Trimming My Do

Summing up January
5 days above 60
2 days above 50
5 days above 40
10 days above 32 but below 40
9 days below 32
low 7
high 67
6 ski days
In what's seemingly becoming the new norm, I wasn't up and out of bed until almost 550am. The return of cold and snow was visible from the master bath window. I could see a light coating of snow blowing around on neighboring rooftops. In no time at all, I whipped out sit-ups, windmills, then curls. Exercise behind me, I headed to the PC with a hot cup of coffee.

There I played for about 25 minutes. It was cold alright, 25 degrees and very breezy. The wind chill was 1 above. It was snowing a little bit, too, but wasn't expected to accumulate beyond what we currently had, which amounted to little more than a dusting. Meditation and stretching were next. I took my dear old time, not finishing until 645am or so. I dressed warmly for my run, once again sliding into my long johns, gloves and ear covers. I opted to skip an extra upper layer, going with just two, a thick winter wicking shirt and light jacket. The cold wind cut right through it, especially right out the door. I adjusted quickly, however, and then was comfortable for most of the 4.1 mile run.

Back at home, I went after the pug, who was still sleeping with Bella. Speaking of Bella, she was staying home from school with Mindy. Both now sick. The night before, Jacob and I accused Bella of faking but Mindy said her temperature was 102.1. Hmm? After a quick walk of the pug, I returned for a shower and then breakfast. That's right. I changed things up a bit, not having my eggs until after a shower.

After my shower, Mindy was awake and decided to get up and come downstairs with me. Still felt bad but better than the prior two days. She sat and had coffee at the table while I enjoyed breakfast. Said she had to find the strength to return to school on Friday to finish grade cards and data entry.

I warmed the Accord then headed upstairs to brush my teeth and gargle after eating breakfast. I also garnered the courage to attempt a fix of my bad haircut. The girl at Saturday's left my bangs uneven and way too long. A few places along my part were too long as well. Looked like a nugget head after the usual blow dry. I didn't trim away that much but the front looked far better when I was done. I left for the office around 845am, but not before grabbing my Macy's gift card and the 15% off coupon that came in the mail. Bella was still in bed and without as much as a peep.

Arrived at the office near 905am. Had a couple calls I needed to join and then a one on one with my boss to go over my 2012 performance review. That wasn't until 130pm which put a crimp in my plan to run to Macy's at 1pm. I waited until our brief meeting was over. No surprises. I was happy with my review. Back to my office, I followed up on a couple emails then bolted for Macy's.

A customer exec called my blackberry during my drive to Macy's. I apologized for being out of pocket but still did my best to help his issue remotely. I sent an email to the NOC supporting his corporation asking them to assist. Promised to look into it further upon my return to the office.

My plan was to pick out a new pair of jeans, possibly a new pair of casual dress shoes, and possibly even a couple new bath towels. I went for the jeans first. All along, my plan was to go with something other than the standard blue Levi's. I tried on four or five pairs and ended up buying two - a pair of tan Levi's and then some trendy jeans that have to be washed inside out and hung to dry. Looked at shoes next, but found none that I absolutely loved. Opted to bail on the shoes. Picked up four thirsty new bath towels - two violet, two deep purple. Back to work.

I brought a pack of tuna and cheese chunks for lunch. I ate that as soon as I was back in my office. I also followed up on that escalated problem from earlier. Things were moving along just as I hoped. It turned out being a very active afternoon. I worked through a few escalated issues and then joined the weekly staff call at 415pm. I had to drop a call from Mindy on my personal cell phone while in route to Macy's earlier to take that Blackberry call. I finally got around to calling her back right after our staff call.

Said Bella seemed to be doing a little better but that she would be staying home again Friday. Wanted to know if I would stay at home/work from home. As for herself, said she was feeling a little bit better but still tired and coughing. She sounded better than she did all week. Was even making dinner for the first time all week - sloppy joe's. When pressed, I figured I would be leaving the office for home around 5pm.


Things got a little busy towards the end of my day and subsequently wasn't able to wrap things up until 525pm. When I left, there was close to a 1/2" of fresh fluffy snow on the ground and the temperature approaching the teens. The roads were extremely slick. In fact, I darn near slid into the intersection leaving our lot. Hit a few heavy snow squalls on the drive home.

I called Mindy to let her know that I was going to be later than originally thought. We didn't talk long. I called my mom next, who I hadn't talked with for more than a week. She sounded good. Talked about her knee/leg issue. Her doctor put her in some ankle brace but she doesn't think it's helping much. Otherwise, though, she said the swelling in her knee has gone down significantly. She knew from Facebook that Mindy was sick and wanted to make sure that I wished her well. She also shared that she sent a happy adoption day wish to Bella via Facebook. She asked if I had seen it. Nope, not a Facebook guy. We talked until I arrived home. Wished her well, told her that I love her.

Inside, Mindy was busy in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on our sloppy joe's. Bella was lounging on the sofa and Jacob apparently up in his room. It wasn't too long before dinner was ready. I opted to put together my own sloppy joe. Mindy baked frozen crunchy french fries too. They were decent. I had two sloppy joe's , the second with only half a bun.

I took care of clean-up right after dinner, which was comparatively simple. Mindy and Bella were in the family room watching Disney TV when I slipped off to the living room to read and nap. I slept for just a flick, waking around 715pm and quietly slipping upstairs and into bed. I turned on the bedroom TV watching an episode of How It's Made. I fell asleep again too. I woke around 810pm and watched The Universe. Come 9pm, just as Mindy & Bella were finishing up watching American Idol and preparing for bed, I rolled out of bed catching my second wind.

I was anxious to head back downstairs to play and possibly even have a drink. I ended up pouring a Jack & Coke. After tucking Bella into bed, Mindy joined me downstairs but only briefly. I'll bet it wasn't even 5 minutes. Was sad to read online that the boy we saw wreck in the X-games last Thursday died from complications from his injuries. I remember thinking when he got up and walked away that he probably shouldn't be walking. Yikes!

Mindy headed up to bed around 915pm, and I moved to the sofa where I tuned into The Universe again. There were at least two hour long episodes back to back. I just can't get enough of it. Love it! I watched until I started getting sleepy again, which was right at 10pm. I finished what was left of my drink then headed up to bed.