Snow Melting Fast

I rolled out of bed near 535am even though I really wanted to sleep a bit longer. I glanced out the bathroom window while brushing my teeth and was happy to see that the roads were almost completely cleared of the remaining snow. Soon I was downstairs engaged in exercise, whipping out sit-ups, windmills, and curls.

Enjoyed coffee and internet next. The current temperature was 33 degrees. Expecting sunshine and clouds with a high near 40 degrees. Supposed to reach as high as 60 on Sunday. Delivered Mindy’s coffee near 615am. She was slow to motivate. Headed upstairs around 640am, or just before leaving for my run and she was still in bed. Said she was still going to school/work.

Before my run I did a healthy meditation and stretch. Both felt terrific. Was out the door for a run by 645am. I ran the full 4.1 miles. Aside from a few cul-de-sacs, all the roads were clear making for a pretty easy run. Bella was up even before I left on my run. I half expected that she would’ve walked the pug. That wasn’t the case. I leashed her up and headed out again as soon as I returned home. Mindy was already off to school.

My eggs were waiting in the microwave. I hit them for 10 seconds which was just right. Enjoyed the eggs along with an assortment of fresh fruit. Hurried through breakfast then off to the shower. Wore jeans and one of my many black sweaters. Very comfortable. Had enough time to pack my lunch before heading out to the bus stop. We walked out near 810am.

Kenny was out with Makayla, Chrissy still recovering after knee surgery. Kenny asked if we planned to be home that evening. Offered to come over and look at my framing questions relative to the basement finishing project. I very appreciate the assist. We actually had plans to though. Supposed visit Jacob’s new middle school in preparation for the next school year. However, Mindy mentioned that we might skip it since they typically do another a couple weeks before school starts in August. We also needed to get Bella to and from gymnastics. Kenny said he planned to confirm the school open house thing because it impacts Lillian too. The bus showed up on time.

Back at the house, I needed to join an 830am conference call. Rather than join from the road, I simply waited and enjoyed coffee until 830am and joined the call from home. The call lasted about 30 minutes, after which I quickly tied up all the loose ends then headed out to warm the Accord. Just before backing out the drive, I discovered that I left my personal phone inside. Rather than leave without it, I headed back in to get it despite having to disable then re-enable the security system. Arrived at the office near 920am.

My boss stopped in to chat shortly after I was settled. We talked for quite a while. Spent the lion’s share of my day on monthly reports, though joined another planned conference call at 11am. I didn’t bother taking a formal lunch break, though did take a little time to do some personal writing during the late afternoon.

Kenny celled mid-afternoon to share what he learned about the middle school open house. As expected, they’ll have another on come August. I thanked him for the information and figured to call him that evening to come down and look at the basement with me.
Left for home shortly after 5pm. Walked out with my boss. Reminded him that I was working at one of my customer locations on Friday. He shared how excited he was for the warming trend and the fact that spring is in the air. Indeed it is. Called Mindy on my drive home. I told her about what Kenny learned. I think she said we got something in the mail about it too. She planned to drop Bella at gymnastics and have me do the pick-up. I expected as much. Said we were having leftovers for dinner. We had quite a bit, too. Swiss steak, PF Chang’s, The Pearl, etc. I planned to reheat my leftover Cuban from The Pearl.

Mindy, Bella & Jacob left for gymnastics soon after I got in the door. Jacob went along just for the ride. Just before they walked out the door, Mindy asked if I would reheat a plate of Swiss steak for her. Sure, dear. While they were away, I played around online, including checking out the stock market’s strong performance. It’s at an all-time high, finally passed the high from back in 2008.

Mindy and Jacob were back shortly after 6pm.Their timing was perfect. Mindy’s plate of Swiss steak and mashed potatoes was on its last 20 seconds in the microwave. She seemed to appreciate having her dinner waiting and ready. However, the gesture was somewhat spoiled by Jacob requesting she make him a ham, cheese and tomato sandwich. She took care of that before sitting down to her own meal. I microwaved my leftover Cuban too. It wasn’t very good at all, even though I finished it. Had a dab or two of the mashed potatoes too. They were terrific.

By the time we finished eating and the kitchen was back in order, it was close to 630pm. Rather than call Kenny, I plopped down in the family room chair where I took a nap. Slept for at least 30 minutes. Mindy headed upstairs and was never seen again. I think she was reading or watching TV from bed. I woke around 706pm. Needed to leave after Bella in short order. I used the next few minutes to wake-up.

Headed out the door at 715pm sharp. Hollered up the stairs alerting Mindy of my departure. It was somewhat warm. Had to be close to 40 degrees. And even though it was dark, I could see a slight hint of daylight resting on the western horizon. With this weekend’s time change, it won’t get dark until almost 8pm next week. Of course daybreak will be delayed an hour. I’m not really looking forward to the spring ahead thing. It’s always a tough adjustment, effectively having to wake an hour earlier.

Arrived at Gotta Flip at 724pm. I got to watch Bella’s last practice run on the trampoline. Wasn’t so good. Bella ran to my side. Soon after, I was approached by a hefty woman with a clipboard and list in hand. Asked if I was there with Bella. Yes. She immediately went into some spiel about all parents needing to bring a hot dish to the gym meet on Saturday. Before I could say a word she added that it needs to be there by 9am. I was laughing inside. I gave her the blank stare. Suggested she call Mindy. Why is it our responsibility to feed the coaches and judges? By the looks of the judges usually at these meets, they don’t ever miss a meal. They’re all heavy! If it’s up to me, we won’t be feeding them. We spend a lot of money for Bella to participate. Let the judges buy their own lunch, just like the rest of us. We’re already signed up to assist with various chores.

Saw Connie McVey on the way out. She was there dropping Lane. Apologized for not calling and coming after Lane thus saving her the trip. She had to being the two younger boys too. She only replied that she could’ve taken Bella home. We should probably work something out where it’s a win-win routinely. Bella shared that she was super hungry. When I suggested she have her leftover grilled cheese and fries from The Pearl, she cheered in delight.

As soon as we got home Bella asked me to warm up her leftovers. She wanted the grilled cheese in the microwave but the fries in the oven via the pizza stone. Can you say high maintenance? Mindy was still up in bed watching MASH. I stopped up briefly to change into my PJs. I told her about the hot food request from the woman at the gym. I headed back downstairs to tend to Bella.

Bella woofed down her dinner then snacked on pickles and cheese. She was bouncing off the walls about her first school dance taking place Friday night. She asked if she could use her assortment of fabric paints on an old pair of black sweat pants. Said that she and her gal pals are all wearing black and neon colors. Sure, why not? I got her set up at the kitchen table, protecting the table with a large trash bag. She went wild with the paint but did a good job not getting it everywhere. She took some pics with her iPhone and sent them to her pals.

Once I finished helping Bella and she was off to the shower, I got comfy on the sofa watching the Science Channel. I can’t remember what the first program was about but only got to see about 5 minutes of it as 9pm neared. At 9pm a program about asteroids and meteorites came on. Mindy came down a few minutes later to see if I was ready for bed. Not even 910pm, I wasn’t. I stretched out on the sofa where I watched TV until I drifted off to sleep. I woke once when Bella came down for yet another snack. Scared me! She was making all sorts of noise. I easily fell back asleep and didn’t wake again until very near 11pm when I secured the home and headed for bed.