Saturday morning I woke up early and left the house to fill up propane and my water bottles. After that I got out the pole saw AGAIN and proceeded to cut some really big branches out of another oak. This time I was focusing on my back yard. I’m trying to take care of as much as I can on my own. So far I’m doing a pretty good job, it just takes work. My electric chainsaw is great but it does have its limitations. Anyways, I created a big mess I’ll have to clean up. Most of the clean up I decided could wait till Sunday. It was getting late and I didn’t want to dump branches.

I made Yvette and I some breakfast and I hung out with her and the little girl before I ran away to run errands. It was a busy morning and I decided to relax by going to the movie. I went and saw a horror movie called “Speak No Evil”. It’s a remake of a much darker European film that I saw a few years back so I wasn’t going in blind. I wanted Yvette to see it with me even though horror isn’t her thing. At least she wouldn’t already know the twist but she ended up babysitter for the day. The movie was pretty good. I really like just about anything James McAvoy is in and he hit the ball out the park. He can play unhinged really well. The movie was good. I’d say it was awkward. It’s hard to explain. I guess that awkwardness between people who were raised different and shared different ideas on how things should be done. One should always trust their gut.

After the movie I finished up a few errands and went to Yvette’s. We decided to go get banana splits with the baby girl. Yvette’s old son and his girlfriend thought that sounded good and tagged along. It was fun. The girl did just fine, as always. I definitely ate more banana split than I needed but oh well. Can let the diabetes take all the fun pleasures out of life. Yes, my blood sugar did sky rocket but at this point in time I know what I need to do to get this back on track. It was a fun outing and I’m glad everyone came.

Longlegs. A horror file I’ve been wanting to watch since the summer. My sister-in-law didn’t like it but I wasn’t sure she knew what she was getting and the hype was very high. I’ve seen this directors movies before and knew what to expect and I also didn’t go in thinking it would be flat out scary. Creepy, but not scary. Previews and movie hype kill good films sometimes. I actually enjoyed the slow atmospheric vibe. It was mostly serial killer detective work with a nice subtle hint of supernatural. In this case, psychics. Well, that’s not going to spoil anything. Devil worshipers are also involved. I enjoyed it. Nic Cage was in it so what’s not to enjoy.

Sunday I slept in till 8 and had some coffee before starting my day working in the yard. I got the chainsaw going and proceeded to clean up yesterday’s tree branch mess. It took me two dump loads. I still had a lot of leaves to gather and just patio clean up. My lord was I sore. Working the pole saw the day before was more taxing than I thought. It was a busy day of chores and cooking. I cleaned and meal prepped both breakfast and lunch for the early portion of the week. I also seared some boneless pork ribs and threw them into a slow cooker to have for dinner. I really didn’t finish everything until around 4 when I went to Yvette’s and fell asleep for a quick cat nap before she went to her parent for The Cowboys, pizza and wings. I was a sleep boy and went home to see how my dinner was coming along.

For my Salinger night horror (I know, I’m skipping the Cowboys) is decided to go with a movie based upon a series of books I read at the ripe age of 7-8. The illustrations were amazing. See, I was born a horror fan. “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark”. Some of you might remember these. They sold them in my elementary school during book club week. I bought and still own all three volumes. The choices they went with for the movie made sense. Teenagers messing around find a book and start reading the stories and they end up happening in on grotesque way or another. Log course it’s set in the times of drive up theaters, as all horror films should. Btw, I hate scarecrows. The film was great the way it was adapted. I love a good horror anthology, which this was a nice take on. Scarecrows,ghost, gouls, spiders etc. God I love this time of year.

Monday was a real freaking Monday. It started off with my transmitter adhesive coming off while drying from the shower. That’s never happened. Those suckers are hard to pull off and usually hurt like hell. Like usual I went to go pick up Yvette on my way to work. Oops. Last night when I was half awake talking to her I guess she mentioned she didn’t need a ride. I made it all the way to her house before I was aware of this. Yep. What a hell of a start, and I hadn’t even made it to work yet. Yikes.

Work was needy people. Lots of them. My brain wanted to melt. I kept some at bay but it was still hurting my head. I can’t help you if you lost something I gave you. It’s no longer my problem. Oh, so you say I didn’t give you it? But I have proof that I’d did. That’s what I felt with. Just a lot of bullshit. I was actually exhausted after work. I was gearing up for a horror movie but ended up on the phone with Yvette for almost 2 hours. That was a rather perfect way to wine down my evening. I slept like a rock.

Tuesday evening I watched “Alligator”. This 80s film that road the waves of Jaws success. I’d heard of it for years and I finally watched it. It was shit but well made shit. The acting was good and the humor was perfect. The late Robert Foster. I regret never have watched it. It was just fun. The gore was also top notch. I mean, a mutant alligator in the sewers of Chicago. Mutated because of a pharmaceutical waste dump. What fun.

After work on Wednesday Yvette and I went to happy hour for a drink and a snack. We were both tired from the long day. That relaxation down I went and played with the little girl and gave her some dinner. She was such a sweetie. Upon leaving Yvette’s I met up with her father and some roofers that he knows to take fixing my roof from that late May hail storm. He was using the same folks he has used twice. We set up a date for them to start on Friday. What a long day. I wanted to pick up dinner but I needed to cook.

“Messiah of Evil”. This horror film came out in 1973 and somehow I’ve missed it all my life. I read that it’s getting a re-emergence now that it’s available to the streaming world. It was just another forgotten VHS. I decided to give it a try Wednesday night. Lots of neon lighting.its about a daughter that goes looking for her missing father in some isolated beach town. The people are weird. Weird things seem to be going on. I like these type of movies. Isolation. Being cut off. This had it with a bit of cosmic dread. Good time. A theatre scene might actually have fucked me up when it comes to wanting to see a movie in an empty theater. Yikes.

This week I decided to use nothing but canned meats for my weekly protein. Canned chili, pot roast, salmon and tuna. Let’s just say you can make much more versatile meals with that guideline as opposed to the hot dogs I used the week before. The tuna and salmon were a real treat. It was fun.

It was a good busy week. Friday Yvette and I joined my mom and her oldest friend and her husband for dinner. It was fun and we had a. Couple drinks and some good food. I went back to Yvette’s house for a little while and hung out with the baby. I was tired and went home to crash out. Happy Friday!

Jalapeño

Saturday brunch. Chorizo eggs with cream cheese bacon wrapped peppers. Yvette had been wanting poppers.

BBQ burger, grilled onions/peppers topped with cheese and fried garlic onions served with a homemade spicy potato salad.

Chicken & waffle w/ hash browns.

Braised BiBiGo pork. I started this at around noon by searing the meat on the grill and then I threw it in a slow cooker with some broth and carrots and let it cook for 5 hours. Served with rice and broccoli.

Chili baked potato with onion rings. Canned chili. This is canned weak. 😂

A little pot roast with mashed potato and green beans.

Salmon stuffed bell peppers with cheesy squash.

Easy tuna fettuccini with lemon juice, butter, asparagus, parsley and peppers.

Guess what? Saturday I slept in till 8:30. A real rare feet for me these days. I made a small breakfast and decided to do some yard work. This means I cut more branches. I’m sort of over branch cutting but I have more to go another day. I ran some errands and eventually met up with my mom at a local plant nursery to look around. They have some really fun stuff.

We had a little late lunch at one of our favorite locations. They have updated the menu since our last visit and we both felt compelled to try something new. I was very excited to see ahi tuna poke bowl on the menu. I love poke and I’ve always loved this places ahi tuna. We both had a beverage and enjoyed our lunch. It nice spending time with her.

I finally made it to the art museum. When did they start charging $10 a person? Good to know. They had some good exhibits but honestly I wasn’t as impressed as I have been. ASU had one promoting our institutes art professors. Some of them were good but many felt very familiar. Still, I’m very proud of them all.

I kind of roamed around downtown for a little bit after the museum. I happened upon a little jam session and found a friend of mine. He and his girlfriend asked if I wanted to get a beer so we walked to a local brewery where I had a beer with them. They talked about how excited they were to attend the wedding and asked me if we could all get together sometime. Yvette and I used to see them regularly at brunch but we haven’t been in a while. The beer was good and the company was great. I left and went shopping. The rest of the day was blah. I missed Yvette. Funny how you miss someone when you don’t see them like you are use to seeing them. I could have gone to a chili cook off. I didn’t. I hear it made the local news. That sounds like a hard time. I do like chili but not that much. Sounds stinky. After making a snack dinner I talked to Yvette on the phone for over 2 hours and eventually crashed out.

Sunday I woke up with low blood sugar. By device was having a little bit of a fit. I had some issues with it all day. I made a fair breakfast and decorated for Halloween. It was spooky season. I know it’s goofy to wait until October but that’s what I do. I have my fall decor and my Halloween decor. They go together but the Halloween stuff waits and it goes away come November. That’s turkey time. I love my fall.

Had lunch at Yvette’s parents again. It’s becoming a regular norm for me. Her dad made burgers for everyone. We stuck around for a good 3 hours or so and talked wedding ideas and just general BS. I left and started some chicken thighs for lunch meal prep in the oven before heading over to my mother’s. I watched a little bit of the Sunday football game. The Chiefs won after a neck and neck game. Still kicking ass. After this I went home to Yvette’s and hung for a bit while Teegan gave the doggie a bath. I went home and made us some fish tacos and we just hung out the rest of the night.

So the week begins and I’m the office man. Yay!!!! It actually was a rather great Monday for various reasons. I woke up in a good mood and it carried throughout the day. My lunch turned out good and Yvette and I were happy we had something for the week that we can toy around with. My biggest surprise was how fast the day went. I was off work and it was already getting dark before I knew it. With my show Shogun done I need to find something else to watch. 🤔

Tuesday I had a magnificent triumph over a foe in this Zelda game. I originally encountered this villain by accident 4-5 months ago. Try as I did to beat him, it was in vain. His skills were too much for me. Tuesday I finally had the confidence and resources to attempt battle again. It was a success!! I was thrilled to have bested this unholy abomination, the dreaded Phantom Ganon. His appearance was a great unexpected surprise.

So because it’s October it’s time for me to kick off the Halloween horror. I started with a not so great film that came out in 2007 and was a remake from a much greater 1986 film both titled The Hitcher. My intention was to watch them back to back. What a great way to do a double feature.

The remake is fun and rather stupid. Sean Bean, one of my all time favorite actors, was having a damn good time as the unstoppable bad ass killer. Truly the only reason to watch this one, unless you just want mindless thrills because some of the stunts Sean’s Beans character pulls off are so unbelievable. The man truly has luck on his side. He might as well have super powers.

Rutger Hauer is the original villain. What a creepy sonofabitch. My god. Why hadn’t I seen this before. The story is mostly the same with some moments being exactly, as one would expect. This one leaves out any comedy and goes straight for the throat. Instead of a couple on the road it’s a solo young man. He actually picks up a hitchhiker rather than drives by one and sees later at a gestation on the road. This is its age: the 80s horror that I like. The ending is.. brutal. The remake hits a little happier note. Not the 80s version. Classic 80s music. Just a good B horror movie. I loved it. It’s a dark film.

Thursday was the new version of ‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King. This novel has been adapted twice to television with this being the first film. Sadly because Hollywood studios as dumb fucks, this went straight to streaming services. I would have paid to see it. As far as the movie goes, I liked it. I liked the actors, they were all respectable. I liked the budget. I liked that it was actually a little creepy. The others were more or less cheesy. Everyone holds the original in high regards yet they have not seen it in years or even realize it was made for TV. This one condenses much of the in town drama from the book and goes straight for the vampires. They address they by stating the next scene is a week later and so on. Listen, I love Stephen King books but they are bloated. Its takes a filmmaker some work to make his work into something that needs to be 2 hours. I’m happy to finally have a film version of this novel I can watch and enjoy without spending 6 hours or more. Hope everyone else that can watch it will enjoy it. Shame it’s not in theaters. Assholes.

This week I decided to challenge myself. I want to save money for the big day so let’s see what frugal meals I can cook. This week it was hot dogs. Not a single damn bun. I know this sounds disgusting and likely will gross some out, but I know a good meal can be had from just a hot dog. I was rather excited when I came up with a menu for the week featuring the dogs. I’d incorporate pasta, rice and potato’s with hot dogs and make a meal. I only did this Monday-Thursday. I wasn’t going to subject Yvette and Teegan to my hot dog experiment.

Happy Friday!!!

Jalapeño

I just made a little snack tray. A charcuterie board, per se.

Biscuit, chicken and gravy with some tots.

Fish tacos. I finally made them for Yvette. The sauce was perfect, for it had been marinading for 3 days. We enjoyed.

A Hawaiian dish made with hot dogs and a ginger soy sauce over sushi rice.

Hot dog pasta with mushrooms, black olives and pepperoncini peppers.

Persian hot dog & potato skillet.

Mac n Cheese w/ hot dogs & broccoli.

Gyro with lemon rice and Greek salad.

Saturday I woke up, made breakfast and spent the next 2 1/2 hours working in my yard. Yay! After really busting my ads off, I chilled a bit and played Zelda. Made a quick run to HEB and decided I’d go see the lilies since today was Lily Fest. I missed the party but that’s generally how I like it. I saw the lilies and decided to just make a day out of being on the river. I walked for a good 3 hours taking the various sights in. It was a little hot but I still had a nice time. That was, until a gang of geese decided to stand ground and force me off the path. Bastards. I’ve had my run in with these assholes before and they mean business. 2 are bad enough but 8 would maul me alive. I was in sandals and stood no chance. Some people watching the stand off yelled down at me “Its not worth it!!” I simply replied that I know this. Not my first rodeo with these bastards. Likely not my last.

I saw my mom and we talked wedding. We are going to go look for my outfit tomorrow. Yvette trust her eye. I’m excited about the Christmas theme. What’s not beautiful about Christmas decor? I took a little stroll through her neighborhood and watched some “The Haunting of Hill House” with her. It really placed me in the spooky movie mood. When I finish my show I believe that’s what I shall do. I had a mellow evening. I was pretty tired from the yard and being outside in the sun walking for hours. It felt great to relax. I cooked and sat outside with Yvette on the phone.

Sunday always arrive too damn early. Why oh why? I woke up and made a big breakfast before I started to paint another room, this one being Teegan’s. It all went smoothly until I tried to replace the air vent. All my vents in the house were easy to replace but this one. Of course it wouldn’t be easy. Bummer. After all the work I cleaned up and went to Yvette’s parents for lunch. He made the works. Pork ribs, pork chops, chicken legs and thighs, sausage, beans and potato salad. It was a real treat. I left extremely full.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice! My mom and I had a movie date. I grew up with the first movie because of her. It was only fitting we go see the sequel together. Of course I wasn’t expecting it to come even close to the greatness what was the first movie but I was going into it knowing this. I just wanted it to be fun. In that, it succeeded. I laughed. Seeing the crew back together again was fun. The throwback to some missing folks from the first film were also nice and fun. It brought on the feels and Micheal Keaton was fantastic, as always. It was like he was putting a glove back on. The character fit perfectly. It was a little bloated for a film under two hours and a subplot could have been trimmed but oh well, the good parts outshined any flaws. It made us both happy. We need to go to the movies together more often.

After the movie I went suit shopping for my wedding attire. After trying to be sold something that I really didn’t want I finally led the salesman to something that I was more interested it. More a blazer. Something i could wear with various pants and not just a full suit. I don’t want to wear anything similar to what I wore in my first wedding. No way. I felt immense pressure abate having complete this task.

It was the first day of fall. A front actually blew in. It was all so welcome. I sat outside and listed to some thunder and a very very light rain. I hope this is a sign. I want to walk my dogs again. It was getting too hot. I love brisk mornings.

Monday was nice and gloomy. A very refreshing day. I found my rainy day album and drove around town paying for shit. It was fairly busy and I was in a fine mood. I feed off this weather. After work I made some free chicken curry for Yvette and I. We had a rare Monday date night and what better a day could it have been. Complications arose from her constant calls but we had fun til the end. It was a good night. A rather fantastic Monday.

The ring is here! It arrived a week early and I was so excited to go pick it up. What a beautiful piece of jewelry that I can’t wait to place upon Yvette’s finger in marriage. It’s going to look so damn good with her engagement ring. The height of my day, and it was generally a damn good day already.

Shogun. I had to take a little break due to just not having the time. What a show. One of the better that I’ve seen in a while. I’m very happy it raked in so many awards and I completely understand why it did. I understand they are going to make another season but this one is really a stand alone. It was meant as a stand alone. I do love a miniseries. I grew up watching them. Man, this show has a few heartbreaking moments.

Thursday. Well, I worked for 6 hours and took off with Yvette. We had the day planned ahead for Teegan’s football but since he is no longer in the program…. What the hell, why not take off anyway. Work through lunch and leave at 2. What a deal.

We went back to my place for a little bit to let the dogs out and eventually remembered it was taco day at The Pit Bar-B-Que. I’ve been going without her and it was time for her to finally taste what I was talking about. Unfortunately for her first time we had to deal with a young girl working the register that really didn’t want to be working. Oh well, the food was once again amazing and we split the lunch because it was enough for 2. I was full but not bloated like I usually am when I eat it all on my own.

After that, wedding shenanigans. On the way we stopped by an embroidery shop to have a shirt done. It was me testing the waters. If it comes out good I’ll have more done. That done we made it to the mall to help her get an idea for my wedding band. I found one that I’m excited to wear. We went and looked at ties and shoes and all sorts of fun stuff. Next on the agenda was talk to the florist for some ideas. Sounds like what we are wanting will work out. It’s simple with our Christmas theme. I’m getting very very excited.

The Cowboys played a Thursday night game. I guess I had it on in the background. Why not. I didn’t want to start my show. I was tired. It was a good day. Here is a baby picture.

Finally Friday arrives. Honestly, the week went by rather quickly. My Friday was pretty basic. I kept myself busy and tried to get to 5. Yvette and I had a nice little lunch outside again. I love these cool days when that’s even possible. I brought salads and she had a sandwich that we split. It was nice. Her day was much more exciting than mine. My lord she has to deal with drama and crazy sometimes. I wish I could expand more but I’m really not a liberty to say more. Let’s just say it was a wild ride for her.

I didn’t have the Friday night that I was hoping for but I’m learning more and more how to be flexible. I can reverted back to watching my show but I was too tired for that and it was late. Treat the night like it’s just another week work night. What the hell can you do? We were both tired anyways.

Jalapeño

Szechuan beef. I have had this Szechuan peppercorn my brother gave me back in 2023 after the SDRE concert we went to in Austin. I finally put it to use. I’ll incorporate it in more dishes.

Full English Breakfast.

Comfort food. I ate enough on Sunday. Air fry chicken with some mac n cheese.

Good weather for green chicken curry with Yvette. We had a Monday date night.

Spicy ghost pepper burger bowl. That was one hot meal.

Ground beef street tacos.

Beef, mushroom and spinach fettuccine alfredo.

Fish tacos were on the menu but Yvette didn’t join so I’m pushing them off till tomorrow. They will taste even better tomorrow. The tacos can marinate and the sauce and really take on all its many flavors. I want her to only have the best. I just called in some regular crispy tacos. I didn’t know what I wanted to eat.

Saturday was busy. Yvette and I had a consultation with a possible catering business for our wedding reception. I think everything sounds good and I have high hopes. After that we did some shopping and I met my 1:30 appointment. A very important appointment. I still had a little time before the tailgating so I cleaned my car inside and out.

The tailgating was actually a lot of fun. The first of the season. I really enjoyed it last year and I had high hopes this go around. A little hot outside but at least I have my alumni pass so we can find a cool spot inside.Yvette, Lola and the little angel came along for the fun. She was such a good girl. We walked around a little, sampled a lot a free food and tooled advantage of that pass to sit inside and have free alcohol. Well, Yvette and I did. Her old student worker met us and I was able to get her inside for some beer and RnR. Over all a good time. Walked away with 2 more new shirts I’ll wear on campus. I always tell people if they want college apparel attend the tailgating. You can walk away with 1-2 shits each time. If not more.

Yvette and I had a little date night. Home cooked meal. Movies and popcorn. It didn’t happen but it was still a great evening. Well, the home cooked meal happened but we had the little girl and her momma. It was just as good a night if not better. Different kind of good. It was a good day. Buys day. Very full.

Sunday I woke up with extremely high blood sugar. I over corrected and it crashed hard. I got it to a manageable level and went to go eat lunch with my mom, Yvette, T, Lola & the baby girl. I was in a state of confusion. So weird. Probably should not have driven but this wasn’t my first rodeo. I couldn’t even see through the fog in my head to focus on how many of us were needing seats. I played sociable as well as I could. I guess I overdid it and my blood sugar sky rocketed. That makes for some fun mood swings, left me tell you. For the most part I’m just use to my diabetes. It’s days like Sunday when I hate it. I can’t think clear, my head hurts, my mood sucks and I’m lethargic. I planned on do a lot on my Sunday but my motivation was squished. Even so, I still accomplished a lot.

Sunday was Owens birthday. The goofy boy is 6 and he still acts like a puppy, for better or worse. I’ve sure did get some chicken heads for his big day. I got him when I moved into the house because of the extra room and Hazel always needed a brother. It’s been a wild ride with ups and down. The little bastard eats everything and it has almost killed him a few times. The thing is, he is a good boy. Rarely does he get in trouble. He brings me more joy than grief. Happy birthday Owen!!!

We had a few late Sunday showers. Surprised because nothing was forecast. I chilled. I tried to chill. My head just hurt all day. It wasn’t the Sunday I wanted but it was the one I got and had to make do with. I needed something stronger than Tylenol. By the end of the day my blood was high again. The rollercoaster ride. It happens. I hate when it does.

Monday after a Cowboy’s football game can be hit or miss. It certainly going to be a sad turnout if they lost the Sunday before. Boy did they ever. They got smeared in shit on that field so the parking lot was empty. I assume everyone had a few drinks too many to overcome the sadness which is the general feeling I get from most Cowboy’s fans. I do not care and honestly find the sadness amusing.

The day was relatively slow and that was good because we were short manned. I had a staff senate meeting I intended on attending but went virtual because of the lack on hands. Oh boy, I’m glad that I did. A long winded member sure wanted to hear himself talk. After work I trimmed Yvette’s ally to keep code enforcement off he ass. I’m always happy to help. Those guys are jerks. More Shogun on the TV that night. I guess I’m not alone in thinking the show is great, it won an incredible amount of Emmy awards the night before.

This week held our first all hands on deck morning meeting in a few months. Well, at least for me. I missed the one in July because I had COVID. Just the usual bullshit. Burritos in lieu of pay. Not great burritos either. Pretty funny that it coincided with the “build your own burrito” bar that was happening across the campus. Not a coincidence at all. Cheap bastards already were making burrito fixings so why not make us some. Ours were pathetic in comparison. The burrito bar was actually good stuff. They even had hot sauce, which ours was noticeably lacking. It’s a sin to serve burritos without hot sauce in the great state of Texas. My burrito consisted of egg, chorizo, cheese and a healthy dollop of hot sauce. I was surprised hot happy I was with it.

Once again I had a lunch to myself and it just happened to fall on my loved Thursday special so I treated myself. I came back to The Pit Bar-B-Que and got my tacos. A real treat. Next weekend Yvette and I will have to go.

One of my favorite bands released their new album. Cursive. I’ve been following them for a little over20 years now and have seen them on multiple occasions. To say I was excited would have been an understatement. I preordered the vinyl months and months ago to insure I received a limited colored version. The album, like so much of their material, is not digestible upon first listen. They have a complexity that really unfolds with multiple listens. About a week in and I was still experiencing new sounds. The vinyl itself was stunning to the eyes.

Friday finally arrived. I just powered through the damn week. As a whole, I guess it was okay. My back has been bitching and moaning since Monday but by Friday it was finally starting to quiet itself. The day was weird at work. Not so busy morning and a super busy afternoon. I was rushed to get things done and we were short handed again. I completed my part. I pissed off someone that wanted a trip to Lowe’s to buy some shit but that wasn’t my job and I was plenty busy. My coworker should have jumped in but it’s not my place to say anything.

That night I cooked for just Yvette and I. It was a rare alone moment. We will have more with high school football. Tee love going to those games. Dinner was good but she fled early, unfortunately. Oh well. It wasn’t meant to happen. Ah, life. We started “A Fish Called Wanda” and I finished it. One of my absolute favorites growing up. Classic and still holds up 40 years later. I was a little sad our evening didn’t turn out how we wished but what can you do. I ate popcorn and watched a good film. Once we are living together these life differences will not be such a problem. We can pause and go on under the same roof. As it is, we make do.

Happy Friday!

Jalapeño

Surf and turf with baked potato and asparagus.

Lemony chicken asparagus stir-fry.

It was Monday and I decided I didn’t want to put much effort into dinner. I had a potato and some sloppy Joe mix. Air-fry that potato and heat that SJ. Top with cheese, onion, jalapeño and sour cream. Simple filling meal on a long fucking Monday.

Pork tenderloin w/roasted Brussels.

Leftover pork. I made a chow mien.

Yvette invited me over for dinner and she made her lovely chicken tetrazzini with a side salad. Yummy.

Yvette and I had a surprise Friday date night. Chicken thighs made with a green chili cream sauce, peppers, onion, corn and mushrooms over a bed of rice garnished with cilantro.

Saturday I woke up and made Yvette and I breakfast and proceeded to tackle my yard. It went feral with all the rain. It wasn’t quite dried out making it a damn chore but it had to be done. Took me a while. After that we went to go see the little girl. Her mom and her had the most amazing gift for us. I kind of wanted to cry.

I spent the rest of the day running around. Groceries, woke, leisure, etc. A run to the post office to mail off another eBay sale. I’m spending more time there for my personal business than I am work related these days. I really wish I had started this earlier. I got rid of some stuff that was surely worth more than I got. I should have done eBay. I did stop by the Lilies. I feel like they need to be thinned out. Ever since the main man who cared for them for over 30 years passed away they just are not the same. Still beautiful, but as a man that has spent years of his life admiring the park, I can see the difference.

It was a beautiful damn day and evening. I grilled some Korean steak for Yvette and I and later the kids and baby came over for some s’mores. I ate entirely too much for a diabetic but it had been years since I really had any. The little girl was fascinated by all the lights in the yard. She was all smiles. I really look forward to doing this more in the future.

Sunday I woke up early and did some things around the house. I ran some errands, bought my first pumpkin and decided to paint the address on my curbs. I had some lunch with my mother and walked my doggies. This weather is perfect dog walking weather. I did some meal prepping and made some more cheesecake. I’m hooked on this low carb cheese cake. Maybe to hooked. Worried I’ll burn myself out. It was a chill evening. I listened to some Pearl Jam and ate my dinner outside. I enjoyed the temperature.

The dreaded office week. I am not a stationary person. Heck, I was out and about all weekend. The one thing I welcomed about Monday morning was the morning temperature being in the 50s. 56 to be exact. Forecast shows that to be the norm for the week. What a joy!

Of course a Monday morning couldn’t be without a bump in the road. My week in which I rely upon my computer to work would be the week my computer dies. The RAM burned up. The actual tower began making all sorts of weird noises that I was unaware it could even make. It was a beautiful disaster. IT promptly came over and assessed the problem. It was a few hours later that they replace some parts and hopefully resolved said issues. Hopefully. The ticket was left open. Oh well, back to work I was.

Yvette was having her own Monday. A water leak and waiting for a plumber that never showed up. Damn plumbers and going on their own made up time. I hate waiting all day for a technician to arrive. Especially when I’m wasting my own time off for a no show.

At work we had a first. We have a loading dock that isn’t ever used. A couple of us were in the office talking about something. I can’t remember because what happened next erased that meaningless conversation for my mind. Some guy backed a golf cart right off the damn dock. The crash was so loud we all ran out to see the from two tires of a cart in the air. The occupant still in said vehicle. We got him out and he claimed to be okay. I think it was adrenaline kicking in. The cart…. What to do. We managed to get under it with a life. That was when a canister of compressed nitrogen came falling out and hissing at us. You don’t want that. Explosion was possible had it been any of the other compressed gasses the guys use. All in all it wasn’t a complete disaster. The cart drove away with what appear to be minor damage and only pride appeared to be hurt. I know we will being having the safety guy fall on this like flies on shit.

At the end of work I heard the news that James Earl Jones had passed away. What a sad moment. The voice of Darth Vader. He was part of so many of the movies that I grew up with. To say I was sad is an understatement. “Coming to America”, “Field of Dreams”, “The Lion King“ and three Tom Clancy film adaptations. I loved that role. His passing in Clear and Present Danger made me tear up as a 14 year old boy. We must also remember his part in The Simpsons Halloween special “Treehouse of Horror”. His rendition of Poe’s The Raven still stands, in my mind, as the best. That was October 1990 and my love for both The Simpsons & Halloween always anticipated their seasonal special. His voice was already larger than life to that 9 year old boy. He was a legend. Passed at the ripe young age of 93. He will be missed. RIP.

I woke up cold Tuesday. What the hell, it was 53 degrees. Yay!!! Tuesday was not eventful. Tuesday was boring. I was missing picking up Yvette in the mornings. Two days in a row. I made another eBay sale. I guess that’s good. It steady. It’s not work yet. I don’t want it to be work. I like it as a hobby that happens to also make me money. I don’t mind going to the post office when I know it means money for me.

I set up arrangements to meet with some catering crew for the wedding reception. I’m certainly glad that I did because they only do one wedding a weekend. What if our date was already booked? Yikes. Even if we decide to not go with them at least we are in the books and they can be a fall back. I honestly have high hopes for them. I’ve liked what I’ve had catered for other occasions. It’s nice to be staking steps forward. I mean, I did ring shopping this last weekend. It’s all so exciting.

I made the mistake of topping my evening off with the Presidentisl debate. Christ. I truly hate Trump. I don’t like either, but that man is a sybaritic sycophantic constipated asshole. I hate his voice. I will cry if I hear it another 4 years. The amount of vitriol continuously coming out of his mouth is enough to make me want to puke. Look, I’m no democrat. I usually don’t vote because I don’t see the point or care one way or another anymore. Call me disillusioned, if you must. I just can’t in good conscience not vote against this terrible human being again. I’d regret it. I didn’t vote in the first election which he ran, or his run for reelection. Like hell I’ll not vote again. I like to believe I have a faith. I don’t go to worship, but god has always been in my life. I’m sickened that this horrible person says he is looking out for good Christian values. I have a hard time believing he would even be allowed through the Pearly Gates into heaven. In all likelihood, if you believe in that sort of thing, it’s more likely he would be cast down into the depths of hell. What a practiced liar.

No Yvette again Wednesday morning. She secretly doesn’t like me anymore. Just kidding. She has been busy. Life. I’m afraid I’m going to get into the groove of not picking her up. If it happens it happens. What can I do. I even made breakfast for us both for the week and I’m eating it all. Bummer.

At work I had to deal with 2 hours of complete stupid. I was really going above and beyond to help. I had AP, Counseling Service and Psychology bouncing me around like a ping pong ball. AP wanted to pay and invoice, CS didn’t get the item to be payed, Psych had the item. I went through great hoops tracking the item down and fixing the situation caused my a coworker only to make many steps to get back to where I started. The item was where it needed to be all along but these assholes were not talking to each other. When I got that final email I said aloud “you have to be fucking kidding me!!” The story works better in person. It was so stupid I really couldn’t even be mad.

It was 9/11. Crazy how many years have passed since that terrible world changing day. It blows my mind that that’s being taught in the history books like the Vietnam War was taught to me. Now that makes me feel old. I am old. I was only 20 on that day. Now I’m 43. A lot of years have passed. A lot of people have been born. Thinking about time passing makes me want to start writing about my “olden days” and how much different it was. If not for me, for the kids. It will shock.

That evening I went to HEB Yvette and had a good old time. It’s fun having someone to shop for groceries with that likes shopping. After that I went home and cooked, played Zelda and started my show again. I’m really enjoying it. I had forgotten how much I like shows with subtitles. You really are forced to pay attention which makes for a much more enriching experience. It was a nice evening that made up for an annoying day.

Long week. I began to forget what day it was by Thursday. Thursday for lunch I had a run to the Post Office to mail off three email sells that I had yesterday. I’ve never had 3 in one day. What a thing! After spending too much time waiting in line I decided to treat myself for lunch. I went to The Pit Bar-B-Que. I’d been dying to try the Thursday lunch special, street tacos with choice of meat with a cheese and cilantro lime crema. I went with brisket and added jalapeño and some hot sauce. Side of jalapeño cream corn and a drink. Really good amount of food for the price. I think I could feed two. I was floored by how great the brisket and crema went together. I will hit this Thursday special again with Yvette. A real treat. I ate too much…. The bloat…. The struggle….

After work it was more curb painting. I did Yvette’s driveway. I think it turned good. Maybe I should pick this up as a weekend hobby/job? I don’t know. For now I Just have one more to do, my mom’s. I might actually want to do more once I’m finished with hers. Who can say.

Friday the 13th. Such an ominous day for so many people but I’ve always loved it. It’s a damn good day. I’ve always created them with a sense of excitement. Maybe it is the spooky love I have. I love the scary movies network TV would have on Friday the 13 when I was a kid. Something to get excited about. Those days are long long gone. So sad. I’ve never really liked the franchise movies based around the days. Always kind of sucked and I thought an inferior and overrated horror. I love what it did for horror and how it basically made a holiday out of every Friday the 13 for us horror crazies.

So Friday was a boring ass day at work and I just wanted to get off. I cooked for Yvette and Tee. We watched “The Fall Guy” & “Lucy”. I was bound and determined to watch one of the many Friday the 13th movies. I have all these years only managed to see the first one. None of the other 12. After doing some research online I settled on part 4. Multiple websites declared it to be the best. It was yet to be determined. The best of a pile of garbage is still garbage.

I guess as far as slasher films go, with a classic character, it was okay. I will never understand the appeal of slasher and I certainly think Jason is a bit of a joke. I understand the influence he has had on horror through the years and I certainly appreciate that. I like movies inspired. I guess this was okay. Certainly better than the first one. I enjoyed it for what it was. 80’s horror. Dumb people doing dumb things. Incredible force of violence. Sex. Gratuitous nudity. Good kills. Stupid. Just what I grew up with. I love 80’s horror. It was fun. Agree with the internet.

Happy Friday the 13th!!!!

Jalapeño

Pesto mushrooms and sunny side eggs over toast. Delicious. Never thought about pesto eggs. Try it.

Korean bibigo bbq with kimchi and sticky rice with Yvette.

Beef Stroganoff over sticky rice. Leftovers done right. I added whole peppercorns.

Air fryer chicken nuggets with mango habanero sauce, pineapple, jalapeño and cheese over a bed of sticky rice. It was actually really good.

Cheese ravioli with a meat sauce.

Breaded orange chicken w/ rice.

Green Chicken Curry. This was a first time for me. Curry paste & coconut milk. Bamboo shoots, red bell and snap peas. Over rice. Garnished with red jalapeño and Thai basil.

Steak street tacos with Tee and Yvette. Yvette made Fideo.

Tuesday after the long weekend was once again rainy and gloomy. I loved it. One thing I didn’t want was to be stuck at work. This rain better hold up until after work so I can really enjoy it. It’s insane home much rain we have had in such a short amount of time. I mean, we went months without any real significant rainfall so this was amazing and beautiful. I was in such a good mood. Home watching a movie with Yvette on the couch would have been nice, but I make do with work.

I really didn’t have much work to do. I went to the police to pick up the campus lost & found. Nothing exciting this month. I kind of like the flag art they had on the wall pictured below. The rest of the day was what you would expect on a rainy day. Not many people coming in needing me to buy anything. Only a few runs. That’s okay. I’ve never seen our little pond reach the banks like it did. Our gator was almost able to escape.

It seems there was a casualty on campus Wednesday morning. Poor Dominic the ram. He lost his head. I could just feel the people on campus mourn the loss. I had to confirm the rumors to be true. I had just seen him the week prior, which makes it ever more devastating. You really just don’t know what will be the last time you see someone. Sadly I discovered that he had indeed perished. What was assumed to be the work of a malicious individual looked to be a product of age and weather related demise. He was, in fact, without a head. Dead. What will they do with his remains. Surely sooner than later they will dispose of them. It’s such a traumatizing sight to bare eyes upon. The devastation the campus will feel when news spreads.

I started the show Shogun. I’ve wanted to watch it for a long while but never had Hulu, which it streams on. The show is mostly in Japanese with subtitles. So far I’m very into it. Great actors. Hiroyuki Sanada is always great. He certainly needs more of an American audience. His should be an established name. IRS set in the 17th century Japan with a few English actors thrown around speaking English. Like

I must admit, I was kind of excited about Thursday night football. I don’t watch much NFL but with the weather nice, football just added to the fall vibe. I was looking forward to it all day. The Ravens vs. The Chiefs. I like Patrick Mahomes, him being a Texas Tech player back in the day. Yes, I went to TTU for a few years and I still consider myself a Red Raider. I really didn’t care about who won the game, I was just excited for a game. Background noise. First real game of the season. All the excitement from everyone around me at work must have rubbed off. Haha. Who knows. I ended up watching the entire game. The Chiefs win. It wasn’t a simple victory. They had a good challenge. They won by a toe. It was a fun game. A good even game. It made me happy. What is happening to me?

I woke up from some great sleep and wanted to get things done. Sadly, I didn’t have much at work to do. Typical Friday. We did our best to combat the boredom. I mean, you can only do so much. I generally bring my Nintendo Switch to work with me on Fridays. The afternoons, usually after 4, it’s a life saver. Probably frowned upon but everyone else is either online shopping or watching YouTube videos so I do not feel so bad.

Tick tock tick tock. The day went on like a snail after work. One saving grace, Dominic’s body was removed. The poor bastard was just in indention in the ground. What a memory. These new student have not been here long enough to even miss him. The days are sad.

That night I cooked for Yvette and Tee. I made beef stroganoff and peas. Simple delicious meal. Turned out really good. You want to know something else? I watched more football. Watched the Packers vs Eagles. Yep. I must have a fever. I don’t know. Fall fever. Let’s see how much longer this last. It was a fun evening. I hope you all had a good week.

Happy Friday!

Jalapeño

Spicy chicken broccoli stir fry.

Steak fajita rice bowel. Yes, I’m on a bowel kick.

Pesto ravioli with peas, spinach, sun dried tomatoes and sausage.

Beef stroganoff with peas.

We slept in and I made some coffee and breakfast. Saturday I had some things to do but nothing pressing like the last few weekend when I was trying to work around the heat outside. I didn’t have many outside project I planned on tackling this weekend. I deserve a break from cutting, hauling and dumping. What I was going to do is drop on an eBay sale and get my oil changed. That is, after a little run at some Zelda. Haha

Post Office was dead so that sale was a quick and easy drop off. I brought Zelda with me for the oil change wait. It helped this “can’t sit still” boy. Good lord an oil change isn’t cheap anymore. After that I was on a mission to find frosted outdoor string lights. Usually they go on clearance once the school supplies hit the store. Of the 4 places I checked I was shot down. I waited too long. Oh well, Amazon is my friend.

Made it home and it was still early and I needed more to do. I fixed my busted sprinkler and decided it was too nice a day to not take a dog for a walk. The lucky winner on Saturday was Hazel. She enjoyed the walk. We strolled through the campus and enjoyed the weather. When the weather is as nice as it was I really have no excuse to not take a dog for a walk. I just can’t walked them both so Saturday I’ll start walking one and the other I’ll walk on Sundays.

On the way back to my house from the walk I realized just how badly my address looked on my curb. I developed a wild hair and decided it was time to paint my curb. While I’m at it, maybe paint Yvette’s as well.

Well that thought was quickly squished. An inch of rain decided to come pouring down. Well darn. I picked up a big pork shoulder for tomorrow so I went ahead and seasoned it. It would chill overnight and be all the more better. When the rain let up I went to Yvette to hang out and help with the little lady. I fed her and burped her and changed a diaper. All the fun stuff. We loaded her up and took off to HEB for some shopping. I pushed the stroller. She only had a little fit because she was fighting sleep but she eventually knocked out. Yvette cooked for her and her boy and I fed the girl again. After that I went home and fed my dogs. They were pissed. It was many hours past dinner time. They ate, I cooked and ate. I made a chicken green bean casserole basically. In a skillet.

After I ate I watched “The Hunt”. The film that Trump made such a big deal about and the release date was postponed. It’s about liberals hunting down conservatives. Well, that’s the narrative the big orange fucker wanted to portray. Not wanting people to make up a mind for themselves what it might actually be about. That orange fucker.

The movie was great. Awesome kills. Great humor. Smart. Yes, it begins that way, but come on, only a fool would get upset about that because that is t the point. It points out later how full of shit and hypocritical the left is. Its real point is how fucking stupid both sides are. We are ridicules.

Sunday!! I woke up around 8:30. That’s sleeping in these days. Yay!! I went to the store to get some baby formula and some other BS for the week. Came home and made a killer omelette. Ham, chipotle and cheese. Hash browns of course.

After the meal and coffee I decided it should put up all my fall decorations. All my pumpkins. I am obsessed with pumpkins as you all know. I couldn’t help myself. I’ve been waiting and it actually felt like fall again. It took me much longer than anticipated. Everything always falls into place but it always takes some time when you have to find a place for 100 pumpkins.

I got so carried away doing chores and things around the house I also t forgot to put the pork should in the slow cooker before Yvette and I had our movie date. Good for that would have been bad. Imagine having dinner guest over and the pork wasn’t ready because it needed to cook for 8 hours and had only been on for 4. Well, I remembered.

We were a little late to the movie. The theater we went to didn’t have previews which I was counting on. Who knew! I’ve been watching 20 min of previews. I figure that was the norm. “This Ends with Us”. We had wanted to see this movie but never could fit it in. Mainly, she couldn’t. Clearly I could have. I was seeing a movie every weekend.

I suppose this was a chick flick? I mean, it dealt with love and romance? It really wasn’t though. Yeah, it was cute but it also dealt with some darker subjects such as abuse and denial. Choosing to ignore those signs because a person can change and you still love them. Lucky for all involved, this was a MOVIE and everything ended well for all. It was good. Some really heartfelt moments. I’m happy we saw it.

That night was the feast. It wasn’t as many people as expected. One got sick and the other never made it back in town, but the ones that came all had fun. The pulled pork turned out amazing. The sausage, goddamn. Everything was good. Great conversations and I’m happy we had a good time. It rained so we enjoyed that to boot. Just a nice Sunday and I was so happy I didn’t have to work on Monday. I also had the baby sleeping over another night so what the hell could I not be happy about. Ah, life. 🙂

Monday was the cloudy gray that I love. Cloudy and wet. A slow drizzle. I guess throughout the morning we received almost an inch of rain, so says my weather station. I’m loving this wet weekend and I’ll enjoy it as long as it last.

The little baby slept well through the night only waking a few times to be changed and have a meal. She is a good girl. I finally got up to make breakfast for us around 9:30 after laying around in the dark. Perfect weather to be lazy. Lucky for me a had little left on my to-do list. I couldn’t really decide what to make so I did pulled pork tostadas topped with chorizo eggs and cheese. We both thought they turned out really well for a meal from scratch and never made before.

After eating we settled down and watched Maxxxine. Sort of a wraps on a horror trilogy that’s started with “X” & “Pearl”. I liked those movies. This one was set in the early 80’s. Basically this adult film star with a checkered past is looking to become a big Hollywood star. She is cast in an upcoming controversial horror film and sees it as her big break. Meanwhile people around her keep Turing up dead. Possible victims of the so called Night Stalker, a serial killer on the loose in Hollywood. She also has a PI investigating her and digging up her past. A PI who works for some shady individual who seems to know what happened 10 years prior. To continue would be a spoiler. Let’s say that the film sure captures the early 80’s vibe. Music and nostalgia. I like a good 80’s horror film and this did a good job capturing it. A good film on a rainy day. A nice relaxing thing to do on a day off from work. Not sure what Yvette’s verdict was but I now want to watch the other two movies.

We had a little lunch while we waited for the babies mommy to get home. She had been fighting sleep and when mom got home she drifted right off to dream land.

Once everyone had left I decided to pickle some red onions, make a really hot green sauce and grill some chicken for lunch for the week. the picked onions came about simple enough. The hot sauce just about killed me. It was as if pepper spray had been deployed. My lord and coughed and coughed and sneezed and sneezed. I’m glad I saved the grilled chicken for last. I needed the fresh air. Good lord. Hot hot will the sauce actually be! Yikes…

Afterwards I drove in the rain for a bit. My final destination was my mother’s to help get some fall decor from the attic. I like driving in the rain. Aside from the bad driving assholes you need to avoid, it’s relaxing to me. I find peace in the rain. I don’t get to do it enough. I just… drove. I eventually made it to my mom’s and I went up to an attic for tubs of fall and I didn’t fall getting fall down. We visited for a bit and I left and drove some more and I made it home to my dogs and I made my dinner. Pulled pork rice bowl.

I was tired but I sure was going to watch a movie. This weekend has been all movies. “Abigail”. My mom said it was good. I’d heard good things but really didn’t know much about it going I. I like that. Starts off as a good kidnapping movie. Dan Steven’s was in it and I like his work. Eclectic. I liked the humor. The movie was fun and just the kind of horror I needed to finish the weekend. I was surprised how much I liked it. I can’t say anything without spoilers.

It was a great weekend. Really, one of the best I’ve had in a long time. I love Yvette. We have fun together. I hope everyone had a good long holiday weekend. Cheers!!!!

Saturday I woke up and made us some breakfast, chorizo egg tot tacos with a little fruit salad. While she was resting I took off to the post office to mail my 26 year old shit I bought at a concert and can no longer wear due to size. It’s in good shape. I guess vintage sells. Someone gave me $150 for it on eBay. What a deal for something forgotten hanging in my closet for 26 years. Happy that someone wants it. I honestly am a little sad to depart with it. That was a great show. The first concert I attended. No reason to just hold on to a shirt. The one thing I horde is shirts and I need to let go.

After breakfast I decided to get the pole saw out again and trim some low hanging branches over my drive. I was afraid that I’d need to pay someone to do this but damn if that saw blade wasn’t sharp as a knife. My dad must have kept good care of it. I cut some damn big branches like butter. I created a bloody mess for myself that I’ll have to tackle Sunday morning but good lord my drive looked better.

Alien: Romulus. I was planning on seeing this last weekend but was too busy. Better off, it was opening weekend. I’ve always liked the Alien franchise. Always. One of my brothers had good things to say about the film so that made me even more excited.

The theater wasn’t as packed as the last two films I’ve seen but it was still fairly busy. The movie was great. It had all sorts of call back and even included some references that surprised me in a good way. It also had some amazing death scenes. What more would I expect from the man that directed Evil Dead. I felt the characters were pretty strong and the creatures ace.it was a genius idea to cast actors that were unknowns and use practical effects. I felt it was a refreshing addition to the franchise.

Saturday night we got the baby. She was a sweetie. I set up her crib by the bed and we all hung out. She is a hungry little thing. It’s amazing how much they eat and how quick they start just guzzling it down. Again, babies are a new experience for me. I’m learning. I’m way behind in learning. I do like to learn new things. I love this little girl. 🤗. She did so good all night.

Sunday morning Yvette and the baby went home and I went to town cutting up all the tree limbs I cut down on Saturday. Oh the joy. It took 3 trips to dump it all. I was exhausted. I’m so done with cutting branches. I am taking a break next weekend. No cutting down anything!! Done for a while!! It’s too damn easy to make yourself a giant mess. Dumping the material is becoming a little much. I have used a campus roll away brush dumpster but I feel I might be pushing my luck.

I relaxed for a little while after that. So much coffee raised my anxiety. I played a little Zelda and jumped into the shower. After the shower I met up with Yvette at her grandparents house for some menudo. She makes the best damn menudo. Call me lucky. It was nice seeing everyone for a bit. Someone Yvette’s cousins still can’t believe that this white boy likes menudo. They had to see to believe. How hilarious.

I went home and finished cleaning out my fridge. It looks like new. I was proud of my clean fridge. It took three cycles but it’s finally done.

I had been planning on grocery shopping all morning and I finally got around to it. How can so few groceries add up to some much money. It’s not really fair, is it? After that it was more Zelda followed by some breakfast/lunch prep work. I made some egg bites & hatch chicken breast. I sure hope they are not trash. I guess we will find out tomorrow morning and lunch.

First day of school! Fall semester 2024! What the hell happened to the summer? Well, I guess it’s technically still summer but not on campus. The kids are all back. The energy is high. I can’t help but feed off of it. It really takes a little getting use to every year. It’s so dead in the summer. So quiet. Suddenly it’s crowded. It’s loud. That’s good. I honestly had a pretty swell time adjusting. The fact that it was 111 degrees helped the transition. Lower 90s felt amazing compared to the hell we endured the week prior. Fuck that. Happy the kids had a break from the heat. We also all got together for our traditional First Day of Class photo with fellow staff. This would be the fifth year, started 2020 when we were not sure what the fall semester would have in store for us. It’s a fun tradition. The inaugural school photo was only 4 of us with mask and social distancing. We have grown as a group.

A welcomed cold front. The morning temps were in the lower 70s and I just wanted to spend my time outside. My morning was frustrating. Because my personal card was hacked I had to change payment information with many of my services. Some easy some a true pain in the ass. First I had to determine which services had an auto-payment. I had some issues. More frustration came from the lady setting up our venue contract for the wedding. All this time we had been discussing a certain date with her and the contract date was not the one we discussed. I don’t know what she did or how. It too more effort trying to get in touch with her than it should have. We also needed to schedule a time to make our down payment once she amends the contract. Pain. In. The. Ass. I also had my job to do, which was busy. Yvette could tell I was frustrated. I sure love her. She helped me dial it back. If it had been hot I would have blown a gasket. Thank you, unseasonably cool weather. You are my friend.

Wednesday morning I woke to the pleasant unfamiliar sound of water droplets falling from the sky. What was this. I think they call it rain. My dogs were even confused. I could tell it would be a good damn day.

Work started off with a big win. My Westlake fuckup might be fixed. I have no idea what happened on their end. Big mystery. All the money finally looked accounted for. I sent a screen shot to purchasing and was told it looked good. I hope the receipts don’t say another thing. I’m still a little apprehensive because out of the 6 receipts only 3 have actually appeared. Beats me. 6 receipts and 5 trips to the damn store over a 3 week period. What a mess. Fingers crossed that’s all behind me.

Just about the time I was getting back to work from lunch it decided it was going to pour. The rain came down in sheets. Thunder and lightning. The roads flooded. I got wet. I loved every bit of it. It’s been so long since we have had a good shower I had not idea just how worn out my shoes were. I had NO traction. I almost busted my ass a few times. That’s how long it’s been since rain. I think the last good showers that we had were when I was sick with Covid. I had an inch at my house.

That evening we went and paid the deposits for the wedding venue. What a relief to have a location claimed. Everything else can now be worked out around a location and a date. Yay!!!

Thursday it was in the 60s and cloudy when I woke up. On my way to pick up Yvette for work I was excited to see a hot air balloon. It flew right over us on our commute. This was starting off well. I felt confident in the day.

I kept busy during the morning. It was absolutely beautiful outside and everyone seemed happier. This is a nice little taste of fall, I hope. The day went by really quickly. I was steady. Cashed in on my free Whataburger for lunch. The corporate manager gave that to me for his store being ran by that’s asshole manager. Yvette was on her way to an out of town football game so it was just me anyways. After work I went home and prepared to go to my mom’s to babysit the sweet girl. I spent most my time cooking while my mom held the little girl. The momma came early so it was a short little watch. After the sweet baby left my mom and I had our dinner. It was a nice mellow evening.

Thank God it’s Friday! Yvette and I had my experimental keto cheese cake with strawberries & blueberries. Damn if it wasn’t really good. I love cheese cake but it doesn’t love my diabetes. This might be a true gift. I certainly plan on making it again. Fantastic start to a beautiful day.

Work went along steady, which was nice. The campus was encouraged to wear the new shirts that were handed out throughout the last few days to show off its blue and gold pride. Looked like many people received that memo. It was kind of cool being amongst a sea of blue. Towards the end of the work day the rain once again came pouring down. I was on a journey across the campus in the golf car to check mail and looked around. The sky was sketchy. I turned around. Good thing I did. The sky dropped. Yay!! More rain!!

After work we decided to go swimming. Yvette & Lola. The little girl came with us. Her first time in a pool. I think she thought it was a big bath. It was so cute. The baby’s daddy also tagged along. I didn’t know that was happening. Oh well. The water was nice and the outside temp was perfect for such a night. Relaxing evening after a long first week of classes. Long first 2 weeks. It was such a nice night. We had a pizza and some snacks. I had a nice amazing cold beer. Those fried green beans though. It was a nice Saturday evening.

Happy Friday!

Campus sites of intrigue.

Stephen King’s Storm of the Century. I had never seen it. A 3 part movie. I have been waiting to watch it for a long long time but it was only on VHS and never streaming until Hulu picked it up recently. What a deal for me. The first episode was all introductions. Meat the main characters and set up what’s in store for them. Here is the synopsis.

During the midst of a brutal blizzard, residents of an off-shore village are menaced by a powerful force of darkness in the form of a sinister stranger who begins to exploit the town members darkest secrets until they give him “what he wants”.

Now doesn’t that sound like fun? Trust me, it was. I like horror films based around isolation and specially weather. This was right up my alley. It’s a lot about what we keep to ourselves and the secrets we keep from others.

After watching all three parts I really enjoyed it. I’m almost happy it’s taken me this long to see it. A little bleak but damn is it a good tale. I’ll watch it again some time.

Jalapeño

Potato egg chorizo breakfast tacos with a little side of fruit. Yvette laughed that I used tater tots. Haha

Roasted Chile Verde sour cream chicken thigh w/ cilantro lime rice and black beans.

Tried some low carb waffle mix. The reviews said that it held its own. I added some blueberries and made bacon and eggs. It was pretty good. Not the real thing but passable for this diabetic to pretend. Better than the alternative.

Lemon dill capper chicken pasta with asparagus. Something new on my menu.

Zesty chicken wings with spicy mac n’ cheese and green beans. The easy perfect 1st day of school meal.

Creamy Chicken Italian pasta salad with pepperoni, black olives, peas, tomato’s and mozzarella.

After our venue down payment we decided to have dinner. I made us some green sour cream enchilada chicken over sticky rice with toppings. It was good and I found out that this was the first time I’ve made the meal for her. Shocked.

Egg roll stir fry.

Pizza for pool night. Someone already got a hand in it.

Saturday I woke up early and finished laundry. I made myself a very good simple breakfast and proceeded to go fill up my 5 gallon water bottles. I drink a lot of water. I made a very cheap and quick stop at HEB and I went him to relax and play some Zelda. After a little couch time I decided to clean my fridge drawers. They really needed it. This inspired me to also clean my microwave and oven. I’m not sure that I’ve ever done that. It looked brand new. Made me happy. It was shower time. I trimmed my beard and cut my heart and cleaned up. Lunch was at Yvette’s parents. Brisket, sausage, potato salad and beans. What a treat.

That evening Tee had his first junior varsity football scrimmage. It was how but it was a good time. I was glad they allowed us to bring in our own water. At the actual games you have to pay. It was a wild mess. They introduced way too many people before any sort of game began and when the game did begin after a very prolonged practice, it was a confusing mess. The player did well, but I couldn’t tell what was going on at first. So many player and it was very hard to see which one was Tee. Especially when you are blind like me. He wasn’t wearing his number so it was impossible. Nevertheless, I had fun. It wasn’t so hot in the shade and the breeze helped. I can’t wait for a real game. A structured game. This was a weak tease. Hard to believe it’s that time of year again. My second year of high school football.

Sunday morning I made an open faced omelette and a glass of coffee bright and early. My body has been conditioned to wake up at 6:30 these days. I’m okay with that. After stuffing my belly it was off to doing some chainsaw work. A tree in my backyard hasn’t been doing very well over the last two years. The summer drought and excessive heat has taken a toll. Last summer I thought it was going to bite the bullet. In the spring it mostly came back, sans top branches. Repeat this summer and even more it succumbing. It been sad to watch. I’ve even tried to prevent it by watering to no avail. I decided to cut off most of the dead hoping it might help the rest pull through. I’m afraid my work is futile. If anything I’ll just be giving some extra time but if we don’t get some rain, by next summer I’m sure it will be dead. I hate seeing a tree die. I have a kinship with nature.

Oh yeah, this guy decided to have a breakfast picnic on my front lawn. Poor unlucky opossum perished in the blue of the night. Death by car. It happens a lot. At least I didn’t have to clean it up. I let that guy go about his duty to the greater good we call Mother Earth. Carrion consumption is part of the cycle of life. We are born into this world and later decay and eventually become one with it. The circle of life.

After all the chainsaw work I got on my hands and knees and scrubbed the shit out of my shower. Lord it was over due. I used some strong chemicals and probably burned my lungs but the shower looked better.

Yvette, Tee, my mom and I went for some lunch. It’s been a little bit since we have done that. I had worked up a hell of an appetite. We had a fun time talking about all sorts of things. Disney, sports, life, you name it. The buffet was all that was offered, it’s a once a month thing we didn’t know about. I was happy with it because I didn’t have to make up my mind, I had no choice. Actually, I did. They had lunch or breakfast. I chose lunch since I’d already had a breakfast. I was happy with my choice. I left stuffed. Don’t worry, I only had a few bites of the cake. Lord it was good though.

I spent the rest of the day at my mom’s watching Dateline. Yes, Dateline… I guess it was a good time. Enjoyed talking over the show. I’m not much into the true crime shows but it was so damn hot I couldn’t bring myself to leave anytime soon. I still had a few things on my to do list but I over did it this morning with the damn tree. The pole saw was a real bitch.

Once I did leave I went home and cooked dinner and meal prepped lunch for the work week. I watched some more of my show before getting ready for bed. It was a good productive weekend. Had fun with Yvette and her family. I felt accomplished.

Monday was the beginning of move in week. Oh the joy. I was in the office and was busy busy. The day went by very fast. Not often am I happy to be in the office but this week I was. It’s a hot bitch outside. Really hot. After work I tried to chill. I was done with my show so I started the Fear Street trilogy. I like a good horror. The first one was fun. I guess I’ll watch all three this week. Also, the moon was some real eye candy. The Blue Moon.

Tuesday was crazy busy. It’s expected. I dropped off some breakfast burritos to Yvette and got at it. No rest this time of year. We both had a day. Luck for us we already had after work drink plans. Her student worker that just who is about to start student teaching was having her last shift as a bartender at Texas Roadhouse. She has been trying to get us to come see her for a year, at least. I told Yvette we had to go, last chance. I told the girl we would be there. We walked in, she saw us and lit up with smiles. It was fun. She will be missed as a student worker. I think we also swept away some stress. It was only Tuesday.

That night I cooked and got comfortable. It was time for part two of the movie trilogy I was watching. Who doesn’t like a horror trilogy. This one was a summer camp Friday the 13th kind of episode. I enjoyed the vibe a little bit more but it still wasn’t great. What can I expect. Honestly, it was just what I needed it to be on a very busy day. I was tired.

Move-In Day!!! The most dreaded day of the year. The kids and the parents hit the dorms like flies on shit. It’s utter chaos. Traffic is hell, everyone is lost, the population increase in a day is staggering. Everything that could go wrong usually goes wrong, no matter how much we all prep for it. I stayed busy. I expected this. I’ve worked here long enough to know how things never work out as planned. You just have to power right through it. What else can you do.

My coworker flipped a lady off in our university truck. Sounds like the lady was nuts, but he shouldn’t have flipped her off. She sure did call and report him. Of course she did. Looks like my department is getting a name for itself for our drivers. I’m just happy I’m not the only one to have been reported. Cutting through a parking lot to avoid a light is not the same thing as extending one’s arm out a window and flipping the bird.

Another evening with my Faer Street trilogy. This puts an end to it. It was not all good, but it was fun and something to watch. So far each subsequent episode has been better. I like the more focus on story 2&3 had. I also like the period. The first one was in the 90’s. I was alive to know that they did a piss poor job portraying the 90’s. That set the first episode back for me. The final episode in 1666 was great. I love witches and stories based on the Salem wish scare. The devil. That stuff is entertainment. Damn witches. I know the witch curse has been the center on the entire series, but this final was the origin of the curse. Now does one winner, a middle ground movie and a hard to finish first film make this a trilogy worth watching? Hard to say. My mom threw the flag in early. She didn’t finish the first. I had trouble but was devoted and had nothing else. I guess if you have nothing else, go for it. It’s not A+ material, but it was fun and helped pass the evening where otherwise I had nothing else to do but play some Zelda.

I arrived at work full throttle. I dropped of Yvette’s burrito and got to see the sweet baby at her office for a little while and headed to work, filed on black coffee jet fuel. Seth was off, surprise surprise. I don’t think a single move in week in my 13 years has he not taken some time off. I was okay. He left me an opportunity to get the hell out of the chaos that was our office this week. I left at about 8:15 to catch up and what he didn’t do the days prior. I don’t understand why he didn’t complete his job but I could have cared less. I was able to fly away.

My campus Uber duties have commenced. I was told to help people that looked like they were in need in this 100+ heat. Some kids asked and I obliged. I would have liked a ride if in their shoes. This time around it’s a possible lifesaving act and I have a pass to give rides if I want. It’s only fair. So far in two days I’ve given 6 students rides across campus to either dorms or to where the food is. One poor kid was carrying all sorts of packages. I accept tips, btw.

After work Yvette and I went to the big centennial campus even. “Leading the Charge”. The food was good. The drinks were good. It was fun mingling. I was able to talk to all sorts of people. They really put on a nice production. I’ll take what I can get from the university. Events like this are nice. It’s kind. We ducked out before the big photo shoot on the football field. It was too hot and we were tired. I’m glad we went. We have fun together.

Friday finally arrived. What can I say, I was hot and a long time coming. It seems the day before that we broke our all time high temp for the month of August. That’s depressing. I’m over this fucking heat. I’m tired all the time and my head hurts. I don’t want to do half the things I’d like to do because I stay indoors.

After a long fucking week I went home and started prepping for dinner. Tee and Yvette were coming with a special guest. The sweet little baby. We were going to babysit while mom went to an outdoor gender reveal party. It’s too hot for a 2 month baby to be outside. I was so excited. Alas, the baby didn’t come. Her mom got done early. Tee and yvette came over and we had our weekly feast. Tee picks out some cool movies that I’d have otherwise never heard of. We watched “The Tomorrow War”. Yvette got some needed rest. The babysitting part didn’t happen but it was still a great night. What more can I ask for?

We actually had a little thunder and lightning. It was amazing. Not the rain that we needed but I just loved the sound. I miss rain. I miss storms. What a cherry on top of a great night and a shitty long day.

Happy Friday!

Jalapeño

Poached eggs over bacon and toast with a hollandaise sauce with asparagus.

Leftover tuna steak. I made a spicy soy/sriracha tuna salad with some red jalapeño, radish, lettuce, green onion, tomato, avocado & rice. Drizzled some sweet soy reduction over it.

Open faced omelet with bacon, mushrooms, jalapeño, green onion and cheese.

Beef fettuccine alfredo w/ mushrooms & spinach.

Rotel pasta. Basically pasta with queso as the sauce. It was good. Nothing to write home about.

Roasted Chile Verde chicken thigh w/sour cream over some sticky rice.

Creamy Chile Crisp Beef Fettuccini.

Chile crisp broccoli with some hoisin grilled chicken thigh.

Breaded orange chicken w/ sticky rice, spring rolls & broccoli. Dinner night with Yvette and Tee with our special little guest.

Saturday was a busy day. I woke up early and made a nice breakfast for myself. Waffles, eggs and sausage. Had my coffee and it was up on the roof I go. Loaded up my chainsaw and tree trimmer. I cut some branches that were getting dangerously close to my roof. I went a little crazy but I won’t have to worry for a good couple of years about branches on my roof. It took my 2 loads to dispose of the material. I also have some fire wood for this wonder. Added bonus. What a win!

I had boxes and boxes of books that I had been needing to drop off at the local Goodwill and I finally got around to doing it. I tried to get a little can of touch up paint but the company that sold the paint to the previous homeowners would only sell me a gallon for $30. That’s such horseshit. I literally need just enough to put on a roller and roll about a foot of wall where I had gotten a little sloppy painting when I had Covid. I can’t justify spending that money on paint that’s only going to go to waste. They give samples when you are trying to pick a color. The guy had no customer service. I wish my favorite paint shop that I always used for business hadn’t gone out of business. Real bummer. Tomorrow I plan on seeing if maybe Lowe’s can help me.

Deadpool & Wolverine. My plan was to go at 1:30. I stopped by Yvette’s after a shower for pizza. I was filthy. Like, really filthy. We talked and had some pizza and I was off to another solo adventure to the movies. Something I really enjoy from time to time. I get to the theater and the movie is all but sold out. I had to pick the 2:00 and it was also pretty damned packed. This was the 3rd weekend this movie has been out. I was sure it would have died down already but I guess not. Wow.

The movie was bad ass. I knew I’d like it but I had no idea just how much. Seeing Deadpool & Wolverine finally together was great. The amount of cameos from other 20th Century Fox super hero movies was so great. Really brought out the heart warms. Kind of emotional. Kind of a book end to that entire era of films. I was expecting a fun movie but I wasn’t expecting an emotional one. Hugh Jackman is the Wolverine. I can’t see anyone playing that character but him. I’m so glad he came back for one more round. What a great film.

After the movie I went to my mother’s a bit and headed home to cook up some dinner. After watching the movie today I wanted to watch the other ones. I settle on Deadpool 2. It’s the one that I’ve seen the least of. Maybe just the one time. Don’t know why that is. Probably over shadowed by the original. As it turns out, it’s a very good movie on its own. I really enjoyed it. If I had to rank the three it would come in third place. That doesn’t make it a bad movie, just the other two are so freaking good.

Sunday I woke up early and made breakfast. I hung a different picture in my bathroom and did some tile work in my shower. Fixed a fence post that was loose and drove off to Lowe’s for paint. They could not match it. Defeated, I went home. I decided to look in all the paint buckets, maybe one of them would have a little paint that I could use. To my surprise, one did. It needed some serious mixing but I was able to use it on the little spot that I needed to touch up. What luck. Maybe my day is turning around.

Lunch was burgers over at Yvette’s parents. This is the second weekend in a row. I could get use to this. The burgers were good. I hung around for a little over an hour and departed for home to finish my laundry. In a true ADHD moment, I instead cleaned my kitchen sink and watered all my plants. I eventually got to my laundry. Jeez….

I went by my oldest best friend/brother from another mother’s house for a little over an hour. I had some baby formula coupons for him. $80 worth. We bullshitted like the old friends that we are. His baby boy turned 5 months old Sunday. It’s crazy. One day he and our little lady will be friends and the thought of that really excites me. His boy has become such a chunk. He just smiled at me the whole time and finally took a nap.

I went to my moms and visited for about and hour and went home to sweep my floors. My dog hair battle is never ending. I felt nice and accomplished this weekend. I made a to-do list that was fairly long and only one thing didn’t get marked off and it was something I really didn’t feel needed attention right away. I love the energy and ADHD productivity that I have now that I’ve cut back on drinking considerably. I didn’t have a single beer before 5-6 in the evening all weekend. I would usually have one with lunch both days. I have determined that the drinking muted my ADHD quite a bit. I’m getting things done but not at all in the order as I plan.

Upon finishing my to-do list it seemed the powers that govern our tiny little insignificant universe decided to add something to the list. I walked into my garage. Lo and behold, all my mini fridge drinks were laying on the ground in water with the fridge door open. Upon examination it appeared that the top shelf in my fridge decided to blow the fuck up into tiny little shards of glass. Oh the joy. I don’t usually keep sparkling water in the fridge and it seems I shouldn’t. They froze, expanded and put pressure against my glass shelf which eventually gave and exploded. I had a mess to clean up and I now needed a new shelf. Lucky for me I work at a place that finding a replacement shelf shouldn’t be so hard. I know where campus mini fridge go to die.

That night I made a fajita bowl with Fridays leftovers and sat down on y couch to watch and episode of my show on Netflix. A trippy thing called “3 Body Problem” hard to explain what it’s about yet as I’m only 2 episodes in but I’m hooked. Lots of science and physics. After that I just crashed early to rest up for the work week.

Monday really wasn’t balls to the wall busy. It was kind of a nice transition into the work week. Mondays usually suck. Yvette’s dad dropped of chorizo egg burritos to me. I took one to Yvette. That was very nice of him. I kept busy but not rushed. nothing overtly exciting to speak of. My coworker Troy was a little butt hurt I didn’t leave him any gas. To be honest, I never really drove the vehicle but a handful of times. Seth left me with very little gas to begin with. I couldn’t even tell you how much I left Troy with. Out of sight out of mind. I never even thought about its fuel level Friday because I never once used it. Oh well, he needs to get over it.

Tuesday it was lunch alone so I decided to whip something together for Yvette. I made a chipotle pork rice bowl with black beans lettuce tomatoes and cheese. It took most of my lunch hour but it was a fun experiment. Made myself a turkey sandwich. Haha. On my way back to work I dropped it off at her office. I think she was pleased.

Hump day!! Nothing exciting. My mom was able to babysit the sweet girl. I went by after work and fed and burped the darling angle. I’m still not a seasoned vet when it comes to handling babies. It’s painfully. obvious. Not ever holding a baby for more than a couple minutes in all my 43 years. Lord.

Thursday was fine. Work was slow. I did my part and found ways to pass the time. After work I had a baby sleep on my chest for 2 hour until my bladder couldn’t take it anymore. It was great therapy after work. Who needs drinking when they can hold a sleeping baby. Seriously? Pass the baby here!

This was the last real week of summer. The students move into the dorms next week and they all start the fall semester the following Monday. This is the calm before the storm. I’ve done my best to enjoy it.

We had bidder Friday evening and all 3 watched a movie. It was a nice night.

Happy Friday!!!!

Jalapeño

Saturday breakfast. Waffles, sausage & scrambled eggs. Simple delight.

Japanese BBQ chicken with zucchini, onion peppers and sticky rice.

Chilaquiles.

Steak fajita bowl.

Indian Butter Chicken.

Pesto pork rigatoni w/ tomatoes and asparagus.

Smokey Chipotle pork tacos with cabbage, radish and jalapeño. Black bean, of course. I picked Yvette up and she had dinner with me. It was a nice evening together.

Pork fettuccini Alfredo w/ broccoli and peppercorn.

Yvette and Tee came over for dinner. They had some frozen tuna that I was to grill. I was also going to make sticky rice and some roasted soy sriracha broccoli. What a treat. Glazed with a sweet soy reduction. Yummy.