Fried Chicken

I was still really sleepy come 530am so I chose to sleep late and stayed in bed until almost 650am. The extra sleep was just what the doctor ordered. I was working from home again so despite waking extremely late, I didn’t expect to be behind the eight ball relative to my start work time. In fact, I would almost certainly be engaged before my usual start time in the office.

I completed sit-ups and curls then headed for some coffee. It was already after 7am by the time I plopped down in front of my computer screen. I logged in both my home PC and work laptop. By comparison, it was really cool, only 63 degrees. And the humidity levels were in check too. I actually had to consider wearing a shirt for the first time in I don’t know how long.

I did a little work, sending out a couple responses to emails then followed my usual pre-run routine: PC, meditation and a stretch. It was just after 8am when I headed out for my run. I opted to wear a sleeveless wicking shirt. That was just about right. Felt terrific – almost like September (clear, warm, low humidity). I ran the full 4.1 miles, missing most of the regulars I often see during my run.

Was almost home somewhere near 840am. Ran into Mindy walking the pug in front of Chrissy’s house. We walked back home together. It wasn’t too long before Mindy left for school reminding me once again that the kids would be home around noon. She expected to remain at school until at least 1pm and then was heading to the grocery.
Got an email or two from my boss even though he was supposed to be on vacation. A few minutes later he sent another letting us know that he postponed his vacation until the following week. Not sure what that was all about. I worked until about 10am and then took the time to fry Eiknarf and I our usual eggs. I was really hungry. Back to work by 1030am, things got ridiculously busy. I had people hitting me up from all ends. I certainly wasn’t planning for that. Everybody needed something now! Ugh!!!!

I hunkered down and took care of the escalations as fast as I could. Come about 1130am I needed another break. I headed to the basement where I went through another few boxes of stuff. Was able to produce two more boxes of trash. Amongst the keepers, I found Kaileigh’s piggy bank. I set it aside to give to her next time she’s over. I also happened upon Lindsey’s old stash of Back Street Boys CDs. I know she’ll want those. She and Landon still listen to them.

The break did me some good. The kids got home from the white water rafting trip somewhere near noon as predicted. Said they had a blast. Soon both were off to play while I got back to work. I balanced the rest of my work day between escalations and the minimum amount of proactive monthly report stuff I insisted on completing. To accomplish that I simply had to ignore email and IM for a while. Had I not, I wouldn’t have gotten anything on my personal to-do list completed. I headed up for a shower around 3-330pm after Bella told me that I stunk. 
A shower felt great. I quickly returned to my PCs and got right back to work. As often happens when working from home, I couldn’t walk away for the rest of the day. I ended up working well into the evening hours, both before and after dinner. Mindy wasn’t too excited about that, I could tell. She was home from school and grocery near 4pm. She started making dinner right away – fried chicken. We hadn’t had that in a long, long time. She asked what time I wanted to eat. I suggested 540pm. Dinner was super good. I had two pieces of the yummy fried chicken. The kids liked it too.

Lindsey sent Mindy a text sometime after dinner asking if we would be willing to keep the boys early morning for the rest of the work week so she could work some overtime. Said they want her in at 6am! We discussed the logistics, and Mindy ultimately agreed to do it but suggested she have the boys spend the night instead of bringing them by at 5-530am. That would be much easier on them and us. She was planning to bring them by at 8pm.
Before then, I played a little soccer in the backyard with all the ‘islander kids’. Just like I did on Saturday, I kicked the ball accidentally into the pond far out of the reach of my golf ball retriever. Jacob was determined that it wouldn’t be him going in after it.

Most of the kids stopped playing so they could run home for their own late dinner. While they did that I headed around front to water the flowers. Bella, Makayla, and Emily agreed to get in the pond and fetch Jacob’s expensive soccer ball. I promised all 3 a $1. A few minutes later I headed out to see if they had any luck. Bella was the one doing the actual retrieval, holding on to a long stick that Makayla held firmly from knee depth. Bella was only about thigh deep but coated in that familiar thick black mud. Yuck! Kept sinking. I was genuinely concerned and stayed ready in case they needed me. I was a little angry with Jacob for not even bothering to keep an eye on them.
Lindsey and the boys showed up about the time that the girls rejoined the soccer game. The boys quickly integrated with all the other kids playing soccer, and Lindsey quickly headed for home. Just before pulling away she shared that she left the money she owes me inside with Mindy.

I made the mistake of checking with work again only to get drug into yet another escalation. Oh boy! I ended up working until after 9pm. After setting work aside I wrote in my blog. By then it was approaching 945pm and Mindy already had Rocky & Landon in bed in the guest room. They asked to go to bed. That might be a first. Mindy wanted me to come to bed with her, but I was determined to finish writing the blog entry I was in the middle of. She wasn’t pleased with my decision.

I stayed up writing until something like 1015pm. Mindy didn’t budge when I slipped into bed. I started to dose off but then something woke me. I couldn’t go back to sleep either. It was still before 11pm. I finally decided to get back up, go downstairs, and have a bowl of cereal and play on the internet. Mindy woke as I slithered away and asked what I was doing.

I enjoyed two bowls of cinnamon Life while reading about the Vikings in training camp. It had to be near 1130pm when I headed back to bed.