26 years ago today ... "throttle up"

I slept extremely well and was up for keeps a couple minutes ahead of 530am. I didn’t prep coffee the night before so that was task number one immediately after brushing my teeth. After getting coffee started I whipped out sit-ups, windmills and push-ups. As usual, the 50 push-ups left me a bit winded.

Soon the coffee was ready and I was parked at my PC. Checked the weather first thing. Already a whopping 38 degrees. A quick glance out the front window I noticed much of the weekend’s snow pack already gone. Expecting a high in the 50s with period of heavy rain – 60s Tuesday & Wednesday.

Headed upstairs to wake Mindy with coffee near 610am. She didn’t cough that much during the overnight after taking some of that cough syrup with codeine. I asked if she was going into school. Yep! I was hesitant to hug and kiss fearing getting her germs.

Back downstairs I moved on to meditation then stretching. Both went reasonably well. I heard the recycling truck come by around 630am. I wasn’t feeling in any particular hurry and didn’t finish my stretch until 645am. And by the time I donned my running attire it was darn near 7am. In fact, Jacob was already out at the bus stop.

Despite the above freezing temps, the front stoop was incredibly slick. Good thing I was careful stepping out. The secondary subdivision roads that weren’t salted and scraped clean on Saturday were nothing but wet slush. The main roads were only wet. During my run I worried about Mindy unexpectedly taking a spill on the front stoop. However, I did move the thick mat over the icy patch.

I ran into a couple more slick spots on the neighborhood sidewalks during my 4.1 mile run but managed to run slip free. Because of my late start, Mindy was already gone by the time I was back at home. I had Bella help me get the pug leashed up since she had her collar off and in her room. We walked for about 8 minutes.

Back at the house Bella had Mindy on the phone. Said she wanted to talk with me. Mindy shared that she felt like crap and planned to leave school right after classes, skipping her regular Monday staff meeting and heading up north to see Craig. By describing her symptoms and as fast as the onset, he guessed she might even have the real flu virus. He planned to test her for it. Mindy coughed near the phone a time or two while we talked. Her cough always sounds horrible – much like an old man who’s smoked two packs a day for life. Drives me up a wall.

I asked about Bella’s adoption day dinner we had planned. Understandably, she wasn’t sure. Speaking of being unsure, Bella still hadn’t named or decided on a venue. After eating my two eggs it was 755am. I figured I’d wait and shower after seeing Bella onto the bus. My work laptop was still on the network after working from home Friday. I checked in and even responded to an email or two while waiting on school bus time.

We headed out at 810am. Last second, Eiknarf decided she wanted to go again after all. I almost left her behind. The bus arrived around 815am. Just before it arrived, Bella asked if I would bring cookies/brownies to her class to celebrate adoption day. She added that Mindy was supposed to discuss it with me. But after Mrs. Leach almost bit my head off on her b-day for bringing sweets, I wasn’t too excited about the prospect of doing the deed. I told her not to expect it.

Once Bella was on the bus Eiknarf and I headed back home but not before she took another dump in our own yard. Man! Inside, I was quickly off to the shower. Was back downstairs prepping my lunch by 840am. Left for the office near 855am after powering down my laptop.

The sky was show signs of clearing. Spent most of my day creating a quarterly report for a customer. Opted to take a real lunch break at 105pm and headed to the Hilliard Sherwin William where I bought three gallons of pain for our livingroom. Didn’t take nearly as long as I expected. Gone only about 20 minutes, I decided to make two more stops, Home Depot and then Target which are right next to one another near the office. At Home Depot I bought Frog masking tape for the painting project. At Target I bought some almonds, gum, and pretzel M&M’s for Bella.

Got back to work near 2pm. Grabbed my lunch from the fridge and ate while working. Used the last of my ranch dressing. Mindy called on her way to see Craig and then soon after to share that she didn’t have the flu. Still sick, though. He said there are two other viruses going around and likely what she has. Said they don’t test for them because you simply need to let them run their course. With a fever and bad cough, she already made plans to stay home on Wednesday. She asked me to pick-up some orange juice on my way home. Said I would.

I left the office near 5pm stopping at the nearby Hilliard Kroger. I picked up two bouquets of flowers: a dozen roses for Mindy, and mixed bouquet for Bella. I knew she’d like that. Of course I picked up some orange juice too. Traffic wasn’t a problem whatsoever. Arrived home near 535pm. Save for a bit of snow along the gutters, there was next to no sign of Friday’s storm remaining. Felt like spring out, too.

Presented Mindy with the roses. Bella wasn’t immediately available to receive hers. Headed back to my car to carry in the paint as well as the stuff I picked up at Target and home Depot. Mindy suggested we order Sporano’s for dinner and then take Bella to her restaurant of choice another evening when she’s not feeling under the weather. Fine by me. Makayla was over playing with Bella. Gave her flowers. She gushed over them, and even helped her mom get them arranged in a vase.

I took a brief nap while Mindy ordered food from Sporano’s – spaghetti & meatballs for Bella, and two Michael Angelo’s for the rest of us to share. Didn’t take too long for delivery. Sometimes they can get way behind. But I guess it was a Monday. The sub was good, but it seems to me that they’ve cheapened it. Why do pizza shops do that? Used to be the best sub anywhere. After dinner, Mindy candled up some Sam’s Club brownies and we sang happy adoption day to Bella. Emily came down, so tow of Bella’s peeps were on hand for the festivities.

Mindy presented both Jacob & Bella small adoption day gifts, Bella, a thing of Reese Cups, and Jacob a bag of Lindt truffles. There was a family gift, too, a 100 piece jig saw puzzle. I had to wonder what I did to deserve that. I abhor jigsaw puzzles. :)

I ate two brownies. Yum! After dessert, I headed upstairs and changed into my PJs. While Mindy, Bella and Makayla got started on the jigsaw puzzle, I cracked my book in the living room recliner. I read about 5 pages before taking another brief nap. I woke with stiff neck. Yikes! I plopped down on the floor lying flat on my back for a spell. Ahh! Now that felt great.

Afterwards, I did a little surfing but eventually joined Mindy & Bella in the family room. It was somewhere near 830pm when Mindy headed up to bed. She asked that I make sure Bella was in bed by 9pm. We watched an episode of How It’s Made. Can’t recall just what though. Bella headed up to bed as requested while I stretched out on the sofa. I, of course, fell asleep again but woke around 1015pm and headed up to bed.