidding! Clean-up was relatively easy but I took my time. The kids had cookies for their treat. We had a short battle of wills with Landon. He wanted to eat his cookie while wandering the house. Of course we wouldn’t allow it. He eventually complied but exhibited some of his trademark bullheadedness along the way. After clean-up I opened some mail. Our car insurance provider sent an addendum to our policy indicating that our quoted 3-car rate was $30 too high. They were adjusting it downward. J We got our February natural gas bill, too. It was $235. gasp! Lastly, I received a charitable magazine subscription add from nephew Samuel. I may buy one or two. After kitchen time, Mindy helped Rocky with his nightly reading. I moved to my PC where I spent a little time updating my blog. Mindy headed upstairs to ready the kids for bed. We only required a shower for Jacob. We wanted to get back on the every other night routine with all of them. Everyone was looking forward to tomorrow (Wednesday) evening. The younger boys would be spending a couple hours with Lindsey and Kelly, and Jacob and Bella would be spending time with Jimaken. This should be a weekly thing moving forward, meaning that we’ll have our quiet Wednesday’s back. :) :) Mindy called for my assistance with the tuck-in around 8pm. It took us a while, but we got through it. We were downstairs tuning into Idol by 8:20pm. None of this week’s twelve were outstanding, but a few were good. It’ll be interesting to see how the country votes come Wednesday. The program ran until 10pm. We headed up to bed afterwards.