Holiday in the Valley

After almost 10 hours of sleep, I was up right on time. Missing was the grogginess that typically accompanies such an extra long session of sleep. I felt great. I completed only sit-ups, this being a skip push-up day.

I was enjoying coffee and internet by 540am.  I spent the first 10 minutes paying a few recurring monthly bills online. Might’ve spent another 10 minutes doing fun stuff. Among them, I checked the weather and sports. It was 50 degrees with light rain. Supposed to be a rather dreary day.  Saw that the Rangers beat the Cardinals Wednesday night to go up 3-2 in the World Series. But probably most important, the European Union approved a bailout package for Greece’s financial woes, which has been an ever present drag on the stock market for the past few months. As a result, they’re predicting an up tick in markets. That was some welcome good news.

Did meditation and stretching over the next 15-20 minutes. Took Mindy coffee at 620am. I readied for my run next, wearing a light weight long-sleeved wicking shirt under my pullover fleece. I skipped hand and ear covers. I headed out the door near 630am. The rain was light and intermittent, but wasn’t much of a concern. I ran the full 4.1 miles with my thoughts drifting all over the place. Happily, none of them were negative.

Mindy was just coming downstairs when I made it back to the house. I asked that she bring Eiknarf to the door so I could once again save Jacob the trouble. Eiknarf was quick to take care of business. Chrissy was backing out of her garage as we passed by on walk back home. It was only 710am. I assumed that Jake missed his school bus. I didn’t stop and ask, just waved.

Inside, Mindy put the finishing touches on some scrambled eggs. They were a nice change of pace. Jacob was still under the weather so Mindy was taking him with her but then dropping him off at her mom’s place. They left around 730am or just before.

Bella and I finished our breakfast, with me dishing what remained of my scrambled eggs along with what was left in the frying pan into Eiknarf’s dish. I headed up for a shower next.

 I was ready to go by 750am. I spent the next 15-20 minutes organizing my work gear and taking inventory to make sure I had everything I needed to work off site at my customer’s location.  Mindy packed me a salad, but last second I opted to go with bagged veggies instead (carrots and celery). That way I wouldn’t have to worry about transporting salad dressing or clean-up. I packed cheese, fruit, and a banana, too.

Bella hung under my umbrella as we walked to the bus stop. Kenny was out with the girls. Had the baby pug, too. Neighbor Mike was out with his two Jack Russell puppies. They don’t use a leash. I asked if he was worried. Nope! I laughed when he brought up Darwinism. I knew what he meant. Kenny shared that Chrissy took herself, Jake and Makayla to a scheduled ortho appointment. Oh, so that’s why they were leaving so early.

Mindy and Kenny were talking about recent deer hunting near misses. I joked that I’ve heard that same “the one that got away” story ten times already from peeps at work. Me, I am not a hunter, at least with a gun or bow. I hunt with cash and good looks! J  We talked Vinton county and Hocking Hills some too. Mike’s got a cabin down there off route 50.

The bus was late. Figures. We got to spend more time in the rain. J I walked Eiknarf out front again even though she’d taken care of business a bit earlier. Good thing we did, too. She pooped again. We headed inside where I made quick work of securing the home and heading off for work. I toyed briefly with trying I-670 but in the end opted not. I went with the tried and true, I-270. Like 90% of all my recent trips around the outer belt, it was raining at a good clip.

We had a staff call at 9am. I knew I’d be pushing it. By the time I made it to the office and then to my desk and unpacked my gear it was 859am. I joined the staff call from my Blackberry and bluetooth headset while waiting on my laptop to fully boot up. The meeting wasn’t a long one, maybe 15 minutes. We’d be getting together again at 11am to discuss a more specific topic.

Compared to my recent days in the company office, the rest of morning seemed to drag a little. I wasn’t complaining. I needed a day like that. We had our 11am meeting/call. Not a bog deal. Next, I readied for my 1pm monthly presentation. I was set up and ready to go when the customer’s management team entered the conference room. Several of my peeps joined via conference bridge. The presentation & meeting lasted about an hour. Went well. I was pleased.

Afterwards, I went for my packed food. I was after 2pm in a hurry. The last part of my day was fairly easy for a change. Again, a very nice change of pace. I left for home at 505pm. I opted to take I270 around and made really good time. Didn’t hit the usual traffic jam in Hilliard. Not sure why. Arrived home near 540pm.

Mindy had dinner just about ready. We were having tortellini and red sauce. I’d talked with Mindy about it earlier. I suggested she cut up some of the leftover Italian brats and add it to the mix. She took my advice, and man was it ever delicious. We were both looking forward to one of those rare nights where neither kid needed to be at practice. For the last two plus months it’s been Bella at gymnastics each Monday & Wednesday, and then Jacob at soccer on Tuesday and Thursday.

But hope of a completely relaxing evening were dashed when Lindsey called asking if we could come pick her up from work, take her to get her kids, and then take them home. As much as it pained us, we worked it out given that she is trying so hard to get it together. Mindy agreed to fetch her from work. We asked baby daddy to deliver the boys, and I agreed to run them all home.

Sometime after dinner clean-up, Mindy headed Lindsey’s way up in Dublin. While she did that I updated my blog and then bought the family their Xmas present, a week at Holiday Valley. Mindy with Lindsey and the boys was back around 745pm. Mindy fed them dinner, the boys going for some of the tortellini. Lindsey opted for a reheated hot dog. After tortellini, the boys each had a hot dog too. We like it when they eat a hot meal. We asked if they ate at their dads place. Nope!

Lindsey tore open a package containing two new dart guns for the boys. Said she paid $5 for them. That’s not a lot but still, when you don’t have a home, every dollar should be spent wisely. I didn’t say anything at the time.

Near 830pm, I made the call for Lindsey and the boys to ready for home. We loaded into the Accord and  headed off. Lindsey was discouraged after being asked to change her work schedule to days and hours not too convenient to here situation. On top of that, the apartment complex that she plans to move into told her the unit now wouldn’t be ready until possibly Nov 12^th, something about the current owner being foreclosed on. Good grief!

It doesn’t take long to get out east via I-670, especially at night. I dropped Lindsey and the boys and was back at home before 9pm. Once inside, I promptly changed into my PJs and then grabbed myself a beer – a Widmere Falconer series IPA. I also tuned the TV briefly to the Thursday night college football game, but then to game 6 of the World Series, the first such game I’ve caught even a glimpse of. I watched a couple innings while Mindy worked on report cards. It was 3-3 and then 4-3 Texas.

Mindy headed to bed around 930pm. Just after she headed up, I headed back to my PC where I added pictures to a few recent blog entries. I also snacked on some chili cheese Frito’s. I headed for bed a little after 10pm.  I checked the baseball score just before. It was tied 4-4. Good night dark moon.