3-6 Sucks

I woke Sunday once again near 7am. Mindy must’ve heard me stirring and requested I bring her coffee, although she didn’t specify when. I felt pretty good despite drinking 5 or 6 beers the night before. But then again, those 6 beers were spread out across maybe 5 hours. I started coffee then took to the internet to mainly catch up on Saturday’s late college football results. Not one of the top ten teams lost, but a couple came awfully close. I took Frankie out after enjoying a half cup of coffee. It was mostly cloudy for the first time in over a week. The day’s high wasn’t expected to leave the 50’s, but the sun was supposed to shine again early afternoon. After a short time outside we headed back inside where I enjoyed more of my own coffee ahead of taking Mindy hers. Mindy was still enjoying her slumber but thanked me for brining coffee. It’s been a while since I’ve left coffee at her bedside. I headed back downstairs where I started fooling around with our recent family photo to make a Xmas greeting card. I checked out Cord’s application as well as Wal-Mart’s. I like Wal-Mart’s price way better.  I headed out for my run around 9a. Mindy was still in bed. I ran the usual three miles with little or no concern. The sky was already starting to clear, but there were still really dark clouds hovering just to our immediate north. The bright sunshine hanging in the SE sky made them appear even more ominous – pretty really. Mindy was up and downstairs shortly after my return. She picked up right where she left off with laundry. And she wasn’t up long before she headed for a shower in preparation for a grocery shopping trip. She expressed her feelings about me falling asleep on the sofa a lot lately – not enough skin time. As for me, I didn’t plan to do much of anything physical during the day. I planned to watch the Vikings game against the Chicago Bears come 1pm and then cookout with the neighbors come dinner time. I definitely didn’t plan to do any strenuous yard work. My body, especially my legs, needed a rest. I worked on our family Xmas card and even did some reading during the late morning/early afternoon. I finished the Deepak book I had been reading for the last two months. I have another in waiting. Not sure the exact time that Mindy left for the grocery, but I’m guessing near 11am. She was back ahead of the Vikings kick-off and that was after making stops at both Kroger and Market District. She surprised me with two new 6-packs of Great Lakes Xmas ale. They apparently had a two six-pack limit. She bought some more hummus and pita chips too. I watched the Viking game from the family room chair. We scored on our opening possession for the first time all season. It was just a field goal, but encouraging just the same. We drove down the field on our second possession only to miss another field goal. Crap. It was extremely windy in Chicago, no doubt a factor in the miss. Bella excitedly went for her Favre jersey early on in the game, although she didn’t watch but passively. Instead, she and Makayla made kites out of old bun bags and ran arouind the yard. Can you say easily amused?

Mindy and I watched most of the game. However, Mindy was busy in the kitchen at the same time. Me, I was nothing more than a sofa lug all afternoon, something I rarely do. Mindy got a text from her teacher friend, Shelly, the one who was trying to hook us up with her aunt’s guest house in Vail for a winter ski vacation. Unfortunately, she shared that it wouldn’t be available for our dates. I was more than a little bummed after getting psyched about it and then making myself familiar with the village’s amenities over the last week or so. Plan B. The Vikings went up 10-7 on the Bears. I was stoked! The lead didn’t last, however. Whether after a punt or kick-off, each time the Bears returned the kick they took it well into our territory giving them an incredibly short field to work with. The Bears took the lead and never looked back. As much as I hate to say it, you can stick a fork in the 2010 Vikings season. Mindy communicated with the neighbors. Sounded like we’d be eating at our house, but Kenny would be grillin’ the steaks, chicken and dogs at his place. Honestly, at the time, I was tired from sitting around all day. I felt as though I could’ve skipped dinner entirely. Kenny, Chrissy & family didn’t come down until almost 6p. They were dealing with a logistics issue with Lillian and her mother, something about her pick-up time. Kenny wasn’t too pleased. Kenny grilled filets for Mindy & Chrissy, T-bones for he & I, boneless chicken breasts for the Jake’s, and hot dogs for the girls. Mindy made green bean casserole, corn, and baked potatoes. And she whipped up some chocolate pudding for dessert, too. I cut about a 1/3 of my steak away only caring to eat the other 2/3’s. That was plenty. My steak was a little tough and perhaps a tad over cooked, but still pretty good. I could sense some tension during dinner. I think Kenny was still angry with his ex, not to mention his grandfather being seriously ill. The Dallas/Giants game whirled in the background. Chrissy is a huge Cowboy fan, and they were up big, in what had to be considered a huge upset. She was happy about that! I started clean-up immediately after finishing my steak. Kenny took another call from his ex and headed outside. We didn’t see him again. Chrissy stayed a little while longer, but left once to check on some laundry. She returned 20 minutes later, but only long enough to fetch her kids. Once the neighbors were gone, Mindy had our kids get showers. And while they got showers Mindy and I chatted on the sofa. At some point I called Kelly in follow-up to our conversation Saturday evening. Things were a tad better but still tenuous. Lindsey is being evicted on the 18th. Not sure how this is all going to unfold. Essentially, I suggested we walk through a couple scenarios to see if Kelly was prepared for that given response. I am still very worried about the welfare of the boys. As a family, we tuned into SNF, but Bella’s interest ended after the opening song by Faith Hill. The game was the Steelers vs the Patriots. We all lost interest. Still tired, I plopped down on the floor and snuggled up next to Frankie until I fell asleep. And once again I woke to a quiet house, only this time right at 10p. I headed to bed moments later after penning Frankie and making sure the house was secure.