A full week back to work, 8-5. Everything is opening up at an alarming pace. I find myself shopping for the campus & I’m the only one wearing a mask.
It’s a really strange feeling being back full force. We have all this protocol set up with few people actually following. Back to the uncertainty. No one really know how the campus future will unfold. It’s something new everyday. With our great state opening everything early we now have a significant rise in positive cases. Bekah and I are still playing it safe and not going out. Trust me, I long for a little interaction. I would love to dine out and maybe have some happy hour. Guess what, we are not. I’m at risk, she works for a nursing home. It’s not worth it. It’s like, everyone gave up. I have a couple friends that are still treating this seriously. I get the need to get back to normal, but seriously did anyone really think normal was so normal? It might have felt that way due to conditioning. That’s a rant for another day. In truth, I kind of miss my office in the kitchen. I miss seeing the same neighbors walk dogs down the street at the same time everyday. I miss my walks. I miss my dogs. Maybe I miss my cat. I think I’d have been better if we had waited a month longer. As Leroy said to me Thursday: “This is f***ing bull**** that we are back this early.” I tend to agree. While the campus is still pretty much dead, it is bull****!
I will say by the time Friday arrived I was bloody exhausted and ready for an adult beverage by 5. It had been a long week. Bekah was with her sister, she had the entire day off and was going to have a slumber party. I had the house to myself and I probably needed the quiet. Just this week we had 26 new cases of COVID 19. It’s reaching record highs all over the state and everyone is out & about like all is back to normal. I think I’ll poor myself a drink and conclude this weeks blog. Sorry for the somber tone I held.
NOTE: I skipped last weekends blog. I have yet determined if I’ll continue with them. They started as a means to deliver me from boredom. Things are still fairly boring but the weekends no longer are my most active time. Who is reading this anyways?
Jalapeño
This was Sunday brunch. Chorizo huevos con papas. A delight, for sure.
Monday was my first day back to work. With the majority of the campus still working remotely I had to find things for myself to do. I feared this would me the ultimate Monday. Worst than returning for the Christmas holiday. It actually wasn’t so bad. I managed to find ways out of the office. I because the “out & about” guy. I purchased from vendors around town I also help with people picking up packages. It was nice to see some friendly office coordinators I’ve been missing. That’s something I’ve been missing in the 70 so days. Heck, I even got some cookies out of the day. It was t as bad as I feared.
Bomb came though. 5 people Bekah works around were tested positive for COVID. People have had been in direct physical contact with. Which means I’ve also been exposed over the last 4 days from my wife. Dilemma. I knew I needed to tell the guys at work. Guess what, I was sent to be back on isolation after returning for 1 day. Frustrated and concerned, I made a drink.
I was told be risk management to make a list of everyone I was in direct contact with & to stay home until I test negative & Bekah test negative. Great. I had nightmares about having a swab shoves up my nose. I got myself into a mess. I couldn’t in good conscience not report that info to work. I’d feel horrible if someone caught it because of me. I felt guilty enough having just been around people even though I didn’t know I had been exposed.
Odd thing though. None were showing symptoms. Asymptomatic? Possibly. The 3 staff were sent home and 2 residents to the hospital for test and evaluations. Guess what, the test the hospital gave showed negative. Now the staff wanted retesting. The original test were done by the National Guard. Well, the 3 staff also show negative. what the f***! So I guess I’m good to go?
After 2 days off work due to exposure concerns Thursday I was able to go back to the office because everyone was declared infection free. The rumor mill went mad those 2 days. It seem people believe Bekah tested positive so that’s why I was to stay home. I sure did walk into the office fake hacking up a lung. All the no social distancing goons suddenly didn’t want within 10 feet of me. Probably contributed to the lack of visits. I had fun with it.
Happy birthday to me! This was only the second time in all these years I’ve worked on my birthday since evening on campus. Last year it was worth it. Campus family made me feel special. This year, everyone is gone. The people I work directly with, with the exception of… dang. I can’t think of what her made up name is. Anyway, the exception of her, I work with all guys and they don’t care or pay attention to these things. She is too knew to know when my birthday is and besides, I’ve been gone for 3 months. I wasn’t expecting anything great.
Guess what? I had a good birthday. Bekah got me a weather station!!! I’m rather pumped up to toy with it tomorrow. I’ve wanted one for a while but never felt felt I could justify the expense, so this is exciting and a pretty big surprise. She always does an excellent job surprising me. I do love her so. My campus folks sent me emails. My boss actually knew this year because we are Facebook pals after the COVID scare. Way to keep in touch. Jamie once again made me a delicious cake, bless her. Miss E even stopped by to say “happy birthday”! Considering the circumstances, I was happy to get what I got. Much more than I expected. These are not the best birthday circumstances.
I made it the way to 5 and I was ready for my wife to make it home. No real plans made other than to enjoy each other company and order in. Order in. Dinner was on her. After a delicious meal we had a few drinks and retired to the patio. Then we started FaceTiming family who wanted to drink with me. Ouch.
Big surprise was still coming. A glowing birthday parade that I was not at all expecting. If I’d still been off work I would have seen it coming during the day but since I was safe at work I thought I was in the clear. Nope. My campus family came through. I must say it reduced me to the state of mind of a little boy. I can’t imagine the look on my face. Bekah also thought it was great. Added bonus, I had glowing things to play with all night. Haha. Yes, I’m a dork. It was a nice cherry on top of a nice day.
I’m calling myself out right here and I really don’t give 2 s***’s.
After all that, Bekah and the family on FaceTime got me loaded on vodka. Of all drinks. The bottle was freshly opened and weeping the following morning.
Jalapeño. (I’m a dork. Why am I still doing this?)
Queso bunless burger.
Sriracha chicken and green beans w/ hoisin onions.
Habanero pork with jalapeño beans.
Skillet King Ranch Chicken.
Birthday dinner. Egg rolls, crab rangoon, chicken on a stick and some spicy chicken. Trust me, we had leftovers.
Saturday was the second attempt at a historical launch into space. So much math involved in this small window launch is over my head. First time America has launched people into space in almost a decade. NASA teaming up with a private company, SpaceX. I have to say I was probably excited like a little boy. I needed out. I was glued to the screen for a long time. The interviews with retired astronauts were inspirational. I hope some kids were watching and possible finding their dreams. When the launch was a go my eyes watered up and I had the chills. I know, I’m a geek. History in the making. It was an amazing feeling and one day, one day I will have to see it in person. So exciting. The future is open. I know a lot of bad things are happening in our country fight now, but this launch was a positive light I think we all needed.
Bekah was at work and that’s when I experiment with new meals. After thinking about it a while I decided to go with another twist on orange chicken. Grill orange chicken thigh. The glaze was OJ, honey, Dijon mustard, butter & BBQ sauce. I know, that sounds weird but it was surprisingly rather amazing. Now I have 3 variations of orange chicken. Haha
Lunch and launch over I really had nothing to do but wait till Bekah came home. Very quiet Saturday. It was nice spending time with the dogs and a book. Watched a burger cook off on Facebook. Made me want a griddle. Hobbit marathon on TV, which was nice.
For dinner it was some Mexican style pasta, Sonora Tinga. A new dish to try. Shredded chicken in chipotle sauce. The basil and Parmesan made a distinct profile. I’ve had my carbs for the week. Oh, wait till tomorrow.
Sunday. I start work back up tomorrow 8-5. It’s been a long time since Sunday felt like Sunday. I figured I’d have a lazy day for myself. Like I have a thing to do? I watched the space capsule dock with the ISS. That was… exciting? Whatever it was, I’m glad the mission was successfully completed.
We went and had patio drinks with my mother. The vodka was from my cousins distillery in Taos, New Mexico. Very… fine… vodka. It’s a sipping vodka.
For dinner it was a crock pot Mexican casserole. I found this google searching. I added some of my out touch. Quinoa rather than rice? Sure. It was pretty darn good.
I’m not sure how the weekend blogs will go from this point out. I’m back to work. If this is it, it’s been fun. It’s been a nice bit of mental health. Hope you all had a nice one. Cheers!!!
June 1st I go back to work full time 8-5. How many weeks has of been now? 10??? Sounds about right. I have mixed feelings about it. From what I gather, they don’t know what we are suppose to be doing. Taking temps at the door? Wear mask? No one is following those guidelines. Plus, since the campus is still mostly as home work will be slow. I’ll basically be stuck in the office bored to tears. As my long time reader are likely aware, office week is the worst week for me. I can’t sit still and I’ve become pretty active during my time off taking walks. Average 5-6 miles a day. I know eventually we will all have to get back, I just wish they had a better enforced plan and idea. Not just fly by the seat of one’s pants.
So our dog Owen has to go back to the vets. Further test revealed an obstruction in his lower intestines and colon. He eats everything so it was a guessing game what it might be. Bottom line, he required surgery. Of course we don’t bat an eye to that expense, he is our little boy. It was a lonely house the 3 days with out him but everything went well and he came home in such higher spirits. Before he went he wasn’t eating or drinking. So they removed intestine, 12 in. So think with scar tissue nothing could pass. What had caused this had been meandering through his bowels for a while to cause so much tissue damage. It had moved to his colon by the time of surgery and with all the meds they had given him it finally passed. No joke, about 2 1/2 feet of some sort of fabric. I’m just glad to have him back.
Poor guy.
Let’s see. What else happen? What an exciting emotional week. Bekah got called out for being a racist by Facebook trolls for having a “not so similar name” as someone else across the country that actually is a racist. She was berated with messages and so was her work. It got the point people began to call. A case of mistaken identity that only true idiots could pull off. It’s pathetic if this is how the world is. I mean, common sense. These jacka** f***s put a lot of stress on a woman that was already stressed because her baby boy was in surgery. The internet and people can be vile as s***. If you are going to get your kicks off harassing people on the internet, at least do a little research and make sure it’s the right person. My faith in my fellow mankind was diminished a bit this week
Jalapeño
Carne guisada. It was good. Really just steak and a grilled jalapeño w/ pico. Simple.
Well this is it. The last of the white wine Worcestershire sauce. Sad day. Since Bekah had had such a hard day I made her favorite meal. Sweet kale salads with baked sweet potato and blackened chicken drizzled with the sauce. It was great as usual. Wish that sauce was still available.
Squash & zucchini chicken nachos. Thank you once again for the GIANT fruits, Jamie. Can’t entertain he idea of doing this meal without enormous ones. A lot of time is put into preparation on this. Each batch of chips requires 15 min of microwave time. They reduce in size by about a half. It’s well worth it. If this is just a once a year meal, it’s all the better.
4 day weekend. Bekah & I don’t return back to work until Wednesday. I guess I lucked out that one of my two day shifts falls on Monday. I’ll only be actually working one day next week. That humors me.
Saturday began with yard work. We needed to do it anyway but add that freaking hail storm and our yard was a mess. Bekah began to mow while I made a quick run to the store for weekend food. The store isn’t even counting people anymore. Oh well. Now that everything is pretty much open it makes me want to avoid people even more. When I returned I felt obliged to assist with yard work. Weed eat. Clean more leaves off the drive way. Bagging leaves is my favorite. I mowed our weird little side yard.
Yard work behind us it was time for showers & lunch. Shrimp tacos. Used cabbage, avocado smash, pico and this habanero hot sauce my brother had been raving about. He was right, it was pretty good. The tacos were a nice lite lunch. Perfecto!!!
We are boring. The rest of the day Bekah worked on the puzzle Jody let her barrow. I sat around reading the second book in the series that I started. I enjoyed the first, this one might be better. The author seem more comfortable with the character this round. The dark humor is right up my alley. Very much a detective novel, which I’m not usually so fond of reading.
Dinner was something new. Lobster cakes? Surely you make them similar to crab cakes, right? I didn’t plan on having crustaceans all day but it just sort of happened. Easy meal. Salad was nice.
Waiting on the storm. It’s that time of year. Foreseeable forecast we have storms. I kind of like it. I don’t want hail, but I’m excited. The rest of the town probably doesn’t share me sentiment. It did rain. It was more thunder than anything. I spent my evening outside listening and enjoying. It was a relaxing storm. I don’t need another like Thursday. FaceTime w/ Slovak was short lived. She had “service issues”. No shots. Probably a needed break. Bekah worked on puzzles. We are exciting people during quarantine. I guess we could have gone to the bars since they are now opened. 🙄
Sunday brunch. Use what you have. English muffins a good substitute for buns? Sure. Habanero Mayo? Sure!!! Bekah isn’t good at making hash browns, it seems. Of all the brunch we have made, this was the least exciting. It was good, but it was just a burger.
Fresh squeezed screw driver.
I spent the day reading and nothing more. Bekah departed to her sisters. Storms were to come. Around 6 I called her to say it might be best to head home. About the time she did they hit. Just rain, lightning & night winds. Nothing like the other days mess. It was lovely to watch.
Drinks again with the Slovak. FaceTime for over 2 hours. Brutal. I enjoy it, I really do. An excess of booze consumed. I was to be left worse for the wear, no doubt. I wonder, when the day comes where we all can be together will we drink more or less than we have been over FaceTime chats? The question leaves me with fear for that day.
Dinner I made my orange chicken stir fry. It had been a while. It was lovely.
Memorial Day. I said it. I was worse for the wear. The rare time I catch a hangover. These gears need oiling. Sluggish, I made my way around the house. Sister-in-law stopped by briefly. Good to see here. In my condition I wasn’t the conversationalist. I tried.
Lunch was to be delivery. We didn’t feel like working for our lunch. Cielo. I got some cheese enchiladas. Comfort food. That and a couple beers, life returned to normal. I was once again myself. Sad, is t it?
The rest of the day we spent FaceTimeing various family members. It was such a nice cool day. I tried to spend a good mount outside but the mosquitos were so bad they were eating me alive. Don’t know what happened to the bug spray.
Since it Memorial Day we had to cook out. It would be Un-American to do otherwise. Pork baby back ribs on the grill for 4 hours slow cooking. Once the ribs were done I threw on some corn & jalapeño cheese sausage. The ribs fell right off the bone. So good.
Tuesday I woke the the sound of rain and thunder. By far the best way to wake. A little storm had snuck up on us. I laid in bed and enjoyed the sounds which eventually lulled me back to slumber.
Bekah had to get the COVID test today. A reality she wasn’t looking forward to. When she returned from having her brain poked we made some brunch with what we had. Bacon egg potato street tacos.
Long weekend coming to its end. I had to get out of the house so I went for a walk. I went for a liquor run restock. Tax free Tuesday. I went to HEB again for something I forgot. I hadn’t been out of the house in a couple days. I was cooped up. When I returned I went back to my book while Bekah worked on the puzzle. Nothing exciting. Ready for work again tomorrow.
Dinner was chicken Caesar pasta salad. A refreshing meal to end this “extended” weekend. Weird to have weekends again. Simple meal. Effortless.
Monday was my first day back on the job after 8 weeks. I was stuck in the office for 4 hours w/ Jimmy. Let me just say it was certainly a Monday. See, this was also Jimmy’s first day. Jimmy can give out a tons worth of information in 4 hours. I heard things I wish I’d not heard. Poor Jimmy almost voided his bowels again at the grocery store. Poor Jimmy got drunk, stumped his toe, landed and broke his arm. Poor Jimmy doesn’t think mask were meant for smokers. Poor, poor Jimmy. I had no one to rescue me from him as I usually do. Poor me…
Other than Jimmy, it was a rather boring day. I’m not sure how I feel about being back. The facilities guys were running around like a circus. No one knew what they were suppose to be doing. They have to get temp checks each time they come in and they are required to wear a mask. I went most of my 4 hours with a mask on and let me tell you, it’s not cool. Especially having conversations. It wants to slip off and my glasses fog up. Might be time to go with contacts again.
Wednesday I was working with Leroy. I got the feeling he was a little happy to see me. Took his eyes away from his videos and actually seemed to have a conversation in which he was actually listening. A rare thing. Never once did I hear him say “This is bulls***!” I don’t know if a day has passed in the 8 years I’ve been working have I not heard that from his mouth. Also saw some friends from campus which is always pleasant and puts me in a good mood. I miss these folk. It’s amazing what a familiar smile will do for a person.
My wild sunflower on campus, growing in a heap of dirt is coming back. Bekah will be SO happy.
Rain rain rain. The threat of storms. We had a concert. We got rain. What a night it was. Light show. It poured. It was exactly a sure shot until it was. Happy camper, this weather geek. Heck, I almost even put my car in the garage.
Funny. When I wrote the above paragraphed rain and storms were welcome. Thursday… yikes. What looked like a little thing on the radar became stationary and found strength. I’ve lived through one hell of a hail storm. This was equally bad. Maybe worse. Never have I seen balls of ice fall from the sky for bomber 30 min. What started as pea, marvel, golf ball, tennis ball. Maybe larger. Dead birds everywhere. I filled a grocery bag with them. Roof, surely f***ed. I love storms. Hate hail.
That’s going to hurt. Not my car but a friends. This poor thing feel dead fro the sky right in front of me.
Hmmmm?
After the storm.
This I didn’t take. Credit to Jamie.
Friday was lame. I cleaned up some. The driveway was a mess. I love raking. Let me tell you. Got on the roof to see how f***ed it was. I’m not expert. I noticed a few dings but not near as bad as expected. Will call the insurance for a professional opinion. Better safe than sorry. Bekah came home early due to over time. I went for an expedition around town because I was bored out of my mind. Noticed all the bars looked pretty full. Not sure how that makes me feel. As of right now, it looks like a storm free night. Hope all are well. Happy Friday!!
Jalapeño
Caribbean jerk pork. I used a different brand of pork and it wasn’t as good as my HEB brand. Bummer. I have another one to cook this week.
Because I don’t like going to the store all the time I have been buying more premartinated packages when I go. They last a long time and require less work and or shopping time finding ingredients. On this evening I decided to go with HEB Italian chicken. I’ve eyeballed it for a while. It was… okay. I could have done better. Will not get this again. Not a good week for dinner at this point.
BBQ pork tenderloin w/ Mac salad & BBQ beans. No complaints. Nothing special. We are really just trying to clean out the fridge this week.
Stuffed red, yellow, orange bell peppers. I somehow made these while artillery shells were falling from the sky. Friend claims I have multi tasking skills. Who knew.
Bibigo pork tenderloin w/ kimchi and broccoli. Korean BBQ. Have not done this with pork, or have I? It was good. Lots of pork this week. It happened that way. I do t know.
With me returning to work Monday for the first time in 8 weeks this feels like the real thing again. I mean, when you have no real obligations everyday the idea of the weekend is kind of lost. Also, it’s not like life is back to normal. I only work Monday & Wednesday for a total of 8 hours. That’s not s***.
Saturday morning I languished in bed till after 9:30. FaceTime w/ Slovak tends to have this affect on one. Surprisingly the dogs let me sleep in. When I did eventually return to the world of the living I was pleasantly surprised by how brisk it was outside. The prior nights storms brought a refreshing cool to the air.
Connie, my sister-in-law came over for lunch and drinks. They made a run for supplies and came back with a bundle. While drinks were being made I began work on some ahi tuna street tacos.
Trouble?Mai Tai
Ahi street tacos were delicious. I used store bought plain Jane taco seasoning. I was hesitant but it payed off. Who would have known taco seasoning on tuna would work. For toppings it was radish, cilantro, cabbage, mango pico & sriracha Mayo. (Disclaimer: I don’t like mango but I think it works with pico on certain fish.). Again with the fresh tortillas. Everyone enjoyed lunch.
With the high being in the 70s we spent most of the remaining day outside. The ladies sunbathed while I just kind of did my thing. Bekah went full bartender mode. I figured for the worst. All that pineapple juice is a belly ache waiting to happen. Also, am I cooking dinner? All this booze is going to impair me quick if I’m not careful. I mean, I thought Saturday would be the chill day. I didn’t have them planned for party mode. F***ing hell!
What is this? Who cares!! A beautiful tasty dame with quite the punch.
So a day of drinks. I was suppose to cook… What for dinner? Pizza!! I’m happy with the decision. Relax and say f*** it! Lily’s again. Can’t go wrong.
The evening concluded with us outside enjoying the lovely weather. With a full day of drinking behind them, the ladies did not last. One by one they succumbed to the willful temptation of sleep. Rather than stay up on my own as I would usually do, I also considered it a night not long after. What else was a boy to do?
Hi!
Sunday funday? I don’t think that was the case for anyone initially. I took stock and left the ladies for my weekly grocery run. The store wasn’t packed but the number of people wearing mask was low. It’s like everyone has given up. Had enough. Who cares. It’s behind us. Uh, no it isn’t. We had the most positive cases in Texas yesterday since this thing began. I hate to say it and hope that I’m proven wrong, but I think we might be f***ed.
Upon my return I acknowledge that Bekah seemed to be feeling better. Oh, she has had a drink. Shocked was I. We began what would possibly be the most decadent brunch yet. Waffle grilled cheese breakfast sandwiches. I made the waffles, she did the eggs & bacon. American & cheddar cheese. Maple syrup & tabasco. Insulin and a walk was required. This was a fabulous meal. If it didn’t hurt me so, I’d be content with this every morning.
Well that meal required a walk. I was about a block from the house when I hear an unlikely voice yelling my name. When I turned around I briefly thought to myself that my blood sugar must have really peaked. No way what I was seeing could be real. Well guess what? It was certainly real. The motherf***ing Llama!!! Yes, that sight for sore eyes seems to be living right up my f***ing street. F*** me!!! We shared pleasantries in the blistering sun for what felt like a f***ing eternity too long. I was defeated. Life is a big f***ing joke.
Majestic beast.
You must excuse the fouls language. I was put off by the unexpected encounter. Of all the faces I desire to see that wasn’t one. After my walk I threw cation to the wind and made a drink. I was to meal prep for Bekah & myself. She was busy cleaning the house with a buzz so it was my duty to grill 4 pounds of chicken thigh. While in the midst of this adventure my blood sugar decided to drop below safe levels. The joyful life of a diabetic.
For dinner we mixed comfort w/ classy? I don’t know. Felt like something I would have made in college. My younger self had great taste. Combine steak with Mac? Heck yeah! I wanted steak and Mac & Cheese was perfect for the wife. It was a pretty great cap of meal for the evening. For the weekend. Both very satisfied.
Another weekend behind us. I hope you all had a great one and the following week is a delight. Cheers!!!
Monday Monday. I had the opportunity to see a friendly face that I’ve missed for far too long. Puzzle exchange w/ Jody. See, people are putting puzzles together like crazy during this pandemic. It’s easier to exchange than find ones in the store. So I had an excuse to walk my happy a** onto campus (I’m there all day anyway, but not working). It was great seeing her. It felt like a little bit of the old normal. Conversation was all around. We tried our best to solve the worlds problems but got nowhere. That’s about the usual. Venting felt good. One thing. I am not yet familiar with her being in a different office/department. The first day I went to visit her in the new office was my last day on campus. Although it’s been going on 8 weeks, it’s only 2 days for these eyes. It will happen. Hopefully soon enough I will have time to build up that experience level and she won’t feel out of place in my eyes. Cheers to you, Jody!
To make the weeks start all the better I was awoken to the sound of rain!!!! Yes, it finally rained again. It had been at just a month. Monday was a beautiful cloudy day and the potential for downpour was ripe for development. Just a matter of time. Sadly, AM storms so I didn’t really get to experience it how I would have liked. Either way, rain is a welcome. Had another chance Wednesday. Thunder and lightning but no real rain here at our casa. We had a few sprinkles. I was told other spots in town had heavy showers. Oh well.
I also saw a handful of familiar faces throughout the week, which means a lot to me. Is that silly? Maybe it is. Either way, they brightened my days. My most face to face social week in… 8 weeks.
Big news of the week is that I’ll be going back to work next week. I’m ready, I think. Wait! I’m working with Jimmy! I think I’ll stay home. F*** my life. He also has been stuck at home this entire time. Imagine me his only audience in 8 weeks. Will this be hell? How have I wronged the Gods? It will only be for 2 days, 4 hours a piece. 8 actual work hours a week. Kind of a joke, but they are trying to get us back on. Because of my preexisting condition they really don’t want me their but it’s discrimination to not let a person that want to work work because they have a health issue. Same goes for all those that had to go home because they are over 60. Age discrimination. Who knows though. All of this could change within the next hour. No one really knows what is going on. Tentative date to phase people back on campus will be June 15th.
Friday arrived fast. I don’t know why the week flew by like it did. I read. I walked. I finished that Mario game. It rained. Briefly saw Bekah. Bachelor night, she was slumber partying it up with her sister. It stormed. FaceTime with Slovak. We kept it short, but not the shots. I was happy. What a week. Cheers!!
Funny thing is that this is actually a real Friday for me. And actual weekend since I will be working again Monday. 41 week days since I’ve last actually really worked. Funny that my last day was was March 18th & my first day back is May 18th.
She finally bloomed. I had no idea what color it would be.
Jalapeño
This week is ocean dwelling week. That’s the protein. Good fun.
HEB stuffed salmon with broccoli & queso. Sriracha is great with this. I love this salmon, but the broccoli is next level good. I could have that as a meal and be content.
HEB coconut shrimp. You recognize a theme here? Use some Thai chili sauce as a dip. I ate all that. I was bloated.
Seared tuna w/ seaweed salad. Tuna takes 2 minutes. Such an easy meal.
Fish tacos!!! I used Atlantic Cod. I only just did this a few weeks ago. Couldn’t pass it on an all seafood week.
Another weekend is upon us. What a beautiful Saturday. Can’t pass up the opportunity to do yard work when it’s in the 60s outside. Well, not me. I was to make a run to the store for essential needs and prepare lunch while she worked the yard. I’ve been taking away her mowing for far too long.
Off to the store I went. My lord, everyone is out today. The store was a mad house. Half people following guidelines and the other half like it’s a regular day. Why in the hell are you shopping with all 5 family members? Like your little children are really helping! People are waiting in line outside to get in here and you could be knocking this out all on your own. So frustrating.!!! I stripped to my undies when I got home because I felt filthy. Too many mouth breathing no mask wearing f***’s all too close to me. I got home in a worse mood.
Cooking is therapy. It really is. It helps me so much. I was going to make some chicken fajitas. Got the grill going, chopped fresh red & green bells with some onion. In foil, they hit the heat. I open a beer. Also needed a after that joyful grocery run. What next. A quick marinade for the chicken. Done. Quick pico & guac. Warm so black beans and queso. Cook some of those raw tortillas I keep raving about. So so so good. With everything coming together it’s time to add the kicker to the chicken. What might that be? Italian dressing! You heard that right. Baste the cooked chicken with Italian dressing and let cook for about a min more. It makes all the difference, trust me. One hell of a lunch.
Booze to the house or to-go?
Yikes. Ranch water kit.
Bekah put some yard furniture together. Had a friend swing by for some jalapeños. Lots of sitting outside. I grilled some teriyaki chicken. It was good. Not the original evening meal, but it worked.
Karaoke night. Sure. I had fun. I sang a few 80s tunes. I generally hate karaoke. What the hell though. It was fun. I sang “Man on the Moon, Don’t Dream it’s Over. What can I say. This was soon followed by another FaceTime session with the Slovak. I’m having fun. It’s hard on the system. Love her. Our bodies are deteriorating. Broken machines. At some point it became a f***ing Phil Collins marathon. Life is funny. Kill me please!!!
Mother’s Day! I woke with a massive headache I attributed to low blood sugar but even after fixing that I couldn’t seem to kick it. What can you do? Suck it up.
Sunday brunch. Brisket hash brown poached egg sandwich w/ spicy hollandaise sauce. This worked out SO much better than I envisioned. I saw this being a total mess but it seems the grilled but soaked up the yoke and sauce. The hash browns added a nice crunch texture that complemented the eggs nicely. Pulled this one right out of my a**. I literally bled for this meal. Careless shaky hands and a knife are a bad combo. Can you believe this is my 8th brunch. 8 weeks of weekend blogs. Whoa!
So for Mother’s Day we made a little journey across town to visit my momma. Got her some cakes I’m sure she secretly cussed us for. We sat and talked on her patio. She has done a great job with it. It was good seeing her. Oh, her dogs were also happy for the company. Had a beverage at a social distance. Unlike what feels like the rest of the town, we are still trying to be safe and taking things seriously. Not only am I at higher risk due to diabetes, I found out today that new studies show people with vitamin D deficiency seem correlate with the mortality rate. Sheesh. Great news. 2 strikes against me. Wait, blood pressure is high. 3 strikes….
I do wish we could have done more for Mother’s Day. I think what we did was the best we could during these times. Love you, mom! Happy Mother’s Day!!!
For dinner we just rummaged through the fridge. Okra? Let’s make BBQ something. How about the chicken thigh we have because at one point breast were almost impossible to find. Sure. Yay! Easy Sunday meal. Throw a little bed of canned corn down and make it look fancy.
It’s finals week. Blows my mind. Where have the last seven weeks gone? Seven f***ing weeks… I feel like I’m living the movie “Goundhog Day”. Every day is basically the same. My life feels stymied… it still remains to be seen when I will be going back. You know what, f*** it. Could be worse.
I admit, I’m kind of saddened by the semesters wrap up. I always am at the close of another school year. What a time it must be for the students. I mean, graduation is on hold. This is a major moment in their lives and they have to handle it differently than any class before them. I’ve seen lots of cap & gown photo session on campus this week. I’m curious to see what the campus will be like during the summer. It’s already a ghost town. How many of the remaining students will depart?
I vividly recall the end of my final semester. It was both exciting and scary. I loved classes. Loved the work. Love the structure. I was going to miss the professors. The familiar faces of my fellow students who had gone the long journey with me. The study sessions together. The joys of being a naive youth. I didn’t know what the world had in store for me. I toyed with the idea of taking more classes. Before that I vowed to just enjoy my final summer. This time of year I feel sort of nostalgic for those days.
I actually had a project this week. Clean up our strange little side yard. We have a section that is separate from our back yard. It’s fenced in and was wild the day we moved in. Not really a priority, I never had the desire to put in the time and work cleaning it up. Large weeds, brush & mesquite trees worked as a deterrent. It didn’t help that I had already dumped a fair amount of trees from an earlier culling. This was going to be rough. So I gathered clippers, chainsaw & weed-eater. I went crazy cutting and made a mess I was forced to clean up. 3 hours later we had an additional yard. What am I going to do with this? I’m open for suggestions.
Wish I’d taken a before.
Spicy chicken thighs & vegetable medley. I kind of threw what I could find together for this.
Cinco de Mayo!!! Steak street tacos & Bekah’s famous Spanish rice. I’m really liking these raw tortillas I’ve been using. Just spray with a little PAM and throw on the stove or grill. So delightful. Way better that the store bought I’ve been using all my life. Being the day it was lots of tequila was consumed. I got a little intoxicated. My significant other has a heavy pour. With tequila I have about a 50/50 chance of waking up with a hangover so the night was a gamble. Lucky for me I awoke just fine and dandy.
Taco Rice. Japanese street food to the rescue again. Simple, no work, cheers! Great meal. Try it please!!
Friday we wanted to give some money to a local restaurant. Our favorite Asian place finally opened up for carry out so we made the call. I got double spicy chicken, 5 pepper hot, no rice & an egg roll. My lord had I missed that. And it was surprisingly warm to boot! I was a happy camper.
En Fuego 