Pretty Flamingo

For the first time in a while, I was up and out of bed as much as ten minutes early, or somewhere near 520am. I had a lot going for me; it was Friday, the weather was supposed to be gorgeous, and I expected a fairly easy day at the office. Downstairs I hit the go button on the coffee maker before the auto brewing cycle had a chance to kick in. I glanced out back at the clear sky and our color changing solar landscape lights we have in the deck pots. Beautiful! Fresh batteries made all the difference.

Enjoyed coffee at the PC for a good 25 minutes. For the first time in a while I didn't feel rushed. Expecting a high near 80 and sunshine and a repeat over the weekend only with even warmer temps. Is summer here? Left the PC behind at 605am and headed in for meditation. It went better than it has in the past few days. And because I was managing the time well, I got to stretch ahead of waking Mindy too. Delivered her coffee around 625am and headed out the door for my run at 635am.

I was still battling the same dull headache I've had since Wednesday. The funny thing about it is that the Advil knocks the edge off but doesn't end it. These are the same symptoms Mindy and Jacob had this week too. The sun was already well above the horizon immediately out the door. . I ran the full 4.1 miles rather easily.
I was chilly for the first couple miles. It was only 47 degrees. In hindsight, I should of worn my pullover fleece. Aside from that the run went well, and I was back at the house a earlier than I had been all week long. With little fuss, I leashed up the dog and headed out for a walk. Back at the house Jacob was up insistent that he was going to school. As recent as Thursday evening Mindy was against. But after consulting with Dr Craig she agreed to let him return to school.

Mindy had my breakfast ready and waiting when the pug & I got back. It wasn’t a few minutes later that she was off to school, but not before reminding the kids to bus home as normal. Mindy was picking up the boys after school so Lindsey could work OT. She warned the kids that she might be a few minutes late getting home.

I headed off to the shower a few minutes after Mindy left. Because it was Friday I wore jeans and a Polo. I had several minutes to spare before bus time. I cut up some cheese then prepped a 2nd cup of coffee. I warned the kids that it was deceptively cool. Jacob didn’t say a word and put on a fleece jacket. Bella, however, gave me some push back citing the day’s expected high of 80 degrees. I only offered that she could change into a t-shirt and sweatshirt in lieu of her jacket. She wasn’t pleased as we headed out the door. You’ll have that from time to time.

At the bus stop Bella was still angry. And I am not sure what provoked her but she came at me kicking and gritting her teeth. It was funny at first, but then annoying. I had to speak to her sternly. She did her best to ignore me until the bus arrived. I chatted some with Kenny before heading home. It was such a lovely morning that I planned to drive the BM’er. To that end, I pulled the Accord to the curb to make way for the rod.

I left the house near 830am and had a very enjoyable drive into the office. The BM’er was dirtier than I like but I haven’t made giving it a bath much of a priority. I was hoping for a slower day than the rest of the week turned out. I avoided scheduling any important calls or meetings. I had one easy call on my calendar. That said, sometimes the best laid plans don’t workout. My morning was fairly low key, and after my mid-morning call and a couple escalations I left for lunch and headed to Lowes.

At Lowes I bought two small potting plants, a red spike and coleus. I left there and headed next door to Garden Ridge to see if they had plastic pink flamingos. I bought the last two there. I haven’t been in their store for about five years. It’s change a little and sadly for the worse. Looks almost run down. Their prices were a lot higher than I remember them, too. They had the flamingos sold as set of two. The display or the boxes weren’t marked with a price. I took them to the lone checkout counter. $14.99. OK. The last two were only $10.

And if not kitschy enough out of the box, I planned to paint them fluorescent colors. I made a pit stop at Home Depot on my way back to the office and bought two cans of fluorescent paint, orange and green. Can’t wait to add them to the backyard landscape. Back to work. The after was far busier than I hoped and imagined, and everything urgent. Figures! I kept on task until 430pm, the hard stop time I set up front so I could catch up on administrative tasks. I guessed they would take about 30 minutes but instead it turned into an hour. I was really anxious to get the weekend started.

I left for home around 530pm. It was warm and sunny. I was still battling that same dull headache that I’ve had since Wednesday morning. All the kids were out playing. Mindy was sitting on her patio by the pond sipping a glass of wine. She asked me to come join her. After taking care of a couple menial chores I headed out back to join her and a couple of the kids. Rocky & Landon were over and expected to stay until 9pm. I tossed a football with Landon, Rocky, Jacob and Evan for a little while or until they grew bored. While I played with the boys, Mindy walked across the pond to visit the Shultz’s after hearing their new baby grandson Oscar crying.

We planned to order pizza for dinner. Before that, however, I wanted a nap and more Advil. I poured some ice water and took my book out on the deck and sat in the chaise lounge. Ahh, felt good to kick back. I so wanted to close my eyes and rest, but Mindy wanted to talk. I didn’t say anything for not wanting her to take it wrong. I eventually was able to dose off. Neither of us wanted to go after the pizza so we agreed to have it delivered. They quoted her 50 minutes, or 30 minutes longer than a pick-up order.
She ordered two extra-large double pep, double cheese pizzas. It ended up being more than an hour before the drive showed with our pies. I didn’t mind. Called all the kids in for pizza. Must’ve been about 730pm. It was good pizza, too. I think I ate 6 or 7 pieces washing it down with ice water.

Lindsey came by to get the boys around 830pm, a little earlier than she originally projected. Once she and boys were gone the house was quieter. Duh! It was too much longer before Mindy headed up to bed. Probably shortly after 9pm and on a Friday. I curled up in the family room chair with my book and a White Rajah. I tuned the TV to the Reds game against the Yankees. I let whirl until the 8th inning when the wheels fell off the big red machine. I then switched the TV to the Science Channel where I left it until I started to dose off. I headed up for bed around 11pm.