Knee feelin' better, Vikings 5-0, Ding-Ho

My Blackberry rang sometime just after 7am. I quickly leaped from bed to answer the call. It was work needing my help with an issue we’d been dealing since late Thursday. I gathered my stuff and headed downstairs to get my day started and get logged on. Because it was a no-exercise Sunday, I prepped coffee then took Ykraps on his morning walk. It was cold and clear. The temperature was in the mid 30s. I was OK with the cold air as long as the sun shined. It’s been a rarity of late. While walking, I noticed that the lawn needed cutting. It wasn’t out of control by any means, but like last week, it would be next weekend before I got another chance. I hoped to cut it later in the day. Back home, I snuggled up to my work laptop and dug into the issue at hand along with a hot cup of steaming hot coffee. I spent about an hour dealing with work before readying myself for a run. Mindy was up as were the kids, they were planning to attend church. I dressed warmly and left for my run around 9am. I struggled once again to establish a normal stride battling an instinctual limp. I had to slow down to a jog to help get it together. It took a while but I eventually got it. And while my legs cramped up a little, it was nothing like Saturday’s debacle. I managed quite well, and was able to forget about it for much of the run, which is the idea – allow my stride to flow naturally. I can’t help but think all the icing I did Saturday must’ve helped. I was even more determined to ice again later in the day. Mindy and the kids departed just after 10am. She expected to be home around 1230pm. After checking in with work and seeing thing pretty much under control, I made a breakfast burrito then spent a solid hour on the PC backing up September photos, documents, emails, then charging/prepping Bella’s new MP3 player. I organized some personal electronic literature, too. It felt good to have all of that completed. Almost forgot, I made my student loan payment as well. The sun was shining. I was eager to get outside and do some yard work. It was already after 11am. I wasn’t sure what time Jacob’s soccer game started, but I was determined to get as much yard work done as I possibly could. I dressed in some wind pants and a fleece. It was still in the mid 40s. I whacked and edged, which took about 25 minutes. Before doing any mowing, I picked up more fallen walnuts, and then ripped the dead petunias from out front and the spent tomato plants along the east side. I took great care while push mowing not to aggravate my knee any more than it already was. The lawn is looking pretty darn good save for the area we sodded in the spring. It’s thinned dramatically. Not entirely sure why. I could see that Mindy was back from church. Jacob poked his head out the back door. After push mowing, I went inside to check the time and the start of soccer. It was 1:15pm and we needed to leave at 1:45pm (game at 215pm). I had enough time to tractor mow, but not enough to blow the walks and driveway. I finished the mowing then headed inside for a quick shower. The house was too quiet. I asked of Bella’s whereabouts. Mindy dropped her off at her mom’s. I wasn’t surprised, and honestly half expected it. Bella doesn’t like going to Jacob’s soccer games. I was ready to leave for soccer by 147pm – not bad. I didn’t bother checking the Viking score before we left the house, but did tune the car radio to The WFAN, and ESPN’s NFL updates. We arrived at the soccer field just after 2pm. Mindy and Jacob dashed off to the field while I waited patiently for a score update. I was admittedly nervous as they ran down all the scores. We’re 4-0 and the Rams are 0-4. No one wants to play a team that bad. Finally, I got the score. Vikings lead 17-3 just before the half. Rams were driving, however. I walked out to the field toting my Jim Tressel book along with a pocket full of personal electronics (Blackberry, cell phone, and camera). It was cold and windy on the open soccer field. Thankfully, though, it was sunny. I kept a loose eye on the soccer game, but it’s a hard game to follow, not to mention boring. I read about ten pages from my book and kept checking NFL updates via my Blackberry. Vikings remained ahead at halftime 17-3. The game lasted until 3:15pm. Jacob’s team got slaughtered – again. Jacob, Mindy & I headed towards Kohl’s immediately after soccer. We discussed dinner options on our way. Jacob wanted Barley’s. I suggested Din Ho. Mindy liked the sound of that. Jacob nixed it at first but eventually conceded. Honestly, though, it’s not like we would’ve allowed him to overrule our decision. He’s nine! We pulled into GFS just out in front of Kohl’s. I wanted to see if they stocked Gardetto’s snack mix. Mindy wasn’t that receptive to the stop at GFS but it would only take a minute. I’d never been in one of their stores prior. All three of us went in. We found a big bag of Gardetto’s but I wanted their snack mix in ‘bold’. I couldn’t find it. E left after two or three minutes of browsing. Onto Kohl’s. We were in Kohl’s to hopefully pick-up a new 10” Calphalon omelet pan & a new picture frame for our downstairs guest bathroom. We found the perfect Calphalon pan. It was on sale for $43 but Mindy had a 15% off coupon too. Onto picture frames. We were looking for a 16X20” black frame with either black or bright-white matting to hold an 8X10” photo. We found one that met our criteria on sale for $18, but also subject to the 15% off coupon. Satisfied with our catch, we headed to the check out. There were only two lines open in the entire store and both were backed up considerably. But just as I hoped they might do, they opened a new register. We were suddenly first in line. I offered to let others go in front but Mindy said no. We were outta there quickly. Mindy suggested we visit Target across the street to get Olivia’s birthday presents. I nixed it for the time being and instead offered that we head for dinner. We listened to ESPN NFL updates the entire way to Ding Ho. The Vikings won easily 38-10. The Bengals and Browns both won, too. We arrived at Ding Ho around 4:30pm. We might’ve been one of only two or three families dining there at the time. Mindy ordered Happy Family. I ordered War Su Gai. And Jacob ordered General Soas chicken. We all added Won-Ton, egg roll, shrimp, and a rib for $5 extra. The entrees were huge – bigger than I remember. I ate maybe a third of mine. Everything was good, but not the best ever. Their Won-Ton soup, however, might be the best anywhere. I picked up the check since Mindy paid the Kohl’s tab. We headed home where I quickly transitioned to finishing yard detail. I still had to blow off the walk, beds, and driveway. That went fast. Mindy headed off to pick-up Bella from her mother’s. She went there directly after church and was doing dinner at Bob Evan’s with Gloria, Jodi, Lynn, and Joe. Bella loves Bob Evans. I watched a little of the late football game but only passively. I also spent time downloading Shrek tunes to Bella’s new MP3 player, her request. I had it ready once she got home with Mindy. She was psyched to finally get to use her new gadget. The kids didn’t get to stay up too late. Mindy had them showered and ready for bed by 8:30pm. After they were tucked in, Mindy and I watched a little SNF on NBC – The Colts and Titans.