Breaking

pic: Kaileigh & Sienna - new puppy I slept soundly and well enough that I woke at 530a feeling absolutely terrific. Downstairs a couple minutes later, I started the coffee maker then turned my attention towards exercise. I completed 55 sit-ups and 55 push-ups. In between the two, I checked the weather and a few emails. Among the emails was one from my mom thanking me for the money. She also alerted me to another new medical issue now plaguing her. I find it troubling that so much is going wrong in a relatively small window of time. But onto more positive things. I freed Frankie from her pen while enjoying my first cup of coffee. Like a lot of days, she didn’t seem interested in coming out until I went to the family room. Not sure what about that action serves as a trigger. In any case, after a few minutes of strokes and pets, she and I headed outside. It was much cooler than Monday and Tuesday morning, but still seasonal. It was 43 degrees under clear skies. We weren’t out long. Frankie did her business then hurried back towards the house. Inside, I gave her a Milkbone then moved on to meditation and stretching. Combined, I spent about 20 minutes. Afterwards I felt great and was ready to run. I took Mindy morning coffee and Frankie before heading out. I wore a pullover fleece overtop a long sleeved wicking shirt. That proved ideal. I was plenty comfortable throughout the run, and did the full 4.1 mile track. Like I have for the past few days, I did a full sprint from about a 1/8th mile out. I could go faster, but would risk injury. That’s just not in the cards. We practiced a few of Bella’s spelling words during breakfast. And while they seemed easier than normal to me, she struggled more than usual. The words were: cub. Cube, tub and tube. This was picture retake day, too. Bella wasn’t pleased with the attire Mindy selected for her to wear. And I guess it didn’t help when I told her she looked like a pirate. Actually, I thought the original pictures better captured her/their everyday look. I mean, come on, they’re not Olan Mills shots! The plan for after work was for the family to make a trip to ABSCO to get the kids outfitted with snow skis, boots and poles. We discussed the logistics before Mindy departed for school. Mindy helped Bella with her hair just before leaving the house. I headed up for shower at 735a. After my shower and just before I headed back downstairs, I heard Jacob giving Frankie holy hell. She took a dump on his brown/black shag rug ... again. Not sure what it is about it, but I am convinced she sees it the same as a patch of grass. Aren’t dogs somewhat color blind? We headed out for the bus stop near 8a – slightly later than usual, but no biggie. Bella controlled Frankie’s leash. Chrissy was out with the girls. Apparently, Kenny was still hunting. Hunting for what, I hadn’t a clue. Searching for the meaning of life? The pugs managed to get themselves tangled worse than ever. It took some doing to free them both. I took over Frankie’s leash. After the bus swooped up the kids, I walked Frankie around back again briefly, but she didn’t go – just did a lot of sniffing. It was a Rachel day, made apparent by the check Mindy left her on the island. I tidied up as usual then headed off for work. There wasn’t frost on my Trooper windows but they needed squeegeed just the same. I had to put the driver’s window down to wipe the moisture off the sideview mirror by hand a second time. I didn’t like the sound the window made during its descent. It was an all too familiar sound, the same one the passenger window made when it broke a few years back. Yep, same thing. Now my driver’s window is broken, most likely the clips and regulator. I could only chuckle at my misfortune. I stopped for gas at Thornton’s after deciding it a bad idea to run it all the way to ‘E’. I worked on getting the window back up while fueling. It took some doing but I got it. The Trooper took just under $50 worth of gas or 18.5 gallons. I arrived at work a couple minutes late. Work was busy from the second I sat down at my desk. A crazy morning for sure. I wanted to call the water company to finalize my water bill dispute at some point. I finally got some breathing room and called around noon. Lo and behold, Chrissy answered my call, the same gal I talked to the very first time I reported the problem on September 24th, and the same person that the others said didn’t exist. She was as kind Wednesday as she was the first day I called. I tried to get her to slam her peers but she wouldn’t. Chrissy reviewed everything that has taken place since my initial complaint and then consulted with a supervisor for advice. Returned minutes later to share that she couldn’t give me credit but would proactively open a dispute on my behalf and have a supervisor call me back within 24 hours for final resolution – good or bad. Fair enough. I made formal notes regarding our conversation like I have each time and added them to my timeline for future reference. I then took what amounts to my lunch break to pay my monthly bills online. After paying the bills I decided to call the XM radio folks again. This time just top make sure they had the billing correct. Even though they told me last week that they did, we received three more billing statements after that, and each one was different and wrong, and of course higher. They’re a mess! I got a hold of 'Ann' (definitely somewhere abroad). She assured me we owe only $24.61. Not sure why I got three errant bills. OK. TY. I forgot to mention that while gathering up my monthly bills from home this AM, I found my boat trailer 2011 sticker. It was the second envelope in my organizer. The same organizer that I riffled through sixteen times prior. Of course, it’s useless now. I already ordered and paid for a new one. Lovely! I’m only out $4.87, however. Once again, all I could do was chuckle. The universe loves me! Sometime during the work day, I snapped off an email to the three brothers sharing mom's numerous medical issues. Too, I posed a few questions regarding her long term care should that become necessary at some point. The afternoon got even busier than the morning. Mindy called around 4pm to discuss our evening plans, which included a trip to ABSCO and dinner. I offered that we simply meet there since it’s fairly close to my office and therefore made little sense for me to drive home then back. Mindy liked the idea. We kept our dinner options unresolved. My boss asked me to stop by late in the afternoon to discuss some changes. I was surprised at the scope of the change, but on board nonetheless. I didn’t get out the door until 535p, which typically isn’t a big deal accept for the fact that I told Mindy I’d meet her at ABSCO by 545p. I called to let her know I’d be running a few minutes behind. They were almost there already. No biggie. She knew what we needed and could get the whole process started without me. I was just the wallet.  I arrived at ABSCO just before 6p. Mindy and the kids were just getting started with the young female sales associate. Their selection for boys was much more limited than the selection for girls. And Jacob didn’t care for the ski design. All I could do was roll my eyes. Expected it. Bella picked a design right away. The only viable option for Jacob was to go to season rentals instead. He eventually opted for the new K2 skis, which honestly, I thought looked cool. Crisis avoided! While Mindy took the kids to be fitted for boots, I looked at their jackets again even though I already bought one at Dick’s. ABSCO has a much bigger selection. I tried a couple on that I liked, and even gave some consideration to returning my Dick’s jacket and buying one there. Fitting the kids for boots didn’t take long at all. Mindy had enough foresight to bring their ski socks to aid in the perfect fit. They both opted for poles, too. It’s not uncommon for wee ones to skip using poles, but this is their third year skiing, so why not? While paying, I looked at their designer goggles. I like the look of the mirrored Oakley’s, but no the price - $129. The sales associate offered that they were 20% off.  I didn’t bite. We left ABSCO, everybody in a good mood. The kids’ skis will be ready for pick-up on Sunday. On our way to our cars we decided to do dinner at Barley’s – big surprise! We took Old Henderson to Henderson Rd to Riverside then down to Barley’s. Traffic wasn’t nearly as tight as I thought it might be. Barley’s wasn’t that crowded either. We gathered at a barside table next to Calvin, who was there by himself. I was content to stand for the first 20 minutes having sat at my desk for most of the day. I ordered a guest draft – a Green Flash IPA. Mindy went with their Russian Imperial Stout - nitro. The kids each ordered a Dr Pepper. Jacob ordered a hummus plate and wings. Bella, a mini-cheeseburger. I had chicken tenders. Mindy, nothing, but planned tp do as I often do, which is to pick from everyone else's plate. Service was fast and the food tasty. I stuck with just one beer, yet another example of my portion control program. :) As agreed upon prior, Mindy picked up the tab. We were there for just over an hour. Jacob opted to ride with me. He asked me to try hard to beat Mindy home, but she was driving a bit faster, more erratic than I. She passed us on the freeway. I used it as an example of how not to drive, and also shared how it's far more important to drive carefully thus insuring safe arrival. At home, Frankie was excited to have her family back. Can't remember who took her out. I was working on my blog when Mindy beckoned me to the kitchen to take a look at the kids laptop. We were being challenged to provide our Windows 7 product key. The message implied our version was not genuine. What? I was not at all pleased. The wireless functionality was seemingly shut down too. I was beside myself for a while. Adding it all up, I had a crazy day. The car window, finding my boat trailer sticker, but too late to matter, work changes, and now a laptop issue. To be fair, I had a few positive things occur too. I couldn't let that pass without mention. Life is good despite the few undesirable mishaps. I feel bad because I snapped at Mindy while dealing with the laptop issue. At the time I felt I had reached a breaking point. I simply shared that I was better off being alone while solving the computer trouble. I didn't want her hovering over my shoulder. I knew instantly that she wasn't happy with my sour mood. I fixed the Windows 7 issue after about ten minutes, and then updated the anti-virus. Shortly thereafter, my peer called me via my Blackberry to discuss changes at work. We talked for about 30 minutes while I walked Frankie out back. Meanwhile, Mindy was already off to bed. It was maybe 930p. I stayed up for a while longer watching the Science Channel.