Civil Revolution

I slept in until 540am, waking just before Mindy’s alarm sounded. Given my druthers I would’ve slept a bit longer, but exercise and work beckoned. Downstairs I was quickly engaged in exercise, whipping out sit-ups, windmills, and curls.

I headed to my PC with coffee, at first thinking I might have enough time to sort photos for Xmas photo albums. But there were 264 photos and despite uploading them in specific folders (IE albums) they were mixed all together. I headed upstairs to wake Mindy near 610am. I gave a knock on Jacob’s bedroom wall as I descended the steps. I heard him up and about a minute or two later. I did take the time after waking Mindy to make piles by memory, but eventually decided that I’d be taking them to work to complete in my spare time. 

Walked away from my PC around 635am. And then by the time I was done with meditation and stretching it was closing in on 7am. Once again, I headed upstairs to say goodbye to Mindy before my run. There wasn’t any way she’d be around upon my return. I startled her with my entrance. Sorry!

It was after 705am when I got out the door for my run. Feeling like a slacker, I was determined to do the full 4.1 miles. It was chilly enough that I wore full winter gear. I’m thinking that it was 39 degrees. I was comfortable throughout and the full circuit. Upon hearing me come back in, Bella brought the pug to the door.

Eiknarf and I did our usual walk across the street, staying out for about 8 minutes. Inside, I asked Bella to make sure the dog was fed and then warmed my already prepared and waiting eggs. It was too late for a shower ahead of bus stop time so I used the time to further sort the photos into their respective piles. I also headed to the basement looking for the photo albums I bought last week. Couldn’t find the bag anywhere. Those that know me, have to understand that it was driving me absolutely crazy not being able to locate them. It was bus stop time. I headed up and out with Bella.

Met Chrissy and Makayla at the bus stop. Today was Makayla’s Xmas gift day. I remembered to tell Bella that I loved her before she bused away. The recent events in CT. reminded me never to take a moment for granted.

Headed back home to shower. Was ready to go by 850am. I put about a dozen Xmas cards in the outgoing mail. Now that I had Xmas photos, I wished I would’ve included one in each card. But short of opening the envelopes that wasn’t possible. Move forward!!!

I headed into work arriving near 910am taking my photos and empty photo albums to my office with me. It was another low key day, and one that I very much appreciated. Sandwiched in and amongst work related tasks, I was able to stuff the photo albums with the appropriate pics. Went faster than I anticipated.

Decided to make yet another Target run at lunch. There I picked up a twin-sized Coleman air mattress, planning to take it with us to HV for someone (Glenn, Bella, or Jacob) to sleep on. We ordered one from Amazon but it never arrived. Got an email earlier this morning stating that it was returned and that they issued a credit to my credit card. It was actually cheaper at Target. After Target, I headed to Giant Eagle on Bethel and Sawmill hoping I might find some White Rajah. I placed a call to daughter Ashley while in route. No answer. She returned my call a few minutes, or just as I was pulling into a parking spot.

I wanted some more ideas for Olivia. Sadly, we’re stumped. Everything on her list had already been purchased by others. Ashley gave me a few ideas, but also asked that I not fret over it. Sees little value in buying toys to be buying toys. Suggested that all of us consider giving gifts that last, like money moving forward. I like the way she thinks, and told her as much. A quick check of Giant Eagles vast beer selection netted no Rajah.  I left there empty handed. Back to work.
The afternoon was like the morning, easy. Things are slowing down for the big holiday. Barring some unusual event, it should get even slower – easier as the work week progresses.

Talked with Mindy late afternoon sorting through who was doing what, including running Bella to and from gymnastics. The original plan was for her to drop and me to pick-up, but I made arrangements to pick-up a Xmas gift at 730pm. I explained that it would be far better for me to do the drop. Mindy agreed, and actually felt it would make her plans smoother, allowing her & Jacob to finish some Xmas shopping for Jimaken before getting Bella. Perfect!

I left work for home around 450pm. The early jump made all the difference. Rush hour traffic didn’t have a chance to back-up. Mindy said that we were all on our own for dinner. She reheated some of Saturday’s spaghetti for Bella. She needs to eat before gymnastics. Bella and I headed for the gym at 540pm. Mindy said that she and Jacob would almost certainly be gone by the time I was back at home.

On Bella’s recommendation, we took the back way to the gym (Fisher to Phillipi to Georgesville). That was a smart move. I-70 was at a complete standstill entering 270. Arrived home at 610pm. As expected, Mindy and Jacob were already gone. I spent an hour or so writing in my blog before leaving to pick-up that Xmas present.

Arrived at the venue just before 730pm and took care of the gift right away. I decided to stick around and have a beer. Wasn’t there that long, however. I’m guessing no more than 25 minutes. I was surprised to see that Mindy was already back from Xmas shopping and picking up Bella. Turns out, they had just walked in the door too. She had Bella go to the basement and help her wrap Jimaken’s gift – some elf shorts. The kids, by the way, we were leaving that night between 9-10pm, or as soon as Jimaken got out of class. He’s keeping them through Xmas eve though he asked if we could keep them for a few hours over the weekend so he can finalize some Xmas shopping.

I was hungry, still having not eaten any dinner. I opted to warm my leftover Cuban from Sunday night. I took the time to reheat it on the pizza stone making for a much better experience. Yum-yum! I poured a Brew Kettle Xmas ale to help wash it down. I tuned the TV to the Buckeye basketball game against Winthrop. Early on, they were giving the Buckeyes all they could handle. The Buckeyes pulled away in the 2nd half.

Jimaken picked up the kids around 920pm. Just like that Mindy and I were alone. We watched the rest of the Buckeye game and then tuned to Mankind, the history of us all, watching an episode about the end of the Revolutionary War thru the Amarican Civil War. Interestingly enough, the Civil War was the deadliest war in our history, losing some 600K lives. According to the History Channel, that’s more than both World Wars combined. I fell asleep watching TV. Mindy was off to bed during my slumber. I woke around 1045pm and headed for bed. Mindy was still awake and found her way to lie my chest.