Something on my Mind

I was up and downstairs at 548am, about 8 minutes later than I would’ve liked. I failed to prep coffee the night before, so I had to take care of that before anything else. While doing so, I was quickly reminded that Mindy asked that I not add whipped cream to her morning coffee any longer. We believe she’s lactose intolerant.

Once the coffee was taken care of it was off to the living room for sit-ups then back to the kitchen for push-ups. It was 6am when I finished calisthenics. While the coffee finished, I stepped out on the deck to check out the morning sky. It was clear and dark. Lots of interesting star patterns. Still fairly cool, only about 60 degrees. Expecting a high in the mid 8-s as we make out way back into the 90s for the next few days.

I spent about 15 minutes on the internet. The Reds beat the Phillies, scoring the winning run in the top of the 9th. Cool! They’re on a roll. I could hear both Mindy and Jacob up and showering, though I think Mindy waited until he was out to start her own. He was downstairs soon after I finished meditation and was in the middle of a stretch. He heads out for the bus around 650am.

I wore a short sleeved shirt for my run and headed out the door close to 640am. I ran the full 4.1 miles my hamstrings feeling incrementally better. I was beginning to think that wouldn’t happen without taking mass quantities of Advil.
Once again, I came upon Mindy & Eiknarf out for a morning walk near the O’Connell’s house. I walked with she and the pug for a few minutes before heading back to the house. Mindy left for school shortly thereafter. She reminded me of Bella’s 530pm open house. I planned to try and meet them there after work.

My eggs were waiting in the microwave. Bella happily saw to it that Eiknarf got hers piled atop her regular dog food. She hung with me downstairs until it was shower time. I was fairly quick with my ready and back downstairs by 755am. I weighed myself right out of the shower and was already down to 179.1lbs, that’s almost 3lbs in two days without much change beyond being conscious of the recent weight gain. Must be mostly water weight gain.

Downstairs again, I finished packing my lunch then emptied the dehumidifier. I used the proceeds to water the deck flowers. Bella and I headed for the bus stop near 810am. She, of course, headed out to scooter ahead of me. I took Eiknarf along for the wait. She enjoys it.

The bus was at least five minutes late. I wasn’t back in the house until 827am. No big deal. I took the time enjoy another cup of coffee, start the dishwasher, and make double sure I had everything necessary to work remote, including the mouse and power cord for my laptop. I left the house near 840am knowing full well I’d need to stop for gas at Circle K. Gas was pricy. I paid $3.65 per gallon. The Accord drank 14.5 gallons for an average of 23.93 miles last tank full.

A big pick-up tried muscling me out of the way as we both exited the lot. I was cautious but still didn’t cower to him and his over-sized p/u truck. I took 670 and didn’t have any traffic issues. I made excellent time, arriving in New Albany near 905am. It was a lovely morning walking in from the back lot. I took special notice of the sunshine and warmth recognizing how fleeting the lovely weather really is. It won’t be long before the cold is here.

It took me just a few minutes to get situated. I was surprised when the customer suggested we cancel our regular 10am call due to no issues or concerns. Cool! I was able to focus on all the other to-dos on my plate full steam ahead. Sometimes a day away from the main office is just what the doctor ordered. That was the case Wednesday. I was able to take care of several things.

Stayed busy through the morning hours and up until 1pm when I opted to take a real lunch break. It was gorgeous and warm. I headed to the Easton Lowes and Target. I bought nothing while at Lowes, but instead only browsed. Next door at Mary Ann's Target I picked up two more bags of Blue Diamond almonds. I thought I might buy the Dictator DVD, (Sacha Cohen) but didn't. Figured I'd watch it on PPV first.

Headed back to the office still before 2pm. Had to park even further out in the back lot. That happens sometimes, especially this time of year when they start their holiday hiring spree. Again, it was warmer than it's been in a while. Felt nice!
The afternoon was pleasant. I was able to get caught up on several fronts and the time flew by. I left for Bella's school open house at 455pm. I called Mindy once I was safely on 270W. We chatted only briefly. She and Bella were just leaving the house. She was already exiting onto Cemetery Rd. as I was approaching Sawmill Rd. They'd be there far sooner than me. Traffic wasn't an issue. It was heavy but never really slowed down. I arrived at Beacon at 525pm. I had to park in a neighboring business lot as the school lots were full.

I found Mindy and Bella in her new classroom pretty quickly. There I met Mrs. Leahy for the first time. She seems well put together and certainly adult friendly. I wonder if she realizes she has a poor reputation amongst the student population. Probably. She & Mindy chatted for a while. The idea, I learned, was to socialize in the classroom for awhile (30 minutes or so) and then proceed to the cafeteria for the formal open house spiel. Half the kids headed to play on the playground while waiting. Mindy and I walked the halls, eventually happening upon the new art teacher. She was nice and friendly. As we left her room we encountered Mrs. leach, the principal. She was struggling to make the microphone and amplifier work. I took a look and quickly asked if she had the mike on. That was it! :)

There was another grade in there at the time and they were running over. The 4th grade parents and students waited patiently in the hallway. Seemed like an eternity. Finally, they finished up. I could only hope that ours wouldn't go on that long.
Mrs Leach went through her usual positive opening dialogue then she introduced all the 4th grade teachers. Then the teachers did an overview of the year's curriculum as well as covering some of the ground rules. It was all presented with a positive, collaborative spin. The entire presentation couldn't have lasted more than 20 minutes. Finally freed, we headed for home. Bella opted to ride with Mindy. Taking the back way, I called Mindy as I approached Scioto Darby and Leap asking if she wanted me to pick-up Jacob from soccer. As it was, it was 650pm and his practice was over at 730pm. She said she'd prefer I come home and work with Bella on her school project - printing pictures of their new bunny, Oreo. OK.

We were home together for no more than 10 minutes when Mindy headed off to fetch Jacob. Not wanting to waste an full sheet of photo paper on two small pictures, I ended up printing a full contact sheet of 10 photos featuring Bella, Oreo and Eiknarf.
Mindy & Jacob didn't get home until almost 8pm. I was still fooling around on the PC when they got home. Mindy headed for a shower while Jacob dug into some dinner. By the way, Mindy held Bella out of gymnastics to attend open house, a clear violation of their new ground rules. :)

We spent the rest of the evening watching TV. We were all off to bed before 10pm.