50 and Rain to Begin 2011

I was up around 720a and eager to start the new year off on the right foot. I started a pot of Starbucks then my calisthenics. Aside from a congested head, I felt pretty good. It was raining, and at times fairly hard. The temperature was quite warm, too, about 50 degrees. I sought out my new umbrella before heading outside with Frankie. She was reluctant to go, but I was insistent. She finally acquiesced. Despite the rain, we stayed outside a solid a ten minutes with her eventually addressing both ends. I toweled her off once back inside, but she didn’t make it easy. She tried pulling away as if I was going to hurt her with the towel. Can’t recall how much time I got to spend alone, although I know Mindy was up well ahead of the children. In fact, Bella slept until after 11a. Mindy made a grocery list then headed for a shower when I headed out for my first run of 2011. It was a Saturday run, so I backed it down to 3 miles just like I did on most Saturdays through the better part of 2010. It was an easy run. My head cleared considerably during. Back at the house, I offered that we invite the grandsons over for dinner. Mindy agreed. She also planned to invite my dad and Glenn. She understood that he was coming back from my mom’s later that day. I wasn’t so sure, thinking it more like Sunday. I tried reaching Lindsey but had to resort to leaving a VM. An hour later, I left another VM except this time on Kelly’s phone. Evidently, Lindsey called back while I was napping in the recliner. Wanted me to call and confirm a pick-up time. We agreed on 245p. To make that happen, I would be leaving Jacob and Bella alone long enough to fetch them as neither wanted to tag along with Mindy to the grocery store. Mindy agreed. She also shared that Tommy was bringing Glenn back and both would be joining us for dinner. Dad, however, would not because he’s coming down with a cold. I left the house at 230p while the kids were watching a DVD in Bella’s room. Instructed them to go to Kenny’s if anything went wrong. I picked up Lindsey and the boys and was back at home by 250p. It wasn't too much longer before Tommy, Wally, and Glenn arrived. I was surprised when Glenn helped us carry in groceries. Generally speaking, he’s not one to do that sort of thing instinctively. We had a house full. Not only did we have family over, but some of the kids friends too. We had the New Year’s Day bowl games whirling in the back ground. Looked like another bad bowl year for the Big Ten. Not a big surprise. I drank one beer during the Rose Bowl, but quickly switched over to soda pop and water. I also took another Pseudoephedrine. That was helping tremendously. Mindy, the kids and I declared Sunday a ski day after seeing a forecast calling for the return of freezing temps Saturday night and then all through the day Sunday. That raised our spirits a little. Dinner was ready around 6-630p; baked fried chicken, mashed potatoes, & asparagus. We set all the kids up to eat first. There must’ve been eight of them. At some point, we invited the neighbors down too. They said they’d be down, but a little later. The chicken was good. For the most part, the kids seemed to like it. Kenny, Chrissy, and Jake arrived just as we were dishing up adult plates. Good timing. Kenny didn’t look well, and he didn’t stay long after he finished his meal either. Rough night? I managed most of the dinner dishes, although Mindy helped a little. She put away leftovers. Lindsey and the boys hung out until 730p when Mindy volunteered to run them home. Can’t recall if Tommy & Wally left before or after them. While Tommy was over we discussed lodging options for our February ski trip. He’s stoked about the trip. Us too. The Fiesta Bowl was quickly looking like another blow out. Everybody quickly bored with it, we collectively agreed to watch a PPV movie instead. We chose, The Other Guy, starring Will Ferrell & Mark Wahlberg. The movie had a PG-13 rating, so we agreed to let Jacob watch. Bella was off playing in her room. The movie was a bit slow to develop and pretty much your standard Will Ferrell comedy, but sprinkled in were some surprising twists and turns. Darn funny. It did have a few scenes that we considered highly inappropriate for Jacob. Oops! The movie wasn’t over until 11p. Save for Glenn, we all headed for bed soon after.