Deer Me!

                                                                   
I was up somewhere close to 530am and quickly engaged in exercise. I whipped out 50 sit-ups, 40 windmills, then 50 push-ups. The sky was mostly clear and we were expecting a high near 50 degrees. At the time it was around 40 degrees.

I did meditation and stretching immediately after calisthenics. However, I am not so sure about keeping it that way. On one hand, it ensures that I have ample time for meditation, but my body is used to heading out for my run immediately after a stretch. Felt awkward going from meditation and stretching to coffee and internet. We’ll see where it goes. I woke Mindy between stretching and coffee.

Didn’t spend much time online at all. Left for my run around 635am. Ran the full 4.1 miles. Felt good. Back home around 715am, Bella was quick to ready the pug for a walk. She seemed to have an extra bounce in her step. The dog and I were out for about 8-10 minutes. Not too long. Back inside, Bella helped Mindy get breakfast on the table. She was in a really good mood. Mindy & I joked that she finally got the sleep she needs. Mindy left for school around 730pm.

Enjoyed my eggs then headed up for a shower. Opted to wear jeans. Why not? It was Friday. Downstairs again by 8am. Bella was calling for me to come downstairs quick. According to her, there were deer in our backyard and she was watchign quietly from the deck door. Yep, I snatched up my camera, watched, the stepped out onto the deck to sneak a couple photos. They were quite young. Appear to be adolescents, who only recently lost their dots.

ok a few minutes to throw together a lunch before heading out to the bus stop. Bella and I headed out around 810am. We met Chrissy & Makayla there. Chrissy asked about our holiday party. Said she was watching Blaine, Lillian’s little brother, that night. Planned to bring him over. Bus was there by 815am.

I paid a couple bills online before leaving for work. I threw the Time Warner bill on my backpack. Noticed that they stuck a $7.50 late charge on my account as well as raising the rates once again. They went up last spring too. They must be stopped!  I hoped to find the time to call them that afternoon from the office.

Got to work and settled sometime around 9am. Had an escalation needing my attention right away. Got that on track fairly quickly. I was able to dedicate the rest of my morning to proactive tasks. Talked with my boss mid-morning. He was noticeably stressed over a customer call he was recently on. Offered my help if necessary.

Left for lunch around 1pm. I made three stops. My first stop was the Hilliard-Cemetery Kroger for some Jack Daniels. That was a quick stop. Next, I headed across the street to the Klean-a-Kar for a carwash. This time I did just the basic for $7. Did a good job. I took advantage of the complimentary vacuum, too, though there wasn’t much dirt/grit to vacuum out.

My last stop was Target where I picked up a few things, including almonds (rosemary & black pepper), crap sacks, and two jugs of windshield fluid. Made all three stops in less than 50 minutes, and was back at the office before 2pm. Took care of another escalation mid-afternoon, and then spent the rest of my afternoon on administrative stuff. Left for home at 455pm.

Called Mindy a bit into my drive home. We talked until I was at the Trabue/Wilson Rd traffic light. Arrived home by 515pm. Mindy already had the house looking nice, the counters completely cleared of clutter. That usually helps calm me. I asked what are plans were. I was a little surprised when she shared that her plans were to go after party food. No Barley’s? I shared my desire to go. She offered that I could wait for her to get back and then go, or take Bella with me. But Bella’s been on an anti-Barley thing lately. Says she hates going there. Mindy left for Giant Eagle & Wal-Mart around 530pm. Jacob went with her. Bella stayed home with me. Well, actually she went next door to play with Makayla.

With an hour or two of quiet time, I updated my blog for the past week. I even had time to go back and add pictures to the prior week. Bella came home to check in around 7pm. She was in tears. Said Tessa bit her face as she ran out the back door towards home. I checked it out. There wasn’t even a mark. I hugged her. She asked if she could head back. I suggested she wait for her mom to get home. Mindy & Jacob were home by 720pm. She had a lot of food to carry in. She complained about how much she hated Wal-Mart. But almost in the same breath she praised them for their low prices. She was a bit worked up over their lack of the giant deli subs we like. She wanted 6-8. They had 2. When she asked if she could place an order and pick them up Saturday afternoon they apparently told her no, because she would have to give then a 24 hour notice.

Bella was still being fussy/whiny. Mindy asked if I still was planning on a Barley’s outing. Nah, decided not. Instead, I would stay in and relax. We warmed the 2 Wal-Mart subs for our dinner on the pizza stone. We temporarily removed the lettuce and tomato. Sometime during dinner we determined that Bella left her bike and jacket at the neighbors. Mindy asked that she go get them but that she couldn’t stay. For some reason, she was too embarrassed to go back after them and then come home. Jacob seized on the opportunity to tease her about incessantly. Soon, she was in tears. Oh boy!

Jimaken called around 830pm to make arrangements to pick-up Bella the following day for a Xmas shopping spree. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but Bella and I already had plans to go to Aspen Ski & Board to look for new ski attire. We talked about watching a movie but couldn’t come to an agreement. I ended up tuning to an episode of The Universe that I DVR’d earlier in the week. I enjoyed the program along with a Jack & Coke.

Mindy was off to bed fairly early. Must’ve been around 945pm. I stayed downstairs, where I soon fell asleep on the sofa. I didn’t head up to bed until almost 1am. Of course I had to turn off all the Xmas lights first.
Coming Soon!