Bloggin' & Loggin'

 I slept late again by about ten minutes. I wasn’t downstairs until 845am. The coffee was prepped. I simply had to hit the go button. I glanced outside. It was cloudy.

Being Tuesday, I complete only 50 sit-ups. Without thinking, I did them in my slippers. It was already 555am by the time I poured some coffee and headed to my PC. Checked the temperature. It was a balmy 47 degrees. Expecting a high near 62 under partly cloudy skies. Very spring-like. I was online until 605am when I stopped to deliver Mindy’s coffee. She asked to be woken a little early to accommodate leaving the house early. Before heading back downstairs, I grabbed my pillow thinking I might try and get a bit more shut eye. Not sure why I’m feeling like I need more sleep lately.

I laid down on the sofa but for no more than five minutes. I was tired, but my mind was racing with work related issues. I got up to meditate and stretch around 625am. Completed both over the next 15 minutes. While stretching, I could hear the trash truck out front. I placed our can at the curb early the evening before. Given the unexpected warmth, I knew I needed to alter my running attire. I ended up sticking with the same layers but skipped hand and ear covers, opting instead for just a ball cap. I was out the door late – about 750am.

I still ran the full 4.1 miles and did so easily. Felt terrific. During my run I decided that I was going to work from home for the first hour or so of my day, and not because I was running behind, but because I had a couple to-do’s that I needed to knock out even before 8am. Mindy had already left for work by the time I got back home. That I expected given that she needed to leave early. The kids were fine and just finishing their breakfasts. I finished mine then logged onto my laptop.

I took care of those work related tasks around 8am, just as I planned. I headed out with the kids at 810a still in my sweaty running clothes. Chrissy asked if I was playing hooky. Nope! She also asked if we could keep Kayla later that evening while she got her hair done. Of course. Send her down. Said her ex-father-in-law would bring her by. The bus was a couple minutes early. Soon Eiknarf and I were on our way back home. It was a lovely morning, already 50 degrees with dappled sunlight shining through the thin cloud cover. Given the ideal weather conditions, I thought about taking down the Xmas lights, but decided against it when I weighed the amount of time it would take to do it start to finish – about an hour . That was time I really didn’t have.

Got done everything I wanted. I worked until about 9am before heading up for a shower. Back downstairs dressed and ready around 930am. I decided to take my time and drink in the lovely spring-like day. I didn’t leave for the office until almost 10am. With that 30 extra minutes, I took my freshly laundered ski pants outside and gave them a coat of waterproofing spray that’s made specifically for such items and was gifted to me last year from Bob I. Thanks Bob!

It was a lovely drive into the office. During the drive, my boss called to ask that I follow-up on an important issue he and I had been working on for the last couple of days. No problem. Advised that it was already on my radar screen.  He shared that he'd be out of pocket for the better part of the day, but expected to be back in the office around 4pm.

My day went fairly well, especially after I took care of the two biggest work issues weighing on my mind. I was surprised when I checked the clock and saw that it was 1215pm. But considering that I spent the first couple hours of the day working from home, it made sense.

I forced myself to take a lunch break near 115pm when I headed to Tuttle Mall and Finishline to check out new running shoes. I printed off a $20 off coupon before leaving the house. As I typically do, I cut through Macy’s in route to Finishline. I was disappointed to see they a scant selection of Asics, and far less than before. They might’ve had about 6 choices. On the other hand, they had about 50 varieties of Nike running shoes. I found the model I wanted to try on, but not in the color scheme I preferred. But like I always say, the fit and comfort is far more important than the color.  I asked to try on the mostly black Gel Nimbus 13 in a size 11. The kid returned a few minutes later with the size 11s. They fit well enough but felt a tad long in the toe. I asked to try a10.5. He returned a few minutes later with a 10.5 but in another color (black/red). The 10.5 fit perfectly. I knew then that I needed a 10.5 in this particular model but wasn’t prepared to settle for the color scheme in stock knowing full well that I can buy the ones I really want from their website and get free shipping. That’s what I opted to do.

I cut back through Macy’s in route to my car. And you can’t cut through Macy’s without doing a little shopping. I looked at dress shirts but bought nothing. Gone from work no more than 40 minutes, I decided to head back to the office.

I grabbed may packed lunch which I ate from the comfort of my desk while also digging in to a couple issues. The afternoon went along smoothly. As expected, my boss was back in the house late afternoon. We chatted briefly, me providing a status on the issue he and I had been working together.

The early evening went smoothly too. In kind, I was able to leave the office around 520pm. It was still warm but awfully breezy from the south. In fact, I was worried when I popped open my trunk to accept my backpack thinking it might come of its beefy hinges from the gusty wind. I called Mindy once I cleared the dead cell zone that ironically seems to surround our building. And once again, Bella answered. She and I chatted for a couple minutes, her sharing that she had a really good day. Eventually handed the phone to Mindy who was busy making dinner – salmon. I asked if she was grilling it. Nope – bake/broil.

I arrived home around 545pm. And since dinner was still several minutes off, I rinsed my lunch containers and prepped the following day’s coffee. I checked email too. Earlier in the day, while at work, I finally took a little time to program my Droid to receive my RR email. That should help me stay more connected to my personal life while on the road and at work. I double checked to make sure I still received a copy at home even after getting a copy via my Droid. I did. It wasn’t always like that years past. I took my ski pants back outside where I sprayed on a second coat (recommended) of waterproofing.

Dinner was ready shortly after 6pm. Mindy asked that I help by prepping drinks. Kayla’s grandpa dropped her off just before we sat down to dinner. She would be dining with us. Both she and Bella declined any salmon, opting instead for hotdogs. My salmon was cooked perfectly, pink, juicy, and tender inside, yet a tad crispy on the surface.

Mindy warmed sweet peas and French bread as well. I poured a dab of green Tabasco and peach mango salsa on my plate for dipping. Dinner was a delicious. Good job dear!

Clean-up took a little while, but not so much because there were a lot of dishes. Instead, I washed the drip pans for the stove burners. Every time Mindy makes chicken & noodles it boils over and gunks up the drip pans. I had to let ‘em soak for a while before I washed off the crud. I’m guessing that it was 7pm by the time I was done. By then, Mindy was busy working on sub plans for the following week while we're on our ski vacation.

I went to my PC where I responded to an email from Glenn about the pros and cons of skiing Sunday night at SkiBowl. He shared only that they typically have limited mountain access to which I reminded him that SkiBowl professes the largest night skiing area in America! Figured we can play it by ear, and if some want to watch the Super Bowl then fine.

I updated my blog through Monday. By then it had to be 730pm. Mindy soon joined me in the living room in the recliner. Eiknarf jumped up in her lap like she often does. At the same time, I plopped down on the floor lying flat on my back and my arms stretched wide. Felt terrific. I fell asleep in no time at all. Not really sure how long I slept, but I'm guessing about 20-30 minutes.

We all headed to bed early. In fact, I was in bed before anybody else. I turned on the TV because I was starting to get an unwelcomed second wind. Nothing puts me to sleep like watching TV from bed. We watched the end of Pawn Stars then a Larry the Cable Guy traveling around America. Once we realized it was recent rerun, I tuned to another knowledge channel watching a show about the logging industry. More to it than one might guess. Who knew? Watched that until I fell asleep.

Almost 50 White Rajah

I slept until 540am, but even then I didn’t really want to get up.  I suppose it was the drive to provide that pulled me from bed. J I was downstairs a couple minutes later prepping morning coffee. Once I got that going I started calisthenics. Completed sit-ups and push-ups by 555am. Outside, we were socked in under cloud cover. No precipitation.

I checked the weather. It was chilly, only 22 degrees. Wasn’t supposed to get that cold. I played around online until it was time to wake Mindy. I think it was after 615am when I finally delivered her coffee. Back downstairs, I planned to meditate and stretch. As I passed the sofa, I decided to take a brief detour and go horizontal effectively giving in to the lazy demon within. I laid down for about two or three minutes thinking I might go to sleep. But just like that, something came over me and forced me vertical. Get moving!

I did a quick but relaxing meditation and then a thorough stretch. I’m glad I didn’t allow myself to fall back asleep. I dressed warmly for my run then headed out the door somewhere close to 650am. I knew I’d be pushing it to be back before Mindy needed to leave, but I still ran the full 4.1 miles.

Immediately in the door, Mindy handed me her keys so I could start her car. She had the pug waiting when I went back to the door.  Mindy left for work while Eiknarf and I were doing our gig. She honked and waved as she passed. Two fried eggs were waiting for me in the microwave. Eiknarf had one resting in the skillet. I asked one of the kids to fill her bowl with dog food before I’d consider topping it with the egg. Meanwhile, Bella was still gushing about her brand new email account. Gives her a sense of having arrived, I suppose.

I was off to the shower later than usual. It was almost 745am. I wore black Dockers and a brown mock turtleneck. Very comfortable. Wasn’t downstairs until 805am. Threw together a lunch then headed out the door with the kids. I started the Accord on the way to the bus stop. It was coated in thick frost. I had a couple tasks I planned to address before leaving for work. It would have plenty of time to thaw. Met Kenny and the girls at the bus stop. Asked how his knee was feeling. Gave us a peek. Still swollen but said it was far better than it was the day prior. Bus arrived on time. Back to the house.

At the house I paid a couple bills online then checked out running shoes on Finishline’s website. My current pair are about to hit the 5 month mark and the sole near the toe is about gone. 5 months or 500-600 miles is about the limit. After that my feet begin to hurt. Sadly, they no longer carry my current model in a color scheme I like. They do have it in a white/blue. I didn’t buy, just looked.

I left for work near 840am. By then the Accord was nice and toasty. And while it was so frigid early on, it was expected to flirt with 50 by mid day, and even warmer on Tuesday, the last day of January. More up & down.

Arrived to work and was comfortably in my office by 9am, slightly after by the time I stowed my lunch and returned with a pitcher of ice water. The day was largely uneventful from an adrenaline rush perspective. No craziness, which is always good.  We had our regularly scheduled 1pm call. My 2pm was canceled which only furthered the time I had to work on dangling to-dos.

The entire day went along smoothly until about 4pm when a mini crisis struck. That insured the rest of my day would fly by. Not only that, but I’d be taking work home, too. I left for home around 520pm but knew I’d be engaged again later. I called Mindy on my drive home, but Bella answered. We talked for a few before I asked to speak with Mindy. Mindy was putting away groceries. Asked how I felt about having Sunday leftovers for dinner. Fine with me. We needed to eat ‘em up. Shared that Kayla was over doing a math game with Bella. I arrived home near 540pm. I drug the trash can to the curb before heading inside.

I rinsed lunch containers, opened mail, and snacked on nuts before dinner was ready, which had to be around 6pm. Makayla stayed for dinner. Mindy made a fresh garden salad to go along with the pizza and subs. We used paper plates so clean-up was minimal. Mindy asked Bella to be ready for gymnastics by 630pm. Let her play with Makayla until that time. She and Bella left for gymnastics near 650pm. Mindy said she planned to stop for strawberries while she was out since Kroger didn’t have any out earlier.

While Mindy was away, I took a brief nap and then worked on my blog and sent a vacation grocery list to Glenn. We ended up exchanging a handful of emails ironing out some last minute details surrounding our trip. I know the weather can change on a dime, especially a week out, but it looks like a few bluebird ski days on tap. Awesome! Still snowing this week, however. Tom S. emailed that he may not be able to do the entire week, but still plans to join us for 3 or 4 days.

Mindy got home just before 8pm. Said she had a surprise for me. She found some White Rajah at Giant Eagle so she picked up three six packs. Sweet! She also agreed to go after Bella if I would do both on Wednesday. Once she was back home for good she asked if I wanted to split/share a White Rajah. I didn’t really plan on drinking a beer, but why not?

We watched more Pawn Stars on the History Channel (the show is addictive) until about 945pm when everyone, including me headed up for bed. I was tired and really wanted a good night of sleep. While tucking in Bella, she once again thanked me for setting up her email account.

I turned on the bedroom TV to the Pawn Stars. See, I told you it was addictive. Mindy wasn’t thrilled, but acquiesced. I felt her pull the remote from my hands about 10-15 minutes later.  I didn’t fight it. I was slowly but surely drifting off to sleep.  Good night!

Teacher Makes House Calls

After waking three or four times in a span of about 20-30 minutes, I got up for good at 805am but still feeling a little sleepy. I brushed my teeth then headed downstairs where I started coffee then headed to my PC.

I checked the weather. It was clear and 32 degrees, quite a bit warmer than expected. I enjoyed the quiet time at the PC until almost 930am when I dressed for a run in full winter gear with the addition of sun glasses. My calves and left hand were a little tight. Not sure why my hand ached but guessed it had something to with unloading the skis from the Thule.

I ran three miles without issue, though I was more than a little dehydrated. Everybody was up by the time I was back at home. I kidded Jacob about heading right back up to MRM. Not too long after I was back from my run, I headed out to the garage to check on my skis, see if they were dry. While out there, I decided to go ahead and take down our wreath above the garage door and also change the bulbs in our coach lights. As it was, they were Xmas colors – green and red. Took about 20 minutes to take care of both tasks. Toyed briefly with taking down the Xmas lights along the roof line but thought better of it in the end. I most likely won’t get to that task now until sometime in late February or early March.

I was done outside by 1045am. Jacob asked if he could head to Zach & Cody’s. Not until 11am – our unwritten rule for disturbing someone’s peace and tranquility. Mindy was busy tidying up the house to receive the company coming over around 4pm to celebrate Bella’s adoption day. I helped by washing all the dishes in and around the sink. Mindy thanked me for the effort after. The downstairs was all shiny when we were done. It was near noon. By then, Makayla was over playing with Bella in her room, and Jacob was out in the backyard playing football with Evan and Cody. Mindy and I snuck upstairs for a brief nap.

I might’ve slept for about 20 minutes while Mindy showered. Afterwards I tuned into the Buckeye basketball against Michigan. First place was at stake. Like with most OSU basketball games, I found I wasn’t really enjoying it at all. Instead, it was causing me stress. With 5 minutes to go in the first half I decided to turn off the TV and get on with my own life. First order of business was taking a shower.

Mindy was heading off to the grocery to pick-up a few items for the party soon after I was out of the shower. While she was away I updated my blog, which sadly was more than a week in arrears. I was written through Thursday Jan 26 but still needed to post. By the time I finished Mindy was already back from the grocery. It was almost 3pm. Where had the day gone? Lindsey called near then asking if we would watch the kids while she went tanning. I advised not citing our anticipation of company. But Mindy overheard and trumped my asnswer asking that I go ahead and say yes. Yes.

Lindsey was there in short order leaving us with the boys and Olivia while she ran off to tan. I tuned into the X-games about the same time that Jodie and Gloria showed up. Lindy showed up a little later. I'm guessing that was around 430pm. Mindy never really clarified who was and wasn’t coming. I just assumed it to be all of her siblings, but that wasn’t the case. Everybody else had plans of some sort. My dad was coming either. Said he was fighting a sore throat. Ashley was coming, but wouldn't be there until 530pm. Mindy invited the neighbors, Kenny & Chrissy as well. In fact, Chrissy picked us up a tray of brownies from Sam’s Club.

A swift moving Alberta Clipper moved through around 430pm dropping a quick ½” of snow. But with the temperature above freezing and sunny skies afterwards, the snow melted within the hour.

Around 5pm, Mindy excitedly shared that Mrs. Anderson (Bella’s teacher) was coming. I knew that she was invited but didn’t think she’d come. Mindy wanted it to be a surprise for Bella, so hadn’t mentioned it to anyone else. She and her husband showed just prior to me leaving to pick-up pizzas from Minelli’s.  We ordered 2 extra-large pepperoni pizzas with extra cheese from Minelli’s, and then four Michael Angelo Italian subs from Sparano’s. Why the two venunes? The best of both worlds.

I was back with the pizzas by 545pm. Minelli’s was crazy busy. I ran into Mr. Pallazo there. He’s been a teacher at Magdalene for many, many years - 30 maybe. I couldn’t wait to tell the girls that I ran into him. They were only talking about him last week. According to Ashley, there was some sort of St Mary Magdalene gathering going on there. The subs had been delivered by the time I got back with the pies. Good timing. It was a little crazy in the kitchen with all the kids. Mindy made sure they were served first. I waited a while before I got myself some food, but when I did I loaded up. J Doesn’t get much better than Minelli’s pizza and Sparano’s subs. There were lots of snacks available too, including, chips, dip, salsa, veggie tray, and a garden salad.

Folks started leaving around 630pm  and most were gone by 730pm. But Mrs. & Mr. Anderson (Mike & Colleen) stuck around for a while. We talked about boating, vacations, etc. They have a jet ski and love to get it out on Alum Creek and Salt Fork. They also love the beaches in Florida and have a time share at the same resort as brother Tommy. I’m thinking they left around 8pm.

After our company was gone, Mindy did most of the clean-up. At the same time,  I was overcome with an incredible case of the sleepies and had no choice but to peal off for a quick nap. I slept for maybe 15 minutes, but long enough to get a second wind. Saturday’s 12 hour skiing marathon put a whoopin’ on me.

Mindy had the kitchen back in order by 830pm. We tuned the TV to Pawn Stars on the History Channel. We watched a couple back to back episodes. Around 915pm and just before the kids and Mindy were heading up to bed, I set both kids up with roadrunner email accounts. Bella had just enough time to try it out via her Kindle Fire. Don’t know that I’ve seen here so giddy. We all headed to bed around 940pm.

Mindy let me keep watchin Pawn Stars from bed, I’m sure she was banking on me falling asleep within a couple minutes like most other nights, but that didn’t happen. Around 1005p  I suggested I get up and head downstairs so she could sleep. She agreed. Downstairs, I tuned into some show called The Real Jesus, a look at what his mortal life would’ve been like. I enjoyed it much. Found it thought provoking. Snacked on Honey Nut Cheerios while watching TV.  Started to dose again around 1130pm so I headed back to bed. It took a little while to fall back asleep.

Adoption Day @ MRM

The night before, Mindy talked about leaving for MRM by 9am. To that end, I drug myself from bed a few minutes after 7am. There was some light snow falling but no almost no accumulation. I started some coffee then headed to my PC. It was already 32 degrees but not expected to get too much warmer throughout the day. In fact, they were still predicting snow flurries through mid day. I went out to MRMs website where they professed getting a couple inches of fresh snow overnight. All trails were opened.

I enjoyed coffee and internet until about 8am when I figured I’d better get going with my run. Mindy was up about then, too. She suggested we make some bacon and eggs before heading to the mountain. Sounded good to me. It snowed as I prepped for my run and continued doing so, though only lightly, throughout the entire three mile run. It was an easy run.

Mindy had all of our gear carried up from the basement and setting near the front door. Meanwhile, I could smell the bacon cooking in the oven. Yum! While Mindy was upstairs getting ready, I headed out to load our skis, poles and board in the Thule. We needed the extra room inside for nephew Joe. In addition to the bacon and eggs, Mindy baked cinnamon rolls to help us celebrate Bella’s adoption day.

I headed up for a shower around 845am. It didn’t take me long to get ready. Back downstairs I topped off our flasks and prepped the coolers, one with drinks the other with a growler of Centennial IPA. I tossed a couple canned IPAs in for consuming on the lift. And while I was in the shower, Mindy cut up more cheese and sausage.

I think Joe got there around 930am. We waited before we dug into the eggs and bacon. Mindy put candles in the plate of cinnamon rolls so we could sing in celebration of Bella’s special day. Makayla spent the night, so she stayed through breakfast and our mini celebration. But she needed to scurry off home so she could get ready for a ski day too. The neighbors were heading up to MRM as well.

We left the house at 10am sharp, the earliest we’ve been on the road this season. I was very happy about that. The local snow changed over to sleet and rain on our trek up 270. It wasn’t pretty at all. Mindy called one of Bella’s classmates to see if she and her father still planned to join us at MRM. They couldn’t make it. Once we hit 33 west and approached Marysville, the rain/sleet stopped and the sky brightened some. The temperature dropped a few degrees too. It was hovering around 30 degrees.

Once we got west of the Honda plant there was another very noticeable change. There was more than a few inches of fresh snow on the ground, which always helps raise my spirits. We arrived at 1042am, or about an hour earlier than normal. As a reward, we had no trouble getting a good parking spot. We were in row three between the lodge and gift shop. I emptied the Thule before gearing up. The kids needed little to no help getting into their gear. We were ready in record time.

Mindy, Joe and the kids headed to the ticket window so Joe could get his lift ticket and rental gear while I finished getting myself ready. We agreed to meet at the base of the Four Star lift. Didn’t take me long. I got my lift ticket from the gift shop and used the restroom by 11am.  I didn’t see hide nor hair of the others, and since there was no line at Four Star, I headed up by myself, the first run on my brand new skis. I was very excited to give them a go. They’re wider, lighter, longer than my other Volkl’s.

The snow looked pretty decent, especially after considering Thursday’s heavy rain. Given the new skis, I thought it wise to take Mary Ann’s backside down for my first run. The snow was slow and there was a mix of groomed and hard pack. A lot of refreeze near the bottom making for some serious chatter, which was further exacerbated by my new powder skis. I knew it would take a good 5-10 runs to get a real feel for my new sticks.

Mindy & Bella were just buckling up at the bottom of Four Star. My timing was perfect. She said Jacob and Joe were going to hang around the bunny hill Until Joe got his snowboard legs about him. Used to be a member of ski club, but it had been about 10 years since his last outing. Wasn’t sure how he’d do. Meanwhile, Mindy, Bella and I headed up Four Star. We had to remind Bella several times to be careful with her poles and to stop swinging her skis. She seemed a little crusty. Not sure why, but guessed it might have had something to do with none of her peeps being there.

We skied several runs before any type of crowd showed up. It started snowing and blowing, too. In fact, it was far colder than we expected. Seemed like the crowds stayed away fearing rain, which was more than fine with all of us. We spotted Bob & Tina off in the distance and eventually hooked up. Said they had been out since 10am and were ready for a break. We agreed to try and synch up later.

After several good runs, Mindy, Bella and I skied over to find Jacob and Joe on Sundowner. Joe was wearing a bright yellow jacket making him easy to spot from way across the park. Sure enough, we hooked up atop Sundowner. I was impressed with Joe’s snowboarding ability. Good form and speed. After one run down Sundowner, I suggested that Bella and I head back to Four Star. She agreed. Joe, Jacob and Mindy followed.

We hooked up with the neighbors at the base of Four Star and we all skied together for a few runs. I’m guessing that it was near 1230pm when we headed in for a break. I went for the cooler but left Bella’s adoption day cake there. Mindy wanted to do cake and pizza around 4-430pm. I left the Centennial in the Pilot too.

Chrissy offered to buy me a beer.  I suggested a pitcher of Black & Tan, which is a better deal if you’re gonna buy two anyways. The lodge wasn’t very crowded. Getting a table was easy. We were probably in there for a solid hour. Even though I peed before heading back out, it wasn't but a couple runs later that I needed to break off for another bathroom break. Thought I could catch up to Mindy & Bella without missing a beat since they were taking the slow Mary Ann's backside. We were temporarily separated.

At the top of mountain I happened upon Bob I. Said he only recently arrived after having to deal with a challenging work issue. We hooked up with Mindy & the others a couple minutes later. The kids were very excited to see Bob. I’m thinking it was near 2pm when the clouds cleared and the sun came out. What an unbelievable day it turned out to be. The sun helped soften some of the refreeze, but it was noticeably cooler with the clear skies. I didn’t mention it earlier, but it was Winterfest day at MRM. Lots going on – big air, races, live bands, and the portable Budweiser bar to help celebrate their 50th anniversary.

We skied until 4pm. By then we were able to synch our breaks with everybody else.  I headed to the Pilot to get the jug of Centennial but still bought a pitcher of Black & Tan.

Darwin was there now too. He flagged over Pat McMasters, a guy I used to hangout with back in high school. We did a lot of crazy stuff together. Pat & I chatted for quite a while. I eventually introduced him to Mindy and all my peeps. We offered him a beer but he doesn’t drink.  He was there with his son who was entered in the evening’s big air competition along with Darwin’s son, Lane.

There was a cool band playing, Katty Whomp Us. They’re a bluegrass band that plays a lot of old 70’s tunes. Really good. Mindy ordered a couple pizzas to help feed the group, but the others picked up some food too. We were having a really good time. I’m guessing we broke until 530pm. I went to get our clear googles before it got dark.  We made tentative plans to stay until the fireworks, which would be the latest we’ve ever stayed. They wouldn’t begin until 10pm or so.

During round three I was starting to get a good feel for my new skis. They’re faster than my others and they definitely float more up front as designed. I skied the treed run numerous times to get some feel for their ability in fluffy snow. We skied for another couple hours before taking a 3^rd break. That’s when Bob I pealed off for home. His goal was to be home before Mary Ann got home from work.

Had a couple more pitchers and polished off the growler of IPA. Mindy, Joe, Chrissy & Kenny called it a day. Planned to hang in the lodge through the fireworks.  Kenny actually took a spill and injured his knee. Went to first-aid and got an ice bag. Bob, Tina, Darwin and I headed out for more skiing and stayed out until they shut down the lifts. It was a Midnight Madness night so they planned to reopen at 1030pm, or right after the fireworks.

The line at ski check was crazy long. We didn’t plan to ski anymore, so I took my skis to the car to stow them. I changed out of my ski pants and boots too. Headed back to the lodge to meet up with Mindy and the others.  Mindy was feeling no pain and ready to cut loose on the dance floor. She was making friends and chatting with a couple guys at our table too. Joe, Mindy, Tina and I headed to the dance floor for a few. Joe grabbed some young girl from her boyfriend and got the whole place boogying.

Sometime just after 10pm they announced that the fireworks were about to begin. Many of us packed out onto their deck to watch. They were lighting them off about a ¼ way up the main run. At the same time, the groomers were running up and down the trails preparing for Midnight Madness. We hadn’t seen the girls (Bella, Makayla, or Cassidy) but we figured they were watching safely somewhere nearby. The fireworks lasted about 10-15 minutes, and were pretty good for a ski park.

Mindy professed being extremely tired and was ready to leave. However, we couldn’t plan to leave without first finding Bella. Not a minute later she and the others showed at the table where we organized all of our stuff and headed for the Pilot. Bella pouted and whined about wanting to stay for Midnight Madness, but looked a wreck. She had big dark circles around both eyes. She needed some rest. Mindy & Bella headed to ski check to get their skis while Joe headed to return his rentals. We were all loaded into the Pilot and ready to go minus Joe. We waited for about five minutes before Mindy asked that we drive to rental returns even though I suggested we stay put. He knew where we were parked. He and I walked out to the Pilot earlier so he could add a layer.

Mindy headed in rental returns looking for Joe. No joy. We promptly drove back to the aisle where we were originally parked. We ended up pulling up along the curb and Jacob spotted Joe waiting on a bench in the dark. Good eyes, Jacob! By 11pm we were on the road for home.

It was a quick drive home. Bella was out five minutes into our drive. Some of the others dosed off too. When we departed MRM, Jacob went on and on about being hungry, but as we neared home he wanted only his bed. J Everybody was exhausted, including me. We arrived home around 1145pm. Everybody helped carry in gear. I unloaded the Thule and stowed our skis and Jacob’s board by myself. I made sure to take my new skis out of the soft tote to help prevent rusting edges. As it was, they were coated in icy snow.

Joe headed for home as soon as everything was carried in. The kids meanwhile were quickly off to bed and Mindy headed for a shower while I whipped up something to eat. I made a quick version of a Cuban sandwich. It was delicious. After her shower, Mindy cited feeling sick. Said she was going to throw up. Oh boy! She headed to bathroom where She let out perhaps the loudest, deepest belch ever. Said she felt a whole lot better afterwards, but was still super sleepy. She was out in a hurry.

Winter's Triumphant Return

Keeping with the latest trend, I slept for an extra ten minutes or so before finally pulling myself from bed around 545am. By the time I was downstairs the coffee maker had already completed its brewing cycle. All I had to do was whip out 50 sit-ups and push-ups then I could enjoy some.  It was wintry outside. It was snowing and 33 degrees. I knew that would make Bella happy, though it wasn't expected to stick or accumulate locally.

I played around online, eventually breaking away for meditation sometime after 6am. I did that until 620am when I went to wake Mindy and deliver her morning coffee. And by the time I completed a stretch and dressed for a run it was already 645am. There's no denying it, I've not done a good job managing the clock this month.

I was out the door for my run way late. There was about a 1/2 inch of heavy slush on Mindy's windshield, but it had all but stopped as I completed my daily run, which I pared back to only 3 miles in an effort to regain some valuable time.  I was very happy that it was Friday, my favorite day of the week.

When I got back home, Mindy & Bella helped rustle up Eiknarf so we could head out for our walk. I used one of the new doggie bags Lindsey gifted us. They're much smaller than grocery bags, and honestly a bit harder to manage. Our eggs were ready and waiting when we got back inside. Bella commented favorably about the current weather, but was still very concerned for Saturday's forecast.

I'd forgotten all about Mindy not going into work. Instead, she was meeting with a psychologist to discuss a plan to assess Bella's IQ and any potential learning disabilities. Bella so far isn't aware. Mindy told the kids that she had a doctor's appointment. And since the appointment was in Worthington, she planned to meet her friend Teri for breakfast at First Watch beforehand.

Mindy agreed to see the kids onto to the school bus, which made Bella very happy. I headed off to shower near 740am. Since it was Friday (casual day) I wore jeans and a black t-shirt. Felt good. Once I was back downstairs, Mindy asked what time  the kids needed to be outside for the bus. I confirmed her guess of 810am. I quickly threw together my lunch then declared that I was heading out with them too. Why not? I took my coffee out with me.

Kenny was out with the girls. We chatted about the weather and Saturday's adoption day celebration at MRM. Expecting it to snow early Saturday morning and reach a high of about 34 degrees with falling temps through the afternoon. Given the warm winter, we've been very fortunate/blessed to get these micro blasts of winter weather on the weekends enabling us to ski with some regularity.

After the bus swooped up the kids Mindy & I headed home. We weren't there long, however. We both left the house before 830am. Mindy was a couple cars behind me at the Roberts Rd traffic light. Arrived at the office near 845am and parked in the lot closest to the door. It was very quiet start to the day, which was much appreciated. I hoped it would stay that way all day long, and by and large it did. I didn't have any calls or meetings on my calendar either, which was a welcome change of pace.

Mindy called near noon to tell me about the appointment with the psychologist. Said it went well. We have homework (surveys) we need to complete. The psychologist wants to meet with Bella sometime soon. Mindy also shared that she was on her way back to school. That surprised me because I thought she took the entire day off. She confirmed that wasn't the case. My afternoon was as calm as my morning. I had only one surprise but that wasn't too big of a deal. I sent Bob I. a text asking about his weekend ski plans. He responded that he expects to be at MRM weather permitting.

I left the office for home around 515pm and called Mindy not to far into my drive. She reminded me that we'd have the boys until Lindsey got back from having another root canal. She asked if I wanted to have dinner at Barley's. At the time I wasn't so sure, but by the time I got home I decided that I did.

I must've gotten home around 540pm. Jacob & Rocky were at Cody & Zach's house just down the street. And as a result the house was pretty darn quiet. Minutes later, Rocky busted through the door sharing that Jacob sent him home from Cody's for no reason. Mindy was busying trying to get to the bottom of the story when Lindsey showed up to get the boys.

Once Lindsey and the boys headed home I asked Mindy if she still wanted to do dinner at Barley's. She did. By then it was just after 6pm. One small problem. Jacob wasn't home. Mindy said that she told Jacob to be home by 530pm. We joked about how surprised he would be when he arrived home and found us gone. He showed up a few minutes later. Mindy quizzed him on his lateness, which to be fair, is way out of character for Jacob. Said he didn't recall Mindy giving him a specific time to be home. I quizzed him about Rocky's story. He agreed that he sent him home but only after Rocky was being too whiney.

Meanwhile, Makayla was over playing with Bella and stayed up to the minute we were ready to leave for Barley's. As she dashed out the back door for home, we asked if she wanted to join us. She did. We insisted she make sure it was OK with her mom. We got cleaned up and headed off to Barley's by 630pm.

We lucked out and got a parking spot near the door as another patron was just backing out.  Inside, the place was packed to the walls, and more so than I've seen it in many, many years. The restaurant was as cram packed as was the bar - standing room only as many couples/groups waited on tables. The hostess quoted Mindy a 20 minute wait for a table. We waited in the bar area while enjoying a beer, me a Centennial, and Mindy a St Joan's Revenge. Zach, one of the managers, cited a few radio spots earlier in the day as the reason for the crazy crowd. So it does work!

According to Mindy, our 20 minute wait turned into an hour. I didn't mind, after all, it was the weekend and I was hanging with some peeps and enjoying a beer. We were eventually seated in a big booth tucked away in a corner. Justin was our server. We ordered two baskets of fries to enjoy while we scoured the menu for our dinner entrees.

Just before we ordered dinner, Ben & Ryan sent a text saying that they were going to join us. We made room in our booth. I ordered a second beer, a White Rajah, after ordering my dinner, 10 KC wings. All three kids ordered chicken tenders, and Mindy ordered a salad topped with chicken.  Oh yeah, we left a growler at the bar to have filled with Centennial for Saturday at MRM. Ben & Ryan showed up a couple minutes later. They ordered beers and sauerkraut balls pretty quickly. Ben shared that Darwin sent him a text sharing his intentions of joining us around 930pm. Darwin sent a similar text to Mindy a little earlier too.

My wings were really good. I'm thinking it was near 9pm when we finished dinner.  Mindy and the kids were ready to head home. I was too, until Ben suggested that he or Darwin would see that I got home if Mindy would let me stay and play. That sounded like fun. Why not? I stayed back with Ben & Ryan while Mindy and the kids left for home. Ryan suggested that they would have me home by 1030pm. Mindy paid the small bar tab which included our 1st beers and the growler.  I paid the dinner tab.

As advertised, Darwin showed around 930pm. Ended up drinking a couple more beers with him. Meanwhile, Ryan kept a close eye on the clock reminding us more than once that she promised Mindy we'd leave no later than 1030pm. I think Darwin bought my two beers. I know I didn't pay.

Ran into Doug and Jamie, who were just heading out after dinner in the back. Haven't seen them for a while. In fact, Jamie thought as far back as my birthday, but I think it was more recent than that. Regardless, it had been a while. I think it was late October, the night we brought Glenn in after hiking all day in Yellow Springs. Jamie asked about Lindsey. I was happy to report things are looking up. Felt good to brag about her accomplishments for a change. Thinking back, she was still living in the shelter back in mid-October.

Doug and Jamie shared that they're cohabitating, and have been for a while. Said it's working out well. Jamie shared a funny story about her boss calling her to his office. And after seeing armed guards patrolling the halls earlier that day, she was certain it was to let her go. Instantly she was sickened with panic. But all for not. Turned out to be just a casual meeting to discuss a work issue. The mind is a strange machine.

Darwin opted to stick around a little while longer when Ben, Ryan and I left. I was pretty tired after a long work day and four beers, not to mention a strong desire to wake early and head to MRM. At first I thought I'd simply have them drop me at the house, but once we pulled up I insisted they come in for one more beer. We talked about walking down to Kenny's but their house was totally dark. Our house was quiet too. Mindy and the kids were already in bed.

We each enjoyed a beer then I switched to water. We got to telling stories about childhood beatings from our fathers. Ben had me in stitches with a story about he and Kenny innocently lost in the cornfield for hours and hours which had the whole family on pins and needles. Long story short, his dad went to whip them both, Ben getting it first. He then reached under the bed to snatch Kenny, who had the wherewithal to stuff wooden blocks in his britches. Broke his dad's hand.

Suddenly, Ben started getting loud and even a tad obnoxious, which is totally out of character. And when Ryan asked him politely to quiet down he only got worse. Who is this guy and what did you do with Ben?  I heard Mindy up going to the bathroom at one point. She adores Ben & Ryan, but I was certain she was going to come down and attempt to quiet us, or more pointedly, quiet Ben. Ryan somehow managed to control him even after he directed a few rude comments her way, which again is a side of Ben I've never seen. I don't think he had more than four beers over the course of the evening. Strange!

It probably was after midnight when they left and I headed to bed. By then I was really tired.  I took three Advil before hopping into bed.

Chilly Rain

I slept a few extra minutes in an effort to fully rid myself of a bad case of the sleepies. Waking tired seems to be the trend of late. I’ll chalk it up to winter. I was out of bed and downstairs by 540am. Once again, it was cloudy. And amongst the morning’s silence, I could hear the familiar pitter-patter of rain against the roof & windows.

I proceeded to knock out 50 sit-ups and then poured coffee and played on the PC for the next 15-20 minutes. The weather forecast was calling for significant rain all day long with the high eventually climbing well into the 40s. Nothing close to the winter-like conditions I was hoping for.

Meanwhile, the weekend forecast is still teetering on the edge, with Sunday looking like the best ski day of the two. Delivered Mindy’s coffee near 615am. Back downstairs for a stretch and meditation a few minutes later. Both went well. During meditation I could hear the intensity of the rain increase as it beat against the roof and skylights. And judging by the radar that I glanced at earlier, it wasn’t going to let up anytime soon either.

The current temperature was 34 degrees, so for my money, the running conditions would be about as miserable as they get. I dressed wearing full winter attire and headed out the door near 640am. It wasn’t long before I was soaked through and through, including my shoes after running through a couple unavoidable puddles. I plowed right through, though, not worrying about the rain. Once you’re wet, you’re wet. It doesn’t get any worse. Duh! I ran the full 4.1 miles, and it went by pretty fast.

Mindy had a towel waiting for me at the door, but I tossed it aside figuring there no point in toweling off before walking the dog. She brought me the leash and dog next. Eiknarf and I headed out the door before she had an opportunity to realize that it was raining. She tried renege once she realized it was raining, but I wouldn’t allow it.  I started Mindy’s Pilot along our way down the drive. She apparently got the message and took care of her business in a hurry. We scurried back inside.

Soaked to the bone, I took a few minutes to strip out of my wet running clothes tossing them in the clothes dryer. I put my wet running shoes on the bay window heating vent. I was soon back in my dry PJs. That felt great. Finally, I could relax and enjoy my breakfast. By then, Mindy was on her way out the door for school. Bella enjoyed a Pop-Tart while I ate my fried eggs. It was 740am by the time I finished eating and headed off to the shower. I reminded Bella that she needed to take care of hair, teeth and socks.

I planned to make another trip to a customer’s site, so I dressed accordingly and wore my brand new Bostonians. We normally have our staff meeting at 9am, but because we needed to be at the customer’s location for a 10am meeting, my boss moved the staff meeting up to 830am. I told him I would have to join remotely from home since I needed to get the kids on the school bus. I then planned to head straight to the customer’s locale after our meeting/call.

Because it was still pouring rain, the kids and I decided to wait out the bus from the cover of our garage. Kenny and the girls walked down and waited with us. Wouldn’t you know, the bus was late – real late. It was 827am when I told Kenny that I needed to go in to jump on a conference call. He willingly stuck around to see the kids onto the bus. The bus showed up near 830am. Kenny closed the overhead garage door and cut through our house to get out afterwards. Thanks Kenny!

The staff call lasted no more than 10 minutes. I didn’t plan to leave the house until 910am at the earliest. I poured a second cup of coffee then played around on the internet for a while. As planned, I left the house at 910am with my umbrella in tow. Despite the crappy weather, I still took 670 east. That worked out fine, and I got to New Albany near 935am.

My boss called my blackberry just as I was walking in. He was on campus but at another one of their buildings, though I didn’t realize it at the time. I went looking for him in the cafeteria where he said he was waiting but couldn’t find him. I eventually bailed and headed to the assigned conference room, which was a challenge to find in and of itself. Good thing I allowed lots of extra minutes.

This was our quarterly review meeting and it started a few minutes late. No biggie. My boss made it there just in the nick of time. My turn to present came 2^nd, and about 5-10 minutes into it. As usual, I was a little nervous, but did fine delivering my section. I even threw in a little humor. The meeting lasted no more than 30-35 minutes. I hung around to socialize for a few immediately afterwards but was on my way back to our main office by 1045am.  It was still raining at a good clip as I made the long trek out to my car.

As I was leaving their lot I decided that I would make a brief stop at the Easton Macy’s so I could look again at their wool jackets that were marked 50% off last week. There was a couple that really caught my eye. I got a parking spot within 40 feet of the entrance, and the coats were just inside that door. Cool! I think I tried on three different jackets. One in particular, a Calvin Klein, fit really nice. I decided not to buy it though, betting that they’ll be marked down even further, and perhaps another 20-25%, next month. I know all too well how Macy’s works.

Headed back to the office taking 270S back to 670W. Arrived at the office around 1130-12noon. I had two conference calls I needed to join, one at 1pm and then another at 2pm. The hour before the first call went fast, and I got quite a bit done in the short amount of time leading up to it. As it turned out, I didn’t have enough time for a potty break between the two calls. Literally went right from one to the other. The leader of the 2^nd call (also the project mgr) never joined. But because the project in question impacted my customer directly, I took over and lead the call best I could. The way I saw it, I had little choice. That call ended at 305pm. I updated the timeline and sent it to all the concerned parties.

By then it was near 4pm. Mindy called about that time, too. I shared how my day suddenly seemed to be dragging despite being so busy and not getting to the office until almost noon. She shared her desire to make pasta & meatballs for dinner. I was OK with that. Shared that I would call once I was on my way home. She said Lindsey was waiting at our house when she arrived home.

Ended up at the office until almost 530pm. I felt good as the work day ended having accomplished almost everything on my daily to-do list. It was still raining, by the way, and the temperature was still above 40 degrees. Blah! I called Mindy to let her know that I was on my way. She was busy with dinner so our conversation was rather brief. I arrived home by 550pm. Looked like dad was there for dinner, or at least a minivan similar to his was parked out front. Sure enough, it was dad. Unless I’m mistaken, I hadn’t seen him since New Year’s day, though Mindy and the kids have. He’s gotten them off the bus a couple times recently, but left before I got home.

Dad asked if I had heard from mom recently. Yes, and as a matter of fact, I received an another email from her that day sharing her most recent malady. Not only is her knee replacement bothering her, but her carotid artery is an issue now, too. Will be having that checked in the coming weeks along with having her knee/leg stretched. She also shared something about having a new doctor, and that she doesn’t care for him/her. Not sure if she was referring to the knee replacement surgeon or primary care. My thinking is that she should drink a lot of water, stretch, and get daily exercise. That might fix much of what ails her.

Asked dad about his recent river boat gambling trip winnings. He won $2K and he’s still stoked about it. I suggested that he buy an airplane ticket to Oregon with some of the money. We had an enjoyable dinner. The pasta and meatballs were really good. Mindy shared how she customized the sauce. Bella ran off upstairs to play with Makayla after dinner. Jacob hung out with the three of us in the kitchen while I managed the clean-up process.

Mindy was telling dad that it was Bella’s adoption day this coming Saturday, which eventually morphed into how/when I entered Bella’s life at such a young age. Dad, in turn, began sharing stories about when he first met Sheila and then their first dates and such, much of the focus centering around Shawn being just a baby at the time. Honestly, I found the stories a bit creepy.  

Dad hung out until near 715-730pm. Both Mindy & I headed upstairs to change into comfy clothes soon after he left. The kids and Mindy were much looking forward to yet another night of American Idol. For me, watching Idol night after night gets old. Feel like I am wasting time.  So to address that, I spent the majority of the hour between 8 & 9pm on my PC. I should’ve spent the time editing/updating my blog but didn’t. Instead, I read about the Vikings stadium push and Joe Pa’s funeral.

As 9pm neared, I poured the first pint from the growler of Centennial that I bought last Friday night and then joined the family for the end of Idol. Saw that next week’s auditions are from Portland, Oregon. We watched The Finder immediately after Idol. As usual, watching a TV program put me to sleep.  I woke for about the last 20 minutes and got a 2^nd wind. Of course, by then Mindy was ready for bed. She wasn’t happy that I opted to stay up a while longer. Wanted me to join her in bed.

After tucking in the kids, I made a bowl of cereal – Cookie Crisp. That hit the spot. I’d been craving some for a while. My appetite finally satiated, I dosed again from the sofa. When I woke I headed for bed. By then it was darn near 11pm.

New Shoes New Skis Look at Me

Even after a good night’s sleep I was feeling a little lazy, so come 530am I decided to sleep in another ten minutes or so, and justified my actions with the kid’s scheduled 2-hour late start. In other words, I wouldn’t need to have the kids at the bus stop at 810am. I’d only need to send them down to Kenny’s when I was ready to leave for work.

My plan worked. I slept for an additional 10 minutes and woke feeling great. I was downstairs prepping coffee by 545am, and at 550am I started 50 sit-ups & 50 push-ups. My calisthenics were done by 6am, which was about on par with the coffee coming ready.

I headed to the PC with coffee in hand where I checked the gloomy weather forecast. I couldn’t get a good sense of the temperature simply by glancing out back since there wasn’t any water on the deck to give off clues. The only thing I knew was that it was cloudy. Turns out, it was below freezing, only 27 degrees. It wouldn’t stay that way for long, however. We were expecting a high in the 40s. And looking ahead, it didn’t look like any freezing temps again until Saturday night. That’s a bummer since we really want to ski Saturday. Saturday’s high is expected to reach the mid to upper 30s, which is suppose is skiable, but with a week's worth of warmth and forecasted rain, the snow pack will be jeopardized. L So much for trying out my new skis.

It was 615am in a hurry and time to deliver Mindy’s coffee. I snuck in 5 minutes of meditation before hand. It was 620a-something by the time I placed her coffee bedside. She asked me to turn up the heat but I’d already beat her to the punch. I headed back downstairs to stretch. That went well. It was 635am when I dressed for my run. With a temperature of 27 degrees I dressed in my full winter attire and headed out the door somewhere close to 645am.

I ran the full 4.1 miles without any problems. Felt great. It was one of those runs where I found myself so deep in thought that it was over seemingly just as it had begun. I like that feeling a lot. I could see that Mindy had the Pilot warming as I walked up the drive. She was actually on her way out as I headed in to get the pug. As she passed, she shared that Jacob was preparing to take Eiknarf out. Frankly, I was surprised that either kid was even up given the scheduled late start. Cool! That saved me some valuable time. It was 632am when I sat down to my fried eggs.

Jacob and Eiknarf were back in a hurry. Jacob said she went right away. Must’ve been cold. She whined for her eggs, but I wouldn’t give her any until Bella filled her bowl with dry dog food first. I headed up for a shower sometime after 640am. It was a customer site day, so I dressed accordingly. Actually, though, the customer has a fairly lax dress code, and definitely far more lax than our unspoken dress code. I was ready to go by roughly 8am. The kids asked what time they needed to head to Kenny’s. When I left for work, was my answer.

After prepping a lunch, I played on the computer until just before 830am. I sent the kids down to the neighbors and then headed off to work. Once again, I took 670E to 270N. That shaves at least 5 miles off the drive, and maybe more. I arrived after about 22 minutes and was in my office by 9am. Took a few to get set-up and logged on. Their director joined our regularly scheduled 10am call. We stretched the agenda to cover more issues than usual. Not a problem. It was a busy morning as I had a number of ancillary tasks I was hoping to get completed. I hoped to take a lunch and head over to Dick’s to look for new ski gloves/mittens for Mindy & Bella. Both could use them. Mindy likes to get them at Target or Kohl’s but said both were all but out of stock already. Not unusual. Already seeing their spring stuff out.

I left for lunch just after 1pm and headed to the Easton Dick’s. Having been there at Xmas time, I knew right where to go – 2^nd floor, just beyond the escalators. I exhaustively perused their glove selection looking first for mittens (Mindy’s preference) with a pocket for hand warmers. That proved difficult, especially at a reasonable price.  I refuse to pay $100 for a pair of gloves, but they have ‘em. I looked in all three glove aisles twice. I could’ve settled for some really warm mittens but without a hand warming sipper pocket but didn’t think that would help Mindy . Me, I’ve never needed to use hand or feet warmers.

After about 20 minutes I was just about ready to throw in the towel, but instead thought I’d look at some of their other ski/board stuff. Well, right around the corner they had a kids ski glove aisle. There I found some real nice purple North Face ski gloves with a zippered pocket for hand warmers. What’s more, they were on sale, which is rare at Dick’s. Marked down to $30. I found a pair in kids medium. Mindy has tiny hands. I knew they’d fit.

Bella could use some too. I found a pair of raspberry North Face mittens with a hand warmer pocket in a kids small. Perfect for her. They’ll even match her raspberry ski jacket. Glad I found them. All totaled, I was in Dick’s a while – about 30 minutes.

When I was walking in, I noticed a DSW next door. What the heck. I thought I might check out their shoe selection. Haven’t been in a DSW in over ten years. I’ve bought a couple pair of shoes from them. They usually have top quality shoes at great prices. Just not that convenient to us. I was one of just a few customers. I like the way their selection is laid out. It makes it easy to serve oneself. First, I perused all of their dress hoe offerings noting the few I liked. The once requirement I have these days is the soft sole and extra comfortable insole. Used to be that was impossible to find in real dress shoes, but not so anymore.

I tried on 2 or 3 styles eventually settling on a really comfortable, nice looking black slip-on Bostonian that met all my criteria – no compromise. Even better, the price was on target too. They’re normally $100 but the everyday DSW price was $69. I bought a pair in a size 10.5. Sweet! It was a tad past 2pm when I found my car and was headed back to the office.

Back at the office, the first thing I did was retrieve my packed lunch from the fridge. I decided to skip the salad since I didn’t have any dressing. Forgot about that. I enjoyed the some cheese and Greek yogurt. I was anxious to get out of the office and head to ASBCO to pick-up my new skis. In fact, I’d been anxious all week. However, there were a couple issues going on that required my intervention and attention. I couldn’t just walk out. I stuck around until they were well under control. Earlier, I had talked with Mindy advising that I might be a little late since I had to stop and pick-up my new sis. She’d forgotten about that. I also shared that I might get out of the office late, too. She reminded me that we’d be having pork roast and that Lindsey and the boys would be joining us. Mindy asked that I call once I was on the road so she could plan a time to sit for dinner. Sure dear.

Turned out, I was able to leave at 510pm. Before pulling out of the lot, I thought about the best way to get to ASBCO from New Albany. I decided to do 270S to 670W to 315N. I called Mindy once I was on the freeway. She told me to take my time but guessed me home by 6pm. I wasn’t so sure it would be that soon.

The traffic on 315N slowed to a near crawl at the merge off of 670. Can’t recall the last time I’d come that same way. Happily, the pace picked up the further north I went. Once on 315N, I wasn’t entirely sure which exit I would take to get over to Old Henderson but eventually settled on North Broadway. That was a good choice. I arrived at ASBCO around 545pm.

Kayla was busy with another customer but and guy helped me. Told him I was there to pick-up my new skis. He only asked my last name then disappeared for a bit. Returned a couple minutes late with my new skis and boots. I was a tad concerned that they wouldn’t have my ski boots associated with my new skis, but that worry was all for not. Before handing over the new skis they always have you verify the Din settings. Yep, set at 5.5 on both. In turn, I wouldn’t accept the skis until I did a boot/binding fitting. When Mindy and I bought our first skis in Feb 2009 I had to take my skis back to have the binding set for my boot size, something they later admitted only happens with about 1 pair of skis each season. LOL!  I definitely didn’t want to go through that again. This time they fit snug as a bug!

I called Mindy when I was about halfway down Tremont towards Lane Ave. It was about 6pm. I was actually making better time that I presumed. I pulled in the driveway at 609pm and carried all of my stuff into the garage and house. By the way, I used the small pass through hatch from my trunk to the back seat to transport my new skis. Worked great, and what a great invention!

Mindy was just beginning to dish up dinner while I went through my after work ritual.  I shared that I picked both she and Bella up a gift. After getting settled I showed them their new gloves/mittens. Both were pleased. Jacob asked about him. I didn’t get him anything this time, but it’s not like he’s neglected. Believe me, he’s well taken care of.

Mindy shared that the boys, Rocky & Landon, were tickled pink to learn we were having pork roast & mashed potatoes, which is one of their faves.  I was too, I love pork roast. The roast was delicious. Not only did Mindy make mashed potatoes, but there was a fresh garden salad and rolls too. Yum-yum. I kept my helping to only one. As dinner concluded, Mindy asked Bella to go ready for gymnastics. Lindsey and the boys left for home around 640pm, or while I was busy managing the clean-up. Mindy took Bella to gymnastics at 650pm. Jacob went along too. I had the house to my lonesome for a brief stint. I used the time constructively to edit some of my recent blog entries. I was at my PC doing that for about an hour. By then Mindy and Jacob had been back for a while. They were waiting for American Idol to come on.  Wednesday’s show was taped in Aspen. Nice! I saw very little of the auditions. Even though I was already comfortably donning my PJs, I agreed to go after Bella which pleased Mindy much. I left the house at 820pm in the Accord. Mindy warned me that the roads might be slick. Said it was raining and the temperature was dropping to near freezing. Great! Turns out, it was still 35 degrees so the roads near us were just wet. Felt raw and cold though.

Arrived at DCW a couple minutes early. Headed inside where the girls practice. One of Bella’s peeps alerted her to my presence. We were just about to leave for home when one of the older girls mentioned that Bella must’ve taken her sweat pants home on Monday by accident. I assured her that we would look and bring them in on Monday if that were the case. Bella wasn’t so sure. However, the tell-tale sign was that Bella’s purple sweat pants were still there.

We headed for home. Bella seemed in good spirits, which is good. She’s been up and sown a lot lately. She did express some concern over the less than desirable weather forecast for Saturday at MRM. Mindy’s planned a small adoption celebration there. I did my best to put her mind at ease. As we pulled in the drive she bellyached a little about missing much of American idol.  I simply let that go.

After a greeting, Mindy requested that Bella hit the shower. After all, it was 845pm on a school night. Bella didn’t give any push back. OK Mommy. I caught the last few minutes of Idol with Mindy & Jacob. Always entertaining. After idol we watched the preview episode of Touch as a family. It went for an hour. I was a little surprised that Mindy let the kids stay up for its entirety. It was a good show, though. Mindy and the kids headed to bed immediately following the show. It was 10pm. I stayed up for a while longer but fell asleep fairly quickly watching a program on one of the knowledge channels about the geology of Manhattan. Joined Mindy in bed around 11pm.

Idol Thoughts

I was up and out of bed a few minutes after 530am. As a result, the coffee making process was well underway as I whipped out 50 sit-ups.  I could see that the sky was cloudy, but I had no idea what the temperature was, though I expected it to be near freezing. I was at my PC with coffee by 550am. The temperature was 37 degrees with an expected high near 40. The rest of the week looks similar to Tuesday’s forecast – partly cloudy with highs near 40 but overnight lows in the mid to upper 20s. We’re hoping for the night time lows to drop to 28 or below, which is the magic number for making snow at MRM.

I didn’t spend too much time online beyond reading a few headlines. At 605am I moved on to meditation, which went fairly well. It must’ve been about 615am when I woke Mindy. She asked that I crank up the heat, but I had already done so. Stretching was next. Did the usual routine. Felt good.

Dressed for a run wearing full winter attire, which given a temperature in the mid 30s that was pretty much the upper edge of the comfort zone. I didn’t get out the door until almost 640am after confirming that it was a ‘ruby’ trash pick-up day - our day. I wished I was out sooner but it is what it is. I pulled our trash can to the curb before taking off. I wasn’t certain whether he’d been by yet or not, though I hadn’t heard him.

I ran the full 4.1 miles remaining fairly comfortable throughout. I happened upon the trash truck near the half way point. Unless he started at the back of the subdivision it was likely that we missed him. I confirmed that our can was still waiting pick-up when I got back. Kenny had already pulled his can back into the garage, a good indication that he came by early. I wasn’t sweating it. It was only half full anyways.

Because I headed out for my run through the garage, the front door remained fully secured. I had to knock on the door for reentry. I could see Mindy looking right at me from the kitchen. However, instead of coming to let me in, she just kept doing whatever she was doing. I knocked and rang the door bell again. Really? She finally came insisting she thought I was knocking and ringing for the sole benefit of rustling up the pug. I guess that makes sense given that any other day I would have the door unlocked.

I leashed up the dog asking Mindy if she’d started my eggs. She hadn’t. I asked if she would make fried eggs this time. Yes. I headed out with Eiknarf stopping to start the Pilot as we walked by. We weren’t out for more than five minutes.

Mindy was about ready to leave the house as we were reentering. Bella was enjoying a batch of strawberries dipped in Truvia for breakfast, and Jacob was already off to his room. The fried eggs were a welcome change of pace. Mindy fried one for Eiknarf too, though she purposely fried the yoke hard. She was fidgeting for hers as I finished mine. Off to the shower by 740am.

I was fairly efficient, finding my way back downstairs by 8am. I quickly threw together a lunch choosing to skip making a salad. Instead, I packed the sandwich leftover from Saturday’s ski outing at MRM. Can’t remember the last time I took a real sandwich to work for lunch. Several years to be sure.

The kids and I headed out to the bus stop at 810am. We met Kenny and the girls there. I confirmed that his trash got emptied earlier. Said that it did. I shared that I put ours out late, but would simply drag our can across the street next to Carl’s. They always do the opposite side of the street last and on their way out. Also confirmed that Kenny planned to manage Wednesday’s late start. Said he did. Thanked him for doing so.

The bus was on time. And just like she does most days, Mrs. Vanorder teasingly provoked Eiknarf into barking. It’s become a daily ritual. Eiknarf and I headed back home. After putting her inside, I drug our trash can across the street parking it near Carl’s. Not knowing if he was watching or aware, I gave him a wave. He does the same at our place when he’s too impatient to wait for his scheduled pick-up.

Inside, I took care of a few last minute to-dos then headed out the door for work near 830am. It was a leisurely drive into the office, arriving somewhere near 845am. I parked in the front lot and was in my office by 850am.

I spent the first hour of the morning finalizing my 2011 performance assessment. It wasn’t required, but I completed it in a separate document and attached it to the provided online link. Hey, sometimes you’ve got to toot your own horn.

I spent the middle part of my day helping a peer with a rather cumbersome task. Took me about 4 hours to knock out the work. He expressed a great deal of gratitude when it was done. Guess you could say that I was paying it forward, so to speak. The last portion of my day was spent editing my quarterly presentation for Thursday adding a blurb or two recommended by a peer. Had to deal with a challenging escalation near the day’s end, but collectively we managed to get it on track. I definitely earned my money Tuesday!

During my busiest streak, I missed a call from daughter Ashley. I managed to take a call from Mindy, however, where we discussed our evening plans. Once again, this was a date night and it looked like I might be getting out of the office late. I suggested we have a  relaxing evening at home. Tuesday really isn’t a good date night for us, but with Bella having gymnastics on Mon & Wed, and then Jimaken teaching on Thursday’s, it’s the only day that works. In the end, however, it’s not really about Mindy and I having a date night. Instead, it’s about the kids getting to spend an evening each week with their dad.

I was able to wrap things up at work and leave for home at 525pm. I called Mindy. She was lounging/napping on the sofa. She shared that she hadn’t whipped up anything for dinner. I didn’t mind. I wasn’t that hungry anyways. She also shared a couple Jacob stories. For starters, she shared that his ping-pong catapult broke during a trial run at school earlier that evening. They’d need to go back to the drawing board for design modifications. She also shared a funny story. Apparently Jacob’s music teacher thought it was a good idea to ask the class to hold hands and skip while they sang. Jacob adamantly refused. She apparently became angry and went and told his primary teacher, Mr Godwin, about his obstinate behavior. Mindy & I couldn’t stop laughing.

Arrived home at 550pm. Mindy was still on the sofa relaxing, which is very unusual. I took care of rinsing my lunch containers and then snacked on peanuts and cashews. Mindy asked if I would warm her some double-noodle chicken soup while she went up and changed into her lounging clothes. Yep! I had it ready and waiting when she returned. I headed up to change too. It felt good not to have to run anywhere.

I ended up warming the five leftover CBC chicken wings on the pizza stone. They were good. Mindy and I were done eating by 630-640pm and sat relaxing in the family room. Mindy suggested we watch TV, but was struggling to find something worthy of watching, so I took over the remote and found The Universe on History Channel 2. Looked like a The Universe bonanza – several episodes running back-to-back. Nothing delights me more! I was thrilled. Mindy, not so much. She said she really wanted to laugh. I guess you could say that I won. We watched The Universe. Unfortunately, I fell asleep at some point and remained out until 740pm or so. Next thing I knew, the kids were home.

At 8pm Mindy and the kids wanted to watch Idol, but I was certain that it was rerun of Sunday’s program. They didn’t seem to care or believe me, but it was. I got up and headed to my PC. I like Idol, but wasn’t in the mood for a rerun. Really? I was still tired and too lazy to work on my blog or do anything constructive. I simply surfed/played until the kids and Mindy were no longer watching the Idol rerun. I tuned the TV back to the H2 channel watching more episodes of The Universe. All of them were captivatingly good. If you haven’t caught the program, you should. Typically on Wednesday nights. Great, great stuff.

Mindy and the kids headed to bed a little after 9pm. Once they were all tucked into bed I headed back downstairs where I popped some popcorn and cracked open a Diet Coke. A little indulgence. Bella sniffed out the popcorn and eventually joined me downstairs just as I knew she would. She didn’t hang long, however. She was back in bed before 945pm.

I stayed up until 1030pm when my eyes were getting crazy heavy. Once in bed, I got a second wind but managed to fight it off and fell asleep somewhere near 11pm.