Always a Good Time when Cousin Eddie's in town

After a fairly restful night of sleep, I was up and out of bed somewhere near 530am. The coffee had just started brewing. I heard it kick on as I made my way to the kitchen. I glanced out back at the weather. It was cloudy, but it wasn’t raining. Yes, I can do this.

I slipped into my exercise shoes then headed to living room where I completed 50 sit-ups. By the time I finished up, the coffee was all but finished brewing. Ahhh, finally, a hot cup of coffee. Just what the doctor ordered.  I enjoyed coffee while playing on the internet. I admittedly spent more time there than I should’ve. It was 605am when I finally broke away for meditation. I wanted badly to be lazy and liner. Because of that, I spent no more than 7 minutes doing meditation. It was already 612am and time to deliver Mindy’s coffee. She was still under the weather.

Downstairs, I stretched then dressed promptly for a run. For the first time all season, I wore a pair of running tights instead of the loose variety. Makes a big difference not having cool air blowing up the pant leg. Much more comfortable. I wore a toboggan and hand covers too. I was cozy and warm. It was just after 630am and 40 degrees when I headed out the door.

I ran the full 4.1 miles. Spent a lot of time trying to think only positive thoughts. Need to break this cycle of incessant negativity. Like anything else, my thought patterns can become habitual. It's my nature to worry and think only of all the negatives in my life. Repeated over and over, this becomes habit and I do it without thinking. It’s part of human nature, I think, to protect us.  I was largely successful at breaking free of that type of thinking, at least during my run.

The run was soon behind me. And as expected, Mindy was in the kitchen prepping breakfast. She brought the pug to the door while I waited. I gave Eiknarf some time to  stretch before we set out on our walk. Immediately out door, I spotted the guy with the two Lhasa-Apso coming our way. They quickly got Eiknarf’s attention. Dang it! I had to give her leash more than a few yanks to steer her attention elsewhere. We went no further than Kenny & Chrissy’s yard where she took care of her business.

Mindy made the plain omelet again. I was happy about that.  I could tell she wasn’t feeling well. Not only did she look sleepy, but she wasn’t her spunky self. Despite not feeling well, she said she still wanted to go to CBC after work, this being a rare date night.  She left for work at 730am, or just a minute or two before I headed off to the shower.

Told Bella not to be surprised when Lindsey came to the door. She was coming to pick-up Landon’s book bag that was left at our place the evening before. It was waiting by the door. I was fairly quick to shave and shower. I dressed nice, this being a customer day. I wore black dress slacks and a purple button-up dress shirt.

While putting the finishing touches on my pretty self, I could hear Lindsey downstairs already heading back out the door. I was downstairs by 750am. I spent time before heading to the bus stop playing on the internet. Out the door at 810am. We weren’t out there long. The bus was on time.

Back at the house, I took care of a few last minute items then headed off to work. I opted to take I-270 all the way around to New Albany. No traffic problems. I arrived near 850am.

Early on, one of the managers stopped by to let me know that they'd be heading out near noon for a holiday celebration and most likely wouldn't return for the rest of the afternoon. I thanked them and told them to have their team members stop by if they needed me.

The reason I changed my visit to Tuesday was to combine it with another meeting I had on their campus set for 11am. I chose to drive to the meeting, leaving at 1040am. It was in another building on campus, but still a pretty good haul. And besides, I wasn't entirely sure how to get there by foot.

The holiday preparedness meeting was in a far nicer building than the one I work in normally. Cool decor and lots of state-of-the-art technology. The meeting lasted just a short while, 35 minutes tops. I stuck around briefly afterwards to say hello to a familiar face. It was Jay from Cisco. He used to work for another equipment vendor back in the day. Hadn't seen him in perhaps as many as 10 years.

A couple of my work peeps invited me to lunch with them. I graciously declined and instead headed back to my office. I spent a great deal of the afternoon working on monthly report data. Before I knew it, the day was winding down. I thought I might leave as much as an hour early but couldn't pull it off. Got too involved in what I was doing. Nonetheless, I still left earlier than usual. I was out of there by 445pm. Because it was date night, I wanted to be home no later than 530pm if I could help it.

I made good time around I-270 never hitting the slow down I expected in Hilliard. I was home near 520pm. I took a quick glance at the pond before heading inside. Still some work to do. The kids were already off to dinner with Jimaken. Mindy was busy on her laptop putting together sub plans for Wednesdays professional development day. By the time I brushed my teeth she was logged off and out walking Eiknarf. We left for CBC minutes later in the Accord.

I was very much looking forward to their December Hop Odyssey entrant, Cousin Eddie, supposedly hopped 13 times over. The lot was only half full. Expected a much bigger crowd. The bar had more open seats than not and Kate was working the bar. Ran into Stella immediately in the door. She was serving tables but gave both Mindy & I hugs even after Mindy warned that she was ill.

Kate thanked me for checking on her before we left the last time we were in. That's the night that Robert was in and presumably had too much to drink. I ordered a Cousin Eddie. Mindy surprised me and ordered a sample of the same. Sooner or later, I'll have Mindy addicted to the IPA's. :) Ummmm good! Delicious. One of the brewers was in, Jamie. He recognized Mindy & I and asked how it compared to last Xmas' 12 Hops.  I gave honest feedback. Shared that I couldn't really recall the exact flavor, but remember it being one of the best IPAs I'd ever tasted. This one was delicious too. He laughed at my feedback but thanked me for being honest. Unless they were side by side, how could one possibly tell. Besides, I've also learned that IPA's can taste different depending on what I've eaten or drank just prior.

Cousin Eddie is served in a tulip glass signifying its potency as a IIPA. We talked with Kate at length. Mindy & I  chatted some privately too. Among other things, we talked about the grandsons and Lindsey, but also about neighbor Terri's comments to Mindy last Friday. I can tell that Mindy's still upset over the matter.

We eventually ordered some food. Mindy ordered the salmon (go figure). And in an effort to step outside my comfort zone, I didn't order the spinach artichoke dip. Instead, I ordered the Cuban burrito.

The burrito was really good. Came served with fried plantains, nachos, and pico-de-gallo. I ordered a 2nd Cousin Eddie. But with the spicy food, it wasn't the same as the first one. Still good, however. I couldn't eat my entire meal. I had Kate box up the leftovers. We couldn't stay too long. Had to get home to intercept the kids. I'm thinking we left just after 730pm. Mindy picked up the check and left Kate a nice tip. We both agreed that we'd almost certainly be back again Friday night. After all, I can't have my favorite cousin in town and not stop in to see him. :)

Mindy drove home. We weren't home but 5-10 minutes when the kids arrived. I offered my leftovers to Jacob who said he was still hungry. I think he said they ate at McDonald's. He reheated my leftovers but quickly tossed it aside saying he didn't like it at all. OK! We ended up heading to the family room and tuning the TV to one of the knowledge channels watching The Universe. The program was interesting. It was about the Earth's magnetic field and the magnetic poles. Talked about how they could flip-flop at anytime, and what effect that would have on things such as the aurora borealis, or the northern lights. With a magnetic flip, they'd become the southern lights. I eventually fell asleep watching the program.

I woke around 1030pm with the kids and Mindy already in bed. I shut down the house and headed for bed. Good night Cousin Eddie. Sleep tight!