The Monday after the long weekend I was hoping for a mellow day to ease into the week. Well that didn’t happen: I got fucked. I had so much to do that I was only actually in the office about 3 hours top. I have no idea what the deal was. Lord. At least the day went by quickly but it sure exhausted me. On top of a busy weekend I was spent.

I’d like to say Tuesday was more laid back but I’d be lying. This week seems to be relentless. Yvette seems to be having the same sort of week. She has had meeting after meetings and a lot of extra work for this cyber security event coming up this week. We had one moment of peace where we both took a break and went a to check mail. I’m over the week and it’s just Tuesday.

Wednesday was more of the same: busy. I’m tired. Nothing really to talk about. Yvette and I had a pizza picnic on campus. We have done that a few times. Find a random place to sit and eat. I really like it. Usually it happens when she is busy and needs to work a little more. Boy was she busy this week. I even helped her that afternoon by carting a bunch of boxes from on building to the next. Always happy to help my sweetie. The day ended with me having a colossal headache. I went home and started my baked potato, took 4 pills and laid on the couch. I don’t get a headache often, thank god. All the pollen in the air this time of year. Yuck. I fell asleep and woke to the oven timer. That’s rare as can be. I woke up a little pissy and still tired.

Long busy days just keep coming. Oh well. I couldn’t get off my feet. I also helped move stuff back that I moved the day before. The event was over. I didn’t mine, I volunteered. Plus I got two lunches out of it and a shirt. It’s kind of fun being helpful.

Friday was surprisingly busy, which I needed. Fridays can be a bore. I hit it hard early and pretty much kept it steady all day. I had myself a little lunch on campus, thanks again to Yvette and my helping them the last 2 days. It was a fairly amazing grilled veggie wrap from our campus food source. Sadly, I was alone. She had a meeting from 1-5. To also fill the time I drove around handing out eclipse glasses. Monday we have a total solar eclipse on Monday. We are not in the totality zone but it will nevertheless be fun. Shame it’s happening while at work. Finally 5 arrived. Yay!

Happy Friday!!!!

Jalapeño

Lasagna with green beans. I was so tired so I made a microwave meal.

Ranch style beans with grilled sausage, jalapeño and sauerkraut. I accidentally sort of burned the sausage a little but it still managed to be tasty.

Beef tip w/ gravy stuffed baked potato.

Chicken enchilada bowl.

Date night! Sriracha soy pork belly with kimchi and broccoli. This was a first. I liked it. I know what to do different next time.

Friday was Good Friday so I was off work. I tried to sleep in and managed to until a little after 8. I got up and ran some errands. I bought two more spineless cactus for my back yard and proceeded to bag over 10 bags of leaves. If you didn’t know already, I FUCKING hate to bag leaves. I always get stuffy and feel nasty afterwards.

Once I did as much as I could with the amount of trash bags that I had I cleaned up and picked up Yvette for a birthday lunch. Gave her a gift and we were off to eat some sushi. The food was great and she was happy. After lunch we went sight seeing and people watching in our sad empty little mall. It was actually quite fun. It was actually kind of sad.

Dinner reservations were at Texas Roadhouse. The door was great but my god. It should be named Texas Shithouse. What a mess. The hostess was a rude bitch and wouldn’t seat the majority of the party until all guest arrived. 2 people out of 12 were late. That was later discovered not Roadhouse policy. The tables we were seated at were not prepared. Not plates or silverware. When the drinks finally did come, and I do mean finally, the waiter dropped the tray and broke about four glasses. No communication between any of the staff. Drunks soiled the facilities with vomit to the point people left to use the restroom elsewhere. It was gross. Items ordered did not show up with the meal. Items were charged that were not suppose to be charged. All in all I had a good time and was very amused. I loved it when they sang happy birthday to Yvette. I have no idea why that place is so busy.

We were all ready to get out of there so we had our dessert over at Yvette’s parents. It was so much less chaotic. So peaceful. We ate our cake and sang happy birthday. I couldn’t resist the sweets on my sweeties birthday. It was a nice ending to a pretty day. So happy to be a part of it.

I slept in, woke up and played some Zelda. Love this game. Still have a lot to do it seems. After wasting time defeating a sand worm I cut my hair and took a shower. I went to meet up with my family. Both brothers, mom, sister-in-law and 3 nephews. Cork & Pig. It wasn’t as big a shit show as I thought. Baby Jackson is so well behaved. The tuna salad was good.

I went on an adventurous journey to HEB with my brothers after lunch. We went for some brisket. My youngest brother had other things which he needed to buy so what should have been a short little trip took much longer. I only agreed on splitting the cost of the brisket and nothing else. I stood my ground. Three $20 Easter baskets I was not contributing my money.

After the store it was a rigorous run at Zelda. Damn that game. I thought I was about finished with it but it seems not. I’m okay with that. I like the game and really didn’t want to give it up. It’s been a long time since a game has captivated me as this one has. Shouldn’t be surprised, Zelda games have been my favorite since I was a little boy. Before I was 10 years.

My brothers wanted to go downtown to some local breweries. I put my game down, it was running out of batteries anyway. Wanted to see Yvette before her church service but I think she was busy getting ready. We went to a place I’d never heard of that apparently opened in 2022 and is closing c2024 due to the building being sold to the local empire. Guess I won’t be going again. After that beer we walked down the street to another brewery and had another beer. It was a nice day. We had some fun. Very mellow. It is great to have them all in for the holiday weekend.

The night was mellow all alone. I called Yvette and we talked for about 2 hours. My middle brother randomly showed up needing matches for a cigarette. He jumped the back fence as opposed to the garage or the front door. Fool. He walked away with some chicken spaghetti. I guess that was a win? I got off the phone with Yvette and quickly went to sleep in anticipation for the following day.

Easter Sunday!! It was nice and gloomy once again. A gloomy holiday weekend. I slept in till 9 and once again played some Zelda. After a trail I showered and got dressed for lunch at Yvette’s parent with her family. As always hey we’re so hospitable and the food was great. We had chicken and beef fajitas, sausage, rice and beans. Guacamole, pico and homemade hot sauce. Watched some UFC Football. San Antonio beat DC. I wanted more food but I had to save room for round two at my moms.

I went home and started making my deviled eggs. After an hour between meals I made my way to my moms. My brothers and family were abundant. We also had our oldest family friends and my brother from another mother with us. He and his wife brought their little 3 week year old. It was cute seeing Yvette and he daughter hold the child. The daughter came over for the baby. That, and of course the Mac and cheese. The brisket was nice. It was a good time and I was utterly bloated.

Holiday weekends never last long enough it are great while they do last. Happy Easter to everyone.

The tyranny of time. Oh how quickly it takes from us. How things change within is grasps. Birthdays are upon us. It’s rather hard to believe you are the age which you are. You never feel that age in your minds eye. When you reflect upon what was the past and the different directions which your life could have or did take, it’s always mysterious how you reached where you currently stand. I know I never could have seen myself where I am now standing. This is a good thing. I only wish it had happened earlier, but that’s out of my hands now. Time takes and it also gives. One learns much over time. Knowledge is a gift and for all that time takes away, the gift of knowledge prevails.

Mysterious socks. Hazel found some women’s sock. Christmas? Very strange. Never seen by me and they were not Yvette’s or her kids. I walked out of the bathroom and Hazel had them. Where from is anyone’s guess. Did they belong to my ex wife and they surfaced while I was clearing out rooms for my future family? Did someone maliciously put them through my mail slot? I have no idea but it’s been troubling my mind.

Yvette has a birthday. Yes, another years has flown around the sun since we became and item. This was also the same week I too her on our first date back in 2022. Crazy it’s been 2 years since we started talking and now we want to get married. What a joy it has been. Love the family I’m getting to be a part of.

For a short week it sure was long. We don’t have work on Good Friday this year, which is great. I’ve been going stir crazy in the office. Thursday Seth took off which meant I had the option of doing his job. Gets me out of the office. I was grateful. It’s been a very long short week. Some of you understand that.

Happy Thursday/Friday!!!

Jalapeño

Saturday brunch w/ Yvette. I made some Eggs Benedict. Dam good.

Bibigo steak & veggies with some pot stickers.

Breakfast for dinner!!! Ham and cheese omelet, hash browns and some sausage links. What a fantastic meal.

Sweet spicy chili crisp ground beef bowl with some zucchini spirals.

Burger salad, animal style.

I made Mexican pizza!!! Total Taco Bell rip off.

Beef Bulgogi Bowl. Date night before the weekend. Her youngest had dinner with us! I think he liked the meal. I think he likes eating something new.

It was a nice weekend spending quality time with Yvette. I even went and had menudo by myself at Yvette’s parents. I thought menudo was Sunday so I missed Yvette and showed up better late than never. The menudo was just as good as always. They also had some barbacoa which was also fantastic. Her mother kept handing me corn tortillas. I left a happy man and I’m glad that I went.

Saint Patrick’s Day. I went out for lunch with my mom. Yvette was under the weather. I guess the weather was so crappy there wasn’t a whole lot anyone could do. I heated up some potato soup for her that evening. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a green beer. No green food coloring but I had blue and yellow. Haha.

The week did turn out to be a pretty one. I really need to start working in my yard. I hate oak trees this time of year. So messy. I wiped out the weeds and it seems that was all that was keeping it not being dirt. Success.

So back in July I royally fucked upon my already bad back. After 6 months of physical therapy, meds for the pain, multiple MRI’s and a meeting with a neurosurgeon I am finally feeling better. The PT really helped. Mondays visit with the neurosurgeon was vastly informative. It was interesting to have the imagery from my MRI explained to me. I was able to recognize the for fucked up disc compared to the one that were normal. It was very noticeable. One in particular was very noticeable. The surgeon didn’t recommend a procedure, but he did say if the pain increases he will set up spinal injections. He said since the PT helped I should be okay if I keep that up.

The PT did help. When I hurt myself in July of last year I was barely moving and falling down. I was force to take campus elevators. I hated that. Eventually I could walk up the stairs slowly holding the rails. I progressed to not needing the rails. Now I can run up stairs again. You have no freaking idea how exciting it was to run up a stairwell. Such a great feeling to have my mobility back. I mean, at one point I wondered if I needed a cain to walk it was so bad. Just need to be very careful going forward in life. Hopefully I can avoid surgery. 🤞🤞

The weekend is going to hopefully be busy. I’ll be bagging leaves and planting some grass. I hate bagging but it must be done. I hair laying sod but it needs to be done. Maybe I’ll find some time to have some fun.

Happy Friday!!!

Jalapeño

Bangers & Mach. A weird Irish meal that’s onion gravy, mash potato and sausage served with green peas.

Sheppards Pie.

Leftover Sheppards Pie.

Coconut shrimp with a spicy sweet chili sauce served with roasted asparagus, Parmesan cheese, tomatoes and a balsamic glaze.

Chicken fajita stuffed baked potato. All the fajita fixings in a potato. I had guacamole and chips as a side. It was tasty. I’m on a stuffed potato kick.

Skillet chicken divan. Chicken, broccoli, cream of chicken, mayo with curry powder and lemon juice. This is a simple quick take on one of my favorite meals my mom would make. Hers was a casserole. Melted cheese on top.

Hibachi teriyaki shrimp with grilled fried rice. Date night with Yvette.

Spring Break again. How? Time flies. The campus was dead and Yvette and the kids took off out of town. I was marooned. Good lord was it not just a slow ass week. Made even slower because Yvette was not around. I twiddled my thumbs. I’m sure glad someone was having fun off work. I was bored to tears. I had very few things happening at work, for good or bad.

The week did start with some excitement, a baby was born. My best friend/brother had his first child. So damn exciting. The baby was adorable. I was actually moved to tears when I saw the boy in person. It was so moving. I’m very happy for the new parents. I know they are scared having a child and being middle age but they will have a lot of support. I have faith. Exciting times.

Damn time change is still kicking me in the teeth. It’s just so dark in the mornings. Even my dogs were confused why I was up and letting them out in the dark. The light in the evenings is okay I guess. I just wish they eventually do away with day light savings. It fucks me up for a few weeks every time.

Friday was terribly slow at work. It was also nice and gloomy and cooler, which was nice. Woke up to crazy lightning and thunder. Liked the thunder when I was in the shower. Unfortunately, we didn’t get much for rain.

I took a late lunch for my doctors appointment so I didn’t have to use any time. This is my biannual check up. Always a good time. I swear to the good lord that my blood pressure is always higher when I visit the doctors. Sheesh. The visit was mostly positive but I have a future with more MRI happy time. Yay me!!!!

Happy Friday!!!

Jalapeño

Saturday morning brunch with Yvette. Tatter tots & chorizo topped with cheese, hollandaise sauce, green onions and a sunny side egg.

Deconstructed chicken pot pie. I’ve done this once before and completely forgot about it until it showed up on my Facebook memories.

Chipotle chicken and rice with veggies. Nothing exciting on the eyes but the flavor was there.

BBQ chicken pizza. I’ve always liked these toppings and I question why I only just not decided to make my own. It was fantastic and I was a gluten and ate it all through the night.

Buffalo chicken twice baked potato. This wasn’t my original plan for dinner. I was going to make a chicken fajita stuffed potato and then Yvette sent me a recipe. I had to try it and I’m glad that I did.

BBQ chicken sandwich with pickled onions and Reaper cheese.

Beef nachos.

I made some Italian peppered pork tenderloin w/ raspberry chipotle & roasted Brussels w/ a balsamic glaze.

Time, it sure does fly by. How are we already in the third month of the year 2024? I mean, I feel like I just put up the new calendar. It’s already going to be spring. Trees are in bloom. The temp is in the 80s. I need to start getting things done around my house for my family to move in. There is still a lot that needs to go to either the garbage or a thrift store.

The week was all office duties. I hate that. It’s mundane. Oh well. Still working the kinks out of our new system. I tried to keep busy but it wasn’t easy.

Thursday I had some awful news. My ex wife’s nephew passed away. I loved that boy when I knew him. Granted, it’s been 3 years or so, but that doesn’t change a thing. He was too young. He stayed with us. Such a sweet funny kid.

The rest of the week was something of a drag. All I looked forward to was Friday night with Yvette. Happy Friday!!!

Jalapeño

Burger salad.

Taco salad.

Chicken with a poblano cream sauce, veggies and cilantro lime rice.

Broccoli cheese stuffed baked potato with a Dijon lemon mustard salmon.

Lemony asparagus chicken stir fry over sticky rice.

Chicken Caesar Salad.

Caribbean Jerk pork tenderloin with some spicy sugar snap peas.

Owen almost went to the vet again because he refused to eat or drink over the weekend. I finally was able to get him to eat some canned food. I need to mix dry and wet to get him back on dry. Poor dog. I just want him normal again. He needs some weight and they can’t just keep cutting him.

Wednesday we had our big morning meeting. The VP’s were all there to give us a presentation strategic enrollment management “SEM”. it was about word for word the same presentation that I heard from them at Staff Senate. What a boring 30 min of my life. Actually since I have heard it twice now that makes it an hour of my life.

After all the BIG wigs vacated some service awards were given out. After that a bomb was dropped. Or executive director said “ I know that word has likely gotten around but we lost Randy yesterday”. Lost him?? What does that mean? He found another job? I knew he was stressed and unhappy. No. He meant that he died yesterday. I was shocked. No explanation as to what happened. We all at first assumed suicide, but surely he would selfishly leave his 2 daughters alone without a parent. His wife passed a few years ago. Turns out it was his heart that gave out on him. Only 48 years old. I really liked Randy and considered him a friend. Our entire office was bummed out the rest of the day. Those poor kids. 9 & 15 years old without a parent. It’s so damn sad. Breaks my heart.

Finally Friday rolled around. It also warmed up. Quite frankly I’m over the cold. Yay sun. Happy Friday!!

Jalapeño

Yvette made chicken tetrazzini.

Beef w/ broccoli over sticky rice.

Cheese tortellini with Alfredo and bacon crumbles. A side of peas. I’m liking my peas.

Sweet spicy chicken with rice and veggies. Good lord this was great.

Crock pot Spicy chicken over rice. Fantastic meal.

I had a lot of leftover chicken so I decided to make chicken spaghetti. I have to say this was a driest for me and I was excited.

Date night had to be put off. Yvette needed to be with the kiddo. I didn’t really want to cook all out so I just started the oven and threw in a potato. I had some taco meat so I had taco baked potato with some chips and queso.

Saturday. Yvette and I went on a pizza date. Mediterranean. We also had some wings and good lord can she strip the meat off those bones.

Sunday Yvette and her youngest went out for our lunch date. We went to Twisted Root for onion rings and burgers. The wait was insane but it was still a lot of fun with the company. After the lunch on the way out he gave me a hug.

Monday was absolute hell. Tuesday things got better. Mid week was better. I was busy and that’s usually pretty damn good. Still learning this new system we have for work. The other guys seemed to appreciate my little walk through which I made.

National Margarita Day was Thursday. 2 years ago I was too dense to realize that Yvette wanted to have margaritas on this day. 2 years later I’m righting that wrong. We went and had our drink and the kids joined for some nachos. It was a fun time and the drinks were tasty. I’m happy we did that.

Owen was up and down all week. Either his old self or throwing up all over my house. I am so worried about the little goofy bastard. Plus the expense. I just don’t know what to do. Why is he still throwing up like that. At what point can they not do anything for him. Friday the vet gave me some meds to help with his nausea. Hopefully it gets him through the weekend. I don’t want to return to the vet Monday. I mean, Thursday he finally had his fucking staples removed. Please lord give him a break.

All in all it was a week of highs and lows. I’m so happy Friday arrived. Happy Friday!!!

Jalapeño

Mongolian beef.

Homemade tomato bisque soup with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Spicy ginger chicken over rice.

Teriyaki chicken lettuce wraps.

Korean BBQ steak, kimchi and rice.

Red chicken enchilada chicken over sticky rice topped with a fried egg.

Tex-Mex chicken squash casserole. My brother came into town so it was dinner at my mother’s. I made the queso. Yvette went with us. It was a good time.

For Super Bowl Sunday I made another pizzas and Buffalo chicken dip. My mom made sweat dip. She was going to watch the game alone so I joined her. Had to pass on Yvette’s parents party. Plus, I kind of still felt the last effects of that damn cold I had. Just don’t want to kick it.

The game with her was a lot of fun. We munched and somehow drank 2 bottles of with. Big mistake mixing white wine and red wine. That’s just a rule not to break. It was fun though. We laughed at the commercials and enjoyed the tight game. To our surprise and disappointment the game went into overtime. I have not seen that at a Super Bowl. I guess that tells you how close the teams were. It started bad for Kansas City but son the end they took the title again. I was very pleased. Once the game was over my tired ass went home.

Some Monday we went live with our new system at work. I spent a few house on Friday training but it was really just baptism by fire. I got ahold of it pretty quick but also kept noticing bugs here and there. I eventually made a training manual with pictures and walk through for my coworkers. We will get the hand of this. Silly to start something without any prior knowledge. The university way.

Valentine’s Day. It was a lot of fun. Yvette and I went to an event inside the University Center where they were selling stuffed animals that you stuff yourself. Her daughter really wanted a highland cow. We found her one and I also bought Yvette a Ram so she would have one on her desk. I stuffed it and delivered it. An early Valentine’s Day present.

I had to miss lunch in order to run some last min errand. I really want us to have a dessert after our dinner. In the rush of trying to prepare for the night I got home with some groceries but not the cake. Damn me. So I set up the house and rushed back to the store. I didn’t have time to drop it off at home so I put it in the work fridge Guess what? In the excitement for the night I left work without it. Damnit. What a fail. At least we have it for later.

I had the house decorated with hearts and balloons. LED flicker candles. The works. I started dinner and she came over. We exchanged gift and we had a nice dinner. Everything was perfect. Afterwards we watch a very strange romance. This was our second Valentine’s together. I’m a lucky man. Here’s to many more to come.

Owen gave me a couple of scares agin this week. Had to bring him to the vet Tuesday and they gave him a shot to help with nausea. Friday morning he was sick again so I once again had a planned vet visit. He was fine at lunch and seemed fine after work. I sure hope we make it through the weekend okay. I hate having a sick dog.

Jalapeño

Sloppy Joe’s like I had as a kid.

Super Bowl Sunday I made another pizza, and dips.

Sloppy Joe stuffed sweet potato and broccoli.

Chicken verde over sticky rice served with beans.

Valentine’s Day with Yvette. Carne asada steak with two cheese enchiladas, beans and Yvette’s famous Spanish rice. The best rice ever. I topped it all off with some diced tomato, cabbage and a cumin sour cream concoction. The meal was nice. The steak had been marinating since Monday in beer, lime, salt & pepper. Tender is the word.

For some reason I just wanted something simple. Since I had left over rice I was going have sausage and. Eans over sticky rice. It was good. Nothing fancy.

Hoisin steak with kimchi and rice. It was going to be date night but her youngest would be alone, which I completely respect and understand.

I just want to sleep. It’s still a recovery because this bug is lingering like a SOB. Damn compromised immune system. I just don’t kick shit like I once did. Friday I was still feeling under the weather. It was also a gloomy week which didn’t help the sleepiness. Yeah

For a sleepy week I was busy as fuck. All over town and burning up my credit card. I don’t recall home many transactions I had that were over a thousand bucks. Crazy week for purchases.

Owen had 6 in of his intestines removed. They had to go back in. I’m really watching what he eats. Poor fool. Surgery twice in a week. Expensive dog. Most expensive but damn is he not my child.

I cheated and had a cookie on Friday. It’s not often I’m offered homemade cookies. Also, not ones this good. I was just being polite. But I tried it and could not resist myself. I ate the whole damn thing. I took extra insulin in preparation for the high blood sugar, which I sure did have. I started beeping but it was worth it.

Happy Friday.

Jalapeño

Ramdom. Steak and ramen.

Fettuccini noodles with meatballs and creamy red sauce.

Bratwurst, sauerkraut, smashed potato w/ pickle and jalapeño. The mustard made it.

Chicken fajita street tacos.

National Pizza Day!! I made pizza for Yvette & my mom. We had a salad as a starter. Lots of wine. I didn’t get a picture of the finished pizza because we got into it so quick. It was tasty. I had a great evening.