Tuesday was my Monday, and you know what, it wasn’t bad at all. I kept fairly busy with Seth still on vacation. Guy took himself a 6 day weekend. Just before 3 they sent anemail saying that due to possible bad weather we were to all leave at 4. It never happened, but it was nice. I went home and trimmed some branches and messed with my fence. I also played some Zelda. Haha.

For whatever reason my back was acting up on jump day. It was hurting like a real SOB. This gave me pause. Days before an 8 hour road trip and my back acts up. I tried to be optimistic saying it will pass. I just slept wrong. It’s on days like that I get the sad reminder that I’m not out of the woods just yet.

Friday Friday Friday!!! It was a long week coming off a four day weekend and heading into a week vacation. The night before I began my packing. This will be my first out of state trip since 2021 and I was both excited and anxious. I sure hope Yvette can handle me for a week. It was fun looking at eateries. We have narrowed some good places down. I’m really excited.

Jalapeño

Spicy shrimp cocktail.

Braised pork & verde sauce w/ rice.

Leftover pork street tacos with cilantro lime rice.

Chicken Pad Thai.

Woke up Saturday and found out I sold another item on eBay. Have I even mentioned in this blog that I’ve been doing that for maybe a little over a month? It’s profited over $500 on stuff I didn’t even know I had, old video games. It’s been a rather fun lucrative hobby the past few weeks. I mean, it’s money and the only thing that’s work for me is going to the post office. Can’t say that’s bad. It’s easy money.

I thought that we were all going to a high school graduation party but due to unforeseen BS that put Yvette and the crew behind we didn’t end up going. I decided to move the final couch that needed moving in my house. It turned out to be a superior bitch. I assumed because it was the smallest it would be the easiest. I assumed wrong. I finally got it movie. The first piece of my relocated office behind me. After that joy I decided to do the rest later.

I went to my mom’s and had a little snack and a beer. The weather was once again weird. It looked like it did the two days we had hail and we were under a tornado watch. No sir, I didn’t like it. The apprehension. The uncertainty. I like a good storm. I hate a hail storm.

That night I made a meal and watched my show. It was a nice lazy evening. I went to bed at a fairly early hour only to be startled out of sleep by Yvette. She rushed over to put a car in my garage before a storm hit. It sure did hit, but this time all we got was a heavy rain. Thank god no hail. Monday I’ll be calling a roofer Yvette’s dad hooked me up with to see how mine has faired with this last round.

Sunday was her mom’s 69th birthday so we went over to the grandparents to have a feast with the whole family. It was a special. It’s fun seeing so many generations of a family together like that. We had dressing, green beans, potato’s, corn, chicken drumsticks, turkey dressing. I’m guessing Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday food? I’ll have to inquire. Anywho, this was my first time to go to lunch at her grandparents with most the family. She gave me a breakdown of them all before getting there. Most of them I have met at one point or another over the last year and a half. It was a good time. I had fun.

That evening I just camped out at home again. Nothing to do. I watched my show and decided to cook for us so we had breakfast. I experimented while I had the over going and made some pretty fun mozzarella pepperoni rolls. I thought Yvette was asleep but she was at a party at her brothers eating shrimp. I guess she found out last min. Oh well. At least I watched my show. Everyone that likes a little weird with a little western should watch Outer Range. I wonder how long I’ll have to wait for season 3….

Memorial Day. The final day of my pre-vacation vacation. I work up and placed the beef ribs in the oven. They slow cook for 8 hours. I finished all my laundry. I restocked my bathroom travel bag. Went for a little walk on campus before it was to bloody hot. Called the roofer to look at my roof for damage. I had a little breakfast. Made some coffee and played a little Zelda. It was a nice morning.

That afternoon Yvette, my mom and I went for a late late lunch closer to 2. It was nice. Once again relaxing. After lunch her and I went swimsuit shopping. I had not bought a new one in about 20 years. It was time. We were going to the hot spring as part of our vacation agenda. After I found my suit we looked at more baby clothes. it’s something I had no idea was fun or that I had been missing out. Of course we bought some.

After our errands I went home to finish preparing for our feast. The ribs were almost ready so I seasoned the chicken thigh, made the deviled eggs and slaw, and basically got things rolling. The roofer showed right before I was going to put the chicken down, which slowed things a little. Oh well. Yes, my roof is sort of fucked. I’ll need a new one. Bummer.

The dinner itself was good. The two youngest came first with Yvette and ate. They left and later the oldest and his girlfriend ate. I had them all tonight and it was great. I had a very happy Memorial Day weekend. I sure hope all of you did. Cheers!!!

Jalapeño

Brunch. Sausage egg burger with maple syrup & tots.

Udon noodle stir-fry with a sriracha soy glazed steak.

Texas whiskey glazed pork belly and Mac & Cheese. Simple and effective in serving my dinner needs.

Brunch pt 2. Breakfast sausage croissants made by me, scrambled eggs and blueberries.

Memorial Day Feast!! I made beef ribs, chicken thigh, sausage, slaw and beans. Yvette brought some potato salad.

The kids are gone and the campus is a ghost town. It’s a nice break from the chaos that are finals. I’m honestly happy with a little less activity for a little while. It’s been a busy few weeks.

Monday Staff Senate was something. I guess we are now having snacks and drinks. Okay. The usual BS about parents and their kids came up from the same person. It’s a broken record. I can tell everyone is getting sick of it. How many times and from how many different people can a person be told “not happening” before it gets through their thick fucking skulls. It’s borderline psychosis. it went on for well over 20 min. Sad.

We found out rather late in the game that we had a 4 day weekend ahead of us. Yay!!! I don’t think anyone can complain. We didn’t have any bad weather days so I guess it’s fair.

The fucking humidity on Wednesday. It was so fence that I could swear I felt resistance walking through it. The air was terrible. I left for lunch and the sky felt ripe for development. Boy was I correct. Shortly after we were placed on a tornado watch. That turned to a warning. Next we know northwest of town a tornado had touched ground. Hail was also coming. The radar was deceptive. The flags were blowing in a different direction. It sure did start raining big drops. My coworker and friend Ryan decided to bail 8 til while my coworkers wanted to wait and see if it slowed down. As we walked to the car the hail came and it only got bigger. I made it all until I started to close my umbrella and get in the car. That’s when a hail stone hit my head. It HURT!! I drove home in a cacophony of sounds. I was sure my car was hurting. I made it home about the time Yvette says her son is on his way to my garage. We sheltered the storm together.

I was having him over anyway. This seems to always happen on our family dinner nights. Last time we also had hail. How strange. Anyhow, we hung out and about 2 hours later his mother and sister came to join us for dinner. I cooked one of our first meals together as a 4 person ensemble. It was good times. He and I watched a comedy to digest the food.

Thursday/Friday. We had Friday off so this was my Friday. The day was fast and busy. I was full of energy. We started with a possible storm. We had some light rain. It mainly passed. That’s was our rain for the day, according to the National Weather Service. Laughable. Right before 5 it looked weird. I walked out of Yvette’s office and when I went in it was sunny.I knew something was off from my years with my father. He knew his weather. I looked at the radar. Nothing, but there was clearly something. I’m back near the office and I call Yvette. She mentions big drops. Nothing where I am until there is. Hail, not big drops. I race back on the cart only taking a few hits. Next thing we know it’s hailing wild. A break pops up. . My boss said go home and we went. It was a war zone getting home. The hail size increased. Yvette and her daughter pulled into my garage. We waited it out in awe. . Nasty storm. Our roofs and our cars will need insurance. Deductible. All over town. Lots had it much worse. Sucks. Wasn’t even forecast to rain again and we received worse than the day before.

Since we had Friday off I tried to take advantage of everyone else still working and kids in school. I took Hazel to the vet to get all her shots and have her ready for her stay at the country club for dogs. She hates the vet. I next played a little Zelda before heading out for a quick and easy trip to Sam’s. It’s so nice being able to go in a laid back setting that you will only get during the week while everyone else is working. On my way back I decided to see a movie. Heck, I was the only one in the theater when I first walked in. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. I had been hearing great things about the film. It was a wild colorful dark trip through a wasteland hell. Hemsworth was fantastic as the villain. Almost 3 hours later I was happy.

Jalapeño.

Green Chili Bunless Burger.

King Pao Chicken Noodles.

Chicken enchilada “casserole” with cilantro lime rice and black beans. Way back in September I made this for us and the family. Figured we should try it again. Her sone and I watched Tropic Thunder after dinner.

Yvette and I went out for date night. The Wharf. It was fantastic. We had a little cocktail at the bar while we waited. The old man sitting alone would not move a chair down so we could sit next to each other so I squeezed a chair in between. He then bitched at the bartender that he didn’t get his drink before us. We sat down at about the same time. Some people. Fuck them.

Steak, asparagus mushroom truffle pasta with Yvette and the kids. We dig in before I could take a picture.

Mother’s Day weekend was a blast. Saturday we all went out to eat with Yvette and two of her kids. Always a pleasure. After lunch we went on a crazy yard kick at my house. I needed help on a ladder. later, Chris and I had a drink and picked up some carry out for my mother and us and we drank wine and laughed. We laugh. That Sunday morning it was Mother’s Day brunch and it was a mad house. Of course it was. We knew it would be. I think over all we did good, aside from some technical difficulties.

The baby shower was finally upon us. Friday after work we all got together to setup everything so it was behind up on Saturday. It turned out to be a lot of fun. That night Yvette and her daughter brought over fruits for me to cut and pretzels to dip in hot chocolate. Some extra snacks for the party. It was also very fun.

Saturday was the main event. We still had things that needed to be done, of course. Finished setting up and came back all dressed pretty. She scored a large amount to goodies and had a fantastic spread of sweets and savory. I think we were all pretty satisfied. It was my first baby shower and I was actually really social. I walked around and talked. Helped where I could. The games were fun. It was just another new experience with Yvette and her family.

That’s evening I made queso and we all made burrito bowels outs of the leftovers. It was a long two days and we were all tired but it wasn’t u til after 11 that I left her house. It would be an understatement to say I didn’t crash hard.

Sunday we had a ritual lunch with my mom. We went to Zero One. These lunches are always after 1. Gives us time to do whatever needs to be done on the more ing half of the day. That might be the yard, sleeping or running around round while it’s less hectic. it’s always fun.

Afterwards I went strait to meal prepping. I prepped both breakfast and lunch for a few days. I was tired but she was ever more so. This would save her the trouble. I also decided I’d get together more stuff for us to have dinner, which I did. I made queso smothered steak burritos. Her son did the same. Another fun evening.

All in all a great two weekends. Hope

Jalapeño

Mother’s Day dinner pt.2. Pizza and chicken Parmesan.

Mother’s Day brunch. egg sausage briskets with tots.

Chipotle chicken with veggies and cauliflower rice.

Orange chicken, carrots and rice.

Parmesan & Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Penne w/ green beans and pearl onion.

Salmon croquettes with spinach and broccoli rice mushrooms and cheese.

Brisket, steak, chick tacos with rice.

What a glorious Saturday. Slept in. Had breakfast in bed. Watched some Planet Earth. It was gloomy. Great day to just do things around the house. Inside. It was still very wet outside.

I woke up to a hilarious Facebook message on my phone. Bekah’s old boy friend was asking me for money. The hilarity of having the man my ex-wife was cheating on me with asking me for money was laughable. I didn’t even know how to reply. Yvette said I should just tell him to ask Bekah. Tell him she took it all. Late the day he asked me for food. I really have no beef with him, she was the cheater. Kind of sad, really.

The entire day was pretty mellow. Mostly overcast and still sort of wet. I played Zelda and watched some movies.

Sunday the kids, Yvette my mother and I all went out to eat. We went for Mexican food. We all forgot it was Cinco de Mayo. The place was busy. It also seemed to be the place for parties. My lord it was people in and out. Good time nevertheless. I like these lunches with us all together.

Good lord I hated this week. I was stuck in the office, abnormally tired, and my back and nerves decided they wanted to flare up and cause me chronic pain all over again. I do mean pain. From my back to my toes and back again. It’s been a long time since it’s been this bad. I’m sure people have wondered why I have been distanced and quiet. It’s called chronic pain. It’s weeks like this I think surgery at a you get age might be the right option.

It was finals week. The semester was ending. Crazy how quick the school year went. Yvette’s daughter will have been in a full semester. It feels like she just started. I’m so proud of her and all she accomplished. It’s exciting.

As the weekend wobbled on the activities kept dwindling. Students are so online based these days most finals don’t require a classroom. Blows my mind. I had professors that were mad at you if you had a computer in class. Taking a remote final would have stroked them out. Times have changed.

I probably say this every year but I sure like the joy on campus around now. Kids leaving for summer and graduating. A collective sight of relief and happiness. These days make campus family worth it. We all succeeded in getting another class out the door and into the real world. I always wonder if they later reflect upon those that made it happen.

I also find a sadness when they leave. The campus becomes a ghost town and another years is behind us. I’ve done this 13 years, which is crazy. I suppose it always makes me reflect on the passing of time. I didn’t plan on being here even half that time yet here I am. I can’t complain. I’ve met some truly wonderful people. Friend have come and gone. People have died. Best part ever, I met my beautiful stunning fiancé. She is the light of my life and I couldn’t be who I am without her. If I’d left I might not have been so lucky. I probably wouldn’t know the lovely Yvette. Someone I always felt comfortable with, love the family, and is extremely attractive with the bonus of being my best friend. I consider myself a lucky guy. Thank you, work. You made this happen.

This is my time of reflection.

Jalapeño

Gringo tamales. That’s what Yvette and her daughter call these. It’s Hormel chili and canned tamales. I have to say it actually was pretty damn good. I just sprinkled cheese and baked them. Who would have known.

Stuffed peppers in a Mole sauce.

Leftover peppers with some corn. I like my leftover. Form believer that some things taste better the following day.

Pork tenderloin w/ chipotle lime sauce. Side green beans and baby potatoes.

Pot roast & mashed potatoes at Yvette’s. Fun times. Her daughter hates the crock pot. It’s hilarious.

Just a burger night.

Mother’s Day dinner part 1. Marry Me Chicken Meatballs with some bacon green beans and cauliflower mash.

The weekend was busy. I went with Yvette and her daughter to look at something and after that we all went to a 1 year olds birthday for 3 hours. It was a lot of fun. The food was bloody amazing. Straight up hibachi grilled chicken, veggies and fried rice made outside on location. Homemade egg rolls to boot. I avoided the fried rice. So sad. I also avoided all the sweets. So sad.

After the party I went home and began to replace a. Token window. It’s been two years that I’ve needed to do that. Years ago I had a sleep walking incident and I locked myself out of the house. I managed to get into the garage but the door to the kitchen was oddly locked. It’s a small windowpane. I smashed it out half awake. It’s taken me this long to fix it. Mainly I didn’t care, I had a divorce to worry about finalizing. I also didn’t want to be charged what I knew would be over $100. Well I decided I would just fix it myself. Buy the glass and cut it and fix it. Well, I fixed it. It was a rather fun home project. I’ve been motivated more to do things now that so much of my pain has parted me. I think I did a fine job.

Sunday was a shopping day. Yvette and I went to Sam’s and HEB. I meal prepped both breakfast and lunch for us. It’s the way to go. Plus it’s fun and a lot cheaper. We had some wings and onions rings for lunch at BWWs and that evening her son was going to have a shrimp broil. Exciting. What a great meal. I was excited. Sadly, a busy fun weekend never last long enough. Like a blink of an eye they say goodbye.

I woke up Monday with no “want to”. I could have slept and slept. Monday was actually busy. I guess that was a good thing. It sped up the process of getting through the damn day.

Friday finally came around. It was busy. During on busy moment I cut myself. On rusty metal. I bleed. Not knowing when I last had a tetanus shot I decided better safe than sorry. Lucky for me, during my hospital stay in 2022 I already had one.

That evening I made it home, started the potatoes, set the table and hurried to the store. I was afraid the storm you kill my dinner night. I had 3 people come. Yvette and the kids. I called after the store trip because the sky was wild. They came over. We did get hail (small) and lots of wind and rain. Dinner was great. Son and I finished our show and were sad we had a year to wait. WTH would we watch in the mean time.

The storm was great. Happy Friday!!!

Jalapeño

Crockpot spicy chicken thigh, red and yellow bell pepper, onion and green enchilada sauce over stick rice.

Sesame chicken.

Spices chicken thigh leftover tacos. Yummy.

Caribbean pork with black bean rice and broccoli.

Sweet & Sour Pork. Battered. I don’t batter food but this was my first s&s pork. It was amazing. Christ. Worth the extra work.

BBQ pork, corn on the cob & fried okra.

Yvette and I made BBQ pulled pork potatoes for the kids and us.

Earth Day “Riley Dog Day” was Monday and it was fun. Yvette, her student worker and I went to the celebration and waited for shirts. They had lots of giveaways and music. Yvette and the student planted some succulents while I mingled. It was also being your child to work day so some had their children along for the ride. We eventually got our shirts and I hurried back to the office.

Earth day happens to be the day my Riley dog died so it is a special day for me to do something in nature. I like to take pictures so this blog will have nature pictures. Mostly plant based.

I have an official work Hawaiian shit. I didn’t get it made. Of course I only wear it when it starts getting warm so when I do for the first time I get a lot of attention I always forget I’ll get. During our morning meeting it was brought up in front of everyone. They couldn’t believe it was legit. Off and on all day I had compliments. At least 10. Students, staff, faculty. You name it. People I’d never met. It cracks me up. I say to myself, oh yeah…. I suppose this would be my 3rd year hearing it. It’s a comfortable shirt. I’d wear it all year if it was natural but for now when it’s 20 degrees outside I’ll have a long sleeve on.

Breakfast prep for the week. Quiche. Eggs, cottage cheese, ham. I have been trying to make up something for the most important meal of the day. It’s so simple to do. Reheating eggs is not a chore. After 3 days of quiche I made a sausage pepper asparagus scramble egg dish to coast us through Thursday and Friday. It’s nice and I know Yvette appreciates it.

I paid off my Physical Therapy Thursday. Pay day. It was nice going and seeing everyone. I really do miss them. Weird thing to miss, as I’ve said before. Pain. It just became routine and over the 6 months they became my friends. You open up and talk to people when you go through such things. Especially when it ends up helping you in the best of way. I utterly and owe them more than the money they collected. Lucky for me my physical therapist has been hired by the campus as an instructor starting in August. He will be a great fit.

Something weird occurred on Thursday that I should mention. I was on my golf cart checking mail and I recognize someone. A someone I had seen a LOT during election years. Ran for president. Or tried to. Didn’t make it far. Beto O’Rourke. He was just casually walking around talking to students. I have no idea. Very interesting that he had no security or escort. Just himself. No media. I pointed him out to 3 people. Very under the radar. I really respect that. If he runs for governor of my state again I’ll vote him over the asshole currently in office. Not because of today, but because I can’t stand who is making these piss poor decisions. So yes, it was weird to see a political figure only seen on billboard, websites, front lawns and the TV just walking around on my campus on a nice day.

Friday Friday. I woke up so so so very tired. I stayed up to late talking and I woke up right before 2 and had trouble sleeping. My eyes wanted to shut all damn day. It was a real struggle. Nothing worse than a slow sleepy Friday with most everyone gone.

I was going to go home after work and prep for dinner but about 5 min till 5 Yvette called and wanted to know if I would like to go meet her student worker who just turned 21 for drinks downtown. Her mother was driving her around. I said yes and we went. It was fun and we completely lost track of time. I was supposed to make dinner. Being already tired and having a drink made me no longer want to cook. We ordered pizza. That pissed off a few but what can I do. Some days even I don’t want to cook. Heck, the pizza was good.

After pizza son and I watched 3 episodes of our show Fallout. I’m not watching it without him. I think we have both been craving it. Lord, one episode was weird and full of topless ladies. What a strange moment with a teenager. Nevertheless, a good night with him. Yvette took a nap because it sure isn’t her cup of tea.

It might not have been the night we all wanted but it was still a good one in my book. I like spending time together.

Happy Friday!!!

Jalapeño

Steak and ramen. Ramen from the movie Parasite.

Chicken Divan with my mom. She always makes it better than I do. Great comfort food.

Chicken carbonara.

Steak bites with angel hair pasta and asparagus.

Chimichurri steak with roasted veggies.

Korean Bibigo steak.

After all the weekend yard work I slept hard and woke up Monday with a full tank of energy. That’s very rare on a Monday. I was ready for the week. I get to work and the new guy is pissy at me for leaving him with less than a quarter tank of gas. Boo hoo. Seth and I thought it was funny. you know how many times Seth leaves me with no gas and I don’t complain to my boss about? All the time. Hell, I was the last person to fill up that vehicle. Someone else can do it for a change.

Staff senate meeting. I wasn’t able to physically attend and I’m happy I didn’t. VP for Development had a presentation. I watched it and it was bloated bullshit. 4 years on I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I’m wondering what the point is. Nothing really happens. It’s just to appease the masses. I suppose I get a little insight into the campus life and what’s going down but I usually know in advance anyhow. I’ll stick with it if I get nominated again next go round. It gets me out of the office and I suppose it’s good exposure.

Tuesday I received my money from my first eBay sale. $97.88 for a video game I can no longer play and didn’t even know that I had. Just shy of $100. I have some more games I’m going to put up now that I’ve seen how it works. Why not. Money in my savings. I think I’ll try and keep 5 active items up at a time. This is actually some good fun and a money maker (hopefully).

That evening I was going to have Yvette and her kids over for dinner. Pasta with a fresh tomato oil based sauce I put together at lunch to marinade. I needed a trip to the store after work for garlic bread and basil. Got home to let the dogs out only to find a scene straight from the Exorcist. 5 puddle of dog vomit. Owen ate my caladium bulbs. Dum dog. The house smelt like shit so I’m sure he ingested some of that as well. It would be the night I’m having guest over and was rushed. 20 min later I went to the store. By 6 I was finally cooking.

The meal was a hit and awards her son and I emerged ourselves in the world of Fallout. I told him I wouldn’t watch the show without him. Yvette fell asleep for the hour. She wasn’t interested in this kind of show. Oh well, we had a great night.

My somewhat new coworker has had a bug up his ass all week long. Barely saying a word. Seth and I think it’s sort of funny. What’s up with the people that take that position always being so dang moody. It must come with the job. I had no idea someone could be as moody as Sarah.

It got hot Thursday and it was cold again on Friday. Nice and gloomy. A beautiful Friday. I needed a beautiful Friday. It was a dreadfully long week. I almost couldn’t make it.

After work I dropped Yvette off and went out to my moms for about an hour. I came home and fed my dogs and let them out and rushed to a last min invite to Yvette’s parents. They cooked out. Amazing chicken, beans, sausage and some awesome deer jerky. I had to save room for my own planned meal and it was difficult with so much good food. It was a great time.

Happy Friday!!!

Jalapeño

Margarita salmon w/ street corn and broccoli cheese. The salmon with the street corn was amazing.

Fresh ingredient pasta. Chopped tomato’s, mozzarella balls, spicy Italian sausage, fresh basil, garlic clove, olive oil, salt, pepper and cracked red pepper. Yvette and the two kids liked it.

Pasta. Spicy Italian sausage again with shells and a cream cheese mozzarella marinara sauce. Cooked with zucchini and mushrooms. Very good.

Bowtie pasta salad with peas, corn, red bells, diced tomatoes & cheese. Mix some tech and spicy salsa you have a meal. lime pepper chicken with pico.

Carne guisada over sticky rice. Yvette and I already had a little meal earlier at her parents but I needed to cook this. It was yummy. For whatever reason I can’t upload the picture.

Ah the smell of livestock shit, boy does it make you feel alive. I went to my first rodeo in well over 30 years. I hated the rodeo and all the bullshit it brings with it. The big trucks, rednecks, busy restaurants, fake people playing dress up. The smell of shit in the air. Just not my thing but I figured I give it a try again all these years later. Yvette and her family love it. I’ve always found it to be a little cruel but that’s just me. I’m no rodeo boy, but let’s try new things.

So the show kicked off at 1PM. It was a matinee. I’m fine with that. When I got over being made fun of for not wearing jeans and just wearing shorts and flip flops I started to prepare myself for the anxiety attack that I knew was coming. Boy did it ever come. As soon as we walked in that arena I wanted to turn around. My heart was pounding. I’m not built for such things. It takes me time to settle. Plus, it’s just not my crowd. I generally don’t like cowboy’s. I’m from Texas so yeah, maybe that’s weird.

Once the anxiety began to dials itself back I started to have some fun. I really enjoyed the shows much more than the competition. Aside from barrel racing and bull riding, nothing else really did it for me. I liked the kids riding the sheep the best. So yeah, the shows between the competition was the best part. I wasn’t so sure how I felt about the announcers. I guess one was a clown? Who knew. Much different rodeo in the 80s.

One funny thing happened. The entire show I was sitting right directly behind and old high school friend of mine that I had not seen in probably 20 years. He had moved off to El Paso and never came back. What are the odds of sitting right there by him all these years later, in a crowded arena at a rodeo I hadn’t been to in at least 30 years. Wild. It was great seeing he and his wife. I went to school with her from 1st grade through graduation. Small world.

We walked around the fair ground for a little while on the lookout for turkey legs. Yvette’s son had to have his leg. These things are gigantic. He left very satisfied. I don’t blame him. It was good.

Overall it was a nice experience and I had fun with her and her son. . I always do. I like doing things with them. I’ve done a lot of new things with them. Home that continues.

After the rodeo I went to see my mom for a little bit. She was good. I went to the store and bought the things I needed for dinner. I was cooking. I made some BBQ chicken thigh, sausage links, okra. Yvette’s daughter made some yummy pasta. We had a little feast. After eating we sat outside and enjoyed the nice evening. I got to really hang out with the kids. It was a good day.

I woke up Sunday and made myself a super protein omelet and had some coffee. My goal ahead was to mow my yard. I have not mowed my own yard since I had my back injury in July. Almost a year ago. The most painful part was pulling the lawnmower to start it. I mowed at a slower pace but in the end I accomplish the goal. Feeling a little ambitious I decided to trim some of my landscape, weed eat and blow the debris. I felt very pleased with myself, although I did hurt afterwards. That was expected.

I took a shower, made a quick trip and got ready for lunch with my mom, Yvette and her kids. The shower felt so so good after pushing myself in the yard. I was so proud of myself but I have much more to do. 9 months of not being capable of much around the house has left me with a lot of catch up.

Went after some lunch and the 4 of us had a lot of laughs. It was a good time as usual. I’m lucky to have a good family and be able to have good times. Funny thing about the place we ate is the owner is my neighbor. He automatically gets me a beer and tequila without asking. What am I to do. I guess I laughed more.

I did more yard work. I told you I wasn’t finished. I trimmed the hedges. I was another 2 hours. I still need to do more. I need on a ladder but no one will let me and I’m not stupid enough to try on my own. I have a week long vacation and a long drive ahead of me soon. I don’t want utter pain on my first trip with Yvette.

The day was done. I went to Yvette’s to paint a butterfly and then I came home and made dinner and meal prepped some breakfast. Seasoned shrimp cocktail with battered green beans. Breakfast was a low carb quiche. It was a good weekend.

Saturday was a very nice day. Yvette’s daughter was in the rodeo parade so we went that morning around 10 am. That was my first ever rodeo parade. All these first with Yvette. The parade itself was kind of fun. Just a parade. Her daughter’s second parade to be in, that I know of. I like to be there for that. I Alamo slept too late. I woke up early and went back to sleep. Glad I stirred awake. we went for burritos afterwards. Mine was a messy big mess.

The rest of the day I ran around the town. I sold some old Xbox games and found out some other Game Cube games were going for over $100 on EBay. Hold those suckers. I eventually made it to my moms and visited for a bit. Picked up Yvette for a trip to get the ring cleaned and inspected. We roamed and ended up at the arcades. We both played some Skeeball. She kicked my ass. It was still fun. Had some chips and queso after that adventure.

I’m an idiot and I move things by myself. I’m trying to clear rooms in my house for my family so I moved an impossible couch. How it was moved in, I don’t know. The movers did it and I wasn’t around. It was a chore. 7 door ways latter and a lot of lifting and tilting. Christ!!! I got it out the damn front door but no way I was moving it to the garage from that point. Had to call for assistance. I love Yvette’s son. He has helped me so much during my cripple days. Bless him. One less thing out of the way. Another couch and a large chair. One step at a time.

Sunday was busy. I woke up and went shopping. After that I went to BWW’s for lunch with Yvette and our youngest. Good time. The onion ribs. My lord. Amazing. We made a trip to Sam’s for some goodies. Once I was back home I decided to cut down a tree and plant some yucca. It was a productive afternoon. With that all said and done I went to Yvette’s to hand out for a little while before I called it a day.

The total solar eclipse was a lot of fun. It was weird being on campus and it getting dark again. We had a little picnic in the gloom and watch the sun begin to fade away. Shame we were not in the path of totality but at least we had perfect clear skies. I hear cloud cover eliminated a large portion of totality. Bummer for all those thousands of people who should have had a fantastic show. After hearing from my boss just how amazing the totality was, I really wished I’d have seen it.

It was a pretty magical week over all. Yvette and I had some good times. I went by her house each evening and had a little food. Imitation crab pasta? I wouldn’t have ever thought that would be good but I was wrong. Wednesday her mom made meat loaf, green beans , rolls, mashed potato’s and Mac & cheese. It was great and fun. I talked to her father about wedding plans. Once I got home around 9 I played some Zelda until my eyes were weary and I went to sleep.

Happy Friday!!

Jalapeño

Honey garlic soy beef over rice. I, of course, added ghost pepper. Great meal.

Poblano pepper sauce chicken with veggies & rice.

Beef ribs w/ slaw and corn on the cob.

Hamburger Helper. I added mushroom and spinach.

We had meatloaf at Yvette’s parents. It was amazing and a lot of fun.

Meatballs over zucchini spirals with a mushroom carrot marinara sauce.

Burgers and fries I made for Yvette and her youngest. We ate before a picture was taken.