Seven is Enough

I slept soundly until just after 5am but then slept for another 25 minutes or so before finally getting up out of bed. It was 535am before I made it to the kitchen where I had to prep the morning’s coffee still. That didn’t take long. I was finally engaged in exercise by 540am. Completed 50 sit-ups and 20 curls.

Enjoyed coffee at the PC for about 15 minutes. Checked the forecast. It was currently 64 degrees under mostly clear skies with an expected high of 80 degrees. Another lovely day in the offing. Played around online until 610am when I headed in for meditation. That went well. Delivered Mindy’s coffee next. She was in a lot better frame of mind, pleasant even. Back downstairs to stretch and prepare for a run at 625am. 

Stretching went well too. It was after 630am when I finished and got myself dressed for the run. This time I wore a thin long-sleeved wicking shirt. I was out the door around 640am and ran the full 4.1 miles. I noticed daybreak upon us just after the halfway point. I guessed it close to 7am given my somewhat late start. Finished strong. Felt great.

Back at the house near 720am, I quickly rounded up the pug and headed out for our walk. She was slow to take care of her business but eventually did. Mindy reminded the kids that my dad would be getting them off the bus after school while she went to physical therapy. Bella had waffles for breakfast. I was having cheesy scrambled eggs. Mindy left at 730am. Bella took care of making sure Eiknarf was fed both dog food and eggs. She’s way more on top of things since starting the Focalin. I was off to the shower at 735am. 

Of note, I didn’t wear any black. Wore blue dress slacks and a tan polo. Looked like a cub scout. J I was reminded how badly I need a haircut. Spent a few minutes throwing together my lunch ahead of bus stop time. The kids and I headed out at 806am. Jacob dribbled a basketball while waiting. Chrissy and the girls soon met us there. They had Annie with them. Bus arrived between 810-815a. Since it was such a gorgeous day, I decided to drive the BM’er. I moved the Accord to the curb to make way for backing it out.  I spent a couple minutes online before heading off to work around 825am.

 Fun drive into the office. Parked up front. Was settled and logged on by 855am. We had a 9am staff meeting in one of the nice conference rooms. It didn’t last too long. Done before 930am. Nothing huge came from it. Spent most of my morning chasing the same issues I’d been working since Mindy. Making progress, but slowly.  I headed for lunch at 1230pm making my way just up the road to the Dublin Wal-Mart to look at bikes for Bella. And since it was such a nice day I entered through the garden center.  

I planned only to look and not buy. Want to have Bella with me when we buy a new bike. She’s got to love it/want it. Wal-Mart has Huffy, BMX and Mongoose bikes, definitely a decent selection to choose from. I saw a couple I thought she might like. While there, I picked up a two-pack of new peddles for Jacob’s old bike. His right peddle is broken and needs replaced. He wants a new bike too. Not sure if we’re gonna get him one or not. It would be his fourth. I also picked up some Tire dressing and windshield washer fluid for the cars.  

Back to the office by 1pm. While eating my lunch my boss called a last second meeting. On the call we learned that we were losing another team member. Bummer! Lots of discussion concerning that afterwards. Once things settled down I spent the rest of my afternoon chasing the same issues I'd been chasing all week long.  

My boss stopped by around 5pm and invited me to join him for a beer after work, but I had to decline for having dinner plans with Mindy and the kids. I didn’t leave for home until almost 530pm. I think I was the last one to leave. It was eerily quiet. Because I was driving the BM’er, I didn’t bother calling Mindy. Not safe. Fun drive home. Arrived near 545pm. Garage was opened and Mindy was out walking the pug. Bella was out riding bikes with her friends.  

Inside, Mindy asked if I still wanted or intended to do dinner at Barley’s. However, instead of it being the four of us, there would be seven of us in total. We’d have the neighbors’ three kids with us too since Chrissy & Kenny were attending a showing for the young man who passed away after Josh & Rachel’s wedding. Why not? We readied to leave around 6pm. While waiting on Mindy & the kids, I headed to the garage where I quickly tore the old peddles off Jacob’s bike. I had enough time to install one of the two new ones. I had to let the other set. It was time to go. All seven of us piled into the Pilot and headed off to Barley’s.

The drive revealed all the amazingflora in bloom so early in March. A hard freeze now would prove devastating.  And while a cool off is inevitable, I checked the long range (30 day) forecast on Wednesday. There’s no really cold weather in sight. I realize, however, that a long range forecast can change significantly. I’m guessing it was near 630p when we arrived at Barley’s. The lot was almost full, but we were still able to get a big booth right away, and Justin was our server. I kidded Justin about showing us his full-chest tattoo.  

I ordered a Centennial from the tower. Glad to see it back! Janet mentioned that they had the CBC Bodhi on tap too. She also shared that she heard we were frequenting CBC more often these days. When pressed, she said it was Darwin who told her. J Mindy ordered a Bodhi. Good choice! We took our beers to our booth.  

Justin took the kids drink orders in a hurry. All five ordered Dr Pepper. We also ordered two baskets of fries to tie everybody over until we decided on dinner. The kids ordered first. Bella and Makayla ordered corn dogs. Lillian ordered the a kid-sized pulled pork sandwich. Jake ordered buffalo wings, and Jacob ordered buffalo chicken tenders with Gates of Hell sauce on the side. Mindy ordered tuna steak, and I ordered the Thursday special, a reuben.  

Took about ten minutes for our food to show up. I ordered a 2^nd Centennial just before it arrived. Mine was mighty good, though I ate only half. The kids were all fairly well-behaved. We finished dinner after about 30-40 minutes. I took half my reuben home. Mindy agreed to pick-up the tab. After all, it was her idea that we take the five kids out to dinner. I picked up the two beer tab we had with Janet at the bar. Tipped her well. Mindy drove us home.  

The kids headed out to play as soon as we got home while I mounted the 2^nd new peddle to Jacob’s bike. As it was, he didn’t know I bought the replacements. Just before 8pm Mindy & I changed into our PJs then settled on the sofa to watch American Idol elimination night. Haley Rinehart (last year’s 3^rd runner-up) performed her newly released single. It was good. She looked amazing!  Joe Perry made a surprise appearance playing and singing happy birthday to Steven Tyler who's no 64 years old. In the end, they sent the girl home that Jacob and I like to refer to as the hamburglar.  

Idol was over at 9pm. Mindy headed to bed at 910pm. She asked that we DVR Touch, the new show on immediately after Idol. Me and the kids stayed up to watch. As usual, though, I fell asleep about half way through but did wake to see the ending. By then both kids were upstairs on their own accord. Jacob was sound asleep. Bella was lying in her bed watching TV. I tucked her in and headed to bed just after 10pm.