Toys, Toys, Toys ... A Timely Contribution

I was up near 730a and still dealing with a head cold. Sleeping soundly has been anything but easy. The house was quiet. I spent the first hour or so alone downstairs completing my exercises, walking Frankie, & then enjoying coffee. Sometime near 845a the Kidney Foundation rep knocked at our door. Frankie went berserk. Her barking woke Mindy, who was the one that asked them to knock on the door since we had so much stuff to donate in the basement. I greeted the KF guy then put Frankie in her pen. Said he used to raise pugs. I went to check on Mindy’s status. She was dressing and promised to meet me downstairs momentarily. We must’ve carried up 25 trash bags full of toys, many still in their original packaging, some unopened, and some very expensive. Mindy had a list attached to each bag as well as a separate list for us to keep for tax purposes. It took about 20 minutes to get it loaded up. Glad to see that stuff gone! After the KF left, I fooled around on the computer while sipping coffee for another 30 minutes before preparing for a run. It was quite warm, already in the low 50’s. I felt naked running without hand and ear covers. I ran the full 4.1 miles, this the last run of 2010. Felt good to put that one in the completed pile. After my run, I unloaded all of our skis from the Thule. Noticed that my edges were already beginning to rust from sitting in there wet since Tuesday. And then, not wanting to waste the warmth, I got out the shop-vac and vacuumed the Honda, front and back. It’s needed it for some time. I thought about washing it afterwards but remembered we had heavy rain coming on New Year’s Day. We were expecting the kids home around noon, and noon came fast. In fact, the last couple of days moved almost too fast. The kids headed out to play almost immediately in the door. It was sunny and approaching 60. Gone almost entirely was any sign of our very wintry December. Just a few small stubborn piles of snow scattered here and there. The day’s nemesis was mud. Mindy spent the early afternoon taking down Xmas. Afterwards, the only decoration remaining downstairs was the Xmas tree. After a shower, I headed off to the Giant Eagle Market District in Arlington. I planned to pick-up a few items for the New Year’s Eve parties we’d be attending. Mindy asked that I get a couple other items too. I took the Honda. The Market District has been crowded at every visit, but this was by far the worst I’ve seen. Hardly enough room to move. I had to circle the lot for a parking spot, eventually parking at the far reaches of the lot out by the Macy’s. I might’ve gathered 15 items, including a six-pack of the new Sam Adams IPA, some hummus, pita chips, whipped cream, and a shrimp tray. I checked out in the alcohol department. That little trick saved bundles of time. The main check-out lines we backed up well into the aisles. It was probably near 4pm when I got back home. Mindy & I discussed the logistics of our evening knowing that both the Gardner’s and Schultz’s were having NYE get togethers. The kids, especially Bella, wanted to spent their NYE with Kenny & Chrissy’s kids. Mindy and I wanted to keep with tradition and spend it with Pat & Lisa. We decided to do both, going to Pat & Lisa’s first. Bella & Jacob later inserted that the O’Connell’s were having a party too, and that they were lighting off fireworks at midnight. I didn’t do much through the late afternoon. Wrote in my blog and did some reading. Took a Pseudoephedrine around 5p hoping to curb my drippy sinuses. We left for the Schultz’s at 645p. Turned out, we were early arrivers, but others began to arrive within the next hour. Best guess, there were 15-20 guests including kids. Both Jacob & Bella eventually found others their own age to pal and play with. We had a really nice time. Good people. Good food. Around 10p we left for the neighbors. Jacob wanted to stay and play with the friends he made. I was surprised when Mindy handed him her cell phone. Yikes! Bella was still eager to leave, especially after running into their sliding glass patio door not recognizing the glass. She was crying, but for the most part, we think her pride was hurt more than anything else. And unless I misunderstood, she ran into three times.  We arrived at Kenny & Chrissy’s after a very brief stop home to get Frankie. Chrissy, as it turned out, was already passed out with her head on the counter. Wouldn’t budge. Mindy hung out with Julie while I hung with Mike M. and Kenny. Around 11p we collectively walked down to the O’Connell’s house two doorss down. They were having a really good time. Quite the lively bunch. The kids were very excited to be there because Mike O. promised to light off fireworks at midnight. Got a little crazy around midnight; fireworks, champagne, and Mike’s drum set. I think we celebrated until 1a. I was smart and stuck with beer all evening. Not even one sip of champagne. I remember seeing a couple of the kids drinking real champagne too, although they had the fake stuff intended for them. Mindy stopped at Kenny & Chrissy’s to fetch Frankie on the way home. I walked through the back yard and straight home. We were in bed minutes later.