Gobbling the Goodies

 

Families that get toasted together, stay together!

 

 

first woke around 5am and didn’t think I’d be able to fall back asleep. Happily, though, I was able to and slept for another couple hours. I rolled out of bed for good near 735am and then quickly headed downstairs to start some coffee and exercise.

I did sit-ups, windmills, and curls. The sun was just creeping up over the horizon. It was an extremely beautiful sunrise. The coffee maker grunted and groaned as it pushed what I thought was the last bit of water through the coffee basket and into the carafe. I noticed a few dribbles rolling down the outside of the carafe. Strange?

I poured my first cup of coffee noticing that the carafe felt a bit lighter than usual. I pulled open the coffee filter revealing the culprit. It was full of water, apparently having trouble making its way through. That happens quite often whenever we use Starbucks. Of course it’s not the brand, but instead the much finer grind they sell. It clogs either the gold filter or the entrance into the carafe. In either case, it makes for one heck of a mess. I ended up with coffee on the countertop, counter, and floor. It took me a few minutes to get it under control. Not exactly what I had in mind right out of bed.

After the coffee debacle, I spent some time updating my blog. For the first time in a long, long time I proof read a couple of the entries before posting. I was a little surprised with the number of silly mistakes I found. But I'm not foolish enough to think I wouldn't make any. I write/type as fast as I think. Grammar, punctuation, word choice and sentence structure are only best effort. I just don’t have time to proof read them all. After all, my blogging serves two main purposes. One, it’s a means of documenting & recollecting my life, and it works just fine, with or without errors. Two, it keeps my writing skills honed. However, that said, I also know that it reads easier/better when edited.

Dwelling on that notion for just another moment, it’s really not that much different that the very life that I’m documenting. For given the chance, I am quite sure there are several situations each and every day that would play out much better if I only had the opportunity to go back and edit my actions. My life would certainly be cleaner – more sanitized. But doing so would strip me of my character. I think I’ll just be me. 

As usual, the time I spent updating my blog seemed to fly. I have to be careful or the day will get away from me. It was 9am before I knew it. I headed to the family room where I turned on the TV and tuned to the Macy's TG day parade. Next. I slipped into my running clothes then headed out the door. It was about 910am and before anybody else was up and stirring.

At last check just before heading out the door, it was sunny, warm, and 47 degrees. I went to the Accord to fetch my sunglasses before dashing off. Once again, I ran only three miles. I kept forgetting that it was TG. I just wasn’t feeling it. Didn’t seem like it at all. I passed other walkers, runners, and homeowners out in their yards. Only one acknowledged the special day, though all of them extended some sort of greeting.

Both kids and Mindy were up by the time I was back at the house. Mindy had the kids prepping a gift for their Maw-maw. I greeted both kids by asking for a TG hug. Jacob extended an air hug. Bella gave me a real one. Too cute!

Mindy decided to make another omelet. This time she used the leftover steak from last Saturday night's visit to BJ's. While Mindy threw together breakfast, I headed upstairs to move the heavy 32” Toshiba TV off of the armoire in our bedroom. It has to weigh nearly a hundred pounds. I requested Jacob’s help, and he did so willingly. It took some doing but we soon had it safely on the floor. Can’t recall how or who helped me get it up on the armoire. No way I did it alone. Tommy?
I quickly unpacked the new 32” LED TV. As heavy as the old one is, the new one is very light. It weighs a whopping 11lbs. I took a few minutes to unpack the screen, stand, remote and screws. I read over the stand installation instructions then headed down to eat my omelet. Mindy had me open a bottle of champagne so we could enjoy mimosas. The kids had mimosas too, only with non-alcoholic champagne. The omelet was delicious, the steak still super tender. I finished my omelet and half my mimosa then headed back upstairs to finish with the TV.

The stand looked rather simple but required a redo. The attached picture was nearly useless. But isn’t the way it is anymore? I dusted off the top of the armoire before moving the new screen into place. Actually looks smaller than I imagined it would. The additional space opens up the room a whole lot more, that’s for sure. I moved swiftly through set-up, at least to the point where the TV was in channel discovery mode. That process took about 10 minutes. While TV was doing that, I cleaned up the fern foliage that fell to the floor after moving it away from the armoire. I took the opportunity to trim away the many dead stems before moving it back into place.

Tuned to the end of the Macy’s TG parade. Great picture, but still could use some tweaking. Mindy came up to get a glimpse of the new TV, too. I hauled the box to the garage and put away the Pledge and screwdriver. I polished off my mimosa then poured a 2nd. The parade ended near noon. I tuned the downstairs TV to the guide channel to see what time NFL action was set to begin. 1230pm. With a few minutes to myself, I stepped out on the deck. It was gorgeous. And while it was only about 60 degrees, it felt a whole lot warmer.

I watched the early NFL action, some from downstairs and then some from our new bedroom TV. Meanwhile, Mindy was forever in the shower. I finally got a chance to take one around 130pm. We were ready to leave for Gloria’s near 2pm. Sometime earlier that morning, Mindy made arrangements for us to pick-up the boys on our way home from Gloria’s. Lindsey had to work Black Friday and neither Kelly nor her sisters were willing to watch the boys. Mindy was really looking forward to a rare day alone since I’d be working and the kids would be with Jimaken, but she didn't want to leave Lindsey in dire straits.

We took Eiknarf with us to Maw-maws. She was spazing out in the back seat. She doesn’t get to go on too many car rides these days. At one point I had to shew her back with my scary voice. We were the first to arrive at Gloria’s. I proposed we not take Eiknarf inside too soon. The over stimulation of the car ride suggested she needed to relieve herself. Sure enough, it was almost immediate. We carried everything in and set up the goodies in the lower level. Mindy carried the libations (wine & beer) to the garage.

We weren't the lone family members for long. Soon Craig & Jeff, and Pat & Mel arrived. I think they rode together. We see Pat & Mel about twice a year, typically @ TG & Easter. The others trickled in over the next half hour or so. All totaled, there were 20 of us. For the next couple hours we enjoyed snacks, wine/beer, and conversation. Some of us watched NFL football, too. The first game – Detroit & Houston -went into OT. Houston won. Interesting game. The Cowboys & Redskins were next. Niece Julie is a big Redskins fan. She was noticeably worked up about the game.

I had to be careful not to eat too many snacks. Wanted to save plenty of room for turkey, stuffing, and all the trimmings. I’m guessing that dinner was on at 515pm. Quite the spread. Lots to choose from. Mindy had a plate already prepared for me by the time I made it up. Thanks dear. I was careful not to over indulge. The TG fixins were delicious. I had a 2nd helping of turkey. That’s it. The dinner conversation was lively. I’m sure the alcohol had something to do with it.  Sat around the table through clean-up. It was announced that dessert would be served on the lower level. We moved that way around 630pm.

There were three options: pumpkin pie, Boston cream pie, and pecan pie. I opted for pumpkin pie. Again, I didn’t eat too much. Just a small piece slathered in whipped cream. Yum! Early on, the Redskins had an enormous lead over the Cowboys. But that evaporated as the game wound down. With four minutes to go it looked like the Cowboys might make a game of it and tie it up. But that wasn’t to be. Redskins scored a late TD to take a 10 point lead with less than 2 minutes to go. The Cowboys didn't quit, however. They kicked a field goal but couldn't get the ball back. They lost.

We headed for home around 730pm Mindy sent texts to Jimaken and Lindsey. Jimaken planned to keep our kids overnight and was heading our way soon. She texted Lindsey to let her know we were on our way to get the boys. We were home somewhere close to 8pm. All of the sudden, I found myself feeling stressed. I’m guessing it was the fact that I’d be returning to work the following morning. No doubt, a really fast 6 days! Jimaken showed for the kids around 9pm, a little later than we expected. By then, Rocky & Landon were about to fall asleep. Mindy told them bedtime was 915pm.

They headed up to bed without issue, though I'm sure that had something to with us letting them sleep with the TV on, which is something they do at home every night, so it's a battle we choose not to fight. We also let them have Eiknarf. Mindy headed to bed as soon as the boys were tucked in. She offered that I could watch the late NFL game from our new bedroom TV. That sounded good. I made sure that all my personal electronics were charging, secured the home, then headed up to bed. I might’ve watched ten minutes of football before becoming overwhelmed my sleep. I was out before 10pm.