An off-shore sweat shop

1) An actual flower factory 2) Bella, not so happy I woke Sunday morning around 7:30am wide awake. When I went to bed I wasn’t sure if I’d have a hangover or not and was wise enough to swallow a couple of Advil before climbing into bed. As it turned, I felt great. More than the Advil, I am sure it everything to do with all the food I ate. I can’t remember the last time I ate so much. And it’s not that I ate large portions. Instead, I simply ate _all_night long. Mindy asked that I keep quiet as not to wake the kids. Not only was she interested in getting more sleep but she knew that her kids would be real buggers if they got up at their usual time. Bella stayed up until midnight and Jacob was up until about 11:30pm. A lot of kids would still get up at their usual time after such an event, I warned. Still, I was careful about making much noise. I exercised, made coffee, and walked Ykraps. I was surprised how warm it was when he and I walked. It was already in the 50’s and it wasn’t even 8am. I returned home for some coffee and some surfing keeping in mind Mindy’s request to be silent. It wasn’t long before Mindy joined me downstairs while Bella lounged in our bed watching a DVD. Jacob, Mindy reported, was still asleep. I dressed and left for a run just after 9am. Once again, I took Trabue Rd. It just feels better – more wideopeness. I returned from my run somewhere close to 9:40am. Mindy had made crescent rolls for the kids, and they smelt really good. I had one. She had already cleaned up all the remaining party mess, too. Bless her! After a little more coffee, I grabbed my guitar and headed onto the deck. It was sunny and warm, and December 17th! Before long Mindy and Bella joined me on the deck. We stayed out there for about 30 minutes. When we finally went back inside, Jacob asked if I would play some football with him in the basement playroom. I did. We played knee football for almost an hour. My knees were sore from running on them. He won 77-73. It was nearly time for NFL football when we finished up. Mindy had already started addressing our holiday cards. Bella was quietly watching a video in the family room and I didn’t have the heart (or guts) to overthrow her. Jacob and I went up to my room to watch some football. I fell asleep after the first quarter and probably slept until about 2:15pm waking only a couple of times as Jacob moved nervously about. Where had the day gone? I took a shower then headed downstairs where I enjoyed some of the buffalo chicken dip Pat Schultz brought & left at our party last night. It was doubly delicious!! While I chowed, Mindy showered. Our afternoon plan called for dinner at Gloria’s and perhaps even a stop at the Flower Factory to get party favor gifts for the upcoming family Xmas party. We left for Gloria’s around 3:15pm. Gloria was more than happy to entertain the kids while Mindy and I ran to the Flower Factory, which is only 2 miles from her home. Immediately in the door, I likened it to a rundown Garden Ridge. It was crowded too. We didn’t loli-gag around. We went right for the kiddie toy area. We found oodles of toys that will make perfect little gifts for all the kids next Saturday. While there, Mindy grabbed a few things she needed for a class project too. We were back at Gloria’s by about 4pm. I wasn’t in the door five minutes when Jacob asked me to go out and throw the football with him. I did even though I was a little achy form our earlier game. We threw the foot ball for about twenty minutes or more. I went in as the sun began to sink on the western horizon. And it wasn’t long before dinner was ready. We had lasagna, barbeque beef, potatoes and green beans, and rolls. It was very good and very filling. For dessert, Gloria made cinnamon bread, and we brought some chocolate chip cookies and the rest of our chocolate chip cookie cheesecake. I had a piece of my cheesecake since I didn’t eat any last night. Mindy was very tired and had been all weekend. We left Gloria’s around 6:38pm – likely the earliest ever. We were home even before 7pm. Jacob insisted on walking Ykraps with me but turned for home after about 50 paces. He said his feet hurt. Ykraps and I went on without him. We were back in short order. Mindy already has the kids I the bathtub. I surfed the net catching up on all of the day’s NFL action. Incidentally, the Vikings lost. Crap! Mindy asked me to join the read and tuck. I spent the lion’s share of my time in with Bella while Jacob read with his momma. After the kids were fast sleep – about 7:30pm – we went back downstairs and had a glass of wine & chatted.