Cleaning House

I slept about as late as I could and still remain comfortably on track. I didn't get up and out of bed until 545am. I was downstairs a few minutes later ready to whip out 50 sit-ups. After sit-ups I glanced out back at the weather. There were clear skies overhead. I quickly did windmills and curls then poured coffee for Mindy and me. I delivered hers before taking the first sip of my own. She asked that I complete the usual tasks: ceiling fan off, temp up, and check on Jacob. Done.

Downstairs I played on the internet until almost 620am. It was a chilly 61 degrees. I planned to wear a long-sleeved wicking shirt for the first time in I don't know how long. I did a thorough stretch and meditation before dressing for a run. It was near 640am as I headed out the door. I ran the full 4.1 miles stressing over the predicament Mindy was putting me in later that morning. Our new cleaning woman, Carmen was coming over near 815am. Mindy wouldn't be there so I'd have to show her around. Neither of us have ever met this woman before. I wasn't at all looking forward to it.

Speaking of Mindy, I happened upon she and Eiknarf once again out front of the neighbors house doing the morning walk thing. I stopped when I caught them and walk the rest of the way home with the two. Mindy wasn't long in the house. She was off to school. Bella and I enjoyed our breakfast together. As usual, she took care of feeding and watering the dog while I dealt with the overflowing dehumidifier tank. I emptied its contents in the deck flowers.

Off to the shower around 740am. It didn't take me long to ready. I dressed nice but for no particular reason. I was back downstairs working on my lunch at 755 am. I cut some cheese, grabbed a yogurt and packed some almonds. I skipped the fruit tray since it looked nasty. I noticed that Mindy snagged the last ripe banana. Dang it!

Bella headed out around 803am. I tidied up the kitchen before meeting her at the bus stop. She took the pug with her. I met she and Makayla a couple minutes later. I noticed that Bella wasn't even holding the pugs leash. Instead, she had a loose arm around her neck. Another dog walker was about to come into Eiknarf's view from across the street. I asked that she hold the leash, knowing all too well her typical response. She held her still with half effort. No longer willing to allow her lackadaisical approach, I took over control of the pug. The bus arrived on time. Chrissy gave an update on their TV repair.

Eiknarf and I headed back home. We didn't even make it to the driveway when the new house cleaner and her peeps showed up in their Chevy Astro-like minivan. Three of them piled out. I felt more than a little out of sorts. Carmen introduced herself and then introduced Ray, who I believe she said was her husband. Unless I'm mistaken, he either had on no shirt or a 'wife beater'. He looked more than a little rough. There was another cohort too. Her name, I think, is Danielle. She was smoking a cigarette and stomped it out on our driveway. Yikes! I introduced myself to her as we made our way into the house. Suddenly I wasn't feeling so good about the move. I mean it's like I was turning our house over to a perfect stranger solely on a recommendation from neighbor's Pat & Lisa, who we love and respect dearly, but still.

I wasn't sure what to do. I had Carmen read the instructions Mindy left behind then asked if there were any questions concerns. She clarified that she's not a house keeper (doesn't do laundry and make beds). Right! She said they'd be cleaning Pat & Lisa's place that afternoon, or as soon as they finished at our place. To say I was a tad concerned as I left for work is a broad understatement. I let my imagination run wild on the drive into the office. I envisioned coming home later that afternoon and being cleaned out. Oh boy! What had we done?

Once at work I let go of the house thing. After all, it was spilled milk by then. Soon I was engrossed in work. My boss stopped by for his usual brief morning chat. I was supposed to stop by his office a bit later to see some more pictures of his new log home going up somewhere down in Vinton county, but I never made it there. I guess I got too involved in my work. For one, my back-up PC was being reimaged. That was just a minor inconvenience since I don't rely on it for any applications.

Like the rest of the work week, I shared my time between urgent escalations and to-do list tasks. I opted to skip a formal lunch break but did take time to fetch my food and eat all the while working. I did take my share of short internet breaks. Jacob called me from our back-up cell phone around 315pm to ask if we could go out to dinner. Sounded like a good idea. After all, we wouldn't see the kids from Friday evening until Monday since this was a Jimaken weekend. He called me again a little while later to confirm plans, put up to it, he said, by his mother. She needed to know whether or not she needed to make dinner.

We had our regular Thursday staff call at 415pm. That went smoothly and lasted no more than 20 minutes. I spent the rest of my afternoon fooling around with our revised time tracking tool and then a barrage of last minute escalations. Thankfully, they weren't too big a deal, though I figured I'd have to follow one of them into the evening via Blackberry. I left for home just ahead of 530pm thinking that I might work from home on Friday.

I called Mindy as I pulled out of the work parking lot. We talked for about 10 minutes, or until I was at the Roberts Rd exit. We pretty much narrowed our dinner options down between the Big Fat and Barley's. I pooh-poohed Big Fat at first but as I proceeded homeward after our call it was sounding a little better. Been a while since we've dined there as a family.

Arrived home around 550pm. Bella apparently wasn't too eager to go anywhere for dinner. I changed my shirt from a button up dress shirt to a black t-shirt, but stayed in dress slacks. I toyed briefly with the thought of watering our deck flowers before leaving but in the end opted not. I guess I tricked myself into believing I'd do it once we were back from dinner. Right! We left for Barley's around 610pm in the Pilot.

Traffic was extremely heavy on Riverside Dr heading north. It was backed up from Trabue all the way to Grandview Avenue. Jacob said there was a bus stopped in one lane with its hood up. Not good! The Barley's lot was packed. We had to park in the back 40, the first car to do so. No problem. Mindy stopped to chat with peeps on the patio while I waved hello but kept going. I headed directly to the bar and mulled over their beer selection. Jersey was sitting at the bar. He and I chatted briefly while I asked Janet for a pint of the guest draught, Ballast Point IPA. I saw it at the Anderson's earlier this week. Just as I received my beer, Mindy and the kids were being seated in the booth on the east wall of the bar. Sitting at one of the barside tables was Calvin, whom we haven't seen in at least three months. Last we knew he had to have emergency heart bypass surgery. He looked pretty good. Mindy and I both went over to say hello.

Justin ended up being our server. We waited to order dinner until my beer was almost gone, more because Mindy was off talking to a few folks. While she was yacking, Jacob, Bella and I ordered some fries for a snack. Mindy ended up drinking only water. For dinner she had the muscles, Bella the grilled cheese, and Jacob Buffalo chicken tenders with gates of Hell sauce on the side. I ordered a Cuban with bacon, and then substituted fries for green beans. The kids ordered a plate of smothered fries too.

My Cuban was good, but I ate only half. The green beans were really good (garlicy) but a bit cold. I didn't complain.
I ordered a 2nd beer, this time a Centennial. Bella and Jacob exchanged barbs all through dinner. Jacob constantly rides Bella about having a mustache. Bella usually doesn't fire back unless provoked beyond normal. She started to go after his zits but stopped just short of it. She's a very loving little sister. Jacob and I both needed to-go cartons for our leftovers. Mindy finished all of her. Bella had leftovers but demolished them. She later told me that she spit in them. Bella! I paid the check and Mindy drove us home.

Bella sulked through dinner expressing concern for having to spend the entire weekend with her dad and Jacob at a soccer tournament. I shared once again that she should ask her dad if a friend can spend the night. Mindy and I feel for her but we don't give her an out. She needs to spend that time with her daddy.

As soon as we arrived home Bella, no surprise, headed over to play with Makayla and Jacob headed out to play with friends. I think Mindy went for a shower. While she did that I tuned in to NFL preseason action already underway. I fell asleep in a hurry sitting, watching TV with a belly full of food and two beer under my belt. I slept through Mindy's entire shower. The kids were told to be back home by 800pm. Mindy declared it her bed time, or at least time to head up to read, at 848pm. She wondered if I would be coming up soon. Soon, dear. Both kids were told to shower before bed.

I napped and watched preseason football from the sofa. What a great way to spend the evening. I upped and checked the Vikings score online a couple of times. They were behind for most of the game but it was close. The last preseason game is all scrubs - nonstarters. They were losing 28-24 last I checked. I wasn't concerned about the outcome. Instead, just curious. Got my second wind around 930pm. Via blackberry, I followed up on a couple work issued from earlier. The Bengals and Browns both lost their final preseason games. After football I fell asleep and didn't wake again until almost 11pm when I finally gathered the energy to head up to bed.