Lincoln, Washington and Clinton

Shouldn't I be in Oregon?

I woke many times through the night often after hearing Mindy rushing off to the bathroom. Not sure what was up with that.  I slept rather lightly for the entire night but woke near 530am feeling fairly well rested. In fact, I think it’s fair to say that I was finally over the jet lag hump. After brushing my teeth I headed downstairs where I still had to prep coffee since I failed to take the time to do so the evening before.

It was 545am before I started sit-ups, and then after 550am when I finished push-ups and poured myself some coffee. I went immediately to the PC where I checked the temperature and forecast. It was a cold 25 degrees under partly cloudy skies. The forecast, meanwhile,  was calling for temps in the 30s under mostly sunny skies later in the day. As it was, Mindy was planning to take the kids to MRM. Looked to be a fairly decent day for playing in the snow.

I suppose because it was a holiday, there wasn’t a lot of new news beyond Sunday’s stale stories. Despite that, I managed to play around online until almost 610am when I headed to the family room for meditation. That went very well. I gave myself a hard stop at 620am. After meditation I headed in to bump up the heat a little. The house was chilly. I knew Mindy would appreciate it. Time to stretch!

The stretch routine went really well. Felt fabulous. And aside from a few very brief bouts with a stiff neck, I haven’t experienced any sustained shoulder or neck discomfort in well over a month. I consider myself fortunate. It was already 630am before I finished stretching and started preparing for my run. It was 640am as I pushed myself out the door. As I shared earlier, it was only in the 20s, but I was dressed for it and felt pretty comfortable throughout. I ran the full 4.1 miles with no trouble at all.

At home the house was quiet. No one else was up. I went ahead and a packed a lunch and fried two eggs and made some toast. I wasn’t finished in the kitchen until 750am. Just as I was starting to prep Mindy’s coffee, Eiknarf came down the stairs. She must’ve been whining at Bella’s door so she let her out. I stopped what I was doing and took her on a walk. After our walk I fed and watered her. I then returned to prepping and delivering Mindy’s coffee. It was just before 8am. She looked tired. I asked if she was sick. Told me her stomach was upset all night. I headed in for a shower.

I wasn’t too long getting ready. Thinking I was done and ready to go by 810am. Mindy remained in bed and didn’t appear to be getting up anytime soon. I gave her a good bye kiss then headed downstairs for final prep. I headed out to start the Accord to melt away a light coating of frost. I left the house at 822am which is pretty much on par with any other day.

Traffic was slow moving on northbound 270. Not sure why. It’s rare that there’s ever a traffic snarl impacting my way in to work. After all, it’s just one exit to the north. Arrived at the office near 840am. After getting situated and logged on, the first thing I did was fax in my January mileage expense report. And then about an hour or so into my day my boss stopped by to ask a favor. I agreed to pull together a quarterly report for a customer not owned by me. It would end up taking me the entire day to do it.

Mid morning, I received a call from Bella asking where I placed their MRM season passes. Chrissy apparently told Mindy that she gave them back to me last Monday morning at the bus stop. Wow! Given my mental state last Monday, I had no recollection whatsoever. I asked to speak with Mindy then shared where I might’ve put them if that were indeed the case. She agreed to look in the cabinet. She also shared that she started some chili in the crock-pot which would serve as our dinner late that evening. 

Mid afternoon, and after I had a better handle on the level of effort required or that report, I told my boss I’d most likely have it to him by day’s end. He then told me that the previous owner told him it takes 3 to 4 days to compile. Hmm?  I joked with a peer that I just bought myself a 3 day vacation. J I ended up taking a working lunch, eating while I continued plowing through the quarterly report. I sent a text to Mindy a couple of times during the day. One, to confirm that she found the MRM passes (she did), and secondly, I asked her to look for Darwin, who told me Saturday that he’d likely be there with his boys. Mindy advised that she expected to be home before me and that Lindy would be there around 6pm to cut my hair. Cool!

Finished up the report shortly after 5pm and sent it to my boss. There was more I could’ve done, but all cosmetic. That wasn’t my focus. Having earned my keep, I headed for home just after 540pm. I called Mindy not long after pulling out of my parking spot. They had just recently arrived home. Didn’t talk too long. I was below a quarter tank of gas and wanted to fill-up on my way home to avoid any further price increases since I saw that oil was trading up about $3 during the day. I stopped at the Thornton’s near home. Took 14.4 gallons. Averaged 22 mph last tank.

Arrived home at 601pm. Mindy was proudly sporting the Meadows t-shirt I bought her the day after her knee injury. Lindy showed up a few minutes later and while Mindy was putting the finishing touches on our dinner. We planned to eat before hair cuts. Lindy looked really nice. Says she’s feeling good and happy to be eating normal food again after her thyroid surgery.

The chili was pretty good, though purposely mild. Jacob spiced his up with some really hot habanera green sauce we’ve had for years. No doubt, the boy likes his hot sauce. Clean-up was a snap, thanks in part to using paper bowls. I asked Mindy if Bella was going to gymnastics. Nope. Since it was a holiday, Mindy opted not to send her.

We opted to have Jacob get his hair cut (trimmed) first. By design, she didn’t touch his bangs. Just took a little length of the back and sides and thinned it a little on top. Still quite a mop on the floor. Bella was next. We just wanted her ends cut. Before any cutting or trimming, Lindy had to get the many snarls out of Bella’s locks. That took a few minutes. The actual cutting part took no more than five or ten minutes. She did a really good job. I swept the hair trimmings from the floor before subjecting myself to the scissors.

Asked to have no more than about a half inch removed. That’s about the only instruction I gave, this being the third time having Lindy cut my hair. I think she knows what she’s doing. It didn’t take long. Never really does. If it takes more than about 5-10 minutes they’re over doing it which often spells trouble. J Bella asked if she could head down to the O'Connell's after seeing they had a bonfire going. Mindy granted permission but shared that she had to be home by 8pm or there would be consequences.

I took the time to sweep and vacuum the tile floor before heading upstairs to check out my new do.  I was really itchy from the many tiny hair fragments that managed to slip down my t-shirt. I planned to take a quick shower once Lindy left. I paid Lindy well, wanting her to look forward to coming over to cut our/my hair.

Lindy was sitting in Bella’s assigned dinner seat when I returned downstairs. I had just turned away when I heard a loud thud. Turned around to find Lindy about to fall over and the kitchen chair in three or more pieces below her. Holy smoke! That chair had a broken rib, pointed out to me a couple weeks ago by Mindy or one of the kids. I'd been meaning to glue it. As it was, my concern was for Lindy's well being, but she was fine. Somehow, she managed not to fall on her rear end.  I took the broken chair to the garage, though I gave one of the beefy struts to Jacob and told him to put it under his bed for use as a billy club. He seemed to like that idea.

Bella came bolting in the back door right at 8pm. Lindy didn't hang long after all that. Mindy sent her home with some chili leftovers.  As soon as she left I headed up for a quick shower to rinse away the hair. Felt good to shower. I took the time to blow dry my new frock. Looked good. It's rare that I can blow dry a fresh hair cut and have it look so nice, but there's a first time for everything. Thanks Lindy!

After a shower and changing into my PJs we watched and episode of Pickers and Pawn Stars. I think it was 940pm when I declared it my bedtime. The kids had been upstairs for just a few minutes prior. I tucked in Bella and made sure Eiknarf was comfortably in bed with Jacob. Mindy was already in bed reading a book. I was hoping for a easy crash and a good night of sleep.