Alarming

Another busy December Sunday! But before I tell you about my Sunday, I need to tell you what happened last night (techinically, it was this morning as it was well after midnight). I had gone to the long-range forecast meeting after Mrs. Claus had gone to bed and I had posted to the blog. Jingle, Blitzen, and I went to the Village Square Starbucks (open 24 hours during December) just to hang out, visit, and wind down a little after the full day. I had a decaf, non-fat, sugar-free, no-whip Ginger Bread Latte... but I digress.... Before we knew it, we had been there an hour and it was really late. Despite the deep chill in the air on the walk home, I was feeling tired. My eyelids felt like they had lead weights tied to them. I must have been more fatigued than I thought because when I opened the door, I couldn't remember our security alarm code. The system is pretty new, less than a year, so I'm not completely used to it yet. North Pole Security was insistent that we put it in. But what gets me, is we have to change the code every week. We had just changed it on Friday and I was so tired, I just couldn't recall what it was. I paniced and tried a couple of combinations that seemed vaguely familiar as the system kept repeating "Disarm System Now. Disarm System Now. You have 10 seconds to disarm. Disarm System Now." Then BOOM. It went off. And it was loud! Flashing lights, screaming sirens inside the house and out. I could see lights coming on in the surrounding houses. The dog came running and growling... though he stopped when he saw it was me. And security guards came from every corner. The guards were able to shut the alarm off but not until we had disturbed most of the neighborhood. Poor Mrs. Claus said she was so startled she straight up in bed. It took her a moment to gather her senses and then when she realized I wasn't there, she hit her personal panic button... sending more guards into action and creating even more noise and confusion. By the time we got it all sorted out and settled back down, it was time for me to go for my run. So I just didn't go to bed last night.


It was a good Sunday overall. My run was a little slow... I didn't run far given the fatigue and lack of sleep. But I downed a whole lot of Christmas Blend coffee before church. The last thing I need is the papparazzi to get a picture of me nodding off in church. After church, it was off to the rounds of parades, parties, and mall appearances. I did make appearances at a couple of sporting events including Blackburn vs. West Ham in England and New England vs. Pittsburgh in the US. I always enjoy those. I didn't get to stay for the full game in either case though. Too much to do. Mrs. Claus & I closed out the day with dinner and I'm calling it an early night after I check email and finish up here. Good Night, All! Hope you had a good weekend.