The Incredible Life of Jimindy

Home Again Home Again

2012-02-12T23:59:00.001-05:00

We're Back!

And We're Off!

2012-02-04T11:55:00.004-05:00

Taking Flight!

I woke around 430am feeling surprisingly well rested. I tried unsuccessfully to fall back asleep eventually realizing it fruitless. Somewhere near 5am I rolled out of bed, brushed my teeth, then headed downstairs. My breathing felt a little constricted, but somewhat better than it was the past few mornings. I thought about starting coffee but still wasn't convinced that I was done sleeping.

I logged onto my PC first checking email then editing my blog. After about 40 minutes online I headed to the sofa where I turned on the TV to the Science channel in anticipation of a program on the life of Einstein that was slated to begin at 6am. I got to see about the first 15 minutes before falling asleep. I slept until 715am and then fell asleep again until 745am when I got up once and for all.

I started some coffee then carried on with my morning like most other Saturday's by spending more time online and updating my blog with the entries I edited earlier. The girls had been making noise in Bella's room since around 6am. But sometime after 8am the noise stopped. I guessed they fell back asleep.

Bella let Eiknarf out of her room and brought to me downstairs. I fooled around online until almost 9am when I took Mindy some coffee just before taking Eiknarf out for a walk. Mindy was grateful for the coffee. I shared that I had already checked us in for our late afternoon flight and was rewarded with group "A" boarding passes. I chose not to check Tommy in not knowing that we'd see him prior to the gate. You print a boarding pass and you're done. You can't get another at the ticket counter. Eiknarf I walked casually to the west where she took care of business. I saw that one of our neighbors has a 2010 Chevy Cobalt for sale. Says only 4300 miles. Odd! I may asked what they're asking if I see them. Can't hurt to ask. But if I've learned anything, it's buyer beware!

Mindy and the girls were up by 930am and all downstairs. I heard the girls ask Mindy to make pancakes. I dressed and left for a run around 10am. It had just started to rain and was expected to keep it up for t he better part of the day, the first such rain in about a week. Because it was raining, I opted to run in my old running shoes. No way I wanted the maiden voyage in my new ones would be in the rain.

I ran three miles in moderate rain wearing some back-up running gear. I actually have multiple sets. I was comfy throughout, the temperature near 37 degrees. Felt a little cooler. Back at home, the kids were finishing up their pancakes. I planned to have some but waited a while. While thinking about it, I sent Tommy & Darwin texts sharing that they may want to do an online check-in to insure preferred seating. Also reminding them that our seats from CMH to Chicago will be out seats all the way to Portland, too. Comfort is a priority on the final leg, especially.

Darwin responded quickly. Tommy did too, reminding me that his PC is down. I called him to ask if he wanted me to do it, but also shared the potential for problems. He opted that I not. He said he doesn't care where he sits. Reminds me of how dad talks about UK - doing all his prep last minute. Wasn't even sure about check-in bags. That's so not me. :)

I enjoyed a couple pancakes and leftover bacon form last Sunday around 11am. I started organizing my carry-on gear soon after, and then added some photos to my blog and even had time to write this entry. More later.

Wow, Now That's Fast

2012-02-03T23:59:00.010-05:00

I woke around 5am happily realizing that there was more sleep to be had. I closed my eyes expecting to sleep for another 25-30 minutes, but didn't wake again until 545am. A tad disappointed in myself, I leaped from bed and headed to the master bath where I scrubbed my teeth and collected my running clothes before bolting downstairs to get my morning going.

I still had to prep coffee, having not done so the evening before. That took a couple minutes. It was 555am before I cranked out the first sit-up, and then after 6am by the time push-ups were completed. My lack of discipline resulted in a shortened internet interval. I had to get back a few minutes somewhere. Overnight I got a confirmation email from Finishline that my running shoes shipped. I guess that was good news, though receiving them prior to our departure seemed out of the question. I checked the weather. It was much colder than I imagined, only 27 degrees. I figured it below freezing after seeing frost covering our deck.

I did a brief but fulfilling meditation ahead of waking Mindy and delivering her coffee. As expected, she requested that I crank up the heat. I should really buy a programmable thermostat. There not expensive and ideal for the way we manage the home's temperature. Note to self.

Downstairs for a stretch, it was already 630am. I ignored the clock instead taking the time I needed for a thorough stretch. I recently read a Yahoo article describing the benefits of a good stretch routine before exercise. It also defined two types of stretching that work well in tandem together - static and dynamic. Static is a stretch that is held in one position for a period of time, whereas dynamic is similar to rolling one's neck or ankles - movement. It was 640a or after when I finished and dressed for a run. I wore full winter attire. My running fleece was stinking to high heaven, especially the right arm pit. Really not sure why. You know it's bad when the wearer can't take it! P-U! I'm guessing it has something to do with what I've eaten because I don't recall sweating any worse lately. Begin Friday, there were only four days of running with it.

It was after 650am when I headed out the door. I knew I needed to clip my run back to three miles if I were to see Mindy before she departed. It was already dawn, a lovely sunrise was only minutes off. A tad chilly, but it was a gorgeous morning for a run. After curbing my run to only three miles I was home with enough time to start Mindy's car and walk the pug before she needed to leave.

Mindy was out the door before I even had a moment to sit. My eggs were waiting in the microwave. Lindsey sent a text earlier reminding me of parent/grandparent lunch with the students at St Mary Magdalene. It started at 11am. I agreed to do it, but was fretting somewhat about needing to be there at 11am. That would mean leaving work no later than 1030am. There's no simple/quick way to get there from Hilliard. I decided that working from home until time to leave for lunch would work well for all parties concerned. That way I wouldn't feel like I was just settled in at work before needing to leave. As soon as my breakfast was done I cranked up my work laptop. I took care of a few tasks including sending an email to my boss sharing my plan. He acknowledging soon after.

I worked until it was time to head out to the bus stop with the kids. There we met Kenny, who was out with Lilly and Makayla. He shared that his knee is doing lots better and that they didn't plan to visit MRM this weekend, so it would have even more time to heal. Reminded me that MRM was planning to have a giant outdoor screen set-up for Super Bowl viewing. Cool! Of course, Mindy & I will be on Mt Hood. The bus showed up on time, and Eiknarf and I headed back home. I did a little more work until about 830am then headed up for a shower. I did a little packing/organizing too. I suddenly remembered that it was a Rachel day. Funny, I didn't see a check left for her. I sent Mindy a text inquiring. I don't like being there when she's there to clean. And I know Rachel doesn't like it either. Seems to happen often - the day I choose to stay home is also her day to clean. Mindy soon sent a text back indicating that she attached the check to the fridge via magnet. Ahh, OK. Saw it.

I was showered and ready for work by 915am. Spent the rest of the morning balancing work and home. Left the house for lunch with the boys around 1035am. Meanwhile, it was a gorgeous morning - about 40 and sunny.

I should've expected it, but there were few parking spots anywhere close to the school. Lucky for me, I found one, though, across the street along the curb. I was early by five minutes. I headed inside to the office where I was told what to do. They paged the boys for me. A woman in the cafeteria downstairs must've recognized me from picking up the boys a time or two from after school care. She asked if I was there to lunch with the boys. Yes. She suggested I simply wait there. She also asked for my $2.50 lunch fee. OK. I offered to pay for the boys lunch too, but she quickly shared that they were already taken care of.

Rocky showed up first and was genuinely happy to see me. No hug, though. That's just not his nature. instead, he was more concerned about whether or not I would give him money for the snack machine. Unfortunately, I see so much of Charles' Michael in him. It's going to take a lot of parenting to steer him down the right track in life. I know all too well that it starts with spending quality time at events such as this. Soon Landon showed up. By then, Rocky and I already had our lunches. I waited for Landon before digging in. He was happy to see me. Asked if his momma was coming too. No. Not today. They both wanted to know if they could go home with me. :) No, I've gotta go to work. They didn't want to believe it. We were some of the first to eat. The cafeteria filled up fast. Rocky ate only his pasta and meat sauce. Had no interest in the salad, roll, or Italian ice cream. Kept working me for candy machine money. I resisted.

Knowing that space was limited, I upped with the boys and went for a walkabout the school. In the hall, I happened upon Mrs. Dent. We chatted briefly. I learned only earlier that she's teaching 5th grade this year. I checked out all the graduating class photos fining both Courtney & Lindsey (class of 96 & 00). For some reason, Lindsey wasn't in the class of 98 photo. I soon remembered that she was asked to leave Magdalene and came to live with me and attended Hilliard Weaver instead.

I was impressed that Rocky wanted to talk to his math tutor. She was kind - a bit odd - and asked if we needed help. As a matter of fact, yes. Where and what do I do with the boys? I needed to leave for work. She advised that I should take Landon back to the preschool across the street. Rocky could stay back at the cafeteria. Rocky wanted to walk with me to the preschool. As he does with Lindsey, he darted off across the street without even looking for cars. I made sure he held my hand as we crossed back. Off to work at 1140am.

Arrived at the office close to noon. I hit the ground running, picking up where I left off earlier while at home. I had a 2pm conference call scheduled with a customer. I was away from my office and got sidetracked not realizing my miss until 245pm. I felt awful and scurried back to my office and gave home a call. He was very forgiving for my tardiness. We dealt with the business at hand in the matter of minutes. Afterwards, we exchanged a couple emails making sure we were in synch relative to January month-end numbers.

I spent the last hour or so if my work day tying up loose ends before vacation. These days are always the best. However, I am careful to plan as much for my return as I do for my absence. Nothing worse than coming home to a mess and avoidable chaos. Talked with my boss around 430 confirming that I'd be out of the office next week. Come to learn, two other co-workers (sales guys) are off on ski trips next week, too. One I understand is headed to Bachelor, while the other off to Colorado.

I left for home at 520pm. It was fairly bright on my drive home. I called Mindy as I wound my way towards Target where I planned to pick-up some cough syrup (Delsym). She reminded me that Bella would be going to see Disney on Ice with Chrissy and the girls. They'll be in the company suite. That ought to be fun. The Delsym was ridiculously expensive, almost $10 for a little bottle. I opted instead for Dayquil, which contains the same cough suppressant as well as an antihistamine and it's was $3 less expensive and contained at least twice as much. The Delsym didn't seem to be cutting through my cough anyways.

I arrived home around 540pm. Always feels good to put the badge away for a spell. Resting on my computer chair were my new running shoes. Wow! Now that was fast. That made me very happy! Discussed doing Barley's for dinner, but only after some packing. Bella wasn't home too long before heading to the neighbors and the show. Jacob, meanwhile, complained of a stuffy nose. Uh-oh, a cold, no doubt. He still wanted to do dinner, though.

Mindy and I did some packing over the course of the next 30 minutes. My large suitcase filled in a hurry. Most of it ski and running stuff. Taking only one other pair of jeans, a couple sweaters, undies, socks. Still need to pack my carry-on but I won't do that until sometime Saturday. It was 620pm when we organized ourselves for dinner at Barley's.

The lot was chalked full. We had no choice but to park in the back 40. Mindy ordered a table, but I had no intentions of sitting. My plan was to stand. I'd been sitting all day long. The wait was significant. We headed to the bar where I ordered a Pale ale and talked with Calvin and Brie. Mindy greeted them, too but then made her way over to Jack & Leslie. Jacob hung with me and ordered a Dr. Pepper. After 10 minutes or so he and I found our way over to Mindy, Jack & Leslie. I'm thinking we were there 30 minutes minimum before the hostess came calling that our booth was ready. I reiterated my intentions to stand. We already had two bar stools at our disposal, Jacob taking one of them. Mindy agreed and gave our table up to others.

She & Jacob ordered food. Mindy & I both ordered second beers, the last for me since I agreed to drive home. Mindy ordered a salad topped with smoked chicken. Jacob ordered chicken tenders. I snacked on Jacob's leftovers but didn't order an entree for myself. We talked with Jack & Leslie for quite a while. They're a lot of fun, just like us. :)

Mindy settled our tab before we left for home around 845pm. Jacob and I pulled up at the door while Mindy was inside doing what she does best - talk! Nobody likes to point that out more so than Jacob. Bella was home a half hour after we got home. She asked if she could have a sleepover hosting all the neighbors. Mindy agreed. Soon we had four girls in the house. Jacob, meanwhile, complained of feeling miserable all the way home. I suggested he take some of my daytime Nyquil. Mindy laughed at my naming convention. "You mean Dayquil". Yes. Mindy agreed to dose him some Nyquil once we arrived home. She warned him that he would be asleep in 30 minutes. He denied any such affect.

As usual, I was incredibly hungry once back at home. I devoured my leftover Chipotle burrito then poured what was left of the growler in our fridge. I retired to the sofa where I tuned the TV to the NAtGeo channel but can't recall what I watched. Jacob watched too, and made sure to point out that a half hour had passed since he took the Nyquil. Mindy peeled off to bed citing being crazy sleepy. I promised to join her soon.

I could drink about half my pint for falling asleep. As I peeled off for bed, the girls were up in Bella's room giggling and playing. They had Eiknarf with them too. I was in bed before 1045pm. It felt more like a work night. By the way, the Dayquil I took when I got home from work worked like a charm. Felt almost normal.

Shades of Being

2012-02-02T23:59:00.006-05:00

I was up a little early again (that’s two days in a row) and downstairs byt 531am. I glanced out back where I could see a few stars then slipped into my exercise shoes just ahead of whipping out 50 sit-ups.

I waited a few minutes for the coffee to finish its brewing cycle then headed to the PC where I checked the weather. It was 34 degrees with an anticipated high near 50 degrees under partly cloudy skies. I played around online for quite awhile, not breaking away until after 6am. I’ve been battling a tight chest/throat since Monday and now a dry cough. I took some Delsym to hopefully curb the cough. The last thing I wanted was to vacation with a cold.

It was 615a when I finished a brief but good meditation. I headed upstairs to wake Mindy with her coffee in hand. She asked that I crank up the heat. Yes dear. I headed back downstairs, adjusted the heat, then completed a thorough stretch. The stretch felt great. I took a few extra minutes to roll a tennis ball under my left foot to help stretch the tendons.

I wore full winter attire for the run and headed out the door just before 640am. I ran the full 4.1 miles. I remembered that it was Ground Hogs day, and judging by the clear skies, I expected him to see his shadow, at least here in Columbus. It was completely clear with a beautiful sunrise coming. I was back at the house by 718am. Mindy hollered for the pug while I grabbed the leash and the Pilot keys. I headed out to start the Pilot before Eiknarf came downstairs, but she was waiting by the door when I got back inside. We headed out to the west where she took care of business in fairly short order. Mindy reminded me & the kids about her parent conferences and said she didn’t expect to be home until about 8pm. My dad was scheduled to get the kids off the bus and then stick around until I arrived home after work. She headed out at her usual time – 730am.

Bella and I finished our breakfasts then fed the pug. I headed to the shower and Bella to her room. Because of Wednesday’s internal strategy meeting, I rearranged my schedule so I could work at my customer’s site in New Albany today. I dressed accordingly. I was downstairs and ready ahead of 8am and quickly threw together a light lunch.

The kids and I headed to the bus stop at our usual time of 810am. Barely got a chance to talk with Kenny before the bus pulled up. Just like that the kids were gone and Eiknarf and I were headed for home. The first thing I did was start the Accord. It was coated in frost. I then spent a few minutes making sure I had my access badge, mouse and power cord to my laptop. I enjoyed part of a 2^nd cup of coffee then headed off to work. I knew leaving the house that I’d most likely need to join our weekly staff call from my car. It was slated to start at 9am.

It was a sunny drive east on 670 to 270N. Traffic wasn’t an issue. Arrived by 855am. There wasn’t anyway I could be in my office and settled before 9am, so I did our weekly staff call from my car in the lot. The call lasted beyond 30 minutes. Knowing that I had a 10am meeting with my customer, I sent my boss an IM letting him know that I was going to drop from the call for a greater good.

Things went pretty smoothly all day long. After finishing up our weekly meeting, I spent the rest of my day working on January monthly reports. Given that I’ll be out the first full week of February, it was critical that I got as much done before hand so I am not scrambling upon my return. I dealt with a couple escalations, too, but nothing out of the ordinary.

With the afternoon fairly calm, I was able to get out of the office somewhat early for a change, leaving for home by 430pm. I took 670W and didn’t experience heavy traffic until I neared the 670/70W split. It slowed to almost a standstill. Lucky for me, the slow down was just before the 33W exit off 670. I quickly diverted to that exit and took Riverside Dr. north to Trabue then home.

Must’ve gotten home just ahead of 5pm. My dad was there with Bella, both of them sitting in the familyroom with the TV on and Bella doing homework. Dad was helping her. I said nothing, just observed. Bella, I could see, was only half listening. I could see that one ear and eye was on the TV program. She knows doggone well that Mindy or I wouldn’t allow her to watch TV while doing homework.

Dad and I chatted briefly. Said Jacob was out playing with friends. Said he heard from mom, knew about her negative carotid artery test and then the cancelation of a bone scan. He didn’t hang out for too long. He asked for clarification on our travel plans, and then shared the days/evenings he would be there to help with the kids while Jimaken’s at school. I really appreciate him doing that for us. It’s nice that he’s so close and the kids like/enjoy him.

I took note that it didn’t get dark until about 610pm, but it comes on really fast. Days are getting noticeably longer. Bella ran off to play with her friends. I had the house to myself. I snacked on peanuts, cheese, and then a few potato chips. I watched perhaps the coolest program ever, A Journey to the Edge of the Universe on NatGeo. It didn’t dive too deep into any one thing but did a great job expressing the entire universe in terms most can relate to. I will recommend this program to many. It ran for about two hours. Later, when searching it via Google, I learned you can replay it from the web. Cool!

After the program, I changed out of my work clothes into my comfy night clothes and then took a brief nap on the sofa. Mindy called around 8pm to say that she was done with her conferences but was stopping at Target and then Chipotle for food. I asked that she call Chrissy and have her send Bella home. Said she would. Jacob had been home for a while and was up in his room playing video games with Evan, until his mother beckoned him. Bella was home a few minutes later and snuggled with me on the sofa while watching American Pickers. Jacob soon joined us.

Mindy got home around 840pm. She brought Jacob and I Chipotle. It was really good. Mindy asked me to check Bella’s homework. I was disappointed with her work, very careless mistakes. She needed to correct almost half the problems. I tried my best to put the problem in terms she could easily relate to. She struggles mightily with division.

No one asked about watching Idol, and I didn’t mention it. I cut my Chipotle burrito in half, and stowed what was left in the fridge. I ate darn near an entire bag of their chips, though. They’re so good! Mindy didn’t have anything. Said she ate earlier at school, a meal provided by the PTA, I believe. She changed into her PJs then started a load of laundry.

She was online for a while and watched part of Swamp People with me (alligator hunters). That’s a cool show, too. She was off to bed around 940pm. She asked if I was joining her. But having napped earlier, I got my second wind and certainly wasn’t ready for sleep. I figured to be along in 30 minutes or so. Can’t recall what I watched, but started getting sleepy within fifteen minutes of tucking Bella in. Fell asleep on the sofa and didn’t wake until somewhere near 11pm when I headed up to bed.

Meat Cache

2012-02-01T23:59:00.002-05:00

For the first time in a while, I was up and downstairs prior to 530am. Felt good. The coffee maker was set to auto-on at 530am, but I went ahead and manually started the brew process at 529am. I glanced out back unable to see any stars – cloudy.

I headed to the livingroom where in the matter of about 2 minutes I whipped out 50 sit-ups. Loosening my neck, arms, and shoulders along the way, I headed to the familyroom/kitchen to complete 50 push-ups. Done by 540am. I had to wait a few minutes for the coffee to finish brewing.

I checked the current temperature then the forecast. It was 48 degrees with an expected high of 52 degrees under partly cloudy skies. Nice! Supposed to hit 50 each day through Friday with an abundance of sunshine. And looking ten days out there isn’t a spec of winter weather on the way, either. I zeroed in on Saturday’s weather, both here at home and then in Chicago. Both venues will be sporting the upper 30s around our scheduled flight time. That means no flight delays, at least on account of the weather.

Checked email, read headlines, and then bought a pair of running shoes from Finishline online. Hope they arrive before Saturday, but not going to sweat it if they don’t. Redeemed my $20-off coupon.

Delivered Mindy’s coffee near 615-620am. She asked that I bump up the heat. I cranked it up a couple degrees on my way in to meditate and stretch. Despite being up on time, I managed to get behind thanks in part to ordering new running shoes. I didn’t finish meditation and a stretch until 640am. And then it was almost 650am before I headed out the door for my run.

I ran the usual 4.1 miles, once again wearing early spring attire (no hand or ear cover). It was a good run and went really quick. My thoughts turned to our fast approaching ski trip and then how quickly the work week was moving. I promised myself that I would start the packing process later that evening, not allow myself to get complacent. My goal will be to relax Friday night.

I figured there a good chance that Mindy would be gone by the time I got home, but she was still there. I stated the Pilot then leashed up the pug. We walked across the street where she spent about 5 minutes sniffing before finally doing her business. Mindy was backing out the drive as we made our way back to the house. She rolled down the window so we could exchange farewells and a kiss.

Inside, Mindy had fried eggs waiting in the microwave. Bella was still sitting at the breakfast table enjoying some peanut butter toast while Jacob was already off to his room. I finished my breakfast and fed the pug before heading up for a shower around 740am.

It was Wednesday and the sky was pretty much clear. What? Yeah, no rain! I would typically be spending Wednesday at a customer’s location, but our director was in town to go over our ’12 team strategy. I hadn’t met her prior and was looking forward to it. I dressed handsomely in black dress slacks and a purple button up dress shirt. Was back downstairs near 800am. Over the next few minutes I threw together a lunch then headed out to the bus stop with the kids at 810am. It was quite pleasant – sunny and mild, about 50 degrees. We met Kenny and the girls there. Kenny shared that his knee is now black & blue, but the swelling on the decline. Gave a full description of how it happened. Sounds like the tip of his board got caught in the snow after a small jump and threw him to the ground before he had much time to think. The inside of his left knee hit first. Said he thought it was bleeding immediately after the fall. Used adrenaline to board quickly to the lodge. Ouch!

Bus arrived on time. Kenny & I headed our separate ways. I was fairly quick to gather my things and head off to work leaving by 825am. I arrived at the office by 845am and was settled in ahead of 9am. Our all-day meeting wouldn’t start until 10am, so I made the most of the hour in front of me, pulling together all my monthly report data.

At 955am I headed to the large conference room where the regional team was already gathered. I saw introductions on the agenda, which made me cringe, but that never happened. I abhor that whole process. Our director got started around 1010am and spent the better part of 2 hours reviewing our organizational strategy and then road mapping how we’ll get there. She’s very passionate about the direction of our company as well as the role our team plays in achieving the desired results. That’s a very good thing!

We ordered lunch in, pizza and salad. We took about 30 minutes to eat before diving into some new tools and greater details for our road map. The entire session went until 345pm including closing concerns and questions. I was back in my office just ahead of 4pm where I worked through a couple issues I felt most important. It was 530pm before I knew it. I joined my boss and a peer in the hallway for an impromptu follow-up meeting to our earlier session. I ended up at the office until 6pm. Those two were still talking as I left for home. Told them my dinner was waiting.

Called Mindy as soon as I was on the road for home and out of the deadzone. Mindy had only recently arrived home after parent conferences at school. Kenny got our kids off the bus. Mindy said dinner was leftovers, and we had a plethora of them: spaghetti & meatballs, pork roast, pizza, etc. I was craving cream of chicken over rice. Offered to make it myself. Mindy had a lot of school work to get completed before Friday. This was a gymnastics night for Bella. I agreed to do both the drop and pick-up.

Arrived home around 620pm. Mindy was prepping leftovers as well as making my cream of chicken over rice. I thanked her, but also shared that I fully expected to make it. While she took care of warming dinner, I went ahead and packed our skis and ski boots for our trip. That took about 20 minutes. By the way, I decided to take just one pair of skis, my new ones.

It was almost 645pm and already time to run Bella to gymnastics. I planned to drop her off before having any dinner. We left the house near 650pm in the Pilot. Bella was pouting for most of the short drive. When I quizzed her why, she didn’t’ have an immediate response, but as we neared our destination she came clean. She told me that she was going to be 'dead meat'. Told her mom that she didn’t have any homework but just remembered that she had three math problems assigned that needed done along with reading a chapter in her book. First and foremost, I told her that she’d need to stay up until it was completed once we got back home later. And given Bella’s propensity to lie about such things, I let her know that she owned her behavior and would have to suffer any consequence. She repeated that she simply forgot. Oh boy!

DCW is located in a Hilliard strip mall. The place was completely dark when we pulled up. I was concerned that perhaps class was canceled. But Bella insisted this happens often. Said they’d show up soon. I glanced at the clock, it was still a couple minutes in front of 7pm. Sure enough, Emily, her instructor, pulled up in a pick-up along with another student. A pizza delivery guy pulled up at the same time. Apparently Emily ordered a pizza to be delivered to the studio. I confirmed everything was good then headed home.

Mindy was already finished eating and already sitting at her laptop busy making sub plans. My cream of chicken and rice was ready on the stove. I had two small bowls, and it was delicious! I asked her to use brown rice. It was a little dry, but more flavorful than the white Minute rice. After dinner, I cleaned the entire kitchen and then some. The clutter was driving me crazy.

I had the kitchen/familyroom in order near 745pm. I went to my PC where I updated my blog from the day before and then responded to a couple emails. It was after 8pm and time to go after Bella in the blink of an eye. Mindy & Jacob were in the family room watching Idol. I’ve already bored of it. Don’t plan to get too involved in it this season. I left the house around 825pm. Bella was on the trampoline practicing her first ever front flip and being coached by Shelly. When the moment was right I told Shelly how good a job she did delivering a eulogy at her grandma Lucy’s funeral. I went on to share how it might’ve been the happiest funeral I’ve ever attended. It truly felt like a celebration of one’s life rather than a sad experience. I gave her a hug, too.

Bella was in a far better place after gymnastics. I only shared that I had her math problems laid out on the kitchen table for her to complete once we got back home. That was my way of helping ease a difficult situation. She sucked it up and headed in still very concerned what her mom might say, or worse yet, what punishment she might dole out. I made sure she got started on her work then left the two alone. I don’t think Mindy made too big a deal of it.

Come 9pm, I poured Mindy and I each a beer from the growler we bought two weeks ago from CBC. It had been opened only once, so it was still reasonably fresh. Glad we didn’t have to dump it. I soon found my way to the sofa and the remote hoping to find The Universe on the History Channel. It’s usually on Wednesdays. To my surprise, it wasn’t on. Crap! I ended up watching a program about wolly mammoth fossils they found near Snow Mass, Colorado. The interesting part was that they believed it to be a ‘meat cache’ from the native people. The controversy is that the bones and ground around were dated to be as much as 45,000 years old, far earlier than any other remnants of humans in America. As for now, it’s just a hypothesis. Time and testing will tell.

Mindy and the kid headed to bed around 920pm. After getting the kids settled and tucked in, I returned to the family room to watch a little more TV. This time I watched a program about Great White sharks. A group of scientists actually dissected one on the shore. It was very detailed, and very interesting. Learned quite a bit. I stayed up until near 1040pm. By then my eyes were heavy enough for sleep. Good night half moon.

Bloggin' & Loggin'

2012-01-31T23:59:00.006-05:00

I slept late again by about ten minutes. I wasn’t downstairs until 845am. The coffee was prepped. I simply had to hit the go button. I glanced outside. It was cloudy.

Being Tuesday, I complete only 50 sit-ups. Without thinking, I did them in my slippers. It was already 555am by the time I poured some coffee and headed to my PC. Checked the temperature. It was a balmy 47 degrees. Expecting a high near 62 under partly cloudy skies. Very spring-like. I was online until 605am when I stopped to deliver Mindy’s coffee. She asked to be woken a little early to accommodate leaving the house early. Before heading back downstairs, I grabbed my pillow thinking I might try and get a bit more shut eye. Not sure why I’m feeling like I need more sleep lately.

I laid down on the sofa but for no more than five minutes. I was tired, but my mind was racing with work related issues. I got up to meditate and stretch around 625am. Completed both over the next 15 minutes. While stretching, I could hear the trash truck out front. I placed our can at the curb early the evening before. Given the unexpected warmth, I knew I needed to alter my running attire. I ended up sticking with the same layers but skipped hand and ear covers, opting instead for just a ball cap. I was out the door late – about 750am.

I still ran the full 4.1 miles and did so easily. Felt terrific. During my run I decided that I was going to work from home for the first hour or so of my day, and not because I was running behind, but because I had a couple to-do’s that I needed to knock out even before 8am. Mindy had already left for work by the time I got back home. That I expected given that she needed to leave early. The kids were fine and just finishing their breakfasts. I finished mine then logged onto my laptop.

I took care of those work related tasks around 8am, just as I planned. I headed out with the kids at 810a still in my sweaty running clothes. Chrissy asked if I was playing hooky. Nope! She also asked if we could keep Kayla later that evening while she got her hair done. Of course. Send her down. Said her ex-father-in-law would bring her by. The bus was a couple minutes early. Soon Eiknarf and I were on our way back home. It was a lovely morning, already 50 degrees with dappled sunlight shining through the thin cloud cover. Given the ideal weather conditions, I thought about taking down the Xmas lights, but decided against it when I weighed the amount of time it would take to do it start to finish – about an hour . That was time I really didn’t have.

Got done everything I wanted. I worked until about 9am before heading up for a shower. Back downstairs dressed and ready around 930am. I decided to take my time and drink in the lovely spring-like day. I didn’t leave for the office until almost 10am. With that 30 extra minutes, I took my freshly laundered ski pants outside and gave them a coat of waterproofing spray that’s made specifically for such items and was gifted to me last year from Bob I. Thanks Bob!

It was a lovely drive into the office. During the drive, my boss called to ask that I follow-up on an important issue he and I had been working on for the last couple of days. No problem. Advised that it was already on my radar screen. He shared that he'd be out of pocket for the better part of the day, but expected to be back in the office around 4pm.

My day went fairly well, especially after I took care of the two biggest work issues weighing on my mind. I was surprised when I checked the clock and saw that it was 1215pm. But considering that I spent the first couple hours of the day working from home, it made sense.

I forced myself to take a lunch break near 115pm when I headed to Tuttle Mall and Finishline to check out new running shoes. I printed off a $20 off coupon before leaving the house. As I typically do, I cut through Macy’s in route to Finishline. I was disappointed to see they a scant selection of Asics, and far less than before. They might’ve had about 6 choices. On the other hand, they had about 50 varieties of Nike running shoes. I found the model I wanted to try on, but not in the color scheme I preferred. But like I always say, the fit and comfort is far more important than the color. I asked to try on the mostly black Gel Nimbus 13 in a size 11. The kid returned a few minutes later with the size 11s. They fit well enough but felt a tad long in the toe. I asked to try a10.5. He returned a few minutes later with a 10.5 but in another color (black/red). The 10.5 fit perfectly. I knew then that I needed a 10.5 in this particular model but wasn’t prepared to settle for the color scheme in stock knowing full well that I can buy the ones I really want from their website and get free shipping. That’s what I opted to do.

I cut back through Macy’s in route to my car. And you can’t cut through Macy’s without doing a little shopping. I looked at dress shirts but bought nothing. Gone from work no more than 40 minutes, I decided to head back to the office.

I grabbed may packed lunch which I ate from the comfort of my desk while also digging in to a couple issues. The afternoon went along smoothly. As expected, my boss was back in the house late afternoon. We chatted briefly, me providing a status on the issue he and I had been working together.

The early evening went smoothly too. In kind, I was able to leave the office around 520pm. It was still warm but awfully breezy from the south. In fact, I was worried when I popped open my trunk to accept my backpack thinking it might come of its beefy hinges from the gusty wind. I called Mindy once I cleared the dead cell zone that ironically seems to surround our building. And once again, Bella answered. She and I chatted for a couple minutes, her sharing that she had a really good day. Eventually handed the phone to Mindy who was busy making dinner – salmon. I asked if she was grilling it. Nope – bake/broil.

I arrived home around 545pm. And since dinner was still several minutes off, I rinsed my lunch containers and prepped the following day’s coffee. I checked email too. Earlier in the day, while at work, I finally took a little time to program my Droid to receive my RR email. That should help me stay more connected to my personal life while on the road and at work. I double checked to make sure I still received a copy at home even after getting a copy via my Droid. I did. It wasn’t always like that years past. I took my ski pants back outside where I sprayed on a second coat (recommended) of waterproofing.

Dinner was ready shortly after 6pm. Mindy asked that I help by prepping drinks. Kayla’s grandpa dropped her off just before we sat down to dinner. She would be dining with us. Both she and Bella declined any salmon, opting instead for hotdogs. My salmon was cooked perfectly, pink, juicy, and tender inside, yet a tad crispy on the surface.

Mindy warmed sweet peas and French bread as well. I poured a dab of green Tabasco and peach mango salsa on my plate for dipping. Dinner was a delicious. Good job dear!

Clean-up took a little while, but not so much because there were a lot of dishes. Instead, I washed the drip pans for the stove burners. Every time Mindy makes chicken & noodles it boils over and gunks up the drip pans. I had to let ‘em soak for a while before I washed off the crud. I’m guessing that it was 7pm by the time I was done. By then, Mindy was busy working on sub plans for the following week while we're on our ski vacation.

I went to my PC where I responded to an email from Glenn about the pros and cons of skiing Sunday night at SkiBowl. He shared only that they typically have limited mountain access to which I reminded him that SkiBowl professes the largest night skiing area in America! Figured we can play it by ear, and if some want to watch the Super Bowl then fine.

I updated my blog through Monday. By then it had to be 730pm. Mindy soon joined me in the living room in the recliner. Eiknarf jumped up in her lap like she often does. At the same time, I plopped down on the floor lying flat on my back and my arms stretched wide. Felt terrific. I fell asleep in no time at all. Not really sure how long I slept, but I'm guessing about 20-30 minutes.

We all headed to bed early. In fact, I was in bed before anybody else. I turned on the TV because I was starting to get an unwelcomed second wind. Nothing puts me to sleep like watching TV from bed. We watched the end of Pawn Stars then a Larry the Cable Guy traveling around America. Once we realized it was recent rerun, I tuned to another knowledge channel watching a show about the logging industry. More to it than one might guess. Who knew? Watched that until I fell asleep.

Almost 50 White Rajah

2012-01-30T23:59:00.003-05:00

I slept until 540am, but even then I didn’t really want to get up. I suppose it was the drive to provide that pulled me from bed. J I was downstairs a couple minutes later prepping morning coffee. Once I got that going I started calisthenics. Completed sit-ups and push-ups by 555am. Outside, we were socked in under cloud cover. No precipitation.

I checked the weather. It was chilly, only 22 degrees. Wasn’t supposed to get that cold. I played around online until it was time to wake Mindy. I think it was after 615am when I finally delivered her coffee. Back downstairs, I planned to meditate and stretch. As I passed the sofa, I decided to take a brief detour and go horizontal effectively giving in to the lazy demon within. I laid down for about two or three minutes thinking I might go to sleep. But just like that, something came over me and forced me vertical. Get moving!

I did a quick but relaxing meditation and then a thorough stretch. I’m glad I didn’t allow myself to fall back asleep. I dressed warmly for my run then headed out the door somewhere close to 650am. I knew I’d be pushing it to be back before Mindy needed to leave, but I still ran the full 4.1 miles.

Immediately in the door, Mindy handed me her keys so I could start her car. She had the pug waiting when I went back to the door. Mindy left for work while Eiknarf and I were doing our gig. She honked and waved as she passed. Two fried eggs were waiting for me in the microwave. Eiknarf had one resting in the skillet. I asked one of the kids to fill her bowl with dog food before I’d consider topping it with the egg. Meanwhile, Bella was still gushing about her brand new email account. Gives her a sense of having arrived, I suppose.

I was off to the shower later than usual. It was almost 745am. I wore black Dockers and a brown mock turtleneck. Very comfortable. Wasn’t downstairs until 805am. Threw together a lunch then headed out the door with the kids. I started the Accord on the way to the bus stop. It was coated in thick frost. I had a couple tasks I planned to address before leaving for work. It would have plenty of time to thaw. Met Kenny and the girls at the bus stop. Asked how his knee was feeling. Gave us a peek. Still swollen but said it was far better than it was the day prior. Bus arrived on time. Back to the house.

At the house I paid a couple bills online then checked out running shoes on Finishline’s website. My current pair are about to hit the 5 month mark and the sole near the toe is about gone. 5 months or 500-600 miles is about the limit. After that my feet begin to hurt. Sadly, they no longer carry my current model in a color scheme I like. They do have it in a white/blue. I didn’t buy, just looked.

I left for work near 840am. By then the Accord was nice and toasty. And while it was so frigid early on, it was expected to flirt with 50 by mid day, and even warmer on Tuesday, the last day of January. More up & down.

Arrived to work and was comfortably in my office by 9am, slightly after by the time I stowed my lunch and returned with a pitcher of ice water. The day was largely uneventful from an adrenaline rush perspective. No craziness, which is always good. We had our regularly scheduled 1pm call. My 2pm was canceled which only furthered the time I had to work on dangling to-dos.

The entire day went along smoothly until about 4pm when a mini crisis struck. That insured the rest of my day would fly by. Not only that, but I’d be taking work home, too. I left for home around 520pm but knew I’d be engaged again later. I called Mindy on my drive home, but Bella answered. We talked for a few before I asked to speak with Mindy. Mindy was putting away groceries. Asked how I felt about having Sunday leftovers for dinner. Fine with me. We needed to eat ‘em up. Shared that Kayla was over doing a math game with Bella. I arrived home near 540pm. I drug the trash can to the curb before heading inside.

I rinsed lunch containers, opened mail, and snacked on nuts before dinner was ready, which had to be around 6pm. Makayla stayed for dinner. Mindy made a fresh garden salad to go along with the pizza and subs. We used paper plates so clean-up was minimal. Mindy asked Bella to be ready for gymnastics by 630pm. Let her play with Makayla until that time. She and Bella left for gymnastics near 650pm. Mindy said she planned to stop for strawberries while she was out since Kroger didn’t have any out earlier.

While Mindy was away, I took a brief nap and then worked on my blog and sent a vacation grocery list to Glenn. We ended up exchanging a handful of emails ironing out some last minute details surrounding our trip. I know the weather can change on a dime, especially a week out, but it looks like a few bluebird ski days on tap. Awesome! Still snowing this week, however. Tom S. emailed that he may not be able to do the entire week, but still plans to join us for 3 or 4 days.

Mindy got home just before 8pm. Said she had a surprise for me. She found some White Rajah at Giant Eagle so she picked up three six packs. Sweet! She also agreed to go after Bella if I would do both on Wednesday. Once she was back home for good she asked if I wanted to split/share a White Rajah. I didn’t really plan on drinking a beer, but why not?

We watched more Pawn Stars on the History Channel (the show is addictive) until about 945pm when everyone, including me headed up for bed. I was tired and really wanted a good night of sleep. While tucking in Bella, she once again thanked me for setting up her email account.

I turned on the bedroom TV to the Pawn Stars. See, I told you it was addictive. Mindy wasn’t thrilled, but acquiesced. I felt her pull the remote from my hands about 10-15 minutes later. I didn’t fight it. I was slowly but surely drifting off to sleep. Good night!

Teacher Makes House Calls

2012-01-29T23:59:00.003-05:00

After waking three or four times in a span of about 20-30 minutes, I got up for good at 805am but still feeling a little sleepy. I brushed my teeth then headed downstairs where I started coffee then headed to my PC.

I checked the weather. It was clear and 32 degrees, quite a bit warmer than expected. I enjoyed the quiet time at the PC until almost 930am when I dressed for a run in full winter gear with the addition of sun glasses. My calves and left hand were a little tight. Not sure why my hand ached but guessed it had something to with unloading the skis from the Thule.

I ran three miles without issue, though I was more than a little dehydrated. Everybody was up by the time I was back at home. I kidded Jacob about heading right back up to MRM. Not too long after I was back from my run, I headed out to the garage to check on my skis, see if they were dry. While out there, I decided to go ahead and take down our wreath above the garage door and also change the bulbs in our coach lights. As it was, they were Xmas colors – green and red. Took about 20 minutes to take care of both tasks. Toyed briefly with taking down the Xmas lights along the roof line but thought better of it in the end. I most likely won’t get to that task now until sometime in late February or early March.

I was done outside by 1045am. Jacob asked if he could head to Zach & Cody’s. Not until 11am – our unwritten rule for disturbing someone’s peace and tranquility. Mindy was busy tidying up the house to receive the company coming over around 4pm to celebrate Bella’s adoption day. I helped by washing all the dishes in and around the sink. Mindy thanked me for the effort after. The downstairs was all shiny when we were done. It was near noon. By then, Makayla was over playing with Bella in her room, and Jacob was out in the backyard playing football with Evan and Cody. Mindy and I snuck upstairs for a brief nap.

I might’ve slept for about 20 minutes while Mindy showered. Afterwards I tuned into the Buckeye basketball against Michigan. First place was at stake. Like with most OSU basketball games, I found I wasn’t really enjoying it at all. Instead, it was causing me stress. With 5 minutes to go in the first half I decided to turn off the TV and get on with my own life. First order of business was taking a shower.

Mindy was heading off to the grocery to pick-up a few items for the party soon after I was out of the shower. While she was away I updated my blog, which sadly was more than a week in arrears. I was written through Thursday Jan 26 but still needed to post. By the time I finished Mindy was already back from the grocery. It was almost 3pm. Where had the day gone? Lindsey called near then asking if we would watch the kids while she went tanning. I advised not citing our anticipation of company. But Mindy overheard and trumped my asnswer asking that I go ahead and say yes. Yes.

Lindsey was there in short order leaving us with the boys and Olivia while she ran off to tan. I tuned into the X-games about the same time that Jodie and Gloria showed up. Lindy showed up a little later. I'm guessing that was around 430pm. Mindy never really clarified who was and wasn’t coming. I just assumed it to be all of her siblings, but that wasn’t the case. Everybody else had plans of some sort. My dad was coming either. Said he was fighting a sore throat. Ashley was coming, but wouldn't be there until 530pm. Mindy invited the neighbors, Kenny & Chrissy as well. In fact, Chrissy picked us up a tray of brownies from Sam’s Club.

A swift moving Alberta Clipper moved through around 430pm dropping a quick ½” of snow. But with the temperature above freezing and sunny skies afterwards, the snow melted within the hour.

Around 5pm, Mindy excitedly shared that Mrs. Anderson (Bella’s teacher) was coming. I knew that she was invited but didn’t think she’d come. Mindy wanted it to be a surprise for Bella, so hadn’t mentioned it to anyone else. She and her husband showed just prior to me leaving to pick-up pizzas from Minelli’s. We ordered 2 extra-large pepperoni pizzas with extra cheese from Minelli’s, and then four Michael Angelo Italian subs from Sparano’s. Why the two venunes? The best of both worlds.

I was back with the pizzas by 545pm. Minelli’s was crazy busy. I ran into Mr. Pallazo there. He’s been a teacher at Magdalene for many, many years - 30 maybe. I couldn’t wait to tell the girls that I ran into him. They were only talking about him last week. According to Ashley, there was some sort of St Mary Magdalene gathering going on there. The subs had been delivered by the time I got back with the pies. Good timing. It was a little crazy in the kitchen with all the kids. Mindy made sure they were served first. I waited a while before I got myself some food, but when I did I loaded up. J Doesn’t get much better than Minelli’s pizza and Sparano’s subs. There were lots of snacks available too, including, chips, dip, salsa, veggie tray, and a garden salad.

Folks started leaving around 630pm and most were gone by 730pm. But Mrs. & Mr. Anderson (Mike & Colleen) stuck around for a while. We talked about boating, vacations, etc. They have a jet ski and love to get it out on Alum Creek and Salt Fork. They also love the beaches in Florida and have a time share at the same resort as brother Tommy. I’m thinking they left around 8pm.

After our company was gone, Mindy did most of the clean-up. At the same time, I was overcome with an incredible case of the sleepies and had no choice but to peal off for a quick nap. I slept for maybe 15 minutes, but long enough to get a second wind. Saturday’s 12 hour skiing marathon put a whoopin’ on me.

Mindy had the kitchen back in order by 830pm. We tuned the TV to Pawn Stars on the History Channel. We watched a couple back to back episodes. Around 915pm and just before the kids and Mindy were heading up to bed, I set both kids up with roadrunner email accounts. Bella had just enough time to try it out via her Kindle Fire. Don’t know that I’ve seen here so giddy. We all headed to bed around 940pm.

Mindy let me keep watchin Pawn Stars from bed, I’m sure she was banking on me falling asleep within a couple minutes like most other nights, but that didn’t happen. Around 1005p I suggested I get up and head downstairs so she could sleep. She agreed. Downstairs, I tuned into some show called The Real Jesus, a look at what his mortal life would’ve been like. I enjoyed it much. Found it thought provoking. Snacked on Honey Nut Cheerios while watching TV. Started to dose again around 1130pm so I headed back to bed. It took a little while to fall back asleep.

Adoption Day @ MRM

2012-01-28T23:59:00.004-05:00

The night before, Mindy talked about leaving for MRM by 9am. To that end, I drug myself from bed a few minutes after 7am. There was some light snow falling but no almost no accumulation. I started some coffee then headed to my PC. It was already 32 degrees but not expected to get too much warmer throughout the day. In fact, they were still predicting snow flurries through mid day. I went out to MRMs website where they professed getting a couple inches of fresh snow overnight. All trails were opened.

I enjoyed coffee and internet until about 8am when I figured I’d better get going with my run. Mindy was up about then, too. She suggested we make some bacon and eggs before heading to the mountain. Sounded good to me. It snowed as I prepped for my run and continued doing so, though only lightly, throughout the entire three mile run. It was an easy run.

Mindy had all of our gear carried up from the basement and setting near the front door. Meanwhile, I could smell the bacon cooking in the oven. Yum! While Mindy was upstairs getting ready, I headed out to load our skis, poles and board in the Thule. We needed the extra room inside for nephew Joe. In addition to the bacon and eggs, Mindy baked cinnamon rolls to help us celebrate Bella’s adoption day.

I headed up for a shower around 845am. It didn’t take me long to get ready. Back downstairs I topped off our flasks and prepped the coolers, one with drinks the other with a growler of Centennial IPA. I tossed a couple canned IPAs in for consuming on the lift. And while I was in the shower, Mindy cut up more cheese and sausage.

I think Joe got there around 930am. We waited before we dug into the eggs and bacon. Mindy put candles in the plate of cinnamon rolls so we could sing in celebration of Bella’s special day. Makayla spent the night, so she stayed through breakfast and our mini celebration. But she needed to scurry off home so she could get ready for a ski day too. The neighbors were heading up to MRM as well.

We left the house at 10am sharp, the earliest we’ve been on the road this season. I was very happy about that. The local snow changed over to sleet and rain on our trek up 270. It wasn’t pretty at all. Mindy called one of Bella’s classmates to see if she and her father still planned to join us at MRM. They couldn’t make it. Once we hit 33 west and approached Marysville, the rain/sleet stopped and the sky brightened some. The temperature dropped a few degrees too. It was hovering around 30 degrees.

Once we got west of the Honda plant there was another very noticeable change. There was more than a few inches of fresh snow on the ground, which always helps raise my spirits. We arrived at 1042am, or about an hour earlier than normal. As a reward, we had no trouble getting a good parking spot. We were in row three between the lodge and gift shop. I emptied the Thule before gearing up. The kids needed little to no help getting into their gear. We were ready in record time.

Mindy, Joe and the kids headed to the ticket window so Joe could get his lift ticket and rental gear while I finished getting myself ready. We agreed to meet at the base of the Four Star lift. Didn’t take me long. I got my lift ticket from the gift shop and used the restroom by 11am. I didn’t see hide nor hair of the others, and since there was no line at Four Star, I headed up by myself, the first run on my brand new skis. I was very excited to give them a go. They’re wider, lighter, longer than my other Volkl’s.

The snow looked pretty decent, especially after considering Thursday’s heavy rain. Given the new skis, I thought it wise to take Mary Ann’s backside down for my first run. The snow was slow and there was a mix of groomed and hard pack. A lot of refreeze near the bottom making for some serious chatter, which was further exacerbated by my new powder skis. I knew it would take a good 5-10 runs to get a real feel for my new sticks.

Mindy & Bella were just buckling up at the bottom of Four Star. My timing was perfect. She said Jacob and Joe were going to hang around the bunny hill Until Joe got his snowboard legs about him. Used to be a member of ski club, but it had been about 10 years since his last outing. Wasn’t sure how he’d do. Meanwhile, Mindy, Bella and I headed up Four Star. We had to remind Bella several times to be careful with her poles and to stop swinging her skis. She seemed a little crusty. Not sure why, but guessed it might have had something to do with none of her peeps being there.

We skied several runs before any type of crowd showed up. It started snowing and blowing, too. In fact, it was far colder than we expected. Seemed like the crowds stayed away fearing rain, which was more than fine with all of us. We spotted Bob & Tina off in the distance and eventually hooked up. Said they had been out since 10am and were ready for a break. We agreed to try and synch up later.

After several good runs, Mindy, Bella and I skied over to find Jacob and Joe on Sundowner. Joe was wearing a bright yellow jacket making him easy to spot from way across the park. Sure enough, we hooked up atop Sundowner. I was impressed with Joe’s snowboarding ability. Good form and speed. After one run down Sundowner, I suggested that Bella and I head back to Four Star. She agreed. Joe, Jacob and Mindy followed.

We hooked up with the neighbors at the base of Four Star and we all skied together for a few runs. I’m guessing that it was near 1230pm when we headed in for a break. I went for the cooler but left Bella’s adoption day cake there. Mindy wanted to do cake and pizza around 4-430pm. I left the Centennial in the Pilot too.

Chrissy offered to buy me a beer. I suggested a pitcher of Black & Tan, which is a better deal if you’re gonna buy two anyways. The lodge wasn’t very crowded. Getting a table was easy. We were probably in there for a solid hour. Even though I peed before heading back out, it wasn't but a couple runs later that I needed to break off for another bathroom break. Thought I could catch up to Mindy & Bella without missing a beat since they were taking the slow Mary Ann's backside. We were temporarily separated.

At the top of mountain I happened upon Bob I. Said he only recently arrived after having to deal with a challenging work issue. We hooked up with Mindy & the others a couple minutes later. The kids were very excited to see Bob. I’m thinking it was near 2pm when the clouds cleared and the sun came out. What an unbelievable day it turned out to be. The sun helped soften some of the refreeze, but it was noticeably cooler with the clear skies. I didn’t mention it earlier, but it was Winterfest day at MRM. Lots going on – big air, races, live bands, and the portable Budweiser bar to help celebrate their 50th anniversary.

We skied until 4pm. By then we were able to synch our breaks with everybody else. I headed to the Pilot to get the jug of Centennial but still bought a pitcher of Black & Tan.

Darwin was there now too. He flagged over Pat McMasters, a guy I used to hangout with back in high school. We did a lot of crazy stuff together. Pat & I chatted for quite a while. I eventually introduced him to Mindy and all my peeps. We offered him a beer but he doesn’t drink. He was there with his son who was entered in the evening’s big air competition along with Darwin’s son, Lane.

There was a cool band playing, Katty Whomp Us. They’re a bluegrass band that plays a lot of old 70’s tunes. Really good. Mindy ordered a couple pizzas to help feed the group, but the others picked up some food too. We were having a really good time. I’m guessing we broke until 530pm. I went to get our clear googles before it got dark. We made tentative plans to stay until the fireworks, which would be the latest we’ve ever stayed. They wouldn’t begin until 10pm or so.

During round three I was starting to get a good feel for my new skis. They’re faster than my others and they definitely float more up front as designed. I skied the treed run numerous times to get some feel for their ability in fluffy snow. We skied for another couple hours before taking a 3^rd break. That’s when Bob I pealed off for home. His goal was to be home before Mary Ann got home from work.

Had a couple more pitchers and polished off the growler of IPA. Mindy, Joe, Chrissy & Kenny called it a day. Planned to hang in the lodge through the fireworks. Kenny actually took a spill and injured his knee. Went to first-aid and got an ice bag. Bob, Tina, Darwin and I headed out for more skiing and stayed out until they shut down the lifts. It was a Midnight Madness night so they planned to reopen at 1030pm, or right after the fireworks.

The line at ski check was crazy long. We didn’t plan to ski anymore, so I took my skis to the car to stow them. I changed out of my ski pants and boots too. Headed back to the lodge to meet up with Mindy and the others. Mindy was feeling no pain and ready to cut loose on the dance floor. She was making friends and chatting with a couple guys at our table too. Joe, Mindy, Tina and I headed to the dance floor for a few. Joe grabbed some young girl from her boyfriend and got the whole place boogying.

Sometime just after 10pm they announced that the fireworks were about to begin. Many of us packed out onto their deck to watch. They were lighting them off about a ¼ way up the main run. At the same time, the groomers were running up and down the trails preparing for Midnight Madness. We hadn’t seen the girls (Bella, Makayla, or Cassidy) but we figured they were watching safely somewhere nearby. The fireworks lasted about 10-15 minutes, and were pretty good for a ski park.

Mindy professed being extremely tired and was ready to leave. However, we couldn’t plan to leave without first finding Bella. Not a minute later she and the others showed at the table where we organized all of our stuff and headed for the Pilot. Bella pouted and whined about wanting to stay for Midnight Madness, but looked a wreck. She had big dark circles around both eyes. She needed some rest. Mindy & Bella headed to ski check to get their skis while Joe headed to return his rentals. We were all loaded into the Pilot and ready to go minus Joe. We waited for about five minutes before Mindy asked that we drive to rental returns even though I suggested we stay put. He knew where we were parked. He and I walked out to the Pilot earlier so he could add a layer.

Mindy headed in rental returns looking for Joe. No joy. We promptly drove back to the aisle where we were originally parked. We ended up pulling up along the curb and Jacob spotted Joe waiting on a bench in the dark. Good eyes, Jacob! By 11pm we were on the road for home.

It was a quick drive home. Bella was out five minutes into our drive. Some of the others dosed off too. When we departed MRM, Jacob went on and on about being hungry, but as we neared home he wanted only his bed. J Everybody was exhausted, including me. We arrived home around 1145pm. Everybody helped carry in gear. I unloaded the Thule and stowed our skis and Jacob’s board by myself. I made sure to take my new skis out of the soft tote to help prevent rusting edges. As it was, they were coated in icy snow.

Joe headed for home as soon as everything was carried in. The kids meanwhile were quickly off to bed and Mindy headed for a shower while I whipped up something to eat. I made a quick version of a Cuban sandwich. It was delicious. After her shower, Mindy cited feeling sick. Said she was going to throw up. Oh boy! She headed to bathroom where She let out perhaps the loudest, deepest belch ever. Said she felt a whole lot better afterwards, but was still super sleepy. She was out in a hurry.

Winter's Triumphant Return

2012-01-27T23:59:00.001-05:00

Keeping with the latest trend, I slept for an extra ten minutes or so before finally pulling myself from bed around 545am. By the time I was downstairs the coffee maker had already completed its brewing cycle. All I had to do was whip out 50 sit-ups and push-ups then I could enjoy some. It was wintry outside. It was snowing and 33 degrees. I knew that would make Bella happy, though it wasn't expected to stick or accumulate locally.

I played around online, eventually breaking away for meditation sometime after 6am. I did that until 620am when I went to wake Mindy and deliver her morning coffee. And by the time I completed a stretch and dressed for a run it was already 645am. There's no denying it, I've not done a good job managing the clock this month.

I was out the door for my run way late. There was about a 1/2 inch of heavy slush on Mindy's windshield, but it had all but stopped as I completed my daily run, which I pared back to only 3 miles in an effort to regain some valuable time. I was very happy that it was Friday, my favorite day of the week.

When I got back home, Mindy & Bella helped rustle up Eiknarf so we could head out for our walk. I used one of the new doggie bags Lindsey gifted us. They're much smaller than grocery bags, and honestly a bit harder to manage. Our eggs were ready and waiting when we got back inside. Bella commented favorably about the current weather, but was still very concerned for Saturday's forecast.

I'd forgotten all about Mindy not going into work. Instead, she was meeting with a psychologist to discuss a plan to assess Bella's IQ and any potential learning disabilities. Bella so far isn't aware. Mindy told the kids that she had a doctor's appointment. And since the appointment was in Worthington, she planned to meet her friend Teri for breakfast at First Watch beforehand.

Mindy agreed to see the kids onto to the school bus, which made Bella very happy. I headed off to shower near 740am. Since it was Friday (casual day) I wore jeans and a black t-shirt. Felt good. Once I was back downstairs, Mindy asked what time the kids needed to be outside for the bus. I confirmed her guess of 810am. I quickly threw together my lunch then declared that I was heading out with them too. Why not? I took my coffee out with me.

Kenny was out with the girls. We chatted about the weather and Saturday's adoption day celebration at MRM. Expecting it to snow early Saturday morning and reach a high of about 34 degrees with falling temps through the afternoon. Given the warm winter, we've been very fortunate/blessed to get these micro blasts of winter weather on the weekends enabling us to ski with some regularity.

After the bus swooped up the kids Mindy & I headed home. We weren't there long, however. We both left the house before 830am. Mindy was a couple cars behind me at the Roberts Rd traffic light. Arrived at the office near 845am and parked in the lot closest to the door. It was very quiet start to the day, which was much appreciated. I hoped it would stay that way all day long, and by and large it did. I didn't have any calls or meetings on my calendar either, which was a welcome change of pace.

Mindy called near noon to tell me about the appointment with the psychologist. Said it went well. We have homework (surveys) we need to complete. The psychologist wants to meet with Bella sometime soon. Mindy also shared that she was on her way back to school. That surprised me because I thought she took the entire day off. She confirmed that wasn't the case. My afternoon was as calm as my morning. I had only one surprise but that wasn't too big of a deal. I sent Bob I. a text asking about his weekend ski plans. He responded that he expects to be at MRM weather permitting.

I left the office for home around 515pm and called Mindy not to far into my drive. She reminded me that we'd have the boys until Lindsey got back from having another root canal. She asked if I wanted to have dinner at Barley's. At the time I wasn't so sure, but by the time I got home I decided that I did.

I must've gotten home around 540pm. Jacob & Rocky were at Cody & Zach's house just down the street. And as a result the house was pretty darn quiet. Minutes later, Rocky busted through the door sharing that Jacob sent him home from Cody's for no reason. Mindy was busying trying to get to the bottom of the story when Lindsey showed up to get the boys.

Once Lindsey and the boys headed home I asked Mindy if she still wanted to do dinner at Barley's. She did. By then it was just after 6pm. One small problem. Jacob wasn't home. Mindy said that she told Jacob to be home by 530pm. We joked about how surprised he would be when he arrived home and found us gone. He showed up a few minutes later. Mindy quizzed him on his lateness, which to be fair, is way out of character for Jacob. Said he didn't recall Mindy giving him a specific time to be home. I quizzed him about Rocky's story. He agreed that he sent him home but only after Rocky was being too whiney.

Meanwhile, Makayla was over playing with Bella and stayed up to the minute we were ready to leave for Barley's. As she dashed out the back door for home, we asked if she wanted to join us. She did. We insisted she make sure it was OK with her mom. We got cleaned up and headed off to Barley's by 630pm.

We lucked out and got a parking spot near the door as another patron was just backing out. Inside, the place was packed to the walls, and more so than I've seen it in many, many years. The restaurant was as cram packed as was the bar - standing room only as many couples/groups waited on tables. The hostess quoted Mindy a 20 minute wait for a table. We waited in the bar area while enjoying a beer, me a Centennial, and Mindy a St Joan's Revenge. Zach, one of the managers, cited a few radio spots earlier in the day as the reason for the crazy crowd. So it does work!

According to Mindy, our 20 minute wait turned into an hour. I didn't mind, after all, it was the weekend and I was hanging with some peeps and enjoying a beer. We were eventually seated in a big booth tucked away in a corner. Justin was our server. We ordered two baskets of fries to enjoy while we scoured the menu for our dinner entrees.

Just before we ordered dinner, Ben & Ryan sent a text saying that they were going to join us. We made room in our booth. I ordered a second beer, a White Rajah, after ordering my dinner, 10 KC wings. All three kids ordered chicken tenders, and Mindy ordered a salad topped with chicken. Oh yeah, we left a growler at the bar to have filled with Centennial for Saturday at MRM. Ben & Ryan showed up a couple minutes later. They ordered beers and sauerkraut balls pretty quickly. Ben shared that Darwin sent him a text sharing his intentions of joining us around 930pm. Darwin sent a similar text to Mindy a little earlier too.

My wings were really good. I'm thinking it was near 9pm when we finished dinner. Mindy and the kids were ready to head home. I was too, until Ben suggested that he or Darwin would see that I got home if Mindy would let me stay and play. That sounded like fun. Why not? I stayed back with Ben & Ryan while Mindy and the kids left for home. Ryan suggested that they would have me home by 1030pm. Mindy paid the small bar tab which included our 1st beers and the growler. I paid the dinner tab.

As advertised, Darwin showed around 930pm. Ended up drinking a couple more beers with him. Meanwhile, Ryan kept a close eye on the clock reminding us more than once that she promised Mindy we'd leave no later than 1030pm. I think Darwin bought my two beers. I know I didn't pay.

Ran into Doug and Jamie, who were just heading out after dinner in the back. Haven't seen them for a while. In fact, Jamie thought as far back as my birthday, but I think it was more recent than that. Regardless, it had been a while. I think it was late October, the night we brought Glenn in after hiking all day in Yellow Springs. Jamie asked about Lindsey. I was happy to report things are looking up. Felt good to brag about her accomplishments for a change. Thinking back, she was still living in the shelter back in mid-October.

Doug and Jamie shared that they're cohabitating, and have been for a while. Said it's working out well. Jamie shared a funny story about her boss calling her to his office. And after seeing armed guards patrolling the halls earlier that day, she was certain it was to let her go. Instantly she was sickened with panic. But all for not. Turned out to be just a casual meeting to discuss a work issue. The mind is a strange machine.

Darwin opted to stick around a little while longer when Ben, Ryan and I left. I was pretty tired after a long work day and four beers, not to mention a strong desire to wake early and head to MRM. At first I thought I'd simply have them drop me at the house, but once we pulled up I insisted they come in for one more beer. We talked about walking down to Kenny's but their house was totally dark. Our house was quiet too. Mindy and the kids were already in bed.

We each enjoyed a beer then I switched to water. We got to telling stories about childhood beatings from our fathers. Ben had me in stitches with a story about he and Kenny innocently lost in the cornfield for hours and hours which had the whole family on pins and needles. Long story short, his dad went to whip them both, Ben getting it first. He then reached under the bed to snatch Kenny, who had the wherewithal to stuff wooden blocks in his britches. Broke his dad's hand.

Suddenly, Ben started getting loud and even a tad obnoxious, which is totally out of character. And when Ryan asked him politely to quiet down he only got worse. Who is this guy and what did you do with Ben? I heard Mindy up going to the bathroom at one point. She adores Ben & Ryan, but I was certain she was going to come down and attempt to quiet us, or more pointedly, quiet Ben. Ryan somehow managed to control him even after he directed a few rude comments her way, which again is a side of Ben I've never seen. I don't think he had more than four beers over the course of the evening. Strange!

It probably was after midnight when they left and I headed to bed. By then I was really tired. I took three Advil before hopping into bed.

Chilly Rain

2012-01-26T23:59:00.002-05:00

I slept a few extra minutes in an effort to fully rid myself of a bad case of the sleepies. Waking tired seems to be the trend of late. I’ll chalk it up to winter. I was out of bed and downstairs by 540am. Once again, it was cloudy. And amongst the morning’s silence, I could hear the familiar pitter-patter of rain against the roof & windows.

I proceeded to knock out 50 sit-ups and then poured coffee and played on the PC for the next 15-20 minutes. The weather forecast was calling for significant rain all day long with the high eventually climbing well into the 40s. Nothing close to the winter-like conditions I was hoping for.

Meanwhile, the weekend forecast is still teetering on the edge, with Sunday looking like the best ski day of the two. Delivered Mindy’s coffee near 615am. Back downstairs for a stretch and meditation a few minutes later. Both went well. During meditation I could hear the intensity of the rain increase as it beat against the roof and skylights. And judging by the radar that I glanced at earlier, it wasn’t going to let up anytime soon either.

The current temperature was 34 degrees, so for my money, the running conditions would be about as miserable as they get. I dressed wearing full winter attire and headed out the door near 640am. It wasn’t long before I was soaked through and through, including my shoes after running through a couple unavoidable puddles. I plowed right through, though, not worrying about the rain. Once you’re wet, you’re wet. It doesn’t get any worse. Duh! I ran the full 4.1 miles, and it went by pretty fast.

Mindy had a towel waiting for me at the door, but I tossed it aside figuring there no point in toweling off before walking the dog. She brought me the leash and dog next. Eiknarf and I headed out the door before she had an opportunity to realize that it was raining. She tried renege once she realized it was raining, but I wouldn’t allow it. I started Mindy’s Pilot along our way down the drive. She apparently got the message and took care of her business in a hurry. We scurried back inside.

Soaked to the bone, I took a few minutes to strip out of my wet running clothes tossing them in the clothes dryer. I put my wet running shoes on the bay window heating vent. I was soon back in my dry PJs. That felt great. Finally, I could relax and enjoy my breakfast. By then, Mindy was on her way out the door for school. Bella enjoyed a Pop-Tart while I ate my fried eggs. It was 740am by the time I finished eating and headed off to the shower. I reminded Bella that she needed to take care of hair, teeth and socks.

I planned to make another trip to a customer’s site, so I dressed accordingly and wore my brand new Bostonians. We normally have our staff meeting at 9am, but because we needed to be at the customer’s location for a 10am meeting, my boss moved the staff meeting up to 830am. I told him I would have to join remotely from home since I needed to get the kids on the school bus. I then planned to head straight to the customer’s locale after our meeting/call.

Because it was still pouring rain, the kids and I decided to wait out the bus from the cover of our garage. Kenny and the girls walked down and waited with us. Wouldn’t you know, the bus was late – real late. It was 827am when I told Kenny that I needed to go in to jump on a conference call. He willingly stuck around to see the kids onto the bus. The bus showed up near 830am. Kenny closed the overhead garage door and cut through our house to get out afterwards. Thanks Kenny!

The staff call lasted no more than 10 minutes. I didn’t plan to leave the house until 910am at the earliest. I poured a second cup of coffee then played around on the internet for a while. As planned, I left the house at 910am with my umbrella in tow. Despite the crappy weather, I still took 670 east. That worked out fine, and I got to New Albany near 935am.

My boss called my blackberry just as I was walking in. He was on campus but at another one of their buildings, though I didn’t realize it at the time. I went looking for him in the cafeteria where he said he was waiting but couldn’t find him. I eventually bailed and headed to the assigned conference room, which was a challenge to find in and of itself. Good thing I allowed lots of extra minutes.

This was our quarterly review meeting and it started a few minutes late. No biggie. My boss made it there just in the nick of time. My turn to present came 2^nd, and about 5-10 minutes into it. As usual, I was a little nervous, but did fine delivering my section. I even threw in a little humor. The meeting lasted no more than 30-35 minutes. I hung around to socialize for a few immediately afterwards but was on my way back to our main office by 1045am. It was still raining at a good clip as I made the long trek out to my car.

As I was leaving their lot I decided that I would make a brief stop at the Easton Macy’s so I could look again at their wool jackets that were marked 50% off last week. There was a couple that really caught my eye. I got a parking spot within 40 feet of the entrance, and the coats were just inside that door. Cool! I think I tried on three different jackets. One in particular, a Calvin Klein, fit really nice. I decided not to buy it though, betting that they’ll be marked down even further, and perhaps another 20-25%, next month. I know all too well how Macy’s works.

Headed back to the office taking 270S back to 670W. Arrived at the office around 1130-12noon. I had two conference calls I needed to join, one at 1pm and then another at 2pm. The hour before the first call went fast, and I got quite a bit done in the short amount of time leading up to it. As it turned out, I didn’t have enough time for a potty break between the two calls. Literally went right from one to the other. The leader of the 2^nd call (also the project mgr) never joined. But because the project in question impacted my customer directly, I took over and lead the call best I could. The way I saw it, I had little choice. That call ended at 305pm. I updated the timeline and sent it to all the concerned parties.

By then it was near 4pm. Mindy called about that time, too. I shared how my day suddenly seemed to be dragging despite being so busy and not getting to the office until almost noon. She shared her desire to make pasta & meatballs for dinner. I was OK with that. Shared that I would call once I was on my way home. She said Lindsey was waiting at our house when she arrived home.

Ended up at the office until almost 530pm. I felt good as the work day ended having accomplished almost everything on my daily to-do list. It was still raining, by the way, and the temperature was still above 40 degrees. Blah! I called Mindy to let her know that I was on my way. She was busy with dinner so our conversation was rather brief. I arrived home by 550pm. Looked like dad was there for dinner, or at least a minivan similar to his was parked out front. Sure enough, it was dad. Unless I’m mistaken, I hadn’t seen him since New Year’s day, though Mindy and the kids have. He’s gotten them off the bus a couple times recently, but left before I got home.

Dad asked if I had heard from mom recently. Yes, and as a matter of fact, I received an another email from her that day sharing her most recent malady. Not only is her knee replacement bothering her, but her carotid artery is an issue now, too. Will be having that checked in the coming weeks along with having her knee/leg stretched. She also shared something about having a new doctor, and that she doesn’t care for him/her. Not sure if she was referring to the knee replacement surgeon or primary care. My thinking is that she should drink a lot of water, stretch, and get daily exercise. That might fix much of what ails her.

Asked dad about his recent river boat gambling trip winnings. He won $2K and he’s still stoked about it. I suggested that he buy an airplane ticket to Oregon with some of the money. We had an enjoyable dinner. The pasta and meatballs were really good. Mindy shared how she customized the sauce. Bella ran off upstairs to play with Makayla after dinner. Jacob hung out with the three of us in the kitchen while I managed the clean-up process.

Mindy was telling dad that it was Bella’s adoption day this coming Saturday, which eventually morphed into how/when I entered Bella’s life at such a young age. Dad, in turn, began sharing stories about when he first met Sheila and then their first dates and such, much of the focus centering around Shawn being just a baby at the time. Honestly, I found the stories a bit creepy.

Dad hung out until near 715-730pm. Both Mindy & I headed upstairs to change into comfy clothes soon after he left. The kids and Mindy were much looking forward to yet another night of American Idol. For me, watching Idol night after night gets old. Feel like I am wasting time. So to address that, I spent the majority of the hour between 8 & 9pm on my PC. I should’ve spent the time editing/updating my blog but didn’t. Instead, I read about the Vikings stadium push and Joe Pa’s funeral.

As 9pm neared, I poured the first pint from the growler of Centennial that I bought last Friday night and then joined the family for the end of Idol. Saw that next week’s auditions are from Portland, Oregon. We watched The Finder immediately after Idol. As usual, watching a TV program put me to sleep. I woke for about the last 20 minutes and got a 2^nd wind. Of course, by then Mindy was ready for bed. She wasn’t happy that I opted to stay up a while longer. Wanted me to join her in bed.

After tucking in the kids, I made a bowl of cereal – Cookie Crisp. That hit the spot. I’d been craving some for a while. My appetite finally satiated, I dosed again from the sofa. When I woke I headed for bed. By then it was darn near 11pm.

New Shoes New Skis Look at Me

2012-01-25T23:59:00.003-05:00

Even after a good night’s sleep I was feeling a little lazy, so come 530am I decided to sleep in another ten minutes or so, and justified my actions with the kid’s scheduled 2-hour late start. In other words, I wouldn’t need to have the kids at the bus stop at 810am. I’d only need to send them down to Kenny’s when I was ready to leave for work.

My plan worked. I slept for an additional 10 minutes and woke feeling great. I was downstairs prepping coffee by 545am, and at 550am I started 50 sit-ups & 50 push-ups. My calisthenics were done by 6am, which was about on par with the coffee coming ready.

I headed to the PC with coffee in hand where I checked the gloomy weather forecast. I couldn’t get a good sense of the temperature simply by glancing out back since there wasn’t any water on the deck to give off clues. The only thing I knew was that it was cloudy. Turns out, it was below freezing, only 27 degrees. It wouldn’t stay that way for long, however. We were expecting a high in the 40s. And looking ahead, it didn’t look like any freezing temps again until Saturday night. That’s a bummer since we really want to ski Saturday. Saturday’s high is expected to reach the mid to upper 30s, which is suppose is skiable, but with a week's worth of warmth and forecasted rain, the snow pack will be jeopardized. L So much for trying out my new skis.

It was 615am in a hurry and time to deliver Mindy’s coffee. I snuck in 5 minutes of meditation before hand. It was 620a-something by the time I placed her coffee bedside. She asked me to turn up the heat but I’d already beat her to the punch. I headed back downstairs to stretch. That went well. It was 635am when I dressed for my run. With a temperature of 27 degrees I dressed in my full winter attire and headed out the door somewhere close to 645am.

I ran the full 4.1 miles without any problems. Felt great. It was one of those runs where I found myself so deep in thought that it was over seemingly just as it had begun. I like that feeling a lot. I could see that Mindy had the Pilot warming as I walked up the drive. She was actually on her way out as I headed in to get the pug. As she passed, she shared that Jacob was preparing to take Eiknarf out. Frankly, I was surprised that either kid was even up given the scheduled late start. Cool! That saved me some valuable time. It was 632am when I sat down to my fried eggs.

Jacob and Eiknarf were back in a hurry. Jacob said she went right away. Must’ve been cold. She whined for her eggs, but I wouldn’t give her any until Bella filled her bowl with dry dog food first. I headed up for a shower sometime after 640am. It was a customer site day, so I dressed accordingly. Actually, though, the customer has a fairly lax dress code, and definitely far more lax than our unspoken dress code. I was ready to go by roughly 8am. The kids asked what time they needed to head to Kenny’s. When I left for work, was my answer.

After prepping a lunch, I played on the computer until just before 830am. I sent the kids down to the neighbors and then headed off to work. Once again, I took 670E to 270N. That shaves at least 5 miles off the drive, and maybe more. I arrived after about 22 minutes and was in my office by 9am. Took a few to get set-up and logged on. Their director joined our regularly scheduled 10am call. We stretched the agenda to cover more issues than usual. Not a problem. It was a busy morning as I had a number of ancillary tasks I was hoping to get completed. I hoped to take a lunch and head over to Dick’s to look for new ski gloves/mittens for Mindy & Bella. Both could use them. Mindy likes to get them at Target or Kohl’s but said both were all but out of stock already. Not unusual. Already seeing their spring stuff out.

I left for lunch just after 1pm and headed to the Easton Dick’s. Having been there at Xmas time, I knew right where to go – 2^nd floor, just beyond the escalators. I exhaustively perused their glove selection looking first for mittens (Mindy’s preference) with a pocket for hand warmers. That proved difficult, especially at a reasonable price. I refuse to pay $100 for a pair of gloves, but they have ‘em. I looked in all three glove aisles twice. I could’ve settled for some really warm mittens but without a hand warming sipper pocket but didn’t think that would help Mindy . Me, I’ve never needed to use hand or feet warmers.

After about 20 minutes I was just about ready to throw in the towel, but instead thought I’d look at some of their other ski/board stuff. Well, right around the corner they had a kids ski glove aisle. There I found some real nice purple North Face ski gloves with a zippered pocket for hand warmers. What’s more, they were on sale, which is rare at Dick’s. Marked down to $30. I found a pair in kids medium. Mindy has tiny hands. I knew they’d fit.

Bella could use some too. I found a pair of raspberry North Face mittens with a hand warmer pocket in a kids small. Perfect for her. They’ll even match her raspberry ski jacket. Glad I found them. All totaled, I was in Dick’s a while – about 30 minutes.

When I was walking in, I noticed a DSW next door. What the heck. I thought I might check out their shoe selection. Haven’t been in a DSW in over ten years. I’ve bought a couple pair of shoes from them. They usually have top quality shoes at great prices. Just not that convenient to us. I was one of just a few customers. I like the way their selection is laid out. It makes it easy to serve oneself. First, I perused all of their dress hoe offerings noting the few I liked. The once requirement I have these days is the soft sole and extra comfortable insole. Used to be that was impossible to find in real dress shoes, but not so anymore.

I tried on 2 or 3 styles eventually settling on a really comfortable, nice looking black slip-on Bostonian that met all my criteria – no compromise. Even better, the price was on target too. They’re normally $100 but the everyday DSW price was $69. I bought a pair in a size 10.5. Sweet! It was a tad past 2pm when I found my car and was headed back to the office.

Back at the office, the first thing I did was retrieve my packed lunch from the fridge. I decided to skip the salad since I didn’t have any dressing. Forgot about that. I enjoyed the some cheese and Greek yogurt. I was anxious to get out of the office and head to ASBCO to pick-up my new skis. In fact, I’d been anxious all week. However, there were a couple issues going on that required my intervention and attention. I couldn’t just walk out. I stuck around until they were well under control. Earlier, I had talked with Mindy advising that I might be a little late since I had to stop and pick-up my new sis. She’d forgotten about that. I also shared that I might get out of the office late, too. She reminded me that we’d be having pork roast and that Lindsey and the boys would be joining us. Mindy asked that I call once I was on the road so she could plan a time to sit for dinner. Sure dear.

Turned out, I was able to leave at 510pm. Before pulling out of the lot, I thought about the best way to get to ASBCO from New Albany. I decided to do 270S to 670W to 315N. I called Mindy once I was on the freeway. She told me to take my time but guessed me home by 6pm. I wasn’t so sure it would be that soon.

The traffic on 315N slowed to a near crawl at the merge off of 670. Can’t recall the last time I’d come that same way. Happily, the pace picked up the further north I went. Once on 315N, I wasn’t entirely sure which exit I would take to get over to Old Henderson but eventually settled on North Broadway. That was a good choice. I arrived at ASBCO around 545pm.

Kayla was busy with another customer but and guy helped me. Told him I was there to pick-up my new skis. He only asked my last name then disappeared for a bit. Returned a couple minutes late with my new skis and boots. I was a tad concerned that they wouldn’t have my ski boots associated with my new skis, but that worry was all for not. Before handing over the new skis they always have you verify the Din settings. Yep, set at 5.5 on both. In turn, I wouldn’t accept the skis until I did a boot/binding fitting. When Mindy and I bought our first skis in Feb 2009 I had to take my skis back to have the binding set for my boot size, something they later admitted only happens with about 1 pair of skis each season. LOL! I definitely didn’t want to go through that again. This time they fit snug as a bug!

I called Mindy when I was about halfway down Tremont towards Lane Ave. It was about 6pm. I was actually making better time that I presumed. I pulled in the driveway at 609pm and carried all of my stuff into the garage and house. By the way, I used the small pass through hatch from my trunk to the back seat to transport my new skis. Worked great, and what a great invention!

Mindy was just beginning to dish up dinner while I went through my after work ritual. I shared that I picked both she and Bella up a gift. After getting settled I showed them their new gloves/mittens. Both were pleased. Jacob asked about him. I didn’t get him anything this time, but it’s not like he’s neglected. Believe me, he’s well taken care of.

Mindy shared that the boys, Rocky & Landon, were tickled pink to learn we were having pork roast & mashed potatoes, which is one of their faves. I was too, I love pork roast. The roast was delicious. Not only did Mindy make mashed potatoes, but there was a fresh garden salad and rolls too. Yum-yum. I kept my helping to only one. As dinner concluded, Mindy asked Bella to go ready for gymnastics. Lindsey and the boys left for home around 640pm, or while I was busy managing the clean-up. Mindy took Bella to gymnastics at 650pm. Jacob went along too. I had the house to my lonesome for a brief stint. I used the time constructively to edit some of my recent blog entries. I was at my PC doing that for about an hour. By then Mindy and Jacob had been back for a while. They were waiting for American Idol to come on. Wednesday’s show was taped in Aspen. Nice! I saw very little of the auditions. Even though I was already comfortably donning my PJs, I agreed to go after Bella which pleased Mindy much. I left the house at 820pm in the Accord. Mindy warned me that the roads might be slick. Said it was raining and the temperature was dropping to near freezing. Great! Turns out, it was still 35 degrees so the roads near us were just wet. Felt raw and cold though.

Arrived at DCW a couple minutes early. Headed inside where the girls practice. One of Bella’s peeps alerted her to my presence. We were just about to leave for home when one of the older girls mentioned that Bella must’ve taken her sweat pants home on Monday by accident. I assured her that we would look and bring them in on Monday if that were the case. Bella wasn’t so sure. However, the tell-tale sign was that Bella’s purple sweat pants were still there.

We headed for home. Bella seemed in good spirits, which is good. She’s been up and sown a lot lately. She did express some concern over the less than desirable weather forecast for Saturday at MRM. Mindy’s planned a small adoption celebration there. I did my best to put her mind at ease. As we pulled in the drive she bellyached a little about missing much of American idol. I simply let that go.

After a greeting, Mindy requested that Bella hit the shower. After all, it was 845pm on a school night. Bella didn’t give any push back. OK Mommy. I caught the last few minutes of Idol with Mindy & Jacob. Always entertaining. After idol we watched the preview episode of Touch as a family. It went for an hour. I was a little surprised that Mindy let the kids stay up for its entirety. It was a good show, though. Mindy and the kids headed to bed immediately following the show. It was 10pm. I stayed up for a while longer but fell asleep fairly quickly watching a program on one of the knowledge channels about the geology of Manhattan. Joined Mindy in bed around 11pm.

Idol Thoughts

2012-01-24T23:59:00.007-05:00

I was up and out of bed a few minutes after 530am. As a result, the coffee making process was well underway as I whipped out 50 sit-ups. I could see that the sky was cloudy, but I had no idea what the temperature was, though I expected it to be near freezing. I was at my PC with coffee by 550am. The temperature was 37 degrees with an expected high near 40. The rest of the week looks similar to Tuesday’s forecast – partly cloudy with highs near 40 but overnight lows in the mid to upper 20s. We’re hoping for the night time lows to drop to 28 or below, which is the magic number for making snow at MRM.

I didn’t spend too much time online beyond reading a few headlines. At 605am I moved on to meditation, which went fairly well. It must’ve been about 615am when I woke Mindy. She asked that I crank up the heat, but I had already done so. Stretching was next. Did the usual routine. Felt good.

Dressed for a run wearing full winter attire, which given a temperature in the mid 30s that was pretty much the upper edge of the comfort zone. I didn’t get out the door until almost 640am after confirming that it was a ‘ruby’ trash pick-up day - our day. I wished I was out sooner but it is what it is. I pulled our trash can to the curb before taking off. I wasn’t certain whether he’d been by yet or not, though I hadn’t heard him.

I ran the full 4.1 miles remaining fairly comfortable throughout. I happened upon the trash truck near the half way point. Unless he started at the back of the subdivision it was likely that we missed him. I confirmed that our can was still waiting pick-up when I got back. Kenny had already pulled his can back into the garage, a good indication that he came by early. I wasn’t sweating it. It was only half full anyways.

Because I headed out for my run through the garage, the front door remained fully secured. I had to knock on the door for reentry. I could see Mindy looking right at me from the kitchen. However, instead of coming to let me in, she just kept doing whatever she was doing. I knocked and rang the door bell again. Really? She finally came insisting she thought I was knocking and ringing for the sole benefit of rustling up the pug. I guess that makes sense given that any other day I would have the door unlocked.

I leashed up the dog asking Mindy if she’d started my eggs. She hadn’t. I asked if she would make fried eggs this time. Yes. I headed out with Eiknarf stopping to start the Pilot as we walked by. We weren’t out for more than five minutes.

Mindy was about ready to leave the house as we were reentering. Bella was enjoying a batch of strawberries dipped in Truvia for breakfast, and Jacob was already off to his room. The fried eggs were a welcome change of pace. Mindy fried one for Eiknarf too, though she purposely fried the yoke hard. She was fidgeting for hers as I finished mine. Off to the shower by 740am.

I was fairly efficient, finding my way back downstairs by 8am. I quickly threw together a lunch choosing to skip making a salad. Instead, I packed the sandwich leftover from Saturday’s ski outing at MRM. Can’t remember the last time I took a real sandwich to work for lunch. Several years to be sure.

The kids and I headed out to the bus stop at 810am. We met Kenny and the girls there. I confirmed that his trash got emptied earlier. Said that it did. I shared that I put ours out late, but would simply drag our can across the street next to Carl’s. They always do the opposite side of the street last and on their way out. Also confirmed that Kenny planned to manage Wednesday’s late start. Said he did. Thanked him for doing so.

The bus was on time. And just like she does most days, Mrs. Vanorder teasingly provoked Eiknarf into barking. It’s become a daily ritual. Eiknarf and I headed back home. After putting her inside, I drug our trash can across the street parking it near Carl’s. Not knowing if he was watching or aware, I gave him a wave. He does the same at our place when he’s too impatient to wait for his scheduled pick-up.

Inside, I took care of a few last minute to-dos then headed out the door for work near 830am. It was a leisurely drive into the office, arriving somewhere near 845am. I parked in the front lot and was in my office by 850am.

I spent the first hour of the morning finalizing my 2011 performance assessment. It wasn’t required, but I completed it in a separate document and attached it to the provided online link. Hey, sometimes you’ve got to toot your own horn.

I spent the middle part of my day helping a peer with a rather cumbersome task. Took me about 4 hours to knock out the work. He expressed a great deal of gratitude when it was done. Guess you could say that I was paying it forward, so to speak. The last portion of my day was spent editing my quarterly presentation for Thursday adding a blurb or two recommended by a peer. Had to deal with a challenging escalation near the day’s end, but collectively we managed to get it on track. I definitely earned my money Tuesday!

During my busiest streak, I missed a call from daughter Ashley. I managed to take a call from Mindy, however, where we discussed our evening plans. Once again, this was a date night and it looked like I might be getting out of the office late. I suggested we have a relaxing evening at home. Tuesday really isn’t a good date night for us, but with Bella having gymnastics on Mon & Wed, and then Jimaken teaching on Thursday’s, it’s the only day that works. In the end, however, it’s not really about Mindy and I having a date night. Instead, it’s about the kids getting to spend an evening each week with their dad.

I was able to wrap things up at work and leave for home at 525pm. I called Mindy. She was lounging/napping on the sofa. She shared that she hadn’t whipped up anything for dinner. I didn’t mind. I wasn’t that hungry anyways. She also shared a couple Jacob stories. For starters, she shared that his ping-pong catapult broke during a trial run at school earlier that evening. They’d need to go back to the drawing board for design modifications. She also shared a funny story. Apparently Jacob’s music teacher thought it was a good idea to ask the class to hold hands and skip while they sang. Jacob adamantly refused. She apparently became angry and went and told his primary teacher, Mr Godwin, about his obstinate behavior. Mindy & I couldn’t stop laughing.

Arrived home at 550pm. Mindy was still on the sofa relaxing, which is very unusual. I took care of rinsing my lunch containers and then snacked on peanuts and cashews. Mindy asked if I would warm her some double-noodle chicken soup while she went up and changed into her lounging clothes. Yep! I had it ready and waiting when she returned. I headed up to change too. It felt good not to have to run anywhere.

I ended up warming the five leftover CBC chicken wings on the pizza stone. They were good. Mindy and I were done eating by 630-640pm and sat relaxing in the family room. Mindy suggested we watch TV, but was struggling to find something worthy of watching, so I took over the remote and found The Universe on History Channel 2. Looked like a The Universe bonanza – several episodes running back-to-back. Nothing delights me more! I was thrilled. Mindy, not so much. She said she really wanted to laugh. I guess you could say that I won. We watched The Universe. Unfortunately, I fell asleep at some point and remained out until 740pm or so. Next thing I knew, the kids were home.

At 8pm Mindy and the kids wanted to watch Idol, but I was certain that it was rerun of Sunday’s program. They didn’t seem to care or believe me, but it was. I got up and headed to my PC. I like Idol, but wasn’t in the mood for a rerun. Really? I was still tired and too lazy to work on my blog or do anything constructive. I simply surfed/played until the kids and Mindy were no longer watching the Idol rerun. I tuned the TV back to the H2 channel watching more episodes of The Universe. All of them were captivatingly good. If you haven’t caught the program, you should. Typically on Wednesday nights. Great, great stuff.

Mindy and the kids headed to bed a little after 9pm. Once they were all tucked into bed I headed back downstairs where I popped some popcorn and cracked open a Diet Coke. A little indulgence. Bella sniffed out the popcorn and eventually joined me downstairs just as I knew she would. She didn’t hang long, however. She was back in bed before 945pm.

I stayed up until 1030pm when my eyes were getting crazy heavy. Once in bed, I got a second wind but managed to fight it off and fell asleep somewhere near 11pm.

Rain and 60

2012-01-23T23:59:00.001-05:00

I was up a few minutes early and downstairs by 531am. I knowingly didn’t prep coffee the night before, so before doing anything else, I had to get that going. In the meantime, I could hear rain pounding against the roof and skylights. I glanced out back revealing that the rain had already eaten all the weekend’s snow. L In fact, a little earlier there was a bit of lightning and thunder. But that was somewhere near 4am.

I breezed through sit-ups and push-ups then took to my PC armed with a cup of coffee. I was a little surprised to see that it was a whopping 48 degrees. Thankfully, it looked like the heavy stuff was already past us, and the forecast claimed that we would have breaks of sunshine with temps in the 50’s during the afternoon. Once again, we were on a winter roller coaster ride. As it was, there weren’t any major temperature fluctuations predicted for the coming week, but the weekend ahead looks like it may be cold enough to ski. We’re keeping our fingers crossed. We plan to celebrate Bella’s adoption day on the mountain.

I ended up spending way too much time online, not breaking away until almost 610am. I guess you could say that I was enjoying myself way too much. I went ahead and poured Mindy’s coffee and headed up to wake her. It was almost 620am by the time I was back downstairs for meditation and stretching. I didn’t spend a whole lot of time on meditation but even a little bit of time is better than none. Even though it was brief, it was rewarding. I can say the same for the stretching. It was incredible.

Because it was so warm, I had to modify my winter attire. I opted to wear lighter running tights and a thin wicking shirt with the same pullover fleece. I wore hand covers but only a ball cap on my head. It was spitting rain when I headed out the door. And by run’s end, it was enough to wet me from head to toe, but by no means was I drenched. I ran the full 4.1 miles and the time went by relatively fast.

Back at the house, Mindy asked if it was cold enough to warm her car. I informed her that it was near 50. She called off the warming. I still needed to walk the dog, however, so I gave the door bell a few rings. That didn’t work so I resorted to door knocking. That gets her every time. Can’t help herself. She took care of business much easier than she might’ve had there been snow on the ground. I suppose she picks up the required scent much easier.

I wished I had asked Mindy to make fried eggs as opposed to a scrambled omelet but I forgot. She had my eggs waiting in the microwave when I got back. It wasn’t long before she was out the door for work. And I’m pretty sure she asked the kids to bus home to Noah’s.

Running a little late, I wasn’t off to the shower until 740am. I opted to lube up my new haircut versus trying to blow dry it on day one. I wore black Dockers and an older purple button-up dress shirt. I wasn’t downstairs until just after 8am. I moved swiftly to put together a lunch. Thankfully, Mindy already had a salad for the ready. All I had to do was throw together some fruit, cheese and a banana. The kids and I headed out to the bus stop at 810am. The kids liked the idea of wearing just their fleece jackets. And while there were clouds directly overhead, the sky was nothing but blue directly to the west. It looked like a banner spring day in the offing. In fact, it sounded like one, too. Birds were singing and scurrying all about. Quite a contrast to last Friday’s wintry blast.

Kenny was out with the girls. Chatted about the crazy weather. And I also shared that I bought a new pair of skis. The bus arrived on time, and Eiknarf gave Mrs. Vanorder an earful just as she does every other morning. Soon the kids were on their way to school and me and Eiknarf on our way back to the house.

I enjoyed a second cup of coffee while downloading Sunday afternoon’s photos. Time flew by. Always does when I get involved with my photo collection. I left for work near 830am. It was a lovely drive into the office. And by the time I arrived the sun was out in full force. Crazy beautiful. You wouldn’t guess that it was mid/late January.

I spent my day working on several things, some proactive and some reactive. In the end it was a good balance of both, which suits me just fine. Lindsey texted during the day asking about an oil change. I couldn’t/didn’t respond until late in the day. Too busy. Didn’t hear a peep from Mindy. Ate my lunch at my desk. Didn’t consider heading anywhere. I did peer out the window from afar and saw that it was clouded over again. I checked the temperature a time or two. It was 59 degrees at one point. No doubt, couple with the earlier rain, a big blow to MRMs snow pack. Can’t say enough about what those folks have done to make the mountain ski-ready this year. Constant work!

It was just after 530p when I left the office for home. I called Mindy but Bella answered. She shared that she wasn’t having the best of afternoons, but couldn’t really say why. I did my best to cheer her up. Mindy now on the phone, she shared how crazy her afternoon was, including Lindsey waiting at our house when she got home needing money for her oil change and gas. Said she had to call my dad to get the kids off the bus after Dena called to report a really sick kid at home. Agreed to have chili leftovers for dinner.

Arrived home ahead of 6pm. Bella was doing math home work and needed someone to check her work. She seemed sad. I looked it over so Mindy could continue making our dinner, which we now agreed on chili dogs. Bella was going on and on about sucking at all of her school work. She made some mistakes on her math to which I tried to offer some help. She was being overtly fussy and whiney about it. Having fought similar battles with Jacob and even Lindsey way back in the day, I figured it was better to put the books down for a few minutes or until her mood improved. Bella liked that idea. But I explained clearly that we’d have to get back on it right after dinner because this was a gymnastics night too. She understood.

I had two chili dogs, and Mindy did as well. They were really good.. Both kids simply had a bowl of chili. Mindy warmed the leftover cornbread as well. I was gonna pass on corn bread but ended up eating just one piece.

While I managed clean-up, Mindy worked with Bella on correcting her math homework. She seemed to be in a far better place. Makayla was there for most of it. Maybe that had a positive impact. As soon as her homework was completed, Mindy sent her up to change for gymnastics. And because Mindy was feeling a bit overwhelmed, I agreed to do both the drop and pick-up. That made Mindy happy.

Bella and I left the house at 650pm. We arrived still a minute or two early. As soon as

Bella was safely inside, I headed for home. We didn’t do a whole lot other than stretch out in the family room. I even dosed off for a few minutes. The time went fast. Soon it was 815pm and time to go after Bella. I got there right on time.

Like my last visit, the practice was far more populated than it was through most of the fall quarter. Bella gathered her things and we headed for home. Said she had a great practice and was the first one to finish her entire routine. She was noticeable proud of herself, and went as far as to tell me just how natural gymnastics come to her and how it makes her feel right at home. She continued by contrasting that against her scholastic performance, citing that she doesn’t get it and my never get good at it. I listened but then shared how I can tell that she loves gymnastics. I went on to share that she would succeed scholastically too, because she’s a winner. Just takes a winning attitude and effort. She listened but expressed some doubt. J

We arrived home a few minutes later. She was quick to share how well gymnastics went with her momma. After some family chatter, Mindy sent her to ready for bed. It was already nearing 9pm. We were watching the American Idol program we DVR’d Sunday night that originally ran after the NFC championship game. At 9pm, after Idol, we tuned into American Pickers at Jacob’s request. I was surprised he wanted to watch it. It was entertaining.

Mindy and the kids were in bed by 930pm. I stayed up playing around online and watching a little more of the American Pickers. I headed to bed at 1015pm.

A Late Xmas present to Myself

2012-01-22T23:59:00.001-05:00

I was up once again just ahead of 8am. I felt decent, but definitely could’ve slept longer. However, the thought of sleeping past 8am has never resonated with me. Seems like a huge waste of valuable time.

By the time I was downstairs making coffee I was wide awake and ready for the day. It was cloudy and still below freezing. The temperature was 28 degrees. Wasn’t expected to remain that cold, though. We were expecting a high in the low 40s as we cycle back towards 50 by Monday.

While enjoying coffee, I wrote most of Friday’s blog entry. And around 905am I readied for a run. Mindy & Eiknarf were still upstairs sleeping when I headed out the door. As I headed off to run I realized the need to try and clear the driveway of any remaining snow and ice (mostly ice). I ran three miles, once again taking advantage of the narrow path of untouched snow along the curb. Meanwhile, my right knee was feeling a little odd, perhaps a tad swollen, after Saturday’s skiing. It’s the same feeling I experienced last weekend. It didn’t hurt.

I waved to Kenny, who was presumably heading off to work as I was heading out the door. I ran the three miles without issue being careful not to slip on any of the ice when off the preferred track. At the run’s conclusion, I happened upon Mindy out front walking the pug. I stayed out with the two of them until Eiknarf was done.

Saturday evening we talked about the possibility of doing brunch at Milestone 229 this morning. We also talked about heading to ASBCO so Mindy could look for the matching pants to her new ski jacket. Supposed to be purple. I don’t think she’s liking being in all black. I offered to buy the pants to serve as a gift for one or more of the Mindy holidays fast approaching (Valentines Day, anniversary, birthday). UgH! And while we’re there, I thought I might look at rockered powder skis, too.

The brunch thing never came up, but we did talk about visiting ASBCO. Mindy called niece Lindy and made arrangements for her to come over that afternoon to cut my hair and texture hers. I’m thinking she said around 4pm. I headed to the shower around 11am. Mindy came up for a shower soon after. It took a little while for both of us to get ready.

Mindy wanted to grocery shop, too, but figured to do that after we got back. She didn’t ask if I wanted to go along. Before we headed out, I decided to take my ski boots just in case I made the impulsive leap and bought new skis. We agreed to stop at the Arlington ASBCO first, though I tend to like the Powell store a little better. For one, they typically have more inventory on hand. Took about 15-20 minutes to make our way to ASBCO winding through lovely Upper Arlington.

The lot was fairly packed, but most cars were at the wildly popular Japanese restaurant nearby/next door. By then, the temperature was above freezing. Lots of puddles forming in the parking lot. I purposely left my ski boots in the back of the Pilot when we headed in.

While Mindy looked at the ski pants I browsed skis on my own, which is just how I like to do it. A sales associate, Kayla, eventually hooked up with Mindy to help her with the ski pants. A couple pair of high tech skis caught my eye while I browsed. I eventually made my way over to Mindy & Kayla by the women’s ski pants where Mindy wanted my opinion on the two shades of purple ski pants they said they ordered to specifically match her jacket. Her jacket, while black, has a very thin purple stripe running through it as well as a purple lining in the hood. It was my opinion that neither matched the far more visible lining in the hood. Add to it, neither seemed rugged enough or worthy of the elements they’ll almost certainly face. Kayla went on about some numeric scale they use to rate how weatherproof ski jackets and pants are. I almost asked for clarification, but stopped when I realized that Mindy wasn’t too interested in either pair anyway.

Kayla started to walk away while we continued to browse but then turned around and asked if I had questions about the skis she must’ve seen me looking at. I almost said no, but then decided to inquire about the new rockered skis made for both deep snow and powder, but also do well on groomers. We talked for a few minutes about my ideal ski given what I have now before she tried pointing me to the new Rossi R3 they’ve been pushing hard in all their advertisements. It’s a wide rockered ski, tip & tail that rates middle of the road. They had it on sale for $689 with bindings and poles. Mindy gave a nasty face at the color – basically lime green on black. Color, though, wasn’t my first concern.

I took Kayla over to the Volkl’s where we looked at, and then discussed the 2012 Mantra & Gotama. The Mantra is a tad wider at the tip and waist than the Rossi R3, and also seemed like a much more advanced ski. While there, I joked about buying the really wide Volkl’s they had exclusively for deep western powder, and then what my peeps would say if I showed up at MRM with them. They actually look ridiculous, as wide as some snowboards. Who wants to ski? Too funny!

The Volkl’s were some of the more expensive skis and the price didn’t include bindings, either. The Mantra’s and Gotama’s were both on sale for $699. Just before we were ready to leave I asked Kayla if she could do better. Instead of an emphatic no, she said she thought she could, but would have to check and see what kind of deal she could give me. I asked for her ‘best’ price. Took her a few minutes. And while she was off doing that Mindy and I looked at other stuff. Kayla finally returned sharing that they would give me the 2012 170 Mantra’s for $699 but that would also include throwing in top tier bindings - the Salomom Z12s at no additional cost. Sounded like a good deal, but anyone that knows me, knows I can’t make a purchase that impulsively. Kayla added that the deal was only good until closing that day (Sunday), and that this was the last pair of 170s in inventory. I smiled and thanked her for the effort but shared that I couldn’t buy that impulsively. Said I would go to lunch and think about it.

Actually, though, I had been researching wider rockered skis for the last week or two after talking with a buddy at work who swears by the new technology and how well they perform in both powder and piste. While at lunch, I planned to Google the Mantra hoping to once again pour over the reviews and then look for the best internet pricing available for comparison's sake.

We ended up at Wendy’s for lunch all the way up at Bethel and Sawmill. Our first choice was Chile Verde but it’s closed on Sunday’s. While enjoying my burger I read a few ski reviews. One rated the Mantras tops in their class, while another close. In turn, the best price I could find anywhere for the 2012 was $699 without bindings. Mindy asked me a couple times if I was going to go back and buy ‘em. Yes. Let’s go back and get ‘em! We finished up our lunch and headed back to ASBCO. From my perspective, if the skis I wanted were gone – oh well. Nothing lost or gained.

Carried in my boots and found Kayla to finalize the deal. Said she’d have them ready Wednesday the 25^th. Awesome! Hoping to get ‘em out at least once before heading west. There longer than my AC30s but the rocker technology makes them ski shorter. As a side, they have the same color scheme as my AC30s so they’ll match my boots perfectly.

We arrived home around 2pm. Mindy planned on leaving for the grocery store right after we got home. I, in turn, planned to clear the driveway of any remaining ice and snow. I helped Mindy load the recycling into the back of Pilot just before she left. Said she’d be making a stop at Target too and asked that I brown the meat for chili. I can do that!

As soon as Mindy pulled away I shoveled loose most of the hard packed ice from the driveway using my handy dandy square shovel. Got all but a few scant spots broken loose then shoveled it clear using the regular snow shovel. That took about 20-30 minutes. Next, I headed in to brown the beef and sausage for chili. I also tuned into NFL championship game coverage, the first game being the Patriots and Ravens.

Jacob & Bella were home near 3pm. Waved to Jimaken as he drove off. A few minutes later Lindsey, the boys and Olivia showed up as previously arranged. Lindsey asked to do laundry and planned to stick around for dinner. She started a load of laundry then asked if I would watch the boys while she went tanning. I didn’t mind. Jacob and Rocky soon headed out to play with neighbors while Landon and Olivia stayed inside to play with Bella. Not too much later, Mindy got home from the grocery. I helped carry in the haul.

Lindy showed up to cut my hair and texturize Mindy’s around 4pm. Lindsey asked if she would cut her hair too. Lindy agreed. I told Lindy that my last cut was one of the best hair cuts I’ve had in the last couple years, do in part to her leaving it a bit longer on top thus manageable from day one. She wanted to do mine first.

Took a bit longer than going to the shop, but I am sure they’re under pressure to crank ‘em out there. I enjoy the process and find it very relaxing. I’m thinking that it took about 15-20 minutes. She did a nice job. Can’t recall if Mindy or Lindsey went next. Neither of those two took that long at all. Lindsey only had the dead ends cut off even after I asked that she cut off a few more inches. It would look better. However, because she always wears her hair up, it’s hard to tell just how long her hair is. Believe me, it’s long, and well past the middle of her back. I swept the floor clear of everybody’s clippings. We had a lot of activity going on with the hair cuts and all the wee ones. Makayla and Evan were over too. Mindy took care of paying Lindy for the haircuts. Thanks dear. Thanks Lindy!

Mindy invited Kenny & Chrissy over for chili. Chrissy accepted but Kenny declined. Planned to go horizontal on the sofa. Couldn’t blame him for that. He doesn’t get to do that enough.

Meanwhile, the finish to the Ravens/Patriots game was a classic. The Ravens missed an easy 32 yard field goal that would have sent the game to overtime. Felt bad for the kicker, though I picked the Patriots to win.

I’m guessing that it was near 6pm when we finally ate dinner. As usual, Mindy made sure all the kids were fed first. Lindy seemed to be enjoying herself and stuck around for dinner, too. Olivia’s taken a real liking to her. I’m not surprised. Mindy made a garden salad and sweet cornbread too. The chili was awesome. I managed clean-up. We used paper bowls so it wasn’t that bad. However, I still had to wash all the utensils and accessories.

Lindy pealed off for home I’m guessing around 715pm, or shortly after Lindsey left to take Olivia home. We kept the boys since Lindsey planned on coming back to work on her resume with Mindy’s help. Chrissy headed home about the same time and asked that we send Makayla home at 8pm. She and Bella were upstairs playing quietly. Mindy got a call from Jimaken at some point advising that one of the kids, he assumed Bella, was running up a bill on his credit card using an app from their Kindle Fire. A little investigation proved the hunch to be correct. It was Bella playing what she thought was a free app game. Turns out, the app itself was free, but the outfits for the models cost money. Crooked!

The second championship game (NFC) was finally underway. Surprisingly, the 49ers were ahead and their defense was playing lights out. I picked the Giants to win and they ultimately did in OT. The 49ers punt returner botched or fumbled two punts that the Giants turned into 10 points – clearly the difference in the game. I have heard rumors that Jim Harbaugh is a sore loser and arrogant. He showed what appeared to be a total lack of class after the game by not shaking hands with the Giants coach.

The game wasn’t over until 1040pm. By then, Mindy and the kids had long since headed to bed, though Bella was up romping around well past 10pm. I’m quite sure she told me she was jumping on her bed. That kid! I headed up to bed as soon as the game was over. Mindy woke to ask who won. Judging by her response I learned she was pulling for the

As Good as it Gets

2012-01-21T23:59:00.005-05:00

I was smart enough to choke down three Ibuprofen just before hopping in bed the night before, which left me only a little sleepy come 745am Saturday morning. But sleepy I can deal with; a headache and hangover is something else. I pulled myself from bed, and after brushing my teeth I headed downstairs to start some coffee and my day.

There was a fresh coating of snow on the ground but no more than another inch since Mindy shoveled and swept away what was there near 6pm the night before. I fooled around online for about an hour before readying for a run. It was cloudy and 24 degrees while I sipped coffee. And according to MRM’s website, they got 5 inches of powdery snow over night. Wasn’t sure if that was marketing or fact. The forecast for Bellefontaine was calling for temps in the 20’s all day. In other words, an excellent ski day and perhaps in the best conditions so far this season.

I left for my run around 845am wearing full winter gear as well as sun glasses. I ran just three miles like most other Saturday’s. I felt good throughout, doing my best to run in the soft, untrampled snow pack within 3 or 4 feet of the curb the entire way. I was back home around 920am, and still no sign of Mindy. So much for an early start.

After topping off my coffee cup, I decided to start gathering/organizing our ski gear. Mindy was up by 930-945am. While she enjoyed some coffee I made us both some peanut butter toast. We didn’t walk Eiknarf until after 10am. After finishing my peanut butter toast, I made two sandwiches to take skiing. I cut up some cheese and summer sausage, too. Eiknarf was crying for some peanut butter. She can smell it a mile a way. I rubbed a bunch of it on her muzzle. She couldn’t stop licking her face. She kept licking the floor, too, I assumed because she could smell the peanut butter but wasn’t sure where it was coming from. Too funny.

Mindy had very little to do to get ready for our ski day. I packed all the food and drink in two coolers, one with food and soft drinks, the other with a growler of IPA. I also topped off our flasks, hers with Goldschlager, mine with a new batch of lemon nip. I headed up for a shower around 1030am. Mindy was skipping a shower just as she often does on ski days. Instead, she’ll take one when she gets home.

The Pilot was coated in ice and snow. I headed out to thaw and warm it near 1040am. And rather than turn it around for loading, I figured it just as easy to load it while it sat thawing. Mindy carried out our ski bags and then called the neighbors to see if they were heading up. Yep, soon. We saw Lillian, Emily & Evan while we finished loading the Pilot. The O’Connell’s were heading up too. Nice!

Mindy was yacking on the phone with Bella’s teacher before and as we left the house apparently discussing Bella’s inability to stay on track and focus. It’s quite likely that Bella is either ADD or ADHD. Mindy recently completed a widely recognized worksheet evaluation, and apparently Bella has all the tell-tale signs. Mindy was still on the phone as we pulled into Thornton’s to fill-up. We had only about a ¼ tank. I didn’t want to worry about gas. We filled up for $3.19 per gallon. It was near 1120am by the time we actually hit the road.

Mindy called brother Craig for some medical advice pertaining to Bella. The call lasted until we were merging onto route 33 west. Halfway up route 33 Mindy talked with Jimaken and then Bella. Jacob was at his friend, Josh’s place working on their catapult project.

Once west of Marysville, there was a significant difference in the amount of snow on the ground. Hard to believe really. Looked like the five inches MRM bragged about was a reality. That pleased me much. We pulled in the jam packed lot at 1201pm. Confident that we could find an up close spot, we did the drive around thing for about 5-10 minutes. After a lot of back and forth, we finally found a spot in the 7th row against a snow bank, but right between the lodge and gift shop. A fairly decent spot, really.

By the time we geared up, got our lift tickets, hit the potty, and were on our first ride up Fur Star it was darn near 1230pm. The snow was as nice as it looked. Surprisingly powdery soft, but also pretty quick, about as good as it ever gets at MRM. We kept a loose eye out for ski peeps but didn’t see any of them. Not sure what they were doing. Perhaps they took a ski trip out of town. Once again, Mindy & I got chair 50, I think on our 3^rd ride up. We skied the treed run a few times. It was a blast and some of the best virgin snow to be found on the mountain.

We didn’t ski that long before we decided to take a break. I’m thinking it was 2pm. Both of us were super hungry having eaten only some peanut butter toast a few hours earlier and the lines were crazy long. I went to the Pilot for our cooler while Mindy went to scout for a table, which she’s yet to fail at doing even on the most crowded days. Sure enough, she was able to rustle up one of the smaller round tables close to the bar. After degearing, I headed to the bar for a single beer. I figured I would save the jug of Centennial for later if some of our peeps arrived.

A ‘large’ Sam Adams set me back $8.25. Yikes! Probably should’ve gotten a pitcher. Mindy & I shared it. The lodge was crowded. We ended up sharing our small table with a couple and their 13 year old son. Actually, they were more like friends with benefits. I can’t readily recall their names, but remember them instead for what they do professionally. She is an attorney in Cincinnati doing real estate stuff. He distributes reptiles and snakes, supplying several of the most well known pet shops. Said it has been a passion and hobby since he was a boy. Now it’s his livelihood. I asked his son if he would follow in his father’s foot steps. He responded favorably. They were an interesting couple. We enjoyed the opportunity to share about 30 minutes with them. He’s a big Bengals fan, by the way.

Headed out near 3pm. Ran into the neighbors just gearing up near ski check. Kenny said that Jake and Makayla were both in a snow board lesson until 330pm. We skied with Kenny, Chrissy while Mike O. took Emily, Evan and Lillian with him. Skied with the neighbors until it was time for them to retrieve their kids. Mindy and I headed off to do some runs on our own, once again doing the trees and then several runs on the face. The snow was great. We took yet another break sooner than we might’ve otherwise just so we could synch up with the neighbors who we knew were inside the lodge with a table. Mindy wanted a grilled hot dog from the outdoor grill. I headed to get that while she went after chili or chicken and dumplings for me. We planned to meet in the lodge.

Sure enough, the neighbors were sharing the long table near the stage with another family. Pamode was there to play, but there was a snowboard company there using the stage, so he couldn’t perform. He was a little frustrated that he couldn’t play. Not sure whose screw up that was. Mindy learned that he’s also a ski instructor there. Offered to help her further her technique for free. Wink-wink.

Meanwhile, I wasn’t feeling like drinking any more beer, especially since we planned on leaving around 7pm and heading to CBC for dinner. Instead, I drank water and a Fresca with my MRM chili. We didn’t stay in too long. I’m thinking it was 5pm when we headed back out. The lights were on but it wasn’t quite yet dark, but we probably should’ve gone for our clear goggles. They day was moving by quickly. We did a few runs battling the long lines at every lift when Mindy asked if it made more sense for us to leave closer to 6pm versus 7pm. I agreed. Just about that same time we spotted Darwin on the balcony of the lodge with his son, Lane. Darwin had actually texted earlier sharing that he was in the house.

We didn’t see him again until dark, or somewhere close to 6pm, and about the same time that the crowd began to disperse. That meant the lift lines were no longer an issue. The three of us skied together for a little more than an hour bombing down run after run. As Mindy pointed out, some of the best skiing of the season by far. The snow firmed a little but it still had that fluffy give with little to no ice anywhere but the initial descent from the lift area. Darwin shared that he was able to match our flights for the trip out to Oregon. Going back the same day too, but not sure he’s on the same flight.

After about the 10^th run together Mindy & I declared it a night. We still wanted to do dinner at CBC. Darwin, meanwhile, was heading into the lodge. Figured he’d hook up with the rest of the neighbors. I took both sets of skies while Mindy headed into the lodge to get our cooler. And then after degearing and warming the Pilot, I pulled up at the foot of the lodge to pick her up. The timing was dead on. She was just coming out. Mindy opted to remain in her ski gear for the drive home. It was about 730p when we left the lot.

The drive home went really fast. The cloud cover must’ve been really low because the Honda plant and the city lights over Marysville were bouncing off the clouds giving an eerie amber glow to the eastern sky. Very cool effect. Mindy wanted to shower before heading to CBC. Thank goodness! J I offered that she could head straight inside to shower while I unloaded our ski gear and then walked the dog. We figured we could accomplish everything we needed to do and still get to CBC by 9pm. We arrived home near 810p and did just that. Mindy headed in to shower and I unloaded our gear. The driveway was crazy slippery, and too slippery to pull the Pilot up without sliding. I parked at the curb, instead.

After carrying in all the ski gear I shoveled some of the snow, at least what would readily come up, which wasn’t a whole lot. I then threw down some kitty litter and salt.

After getting all of our geared stowed I headed off on a walk with the dog. I chose to walk her out back. She took her dear old time and unsurprisingly, liked the area under the tree house best. She only peed, however.

Inside, I headed upstairs to get ready for our date at CBC. Mindy was just about finished with her ready. Good timing. We were heading out the door by 840pm. We drove the Pilot, in part so we could pull it in the drive when we got home. Figured the salt would’ve done its job by then.

Arrived at CBC ahead of 9pm. Yeah! The lot was almost full. I dropped Mindy at the door and then went to park. I met her inside at the bar, where there were 4 or 5 empty stools all in a row. Mindy already had a sample of a new winter stout (different than the batch they put out a couple weeks back). I tried it, too. Both of us liked it enough to order pints. This batch is less intense and has a hint of coffee flavor. Mindy ordered some bread before we were ready to place food orders. Jamie and Vince explained the reason for the late crowd. Said it was restaurant week. And speaking of restaurant week, they handed us their $20 three course meal offering menu.

We eventually ordered entrees, Mindy going with the restaurant week special, fried risotto, salad, and steak, and me going a more high brow dish - buffalo wings. J Mindy let me try the deep fired risotto. Wow, it was absolutely delicious. Reminded me of pasta salvi. Where’s that been my whole life?

I enjoyed another beer with my meal, a Bohdi. The bar area cleared out significantly after 10pm. And at some point the host walked over to chat. I took the opportunity to ask the price of their new long-sleeved CBC t- shirts. Returned a minute later sharing that they’re $20. I asked for a large.

Earlier in the evening while we were still skiing, we got a call from Lindsey sharing that she was scheduled to have a root canal in Worthington at 730pm. She was worried about her condition after and if she would even be able to drive. Said her mother refused to help out, whether taking her or even just watching the boys. Such a loving relationship.

Now, I’ve never heard of getting a root canal on date night, but hey, whatever works. We tried calling/texting Lindsey numerous times through dinner but all of our calls and texts errored. And since it was happening on both our phones we figured it either the area, though we had full bars, or an outage of some sort. I guessed it an outage.We never could get through to learn her fate.

Since I picked up Friday night’s tab, Mindy agreed to get this one. Turned out, though, our bill was ridiculously small given our orders. They refused to charge Mindy for her steak after she shared that it was a little overdone. They didn’t’ charge us for the t-shirt either citing me wearing it as free advertising. Cool! I will wear it proud.

Mindy started fading and fast. Said she was getting super sleepy. I’m guessing it was near 11pm when Mindy drove us home. She wasn’t kidding about being tired, she was off to bed straight away. Also shared that here stomach was hurting. With her all but asleep, I opted to bounce out of bed and head downstairs to try to and catch Saturday Night Live. I poured myself a Bohdi and headed to the family room. I saw the opening monologue but not much more. I fell quickly to sleep.

Don't Worry Be Happy

2012-01-20T23:59:00.004-05:00

I was up a few minutes early for a change. That was nice, especially given that the recent trend has been more towards sleeping in a few extra minutes. Immediately downstairs I slipped into my exercise shoes, looked out back, then hit the start button on the coffee maker in route to the living room for sit-ups.

Had both sit-ups and push-ups behind me before 540am. Made some coffee then headed to the PC. The first thing I did was check the weather. It was clear and cold - only 9 degrees. It wasn't supposed to get that cold overnight but the sky wasn't suppose to clear, either. I'm guessing that had a lot to do with it. The weekend forecast looked favorable for Saturday skiing. Wasn't expected to get out of the upper 20s and with a chance of a little more snow later too. Warming up again on Sunday though and then even more so heading into the following work week. Pretty much following the same up and down pattern we've experienced all winter long.

Next up was meditation, and I got perhaps the earliest start in the last few weeks. That went well. It was 610am and time to wake Mindy in a hurry. I headed up with coffee. Predictably, she asked that I bump up the heat. but I already had. Back downstairs to stretch.

Stretching was great. I finished near 625am and quickly changed into my running clothes in hopes of getting out the door on time, if not a couple minutes early. Because it was in the single digits, I donned an extra upper layer, adding a second, thin wicking shirt. That was wise. I was comfy and cozy from jump. After a quick stretch of the hammies from the front stoop, I was off to the races.

I ran the full 4.1 miles staying near the road's edge for most of it, where about an inch of fresh snow made for a soft track. Very nice! There was enough snow on the ground that I planned to shovel when I got back home. I started Mindy's Pilot, shoveled the drive, then walked the dog. By the time all that was done, Mindy was already heading out the door for school. As she hopped into the warmed Pilot, she shared that my eggs were ready in the microwave.

The kids were already done with their breakfasts and upstairs playing Xbox. I woofed down my eggs then rushed off to the shower. It was Friday so I wore blue jeans and my black cashmere sweater. It is very comfortable. Wasn't downstairs until 803am, but that was plenty enough time to throw together a quick lunch. Mindy had already prepped my salad the night before. The kids, the dog and I headed out at 810am. I reminded the kids to bundle warmly, and they both did. Bella carried out Makayla's winter coat, the one she left at our place the evening before, when she tore out the house for home without it. Not sure what she was thinking.

Kenny was at the bus stop with his girls. Confirmed ski plans for Saturday. Jacob & Bella, however, wouldn't be joining us, this being a Jimaken weekend. The bus was a couple minutes late. Jacob was fooling around standing in the middle of the street with his eyes closed. Not the smartest trick he's ever pulled. On queue, Eiknarf barked at Mrs Vanorder. She prompts her to most mornings. It was cold, Kenny an I headed our separate ways as soon as the bus pulled away.

Before heading off to work, I took care of a couple nagging tasks online. One, I renewed the boat registration, and two, I renewed Eiknarf's dog license. It took me a while to figure out how to edit her profile to reflect that she'd been spayed thus receiving the discounted license fee. Felt good to get those two things out of the way. I packed my iTouch and left for the office. The Accord had been warming for almost 20 minutes.

Arrived at the office between 845-850am. Parked up close. Walked in with the guy that tore his Achilles tendon. He has to use a cart to wheel his bum leg around. Long healing process. Won't have surgery, as I understand it, for some time yet.

I hoped it would be a quiet day escalation-wise so I could focus on knocking out a couple important tasks. One, I wanted to draft my 2011 performance review, and two, I wanted to prepare my 4th quarter presentation slides. And if I still had time, I wanted to draft a recap of a technical timeline for an important project coming up.

As I hoped, there were no urgent emergencies for me to contend with at least at the day's beginning. I took full advantage by jumping straight into drafting my 2011 performance recap. Took most of the morning to draft. Saved it and then set it aside. Talked with a peer for 30 minutes or so midday. Decided to take lunch around 115pm. Initially, I thought I'd be making two stops, one at Giant Eagle and then another to ASBCO. But as I exited the lot I all but scrapped the ASBCO stop and simply headed to the Dublin Wal-Mart instead of Giant Eagle where I needed only to pick-up some Crystal Light for making lemon nip.

I was back at the office by 145pm. Spent time finalizing my quarterly slides then did some editing to my performance review. This marks the first year in many (like 20) that I wasn't responsible for writing performance reviews for direct reports. And that, friends, is a wonderful feeling.

Before leaving the office for the day, I checked MRM's website. Claimed making almost a foot of snow the last couple nights and still calling for 4" of real stuff Friday night. That was uplifting. Called Mindy on my drive home. The kids had already left with their dad. I asked that she throw down some kitty litter on my side of the drive so I wouldn't slip back down. She agreed. I called Tommy next. Talked about our fast approaching Oregon trip and invited him to ski with us on Saturday. Still hasn't gotten out even once this season. Said Sunday would be his only shot, but when I shared that the weather forecast for Sunday wasn't looking good, and that we wouldn't be going, he opted for neither. Before ending our conversation, I shared that we would almost certainly be heading to CBC that night. He offered that he just might join us, but couldn't fully commit for business concerns.

Mindy had the drive cleared when I arrived home. It was snowing heavy, icy snow. Not sure why it was so icy, because the temperature was around 24 degrees. She walked Eiknarf next. When she finally came back inside we briefly discussed evening plans. She reminded me that her school holiday gathering was planned for Barley's. Oops! I had forgotten all about it, and for some reason thought we talked about going to CBC. I figured I'd better send brother Tommy a text indicating as much.

Mindy headed up to ready for a night out while I edited and published my Thursday blog. I headed up to freshen up about 10 minutes later, or just as Mindy was finishing up. All I needed to do was brush my teeth and brush my hair. Hey, when you're as fresh and good lookin' as me, it just doesn't take much. :)

We left for Barley's around 650pm. I let Mindy out near the door and then went and parked. I found a spot around back. Rare for us to park there. I headed inside behind another couple whom I didn't know but for some reason speculated that it might very well be Mindy's new principal and husband. Later learned that it indeed was. Funny how that works out. Intuition, I suppose. Meanwhile, Mindy was already camped out near the bar with a few peeps. I went to the bar and ordered a Centennial from lovely Katy. I then found Kurt, Kent, and Tom the Mary Kay guy chatting at a table near the bar. I holed with them while Mindy hung with a bunch of girls, who I assumed were teacher pals from school, none of which looked familiar. But soon a couple familiar faces showed, Keri Anne and another whose name currently escapes me - Rene's buddy.

After a few minutes passed, Mindy introduced me to the gang, including her stand-in principal, Jan and her husband. Later A couple more familiar teacher faces showed, Carol, Jennifer & Shelly. Carol was in with her new beau, Paul I believe. Carol's an attractive athletic 47 year old woman who's been searching for true love ever since I've known Mindy. I guess I could say the same for Jennifer, but she's much younger. I talked with our friends Jack & Leslie for a while, too. They are a lot of fun, and very interesting, especially Jack.

Later, Grandpa Tom and Steve showed up and joined in the fun. And then at some point I joined a booth full of Mindy's school peeps where we talked running. The group included her principal, Jan. Jan runs now, too, as does her friend Betsy. They both are closer to my age or perhaps even a bit older. We had fun, and some point broke into song, which is never rare for a night at Barley's. Later, our conversation turned to some life experience stuff. I was amused at the confessions from the whole flock of teachers. I like them even more now. :)

Most of the teacher friends peeled off near 10pm or so. Mindy & stuck around with Jack, Leslie, Grandpa Tom and Steve. I know for sure that I had four beers, and maybe even a fifth. Lost track. However, I know I had one Centennial, two White Rajah, and one Bells Hop Slam. That's right. It's out again. Bell's brews and releases a batch each January. It's out until the end of February or so, but then that's it. This year's batch wasn't so good. Seemed to be missing that heavy piney bouquet I love so much.

Barley's was prepping to close when we left. Somehow Mindy roped me into picking up the check. It was just over a $100, too. Apparently she bought more food for their gathering than I guessed. She drove home. It was still before midnight but that's about all I can say with any certainty.

I was getting really hungry. I'd eaten just a couple bites of food all night. I woofed down some of the leftover pizza and then made a pepperoni and cheese wrap just before heading up to bed. Mindy was all but asleep when I joined her already in bed. Eiknarf was already in bed, too. She loves sleeping with her people.

Homemade Pizza & Snow for the Weekend

2012-01-19T23:59:00.002-05:00

I was up on time and eager to get after my day. I felt great after almost 7.5 hours of excellent sleep. I didn’t prep coffee the night before so I had to deal with that first thing. Didn’t take long, however, and once that was underway, I moved on to sit-ups.

I settled down in front of my PC with coffee near 550am. It was 25 degrees and cloudy. Expecting a bit of snow later in the day, perhaps even an inch of accumulation during the overnight. And that's not all. There was another small snow storm predicted to hit late Friday afternoon/evening. In total, MRM was expecting up to 5” inches of natural stuff to go along with whatever they make. That should make Saturday a banner ski day. That served as a mood elevator. Looking ahead, like I often do, the ten day forecast has us rocketing up near 50 again next week with overnight lows remaining just above freezing. We’ve spent no more than two or three days in a row in the freezer this winter. It’s not uncommon to go two three weeks without every coming out.

I briefly checked Timberline’s website. They were still in the middle of that huge snow storm that’s expected to dump more than 100” of new snow by Friday. As of Wednesday evening, they had already received 50+” in the past 72 hours. Nice!

Darwin sent an email sharing that he bought his Oregon airline ticket. Not sure what he paid. I am assuming he matched our flight itinerary, though.

At 605am I headed to the family room for meditation. That went well, but I didn’t allow the amount of time I would’ve preferred - only ten. 20 minutes is ideal. At 615am I had to break away to wake Mindy. She asked that I crank up the heat after I delivered her coffee, but I had already done so before heading up.

Downstairs to stretch around 620am. That went really well again too. My shoulders, neck, and back have been sterling so far this year. And once again, by scheduling push-ups every other day as opposed to daily has made the biggest difference. Wish I would’ve done that a long time ago. I was slow to dress for my run. I didn’t get out the door until 637a. I was dressed in the usual winter uniform, including ear and hand covers. As a result, I was comfy, cozy and warm.

I ran the full 4.1 miles and felt good doing it. During my run I contemplated the presentation I’d be giving to a customer at 9am. I was a little stressed about it, but not overtly so. It is what it is. I was also thinking about Lindsey’s car and what we’ll ultimately do about that. Honestly, it’s like a ticking time bomb. But on a more positive note, Mindy and I have noticed a huge improvement in Lindsey’s behavior patterns both as a daughter and as a parent. She’s made great strides. I am genuinely proud of what she’s accomplished for herself in a relatively short amount of time.

I was back at the house around 720am. I walked in to fetch the leash and Mindy’s keys. And while I did that, Mindy hollered for Bella to bring the pug. She was waiting by the door by the time I had the Pilot started and was back at the doorway. To mix things up a bit, we walked across the street, and probably our least traveled path. Ykraps and I would take that route after work most evenings. And speaking of Ykraps, the 14^th marked the two year anniversary of his passing.

Our walk was brief but fruitful. We were back at the house just in time to bid Mindy farewell. My eggs were waiting in the microwave. Bella asked me to warm her peanut butter toast. Apparently she left it sit too long before digging in. I warmed it twice, or about 17 seconds in total. Bella said that it was a little too hot. I was off to the shower by 738am.

I dressed nicely wearing older dress slacks and an old but nice black, sheep’s wool sweater. It’s the kind one must wear a t-shirt under or be forever itchy. I was downstairs somewhat late – 803a. I quickly threw together a lunch consisting of a salad of spring mix, tomatoes, baby carrots, and cauliflower as well as a fruit medley, banana, and chunks of cheese. I was ready to go about the same time that the kids were.

We headed to the bus stop at 810am like usual. Chrissy was out with the Makayla for the first time in a couple weeks. Said Lillian was staying home ill. Said she warned her that staying home from school would likely mean no skiing come the weekend. Somehow I doubted that would stick.

The bus arrived near 815am like clock work. Soon Eiknarf and I were headed back home. I took care of a few last minute items, including enjoying a 2^nd cup of coffee, before taking off to work. I didn’t need to be downtown until 9am. It’s only a 15 minute drive. I stuck around the house until 835am.

It was an easy drive downtown taking 670. Traffic was a little heavy on

Neil Ave

by Nationwide arena but otherwise fine. I arrived at the customer’s location with 5 minutes to spare. Arrived in tandem with a peer. We walked in together and were quickly in the scheduled conference room setting up.

The presentation went well. The one person I was told would ask lots of tough questions was in attendance for the first time in three meetings. I was a tad nervous but well prepared. We did fine. The meeting lasted about an hour. I was on my way out of the parking garage by 1015am and headed to the main office.

Arrived around 1030am. Had a lot on my plate, including two important calls/meetings and then several reporting related tasks to complete. I felt a little overwhelmed a couple of times, but instead of dwelling on it, I focused more energy on the doing part. That always helps. When I left the house I thought that I might head to the Tuttle Mall Macy’s with my special shopping pass, but never did. Instead, I plowed straight through my day trying to get on top of my workload.

It started snowing some time earlier in the afternoon and looked to be sticking by late afternoon, although there really wasn’t that much on the ground come 530pm. I called Mindy on my drive home. The roads were starting to get slick, especially the roads less traveled. Mindy was busy making homemade pizzas. Said Bella, Makayla, and Landon were helping. Jacob & Rocky were outside having an airsoft battle. The original plan called for Mindy to take Lindsey shopping for shoes at Kohl’s after dinner, but that was before the inclement weather hit. Mindy wasn’t so sure she wanted to be heading out in the weather. She wanted my opinion of the roads once I arrived home.

Our street was by far the most treacherous of all that I traveled. And my car slid back about 3 or 4 feet when I pulled in the drive. Once it came to a stop, I rocked it hard to make sure it would stay put. It did. Someone, Jacob or Mindy, I assumed, had shoveled the drive recently. But there really wasn’t that much accumulation. The first layer, however, was very icy.

I headed inside where Mindy and the wee ones were still busy preparing and baking the pizzas. Rocky & Jacob were just coming inside about the time I did. Jacob sent Rocky back out to the tree house area to get his jar of ammo. About ten minutes later dinner was served. There were three different pizza types. The biggest was a pepperoni, and then there were two smaller, one with pepperoni, tomatoes, and hot pepper rings, and the other with pesto, mushrooms, and chicken. Yuck! Not me. That one was for Jacob and Mindy. By the way, Lindsey wasn’t present. What I didn’t realize is that she was at a school conference regarding Landon.

Rocky & Landon both complained about the taste. Didn’t like the homemade pizza. Mindy commented that Landon filled up on pepperoni while they were in the make line. J I enjoyed some of the first two pies. They were both very good – different. Mindy made a fresh garden salad too. That really hit the spot. Mindy shared that she was making chocolate chip cookies after dinner in part to motivate the kids to finish their pizza. Rocky only ate about half of one slice. He’s a very finicky eater. Said he was full. Then you’re too full for chocolate chip cookies? He quickly recanted citing his dislike for the pizza. Insisted on having something else like cereal. We eventually settled on a banana.

He wore us down with negotiations for more than one chocolate chip cookie. He can be relentless. Lindsey showed up while the cookies were in the oven, and just as I was wrapping up the clean-up. Said she didn’t want any pizza. She was eager to head to Kohl’s with Mindy. They left around 7pm best guess. Bella went with too – an all girls thing.

The boys stayed back with me but were no trouble whatsoever. They all three played in Jacob’s room, I assumed playing Xbox. They did so without any fussing. While they played Xbox, I updated my blog and went through my mail. I’m guessing it was near 745pm when Jacob & Rocky came back downstairs, Rocky asking for another chocolate chip cookie. I let him have one more. Jacob shared that Landon had fallen asleep on his bed. That’s Landon. He’s frequently out by 730pm. And according to Lindsey, he’s a very early riser.

The girls arrived home shortly after 8pm while the two boys ( Jacob/Rocky) and I were settling in to watch Idol auditions. However, by then even Rocky was sleeping. Lindsey moaned about having to wake them up. Said they're typically very difficult to get up and moving. Looked like Mindy bought her two pairs of shoes. Lucky for her, the boys woke fairly easily and Lindsey soon had them ready for departure just ahead of 815pm, though she headed out to warm her car first.

I wasn’t real excited about watching Idol again, but the whole family was gathered to watch, so watch I did. Come 845pm I took Bella’s lead and plopped down on the familyroom floor with a chair pillow and fell quickly asleep. I slept downstairs until 10pm when Mindy and the kids were heading up for bed. They had been watching some strange new show on after Idol. I was still half asleep as we made our way to bed. Good night moon!

Celebrating Lindsey

2012-01-18T23:59:00.006-05:00

Happy 28th Lindsey

I slept soundly not waking even once, at least from what I can remember, until it was time to get up. I was soon downstairs to the sounds of the coffee maker going through its brewing cycle. I glanced out back at the frozen tundra then completed calisthenics. Both sit-ups and push-ups were done by 545am.

It seemed that there would be no chance of this Wednesday becoming a rainy one like 90% of them have been since summer. Not only was it currently below freezing, but it was expected to stay that way throughout the entire day. In fact, the day’s high wasn’t expected to top 30 degrees. That suited me just fine.

I played around online until just after 6am when I headed to the familyroom for meditation. That went well. Near 615am I woke Mindy and delivered her morning coffee. Don’t think she said anything about cranking up the heat. Hmm?

Back downstairs for stretching by 620am. That went well, too. I dressed warmly in full winter running attire not getting out the door until 641am. I ran the full 4.1 miles without issue. Was actually a pretty easy run. I started Mindy’s Pilot and walked the pug after my return. Wasn’t back in the house until it was time for Mindy to leave for school. She asked the kids to bus to Noah’s after school in light of a meeting she needed to be part of after work. Jacob complained.

Enjoyed my eggs and then was off to the shower by 740am. And since I’d be spending my day at a customer’s site, I dressed up a bit wearing black dress slacks, a black t-shirt, and my new purple cashmere sweater. I looked handsome. Just ask me!

After grooming, I packed a lunch consisting of a salad, fruit, cheese and a banana. The kids and I headed out at 810am. Started the Accord while also managing Eiknarf from her leash. Met Kenny at the bus stop. Said he’d be spending the day at his shop putting down a new tile floor. Bus arrived right on time – 815am. After the bus pulled away, me & Eiknarf walked back home where I spent another 5-10 minutes before heading off to work. Before leaving, I made sure I had my badge, laptop mouse, and power cord. Don’t want to make that mistake ever again.

It was a cold, but mostly sunny, commute across 670 to I-270 north. Made great time arriving after just 22 minutes. No real traffic snarls whatsoever. I wish I could say the same for my work day, but I can’t. It was a tough day from the outset. I was extremely busy from the moment I sat down dealing with numerous customer escalations.

Amongst all that, I had to join three scheduled calls between 10am and 1pm. I was busy!

Come 130pm I needed a break, so I decided to take a lunch and head to both Target and Macy’s. I stopped in Target first, where I picked up a birthday card for Lindsey. I was there for only about ten minutes. My next stop was Macy’s Easton. There, I checked out dress shoes. I could use a pair of black ones and I have a 25% savings pass that starts on the 19^th (Thursday), but figured I could scout the selection early. Turns out, though, they didn’t have any that jumped out at me. While there, I looked at a couple wool jackets too, but not seriously.

It was 215pm when I was in the Accord and headed back to the customer’s campus. Immediately in the door, I went for my packed lunch. I’d just gotten settled when two of their managers approached for updates on an extremely hot issue. That issue consumed my time and energy pretty much for the rest of the day. Even had to get my boss involved, which is rare. I talked with Mindy around 510pm advising that I might be leaving late again. We had plans for dinner at Barley’s celebrating Lindsey’s birthday. Mindy was understanding and suggested that I simply meet them there if it got too late.

Turns out, I wasn’t able to get out of the customer’s office until 545pm. I called Mindy once I was on the road and arranged to meet at Barley’s just as we had outlined a bit earlier. Lindsey and the boys were already at the house waiting. This marked the first time that I took 270 south to 670 for the trip home. Turned out to be good move. I made it to Barley’s in record time. I was there in 20 minutes, which was far sooner than I expected, and a few minutes ahead of Mindy and company.

I ordered a beer from the bar, a Centennial, but not before sampling their latest new offering, Roggen-Cascade – a rye beer brewed with Cascade hops. It was OK, but I opted for a pint of my old stand-by instead.

Mindy and the kids arrived before I could enjoy more than a sip or two. Mindy arranged for all of us to be seated in a booth near the bar. Blonde Sarah was out server. Both Mindy and I got our beers from the bar. Mindy was having the Russian nitro. Unless I’m mistaken, all four kids ordered Dr Pepper. Mindy ordered two baskets of fries as appetizers, one plain, while the other smothered in brisket and cheese for all of us to enjoy while we perused the menu.

I opted to try their special, a chicken gyro. Mindy ordered a Barley burger; Jacob ordered a brisket sandwich; Bella, Rocky, and Landon each ordered the mini cheeseburger. Lastly, Lindsey ordered naked boneless wings. I stuck with just the one beer. The chicken gyro was just OK. Not a whole lot of flavor. Still hungry after I finished, I ate the last of Mindy’s burger.

We skipped dessert since we had a b-day cake for Lindsey waiting at home. I paid the dinner tab with Mindy agreeing to pay our two beer bar tab. She returned sharing that Janet simply transferred it to our table. She tipped her $5 anyway. After the kids got gumballs, we headed for home. Jacob and Rocky opted to ride with me.

We wasted no time setting up Lindsey’s chocolate birthday cake with candles and then singing the happy birthday song. Still hungry, I had a piece of the birthday cake, which for me is rare. Mindy made arrangements to take Lindsey shopping to Kohl’s Thursday evening after work and school to get the new shoes she wants. That would be her birthday present. She and the boys didn’t stay long after cake. I’m guessing they were gone by 750pm.

After Lindsey left I changed into my PJs. Mindy did the same about 15 minutes later. Now 8pm, we tuned into night #1 of American Idol season 11. This being the drawn out audition phase, the program went until 10pm. We watched it all as a family. The auditions were taped in Savannah, Georgia. It was good entertainment, but not sure that I’m willing to invest myself in the entire season. We’ll see.

We pretty much headed to bed as a family as soon as Idol was history. I started getting really tired around 940pm. I was more than ready to get some sleep.

Sun of a ...

2012-01-17T23:59:00.002-05:00

I was up right on time. In fact, I even rolled out of bed a few minutes early. Once downstairs, I glanced out back to put an eye towards the weather. It was wet and obviously above freezing. Next, I grabbed my exercise shoes then hit the go button on the coffee maker on my way into the livingroom for sit-ups. Knocked those out in a hurry.

While waiting on the coffee to finish its brew cycle, I organized some recent mail/bills. Headed to the PC with coffee in hand near 545am. There I checked the weather, headlines, and read the Daily OM. It was warm alright – a spring-like 48 degrees. We were currently in between two cycles of rain. I studied the local radar carefully to try and time my run so to avoid the heavy stuff that was coming in the 2nd cycle. I was fortunate. It didn’t look like the heavy stuff would hit until 8am or after, but it looked to be packing lightning and thunder – red on the radar.

They were forecasting a high of 55 degrees with strong winds and heavy rain. Supposed to be below freezing again Wednesday through Friday with a slight chance of snow. In other words, more back and forth. It is what it is. The adjusted high for Saturday at MRM was now predicted to only reach 33 degrees – definitely cold enough to ski. I sent a note to a few ski peeps sharing the good news.

I headed to the family room for meditation at 6am, or slightly after. That went exceptionally well. Near 615a when I finished, I hustled upstairs to wake Mindy with a cup of coffee in hand. Back downstairs to stretch and ready for a run. Stretching went well, too. Because it was so warm, but also sprinkling, I was a little torn while choosing my layers. In the end, I opted for a thin, long-sleeved wicking shirt, my pullover fleece, and a toboggan but without the benefit of ear covers underneath. I didn’t wear hand covers, either.

I headed out the door a minute or two before 630am and ran the full 4.1 miles. It was trash day, though I didn’t see or hear any sign of the truck until near the run's end. I stayed fairly comfortable with my selected attire. I did well. Before heading inside, I drug our empty trash can back to its resting place.

Inside, I waited for the pug. And while I managed to avoid the heavy rain, I was still fairly wet, both from rain and sweat. I walked Eiknarf heading towards the O’Connell’s house. She took care of business fairly quickly.

Back at home, Mindy was eating some yogurt and offered me a bite. She had my eggs ready, too. She left for work after reminding the kids to bus home with Noah. I was off to the shower shortly after finishing my eggs.

I wore a pair of well-seasoned black Dockers and a button-up dress shirt. I looked and felt terrific. I was downstairs throwing together a lunch by 757am. I packed some cheese, banana, yogurt, and a salad that I threw together quickly. The kids joined me downstairs at 805am. They asked how they might dress for the weather. I suggested hoodies. The sky was your typical winter gray directly overhead, but to the northwest the sky was darn near black. Looked scary, much like a summer time thunderstorm rolling in.

Kenny was at the bus stop with the girls and both pugs. We talked about the crazy up and down weather forecast. The bus arrived a couple minutes early. I headed back to the house for another cup of coffee. I didn’t bother thawing the Accord given that it was so warm.

I left the house for work around 825am. It had just started to rain fairly hard as I walked out to the car. I thought about turning around and grabbing my umbrella but didn't. Screw it! Gas prices, I noticed, were back down to the $3.25 range after spiking last Thursday & Friday to about $3.60. I was getting low and figured to be filling up before Wednesday’s New Albany drive, but didn’t want to do it right then. I still had about a 1/3 tank.

It rained hard during my drive in, but slowed a little by the time I arrived. That’s good because I had to park in the far lot. All the up-close spots were taken, I ‘m sure, by those trying to avoid getting drenched. Smelt like spring rain.

The morning was fairly busy. I got involved in a couple escalations I needed to stay involved in through resolution. My plan was to spend my day studying the monthly report I’d be presenting on Thursday AM ,but that never happened. In addition to managing a couple escalations, I helped a peer with a problem. That ended up consuming more time than I imagined it might.

As the afternoon waned, it was looking like I might get out of the office on time and perhaps even a few minutes early. However, just before 5pm, we experienced a major issue requiring my attention and intervention. I ended up at the office until things calmed, and unfortunately, that wasn’t until after 630pm. Things like this seem to have a knack for occurring on date night. I talked with Mindy just after 5pm warning that I might be late. Even though it was date night, we decided not to do dinner out. Instead, we planned to stay home and relax. Part of the reason, we planned dinner out on Wednesday with Lindsey and the boys in celebration of her 28^th b-day. I called Mindy again just before I left the office.

Arrived home near 7pm. Everything Mindy had to move for the carpet cleaners on Monday was put back in its place. She also had dinner on the stove. It looked like Smoked sausage, and smelt terrific. It was just she and I. Again, this was date night. The kids were with their dad. Didn’t expect them home until 8pm. Mindy was proud of her creative sausage concoction, and it was incredibly delicious. A fairly simple dish, too - smoked sausage, can of Ro-Tel tomatoes, and fresh spinach sautéed on the stove. She served it with chicken rice. We both had two helpings. Yum-yum!

Meanwhile, the evening was flying by, helped along, no doubt, by my late arrival home. Didn’t finish clean-up until 740pm. Before the kids got home, I spent a little time editing and updating recent blog entries. The kids were home near 8pm as planned. While the kids readied for bed, I returned to my PC for more blog work. I poured a pint of Bohdi to enjoy at the same time. And boy was it good! Got caught up through Monday, including the addition of a few more pics. It was after 9pm when I finished my play.

By then it was time to tuck in the kids. Jacob was hosting Eiknarf for the night. Mindy headed to bed soon after the kids. And like I generally do, I headed back downstairs to catch a little TV. I tuned to one of the knowledge channels watching The Universe, and an episode all about our sun. Most I already knew but had forgotten. Still, fascinating stuff!

93 million miles from Earth

1 million miles closer or further, we’d either bake or freeze

5,000 miles thick plasma

The sun rotates, but different sections at different speeds thus creating thousands upon thousands of magnetic poles.

At its center, takes 35 days to rotate one full revolution. Closer to the poles, 25 days. Probably would be more accurate to use the term 'Earth days', but they didn't.

Return to Rain

2012-01-16T23:59:00.002-05:00

I woke a few times during the night trying to find that elusive sweet spot. And then, sometime around 2am, I actually got up and headed in to check on Jacob. I called his name a couple of times to which he only moaned and groaned and rolled over. At the time, I viewed that as evidence enough that he was OK. I headed back to bed feeling a bit more at ease. I later learned that Mindy did the same thing around midnight. I checked him again when I got up for good at 545am. I felt justified in sleeping late due to the kids and Mindy having the day off. I wouldn’t need to see the kids onto to the bus.

I was downstairs engaged in calisthenics a few minutes later, and by 555am I had both sit-ups and push-ups behind me. I poured some coffee then retreated to my PC where I read some headlines and checked the weather. It was still pretty chilly, only 23 degrees. However, the forecast was calling for a high of 42 with along with a chance of rain by mid day. Unfortunately, the 3.5 day cold snap wasn’t built to last. The 10 day forecast shows a lot of up and down, but more importantly in the mid 40’s for the weekend which would pretty much put a damper on more skiing.

Read a few sports related headlines then headed off to meditate near 610am. Completely unconcerned for the time, I had a very good meditation. I wasn’t finished until 630am. Stretching, of course, was next, and that went well also, but I could definitely feel the effects of two full days of skiing.

It was darn near 7am by the time I was heading out the door for my run. And given the freezing temps, I was dressed in full winter running attire. I ran the full 4.1 miles and witnessed a beautiful firey orange sunrise.

Back at home the house remained quiet. Everybody else remained asleep in bed. And since I wasn’t sure how late they’d sleep, I headed up to get Eiknarf so I could take her on a walk. As soon as we were back, I made my own breakfast frying the last two eggs in the fridge. Mindy planned on going to grocery store sometime during the day. It occurred to me that I hadn’t eaten fried eggs in quite a while. It was darn near 8am when I finally headed up for a shower.

Sometime during my ready Mindy got up and headed downstairs. She was at her computer when I reemerged showered and dressed. We compared notes on Jacob’s status, her sharing that she got up and checked on him around midnight. While we were talking, Jacob woke up and came downstairs. Said he was feeling a whole lot better, and asked his mom if she would take him to MRM after he got back from hanging out with his dad. We suggested that if he wanted to board/ski with the others that he simply call his dad and tell him. Either that, or see if he could pick them up after skiing. I thought he might change his mind after a good night’s sleep. And honestly, that’s what I was hoping he’d do. I want him to get lots of reps on his new board.

Mindy reminded me about the carpets being cleaned. Expecting them to arrive around noon. She planned to move as many things (chairs, plants, etc) as she could before their arrival. We chatted another five minutes or so while the Accord thawed. I left for work around 830am.

Clouds started moving in even during my run, and by the time I arrived at work there was a distinct diagonal line of separation between the clear and the clouds. Looked like the northern burbs were still drenched in sun while the south and west were socked in by cloud cover.

It was a relatively slow day, with plenty of time to take care of the many lingering tasks I wanted/needed to accomplish. Didn’t hear from Mindy all morning long. I’m thinking that I called her around 130pm. By then the carpet guy had already been there and gone. The kids, she confirmed, both went to MRM with the neighbors. She was headed to the grocery. Kenny said they’d be home sooner rather than later if it started to rain, which it started to do around 3-330pm.

My day went pretty fast. I left the office for home around 515pm. I called Mindy again on my drive home. She was home from the grocery and busy cutting up fruit. I let her go and then called my mom. Hadn’t talked with her for a week or so. Mom said she was in bed watching TV, not feeling too well. Shared that her knee replacement surgeon suggested that her ongoing pain and swelling may be attributed to her legs being 1mm off in length. No kidding, said he wants her to come in so he can STRETCH it out. Where did this bozo get his medical license, Wal-Mart? Despite her not feeling well, seemed to be in pretty good spirits. Went on to say she plans to live to 97. I think she just threw that number out there. Wasn’t tied to any specific event that I’m aware of. Bid her farewell when I pulled in the drive at home.

Mindy was still busy in the kitchen cutting up fruit. Said the Downey carpet cleaning guy emphasized that the carpet will stand taller, firmer if we stay off it until it’s completely dry. Suggested 6 hours, but I know all too well that it’s more like 24 hours. Mindy said she was impressed with his work. Kind of hard to tell, though, without any bright ,natural lighting.

Once she was finished cutting up fruit, we reheated some of last week’s chicken & noodles. Still good. Kenny texted that they were leaving MRM just after 6pm. Trying to avoid trampling the damp carpets, I vowed an evening away from my PC. At one point I resorted to playing on Bella’s Kindle Fire but found it too difficult to browse and gave up. Mindy was using her laptop from the kitchen table like she always does. The kids laptop was available for use had I really needed/wanted online. I opted not.

I did head upstairs to change into more comfy lounging attire. Before Bella got home, we decided to keep her home from gymnastics. Didn’t seem like a good idea – ski all day then got to gymnastics till 830pm. The kids were home by 7pm. We guided them through the garage to stow their ski gear then Mindy had them toss their ski attire and bags to her in the basement where she took a quick inventory to make sure they didn’t lose any crucial gear. They didn’t. Kids said they had a blast despite the all day drizzle.

Mindy had them ready for bed over the next half hour or so and then Jacob did 90 minutes of reading. While Jacob read, Bella played on the computer, although she was researching an author that wrote the book she’s been reading. I tuned the TV to a basketball game but watched only passively until Mindy suggested we watch this MLK DVD she brought home from school. Apparently she and the kids watched part of it earlier. It was in cartoon form and was fairly well done, wrapping a story about kids from the current going back in time and bringing MLK forward. I fell asleep through part but still caught the gist of it. After the movie, the kids had a snack and then headed to bed. And just like most other work nights, Mindy headed up to read shortly after the kids were tucked into bed. I stayed up watching a Morgan Freeman, Through the Worm Hole rerun. I fell asleep on the sofa waking near 1030 pm and then heading for bed.

Bluebird Ski Day

2012-01-15T23:59:00.009-05:00

I slept really well and didn’t get up until just before 8am. We planned on skiing again so I was very deliberate with my time. I started some coffee then played around online. It was really cold, 8 degrees according to Yahoo, under crystal clear skies. Looked like a bluebird ski day in the offing. The forecast was calling for a high approaching 30 degrees later in the day. I decided to check the snowfall on Hood since they were expecting a dumping over the weekend. Through Saturday night, they’d received about 9 inches in the last 24 hours. But looking ahead through Wednesday I was almost shocked to see how much more snow they were forecasting. They’re calling for anywhere from 55” to 95”. Holy smoke! That’ll change things in a hurry. Of course, I’ve been out there during and immediately after a dumping a time or two. It’s almost impossible to ski in it while it’s coming down, but the following days can be heavenly. I haven’t seen a 3-day snow forecast like that in a long, long time. I excitedly sent it off to a small distro of peeps that would appreciate it.

I checked Holiday Valley’s website too. Seems everybody was getting snow over the weekend. They were bragging about 12+ inches in the last 24 hours with more on the way. Promising to have the Eagle lift open by mid-week. I felt a sense of calm & joy reading about all the snow.

The house was still quiet when I headed out for a run. I’m thinking it was near 845am. Even though it was much colder than the morning before, I didn’t add an additional layer figuring the bright sunshine would provide additional warmth. I did, however, opt for sun glasses.

I was quite comfortable through the three mile run’s entirety. Don’t recall happening on any other Sunday runners. I suppose a handful decided to bag it for the cold. What they may not realize is just how fun extremely cold run’s can be.

As I neared home I was surprised to see Jacob just ahead out walking the pug. It looked like without the benefit of a hat or gloves. Thinking back, though, he very well may have been wearing a toboggan. Before meeting up with Jacob, I happened upon Mike O. out with his two Jack Russell’s. He was wearing just a t-shirt & jeans. We chatted about our Saturday at MRM. Shared that Emily & Evan did really well. Mike was on-duty Saturday so he missed the fun. They rode up with Kenny. Jacob and I headed back home together. He said everybody was up. Hmm? They must’ve gotten up right after I headed out the door.

Mindy was busy making bacon and pancakes. Confirmed that we were all going skiing again. Yep! Mindy reminded me that Lindsey was coming over at 11am to do laundry while we skied. I asked if the washer was free so I could get my running clothes washed. I headed up for a shower first, however.

After my shower I pranced around in my base layer so not to over heat. I threw my running clothes in the washer soon after my shower and then enjoyed a couple of those pancakes and a single slice of bacon. Very good! Mindy already had all of our soft ski gear organized and ready for loading in the living room. While she readied herself, I prepped and organized more provisions for a day at MRM. It was a little easier/quicker this time since all I had to do was add to what was already prepared and leftover from Saturday’s trip.

We were all pretty much ready to go by 1040am. Mindy called Kenny to check their plans. Chrissy wasn’t going again, still battling cold symptoms. Kenny figured to get there near noon. Mindy called back and asked Chrissy if she’d mind keeping Eiknarf for the day. She willingly agreed. Jacob walked her down along with Jake’s Columbia fleece and our extra wrist guard.

We backed out the drive just ahead of 11am. I decided to stop in at Thornton’s for a fill-up. We had about a half tank of gas, which was plenty enough for a trip to MRM and back, but I figured Mindy would appreciate having a plenty of gas in the tank heading into the new work week. We were on the road a few minutes later. The day prior, I noted the time it took to get from the 38 miles to Bellefontaine sign to MRM, about 30 minutes. As we passed it Sunday I shared that we would be there in 31 minutes. The kids noted the Pilot’s time – 1117am (set 5 minutes fast). It was a fast and sunny drive, and we turned in the lot right at 1147am. Not bad!

I told Mindy on the way up that it would be more crowded than it was on Saturday. I was right. But it was even more crowded than I guessed it would be. Even still, we gave the front row by the lodge a once over. No joy. We turned down aisle two next where we spotted Scott & Zach gearing up. They got a good spot. Not quite ready to give up on a up close spot, we headed to the adjacent section between the lodge and gift shop. Much to our liking, an SUV was just backing out of a front row spot. Cool beans! We were in the front row, and perhaps the best parking spot of all. Close to the window and close to the lodge.

Sunday marked the first time that both kids were able to gear up properly on their own. We only had to quiz them about it. They’ve learned the hard way about tucking and overlapping to avoid snow in the boots and down the pants. We got our lift tickets in the gift shop again. Must not be very well known. The lines at the ticket windows were quite long. No wait at all at the gift shop, which sits within easy access to the Four Star lift, too.

The lift lines were long, but moving efficiently. I noted the time as we made out first run up Four Star. It was 12:04pm. The sun was super bright and the sky indigo blue. It was still cold though – only about 21 degrees. We took Mary Ann’s backside first, but I cut through the trees for the first time this season. Gorgeous! The snow was noticeably better than it was on Saturday - way more carveable.

It was a few more runs before we spotted some of our peeps. Once Jacob confirmed that Jake was there he headed over to the bunny hill looking for him. Must’ve been around 1pm when we all hooked up atop the mountain. As crowded as the resort was, the face of the hill was all but wide open. Seems all the ‘features’ they left in place were deterring many from taking it. I figured an hour or two more of this sunshine and the snow would be really nice (softer).

As expected, the snow only got better as the afternoon progressed. However, the lift lines at times were ridiculous. At one point we skied over to Sundowner and Momentum so the kids could do the mini terrain park. But those lines were perhaps even longer than Four Star. People wise they might’ve been shorter but they were stopping it way more frequently presumably due to the number of struggling, amateur skiers. I bailed from that area in a hurry, happy to tolerate the longer lines on Four Star.

I’m guessing it was near 330pm when the Four Star line got so long that it forced us to consider taking a break. Mindy said Kenny was already inside with the kids and probably had a table. She, Bob & Tina – Bob and I headed in. The others said they were gonna do a few more runs. Sure enough, Kenny had managed to corral a table up by the stage. Sweet. The lodge was as packed as we’ve seen it thus far this season. Bob said he’d get us a pitcher of beer, but he was off to his car to get his cooler first. Took too long. I went ahead and got a pitcher of Sam Adams Boston lager. We’d already had a few swigs of lemon nip and Goldschlager too. As usual, Mindy made a new friend at the table. I think her name is Amy. She’s a volunteer for the MRM racing team. She was cute and friendly. She had a couple beers with us, though she insisted on turning her jacket inside out presumably worried about giving patrons the wrong impression about their ski hosts. J

Bob’s two boys, Trevor & Cameron, brought in their video camera. They were eager to share a couple video clips of their jumps at Lake Tahoe’s Heavenly. The two clips I saw featured Cameron nailing the lofty jump but flying out of his skis both times on his landing and launching face first. Said he wasn’t hurt at all. Oh to be 12!

We had a table full of snacks, both those brought from home and some that the kids purchased. Bob, Mindy & I sat there for probably 90 minutes watching the end of the Ravens/Texas game, drinking beer, & having some snacks. Mindy texted the others a few times. They never came inside. I knew Bob I wasn’t./couldn’t stay long. I know him well. Figured he wanted to get in as many runs as possible before heading home. Heading into the lodge always turns into a much longer visit than one initially anticipates, especially when there’s plenty of beer and snacks made available. Bob & Tina Bob went up and got us a 2^nd pitcher. Oh boy!

We had a good time yucking it up. By the time we were done, the kids were all long gone and back out skiing on their own. I’m thinking it was just after 5pm when we headed back out. By then, Bob I was already gone. His goal all along was to be home before Mary Ann got home from work. He’s no dummie! Knows where his bread gets buttered … or toasted. J

We skied with the others for a few more runs until they needed to bag it. As darkness took hold, Mindy and I skied a few more runs, just she and I. We had a great time in the Glades and then on the face. On one run we slipped over to the deck that overlooks the Glades so I could get the perfect photo op of the ice & snow encrusted trees against the dark indigo blue sky. It was gorgeous to the eye. I was certain the photo would be too given the right white balance and ISO setting. Got it! I wished I could’ve gotten the shot without the lighted ski runs in the back ground but that proved impossible. Still, it looked like a fantastic shot.

It had to be about 700pm when Kenny texted that he and the girls were in the lodge taking a break. Where then was Bella? Hmmm? Jake and Jacob weren’t accounted for either. We split up looking for the kids. I figured Bella might be skiing somewhere by herself. Later, that was confirmed when she finally showed up in the lodge and Kenny texted that he had her. She said she was skiing in the singles line. That’s our Bella!

Jacob came plodding along a few minutes later from the direction of Momentum, which is where we figured he was all along. He said he’d meet us at the Pilot. At the time we had no idea that he’d taken a hard spill on his head. With neighbor Jake now accounted for, we had all the kids. I went and unlocked the Pilot and loaded my gear along with Jacob. Jacob, I noticed, was being very lazy and lethargic. I asked that he go help his mom carry the cooler and bag from the lodge. He was killing time as if to stall. I gave up and went up to help her myself. I carried the cooler to the Pilot while Mindy went with Bella to retrieve her skis. Made arrangements to meet at Kenny & Chrissy’s for steak dinner once home. Chrissy called earlier from Sam’s Club and asked Mindy if we wanted her to pick us up some steaks for grilling later. Sure, why not? I haven’t had a steak in quite a while.

We were on the road for home by 730pm. I drove. During our drive home, Jacob shared that he’d hit the back of his head pretty hard on the mini terrain park. Said he saw a flash of green light and now had a headache. As it was, Jacob & Bella were tentatively heading back to MRM on Monday with Kenny, Chrissy, Mike O. and the kids while Mindy saw that our carpets were cleaned as well as finishing up some work on her report cards. Jacob, however, sounded like he might be having a change of heart after falling and hitting his head.

We listened to NFL playoff game updates on XM radio on the way home. Giants were beating the Packers just as I had predicted they would. The lead only got wider as we neared the house. We made good time, arriving just before 815pm. Everybody knows the drill, we carry in everything and stow it before we rest. Jacob was out front of the Pilot saying he was going to throw up while we were busy carrying everything inside. He ended up helping but then made a beeline for the sofa.

At Mindy’ request, I gave him two Ibuprofen. Heck, I took three myself. I was tired too, and if we hadn’t committed to grilling out with the neighbors earlier, I gladly would’ve stayed home. After all, I was the only one that had to get up for work in the morning. But once I changed out of my ski gear into comfy lounging pants and a t-shirt I got a bit of a second wind.

I’m thinking it was near 845pm when we headed to the neighbors. Kenny had a whole tray of good looking steaks sitting out, a few ribeyes and a few filets. In the last 6 months, all of our girls have become steak lovers. Used to be, the adults would have steaks and all the kids would have chicken and/or hot dogs. Not anymore. Bella, Makayla, and Lillian all have a taste for steaks.

Having my fill of beer, lemon nip, and Goldschlager earlier, I stuck with only Diet Coke. I didn’t have any sides with my steak either – just a steak. And boy was it good. It really hit the spot. I wasn’t even that hungry but ate an entire steak myself. Often times I’ll only eat half. I felt like a new man after dinner. Jacob was feeling a bit better, but was still complaining about his head hurting from his earlier spill. We weren’t sure what to make of it. Said he was tired and just wanted to go home and to bed. It was 950pm when we thanked the neighbors for grilling the steaks and headed for home.

We all pretty much went right to bed, but Jacob, as you might expect, was in his first. Mindy shared that we should check on him a couple times during the night by waking him up. She asked me to do it at 530am or when I normally get up for work. I agreed, but also figured I’d do it before that too.

After a whirlwind weekend of skiing it was lights out by 1015pm.

The Gold Chair

2012-01-14T23:59:00.001-05:00

I woke a few times around 530am happy to realize that it wasn’t a work day. I slept a couple more hours then woke for good around 745am. I brushed my teeth, gathered up my running clothes, then headed downstairs.

At first glance, it didn’t appear as though there was much of an increase in snow accumulation during the over night. Just an inch or two in total. Started a pot of coffee then headed to my PC. There I checked the current temp and forecast. It was a chilly 16 degrees, and even colder with the wind chill. It was snowing on and off and expected to do so throughout most of the day though clearing much later that night.

I sipped coffee and played around on the internet before eventually getting ready for a run. I took Mindy some coffee around 835am, or about the same time that I heard her up and milling around. I asked that she get in the shower while I was off on my run so not to waste any time. Said she didn’t plan on taking one. OK.

I headed out the door around 850am doing my usual 3 mile run. It was cold but I was bundled for it so consequently stayed fairly cozy. Was back at home around 930am where both Mindy and I worked on prepping our ski stuff. I could sense a little tension, me obviously wanting to get out no later than 10am, but Mindy more set on 11am. My whole thing is that the best snow is always early before all the teenagers get there. And then there’s the parking thing. I expected it to be a huge weekend for MRM, their first truly wintry weekend of the season. Their website proclaimed having 100% of their trails opened for the first time all season.

Mindy was already doing laundry. I asked that she hold off on washing another load while I showered. AFter my shower, I packed food, a cooler, and our gear while Mindy readied Bella. We needed to pick-up Jacob at his friend’s place on our way. Yet another delay in my mind. We ended up with two coolers, one with food, pop, and water, the other with a growler of Bohdi.

Mindy texted Kenny to see when they were leaving. Chrissy, it turned out, wasn’t going. Wasn’t feeling well. Kenny was bringing all the kids by himself. We left the house just after 11am. Our first stop was somewhere off

Walcutt Rd

between Trabue & Roberts to pick-up Jacob. Bella and I joked that Mindy would be inside forever. I’m thinking it was something like ten minutes. Seemed longer. While Mindy was inside, Bella shared that her Kindle Fire wasn't working. Screen dark and blank even with the battery fully charged. Said she and her mother had it charging all-day at home. I wondered if she might’ve dropped it. Mindy had Jacob’s base layer ski attire in a Kroger bag for him to change into while we drove. He did so reluctantly.

We hit a few snow squalls but otherwise it was smooth sailing. Arrived at MRM just after 12 noon. Quite a crowd but probably not as many as I thought there might be. Still, cars out to the extreme edges of the available parking. But just as we do every other time, we checked for an upfront spot first. It’s not uncommon for us to get a recently vacated spot up close. We ended up finding a spot in the 4^th row right in line with the lodge. Ideal, really.

And by the time we were geared up and in the first lift line it was closing in on 1230pm. Right away, I think first run up, we got the gold 50^th anniversary chair. That was big for the kids. We spotted Bob and Scott on our way up. They were skiing the line between Four Star & Sugarbush. We eventually all connected and skied in various combinations throughout the afternoon. Kids included, there were about 20 of us in total. Jacob was really excited to learn that big Jake and Evan were there. He headed over to meet them on the bunny hill where he planned to help them out. That kept him busy all day. Emily was there too, but opted not to ski with Bella, Makayla, Lillian, and Cassie who were all skiing black runs. They left Emily behind. Mindy & I saw that and skied with her for a while to help boost her confidence and skills and a little. Bob I. helped her some too. By evening time, she was able to ski off with the others which was really nice to see. That’s when it’s fun.

Almost everybody planned to come up again on Sunday. In fact, some even on Monday, the MLK holiday. About half the group headed out around 6pm. We stayed until 8-830pm, and so did Darwin and Kenny. Ran into three different work peeps during the day, too.

Did my heart good to see Bella and her friends having fun skiing by themselves. She later shared that the lift operator nick named them the ‘speedy five’. However, that said, earlier in the evening, I happened to see Bella and Makayla riding a lift together and monkeying around on the ride up. They were sliding back and forth from the middle to the ends, and then sitting sideways with their skis up and touching. I wasn’t pleased and waited for them at the bottom. When they finally skied up I told them both they’d be skiing forever with and adult if I ever saw anything like that again. They acknowledged their mistake and promised to be more smart, safe, and responsible.

Jacob, meanwhile, spent most of the evening over on the Momentum mini-terrain park with Jake and Evan. Said he had both of them boarding much better. Mindy, Darwin, Kenny and I got really comfortable in the lodge around 630-7pm. Didn’t think we’d go back out. But that’s just not me, leaving on a break. Never! I decided to head back out for a few more runs with Darwin. Because it was so cold, the snow was hard and icy, so one had to be very careful, and that doesn’t even take into account all the hidden bumps and jumps not usually there. They made so much snow over the previous 36 hours that they hadn’t groomed the main runs like normal. That made it fun, but also required one to ski with a more careful eye. After my last run, which was about 820pm, I waited around the bottom of the lift until I spotted the girls so I could tell them that they were done. They weren’t thrilled about it but then again, I wasn’t asking. J We headed home around 840pm.

Jacob could barely keep his eyes opened and headed directly for bed after we carried in all of our soft ski gear. We opted to leave skis and boards in the Pilot since we’d be heading right back up the following day. Bella, on the other hand, offered to walk Eiknarf and then offered to go help Kenny unload his vehicle since, as she put it, the kids stranded him as soon as they were home.

It was nearing 10pm when Bella asked if she could have a sleepover hosting Makayla, Lillian, and possibly Emily. Mindy was already heading to bed so she referred her to me. I agreed knowing full well they’d be holed up in her room. And that’s exactly what they did. They weren’t a bother at all. Just before Mindy headed to bed, she brought me Bella’s Kindle Fire to look at. Sure enough, no matter what I did, it wouldn’t power on and stay on. The screen was totally dark. And there’s only one small, tiny on/off button. That’s it.

Once again, I suggested that maybe she dropped it, and told Mindy we needed to alert Jimaken so he could send it back for warranty work. But before giving up completely, I figured I’d Google the issue and see what came up. I typed in Kindle Fire screen reset and was returned several options. The first one I selected was direct from Amazon and suggested holding in the power button for 20 seconds and then trying to power it up again. Said if that doesn’t work call support. Instinctively, I tried that earlier on my own but held it for no more than 5-8 seconds. I tried as the Amazon suggested and …Voila. The screen reset and started working. I showed off my crafty work to Mindy.

After Mindy headed to bed, and while the girls giggled upstairs, I watched the rest of the Broncos/ Patriots game while enjoying a pint of Bohdi. Jacob and I bet $10 on the game, me giving him the Broncos and 6 points – his idea. Thank you, Jacob! Patriots crushed them something like 45-17. I headed to bed shortly after the game.

Where are Jacob's Shoes?

2012-01-13T23:59:00.002-05:00

Not too concerned with being up right at 530am, I slept a few extra minutes completely guilt free. I was still up and downstairs by 540am. Downstairs, I was very eager to get a glimpse of the weather, this being our first real extended dose of winter weather this season. Snow coated the ground and the wind was whipping around out there too, but it didn’t appear there was a noticeable increase in snow accumulation. Still not even an inch.

After sit-ups and push-ups, I checked the current temp and forecast. It was cold, 16 degrees (0 with the wind chill) with very light snow falling. The forecast was calling for snow through the day with the possibility of another inch or so. Supposed to remain cold through the weekend but warm up above freezing again by Monday. But as it was, we were most concerned with the weekend’s weather since we hoped/planned to ski MRM both Saturday and Sunday.

I had just finished meditation and was preparing to make Mindy’s coffee when my cell phone rang. It was Lindsey. She was practically in tears sharing that her car doors were frozen shut and she didn’t know what to do. Was worried about being late for work and then ultimately losing her job. Wanted me to come over and fix the problem. I took a deep breath, glanced at the clock, and agreed to head over and see what I could do.

I quickly delivered Mindy’s coffee first and shared that I was heading out to rescue Lindsey. I gathered a few tools, a long screw driver, WD-40, an extension cord and our blow dryer, then headed out in the Pilot. The extension cord and blow dryer were last second additions to my kit just in case I needed to try and defrost the latch.

Sure enough, the doors were frozen shut. I could hear the doors locks working, but the doors just wouldn't open. I hit the door in three or four spots and gave it a good tug. Opened right up. Cool! I had to ask Lindsey a couple of times to tone it down. She was still in a panic and being loud. I started her car and let it thaw and warm. As I readied to pull away she came rushing to my door again sharing that now the door wouldn’t close/latch. Good grief!

Sure enough, the drive’s door latch was frozen open. I tried getting it to free up using a screw driver but no go. I decided to go with the blow dryer option. I stretched the 100’ cord from her apartment down the steps to her car right out front. I’ll bet I didn’t hold the blow dryer against the latch for more than 20 seconds when I heard a ‘click’. That did it. I checked it 4 or 5 times then blasted it with WD-40.

I said goodbye to the grandkids then headed for home. I’d just put my tools away when Lindsey called my cell once again, What now, I wondered? Once again, she was in panic only this time stating that now the driver’s door would only close from inside. What? Also shared that only one wiper would operate. I confirmed that she could at least close the door and have it latch then convinced her that almost everybody’s doors would be frozen given the rain, snow, and extremely cold temps.

Finally, I could get on with my routine. It was almost 7am. I skipped a stretch, dressed for my run, and headed out the door. And for the second time that week, I trimmed my run to just three miles in an effort to get back home before Mindy needed to depart for work.

Mindy was just leaving upon my return to the house. Can’t recall who walked the pug, but it wasn’t me. I ate my breakfast then headed off to the shower around 745am. Was still running about 10 minutes behind.

It was Friday, so I dressed casually wearing blue jeans, a black t-shirt, and black cotton sweater. I was dressed for comfort. We didn’t have a lot of time before we needed to head out for the bus. Bella suggested we leave Eiknarf inside due to the cold, but I thought not. She needs to get out more. We headed out into the cold with me starting Accord before meeting the kids at the bus stop.

Kenny was out with the girls and affirmed his intentions to head to MRM with a friend later that morning. The bus arrived at 815am and Eiknarf and I hurried back home. Before leaving the house I enjoyed another cup of coffee then grabbed my fully-charged iTouch. Left the house right at 830am.

The snow machine was off for most of my short commute into work, but it picked up again throughout the morning by witness of a few trips to the windows overlooking 270. Looked brutally cold too, especially with the wind. Mid morning I sent an email to Darwin, Tommy, and Bob asking if they might be skiing MRM on Saturday. Later in the day I received a text from Bob indicating that they were blowing snow like the dickens at MRM. I wondered if he might be there skiing. He didn’t really say. According to the MRM website, they received 2 inches of natural snow during the over night and made another 10” themselves. Their web cam confirmed the white-out conditions.

I spent the lion’s share of my day working on a monthly report and then a challenging escalation. As the day wound down, I completed the last three online courses I needed to get done by month’s end. That, I figured, was a good way to end the day and the work week. I was very happy that it was Friday and that I wasn’t on-call. I was very much looking forward to a snowy, snow skiing weekend. I left for home around 515pm. There might’ve been a fresh ½” of snow on my car, but thanks to the extreme cold, it was the light and fluffy stuff that blew off once I got going.

Mindy shared earlier that she’d be taking Jacob’s to his friends place to spend the night around 530pm, or right after Jimaken left with Bella. Those two were going to a Blue Jackets game, a first for Bella. According to Mindy, she was very excited. Mindy was just backing out of the drive as I neared the house. I stopped in front of the house to give her room to back completely out and pull away. There was a coating of snow on the driveway but not enough to be concerned about.

I had roughly 15 minutes of alone time before Mindy got back. During that time I unloaded my work gear and started publishing the prior day’s blog entry. And once Mindy was back, we started prepping immediately for an evening at CBC. Reason being, we needed to be home by 9pm to intercept Bella.

We left the house before 615pm in the Accord. We took two empty growlers, my thinking being we’d have them filled with CBC beer and then take them to MRM on Saturday for all of our friends to enjoy. The roads near home looked like they might have a glazing of snow/ice, but the freeway was completely dry. The weather wasn’t an issue. Mindy shared a work related story for most of the drive. We arrived at CBC near 630pm. The lot was full. We took a spot up against the back hill/fence.

The bar was full, but two stools opened up a minute or two after our arrival. Perfect. Kevin was tending bar, which is rare these days. He’s one of the first CBC bartenders we befriended a few years back. Mindy ordered a Bohdi and I ordered the Imperial stout. You’d think we might’ve had our orders crossed. J

Mindy ordered some bread as an appetizer. The young woman sitting next to us at the corner of the bar looked very familiar. After an hour or so I asked if she worked at CBC at one time. She acknowledged as much and shared that she’s now a manager at 229. Her name is Stacey. She was there with her husband, who is a cook for CBC. His name is Andrew. We chatted with the two of them for the rest of the evening. Andrew graduated from CCAD but grew up in Long Island, New York. I think Stacey grew up in Columbus.

Mindy eventually ordered dinner, the Mahi-mahi dinner special. I ordered only their soup of the day, chili with no beans. Mindy’s entrée looked really good. The chili was just OK. The beef was chopped much too fine for my liking. I could’ve eaten it through a straw.

I had a second beer, this time switching back to my native IPA – the Bohdi. And Mindy had a second one too after confirming that I would drive home. I didn’t drink anything but water for the last 45 minutes that we were there.

The bar at CBC is much like a fishbowl on the three sides, leaving a spectacular view of the outdoors and cityscape. We watched it snow during the entire 2 hour visit, and at times really hard. It was very pretty. As we prepared to leave, we opted to have just one jug filled with Bohdi. Mindy picked up the check.

Burrr! It was a cold walk to the car. The Accord was covered in about 1.5” of fluffy snow. The snow fall had slowed, though, by the time we were on the road for home. Mindy had been in touch with the neighbors for the last 30 minutes or so. They were out to dinner, too, but at the Fish Market. They went with several others. Mindy suggested we visit once home. Jimaken and Bella were already at the house and watching the rest of the hockey game when we pulled up. They left after the 2^nd period as planned, though Bella said she was having a great time and really wanted to stay. After Jimaken left Mindy asked Bella if she wanted to head down to the neighbors. In hindsight that was probably a mistake because they weren’t yet home from their dinner out, and it didn’t take long for both Mindy & I to get tired and declare it a night.

I told Mindy that I was happy to stay home and get a good night’s rest ahead of our ski day Saturday. That must’ve struck a chord with Mindy too. She soon followed suit and got into her PJs just like me. Bella didn’t seem too disappointed about not heading to the neighbors. They were supposed to call once they were home. Mindy headed to bed near 1030pm. By then, I was horizontal on the sofa passively watching TV. I remember hearing Mindy’s cell ringing around 11pm. I didn’t check it but expected it was the neighbors letting us know that they were home. I think that’s what woke me. Shortly after that I headed up to bed.

Turn on the Snow Machine!

2012-01-12T23:59:00.002-05:00

Without any guilt, I allowed myself to sleep in for an extra 10 minutes or so. And once I was up & out of bed, I was quick to brush my teeth and head downstairs with my running clothes in hand.

The coffee was all but finished brewing by then. I glanced out back at the windy weather then slipped into my exercise shoes and headed to the livingroom for sit-ups. Now 555am, I zipped through 50 sit-ups then headed to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee. At the PC I checked the weather. It was 42 degrees and damp. Expecting rain throughout the day which was supposed to change over to snow by late afternoon or evening leading us into a wintry weekend.

It was time to wake Mindy in a jiffy. Where had all my time gone? It was 615am when I headed up with coffee. Predictably, she asked that I turn up the heat. Yes dear. Meditation was short and sweet but effective. Stretching was the same as always. I changed into running attire near 635am. I opted to wear full winter gear despite a temperature just above 40, but it was also threatening rain which always knocks a few degrees off. However, rain it never did.

It was quite windy out the door. I ran the full 4.1 miles. Felt good. Happened upon Jacob out walking the pug on my way back. They were just short of our property line when I caught up to them. We headed back inside together. Mindy’s Pilot was already started and she was getting ready to walk out the door. It was 730am. She told the kids to bus home as normal then left. My eggs were waiting in the microwave.

Both kids were already done with breakfast. I woofed down my eggs then fed Eiknarf and was off to the shower a few minutes later. I decided to wear the purple sateen dress shirt that looks so handsome on me. I also wore socks that had a matching purple stripe.

Looking all dapper, I headed back to the kitchen to throw together lunch. I still had Tuesday’s salad in the fridge at work. I only needed to pack a banana and some cheese. I had fruit at work too.

The kids, the dog and I headed out at 810am. For the first time in a while, I didn’t bother warming the Accord. It was in the low 40s. Kenny was out with the girls. Said he’d be heading to MRM on Friday with a friend from out of town. Would most likely be heading up again Saturday with the wife and kids, too. With the anticipation of wintry weather, we were all giddy about the coming weekend. The bus arrived at its usual time of 815am, and soon Eiknarf and I were headed back home.

Enjoyed a little coffee while paying a couple bills online then headed off to work. It was near 825am when I backed out the driveway. It was a quick drive into the office. Arrived near 840am and I was in my office logging on a few minutes later. Took a while for my laptop to boot up. Seems to take longer and longer with each passing week.

We usually have our weekly staff meeting at 9am on Thursdays, but I was sure that I saw a cancel notice come through email on Wednesday. However, around 915am something told me to double check my calendar. Turned out, it was next week’s meeting that he canceled. Oops! I rushed down to the conference room and joined the meeting already in

progress. I apologized for being late explaining that I misjudged the cancelation message for next week’s meeting. A peer started laughing immediately citing doing the same thing. He later told me that he showed up just a minute or two before me.

The meeting was extremely brief. My boss asked a peer and I to stick around for a few. We both had the feeling he was going to drop a bomb, but he never did. Instead, just some idle chit-chat before heading our separate ways.

My plan included putting together another customer facing monthly report. I also thought I might try and squeeze in another one of those online courses that I am expected to have completed before month’s end. I have three or four more to go.

However, you might say I got thrown a curve ball or two. Instead of working on monthly reports I ended up managing a couple escalations for most of the day. I didn’t really mind. There’s been much less of that lately. Plus, I still have a few days before that monthly report is due anyhow.

I sent brother Glenn an email sometime during the day sharing the possibility that Darwin might be joining us on the ski trip. I also suggested we buy a spiral sliced ham, and then commented about the 20” of snow I saw forecasted for Mt Hood over the MLK weekend. “Turn the snow machine on”!

Since Tuesday, we’d been planning to have dinner at Barley’s that evening so I could have the Thursday special, a corn beef Rueben. Haven't been in on a Thursday since early autumn. I talked with Mindy both late in the day and then again on my drive home. I reminded her to cancel our carpet cleaning appointment for Saturday so we can go skiing guilt free. Asked that she try rescheduling for MLK day when she and the kids are home from school (I have to work). Said she was going to try and work on report cards as soon as she got home and until I arrived. They’re due on Tuesday. And yes, we still planned on having dinner at Barley’s.

I arrived home near 530pm after leaving work a little earlier than usual. It was raining fairly hard and was very windy on my drive home. I spotted a few scant flurries of wet snow in the mix, too, though still 99% rain. The temperature, at least according to the accord, was about 36 degrees. But by the time I was inside the house and chatting with Mindy at her laptop, I noticed the rain had changed to all snow. And big snowflakes, too. Very pretty.

I headed up to freshen up (brush my teeth) before heading to dinner. I popped my head in Bella’s room where she was playing with Makayla, Lillian, and Jacob. I was really surprised to find Jacob there with them.

We left for Barley’s before 6pm. We took the Pilot and I drove. Mindy said she had a couple things to ‘catch me up on’. One, Jacob wanted to spend the night with a friend on Friday so they could work on their school project, building a ping-pong catapult. Mindy suggested we could pick him up Saturday morning on our way to MRM. OK. Can’t recall what the 2^nd thing was. I overheard somewhere in the conversation that Jacob would need to ditch his dad, who planned to take him to a hockey game Friday night. He asked Mindy to tell him. I guess he didn’t want to hurt his feelings. I quickly suggested that this would be an opportunity for Bella to see a hockey game. She jumped at the possibility. Thought it was an outstanding idea. Mindy told her we’d call her dad later to see if that would be doable.

Barley’s was only about half full. By the way, it had stopped raining and snowing for our drive there. Other than the roads being wet, the weather wasn’t an issue. Mindy suggested a table, and our friend Zach, the manager gave us a table in the dining area but still close to the bar. Jeff was our server. I ordered a Centennial and Mindy ordered a Russian Imperial Stout nitro. The kids both ordered Dr Pepper’s. Mindy asked Jeff to bring a basket of fries and a basket of onion strings as appetizers.

Mindy checked to see if they had any Cousin Eddie left. Nope, all out. L I had all but finished my first beer when we ordered more food. There wasn’t any question, I wanted the Thursday special, a corn beef Reuben. Mindy ordered a brisket quesadilla; Jacob ordered chicken fingers; and Bella ordered a corn dog.

Mindy and I agreed to share a second beer, a White Rajah. Made sense to me. She shared that she was already sporting one heck of a buzz from the Imperial Stout. It’s fairly strong stuff - 8.6%. We were finished with dinner and ready to head home before 730pm. I paid the check and also drove home.

Arrived home around 745pm. We weren’t in the door for even one minute before Bella asked if Makayla could come down. Mindy agreed. Makayla was over in less than two minutes. While I was busy updating my blog, Mindy declared it her bed time and it still wasn’t even 8pm. Said she was crazy tired. She headed to bed asking that I make sure Makayla headed home and the kids ready for bed by 830pm. Yes dear.

At 8pm I headed to the family room and went horizontal on the sofa watching the end of 30 Rock and then Office, which is the first sitcom TV I've seen in some time. I fell asleep right away but woke enough times to become very confused seeing all the different characters seemingly in the wrong sitcom TV show. Near 9pm I was startled to look over my shoulder and see Jacob watching Office with me.

I guess you could say that I was just slightly less tired than Mindy. I’m thinking it was 920pm when I headed to bed. I tucked in Bella first, who was watching TV and also playing on her Kindle Fire while still in the clothes she had on all day. She pouted that she figured that both Mindy & I forgot about her when we didn’t come tuck her in. Reiterated that she doesn’t like it when Mindy goes to bed early. I reminded her that she was busy playing with Makayla when her momma went to bed.

She seemed at ease after I delivered Eiknarf, tucked her in, and turned off her electronics. I laid in bed for about 20 minutes but instead of falling asleep I got a second wind. Knowing I wasn’t going to fall asleep anytime soon, I got back up and headed downstairs where I surfed the net and then watched some more TV. I could hear that Bella was still awake, and it had to be after 1030pm. She joined me briefly downstairs on the sofa, but that didn’t last. She was back to bed by 11pm.

I watched a program on the History Channel about Death Valley. I didn’t realize that Death Valley is the lowest point in North America – 300 feet below sea level. Furthermore, it is also the place with the thinnest earth crust – only 16 miles thick. That compared to the thickest parts of the earth's crust that is roughly 43 miles thick. And unless I’m mistaken, that’s near India and

China

in the Himalayan Mts.

Frankly, I am surprised I remembered all that as I was getting really sleepy again. Good night snow flakes.

Call Me Elf One More Time ...

2012-01-11T23:59:00.002-05:00

I was up easily and at my usual rise time of 530am. I quickly danced off to bathroom to brush my teeth then grabbed my running clothes from the back of the closet door just before heading downstairs.

I finally remembered to reset the auto start feature on the coffee maker the night before, and it was just kicking on as I made my way into the kitchen. I glanced out back at the sky then slipped into my exercise shoes and headed to the livingroom for sit-ups.

50 sit-ups were in the bag by 540am. While I was thinking about it, I placed my laptop power cord and mouse in my backpack then headed to the family room for 52 push-ups. I did two extra just because I was feeling so good.

Headed to the PC with coffee in hand near 550am. Checked the weather and the Buckeye basketball final. The Buckeyes lost to Illinois by 4 or 5 points. Too bad. The temperature was 36 degrees under cloudy skies. It was Wednesday, so I wasn’t at all surprised to see rain in the forecast. That’s how we roll here in CMH! I moved on to meditation near 6am. I spent about ten minutes doing it. Went well. Headed upstairs to wake Mindy next. She woke as I entered the room. Asked that I bump up the heat. Yes dear. Back downstairs for a stretch.

Stretching went really well. Dressed for a run wearing full winter attire. It was above freezing but not enough to consider shedding a layer or any of the extras. I headed out the door by 635am and ran the full 4.1 mile track in about 38 minutes. The cloud cover was thin at the start of my run. I could even see the moon peering through clouds. However, by the run’s conclusion the clouds had thickened and the moon was no longer visible.

Mindy called for the pug when she saw me at the door. She also brought me her Pilot keys. I started the Pilot then headed back inside the door to leash up the dog, who was now waiting impatiently by the door. We walked to the east just past Kenny’s house where Eiknarf took care of her business. We didn’t walk any further because Mike was out with both Jack Russell’s. Didn’t want to get them going. I saw that they’re both wearing lampshades this week. I’m guessing it some weird fashion statement.

Back at the house, Mindy was preparing to head out the door. I retrieved my eggs from the microwave and joined Bella who was already sitting at the breakfast table with her own egg. I noticed she cut around the hardened yoke of her fried egg and cast it aside. I explained that most of the vitamins are in the yoke. She countered that it tasted horrible. I knew Eiknarf would appreciate having it. I had her fill Eiknarf’s bowl with food before I scraped her egg remnants in as well the eggs Mindy scrambled just for her. Off to the shower by 635am.

It was a customer site day, so I planned to dress a little nicer than I might have otherwise. I’ve been on this exfoliating kick lately, ever since I started having trouble with dry, itchy skin on my right elbow. I found that exfoliating in the shower everyday provided as much relief as putting anti-itch cream on it. That’s carried over to exfoliating my face now, too. I am amazed at how much smoother my face is since I started.

I was downstairs a few minutes ahead of 8am and quickly threw together a lunch consisting of the salad Mindy prepped for me, a banana, cheese chunks, and a tub of yogurt. I used to eat yogurt almost everyday, but haven’t had even one bite in probably three years. I think the stuff I packed was really intended for Jacob. It’s the new, thick Oikos Greek yogurt by Dannon.

The kids and I headed out at 810am. Bella took over control of Eiknarf at the bus stop allowing me to head back and start the Accord. Kenny was out with the girls. Said he was hunting the day prior with Mike O. at his cabin. Apparently it is or was muzzle loader season. Neither of them got one, but said he saw at least 20. Legs were hurting from all the up and down in the steep hills of Hocking Hills. I shared that at least they had really nice weather. But Kenny said while the weather was nice, it was almost too nice for wrestling up deer. Need it colder. I know next to nothing about hunting.

Headed home for a few more minutes but then quickly off to work. My customer moved up the monthly presentation to 930am to account for another important meeting they needed to attend. That meant I’d have just enough time to get there and get logged on before it would be time to meet. That suited me well. I like that far better than waiting until 1pm like we used to do. I opted to try 670 east again, and it went smoothly. It’s interesting that ever since they changed the traffic pattern through downtown due to the construction, traffic on 670 east seems better. Not sure if it's a flow issue or if folks have found another way.

I arrived in just over 20 minutes, or 5-8 minutes quicker than my typical trek around I-270. I was in my cubical by 850am but it took at least 15 minutes to get set up and logged on the network. I checked with the customer confirming our 930am start time and then the location after noticing that there wasn’t a meeting room on the invite. Said we’d simply congregate in his office. Suited me fine.

We got started promptly at 930am. Several folks joined via conference bridge. We breezed the through the presentation in about 15 minutes. No real questions. They thanked me for continuing to tailor the reporting to their specific needs, then I was on my way back to my office. Sweet. And because they had an internal leadership meeting to attend, we recurring10am call.

The rest of my day was spent taking care of several other miscellaneous to-dos. That made for a pretty easy day. I took a walk around their large center near 11am looking for Max Shultz. I found him this time. I guess I was looking in the wrong place last week. Hey, it’s a big, big area. We talked for about ten minutes. Said sister Jamie is getting really big. She’s due on leap day – Feb 29.

The day went by quickly. I planned to get out of the office on time and perhaps even a little early. I didn’t bother leaving for a lunch break. I had no errands I needed to run. Come 430pm I packed my gear and headed for the Accord. I was on the freeway for home a few minutes later. I called Mindy around 440pm. She shared that Lindsey and the boys were already there and that she was busy making the inferno chicken. Lindsey, you may recall, planned to be there so I could help with her medical benefits selection.

I got home somewhere very close to 5pm. It was nice to get home so early. Once I got myself situated, I started looking over Lindsey’s benefit information. At the same time, she hit us up for a sub sale that St Mary Magdalene has my 2 grandsons pandering. I hate school sales. The stuff is rarely if ever worthy of the cost. They might as well just ask for a donation. We cowered and bought a pack of subs from each grandson. I could only laugh when Lindsey said she thought we’d have to write two checks instead of one. Really? What would Jesus do?

I looked all through Lindsey's benefit information struggling to find the employee contribution table. I handed it back to Lindsey sharing that she’d need to get that piece from HR before we could make an educated and informed decision. With only limited time to make her choices, she asked if she could come back with those details on Thursday. Yes. A minute or two later she found the information I was looking for on the very last page. Duh!

I gave the figures a careful once over then presented the options to Lindsey. Like most benefit plans these days, she had a menu of coverage to select from including major medical, dental, short-term disability, vision, and life insurance. She also had the option of a Low and High coverage plan. I was surprised with the options she selected. She chose wisely. Maybe we’re actually starting to make some headway.

Lindsey and the boys stayed for dinner. I was happy when dinner was ready because Mindy sent all the neighbor kids home. The boys were being especially rowdy in the basement just prior. The girls, on the other hand, were playing quietly in Bella’s room.

The inferno chicken was good, but tough, at least compared to the tender and moist rotisserie chicken we had on Monday. Along with inferno chicken, we had green beans and crescent rolls. The kids love crescent rolls. Dinner was in the bag by 600pm, early by comparison. Clean-up was a bear. Lots of dirty pans, and because we used our real china instead of paper plates, there were more dishes to rinse and load, too. Clean-up took about 30 minutes. Lindsey and the boys left around 630pm.

This was a gymnastics night for Bella. Mindy left to take her around 650pm or just as I was finishing cleaning up the kitchen. While she was away I worked on editing and updating my blog. She wasn’t gone too long. I continued my blog work even after her return. In fact, that kept me busy until 810pm, or just ten minutes before I needed to leave to pick-up Bella.

I thought I might take the Pilot, and even shared as much with Mindy, but once I got outside I realized that I had the Accord keys. I drove it instead. Showed up right at 830pm. There were far more girls there than usual, and most of them noticeably older than Bella. Bella was just coming off the trampoline when I walked in. She quickly gathered her things before we headed out.

Once in the car she shared that she felt invisible during practice that night. Said Emily hardly paid her any attention. She also complained a little about not participating in the January gymnastics meet. We consciously decided not to sign her up because of snow ski season. Bella knew this two months ago. Quietly, I wondered if Emily & Rusty – her gymnastics instructors – were ignoring her because of that. On our way home, Bella asked about stopping at Wendy’s. I said no, and cited having a big dinner just 90 minutes prior. Jokingly I added, besides, you’re invisible. She wasn’t pleased and pouted for the rest of the short drive home.

Of course she played up the upset card once we arrived home, heading straight upstairs to her room. I quickly filled in Mindy on her triggers – the no to Wendy’s, and then the invisible thing. Mindy headed up to have a chat with after a few minutes passed. In the meantime, I poured myself a Jack & Coke, tapping into the big bottle Mindy got me for Xmas.

Mindy & Jacob were watching Elf, and had been since even before I left to get Bella. I joined them for the last 30-40 minutes or so. Elf’s one of those movies we never get tired of. Makes all of us laugh every time. The movie was over around 930pm. Mindy dispatched the kids to bed and said she was heading there too. Asked when I might be coming up. Just before Bella headed up, she checked the weather forecast via her Kindle Fire. Supposed to get an inch of snow Thursday night and then another inch or two on Friday. Expecting a cold weekend with highs only in the mid 20s. We plan to ski both Saturday & Sunday. That should be fun.

I hung downstairs maybe another 5 minutes or so, but that’s it. I was in bed by 950pm. We ended up watching a little TV before I finally fell asleep. Not sure of the time.

Multiverse

2012-01-10T23:59:00.001-05:00

That incredibly sleepy feeling that followed me to bed was still there with me when I woke near 530am. While brushing my teeth I decided not to fight it and instead, I jumped right back in bed hoping to get a little more shut eye. I thought I might sleep as much as another hour. It felt great slipping back under the covers and closing my tired eyes.

I woke three or four times over the next 50 minutes, eventually pulling myself from bed just ahead of 630am. Though still a little tired, I felt much better. I grabbed my running clothes and tip-toed out of the room. I hit the got button on the coffee maker, glanced out back, then slipped into my exercise shoes. I then headed to the livingroom where I completed 50 sit-ups.

It was 645am when I poured some coffee. I didn’t need to wake Mindy since she was staying home with Jacob. However, she did need to be up sometime soon to help Bella along. I spent time on the PC checking headlines and the weather. I saw that Alabama won the BCS championship game shutting out LSU 21-0. The forecast called for more clear skies and above normal temps, though the high a bit lower than Monday's. Was only expected to reach the mid 40s.

Meditation and stretching were next, and both went well. I heard Mindy getting up about the time I started my stretch routine. In fact, she was downstairs pouring coffee and starting breakfast during my stretch event. It had to be about 715am. And by the time I was dressed and out the door for my run it was 720am. I wasn’t immediately sure, but thought that I might peel my run back to just three miles. That’s exactly what I ended up doing.

I found it a bit odd to be starting my run about the time I’m usually heading back inside the house. After three miles and just as I was passing Kenny’s place for home, I happened upon Mindy out walking Eiknarf in her PJs and boots. Nice look, dear! I did the rest of the walk with her.

It was close to 8am. Mindy had my eggs in the microwave. I woofed them down in a hurry then headed off to the shower. It was 807am when I was out of the shower, so I went to the railing to ask Mindy if she planned on seeing Bella on the bus. Said she would. I was just putting the finishing touches on my ready when I saw the bus come rumbling down the road. Thanks to Mindy’s help, I had myself darn near back on schedule.

I wasn’t too concerned with rushing out the door for work. Instead, I took the time to organize my gear and then chat a little while with Mindy, mostly about her friend Laura, who we saw at Grandma Lucy’s funeral on Sunday. I’m thinking that it was 835am when I headed out the door for the office. Mindy said she planned on rearranging Bella’s room during the day. She didn’t expect Jacob up until 10am or so.

I spent the morning working on some miscellaneous stuff that my boss asked me to handle. It was actually a pretty easy day. I was able to get caught up on several fronts. At friend Darwin’s request, I sent him more information about our coming ski trip, including a breakdown of the total shared expenses and then what a share would likely cost him. Of course, I threw in a note about the individual expenses he needs to consider, too, like the cost of lift tickets and such. I got the impression that he might be on a tight budget when he later asked for the ski park names so he could investigate the cost of lift tickets.

Speaking of money, I was happy to see that the stock market was doing well and actually closed at a 5-month high. Here’s hoping for many happy returns in 2012!

I was a little surprised that Mindy hadn’t called all day. After all, she was at home with Jacob. But I figured she was deep into her projects. I ended up leaving the office just after 530pm, and gave Mindy a call once I was on the road for home. Bella answered, but when I acted as if I thought it was Mindy and just started a normal conversation, she quickly let me know that it was Bella I was talking to and quickly handed the phone to her mom.

As expected, Mindy shared how busy she’d been all day long with rearranging Bella’s bedroom. Said she washed all of our bedding too. She also shared that Jacob was feeling a whole lot better and would be returning to school on Wednesday. At the time of our call, she was busy making chicken and noodles for dinner. That sounded terrific. We ended our conversation about halfway home. I pulled in the drive near 6pm.

I did my usual stuff, like rinsing my lunch containers and then putting away my gear. Makayla came knocking at our door a couple minutes later, or just as we were about to sit for dinner. We invited her to stay, and she accepted. Mindy shared that Lindsey stopped by for gas money and asked if we could help her with choosing insurance benefits from work. We settled on Wednesday evening. Mindy would invite she and the boys for dinner.

Speaking of dinner, the chicken and noodles were as good as ever. One of my favorite winter time dishes. Jacob, Makayla, and Bella ran off to play after dinner while Mindy put the finishing touches on her room. While they did that, I managed the clean-up. We later learned that Kenny was out of town hunting and that Chrissy was home alone. We had Makayla call her momma and invite her down for some chicken and noodles.

She thanked us for the invite but declined citing the need to focus on homework and chores.

I kept talking about taking a nap but never did. Instead, I spent some time at my PC looking back through several months of blog entries from winter 2006, the winter I wrote about earlier when we got next to no snow. I wanted to validate my memory. Sure enough, we got next to zero snow fall, or at least not until darn near spring time. But what we found even more interesting were all the pictures. The kids looked so young and little. Jacob was five and Bella was 3. Jacob was mortified when he saw some of the photos I had posted of him in costume (think pirate, Indian, etc). Mindy looked impressively young, as well.

That winter also marked the first time Mindy skied. We went to MRM one Sunday and then out to Oregon two or three weeks later. She ended up with a black eye after skiing and subsequently falling face first on the Magic Mile. I guess it wasn’t so magic after all!

We all got a kick from the throw back. Just think how those pictures and memories will be perceived in another 6 years when Jacob will be 17 and Bella 15. Ouch!

Mindy insisted Jacob head up for a shower at 8pm. He was giving his mom a hard way to go but in a joking way. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop when she’d finally had enough. Lucky for him, that never happened. We planned to watch at least part of the Buckeye basketball game against Illinois, but it didn’t start until 9pm. Until then, I tuned to the History Channel 2 watching back to back episodes of The Universe. What we’ve learned about the universe in the last decade truly amazes me. I eat the stuff up. As 9pm neared, Jacob insisted we change the channel. I found it comforting to hear Bella complain that she was getting into The Universe. That’s my girl!

We switched to the game right at 9pm. But as it turned out, tip-off didn’t happen until about 910pm. We looked rusty out of the gate but still managed to hold a slim lead. Mindy made the kids go to bed by 930pm and with less than ten minutes gone from the game. After returning from tucking Bella in, I decided to change the channel away from the game and back to The Universe. After all, watching basketball causes me stress, whereas watching The Universe relaxes me. Smart move!

Mindy headed to bed near 940pm while I stayed up. I switched the TV back to the game just to check the score. The Buckeyes were up at the half 39-34. I watched The Universe until I fell asleep. I woke near 1015pm and headed up to bed.

A Winter Amiss

2012-01-09T23:59:00.002-05:00

I woke near 520am but then laid there for about five minutes before finally getting out of bed. It was still before 530am when I glanced out back at the star filled sky and then went and slipped into my exercise shoes. I felt pretty good after about 7.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I was well into my sit-ups before I realized I hadn’t hit the go button on the coffee maker. After sit-ups I headed to the kitchen to get the coffee going.

I might’ve waited about three or four minutes before engaging in push-ups. I completed 50 of them easily. Not bad for an old man. The coffee still needed a few minutes. I headed to the PC still without coffee where I played around online until it was done brewing.

The coffee was ready by 550am. I made a cup then returned to the PC where I spent an additional 10+ minutes. Next up was meditation. I spent about ten minutes doing that, and was fairly successful at silencing the incessant mind chatter. It was just after 610am and time to wake Mindy. I delivered coffee being careful as I kicked the decorative bed pillows aside making my way to her night stand. She asked how I was feeling. Good.

I didn’t visit long. I headed back downstairs where I cranked up the heat a few notches then headed back to the family room for a thorough stretch. Felt terrific. I probably went a little longer than normal but it felt so good. It was worth burning the few extra minutes.

I checked the temperature before deciding my attire. It was about 30 degrees so I opted for the full winter stuff. I was out the door by 635am where I ran the full 4.1 mile track with relative ease. I realized that we’re one of maybe five houses in the entire subdivision still burning Xmas lights. I planned to pull the power cords once back at home. For some reason that also made me think about the hose reel at the west side of the house. I couldn’t remember if I disconnected it from the bib. I knew for certain that I left the reel out. I planned to check that too, and disconnect it from the bib if it was indeed still connected.

After my run and while waiting on Mindy & Bella to corral the pug for our walk, I pulled the timer and extension cord feeding our Xmas lights. Done for another year. I then popped over the flower beds and around to the hose bib to check the hose connections. I was glad to see that I had in fact disconnected the hose reel from the spigot. By the time I was back inside, Mindy had the pug ready for a walk.

She and I walked over the bridge and to the west where she ultimately relieved herself, but not before giving a blowing grocery bag a careful once over. :) Back at the house and before digging in to breakfast, I gathered up my stuff for the Kidney Foundation. Mindy had some stuff out too. Collectively, we had three bags and an old Coleman water jug.

Felt like I accomplished a morning’s worth of chores in all of about ten minutes. Heck, my day was done. J NOT!

Mindy was out the door for work just as I was sitting down at the table for breakfast. Bella was having an egg, too only hers was the fried/dippy variety. Jacob, as you may recall, spent the night at his dad’s. It was pretty quiet, just me, Bella, and Eiknarf. I wasn’t to the shower until 740am, or about five minutes later than usual. I planned to wear the same clothes I wore to the funeral on Sunday – all black.

I was downstairs and ready to go by 800am.Before heading out to the bus I pulled together a lunch in a hurry consisting of cheese, fruit, and banana. I also planned to eat a package of tuna that I already had in my desk at work. Bella and I headed out at 810am. She handled Eiknarf while I started the Accord. Thanks Bella! Kenny was out with the girls. That hasn’t happened in a while. Not sure where Chrissy was. Talked about the crazy weather. Expecting it to reach 50 degrees with sunshine for the next couple of days. Cold again by the weekend though. I hope that forecast sticks so we can ski. The bus pulled up near 815am. Eiknarf I headed back home.

I took care of a few last minute tasks then hit the road by 822am. It was a nice drive into the office. Looks more like spring than midwinter. Here we are on January the 9^th and so far we’ve had just a trace of snow for the season. I’m sure that could all change on a dime, but looking at the 10 day forecast doesn’t show it changing anytime soon. We might very well get through winter without any significant snow fall.

The first winter that Mindy and I were together (‘05/’06) we got one big snow fall in early December but then it didn’t snow again until February. In fact, I think we had a 6 week stretch where the daily high never went below freezing. But if memory serves, we had a cold, wet spring and didn’t get any really nice weather until late May.

I had one of the burnt out bulbs from the curio cabinet in my jacket pocket. I decided to stop at Home Depot on my way in rather than wait until my lunch break, which more often than not never happens. Heck, I drive right past the Home Depot anyway. The place is deserted that early in the AM. It took a little while to find the right bulbs – medium base. They were $3.50 each. I bought two since both appear to be burnt out. That’s all I bought. I was back in the Accord still well ahead of 9am and at the office a couple minutes later.

My goal for the work day was to have one of my monthly reports fully completed and in a PowerPoint. I completed that goal by mid day. Talked with Mindy for a few minutes just before noon. I believe she had her observation that morning. I had other things I needed to address, like joining two regularly scheduled calls. Both of those were in the bag by 230pm. The day was soaring by. Got a text from Darwin asking for our Oregon flight information. I sent it via email.

Didn’t leave the office until 540pm. It was nearly dark, though the sky was absolutely gorgeous on the western horizon. Called Mindy. Said Jacob tested positive for Strep. Dr Craig gave him the option of a shot or ten days of antibiotics. He opted for the antibiotics. What a wuss! Both Mindy &I agreed that we wouldn’t have given him the option. It would’ve been the shot. Mindy said that she would be staying home with Jacob on Tuesday since he was still sporting a fever. She also shared that we’d be having rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner. Sounded good to me.

Arrived home near 6pm. Jacob picked on Bella all through dinner. He must’ve been feeling better. The chicken was delicious. We all love that stuff. If you haven’t ever tried one, next time you have the urge for KFC, pop in the grocery and pick-up a rotisserie chicken instead. Yum-yum!

It was Monday and a gymnastics night for Bella. Mindy planned to do the drop and asked that I do the pick-up. OK. They left while I was still dealing with dinner clean-up. I played around online a little, and once Mindy got back home we headed to the family room where Jacob and I tuned the TV to the BCS national championship pregame festivities. I dosed from the sofa in a hurry. In fact, come pick-up time, I was still effectively out. And since Mindy was staying home with Jacob on Tuesday, she opted to run after Bella after all, leaving me to my much needed slumber.

The BCS championship game kicked off at 830pm. I was awake again by then but still incredibly tired. Mindy headed to bed around 9pm and sent the kids there early too. However, she let Jacob watch a little more of the game from his room. I fell asleep again from the sofa while watching the boring game. I woke at halftime and saw a score of 9-0 LSU. I was still half asleep and thought nothing of it. I headed up for bed, my body almost numb from being so sleepy. Good night moon!

Lucy's in the Sky With Diamonds

2012-01-08T23:59:00.005-05:00

It was Sunday morning and I wasn’t out of bed again until almost 8am. And that was after drinking only two beers at dinner the evening before. I must’ve been really tired. Mindy & Eiknarf remained sleeping while I headed downstairs to get my day started. I put on a pot of coffee then headed to my PC.

That familiar beep from the coffee maker was music to my ears. There was only one problem. Once again, the carafe only filled about halfway and the rest was stuck in the filter and leaking out over the edge of the carafe making a big mess. This is happening more frequently, and at the time I wasn’t entirely sure why.

On closer inspection, it appears that the spring loaded mechanism that allows the freshly brewed coffee to pass from the filter to the carafe was clogged with small coffee grounds. There are small holes around this button-like spring that allows the coffee’s passage. In the past I’ve only rinsed it clear. This time I decided to use a sewing needle to clear each of the 7 or 8 tiny holes. Seemed like a good idea to me.

To minimize any mess, I did it over the sink. And wouldn’t you know it, I dropped the sewing needle into the sink where it rolled round and round until it eventually fell into the disposal. Great! Now I had a sewing needle stuck down in the garbage disposal. Thinking, Thinking. I tried reaching my hand in there to fetch it, albeit carefully, but couldn’t feel it. I decided to go to the garage looking for those two really strong cylindrical magnets I found in the sofa a few weeks back. I grabbed some needle nose pliers, too.

My hope was that, one, the needle was made of steel and would therefore be attracted to the magnet. I tried it first on another needle to verify. It worked. Secondly, I hoped that by dangling the strong magnet in the disposal that it would leap to it. On my second plunge it worked. Yes! I carried on with my original plan of piercing the spring loaded mechanism clean, only this time with the stopper in the sink drain. I then rinsed it with scolding hot water. My hope was that all was now good.

It occurred to me that this only seems to happen when we use Starbucks coffee, which for some reason is often an extra fine ground, almost like a powder. I think some of the finest grounds are slipping through the filter and clogging the spring.

The crisis took about 15 minutes to resolve, and I still hadn’t any coffee in my belly. I added more water reusing the same grounds from earlier. It worked well, and the coffee was tasty. Voila!

Back at my PC, I was most curious to see the final score of the Saints/Lions game. As expected, the Saints won easily. I’m thinking that Mindy was up a little bit after 930am. She wasn’t up too long before I headed off on my Sunday run. Meanwhile, it was another sunny day with an expected high in the 40s. The biggest difference between this morning and Saturday was that the temperature dipped well below freezing over night and was still only about 30 when I first headed out.

I was hoping to take down the Xmas lights before we needed to ready for the funeral but unfortunately, our north facing roof was covered in a thick coat of frost. And because it gets no sun in the winter months, it would almost certainly remain that way until late in the day. I wouldn’t be taking any chances crawling out on the roof.

Last year our roof was capped with snow all winter and I didn’t get the lights down until mid March. I hope to get them down sooner this year, but at the same time, I am unwilling to risk life and limb on a slippery roof.

I ran the usual three miles and was back at home around 1045am. By then, Mindy was in the shower getting ready for the funeral. She said she wanted to leave the house at 1215pm. For the time being, work was quiet. For that I was grateful.

I got in the shower around 1130pm, or soon after Mindy was finished. We agreed to let Lindsey come over to the house and do her laundry while we were away. She arrived while I was upstairs getting ready. I wore all black, including my new black cashmere sweater. Felt nice!

We left the house near 1215pm just as we planned. Told Lindsey we’d be home around 3pm. By then, we figured, her laundry would be done, so Mindy could start on ours. We stopped at the Enclave to pick-up the kids from Jim’s place first. Mindy sent their funeral attire with them on Friday. However, we weren't exactly expecting to find them funeral ready, so I made sure that Mindy brought along a grooming kit to spruce them up before leaving Jim’s. Mindy also agreed to transport the kids’ dead bunny back to our place for a proper burial. I only asked that it be wrapped in an airtight bag so not to stink up the Pilot. After all, it had bee n dead now for 2+ days.

Jim had the kids dressed appropriately, but Mindy still needed to contend with Bella’s long locks. I’m guessing we were inside Jim’s place for about five minutes. Jacob hadn’t been feeling well since Saturday but said he was finely feeling a little better Sunday. We loaded their overnight stuff along with the dead bunny in the back of the Pilot and headed up Sawmill to the Rutherford funeral home on Powell Rd. Mindy & I were last there for Mark Adam’s funeral 3 or 4 years ago.

We arrived a few minutes after 1pm. Mindy had mentioned that Lucy donated her body to OSU, but what I didn’t realize was that she wouldn’t be at the wake. Instead, there were only poster boards with photos along with a handful of floral arrangements. I never met Lucy but heard that she was quite a woman. I expressed my condolences to the family members, including Grandma Sharon as well as her daughter Laura (one of Mindy’s bff’s). There weren’t many, if any, tears. Instead, most expressed joy in her memories.

I recognized lots of faces, likely from years on the Westside. However, aside from Dick & Sharon and the two girls, I only knew one other person by name. That turned out being a girl, Lisa Lust-Rector, I worked with for years at CompuServe. I later learned that she married one of Grandma Sharon’s sisters’ sons.

The first hour was an open house and the second an actual funeral service. Probably the most enjoyable funeral I’ve ever attended. For one, she actually knew both speaking pastors well. In fact, one, Mr Davis, was her life long neighbor there in Powell. He was able to give a vivid personal account of her life and memories. But the lion’s share of the ceremony was friends and family stepping to the mike to share their memories and stories. Some of them generated tears while others some laughs. I was genuinely inspired by the number of lives she touched in a positive way.

A common theme in every account of Lucy’s life was her service to others and her unique ability to make those around her feel special. In fact, reminded me much of my Grandma Wright. How will you be remembered? That thought crossed my mind countless times. I’m sure it did in others as well.

The service lasted well past 3pm. We said our goodbyes then headed for home. Agreed that we’d order Minelli’s pizza for dinner, and in all likelihood sharing our dinner table with Lindsey and the boys. The drive home made me really tired. And by the time we pulled up at the house I was ready for only one thing …a nap.

Lindsey and the boys were still there. We could hear Lindsey giving Rocky an earful immediately in the door. I think they were playing video games. I quickly put and end to that, instead, tuning our TV to the NFL playoffs. Lindsey had one more load in the dryer. She asked if we’d mind keeping an eye on the boys while she went tanning. I let Mindy decide. She didn’t care. I got Jacob a shovel and he and the others headed out to bury the rabbit. I wanted a nap, but needed to check in with work. I forgot that I turned off my blackberry at the pastors prompting. Crap! Sure enough, I was beckoned for help just about the time the service would’ve started. I had to play catch-up via my laptop. Turned out not being that big of an issue.

Mindy headed out to assist in the burial while I worked. They were outback for about ten minutes tops. Bella came in bawling first. She was very sad about her dead bunny. Mindy ordered pizzas shortly after everyone was back inside. She ordered two large pizzas. One with pepperoni and the other with pepperoni, sausage, and hot pepper rings. She ordered Jacob a chicken sandwich with onion rings.

She went to pick-up the pies while I hung with the kids and kept an eye on the football game. I threw my running clothes in the washer too. I’m thinking that we were eating pizza by 445pm, or just after the start of the 2^nd playoff game – Pittsburgh and Denver.

Lindsey got back from tanning just as we were wrapping up dinner and consolidating the leftovers to one pizza box. She didn’t want any. She and the boys stuck around to 530pm or so, but not much later. And soon after Lindsey and the boys left, Mindy readied for a trip to the grocery store and the recycling bin.

I’m betting it was 6pm when Mindy left for the store. She wasn’t gone but 5-10 minutes when Lindsey came rushing back in, this time with a dress she wanted to give to Mindy. This she apparently won at work. It was an attractive dress, a size 4. I found it interesting she wanted to give it to Mindy in lieu of her mother. Of course Kelly probably couldn’t fit in a size 8, let alone a size 4 these days. She left the dress and headed back home.

Bella had been down at Makayla’s but was home by 645pm. She asked numerous times when Mindy would be home. She was very snuggly/needy. I spent quite a bit of time with her. Jacob, meanwhile, was back on the sofa citing not feeling well again. Mindy took his temperature a little earlier and it was normal. She took it again when she got home and learned that it was 101.1. After unloading the groceries, she started making plans for him to stay home the following day. She asked Jimaken to stay home this time. He agreed and opted to come get him that night rather than in the morning. That was awfully nice of him. He planned to take him in to see Dr Craig on Monday too.

We watched the surprising end of the Bronco/Steelers game. The Broncos won in overtime on the very first play. We watched 60 minutes next. By its conclusion, it was already near 9pm. Mindy and Bella stayed up until 915pm. I stayed up later knowing full well that I couldn’t fall asleep at 930pm. However, I started to dose from the sofa near 10pm and ended up heading to bed still before 10pm. Good night full moon!

Xmas Tree Down, Spring Ski & CBC

2012-01-07T23:59:00.003-05:00

I slept late, not waking until 820am after more than 8 hours of sleep. Honestly, I was still a little tired. I’m sure the five beers the night before were the main culprit. Definitely could’ve slept even longer but the fact that I was on-call helped motivate me out of bed.

I started some coffee still not sure whether I'd be hungover or good to go. But by the time I had the coffee going I knew that I was going to be OK. I wisely took three Advil before going to bed. I’m sure that helped. I logged onto my laptop where I was immediately greeted by an email requesting my involvement in an issue abroad. And not ten minutes passed before the customer called me directly.

Long story short, I ended up spending the first two hours of my morning focusing on the work issue. I still enjoyed some coffee and checked the weather. I was disappointed to see that our Saturday forecaste had been adjusted upward. No longer was the high in Bellefontaine only expected to hit 41 degrees. It was now expected to reach 47 degrees under brilliant sunshine. It was supposed be 50 degrees here at home. Thankfully, Mindy got up and walked Eiknarf so I could focus my attention on work. But I’m thinking that wasn’t until about 945am.

Once I had the work issue well on its way to resolution, Eiknarf and I headed out on the deck and then out into the back yard like we often do spring and/or summer mornings. It was quite lovely, and anything but wintry. Even the birds were chirping. In fact, I noticed several trees about the neighborhood with swollen buds, and it’s only the first week of January. Eiknarf was way excited to get to run around the yard. We played fetch with a stick eventually making our way out by the tree house. The grass is still really green as well.

Mindy came out on the deck for a while too. There was still a little morning nip in the air, but it definitely didn’t feel like winter. At the time we didn’t think we’d be going skiing at MRM, and even if we did, it wouldn’t be until much later. It was supposed to get down to 25 over night, so once the sun went down I figured the snow would firm up. According to their web site they had a 30” base and 90% of their terrain open after making snow all week. And the webcams confirmed that most trails were opened.

Mindy decided to spend the late morning taking down our Xmas tree while I worked and then went on a run. I’m thinking it was 1040am before I left for my run. I skipped ear covers and gloves opting instead for just a ball cap. It was really quite nice. I planned to run only three miles, much like most other Saturday’s. I ran into Pat Shultz just after the 2 mile marker. He was out on his daily walk. We stopped and talked for a good 10-15 minutes, catching up further after our phone conversation last Thursday.

As I finished the last mile I wondered if Mindy would think I'd gotten lost. She was still busy with the tree, and hadn’t given any thought to my whereabouts. I prepared a ham, cheese, and spinach omelet, and then made mimosa’s using champagne we opened on Xmas eve. Still bubbly, but we could tell it had lost some of its fizz.

Mindy reported having a buzz after less than half a glass. I helped box the tree once all the ornaments were off. We then took it to the basement. While down there, we talked about the basement finishing project and what still needs to go. Hope to get started on that project soon. But realistically, I’m not planning to have it done until next fall. That way I’m not stressing over it.

Texted Bob I. to see if he was still heading up to MRM. He responded that he had just arrived. I asked that he let us know how the snow was. It was one thing to read about the ski conditions on their website, while still another to get an opinion from a close friend. I expected it to be a little while before he responded and it was. In fact, Kenny called around 1230pm to see if we were heading up. Said they had the vehicle loaded and were ready to go. I asked that he text us letting us know the conditions, and then said we might head up around 3pm. As soon as I hung up, Bob texted back that it wasn’t too bad, but a little slushy.

Work stabilized and we had our tree down. I suggested we go ahead and head up. What the heck. The only thing I should’ve done that I didn’t was take the outside Xmas lights down. We weren’t in any hurry. Again, I was happy with the idea of getting there around 3pm. We got ready to go at a fairly slow pace. Mindy asked that I run the vacuum cleaner, which I did. I also mopped the tile floor. I had it looking good while Mindy showered.

I checked a barrage of texts that came in on Mindy’s phone. They were from Connie, Darwin’s wife, asking about our Oregon ski trip. I had offered that he could join us the night before. He must’ve said something to her about it. She was thinking of buying him an airline ticket for his birthday as a surprise. She wanted to know, one, if it was really OK if he went along, and then, if it was OK, some more of the details. I figured I’d let Mindy respond. At the time, I wasn’t sure if she knew I had offered him to join us.

I organized our miscellaneous ski gear by the front door and placed our skis by the overhead garage door. I packed a cooler with drinks and light snacks, too. It was almost 130pm when I headed up for a shower, or just about the time Mindy was finishing hers. I shared the text from Connie. Mindy was fine with Darwin joining us, and was hoping that Connie might want to go to. We joked about her being the only woman there with four, now maybe five guys. Mindy really wants Mary Ann to go, someone that she enjoys spending time with that doesn’t suck her energy away.

While I showered, Mindy loaded all of our gear into the Pilot. We did a good job working together, and were ready to go by 145pm. I checked my laptop, then logged off and loaded it for the go as well. We laughed when a couple motorcycles went buzzing by just before we backed out the drive. It was that nice of a day. How sad is that? Of course last March when we left for a last minute HV trip it was 70 degrees and sunny here at home. That was really odd.

We made good time barreling up 270 north and then west on route 33 to Bellefontaine. As expected, the temperature dropped about 4 degrees by the time we arrived at 230pm. You can always count on it being a few degrees cooler up there. I believe it was 42 degrees.

We cruised the lot for a few minutes hoping to find an up-close spot recently vacated. While doing so, we spotted the neighbors just walking up to the slopes. Hmm? We figured they would’ve been on the slopes. We ended up parking out in no man’s land, but it wasn’t too big a deal.

They’ve opened up several new windows so getting lift ticket isn’t a problem at all. We were at the base of Four Star a couple minutes later, and there we circled up with the MRM regulars: Bob & Mary Ann, Scott, Tina & Bob2. Didn’t see the neighbors, but Bob apparently did. Said they headed over to Sundowner.

We headed up Four Star with the peeps. The main runs looked a little sloppy and cut up, but the far east side of the main hill was groomed smooth apparently for some racing that had taken place earlier. We took the roller run initially, the last run I made last year, and the one where I racked my shoulder. I ran into a couple work peeps (sales guys) at the top of the hill. They were both in their bright and colorful ski outfits. And truth be told, they looked like they belonged in Aspen, not at MRM. J We chatted briefly, with me introducing them to Bob I. Not sure where Mindy was at the time.

We probably did three runs before those that had been there already wanted to head in for a break while Mindy and I planned to do a few more runs. Tina skied a couple runs with us while her husband headed in with the others. And while we met Tina last January, we really hadn’t talked that much prior. We got to know her pretty well in a short period of time (our rides up the lift). She’s quite chatty, and very animated.

Mindy and I did three or four more runs before heading in. During that time, they opened that run used for racing earlier. We skied it a few more times. Compared to most of the other runs, it was smooth and fast. I really liked it.

We headed in for a break around 415pm. The Buckeye basketball game was going on and the Bengals playoff game was about to start. Everybody was in, including our neighbors. Mindy went to get she and I some sustenance. While we’d both eaten an omelet earlier, we were super hungry. She returned with ravioli, which was good, but probably not something I would’ve picked. I was even more surprised that she thought to get a thing of hot sauce to pour over it. Nice!

Scott & the Bob’s fetched a couple pitchers of beer, both Yeungling, but one regular lager and the other Black & Tan. The Black & Tan is pretty good. We headed back out to slay more snow around 5pm. Kenny & Chrissy wanted to head back to the Sundowner or Momentum, but their girls wanted to ski the blacks with us. They stayed and skied with us. Lillian in particular, loves skiing with Mindy.

As often happens, our group got separated soon after the break. Mindy really wanted to ski with Mary Ann. As darkness set in, I went to the Pilot to get our clear goggles and Mindy’s gator. But as luck would have it, I forgot the gator. Yikes! While I did that, Mindy waited by the ski check watching my skis. There, Mindy ran into Darwin’s wife, Connie. She was there with her two young boys while Darwin was inside signing up his older son for the big air competition. After a few runs, I could tell that Mindy was frustrated that she didn’t get to ski much Mary Ann much. Instead, she was skiing with Makayla and Lillian. :) And later, when she learned that Bob & Mary Ann were about to leave, she was really bummed. We did one more run together before they left for home. They had been there since 1130am. By then Kenny was back over on the blacks. Chrissy was inside the lodge nursing a sore ankle.

We didn’t plan to stay that late either. Mindy suggested we do a few more runs and then head home which would leave us enough time to have dinner at CBC. I was happy about that. That would’ve been my choice too. We skied a few runs with Kenny and the girls then headed for the car around 645pm. We got out of our ski boots and pants then headed in the lodge to say goodbye to Chrissy and get our cooler. We were on the road for home by 7pm.

We arrived home near 745pm just as Mindy predicted we would. We thought about leaving our skis gear in the Pilot but I didn’t like the sound of that. It wouldn’t take that long. I carried all the stuff to the garage and even dried and stowed our skis on the rack. Mindy carried our boots and bags to the basement. She took Eiknarf on a quick walk then we both changed out of our ski attire into casual stuff. We left for CBC near 815pm. We both felt bad leaving Eiknarf home again, but at least she got out for a break.

Arrived at CBC by 825pm, or five minutes sooner than we thought. They had a pretty good crowd on hand, but we still managed to find an up close parking spot that was just recently vacated. We grabbed two of several open stools along the bar, where Jamie was working. She quickly reviewed the beer options. No more Cousin Eddie, but they did have a new Imperial Stout on tap, a beer that is quite rare at CBC. I opted for one of those. I was very surprised that Mindy went with a winter warmer in lieu of the stout. Said she didn’t care for it. To my palette, it was quite good, though missing any hint of chocolate, which I know Mindy really likes. She said it had a bourbon barrel flavor, which she absolutely arbhors.

We ordered some food as I finished my stout. Mindy went with the special, which was some sort of fish and was supposed to come with green beans. I ordered the soup of the day, a crayfish and andouille sausage chowder, which sounded awesome. I ordered their quesadillas as well. However, a couple minutes later, they brought me something that looked more like tomato bisque with crumbled blue cheese. I asked if that was the chowder. She said not. And then after some deliberation they determined that she misquoted the soup of the day. I opted for their French onion soup instead. There was another mis-step too. They didn’t bring green beans with Mindy’s special. Definitely out of character for CBC. What we had was good, however. Admitting their mistake, they quickly brought her some separately. My food was delicious. I enjoyed my quesadilla with a Bodhi IPA.

We finished our dinner and beers then had Jamie bring us a carryout container for the leftovers. Mindy paid the tab. I’m thinking that it was near 1015pm when we left for home. I drove. We weren’t up too long at all. In fact, Mindy was already in bed while I checked in with work. Things were thankfully quiet. Eiknarf was excited to have us home and to be sleeping once again in our bed. Under a lovely clear sky, I bid the moon a good night!

And Old Pal, the White King, and Cousn Eddie at the Smoke House.

2012-01-06T23:59:00.001-05:00

It was Friday and I was up on time and very eager to put the last day of the work week behind me. To that end, I had to complete calisthenics first. I did 50 sit-ups and then 50 push-ups. It was clear over head and the day’s high expected to come close to 50 degrees. I’d say like early spring, but I’m guessing that it’ll be crazy cold come early spring. J

Enjoyed coffee at the PC and did my best to break away by 6am so not to disrupt the usual morning flow. I was pretty good at managing my time completing meditation before it was time to deliver Mindy’s coffee. I was a tad aggravated with having to navigate a maze of show pillows and Mindy’s slippers lying on the floor on her side of the bed. And then, once I got to the night stand, I had to make sure there was enough room for the coffee cup. Too much stuff!

Predictably, she asked that I crank up the heat a little. Sure dear! I headed back downstairs to stretch and then ready for my run. And I am very happy to report that my flexibility hasn’t been this good in years, and my neck, back, and shoulder has been almost nonexistent since cutting back my push-ups. Listen to your body.

It was 40 degrees so I thought about backing down my running attire a little. In the end, however, I stayed with the tried and true winter gear but headed out with the fleece partially unzipped. I ran the full 4.1 miles remaining fairly comfortable throughout.

Mindy helped corral Eiknarf for our morning walk. She and I walked to the west to the next corner and back. She took care of business on the walk back. Mindy had scrambled eggs ready and waiting and was quickly out the door and off to work soon after return.

I was off to the shower around 735am and very happy to dress in blue jeans. I was back downstairs with plenty of time to prep a lunch. I took a salad, cheese, and fruit. There weren’t any bananas left. L

The kids knew that they’d be going to their dad’s place for the weekend, and they also knew that we’d be picking them up around 1230pm Sunday afternoon to make it to a funeral in Powell for Grandma Sharon’s mom. Both complained that Jimaken was getting cheated out of time. This coming from the girl that cries almost every time about having to spend the weekend at her dad’s. I tried to reason with them by asking what they thought was more important, going to the funeral, or spending one more hour with their dad. It was quickly clear that I wasn’t getting through. I also told the kids that Mindy & I would be skiing on Saturday. I probably shouldn’t have. Bella wasn’t pleased to learn that either.

We headed for the bus stop at 810am as usual. I kidded Makayla about playing sick the day before. Chrissy shared that she took her to school about ten minutes later. Oh boy! Chrissy shared that they would likely be skiing Saturday, too, though she had to get her nails done first. A girl’s gotta have her priorities! Meanwhile, I joked about driving the BM’er in to the office. If it would’ve been a tad warmer and if I didn’t have to jockey the cars around I would’ve. It was sunny and expected to hit 50 degrees.

I left for work at 825am arriving around 840am. It was a pretty easy day all things considered. And old peer from my NOC days, Ken, stopped up to chat mid morning. He was excited to talk about his new car. I shared my used Hyundai story. Around 1130am my boss popped in and asked if we wanted to join him for lunch at the new Dublin Gyro Shoppe. Keeping in my mind that I say no so often, I agreed to go along. Ken did too. He wanted to leave in five minutes. We met in the lobby.

My new peer, Lance, went along too. There weren’t many folks in line when we got there but shortly after we got our food the place got crowded in a hurry. Now we know why he wanted to head to lunch so early. To beat the rush! I ordered the two mini-gyros and drink combo. That was plenty.

We were back to the office even before 1230pm. I spent the remainder of the afternoon working on my monthly reports. The time went faster than I thought it might. I really wanted to run to Home Depot to get replacement bulbs for Mindy’s curio cabinet but never did. Mindy sent a text around 3pm asking if she should agree to pick-up the boys for Lindsey, who apparently asked both of us. I hadn’t seen her text until I read Mindy’s. We agreed to do it. This should be one of the last times we’ll need to do it since Lindsey’s hours are changing on Monday. We still planned to go to Barley’s. We’d just have to wait until Lindsey got off work, which would be about the time we typically head out anyway – 730pm.

I didn’t leave for home until about 515pm. I was on-call for the weekend but wasn’t too worried about it. In fact, I felt good knowing it would be my last on-call until the first week of March thanks to some swapping. I still hoped to get in a little skiing on Saturday if the weather head out. I’d be taking my laptop just in case. The weather forecast for Saturday at mad River was calling for clear skies and a high of 41. And they made as much as two feet of snow earlier in the week when we had three days of winter cold.

Our kids were already off to their dad’s when I got home. Rocky & Landon were busy playing Wii. Rocky was wound up and talking a mile a minute. Near 6pm they asked for dinner. Rocky wanted leftover tortellini & Landon wanted leftover pork roast. As usual, Rocky couldn’t finish, but Landon wanted more. I have Landon a 2^nd helping. He then asked if he could take some home. That made me laugh. How many four year olds ask to take pork roast home?

I called David Water’s at the number he sent in his email hoping to arrange meeting for dinner at Barley’s. He answered right away, but shared that he didn’t come into town after all. Said the plans changed last minute but that they’d likely be in CMH sometime in February and wondered if we could do it then. Absolutely.

Bella called apparently hysterical sharing that their new bunny, Snowflake had died. I guess they came home from dinner to find it dead in the cage. Mindy did a good job consoling her.

Lindsey arrived to pick-up the boys somewhere near 715pm. Mindy and I had already taken the time individually to brush up so we could leave right after them. They didn’t hang out too long. We did ask if she planned on starting Rocky on his new ADHD meds this weekend, and then asked who’d be watching them on Saturday, her last weekend work day. Said she would start him on the meds Saturday night and that their dad would watch them on Saturday. Mindy and I heard Landon say that he wouldn’t get out of bed. He hates going to his dad’s place. Honestly, the sooner he no longer has to have that interaction the better. We don’t think he gets any attention there at all. And after they left I told Mindy that we can only hope that’s all it is. You just never know.

We left for Barley’s around 730pm. Felt good to be heading out, just Mindy & I. Mindy probably needed the time out more so than I. She’d also invited all of our peeps and said that four or five responded favorably.

As we’ve come to expect, the parking lot was packed and spilled over into the adjacent lots. We got lucky, however, and got a spot recently vacated in the main lot. Inside, we encountered Jack & Leslie right away. They’re in about once a month, and a lot a fun. While chatting with Jack & Leslie, I spotted Tom C. at the very end of the bar near some other peeps. I walked over to say hello. When asked, I ordered a Centennial. Tom C. was in with his nephew, who we later learned has had a troubled youth and Tom was helping him out. I think he was 22 or 23.

Mindy’s pal Phyllis showed about 30 minutes later, or about the same time as Darwin. It’s rare for Darwin to show up so early, me still sipping on my first beer. An hour or so later, brother Tommy showed up. Didn’t think he was coming. We also ran into Lori, neighbor Pat’s former sister-in-law. She introduced us to her new fiancé, Bill. Lori seems really happy these days.

Grandpa Tom & Steve were in late. Grandpa Tom and I chatted about Xmas and more precisely, the commercialism that goes along with it. He shared that he doesn’t play the gift exchange game any longer. Finds it ridiculous, though he does put money into each of his grand kids’ college funds at Xmas.

I was elated to find that Barley’s still has a keg of CBC’s Cousin Eddie. But being an IPA veteran, I knew that one needs to work their way towards such a big beer. I also noticed that they have White Rajah on the tower now too. What? Was it Xmas? I felt blessed by the beer gods. So, with that in mind, I ordered a White Rajah as my 2^nd beer, and then a Cousin Eddie next. We stayed until 1030pm or so, and over the course of our 3 hour visit, I drank a total of five beers, the last three all being Cousin Eddie’s. I was feeling great.

Mindy & I headed for home after I picked up the tab. I never did order any food, but ate some of the chicken off of Mindy’s salad. That was good enough for me. At home, we quickly readied for bed and headed there still just ahead of 11pm. Eiknarf was more than excited to get to sleep with us.

Cold Won't Stick

2012-01-05T23:59:00.003-05:00

I forced myself back asleep after waking near 4am and feeling completely rested,. I'll bet I woke three or four more times before getting up for good. However, when I was finally up for good, I had over slept by about ten minutes. Oh boy!

I quickly brushed my teeth and gathered my running attire. I was downstairs by 545am and engaged in sit-ups. I glanced out back after sit-ups seeing clear skies and plenty of stars. Yeah! I checked the temperature while enjoying coffee. It was 27 degrees but with the promise of the low 40’s by the days end. Expecting sunshine and the low 50’s on Friday. The cold just won’t stick.

It was after 6am in a hurry. I somewhat hurriedly read the Daily OM then got on with the rest of my morning, delivering Mindy’s coffee before doing a meditation. Meditation went well, but I kept it brief – only 8 minutes. Stretching went well too. I was dressing for my run by 630am.

With the current temp still well below freezing, I dressed in full winter garb. I was out the door around 635am. I ran the full 4.1 miles easily. Actually, it was pretty daggone nice out.

Mindy had Bella bring down the pug while I started the Pilot. And while it was still cold, it was far warmer than it was the two days prior. In kind, Eiknarf took a much more lackadaisical approach to our walk. I didn’t mind as long as she took care of her business, which she did.

Back in the house, Mindy had my eggs waiting in the microwave. She was already heading out the door. 730am was upon us fast. I fed Eiknarf some eggs then ran off to the shower. I was back downstairs ready to go by 758am. I spent the next few minutes prepping a light lunch consisting of the salad, cheese, fruit medley, and a banana. Actually, Mindy made the salad.

The kids were downstairs and ready to head out the door by 809am. I asked Bella to take Eiknarf so I could easily start and warm the Accord. She did so willingly. We met Chrissy and the girls at the bus stop. Chrissy shared that Jake was staying home ill. A few minutes later, and right when the bus pulled up, Makayla told her momma that she didn’t feel well, and then wouldn’t board the bus. Said she was dizzy. The bus went on without her. I carried her two book bags back to the house while Chrissy carried Makayla. I offered that if she started feeling better within the next five minutes that I could run her to school. Eiknarf and I headed back home where I made last minute preparations.

I left the house at 822am. It was a lovely drive into the office. I listened to XM clean comedy during my drive in. I parked in the main lot but still fairly close. We had a 9am staff meeting so I moved swiftly to get situated and organized. I was the 2^nd team member to the conference room. My boss joked as if this was my first day back from Xmas break. It was the first time I'd seen him but not my first day back. Perhaps he didn’t realize that I worked off site the day before. I didn’t bother justifying/clarifying.

The meeting went smoothly. No real surprises. Reviewed a couple policy changes and a few 2012 goals/targets. Probably lasted 30 minutes. A couple of us stuck around for a few extra minutes to chat after.

As for the rest of my work day, I planned on reviewing lots of trouble tickets for my monthly report. I had upwards of 25 trouble tickets I needed to read beginning to end. I wasn’t looking forward to it at all. I’m guessing I started around 10am and pretty much read & summarized trouble tickets for the rest of my day. I had to get up and walk around just to get the blood flowing in my legs.

Midday sometime, I called Pat Shultz having not seen or spoken with him for quite a while. We missed not spending New Year’s Eve with them. He was at his daughter’s place doing some work when I called. Said all was good. We talked about his son Max who works as a temp for one of my customers. Said he’s still there. Good. Asked what they did for new Year’s, or if they went back to Manhattan. Nope, went to another friend’s place. We talked for 5-10 minutes, agreeing to get together soon. Asked that he give Lisa our best.

I could hardly see straight after all the reading, and my mind was mush. I managed to plow through it all, choosing not to let it carry over into my Friday. Got to chatting with a peer at day’s end and the next time I looked at the clock it was 545pm. Mindy called to measure my arrival time. She was disappointed to learn that I hadn’t yet left the office. Said she picked up the boys and that dinner was ready.

I left the office near 550pm and made decent time getting home despite a huge traffic snarl on I-270. Traffic was either stopped or at a crawl in both directions a half hour earlier, but as I approached on the ramp it looked like the biggest slowdown was heading north. I could've bailed last second and taken the back through Mill Run and then south on Old Dublin Rd. but I opted for I-270 south, and it turned out fine. Mindy called again as I neared the intersection of Trabue and Wilson. She was pleased to learn that I was only a minute or two from home. I pulled in the drive way at 610pm.

The kids were being a little rowdier than usual, especially Rocky, who really fired up, a sure sign he isn’t yet taking his new meds. He was talking a million miles an hour and bouncing off the walls. Both he and Jacob were being PITAs. Mindy was busy serving up dinner when I complimented her brand new hair cut. Immediately after, Jacob took my compliment and made some rude statement. Add to that, all the others were complaining about their food. Mindy was soon frustrated and took her dinner plate into the dining room to eat alone. I found it somewhat amusing. Bella didn’t like it at all and tried to get up and join. I wouldn’t permit it. Nope!

Jacob & Rocky continued their negative banter all through dinner. And not one of the kids ate well, not even Landon who generally puts it away. He was the only one not having tortellini. Instead, he was having a leftover burger from the night before. He barely touched it, though.

All the kids were eventually excused from the dinner table still with lots of food on their plates. Mindy returned just as I was beginning the arduous clean-up process. And a bit later she shared that she didn’t appreciate the negative comment about her hair cut. What? Really? She clarified by saying that my compliment wasn’t genuine. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and could only muster a laugh. Howin' the heck do I defend that? The answer? You don’t. I opted to simply let it ride.

I forgot to mention that I received an email from longtime friend David Waters sharing that he’d be in town over the weekend and wanted to hook up. I realize now as I am writing this that I forgot to reply to his email. I’ll need to call the number he provided once I am home from work Friday.

Lindsey arrived to pick-up the boys close to 7pm. She received some really good news this week at work. Beginning Monday, her schedule will change from MTTrFSa 1030am-730pm to M-F 730am to 430pm. Add to that, they've decided not to send her back to Sawmill Rd branch anytime soon. Instead, they're leaving her and her team at the Westbelt location, which is only a mile or so from her apartment. Those two things are big.

After the boys left, Mindy relaxed in the recliner. And while she reclined with the pug, I laid flat on my back on the living room floor. Felt great. Bella headed down to play with Makayla at 745pm. Mindy told her to be home by 830pm. I'll bet it wasn't even 815pm when Mindy decided to head for bed. That's the early!

Just after 830pm she sent Jacob down to tell me to call down to Chrissy's and request Bella's return. Just as I was making my way to my cell phone, Bella entered from the deck. It was close to 845pm. She quickly readied for bed, but was watching TV from her room just like Jacob. I tucked in the kids then headed to bed at 930pm, which is early for me. Mindy was already half asleep. I laid there for a few minutes until it was obvious I wasn't ready to sleep. I got up after about ten minutes and headed down to the family room where I turned on the TV to watch an episode of How It's Made. I might've seen five minutes of programming before dosing off. I woke and headed to bed for good near 1015pm. Clear night and 3/4 moon.

No Quadrantids For Me :(

2012-01-04T23:59:00.002-05:00

I woke a couple times through the night and once to pee, but not for good until 525am. But that’s not too unusual at all. It was Wednesday and a sit-up/push-up day, so after a quick glance out back and then slipping into my exercise shoes I completed both. The coffee was ready around 545am, and I enjoyed a cup in front of the PC. I checked the Sugar Bowl results first, seeing that Michigan won their game against Virginia Tech.

I checked the weather next. It was a chilly 17 degrees under completely cloudy skies. So much for viewing the Quadrantid meteor showers. I played around on the PC until just before 6am when I broke away to meditate. The last thing I read was the Daily OM, a piece on our connectedness to the natural world.

I probably spent a solid a ten minutes in meditation. Now close to 610am, it was time to head upstairs and wake Mindy and officially put her Xmas break to an end. Predictably, she thanked me for the coffee and asked that I turn up the heat. I headed back downstairs to stretch and then ready for a run.

Stretching went well. I finished up around 625am and quickly changed into my running uniform. I wore the same stuff as the day before and headed out the door around 631am. Mindy sewed the hole in my favorite old running gloves the day before giving them new life. I have two other pair, one I’ve worn only three or four times and the other pair not at all. But I’ve gotten used to this old thin pair. They’re ideal.

The running tights I wore are the thinnest of the three pair I own, but they’re also the newest and in the best condition. I could feel a slight chill on my legs, but that usually goes away after a ½ mile or so. Otherwise, I was completely comfortable. There was a slight breeze blowing in from seemingly two or three different directions. But it was nowhere near as windy as it was on Monday and Tuesday. I ran the full 4.1 miles without any problems.

At home, Mindy was in the kitchen and donning her kitchen apron. I already had the dog leash waiting by the door. I just needed the dog. Mindy had her keys lying there too. I started her Pilot while waiting for Eiknarf. After a few seconds of rubs, I headed out the door with the dog. We walked to the west and for only about three minutes. After she peed she was quick to turn back towards home. Doesn’t like the cold, especially first thing out of bed.

Mindy had breakfast ready for the kids and I. Bella, Eiknarf, and I were having eggs. Jacob had yogurt. Mindy reminded the kids to come home as normal. She left a few minutes early. I finished up my breakfast, served Eiknarf hers, then headed up for a shower. I don’t do it very often, but I decided to wear the same clothes I wore on Tuesday. Of course I did change underwear. I was working off site at one of my customer’s locations so no one would be the wiser. I wore khakis, a black t-shirt, and a black v-neck cotton sweater. I wore a pair of brown casual dress shoes that I haven’t worn in at least 5 years. They felt heavy and stiff, but looked good with my slacks.

I had plenty of time to prep a lunch after getting downstairs by 753am. I took a few minutes to pay my credit card bills online too. Of course I paid them in full, just as I always do.

It was time to head out to the bus stop in a jiffy. I reminded the kids to wear a hat and gloves. Both said they misplaced their gloves. Well, actually, Bella tried giving me some song and dance about stowing them in the hallway closet on the upper shelf. What? They weren’t there. I showed her as much. She just didn’t want to admit that she misplaced them like she does a lot of her things. Jacob admitted leaving his on the bus the day before. I wasn’t pleased with either of them.

As Jacob boarded the bus I reminded him to look for his gloves. Chrissy and I chatted briefly about her course load this quarter: Biology, Anatomy, and Algebra. Said she has to write 7 three-page papers this quarter in Anatomy. I laughed. A three-page paper is nothing. I encouraged her, telling her that it will get easier as she gets in a routine. Three classes is a bit much, though.

Eiknarf and I headed back home but not before I allowed her a little more time to relieve herself. She pooped before we headed in. I had the Accord warming for the last 5-10 minutes. It was toasty warm when I headed off to work. Destined for New Albany, I decided to risk it and take I-670. That worked well. Traffic was a little heavy near downtown but always moving. I made good time arriving near 845am. And I am happy to report that the rainy Wednesday hex has finally been broken. I guess all I had to do to break it was take a week’s vacation in HV. J

The morning was fairly low key. Our weekly 10am call went fine. At some point I went looking for Max Shultz. I couldn’t find him. I’m wondering if they let him go after the holidays. I thought about leaving for a lunch break but I had no place I needed to go or errands needing run. I ended up working straight through the day and getting a jump on monthly reports for both of my customers.

I took enough time for myself during the afternoon to peruse rental car rates for our Mt Hood ski trip. Glad I waited. I booked a minivan for $175 per week. That’s less than half of the regular price. I was thrilled with the deal

I left for the day just after 5pm. By then the sky was clear and the temperature noticeably warmer than it had been the two days prior. Felt somewhere close to 30 degrees. I took I-270 around to the north and west and called Mindy along the way. She was busy making dinner, hamburgers. Said her first day back was good. Let her go as I passed Cleveland avenue. Figured I was 20-25 minutes out.

Traffic got heavy as I neared Hilliard and Cemetery Rd, but then again, it generally is. I was home at 541pm. Mindy was still working on our dinner while I went through my usual after work routine of rinsing my lunch dishes and putting my gear away. I’m thinking that it was just ahead of 6pm when our dinner was ready. Along with burgers, Mindy made tater tots and a fresh garden salad. And after eating lots of holiday junk for the past couple weeks, I was craving salad.

Mindy toasted the buns, which I very much appreciate. It prevents the bun from soaking up all the juices and falling apart. But one man’s treasure is another’s trash. Bella complained about her toasted bun. J

Everything was delicious. Was nice to have a normal sit-down dinner with the immediate family for a change. That’s been a rarity. I managed the clean-up while Mindy had Bella get ready for gymnastics. She planned on dropping her off, and asked that I handle the pick-up. I was OK with that.

Jacob opted to ride along, and they all three headed out around 650pm. And while they were gone, I updated my blog. I also surfed for lodging accommodations in Government Camp for our coming ski trip, though we still haven’t nailed down the exact night’s we’ll be staying on the mountain. Need to do that very soon. Of course, we can’t make the reservations until that's decided. I noticed that the same exact condo we stayed at in Feb 2010 was available this year too. And unless I am mistaken, the price is a little lower this year. Awesome!

Shortly after Mindy and Jacob got back, I took a brief nap in the recliner. Felt great. I woke and asked for a time check. It was 810pm. I needed to leave to fetch Bella in ten minutes. That time went fast. I stood around waiting for 820pm to arrive. Jacob tuned into the Orange Bowl. I’d watch it with him when we got back.

Even though it was dark and near 830pm, it felt even warmer than it did when I arrived home from work near 6pm. As predicted, the cold’s moving out. Arrived at DCW right at 830pm. Bella and her peeps were still at it. Little wonder, though, practice actually goes until 9pm. We just don’t want Bella out that late. In fact, even getting her at 830pm is much later than Mindy wants her out on a school night.

We arrived home near 845pm. Mindy & Jacob were already settled on the sofa enjoying the game. Mindy sent Bella to the shower right away. Jacob was heckling her from jump. It wasn’t pretty. Mindy whispered that she might put and end to gymnastics if Bella can’t get it together. She was having a mini melt down, about what I wasn’t so sure. Another ten minutes past and we still didn’t hear the shower running. Mindy suggested that I deal with it, because if she did, it wouldn’t end pretty. I headed up to reason with Bella. She was lying on her bed watching TV naked. She’s so easily distracted. I urged her to get a move on or risk penalty. She finally got moving.

After her first early rise, Mindy was tuckered out and excused herself for bed around 920pm. She asked that both kids be in bed by 930pm. At the same time, she told Jacob he could watch a little more of the game from his room. Jacob headed up right at 930pm just like his momma asked. Bella came down a minute or two later freshly showered and in her PJs. She wanted a snack. I suggested popcorn, but she wanted reheated tater tots instead. I warmed eight of them for her while also popping a bag of popcorn.

Once Jacob realized that Bella was still downstairs, he soon joined us and had some of the popcorn. I’m thinking it was actually closer to 10pm when both kids headed up for bed. And Bella took another snack up with her, this time a tiny bowl of dry Cookie Crisp. She lured Eiknarf upstairs with the promise of a snack. Not sure she actually got any of it, though.

I stayed up until halftime of the Orange Bowl, West Virginia versus Clemson. It was something like 42-20, WV at the half. Fun game to watch. I headed to bed near 1020pm.

Back to the Basics

2012-01-03T23:59:00.001-05:00

I was up and out of bed just ahead of 530am. I felt great, well rested, and ready to get after the new day, new work week, and new year. The coffee was prepped. I just needed to hit the go button. The sky was clear, and it looked brutally cold. After sit-ups, I checked the actual temperature. It was 14 degrees but with a stiff breeze blowing in from the west. Accounting for the wind chill, that made it more like 3 degrees. This would far and away be my coldest run this season. No worries. I was actually looking forward to it.

Coffee was ready near 550am. I poured a cup then returned to the PC where I spent another 10 minutes. Time for meditation. There’s no denying that my best days often begin with a good meditation. With that in mind, I made it a point to leave myself plenty of time to zero in on the stillness within.

And while I would be returning to work, Mindy would be enjoying her final day of Xmas break. That meant I didn’t need to bother waking her with coffee. Instead, I moved directly to stretching immediately after meditation. That went well, too. After a stretch, I dressed warmly for a run. I kept it basic wearing two upper layers, underwear, running shorts, tights, and long socks. I also wore hand and ear covers along with a fleece toboggan. And aside from the initial shock of the cold air whipping across my face, I was comfortable for the duration of the 4.1 mile run. I was extra careful with my footing since there was a thin layer of snow covering the ground.

I could see that our kitchen lights were on as I passed by the O’Connell’s place. That meant Mindy was up with the kids. And she had Eiknarf’s leash waiting by the door by the time I returned. She soon went after her. How pathetic! She had to carry her down the stairs from the comfort of Jacob’s warm bed.

Eiknarf and I headed out into the cold. We walked east to avoid having the cold wind blowing in my face. We’d have to face it going back, however. She took care of business after lots of sniffing around. I’m sure she was cold, too, especially being fresh out of bed. Meanwhile, back home, Mindy was making breakfast for me and the kids.

It was already 725am when I sat down to breakfast. Bella and Jacob were both up and having breakfast too. Both were more alert than I expected given their long 17 day Xmas vacation. Mindy planned on meeting her bff Teri for a late breakfast, I only assumed it at First Watch. At least that’s where they typically meet. I know Mindy was looking forward to it.

I headed up for a shower later than I might’ve preferred. It was already 740am. But I do this everyday, so you might even say that I’m a pro. J I was back downstairs shaven, showered, and dressed before 8am. I spent the next few minutes throwing together a healthy lunch consisting of a fruit medley, banana, cheese, and a salad. It didn’t take but 5 minutes to prep it all.

Before heading out with the kids I started the Accord. I’d driven it only five or six miles since December 22^nd. I knew I’d be making a fuel stop on the way in. Mindy asked if I’d be coming back inside after seeing the kids onto the bus. Yes. They & I headed out right at 810am. Mindy made sure both were wearing hand and ear covers along with winter coats.

I scraped the Accord while the kids stood at the bus stop talking with Chrissy and kids. Chrissy advised that she was off work, too. Not sure why. Thankfully, the bus was on time. Nothing worse than standing still in the cold.

With the kids on the bus, I headed back to the house with Eiknarf, who wasn’t enjoying the cold at all. Mindy reminded me that this was date night. We made no firm plans, however. I reminded her to take an ABSCO coupon if she planned on looking for a new ski jacket. I showed her where they were stashed. I left for work at 820am already knowing I’d be making that fuel stop at Thornton’s.

Gas was $3.29 per gallon, and the Accord took 15.1 gallons, which cost me just a few pennies less than $50. That equated to 21.5 miles per gallon on the last tank. By the way, the Pilot got 22 mpg on our HV trip. I am always surprised by that, especially fully loaded with gear and with the Thule on top.

I was able to get a parking spot upfront and found my way to my office by 850am. It took a little while to get situated, stowing my lunch, filling my water pitcher, and firing up my laptop. My first order of business was going through all of my email. I deleted most of it. With everything still relatively quiet, I decided to tackle some more online training. I have about ten classes that I’m required to complete before month’s end, and I absolutely hate waiting to the last minute.

I talked with a peer a couple times briefly but that’s about all the personal interaction I had all day long. By the day’s end I had completed five of the required courses. That was a load off my mind. I talked with Mindy late afternoon. She had been to lunch with Teri and had also been to ASBCO in Arlington. She was on her way to the one in Powell hoping to find the perfect new ski jacket. The zipper broke on her current ski jacket while we were at HV. I was able to temporarily fix it using an MRM ski tag wire.

I talked with Ashley sometime during the late afternoon too. She was heading back to work after an ortho appointment with Dr Monfort. He shared that he’s planning on putting braces back on her upper teeth once her root canal is finished. She didn’t remember that being part of the plan. Oh boy! Yeah, I remember him sharing that with us. We talked for a while about a few other things, too. Among them, she shared her disappointment in Steven for failing the typing test at Teleperformance. Could only muster 18 words a minute. I guess the requirement to be hired is 30.

I held my tongue initially, but Ashley prodded me for my opinion both on Steven and on her potential move to Kentucky. I was still a little hesitant at first, but she asked for my fatherly advice again. I like Steven, and Olivia seems to adore him. But so far he hasn’t proved to be the bread winner type. In fact, I don’t think he’s had even one full-time job since I’ve known him. I was frank, but also kind. I don’t’ want Ashley to look back five years from now and wish she had moved on with her life. But I was also quick to reiterate that she has to decide what’s best for Olivia and then herself. No one else can decide for her, nor should they. She genuinely seemed to appreciate the talk. My baby is finally growing up and facing her problems head on. I like that.

Close to day’s end, Mindy sent a text asking what time I’d be leaving for the day because if I wouldn’t be leaving work until 530pm she planned on going back to the Arlington ASBCO to pick-up a jacket they were holding for her. That would make her third trip to an ASBCO store that day. Long story.

I shared that she should go ahead regardless, and not worry about me. While it was date night, I wasn’t really wanting to go out to dinner anyway. I am more focused on getting my diet back on track. Dinner out would surely delay/kill that notion. Besides, we’ve got a kidless weekend ahead.

I ended up leaving work shortly after 5pm. I called Mindy once I cleared the first two roundabouts. She was on her way to ASBCO. We talked until I was nearly home. Lisa Shultz was right behind me as I pulled in the subdivision. I thought about turning into her court so we could chat. Haven’t talked with her in a long while. Last second, I opted not and headed directly home.

It was nice to be home and in a clean, quiet house. I rinsed my lunch containers, stowed then in the dishwasher, then cleaned and readied the coffee pot for Wednesday. I ate a couple cheese sticks too. I spent the time before Mindy got home online. Soon in the door, she showed me her new ski jacket. Primarily black with some subtle purple lines and lots of extra zip pockets. Looks nice on her. I am happy to have her join me on the dark side of the color wheel J

For dinner, Mindy suggested cream-of-chicken over brown rice. That sounded awfully good. It took about 15 minutes to make. I shared the gist of my conversation with Ashley. Mindy & I are pretty much in lock-step relative to those issues.

We also briefly discussed Lindsey’s cell phone dilemma. Last month we scorned her for spending $50 per month on an unlimited pay as you go plan, and offered her our spare cell phone for $10 per month as a alternative. But since it was so last minute, we agreed that she could do the $50 plan one more month, but should plan the switch at the beginning of January. It was time to do it. But unfortunately, the more we talked through it, the less I liked that idea either. What is that teaching Lindsey? Certainly not to be accountable to herself. If she were a college kid then, yeah, it would make sense but she’s almost 28 and the mother of two. She needs to be figuring these things out on her own. We decided to advise Lindsey to pursue her own cell plan however she saw fit. Though, having said that, her spending $50 a month on an unlimited internet, text, and call plan isn’t smart budgeting either. I can’t fix everything.

I returned Lindsey’s call and shared our thoughts. Said she preferred to have her own plan anyway but for other reasons. For one, doesn’t like the idea of us having a view into her calls and texts and such. She said she’d be by within 20 minutes to get money to cover her monthly cell bill.

She and the boys showed up about 20 minutes later. Mindy already had the cash ready to hand her. They didn’t even take off their shoes and barely came inside. We talked with the boys a little before they left and then asked Lindsey if she’s started Rocky on the new meds Dr Shultz gave him. She hasn’t. That’s another story for another day. They headed out and we headed to the familyroom.

It was another 15-20 minutes before the kids got home from dinner with dad. Said they had fun with their bunny, Snowflake. Went to City Barbeque for take-out dinner. Mindy had both get ready for bed, but not before Bella gave both Mindy and I a foot massage. She’s really good at it. Jacob must’ve felt left out and joined us on the sofa and actually started rubbing my foot. Too rough, sorry! J

We watched the tail end of the OSU/Nebraska basketball game. The Buckeyes won easily. We then tuned into the Sugar Bowl, Michigan versus Virginia Tech. I was pulling for Michigan, but wasn’t too concerned either way. Virginia Tech held a slim lead 3-0 when I fell asleep. And at the time, Michigan looked rusty and confused. Must’ve been about the beginning of the 2nd quarter when I dosed off.

Mindy send the kids up to bed at 915pm. I woke on the sofa around 11pm and headed up to bed. Eiknarf was downstairs with me. I dropped her off in Bella’s room and put the baby gate up. Good night moon!