Melting Snow & Sunday Dinner

A very non-descript photo of Pluto - fitting for an object suffering from an identity crisis

Being a creature of habit, it should come as no surprise that I rolled out of bed at 730am. I quietly brushed my teeth and gathered my running gear only to have Mindy ask for hug before I snuck off down the stairs. Before doing anything else I prepped a pot of coffee. Once that was underway I slipped off to my PC to play. Because it was Sunday, I didn’t plan to do any sit-ups or push-ups. I spent my free time writing in my blog and planning what I needed/wanted to accomplish during the day. For starters, I wanted to be completely packed for our trip by day’s end. If completed, I’d feel pretty darn good. But equally important was finishing/filing our 2009 tax return. I hoped to get that out of the way too. The house remained quiet even at 930am. I decided to go ahead and knock my run out right then. I completed a stretching routine then headed out the door for a typical three mile Sunday run. The streets were as dry as they’ve been for the last couple of weeks making my run that much easier. What a welcome change that was. The temperature was already over freezing. As a result, the snow pack was melting in a hurry. And with the rising temps and lots of intermittent sunshine, I expected the melting to progress at an even faster as the day wore on. Expecting big rain on Monday. That'll melt snow quickly. Mindy & the kids were up when I got back home. Mindy shared her desire to go into work and prepare sub plans leaving me at home with the kids. I didn’t mind. I had nothing planned aside from taxes and packing. Bella asked me to replace the batteries in one of the Wii remotes. Soon after that they needed me to fix the wireless mouse on their PC. It never ends. Bella whispered in my ear that her momma dropped the mouse and ever since it’s been erratic. I didn't mention it to Mindy. Just before Mindy headed off to school I made bacon and eggs. Everybody had some bacon, but I’m the only one that ate eggs. While trying to get the kids’ mouse working, I received a pop-up reminder to create back-up discs for their laptop. That’s right. I hadn’t done it yet. I took the necessary time to create them. It took a while longer than I expected but was glad that I did it. To finish my packing meant that I needed to pack all of my running gear and undergarments for skiing. All of them needed washed. I took care of that next. Also to that end, I gathered up my ‘B’ grade running gear to use over the next couple of days so I could pack the good stuff. While the laundry whirled Jacob and I watched more Olympic action – biathlon & ski cross racing. Both were really fun to watch. Mindy was still at school come 330pm. I figured I’d better get a shower and changed since we made plans to do Sunday dinner with her family. Mindy was home by the time I finished my shower. Good timing. We left for Gloria’s at 430pm. We’ve been to Sunday dinner only one other time this year. That’s it. We were looking forward to seeing everyone. Craig & Jeff were already there when we arrived. We learned right away that Larry’s mother passed away earlier in the day. She was 84, I believe. As we understood it, Jodi & Larry still planned to make it for Sunday dinner. Everyone else arrived over the next half-hour/hour. After some family-time dinner was served – lasagna. It was really good. I had two helpings, but could’ve eaten more. But thankfully, I talked myself out of it and didn’t over indulge. Secretly, I was holding out hope that we’ve have chocolate pie for dessert (my favorite). Well, that wasn’t to be. Instead, we had ice-box cookies. But that wasn’t a bad thing. They’re very good, and much lighter than chocolate pie. We stayed later than usual. Mindy had niece Lindy trim Bella’s hair. Then, Mindy had her own hair textured. It was approaching 8pm. Mindy, Craig, and Jodi all have birthdays coming up in the next 2 weeks. Gloria suggested we have a progressive euchre event at her place. Sounds interesting, but after considering everybody’s schedules it was hard to find a date in close proximity to their birthdays. We eventually settled on Friday, March 12th. Jodi suggested that everybody bring a pizza from their favorite shop with plans to share. Good idea. We finally left for home just after 8pm. Mindy phoned Lindsey along our drive home after seeing a missed call from her earlier. Apparently, Kelly’s been saying some pretty horrible things to Lindsey, and she just needed to share how it made her feel with someone with a caring ear. Kelly’s been known to say some pretty mean, spiteful things. She’s always been that way. Sadly, she’s a very sad, very angry person. I feel sorry for her. Lindsey really needs to find a way to get out of that house, but I am not so sure that she has her priorities properly aligned. We arrived home before 830pm. Mindy sent the kids for showers all the while she prepped Monday’s lunches. I told her not to bother making one for me. We tuned the TV to the Olympics and joined the men’s downhill combination already underway and prerecorded. During a break, I went to the PC to see how the Buckeyes fared in their game against Michigan State. Mindy thought she heard her sister say that we won, but I thought she said that she ‘hoped’ we’d win. Either way, we won! We watched Bode Miller win the gold in the downhill combination. Meanwhile, the USA men’s hockey team was playing Canada. We found the game on the MSNBC network. We switched back and forth a couple of times between that and the ice dancing competition. We tucked the kids into bed around 930pm – much later than usual on a school night. Back down stairs, I poured myself a drink of Cap’t Morgan’s rum, Fresca, and fruit punch. I also grabbed a bag of pretzel sticks and continued watching the Olympic hockey action. Bella eventually moved to the balcony asking if she could have a couple pretzels. I caved a let her come back down and join me on the sofa. She watched the end of the hockey game, which we won, and then the some of the ice dancing. Mindy sent her back to bed around 10pm. Mindy & I stayed up for another 30 minutes, maybe.