Bella's B-Day

 

 

Happy 11th, Bella!

I was up before 540am and downstairs a few minutes later. It was Wednesday which meant that I'd be working across town and wanted to be there by 9am. After a brief peak at the sky from the deck I completed calisthenics. Push-ups were part of the day's package.

Since I was up early enough, I had plenty of time to enjoy coffee and internet before waking Mindy. 20-25 minutes I poured her some coffee then headed upstairs to wake her. Back downstairs I jumped right into meditation and stretching. Knocked both of those out by 630am. For the first time in more than a week, I headed out for a run by 640am, which used to be my usual time.

I ran 4.1 miles under the cover of darkness for a majority of the run. It wasn't until the three mile mark that the sky brightened. It was Bella's official birthday. She and Mindy were in the kitchen while I went after the pug's leash. I gave Bella a sweaty birthday hug then hollered for the pug, who until that point was still luxuriating in Bella's bed. Bella shared that her actual birth time was 1205, though she never specified am or pm. Mindy had just assumed am, but alluded to not knowing for sure. My guess was 1205pm given that they didn't have an am or pm designation with the time. That usually means military time whereas 1205am would be 00:05. Not that it really matters.

Our walk was fruitful yet brief. We were back home in time to sing happy birthday to Bella once more, again sliding a single candle into the last of the apple pie. Mindy left for work shortly thereafter, and I sat down to enjoy my cheesy scrambled eggs. We slid some into the pug's bowl too. Bella asked if I was going to shower before or after. After bus time.

The next half hour moved swiftly. Headed out to the bus stop at 755am where we met the others. I asked Anne, one of the bus stop mother's for a time check just as the bus pulled away. It was 809am. Back home for a shower. Was ready to leave the house by 835am.

Took 670E. Happily, no traffic snarls to slow my cross town drive. Arrived near 9am. Gorgeous morning for the rather lengthy walk from the back parking lot to the building. Inside, settled and logged on by 910am. Had our 930am call as usual. Lasted about 30 minutes. After the call, I spent the rest of the morning compiling the September monthly report. And like any other month, I get so immersed in the data that time literally flies by. It was after 1pm seemingly in the blink of an eye.

I left for a Lowes run at 110pm my main purpose being to get a bag of lawn fertilizer. While there, I carted two pumpkins, too. I was going to get Bella a bouquet of flowers, but figured she's much more appreciate a couple pumpkins. I wasn't shocked to find Lowes putting the finishing touches on this year's Xmas decorations. Each year seems to get more elaborate. I took a few minutes to peruse their wares. Decided to stroll a few aisles inside the main store as well. All totaled, spent about 30 minutes there.

Back at the office by 155pm. Washed my hands then grabbed my cheese and veggies from the fridge. Promptly picked up where I left off prior to lunch. Stayed focused on monthly reporting all afternoon. Called it a day at 455pm and packed for home. Headed out the door a few minutes later. It was a lovely, warm late afternoon. Like most drives home, I opted for the tried and true 270 route. Tried calling Mindy once I was safely merged into traffic. No answer. She called me back about 5 minutes later. Said she was just out of shower after doing her couple mile walk/run. By then the kids were already off to dinner with Jimaken. We didn't talk long. Our plan was to do date night at Barley's.

I tried calling Tommy next, but my Honda Handsfreelink locked up. Couldn't use the interface. Couldn't listen to my car stereo either. Dang it. Arrived home near 535pm. I turned off the ignition hoping to reset the Handsfreelink and stereo. Took two tries to get it working again. Hmmm? I carried in the pumpkins and fertilizer stashed in my trunk. Mindy was still putting the wraps on her shower. She was downstairs and ready to leave for Barley's a few minutes later.

Arrived at Barley's near 6pm to a parking lot only about halfway attended. Equally, about half the barstools were available. I ordered a Pale ale, and Mindy ordered the Epic Fermentation w/o Representation pumpkin porter after trying a sample. It's very similar to S.T.'s, Warlock. We also ordered a basket of fries with a side of buffalo sauce. Made the mistake of checking my blackberry. Received an email that I felt obligated to respond to. It wasn't a big deal but somehow soured my after work mood. While I worked, Mindy stepped out on the patio to chat with some Barley peeps.

We ordered food shortly after she returned to her stool. She ordered a brisket quesadilla that we intended to share and I ordered just the soup-of-the-day, a roasted red pepper gouda cheese soup. By the name alone, I expected it to be a cheese based soup. It was not. Instead, it was tomato based. It was decent but not what I expected/anticipated. Full of fries, soup and beer, I ate just one section of the quesadilla. We both ordered 2nd beers. Was a little surprised that Mindy didn't bat an eye when asked. She usually pauses before ordering a 2nd. The pumpkin porter is 8% abv.

We left for home around 740pm after I paid the tab. Kids weren't yet home when we walked in. I quickly rushed upstairs to change out of my work clothes and into comfy stuff. I brushed my teeth, too. Downstairs again, I was surprised to find the pumpkins I knew I'd sat on the kitchen table when I first arrived home from work earlier now resting on the kitchen floor. I hollered up to Mindy asking why she did that. Seconds later I heard the kids giggling. Turns out, they quietly arrived home while we were upstairs changing and moved the pumpkins as a joke then hid. Good one!

Jacob soon woofed down what remained of our Barley's quesadilla. I soon stretched out on the living room floor flat on my back never intending to fall asleep but instead just relaxing. Feels heavenly. Not sure why, but Mindy soon got the urge to leap on me just before she was heading upstairs to bed. She also showed me a lengthy video Bella made from her phone. Based on the context, it had to be planned. Very creative. I didn't catch any of the audio, however. And when Bella came into the livingroom and noticed we were watching the video she made she immediately tried to strong arm the phone from Mindy to delete it. I suggested Mindy allow me to download the video and upload it to YouTube. Bella withered in pain over the thought. It was very goofy video. I joined Mindy in bed around 930pm, or just after Bella headed to her room.