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.
The weekend was fairly productive. That is when I wasn’t cleaning up after dogs. One was sick and the other that I’m watching likes to mark. So I somewhat fixed my fence that my ex wife destroyed. I also used the chainsaw on some tree limbs and cleaned the floors. When cloths shopping. Got groceries. Adult shit. Yvette and I did some brunch on Sunday. Not a lot.
Sunday I started my med for my foot, Gabapentin. It’s for nerve pain well it worked for my foot but boy howdy did the side effects knock me out. I work up dizzy and with blurry vision. I was also nauseous. I couldn’t function enough for work. I was pissed because I need to build up my vacation hours.
It was a fairly busy week. Went fast. Friday my coworkers took off leaving 4 short. Payback for Monday off? Who knows. Who cares. One worker was way to moody on Thursday so a repeat of that on Friday would have been hell. Besides, it kept me busy.
Cinco de Mayo!! I bought stuff for margaritas since Yvette would rather have them at the house than go grab one. Cheaper for sure. I was also going to make a pasta. I decided last minute to make something that better went with our margaritas. How about chicken fajita tacos!!! We had ourself some fun. Happy Friday!!!
Jalapeño.
Chicken fajita mix.
Sausage egg breakfast pizza with a white gravy base. crust made from biscuit. I made a breakfast pizza. I used biscuits and gravy. , sausage as the topping. So basically biscuits and gravy but a pizza. It was fucking great.
So I attended my very first Quinceañera with Yvette, whose son was in it. How was this a first experience? It just was and I’m happy it was with her. Turned out she also did not know a single soul there so we were kind of partners. At least she had a clue what she was getting into because I was clue less.
It starts with a service, this one being at a Catholic Church. I opted out of this part because I really needed to do something and the setting felt too intimate for my liking. Something meaning going Sam’s to by a new TV and having a fucking anxiety attack. Besides, the other part I attended was from 3-12 and I knew I needed my strength.
It’s a meal and it’s a bunch of dancing. Also, the father was real quick to fetch the two of us some Dos Equis. Like, really fucking quick. I might also add that I was the only white boy there and no one was speaking English. I can pick up on some words but I can’t speak it back for shit. Now bless them, a few did address me in my native tongue. They probably took pity on how out of place we looked. Who is the pasty white boy with this beautiful Hispanic women. We did get glances, that’s for sure. Mainly from older people. We both don’t care and expected it.
I was anxious as I tend to get. I hide it well but anxiety rides with me at all times. I had that beer and it helped take that edge off. Maybe 100 people? Probably less but it was spread out at a lake facility. Once a number of more people and more photos taken, it was time for food. Do I have to say fucking amazing? It was fucking amazing. As authentic as it gets. Beans, rice, fajitas, the best guiso I’ve ever had. Hot sauce and really hot sauce. Guacamole. Pico. Salad. I was in Heaven. To be honest with you, I went back for more twice that night. Fucking pig I am for good food. They also had sweets which I cried I couldn’t have. You pick your poison and I chose the meal.
After that is was more drinks. The dance was next up at 7. Let me talk about what a dance it was. Wow. So much goes into these. I had no idea how elaborate they actually were. At one point they had a choreographed dance that looked like it came straight from Super Bowl Sunday. I shit you not. I have no idea how much practice went into that and I had no idea her son had that in him. Quit frankly, I was completely impressed by the spectacle.
After that’s was over it was Tim for the DJ to play for everyone’s dancing pleasure. This was also the time an open bar suddenly appeared. Before this moment it was only beers. As before, the father approached and offered drinks. I find it rude to turn down such great hospitality so I obliged. I also got more food.
Next came the band at 9. They could play. Tejano of course. I liked it. I’m rarely not a fan of music.
It was a fun experience and I was happy to share a first with Yvette. The setting was beautiful and the evening was nice. Everyone was really nice to this out of place gringo. The things that I’ve missed out on in life I didn’t even know that I was missing. We left together and kissed under a very visible Big Dipper and Orion due to that little lake light. Great Saturday.
Sunday Yvette’s oldest son had a mud bug broil at her house. Not the biggest fan, but for me he was doing some shrimp as well. I love the other fixings like corn, potato and sausage. They day began great than Yvette and I had a little misunderstanding. Was it at my house or hers. I thought it was at hers but she thought it was at mine. Miscommunications are a bitch in relationships. In life really. In the end it all worked out.
I arrived at her house around 5:30 with the propane and some margarita. The kids were all outside and the mud bugs were getting a bath. I’m very happy we ended up at her house because I was able to see the kids in their natural environment and it was the first time I really have spent time at her home, which I’ve really wanted to do. I know it’s silly, but I needed that. To feel more welcomed. We are always at my house so it was a nice change.
The mud bug broil was finally right for the mass execution. The slaughter. Poor bastards. 15 pounds. I’m a little sympathetic for them. I was somewhat traumatized by the first time I saw a live lobster meet it’s end in boiled water so I remember that whenever crawfish die. Seems so cruel. Also, I grew up not eating them but having them as sort of pets. They fascinated me when I would catch them. ANYWAYS, they died. When they were done we ate. I wasn’t planning on eating as many as I did but I just kept going. The talk at the table was a lot of fun and the laughter was great. Yes, I like her kids. They seemed comfortable and I really had not spent that kind of time with all 3 at the same time. I don’t know how she does it. I am sure my mother can relate having 3 boys. I was stuffed and had to excuse myself around 10 PM. Fucking Sundays and Mondays looming. I was just happy to have been “by default” welcomed into the family home.
We are going to blog about ghost real quick. It’s been a while. Hazel refuses to walk past the guest bathroom so she goes through 3 rooms around to reach the master bedroom. This has been for a little while. Sunday night while I was peeing my shadow moved. It reflected itself? It moved from one side of the wall to the other. I thought someone was behind me. A little freaked: yes. Scared: no. But what a nice way to say I’ve missed you. Weird as hell and I’m not making my ghost shit up. I know some of you probably think I’m on something when I talk ghost but I’m not. Ah, life.
Tuesday afternoon Yvette, Miami and I went to the campus green house “open house”. It was interesting. The last time I recall being in there was before Covid with Jody, Jamie and a few other on a private tour. They didn’t have a whole lot at that time but they sure do now. The guy giving the tour did well. He was a plant nerd through and through. I ran into a guy that works at ASU that knows all about cactus. He was there just to see how many of theirs they might be killing. Snob, but hilarious. He probably know more about cactus than most in town and they probably should be taking his advice in that section.
I like to watch people. We are fools. I’m not at all excluding myself. Just seeing what people do. What people do. We do some SILLY ass shit. Work was one of those days. Good day to observe. People are strange. One of the strangest amongst my people lost his wife. It was sad and proof life is cruel. People are weird. What we do on this planet is weird. I’m weird.
Happy Earth Day!! They had a nice little celebration on campus. Giving away succulents. Potting plants. Potting seedlings. Handing out free T-shirt’s. They also had a bunch of band students plays jazz music. It was really fun and the turn out was nice. I wished I could have stayed a little longer. I did make a point to observe some of the beauty that is the planet we all reside on and I imagined the beast that did millions of years again.
Happy Friday!! Cheers!! We made it!!
Jalapeño
Sweet & spicy Thai chicken thighs over sticky rice with ginger soy green beans.
Bourbon mushroom Swiss burger & Grilled banana with butter, brown sugar & cinnamon.
Easter weekend was great. They released us Friday and both my brothers came into town. We always have a good time with each other. The actual day of was great an memorable. For lunch I was invited to spend Easter with Yvette’s family. Amazing bbq. Brisket, sausage, chicken legs, ribs. You name it. I felt honored. After that meal she joined my family for our late lunch/early dinner. She finally was able to meat my youngest brother Keith. I think they day was pretty amazing.
Not much to say about the rest of the week. Until next time, cheers.
Jalapeño
Quick breakfast pizza.
Excellent menudo from my girlfriends after.
Chorizo egg tacos.
Second Easter meal. I don’t know why I didn’t get a picture of the BBQ Yvette’s dad made.
I was going to write about the rodeo but I didn’t go because of blood sugar issues. Typical bullshit. I ripped my pump off and tried to tape it back down. I didn’t want to wast the money and insulin. I guess that did not work. Yvette and my mother were notified all morning that I was extremely high. I just put the thing on!!! So my body was a wreck. I felt like shit. I missed the damn rodeo. I could have gone, yes. But I’d have felt like hell. That’s the first rodeo I wanted to go to in over 20 years. I felt bad either way. I wanted to go with them. I planned on going with them. I hate my sugar. I hate it’s unpredictability .
Well it reached 90 as a high at the start of the week and by the end of the week it was in the 50s. Out came the jacket again. My lord it was a week. Short due to actually having Good Friday off but not was it long. I had to find things to do because being my desk week I had no one in the office. I started taking lunch at 1. This was primarily to alternate times with Yvette, who usually takes lunch at that time but has been taking lunch at noon to go with me. Makes the afternoon shorter and I do like that.
Another birthday party. My other father, my best friends dad that has know me since I was about 2, turned 70 and had a little birthday happy hour party at their house. My mom picked me up and we attended together. I was the youngest adult there for the longest time. Great cocktail meatballs. Great hooch. Good time visiting.
Good Friday was a great day. Cooked a great brunch pizza for Yvette and it was nice and gloomy. The day off was needed. I thought about mowing the yard and I decided against it. Fuck working on the day off. Yvette and I hung out for a while and I went and did things around town. My family came in and they ate things that I could not. It was a nice day and an exciting precursor to the Easter weekend. Lots of time with Yvette. Happy happy, joy joy!!
Cheers!!!
Jalapeño
Korean bbq steak.
Hoisin steak.
Fajita chicken with Queso.
Over cooked burger over beans. It was still good.
Mac noodle Goulash.
Chicken on a stick with a sweet soy reduction as a glaze. Seaweed salad, rice and some pork dumplings that were kind of weird.
Made brunch pizzas. Chorizo egg, tater tots with a Hollandaise sauce as a base. Mozzarella cheese, of course.
En Fuego 