Bella's Shock Treatment

Woke around 545am feeling pretty darn good. Skies were cloudy, and it was right at freezing. Expected to reach near 50 by afternoon. Did exercises: sit-ups, windmills, and curls. Coffee and PC time next. Enjoyed that for about 20 minutes.

Meditation and stretching were next. Still a dull kink in my neck and back ever since my tumble a couple weeks prior at MRM. Once again, I did a little work from home following up on some important project related activity that took place over night. Largely a success. That was a relief! Didn't leave for a run until almost 7am. Ran the full 4.1 miles.

By the time I arrived home Mindy had already left for work. But this I expected. Bella leashed up the pug and I took her on a walk. Uneventful. Returned home for eggs. Running late. Opted to wait and shower after seeing Bella onto the bus. That was uneventful, too.

Done with my shower and ready by 845am. Threw my new tan Levi's in a Macy's bag along with my receipt. I planned on returning them at lunch. They're defective. The outside seam on the left leg runs across my knee cap when I sit. Feels and looks awkward, and I paid $50 for them. Heck no! I didn't have the tags and didn't bother washing them. I envisioned them giving me a hard way to go.

Did a little more work then left for the office around 9am. If Wednesday was crazy, Thursday was even worse. I was tied up and busy until just after 2pm. Finally had a chance to take lunch and ran to Macy's to return those jeans. If I was expecting a fight, I was disappointed. They were most gracious. The guy even got a chuckle out of the problem. What's worse, when he went after another pair to get the UPC code, they looked more worn than the pair I returned. They didn't have another pair in my size so long story short, I opted for a credit to my VISA. No hassle whatsoever.

There was a lot going on so I headed back to the office. My afternoon wrapped up around 5pm. I had to hurry home. Since Mindy was holding parent/teacher conferences, I needed to see Bella to and from gymnastics. But when I called the home phone on my drive home Bella informed me that she felt to ill still to go to gymnastics. Had a headache too. She even went as far as calling her dad to learn how to doe herself with liquid ibuprofen.

That made my evening a lot easier, though that was the least of my concerns. Jacob was off playing with the neighbors when I got home. Bella was sitting around watching TV. Asked if we could go to Barleys for dinner. I figured we could but only after taking care of a couple min projects first. Bella helped me replace the simmer switch for the three pendant lights hanging over the island. We went back to a regular switch because the dimmer doesn't work with CFLS and it also made a high pitched squeal. Bella was surprisingly interested in the electrical work and actually helped quite a bit. The switch replacement was a breeze.

Next, she and I replaced the plastic ivory wall plates with new nickel wall plates. She did most of that all by herself. Got the pictures to prove it. Jacob got home while we were still in progress. He agreed to walk the dog before we left for dinner. Both kids were well behaved and anxious to head to dinner.

Left for Barley's around 615pm. Cant' recall the last time it was just us three out for dinner. We took a booth in the corner. Saw lots of regulars, including friend Doug H. sitting at the bar with another fellow. I didn't bother talking with any of my peeps. Instead, we hung as a family.

Jacob and Bella both ordered Dr Peppers and chicken tenders. I ordered a Bitter Dan and the Thursday special, a reuben. Our food was good. We ate fast. I'll be we weren't there for more than 45 minutes. Can't recall the girls name who waited out table - cute, lots of ink and body piercings. I took half my Reuben home.

Home around 715pm, Bella watched TV while i fooled around online. Jacob was off to his room. Mindy got home around 830pm after an extra long school day. I suggested that I might work from home on Friday, or possibly even just for a couple of hours early. It was a house cleaning day and I didn't want to be in Joe's way.

Dosed on the sofa while watching a little TV. Woke with Mindy and the kids already in bed. Headed there myself just after 10pm.