This bloody heatwave will not leave us. It’s too hot. This summer has broken me down. I can’t wait for a nice cool day. My body does not want to function when it’s 114 outside. Im over this summer. Like A Heatwave is a great song though.
Robots, man. Robots. The campus food delivery service has kicked off. They started off with 2 so they could work out glitches. They had a lot of glitches. We will eventually have 12 going back and forth across campus. It’s going to be a pain in my ass. The students at least eventually move out of my way but these little fuckers move slow and keep the course. I guess I’ll get use to it eventually.
My nephews were in town till Thursday so I went and saw them everyday for a few hours. Fun cute kids. I knew that the time that I arrived they had to be on the tired side of the day. So was I. I will say they are needy and picky. I need to bitch at my brother for that. He was whiny. Didn’t know the definition of no. Love him also. The oldest kid is perfect. I love him though. Middle kid needs to stop throwing shit at people.
Yvette’s daughter made it back into town Wednesday! Since they were on the road I provided the youngest son with a pizza. I believe he was a happy kid. Thursday the girl wanted queso, chips and steak. I had a task. All the steaks needed to be prepared differently. Med-rare, medium and well done. I can’t say I’ve ever done that. I believe it all worked out well. We ate it all up. It was a pretty good time. I’m glad the girl is back home.
Jalapeño.
Sunday brunch. The weirdest omelet I’ve had. BBQ chicken, pickled red onion with cheese and jalapeño.
Secret taco flat bread.
Taco salad.
Spicy Sloppy Joe frito pie.
Hamburger salad.
Chimichurri steak with smashed potatoes. This meal I cooked for Yvette and her daughter. Her daughter wanted steak once she was back in town. She opted for A1 steak sauce.
Grilled hibachi steak, shrimp, veggies w/ gilled fried rice. We had a salad w/ ginger dressing. I also made a yummy ginger sauce for the food.
The weekend was fantastic. It doesn’t happen often but some weekends we get to stay with each other over night. This last weekend it ended up being both nights. Saturday I fired up the Chiminea for the first time and the youngest two kids wanted to roast some s’mores. I really think it had been about 20 years since I’ve done that and dame was it good. Not good for me but good. It was also very good fun. A little hot for an outdoor fire but worth the fun.
Monday was fucking weird. So I arrive at work and realize I’m the only one of us. “Leroy” wasn’t there and his vacation was over. We all thought it was a bit strange. No call no show. Maybe he forgot it was Monday from being off for so long. 9:30 we get a call from HR informing us that his wife found him unresponsive Saturday morning. He was taken to the hospital. They were stumped so they airlifted him out of town. We don’t know what happened. He just won’t wake up. It as a scary hard way to begin the week. All of us were discombobulated. Left a funk on everyone.
Monday was also Yvette’s oldest sons 21st birthday. I still remember my own 21st birthday. That seems like ages ago now. My friends over served me. For her sons party 20 of us went out for hibachi. I had a lot of fun being with her family. I felt honored to have been included in a family photo. Her father has seemed to have opened up to me. He showed his comedic chops. The made is humorous. Really good people. I got lucky with this one. So the day began on a sour note but ended on a high.
Yvette was having a truly shitty week. Wanted to strangle folks at work, had a battery die on her leading to unexpected expenses, couldn’t find anyone that could work on it in town for under $500 because of the onboard computer. She took Wednesday to drive to the dealership in Abilene and somehow managed to get herself sick. Poor thing. I picked up some Lilly’s Pizza so she didn’t have to cook for her kids. The pizza was great. My poor sweetie. The kids enjoyed and I stayed a while.
Thursday just before lunch some DAMN good news came on an already frantic day. “Leroy” called. He came out of his 5 day coma. Just woke up. It was incredible. The whole offices spirits were levitated. He felt fine. He had a seizure is what they told him. To fall asleep in your own bed and wake up in a different towns ICU had to be a trip. I’m so glad he is okay. They even told him he could probably go back to work next week. I think that’s pushing it, honestly. I really feared to worse. Him not waking up at all or if he did, not being the same. So happy he is okay.
The only complaints I had come Friday was the excessive heat and my sciatic nerve flaring up. I lost sleep over that one. I was really really hoping the pain wouldn’t have lasted all week. I wanted and had planned to go to Dallas with Yvette but the thought of sitting that long…. Excruciating pain. Pisses me off. I did it to myself. I stubbornly moved some stainless steel storage shelves. I should have waited for help. Idiot.
So the Saturday trip to Dallas is happening so Yvette’s daughter can fly away to see her father. I don’t think anyone, including me, is very happy with the idea but she is a big girl and it’s her choice. I’m sure she will be fine. She is a brave amazing young woman that’s doesn’t mince her words. I found that out years ago when I first met her. Proud of her. Has her mothers strength.
Happy Friday. It feels weird being a bachelor on a Friday night. Date night has become what I know. She doesn’t feel great and needs rest for the driving tomorrow. I wanted to go see her but it would be selfish of me. I really wanted to. Hate not going tomorrow. I was looking forward to it. Fucking back and money.
Hope you all have a great weekend.
Jalapeño
Philly cheese steak over white rice. It was perfection.
Steak fajita tacos & black beans.
Happy birthday Noah!!! Bonsai Garden.
Chimichurri chicken cordon bleu. An experiment. I had leftover sauce so why not.
Bacon chicken Alfredo with spaghetti squash.
Monterey chicken w/ veggies.
No date night. 😦 Pasta with grilled chicken, bacon, sun dried tomatoes and a carbonara sauce. I’ve made this before and it was a treat.
We had to go to work Monday and we had Tuesday off for the 4th. Everyone was in disbelief that we worked all day. It was dumb and no one was actually working. After much, no one was really there. It was a horribly long day. I might have cried.
The 4th & 5th I didn’t do a goddamn thing. Yvette came back in town and hung out with me on the 5th. She tried to see me on the 4th but I had crashed. I admit, I had some beers. I watched, or rather had in the background, Independence Day. I think it played 3 times. I grilled.
Thursday was another Monday. How do you like having two Mondays in one week. That’s what I had. My time is so damn confused in my head. What day is it. I unfortunately fucked up my back movie some shit.
Friday. Finally Friday. It started fucking bum. I was distracted leaving my house and didn’t notice my garage door failed to open all the way. I backed into it and knocked it off the rail track in the process bending it. I pulled a Bekah. I was able to fix it with brute force but it wasn’t easy. Could have used 2 people. I was worn out before I even made it to work. Really having the middle of the week off threw me off big time. I had some serious lifting. And big fucking boxes. I didn’t carafe for this week. I was kind of in a funk on top of getting my ass kicked at work each damn day. I was looking forward to cooking dinner for Yvette.
Saturday I didn’t get to mow in the morning like I had planned. Way to wet. Probably for the best. I woke to feed the dogs early and decided to lay down for a second. I was out until 11:34. I guess I needed that sleep.
Hungry, I called Yvette and said I would pick up some Julio burritos for her and her youngest son. We ate and hung out for a few hour and I ran errands. I came home and did laundry and the floors. Went to my mothers for a while and came back home for our date night. Yes, we were making up for the storm delay on Friday.
I cooked roasted potatoes, grilled asparagus, grilled steak bits and poached egg with hollandaise sauce. We had some wine. Planned on watching some movie and guess what happened. Another fucking storm. Wind was incredible. So was the lightning. Just a surprise. Felt it best we call it a night. I just restarted the movies “Thing To Do In Denver When You Die”, which I had half asses watched earlier. At least we had our dinner. I was happy.
Sunday I went on my much delayed mother son date lunch. It had been over a month. We went to one of our old favorites. I had a great time. I left and picked up a bag of ice for Yvette and spent most the rest of the day with her. We made a trip to Sam’s and just hung out. I could get used to this.
Monday was a chore. Yvette and I went to staff senate. I was awarded a RAM star award again. The meeting was rather nothing. I guess someone started talking and I uttered “shit” under his breath loud enough for some to hear. Oops. I had no idea. Really need to make sure my mouth is shut. Can’t be cussing during meetings. Haha. Although the day was a chore the evening ended on a very high note. A much needed high note.
Our office pet doesn’t like the heat.
Quinten Tarantino is not for everyone. I am a huge fan of his works. I am also a major fan of Kurt Russel. One of my favorite actors. Guess how thrilled I was when I heard he would be working with Tarantino. Death Proof is an odd one. It’s a horror movie but also a car chase more. Russels character, Stuntman Mike, is a serial killer whose weapon of choice is how car. His car is a muscle car but for stunts making it “death proof”. Russel does a great job. One moment he is charming and very likable and the next a scary creep. In truth, this film is very feminist. The women leads all kick ass. Very dialogue heaving until it isn’t. The final car chase put Fast and Furious to shame. The movie is also hilarious. I have a hard time calling it a horror but I can see the elements. I highly recommend. Probably Tarantino’s most overlooked film. A friend and I in my early 20s saw it in the theater. We snuck little bottles of hooch in and had a grand time. Maybe that memory also shines a night light on the movie. Who knows. I had and itch to watch it so I sat on my couch and made a movie night. Great idea.
So I was abandoned by my sweetie. She and her family were off to the beaches. If only I had time I would have gone. Jealous much. She has needed it.
Funny how you get so comfortable seeing someone everyday that you really don’t know what you will do when they are away. It’s been a little while since I’ve felt that way. We have lunch together just about everyday. We see each other at work a couple times a day. We see each other every Friday if the world permits. We talk for and hour plus most nights. She has become a part of my life. How fun the beach would be with her.
The rest of the week was terribly slow. Pulling teeth was everyday. It seems a LOT of people are taking vacation. I spent a lot of time just roaming the campus and exploring buildings. I was through with the internet by Thursday.
After work on Thursday I went and had a happy hour drink with a friend of mine that passed his master plumber test. It had been a long time coming. Very proud of my friend and will miss him when he moves on from the college to better pastures. He will be making so much more money that I understand why he would decide to leave the circus that is my employment.
Friday. Finally Friday. I’m getting beach pictures from Yvette. I wish that’s where I was. The boat dreams from a hill. Oh well.
I did once again kill the golf cart. Experiment to see what happens when the lithium battery charge runs out. No warning. It went from full speed to just shutting down. We also discovered that the battery percentage is far far away from being a reliable source. What it says you are at when still has almost a 30% difference once you give it some go. I’d say the experiment was a success. Now we know it gives no warning at all. The gage was under the seat so we fixed that. At least we can now see where we stand when cruising.
Happy Friday!!!
Jalapeño
Date night! Steak bits with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce, roasted potatoes and asparagus.
My own special homemade Orange Chicken Stir-Fry.
One of Yvette’s recipes she makes for the kids all the time and was nice enough to share. Red beans, sausage and sticky rice. I added some jalapeño. The Goya broth was a nice touch.
Slow cooked pork ribs w/ corn on the cob.
Chimichurri steak with potatoes and asparagus. New chimi recipe. Damn was it a winner.
Chicken tetrazzini curtesy of Yvette. Always a real treat. I think this is the third time that I’ve had it. I do add a little vinegar based hot sauce just because that’s how I like it. She is a good cook.
Hawaiian Spam. I know. Not my normal kind of meal. I’ve had a can for a little while and decided to use it. Spam, bacon, pineapple, mango pico and rice. Drizzled with balsamic glaze. Horrible meal. I went in suspecting bad. The meal subbing out the Spam would be good. Fuck spam!!!
The weekend was a lot of fun. Yvette and I went out a few time for food on our 6th month anniversary. We had a few drinks after. Pretty much spent the entire weekend together.
The rest of the week I was sick. Bad sick. Covid again. Felt crummy Monday and Tuesday. Work worse on Wednesday and took two test both showing positive. I stayed home the rest of the week. Oh well.
Jalapeño
Grilled ribeye with a sweet soy reduction, teriyaki grilled shrimp and fresh sriracha steamed broccoli.
How the hell do you not turn 42 with grace. I had a good weekend with my sweetie. We spent a LOT of time together. I guess that what happens. I could spend a day with her. I don’t get tired of her.
We went out for lunch. Brunch. We ran into my ex wife. It was a bit funny. I guess she was looking? I had breakfast pancake egg tacos. Yvettte looked like a million dollars. Our meals were great. I dived in before I would take a picture.
All in all a great weekend made even more special with my girlfriend. She made me some fantastic Cajun food for the night. I appreciate having someone cook for me on my birthday. It’s been a while. I know I do the most of the cooking. I like doing that and cooking for her but damn if it wasn’t nice to have a home cooked meal from someone else. A meal I don’t know how to even cook. She wins me over, over and over.
The week itself was a long boring fucker. One night my car died, blocking in Yvette. I think it over heated at least the next morning it would start. Well that didn’t last. Friday it stranded me again after lunch. What the fuck!!!
Mom, Yvette and I went to The Wharf for my late birthday dinner. Her daughter watched my nephews. My mom needed out. We had a hell of a time as I knew we would. Being around kids all week she needed some adult conversation.
My Friday was a long long day and five couldn’t get around soon enough. It was a teeth pulling day. Yvette dropped me off at my moms to see the nephews one more time before they leave. Later that night I cooked as per tradition now. Our date nights at the house at fun. Tonight’s unfortunately didn’t happen but I’ll see her tomorrow. I can’t get greedy. I had dinner last night. That would make it 3 nights. Haha
The evening ended with me watching a show on Netflix and pausing to watch it storm. It was hell of a lightning/concert of a storm and I wish Yvette had been here with me. I guess I’m not mowing the yard tomorrow after all.
Happy Friday!!!
Jalapeño
Eggs Benedict with diced potato and prosciutto wrapped asparagus.
Mushroom asparagus chicken stir fry.
Pepper chicken stir-fry.
Birthday dinner by Yvette. So damn yummy. The sauce was amazing.
Teriyaki chicken stir fry.
More stir-fry. I was on a roll.
My late birthday dinner at The Wharf. Thai bbq ribeye for a late birthday dinner w/ bottle caps, cream of jalapeño soup & a pinot noir.
Date night beef mushroom stroganoff w/ a side of peas. It ended up just being me but we have tomorrow so that’s good.
The week went by really fast for me. I don’t really have anything much to write about. I will say that the weather was very nice. Cooler than expected this time of year. Always the looming chance for rain.
I did find out it’s a big deal to change your Facebook profile picture to include the person which you are dating. I guess maybe it was. I made my profile a picture of Yvette and I which was taken out at the lake during her daughters graduation party. I just love the picture and I needed an update. I’ve posted pictures of us with no comment but to make her part of my profile, OMG!! People started texting me about it. Haha. I’m happy with all the turns my life has made. I have an amazing girlfriend who has an amazing family. What more to ask for. Of course I want to show her off.
Friday was a bit lame after work. We didn’t have our usual date night. I was invited to dinner at her parents but I was tired and not feeling very social. I met a friend for an after work drink and he was trashed already. I just wanted to go home and get comfortable. The short weeks are the longest. Thank the lord it was a Friday. Cheers!!!
Jalapeño
Asparagus mushroom beef stir-fry.
Korean bbq chicken thigh.
Italian pork tenderloin with roasted Brussels and potato’s.
Chicken spaghetti.
Grilled chicken thigh tacos with beans.
Grill chicken Caesar salad. Oh. Yvette doesn’t like Caesar. I had to adapt. A southwest.
Sausage, ham, cheese, chipotle omelette with refried beans. In a bed of ranchero sauce.
Graduation began at 9. I got there just around 8:45. So many people. I’m not even sure the last concert I attended was that big. A little overwhelming for this introvert but I was in for the long haul. Should have taken a Xanax. Haha.
It was a touching moment seeing Yvette’s daughter walk to her seat in the cap and gown. She had some bright boots. Bling. The pre stage walking was a drawn out hour long snooze but that’s always the case. I just wanted to see her walk the stage. When she got up from her chair and finally made it across the stage with her diploma in had I actually got a little misty eyed. I told Yvette it was my allergies and contacts from mowing the lawn the day before. All in all it was a 3 hour adventure. Speeches, stage walk and after pictures. We didn’t think to coordinate how to find each other before. I was so happy I didn’t have to sneak in.
We did dodge a bullet. The “devil” was in the building. Not sure where he sat but he never found us. I couldn’t have cared if he had. By all accounts the guy is a piece of shit and can fuck himself but I wasn’t going to waste my time worrying about meeting him. Some people can just eat a dick and are not worth the time thinking about. So that’s a nice little cherry on top of a great graduation,aside from long. The girl looked beautiful and happy and that’s what it’s all about. It was her day.
The rest of that day I went home a cleaned more for the party. It motivates me to clean more than I had in a while. I took a break and went for a beer and a burger.
I went to Walmart after lunch just to get party snacks and ended up with a weeks shopping. I now had meals. Made it back home and started some more yard work. Yvette showed up and I took a brief break before getting back at it. I needed a quick drink stronger than a beer. I came back home and made stir fry. Orange chicken peppers stir fry. Fantastic.
That evening my blood sugar went on a rollercoaster ride. It was a complete bitch to deal with. I finally gave up and went to bed. I was excited about getting some sleep before the lake house party.
I slept in till 10:30, got up and showered and drove off to Corner Stop, a fantastic burrito place. I thought I would go ahead and grab some breakfast so everyone that stays the night has something to eat Monday morning. 3 papa’s con chorizo w/ beans, 3 sausage & eggs, 3 spicy machacato. I also grabbed some spicy sauce. It was legit. I’m going to need to figure out how to cook with it over the week.
I took my dogs with me when I went to pick up my mother for the party. I figured it would be one less thing to deal with if they stayed with her and she was okay with that. Thought it a pretty good idea. The party started at 1 but we were a little late on lift off. It was a beautiful cool day in May for a lake party.
The campus lake house and lot was actually very nice. How have I never been. I guess I dodge out of all our silly team building retreats. The party was a lot of fun. I guess I don’t even notice being the only white boy around anymore. My mom had a good time talking and meeting all the family. The food, particularly the brisket, was amazing. He really should have opened a BBQ joint. I had to skip on the cake and cookies due to my ongoing blood sugar issues. By all accounts they were good. The day couldn’t have been better.
So the after party. It wasn’t as many as was expected. We had some unexpected guest. It was fun. Everyone had a great time. I had lights set and I think it was all done well. Pizza and Queso. My lights looked good. I laughed a lot. It was a fun night. They sort of made me miss being young. It was fun with Yvette and her children.
Memorial Day was my fathers birthday. He would have been 73. He would have liked the weather. Yvette and I slept in, as did her graduate. We all had a burrito. It was a lazy day. I took all to eat. Twin Peaks of all places. It was good food and a shit waitress. She didn’t seem to like us. Honestly the worst service I’ve ever had. Details are not needed. Yvette said her boobs didn’t make up for the awful service.
My father.
It was a good and very tiring weekend. I hit the hay Sunday just planning on a nap and I was out. It wasn’t until 2am that I realized I had even gone to bed. Cheers!!
Saturday I celebrated Mother’s Day with Yvette. She has 3 wonderful kids and might be one of the best mother I know. I brought her some chocolate strawberries and picked her up for a date at the movies. A movie I had never heard of. Book Club 2. I was afraid but it turned out to be a lot of fun. We had sushi afterwards, went shopping and just hung out. It was a kind of day that I could easily get used to. Love this woman.
Mother’s Day. My mom happened to buy the gift that I had for her so I took her out to eat. Cork & Pig. We had some wine. We split a breakfast pizza. I was crazy packed. I walked in at the perfect moment. People left the bar. While I waited for my mom 2 people asked if the seat was taken. It took long for our food but we had fun with drinks. Afterwards we we back to my moms and had some more wine. We sat outside because it was beautiful. I love my mother. Hope all you moms had a great day!
The week was a long ass whore of a week. Good but at the same time misery. So so slow. The weekend couldn’t get here fast enough. All my coworkers called in on Friday leaving me to be alone. Some drama between them and they both didn’t want to see each other so they just didn’t show. Oh well. Kept me busy.
My date night with Yvette started off nice. Grilling fajitas & drinking margaritas. . The weather spooked her into thinking she would get hail damage so she went home to shelter. We just had a lot of rain. I’m sure floods ensued. I made her a to-go plate. I ate alone and watched the storm. I had been looking forward to the night but you can’t take a chance when they say hail is on the way and you have shelter blocks away. It was a hell of a rain. Two Fridays in a row. I wish she had been here to enjoy it with me. The thing is, hail is at the front of most storms. If you don’t get it first you likely won’t get it at all. Not many people seem to know this. The short time we had together was fun. I think she was tired but still it was fun. Good good rain!!
Happy Friday!!!!
Jalapeño
It turned out to be a soup day in May. It gave me the opportunity to clean out my fridge. I had some Hungarian beef mushroom soup I could eat. I added corn and rice. It rocked.
Biscuit, gravy and sausage.
Korean BBQ legs with a side of kimchi and fried rice.
Buffalo chicken legs & corn.
Hatch green chili burger.
Taco salad.
Date night at home. Chicken thigh street tacos with peppers, onion, smashed avocado and cabbage. Yvette made the rice. Fantastic rice. Sadly we didn’t get to eat together because she feared the weather would be bad for her car. Really bummed me out.
This is finals week. Where the hell did the spring semester go? I realize I was I la la land for a bit of it but still. the summer looks upon us. The heat is kicking it up. As much as I am across the campus I wonder which students I’ll no longer see walking the mall. One gets used to seeing the same person everyday so when they vanish it’s a little jarring. It’s going to get quiet. Friday graduation my heart was warmed seeing kids taking graduation pictures. Always makes me smile. It’s funny that they done know what the dumpster is for.
Well my silly dogs found a way out of my yard making me feel like I can’t trust them out alone. I think and hope I found the spot. My fence picket was loose in a spot. Yvette was pulling up when some walkers found Hazel. Owen ram back into the yard and started howling. I was on the phone with my mother and went to see what the commotion was. Hazel wasn’t in the yard. Thank lord she went to the nice walkers. Thank them for going out of the way. I think I fixed the problem. Fingers crossed it works. I’ll work on it more this weekend.
We finally got a good rain and thunderstorm. It hit about right when we finished dinner. I was going to need to take an alternate route back. The long way. The road between her and I becomes a flood zone and it’s dark. A little adventure. I was heading home and a car was in front of me. A section of the road on the street always becomes a river when we get heavy rain was raging. There was clearly already a car pushed against the guard rail. The car in front of me stopped for a bit, I guess trying to weigh options and then decided to go. Guess what, also stuck. Idiots. Turn around, don’t drown. Can’t wait to see how much we get.
What a week. Hope you all made it with sanity intact.
Jalapeño
Bacon egg waffle. I added some really hot sauce to the batter and it had a HELL of a kick that went perfectly with the syrup.
Cheese enchilada.
Just a damn burger.
Tuna and seaweed.
Stuffed salmon with broccoli rice cheese.
Pasta with grilled chicken bacon, sun dried tomatoes and a carbonara sauce.
Breakfast for dinner. Omelet, sausage links and toast with jelly.
Date night. This time I grilled at my house and catered to hers. Which was fun. Grilled teriyaki steak bits with grilled zucchini, broccoli & mushrooms served over sticky rice.
En Fuego 