3 Years of Marital Bliss .. what else would I say? Oh, yeah ... We're Off!

I drifted off to sleep rather easily not to wake again until almost 230am. I felt wide awake but knew better than to profess my night's sleep over. I laid there for about ten minutes before making the decision to get up and head downstairs. I pee'd, blew my nose, and gulped some much needed water. I sat down in front of my PC for a couple minutes only to realize there wasn't anything productive I wanted to do at that hour.

I decided to move to the TV instead. I scrolled through the guide looking for something interesting to watch. I settled on a National Geographic Channel program investigating the smuggling of Nigerian children that were eventually offered up as human sacrifices in London. Focusing on the TV brought back the sleepies in a hurry, but the disturbing program I was watching was hard to put down.

I eventually drifted off to sleep on the sofa. I woke an hour or so later and turned off the TV but left the audio running through the stereo. It was quite annoying but I couldn't muster the immediate energy to rise again to turn it off. I covered up with the purple throw and went back to sleep. I woke again near 530am, my usual work wake time. It felt good to realize I didn't have to be up. Good thing too. I was ridiculously tired.

I woke again at 625am to the sound of Mindy waking up coming downstairs and pouring some coffee. I was a little worried that she might sleep through her rise time after getting accustomed to me waking her. I allowed myself to sleep yet again. I woke for good somewhere near 710am. I hurried upstairs to brush my teeth after waking with horrible cotton mouth. Mindy was just blow drying her hair. I was still way out it, waking after a bad dream. The dream included Shawn and brother Tommy both making evil advances on my otherwise tranquil life. Weird!

I coffee'd with Mindy and the kids who were both up readying for school. I joked around with Jacob a little before he headed back to his room to play. Mindy and I exchanged happy anniversary's a couple of times. Mindy hugged and kissed both kids numerous times - one for each day we'll be gone. The both handled it well. Mindy left just after 730am.

I exercised, drank coffee and played on the PC until it was time to take the kids to the bus stop. We headed out at 755am. Bella seemed kind of needy. She and i made snow balls as we walked towards Jacob. He was making them too. I told Bella to watch close. I showed her how to guarantee an easy target. First, make two snow balls. Then, toss the first high and arching towards the target (Jacob). Then, when he glances skyward nail him with the other with a more direct toss. It worked perfectly. Bella giggled. Jacob giggled too, and started after me with his snow ball. I let him hit me with two or three. He got me on the arse one time pretty good. It stung!

We played until the bus pulled up. I tried to hug Jacob, but he wanted nothing to do with affection in front of others. Bella, on the other hand, wanted/needed some extra hugs and kisses. Very cute! Jacob wouldn't even make eye contact as the bus zoomed off. I understand. I was like that too.

Chrissy and I talked for a couple of minutes mostly about kids before heading back home. I poured more coffee and wrote my Monday blog before giving way to my run. After dressing in my base layers, I did my stretch routine. I left for my run by 930am.

It was drizzly and 31 degrees. There was a lot of dangerous black ice lurking on the roads and walks. Footing was at a premium. I was careful and on the lookout constantly. My vigilance paid off. No slips, trips or falls. I was back at home some time just after 10am. Before heading in, I grabbed the snow shovel tucked neatly behind a large bush and proceeded to knock the heavy snow cover off the shrubs in the front flower beds. They've been crushed under the weight of snow since Feb 5th's snow storm. Knocking the snow away allowed them to spring back into shape with relative ease. I was careful not to damage any of the greenery. Before heading back inside, I threw down a little salt on the walk to rid it of the nuisance ice.

Inside, I read Glenn's blog then sent him an email asking him if he had a blow dryer saving Mindy the trouble of toting one along. He responded quickly that he did. I relaxed only briefly before getting a shower. I wanted to run a couple errands before noon. After a quick shower I finished off my last minute packing then readied for a trip to Kroger and Target. I wasn't real excited about driving the BM'er in the sloppy weather. Not only was it wet, but it was slippery, too.

Taking the weather into account, I hesitantly decided to visit the W. Broad St. Kroger & Target. They're within the same shopping plaza. I stopped at Kroger first making sure to park far enough away from problematic looking cars but not too far out making my car a target. The clientele in that Kroger are quite a contrast to those in the Hilliard location. Yikes! I avoided eye contact with most folks. I was happy to find some lovely roses to have waiting for Mindy when she gets home from school.

Next stop, Target. I used the same parking philosophy at Target. Inside, the store was almost empty. Kind of creepy. It occurred to me that I haven't done much shopping at all since Xmas time. I was in search of luggage tags and greeting cards. I took my time perusing greeting cards looking for both the anniversary and birthday variety. I found some jelly-like luggage tags too. They were more expensive than I really wanted to pay, but hey. Homeward.

Once home, I went ahead and arranged the peach-colored roses in a vase. I even added food coloring to make the water orange. They look awesome! next, I printed off an anniversary letter for Mindy using a wedding photo as a watermark. It turned out perfectly. I scribbled a note in her card, too.

I pulled up my pack list one more time to ensure I had everything I wanted/needed. I had everything packed except for a few DVD movies. I decided to pack four in a CD magazine. I think we're good. It was 115pm. I was at a crossroad. Should I nap, write, or play? I decided to write the day's blog entry up through ... NOW! ...

After a long evening of air travel, we made it into Portland/Vancouver a tad early and arrived at Glenn's place by 1115pm PT. Glenn, Mindy and I enjoyed a couple of beers while catching up. Mindy headed to bed first.