Birthdays and Chaos.

Saturday, I made breakfast for the three of us. The girls had biscuits and sausage, while I cooked up some potatoes and leftover steak from the night before, topping it all with an over-easy egg — a little breakfast bowl, if you will. After that came some house cleaning and laundry — just about typical for a weekend.

This time it was the boy’s momma who wasn’t feeling well. Since his father was off on a hunting expedition, we went over and watched the baby for a while. He was really no trouble and it turned out to be good, quality time. While we were there, Noah and Teegan made it back from their hunt, and we visited a bit before trekking off to the final campus tailgate of the season.

I was rather saddened that we’d already reached the end. I love those little party sessions — all the free food, drinks, and goodies that come with them. It’s always a lot of fun visiting and seeing everyone having a good time.

We were excited about getting the ribs one last time. Alas — no fucking ribs. WHY?! For that matter, the vendors were pretty scarce. You’d think that being the last hurrah of the season, they’d have been out in droves. Oh well.

Later, I decided to make some hot sauce from scratch. I’ve found that simple is better when it comes to hot sauce. I just boil a batch of red and green jalapeños, a tomato, and a little onion. Once they’re cooked through, I pull out the immersion blender, throw in some spices and cilantro, and get to blending. The smell was impressive — and eye-watering. I even coughed from the heat in the air. The batch was gold.

I decided to cook something that would go well with the sauce — something simple that everyone would like (except Lola). Chipotle chicken bowls with spicy chicken thighs hit the mark. Everyone went to bed satisfied while I started the first half of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein. All in all, a pretty nice day.

Sunday was Teegan’s birthday! I made some biscuits, sausage, and bacon, and we all just hung around visiting for a while before Lola and Yvette took off to pick up the baby from her grandparents. The rest of the day was spent running errands around town, preparing for the week ahead, and doing chores around the house. I even trimmed up a tree in the backyard.

That’s what Sundays are all about when you get older and have kids, it seems — preparation and chores. I used to just make a menu, grab the supplies I needed, and, more often than not, head to the bar to wind down. That was after the divorce and before Yvette became part of my life — a time with few responsibilities during a darker period.

For Teegan’s birthday celebration, we all met up with my in-laws, my mom, and Noah, Nadia, and baby Niles. Zero One Ale House was calling Teegan’s name. I passed driving duties to Yvette and ordered myself a fancy house-brewed beer — it really hit the spot. Everyone ordered food and seemed to be having a good time, except poor Lola, who was sick to her stomach.

While devouring my Jamaican jerk chicken — spicy as can be — I ordered another one of those fancy beers. Damn, it was good washing down my meal. I even felt a little elevated by it.

To finish the night off, we all came back to our house and gathered around a cake Yvette had baked. We lit the candles and sang “Happy Birthday” to Teegan. I ate more cake than I needed. After everyone left, the remaining household went to bed. I finished the new Frankenstein movie and eventually hit the hay.

The Work Week Begins

The work week had to begin at some point. Monday wasn’t too terrible. Seth took off — because of course we couldn’t be fully staffed — so I stayed busy doing his job. Honestly, I liked it that way. Otherwise, I’d have been stuck in the office, and I thrive on being away from that joint.

After work, we had dinner plans with guests coming over. I had planned to run a few errands and swing by my mother’s to visit, but instead I came home to a surprise: the damn dogs had somehow opened the outside refrigerator — the one holding the rotisserie chicken. (Later, my camera revealed it was Rosco, but at the time I had no idea.) I was furious. I changed my plans and ran back out to Sam’s for another chicken. That little detour ate up all my extra time, so I didn’t get to visit my mother. Damn dogs.

Dinner turned out great, though, once everything fell into place. Owen was still messing with his little hotspot that he just couldn’t stop licking. Nadia was over, and since she’s been a veterinary assistant for years, she took a look at it. We applied some spray and she helped me put on “the cone of shame.” Poor bastard was terrified and kept running into everything with it on. I felt bad, but he really needed to let that spot heal — it was raw as hell.

The cone of shame… poor Owen.

Tuesday was fine, except for the horrific lunch I had. Owen either vomited or shit all over the place — I couldn’t tell, and it really didn’t matter. He eats shit, so when he vomits, it’s still essentially shit. Splatter shit. The smell was absolutely awful, and cleaning it up took a solid thirty minutes. I even stuffed earplugs up my nostrils to try and avoid gagging.

Lunch didn’t seem all that important after that cleanup.

The rest of the day was a drag in the office — which is usually the case when you’re stuck there. Afternoons progress at the pace of a snail.

After work, I went out to my mother’s to visit before coming home and cooking a few steaks for the girls. Teegan and I weren’t really feeling what they were having, and I had more vomit that needed cleaning up. Chicken bones — from the missing rotisserie chicken. I wondered when they’d show themselves. It was absolutely fucking awful and smelled just like the rotisserie chicken. I gagged and lost all appetite to cook anything for myself, so I decided to find some carryout for Tee and me at The Penny Taphouse. He got a nice Philly cheesesteak, and I went with my spicy ginger chicken — total comfort food.

Hump Day was just as bad, if not worse. I spent a lot of my time trying to find a place for Yvette and me to go for our one-year anniversary. It was coming up fast. I didn’t want to spend it in town — I wanted to take a nice little trip somewhere. My heart was leaning toward Fredericksburg. It’s already a fun destination, but during Christmas it’ll be absolutely beautiful for Yvette. I booked a room.

Thursday I made it to work early for our “morning meeting.” What a joke. Is it a pep rally? A pat on the back? Disciplinary session? It wasn’t like the last ones, which were all about us supposedly not having freedom of speech on campus. What this one was — was a waste of time. I didn’t learn anything new that I didn’t already know.

I guess it’s good that we have these meetings to make sure everyone’s on the same page, but I still think it’s silly that I’m required to attend when I generally already know what’s being said — and most of it doesn’t even pertain to me.

I used to skip these meetings. I went most of a year without attending a single one. Eventually, my absence was noticed, and something was said to my boss. Ever since then, it’s been “mandatory” that I show up. Bullshit — but it is what it is.

Friday, everyone bailed by noon, and it was just Troy and me. I let him run around town paying up any bills he had left while I managed the office — which basically translates to trying not to fall asleep. It was that kind of Friday. I should have brought my book. Instead, I was jammin’ to classic Neil Young songs, trying to keep my eyes open.

After work, Yvette and I had a Ring Ceremony to attend for her student worker. It’s always tough to drag my ass back onto campus after getting off work, especially on a Friday. By that point, I’m ready to kick back and call it a day. I really wanted to jump right into the new show Yvette and I started, The Beast in Me.

Alas, the ring ceremony awaited. Honestly, though, I think it’s pretty amazing that Yvette has that kind of relationship with her student workers. This was the second time we’ve attended one of her graduating students’ ceremonies. Pretty cool.

The ceremony is rather moving, really. You can feel the excitement in the air. These young men and women have made amazing accomplishments and they are on their way to the goal. Futures so bright only the sun can rival.

Awards we came home and made quick meals. Yvette and I settled into 3 episodes of our show. Goodnight.

Happy Friday!!!