En Fuego

Black Friday!

What did I do on Black Friday? Not a damn thing. I sure didn’t go shopping. I only made a simple, quiet trip to the store for groceries. I really didn’t need to be spending any money. I did a lot of laundry and stayed indoors. I was feeling the food hangover from Thanksgiving—those heavy carbs and massive blood sugar swings get me every time. I seem to forget this each year. I wonder why.

My household was sure partaking in the Black Friday shopping. I just can’t handle the crowds, people are crazy. I guess it worked out well enough for everyone because they did manage to find some pretty good deals on nice items.

That evening was the University of Texas and Texas A&M football game. BIG deal for some people. I hate them both. Teegan was really invested in his Aggies; I’m almost certain he’ll become one. The game was actually good and surprisingly so. I was sure A&M would walk away with the win—they were ranked high, while UT has had a horrible year. Well, had I bet on the match, I would have lost. The Aggies played horribly, the referees were awful, and UT had the best game of their season. Who the hell would have guessed?

On Saturday, we took the girl with us to see the Grinch, and boy oh boy, that didn’t go well. She was terrified of him, and we got some hilarious pictures out of it. I missed this last year, but she was too young then to be frightened. I guess the Grinch is a terrifying creature. When I was a kid, I don’t remember people dressing up as him for Christmas—it was always “take your kid to see Santa” back in those days. His popularity has skyrocketed.

Afterward, it was time to pick out the Christmas tree—a real Christmas tree. This was a special moment for me because it was the first time Yvette and I picked one out together. In the past, it was always a tradition between my mother and me. It was nice having Alaya along. She was having so much fun and helped Yvette and me find the perfect one. It was a kind of therapy for her after the whole Grinch ordeal.

Back home we put up the tree and tried to find all the lights. I had a rather odd, eclectic mix of them for some reason. I had two strands that matched, and I needed three more. Do you know how hard it is to find incandescent lights when everything has basically gone LED? I went to multiple places before I found what I needed. Walmart had them. The place was weird after dark—sketchy characters in the parking lot. I remembered why I don’t really like Walmart.

That night, Yvette and I watched a movie we had hoped to catch in the theater, but it didn’t stay long enough: Regretting You. It was the age-old sad story of love, betrayal, and what happens to a family broken by tragic loss and revealed secrets. I must say, it was entertaining. Movies like this are why some people don’t want relationships—the fear of betrayal.

Sunday, the rest of my family went home. Yvette, Alaya, and I went to her parents’ for some homemade chicken pot pie. It was a warm 40 degrees outside, so the weather was perfect for it. I was seriously impressed by the pot pie. I think my mother made one once and never again, claiming it was a total pain in the ass. I can see why.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with the three of us shopping all over town. We went to the mall, Walmart, Sam’s, H-E-B, and even stopped by Petco so Alaya could see some birds and fish. It was a good time, and she was a real trooper all day long.

Since it was finally soup weather, I made some chicken tortilla soup—one of my all-time favorite dishes. I couldn’t wait to have it. Sadly, Yvette’s kids do not eat soup if it’s called soup. I don’t really understand why they don’t consider soup to be a meal. Their loss.

The little holiday break came to an end. How terrible it is to return to work after five days off. I suppose it’s a lead-up to the extra-long Christmas break we have soon.

Surprisingly, I was able to jump into the work week with ease. I woke up at 6:30 and made breakfast. Work wasn’t hard to adjust to—well, not for me. My coworker, Tory, cried heavily. He came into the week thinking he was doing a certain job, only to find out that wasn’t what he was doing. It’s happened before; after last Christmas break he did the same thing. Cried. I have never worked with such a crybaby in my entire life. He proceeded to give me the silent treatment for the entire week. Would not even speak to me when spoken to. It’s one thing to see Alaya throw a fit—she’s eighteen months old. It’s another to see a fifty-eight-year-old man throw a tantrum like he’s eighteen months.

It was sad.

Back at work, I was busy purchasing from vendors across town—really busy, as I knew I would be after the holidays. Had Tory been doing my job, he probably would’ve been just as upset. Anyway, I was happy to be active. Day goes by quickly.

In my downtime, I made it a point to decorate the office with the few Christmas decorations we had—which weren’t much. They were sad little things, but it’s always fun to have them out for the spirit of it. The people who come into the office seem to appreciate them, at least. We have the Grinch, a Charlie Brown tree, and Caga Tió. I still need a Santa hat for the bear.

Tuesday we had the Christmas tree lighting on campus. After work, I met Yvette back on campus for the festivities. It’s a big bloody affair—bounce houses, train rides, activities galore. I was really only interested in the tree lighting because of tradition. I’ve attended every year they’ve had it since 2018. I actually first really met Yvette at the 2019 tree lighting. It was her first year working, and a group of campus folks got together for it. This is why it feels like a tradition.

Wednesday was more of the same. I didn’t have anything for breakfast, so I picked up a meal for Yvette and me around 7 a.m. At work, I was busy, busy. My coworker was still mute. Not sure why he’s pissy with me, to be honest. Oh well. I rather enjoyed the quiet. It’s better than him talking about eBay, estate sales, and bitching about various trivial bullshit all day long.

That night after dinner I had a new Christmas movie picked out to watch with Yvette. Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer!! I had a major crush on her growing up after her turn as Catwoman in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns. Who didn’t?

Anyway, this was a cute movie that basically points out how mothers are often unappreciated for all the extra things they do during the holidays. That’s a very brief summary. The family is also a damn mess, and they can’t seem to stand on their own without Mom—things just crumble apart.

We both liked the movie, and it was nice to see Pfeiffer in a film again.

Thursday the temperature dropped once again. It was cold and cloudy—like it should be this time of year. It really felt like Christmas was gearing up on campus. We had the President’s Christmas Party for our lunch. I’m glad we take lunch at one o’clock because it looked like most of the crowd had already cleared out.

Mostly it was fried foods, and that’s really not this diabetic’s cup of tea. I did get a sample of everything, just in case. It wasn’t until we reached the final table that we found the true golden ticket: pozole!!! They had it last year and it was fantastic. I made myself a cup, and then I made myself another. I have to say, I was rather stuffed by the time we finally left the party.

On Friday, I was the only one from my direct team at work. Troy was still upset and not talking, so he decided to take the day off. Honestly, I didn’t mind not having the grumpy mute around. His attitude needed to be checked, and I think we all had a better day without him there. It was busy, and I ended up doing everyone’s job.

After work, we went to Pancakes with Santa at the campus alumni center. I’d been told it was a packed, hectic event, but it really wasn’t that bad. We waited in line for pictures with Santa for maybe five minutes. The pancakes-and-sausage line was also pretty short. Yvette said they usually served breakfast sausage, but all they had were links this time, which don’t really go with pancakes.

The single pancake I had spiked my blood sugar to 250, and I ended up bouncing well above 300. Damn. That’s why I don’t do pancakes. Oh well—I’m still glad we went.

Happy Friday!!!

Jalapeño.

Homemade pizza.