Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity-Jig

Needing rest badly, I slept in until almost 7am. After almost 9 hours of sleep I woke rested and ready to exercise. Downstairs I started some coffee then completed calisthenics. It was cloudy and appeared to have rained some more overnight. Spent about 10 minutes online enjoying coffee before meditation and stretching.
It was nearly 8am by the time I got out for my run, once again running shirtless. I ran the full 4.1 miles not worrying too much about the time. At home I started my breakfast and walked the pug, who was up and crying from Jacob’s room.

I walked the pug before making eggs. Enjoyed breakfast then headed up for a shower. I took Mindy a cup of coffee on my way. Was ready to go by 915am. Mindy joined me downstairs as did both boys. Mindy would be running the boys to Magdalene and then heading off to her own class room.

Headed off to work near 920am. Ran into my boss in the hallway on my way to get water. This was his last day before a week’s vacation. He was in a great mood. Invited me to stop my his office on my way back to chat. I figured he wanted to talk about some work stuff, but instead he showed me pics of the cabin he burnt down to on his land in Vinton county to make room for a brand new one. Cool pics. We talked about my Chicago trip as well.
I had a lot I wanted/needed to get accomplished by day’s end. I stayed busy working on all that until 130pm when I decided I needed to take a lunch break. I headed to the Accord where I chatted with some old peeps just getting back from lunch. Saw my boss was on his way out, too, but shared that he was going to work from home the rest of the day. I shared my plans to take a lunch and run to Home Depot. My boss asked me to be careful having lunch at Home Depot. 

I picked up a roll of wide masking tape for labeling storage containers and a two-pack of dimmable CFL spot lights for the kitchen. We’ve already had a “7-year” bulb go out. I wasn’t gone too long at all, maybe 25 minutes. I ate my veggies and cheese when I got back to my office all the while jumping back into the most pressing tasks. The afternoon was winding down. It was already after 3pm. I got most of what I wanted to accomplish completed. Come 4pm I dedicated the rest of my day to a handful of administrative tasks. My boss stopped by my office around 5pm. I thought he had gone home and asked why he was back. I got the feeling he came back just to see if I stuck around or not. 

I didn’t leave for home until just after 530pm. I stopped at Kroger to pick-up some roses for Mindy. I hadn’t given her flowers in a more than a month. I bought a dozen mixed roses (red, pink, and purple). I left my Droid at home, so in order to call home I had to use my blackberry. To do so, I had to enable the handsfree feature to find it. When I talked with Mindy I asked if she had seen my phone. She went to my desk and found it. I was relieved to know that it was there.

Talked for most of the drive home. Asked if I was interested in dinner out, perhaps Barley’s. Sounded good to me. She also shared that Rene visited that afternoon. Rode with her and Bella to take Jacob to soccer practice. Said she might meet us at Barley’s if we went.

Mindy was happy to get the flowers. She clarified that Jacob would be home from soccer practice around 615pm, which is significantly earlier than most practices. Usually they don’t even begin until 530 or 6pm. I relaxed at home for about an hour before we left for Barley’s. As soon as Jimaken dropped Jacob off after practice, Mindy dispatched him to the shower. He’s the only person that takes a faster shower than me. He can literally head for a shower and emerge dressed and ready in 5 minutes or less. I think it was 645pm when we left the house.

Had to park in the back 40. Not only was the main lot full, but the patio was swarming with people, too. Don’t know that I’ve ever seen it so busy. Inside I spotted Steve W. sitting at the bar. Hadn’t seen him for quite a while. Greeted Steve then opted for a Centennial. Mindy and the kids were still out on the patio chatting with friends. They eventually got a large booth nearby. I joined then after chatting with Steve for 15 minutes. They were just finishing up some pile-it-on fries.

We all placed food orders. I ordered a Cuban with bacon, Jacob ordered buffalo chicken tenders w/ gates of hell on the side, Bella ordered grilled cheese, and Mindy ordered a quesadilla. She was drinking wine. Rene showed up soon after we finished eating. I hadn’t seen Rene in maybe 2 years. Steve W. came over and joined us in our booth as did big Bob. He and Rene compared notes as both are working on their PHDs.
Meanwhile, Barley’s had preseason NFL action whirling on the TVs. The Browns vs. Lions and the Bengals vs. Jets. The Vikings were playing as well, but they weren’t on any of the TVs. We hung at Barley’s until 930pm or so, when we invited Rene and Steve to join us at home. Mindy picked up the tab and also a growler of ZIPA. Bella rode with Rene.

Bella ran down to the neighbors almost as soon as we were home. Jacob hung with all of us. Steve and I enjoyed some ZIPA while Mindy & Rene drank a few glasses of wine. Mindy opened a bottle of some stuff that’s been around for a while. Neither of them cared much for it. She then resorted to a bladder of wine that she’s had in the fridge for a while that she bought at Target. They both liked it a whole lot more.

While those two were busy talking, Steve, Jacob and I watched some funny SNL videos on Youtube. Mindy called Kenny/Chrissy around 1100pm asking that they send Bella home. She was home a minute or two late. Rene & Steve hung out until almost midnight. Steve left first then Rene. By then I was starting to fall asleep in the recliner. Mindy and I headed for bed as soon as out company left.