Great Day for Play ... Too Bad I had to Work

I was up early enough to brush my teeth and still be downstairs by 538am. I briefly glanced out back seeing mostly clear skies. I completed 50 sit-ups and 50 push-ups by 550am then headed to my PC with coffee. There I spent about 15 minutes relaxing. Expecting another lovely spring day with sunshine and temperatures in the mid 70s. Unfortunately, the bottom's supposed to fall out for the weekend and into the next work week. A good chance of rain and highs only in the mid 50s for the next several days.

Meditation was next. That went OK. headed upstairs to wake Mindy near 620am. As soon as she was awake I headed back downstairs to stretch. That went well too. Felt terrific. The temperature was in the mid 40s, so I dressed in early spring running attire heading out the door around 636am.

I ran the full 4.1 miles thinking about everything I needed to accomplish later that day at the office. I've got a lot on my plate right now. At times it feels like too much. It was a gorgeous sunrise. Would've been a great day for golf, yard work, or reading from the deck. At home Bella was already up along with Mindy. I quickly leashed up Eiknarf then headed out for our walk.

The older couple I often encounter both on my run and then when walking the dog passed by during the walk. Eiknarf was fairly quick to take care of her business. I was back at home to enjoy fried eggs by 725am. Bella and I enjoyed our breakfast together though I can't recall what she ate. As he often does, Jacob skipped breakfast. Mindy left for work at 730am. I finished my breakfast then headed for a shower a couple minutes later.

I was ready in a hurry and back downstairs by 750am. I used the time to pay a few bills, including boat storage and the XM radio. I then cut up some cheese for lunch. I still had a salad and fruit in the fridge at work from Thursday. The kids, the dog and I headed out at 808am. Talked with Chrissy for a few minutes after the bus picked up the kids. She shared details about her and Kenny's latest spat. None of it was a surprise, typical stuff.

Headed home where I wrapped up a few loose ends before leaving for the office. I'm thinking that I  headed out at 825am arriving at the office 15 minutes later. I got one of the last up front parking spots. I was settled into my office by 850am and online a couple minutes later.

Thanks to a early morning conference call being canceled, I had most of the morning to take care of a few pressing matters. I joined a call at noon and then another at 1pm. Both went a little better than I expected. At 130pm I left for a Home Depot run. Originally, I was going to drive to Lowes to take back the adjustable link I bought for the tire swing on Wednesday, but last second I decided to stop at the closer Home Depot. There I picked up a large "S" hook with an opening large enough to accept the swivel for the tire swing. I looked at a few more things but bought nothing else. I headed back to the office near 2pm.

Among other things, I spent that last few hours of my day making sure all our ducks were in a row for the all-day Sunday conference call I'd be joining with one of my customers. I wasn't looking forward to it, but did have Tuesday off to help offset the additional hours. I the 6th floor was almost deserted by the time 5pm rolled around. I was there until 530pm.

Unfortunately, clouds were rolling in as evening set in. Seems to happen a lot lately, an otherwise sunny day giving way to clouds about the time I'm leaving for home. I called Mindy as soon as I was able to resynch my Droid with the Accord's hands free feature. Said she was sitting on her pondside patio enjoying the nice weather. Apparently the sun was still shining at home. She asked if I wanted to take the kids to Barley's for dinner. Maybe.

I arrived home around 550pm. Mindy was inside while the kids were off riding their bikes and playing with friends. We finalized plans to have dinner at Barley's.  Bella asked if Makayla could join us. Yes. Chrissy walked down to chat with Mindy & I. She shared that she's not going to drink beer for two weeks.

While Mindy readied for dinner out, I finished off a couple blog entries. Jacob came in around 615pm asking if he could stay home. Mindy was adamant that he not. We left for Barley's near 640pm. It was crowded. We parked in the adjacent lot out back. There were a few spots in the main lot but I didn't want to try and squeeze the Pilot in.

Because we had the kids, Mindy requested a table. While we waited we enjoyed a beer from the bar. I ordered the West Coast Palate Wrecker IIPA, and Mindy ordered a Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald. A booth became available a few minutes later. Sarah was our server. All the kids ordered Dr Pepper, and Mindy ordered a basket of fries to hold them over until dinner. We ended up ordering a 2nd basket of fries before dinner arrived.

Jacob ordered chicken tenders while the rest of us ordered wings. Bella & Makayla split an order. I ordered a 2nd Palate Wrecker with dinner. It was pretty darn good. I ate 7 of my 10 wings. I was full. AS usual, the kids were in a hurry to leave once they finished eating. I was still savoring my 2nd beer. They pressed for me to hurry up. Despite Mindy saying she would cover dinner, I ended up getting the dinner check.  She picked up the small, two beer bar tab. Mindy and the kids headed to the Pilot while I finished my beer.

We headed for home around 820pm. Mindy drove. The kids headed off to play as soon as we arrived at home. I poured a White Rajah then headed out on the deck. It was starting to cool off considerably. I grabbed a fleece on my way out. Mindy eventually joined me. I piped music out to the deck. Mindy asked if I wanted to head over to visit Pat S. across the pond. I was comfy and cozy where I sat. We opted to stay home. We let Eiknarf roam the backyard and as darkness set in she disappeared. I headed out back where I found her nosing around back by the tree house presumably eating goose poop. She eventually followed me back to the deck.

Mindy & I stayed out on the deck until almost 930pm. Bella came in with Makayla a couple minutes later asking if she could spend the night. Mindy agreed. Both Mindy & I were yawning. By 10pm all of us headed for bed.