Saturday morning we were reunited with the kids. The smile I got from the little one when she saw me at the airport melted my heart. I sure missed these people. We got them loaded up and back to the hotel for a little free breakfast, which was not very good but oh well. Next on the agenda before departure was Trader Joe’s.
For whatever reason, Lola drove the first half of the return trip. I needed a Xanax to calm down. Just kidding, she did fine. I was a little worried but they were all for nil. She did make one impulsive move to turn us around outside of DFW to eat at a Chuy’s off the interstate. I had never been. It was good. Yvette and I shared a meal. I’m always weary of eating when traveling. You just don’t know how your stomach might take it.
The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. We got home and all settled. I went to my mom’s to pick up my dogs and I picked up some pizza. After having a bite I was alone in a quiet house. I decided to go for a little walk. It was a nice evening.
Sunday we all slept in a little. It was the day of the surprise birthday for Sofie, Yvette’s niece. I got ready early and decided to run out to Sam’s to fill up gas and grab some bottled water. While out there I picked up some rotisserie chicken for us to use for the week.
The girls got ready and we all went to the birthday. party. I’ve never been a part of a surprise party and it was exciting. For the food we had homemade Guamanian. Yvette’s sister-in-law’s side of the family are from Guam. I will say the food was amazing, but damn it my blood sugar didn’t care much for it. I went HIGH. Lord I really hate being a diabetic sometimes.
After dropping off some leftovers at the house I went to my mom for a mother/son time looking for outdoor plants. I have a thing for potted plants on my porch. That little hobby was cultivated by my grandmother. She use to take me shopping for plants in Ballinger Tx. My mom and I have always kept potted plants and it’s just that time of year we both had the itch to scratch. We didn’t have the best of luck. Slim picking and some pretty pathetically cared for plants.
Sunday night was great. I went home and potted my plants. Just having a little bit of color is a nice change from the blandness of winter. After potting the plants I started on dinner. I invited Noah and Nadia to come join us for steak fajita bowls. I cooked up all the fixings out on the grill and enjoyed a couple cold beers. The special sauce was prepared ahead of time. Nadia didn’t make it but Noah came over to eat. The kids were not all that excited to be going back to school after Spring Break and I completely relate. It was a fun night and I have found that I really enjoy cooking for all of them on these Sunday nights. I might not have it perfectly down when it comes to making the correct portions, but I am getting better. It’s a challenge that I have accepted.
The week began like a sloth crossing the road. The kids counsels get going at the house, no one at work seemed to motivated to be productive, yet I was ready to roll. Unfortunately, I was unable to because of office duty. After the long day was done I cooked another new dish. Well, sort of. I’ve made the basics before but used a different pasta this go round. I also tweaked it a little. With dinner done early Yvette, Alaya, Hazel and I went for a walk across the campus. It was a beautiful night and we all had a blast, especially Alaya and Hazel. We made that a thing all week long.
Staff senate. The first of two Teams meeting was scheduled for Tuesday and although I said I would be able to attend, with my job you just never know for sure. If something comes up I have to drop and go. The meeting was at 11:30 and I all but made the last min. Lucky for me it was short. The person I picked to win the award was also favored by everyone else in the committee. I was a little appalled that everyone else was able to see that I was the most harsh when it came to ranking. I was the only person to give a 1 rating. I was just going by the outline I was given on how to rank. I didn’t let personal experience get in my way. I feel like the others must have or they just didn’t want to seem “mean”. What’s the point in this if it’s not fair and not biased. Good to know that everyone now either thinks I’m an asshole or I am just flat out honest. The second one on Thursday wasn’t as revealing.
Thursday night was more March Madness. My two teams, Florida and Texas Tech both playing. Florida won the first game and after a nice walk I watched the very late TT game. The Tech game was ugly to watch. I tried to stay up but the damn game was going to last until at least midnight. I snoozed and eventually woke back up towards the very end of the game. It was neck and neck but at the very end Texas Tech pulled it off with a 85-83. Yay and goodnight.
Friday was finally a day that I was able to escape the office. We were short staffed and that gave me some opportunities to be free and fly away like a little bird that had been caged its entire life. I joke, it wasn’t that bad of a week. I had the privilege of having a private tour at our new aviation building that’s located out at the airport. I was kind of happy with my task of heading out there, it got me far away from the campus and a round trip of 30 min car time. Anyways, the tour was great. Such a beautiful facility and I’m afraid to even know how much it all cost. The flight simulators were stunning.
That night I was going to take Yvette out for dinner pre birthday but we found out the kids had both planned on going to a concert so we were going to babysit the little girl. That’s a good time and we could just get some carry out food. Well, that was earlier said than done. The Wharf decided they would not do carry out over the phone because they were too busy. Okay, I’ll just go get some take out and wait at the bar for my food. I drove all the way only to be told that they don’t do food in the bar. Uh, I was getting it to go. Nope, they are not doing to go food. Well, how long is the wait for a table? 30 min. Okay. I’ll get a table and get the food to go. Again I was told no. At this point I was pissed and it didn’t help the hostess was rude. I mean, it wasn’t like they were not going to get any money out of it. I was even willing to wait around and have drinks. I really would have called that a “last time” if I had not been going there for years and years.
Defeated, I went home. Yvette and I regrouped and it was decided on some Korean food. I could not get anyone to pick up the phone so I just decided to go and place an order in person. Again, a wait. At least they would take a to go order. I went down the street and had a beer while I waited for a text saying our food was ready. I picked it up, went home and realized half the order was missing. This was not our night for to go food. I called and they said the rest of the order would be ready in 10 min. Christ.
When we finally ate, gave the girl a bath, and put her to bed it was March Madness and relaxation. Good lord. Happy Friday!!
Jalapeño
Tired from the road and the travel I didn’t want to cook. I picked up some pizza from a place called Trophy’s.
Steak fajita bowls.
Marry Me Chicken Pasta.
Buffalo Chicken Pasta. Yvette made dinner and I added some blue cheese crumbles. Delicious.
Yvette cooked tonight. Balsamic steak and peppers with an artichoke summer salad.
Italian sausage mushroom pasta. It’s basically a sauce of butter, Parmesan, heavy cream and wine. Lots of spices. I was happy
Chicken Bulgolgi.
En Fuego 