Beisbol w/ the family

I was up just after the irrigation system kicked on. I laid there waiting to hear it start for validation that it was indeed time to wake. Once again, I slept incredibly well and woke feeling totally rested and ready for whatever the day had to offer. All the windows were covered with dew/moisture, so much so that it looked like it had rained. After exercises I checked the forecast. Sunny skies and mid 80s were predicted. It was currently 73 degrees, as warm as it’s been at 6:00am in quite some time. My walk with Ykraps went well. I knew immediately that it would be shirtless running day. Not only was it warm, but it was humid too. I was comfortable despite the sultry weather. Back at home, I whipped up a cheese omelet topped with pepper jack cheese. I still had Wednesday’s lunch in the fridge at work minus the nuts. That saved me a little prep time. After breakfast and a shower, Mindy joined me on the deck where we basked in the warm, wet sunshine. I left for work at 8:12am even though Mindy wanted me to stick around longer. She & the kids had plans to meet Shelly and Kaileigh at the pool later in the day. I drove the BM’er after Mindy agreed to move her Honda out of the way. Thanks dear! It was another lovely drive into work. The work day was a very busy one, but I still managed to escape for a stop at Best Buy. Actually, I wanted to get a haircut too but ran out of time. At Best Buy I checked out DVD players. I ended up buying a new one after my five year old Toshiba stopped working mysteriously. I looked at, but didn’t give serious consideration to Blu-Ray since our Plasma TV has only one HDMI input, and that’s being used by the CATV box. I settled on LG model for $88. I also perused digital cameras, HP printers, and external hard drives, but bought just the DVD player. By the time I was out of there my hour was just about up. I postponed the haircut. The afternoon was as busy as the morning. I barely had time to eat my packed veggies. I left for home at 5:30pm. Somehow I didn’t get a case of the sleepies like I often do driving home. Mindy was busy prepping dinner. I could see that she accomplished plenty around the house. For one, she organized the kids toys that are stowed in the garage on the new shelving she bought and assembled. She dropped off our recycling too. I left with Ykraps. Mindy soon followed. I didn’t expect it since she was busy grilling. We walked and talked. I noticed that our hanging geranium baskets were looking dry & droopy. They really needed watered. I wanted to water them right away, but Mindy said that dinner was ready, so I waited until afterwards. We had grilled boneless chicken breasts and leftover chicken & noodles. I really dig the chicken & noodles. We used paper plates, which helped clean-up go quickly. Soon after dinner I headed out to water the baskets, pots, and rear beds. Too, I committed to playing backyard baseball with Jacoby, but only with a tennis ball. I told him he’s getting too big to use a real baseball out back. But apparently he’s been doing so during the day along with his mother and other neighborhood kids. It took me about 20 minutes to water. By then, Mindy & the kids had the impromptu ball diamond already set-up. It was Jacob and I against Mindy & Bella at the outset. We were clobbering them. Later, a few neighbor kids joined in the fun, It was still girls against boys. We played for about an hour and worked a pretty good sweat. After the fun, the kids disappeared out back with friends. Mindy made her & I rum drinks. We sipped them from the deck. Later, Mindy went to check on the kids. I stayed back and enjoyed a second drink. To make it even more relaxing, I piped some tunes out onto the deck (Elton John Love Songs), and added to the mood by lighting the tiki torches and citronella candles. Just lovely! I sat there by myself for about 30 minutes. Very nice! Soon, both cell phones rang. It was neighbor Pat. I invited him over. Minutes later he showed up with his wife, Lisa. Mindy eventually rejoined us, too, after being at the neighbors for the last 30 minutes. Lisa shared that she lost her job earlier in the day and that it would be official as of 5pm Friday. The company she works for, Fitch, is closing down their architectural department here in town. Depressing. Another victim of the struggling economy. We hung out with Pat & Lisa for about an hour. Just as they were leaving I got Pat going about Obama’s agenda. He’s firmly entrenched in his conservative views, and more pointedly about the ‘risky’ spending by Obama. I tend to have a more moderate view. I’m equally concerned but also willing to spend to bring about positive, long-term change. It was getting late. We weren’t up much later. Soon the kids were tucked in and Mindy & I were both in bed, too. Good night moon!