Hand in Hot Coffee

I wasn't up, out of bed, and downstairs until almost 605am. Ritualistically, I stepped out onto the deck to glance skyward. Yep, still there. :) Waxing half moon along with hundreds of brightly lit stars. Another gorgeous early autumn morning. Back inside for calisthenics. Done with sit-ups, windmills, curls by 615am. Headed upstairs to wake Mindy with coffee. She was out cold so I placed her hand in the hot coffee wondering if it might make her pee. Nope. No pee, but it did piss her off. Not sure what it is but I am getting this sneaking suspicion that she wants me all to herself.

Downstairs for a little coffee of my own along with some internet time. Played online for quite a while. Decided that I wasn't going to rush around. Instead, I planned to hold off on my run until the peanut was safely on the school bus. That gave me nearly 90 minutes to play, relax, meditate and stretch. Jacob left for school around 650am then Mindy around 730am. Bella and I headed out at 755am. Reminded her that we no longer needed to be out at 752am. The bus hasn't shown up before 8am for a while now.

Received a bitter email from someone essentially chastising me for asking a daughter to be accountable, responsible, pay her bills, etc. Imagine that? The nerve of me. :) Sometimes in life you know you're doing the right thing when a given faction responds negatively. Thanks for the encouraging email. Bazinga!

Headed out on a run near 830am. It was a glorious morning, by then about 53 degrees under crystal clear skies. I ran the full 4.1 miles feeling physically, psychologically fantastic. Had I not needed the Accord later that afternoon, I would've driven the BM'er. As it was, I planned a trip to ASBCO to pick-up our tuned skis at lunch. Instead of rushing immediately off to the shower, I fried a few eggs for the pug and I. We enjoyed what was left of our peaceful morning at home.

I showered and left for work around 940am arriving just before 10am. I was quickly settled and busy digging into my day. Had a couple meetings to join via conference call so I closed my door. One was training related. Stayed busy until I left for ASBCO at 110pm.

I got the sense right away that something was amiss. Eric brought out just one pair of our four sets of skis. I asked if there might be a problem. He looked concerned and went to question another employee. I knew something wasn't right. Turns out, they botched the ski boot repair work order. Hadn't completed the work, a case of one hand not aware of the other. Eric apologized profusely, sharing that he didn't realize the part was already in. Said they'd have to keep my boots and skis since they need to perform a release check on the skis after the sole plates are replaced on the boots. In addition to all that, they had Bella's skis mixed up with someone else's. I pointed out that the ones he brought out weren't ours.

Eric offered to have my skis and boots delivered to the house when done saving me the trip. No thanks. It happens. Besides, it's not like I was planning a ski trip this coming weekend. Now had I ....
I asked if the 20% sale currently underway included skis too. Said not, only apparel and accessories. Darn. I'm really liking the 2014 Line Francis Bacons.

Headed back to the office arriving near 2pm. Grabbed my cheese and carrots from the fridge just around the corner. Enjoyed my lunch while digging back into work. My buddy Chris stopped by to chat around 245pm. We talked skiing for a while. He's a bigger fanatic than I. Already booked his annual Mt. Bachelor ski trip. Had a one on one scheduled with my boss at 330pm. Walked over at 320pm hoping we might get an early start. The boss and I met for about an hour. I had quite a list of topics to discuss including my personal development goals for 2013. A little behind. Yikes!

Wrapped up my day near 510pm then headed for home. Called Mindy shortly after hitting the road. We were having pork roast for dinner. I helped prep it after she loaded it into the crock-pot before leaving for work earlier. I added lots and lots of garlic, salt, tenderizer, and rosemary before I left for work. Mindy shared that my dad was joining us for dinner. Haven't seen him since my birthday celebration. We were planning to eat until about 615pm since Mindy had to run Bella to gymnastics. We passed on our street, me pulling in, them pulling out.

With the little time I had before Mindy got back I put away her & Bella's freshly tuned skis then organized the associated paperwork. Dad arrived shortly thereafter. We chatted for a few minutes, me helping him figure out a problem he's been having when drafting/sending texts. Easy fix. He was drafting his text in the "to:" box. :)

Mindy was back home at 610pm and quickly dished up dinner. It was just the three of us since Jacob was at soccer practice. Dad gave us an update on his arthritis and the new treatment he'll be undergoing. Expensive, even after Medicare benefits. It'll cost him $220 per month, or $2650 per year. I recognize that's not as bad as it could be but it serves as an eye opener for what's to come. Sad that we must plan to spend a great deal of our retirement savings on medical expenses.

The pork roast was phenomenal - moist, tender, and really tasty, one of the best ever. Mindy served B.E. mashed taters too. The only thing that could've made it better was the addition of cooked carrots. I should've thrown some in before work. I love cooked carrots. Dad asked about our tree removal. I shared the no-show story and then that it was rescheduled for the coming Tuesday. Said he'd like to be on site to witness the work. That made Mindy smile because she suggested I call dad and let him know the date figuring that he would be entertained by the trees coming down. Mindy also suggested dad stick around until the kids arrived home from their events. I left to fetch Bella around 715pm. Dad was noncommittal as to whether or not he'd still be there upon my return.

I got to Gotta Flip by 725pm. It doesn't take long at that hour. Watched Bella do her double-mini routine. Somehow she slipped by me on the way out. Hid behind another kid. Much to Bella's dismay, we headed for home listening to Laugh USA for the entire drive. Well, actually, I gave in and put the XM on The Pulse a few blocks from home. Dad was still at the house. Jacob was home too, and Mindy busy making his dinner, a pork roast wrap.

Dad stuck around until just before 8pm. He mentioned the premier of the new Robin Williams sitcom. Got the impression that he was eager to get home and watch that as well as some other prime time TV. Good for him! We tuned into the season premier of Big Bang Theory - back to back episodes. There was also Thursday night NFL. We watched both episodes of Big Bang (very funny) and then Robin Williams' new sitcom. It was funny but I don't think I could watch it religiously.

Mindy was off to bed around 930pm. I stayed up enjoying some popcorn after she and Bella headed upstairs. However, the smell proved too over whelming and soon brought Bella back downstairs. I filled her large cup with popcorn then sent her on her way. She returned for more, sneaking up on me and my bowl. I snatched her sneaky little hand! :) Might've stayed downstairs until 1030pm before calling it a night and heading up to bed. Good night half moon!