Well Monday was a real struggle. I had been sick and not moving much. A week!! So this was like coming back from vacation and having the flu for a week, or whatever it was. Monday hurt. I skipped my coffee. I and other good advice thought the same. But that meant death. It was… painful. But the day progressed and I was happy to be out. Sure I over exerted myself but what the hell. It also rained and hailed. I brought that one because I washed my car and left the windows down. Yay me. Yay my frozen wet ass after work.
I went with the Yvette’s family for the birthday dinner. The birthday girl looked beautiful, of course. She had a mostly good day. That is about all one can ask for, right. We had a good time. I’m so very happy to be embraced by the family. They are pretty great. I really was able to see the dynamics Wednesday over dinner. All other times together have been either New Years or football parties or one at a time. This was a sit down. It was pretty awesome. Later that night her father invited me to go to the Sunday rodeo. I felt special.
Jody in Physics had a little egg decorating project. Can anyone guess which one is mine? A little hint: it stands out.
The course of the week I did my job and help sarah with hers. It was only fair. She filled in for me when I was out sick. That’s how working together should be. Help each other out if you can. Anyways, happy Friday!!
Jalapeño
Cincinnati Chili.
Birthday Japanese steak house.
Late birthday lunch.
Beef tips & gravy over mashed potato’s.
Teriyaki steak, veggies & fried rice all cooked on the grill.
I spent the whole damn week sick and mostly sleeping. I think it was a cold. I started later throwing up. It wasn’t until Thursday that I remembered eating some sketchy looking mushrooms. Yvette believe the flu. I think the mushrooms got me. I don’t handle vomit. I feel like a swallowed needles. Pissed off because I’m out of sick and having to use my few vacation days. This has not been a great week.
Jalapeño
Chicken hind quarters in the crockpot.
Chopped steak with mashed potatoes, peas and mushroom gravy.
Spring break is here and the campus was a ghost town. I rather enjoyed it. The quiet is a nice break. Spring break also means March Madness. My second favorite sporting event. Usually I have a bracket but this year I didn’t. I also had to watch most the first rounds on my work computer because I just do not have the time to take off for basketball this year. Thank lord it was slow.
I ordered a security camera for the house to spy on my dogs. I want to find out which one of them is getting things off the counters and destroying my things. I suspect it’s Owen. We shall see in time.
Saint Patrick’s Day!!!! I took the day off to celebrate. Kidding. 8 took the day off because the week was so slow and boring. Besides, most everyone on campus was going to be off so why not join the crowd.
Yvette and I went out for some green beers and snacks. Also, basketball. She didn’t know about my random sports quirks. March Madness is amazing. We went to one bar and decided to go to another very crowded bar. Ran into some work friends and sat with them and had lots of laughs. I also got to be a total smart ass to an asshole that was seated next to us. I relished in it. The old grumpy fuck made our waitress cry. Some people are trash. Overall the evening was great and when we made it back to my house we crashed. We both don’t do evenings out so it took us out. What a great night filled with lots of laughter. Happy Friday!!!
Something about this week made me think of my ex wife. It made me sad. A failed marriage. It’s probably because we would go somewhere, usually Alpine, TX. It made me think of my dad. It made me think of my past. The past…. You roll into a town you have not been in a long time and buildings you remember are gone. Torn down. You know something is different but you don’t immediately catch. The past…. No matter what happened, it’s a part of you and you do miss moments. Do I miss my EX? Sometimes. She was my friend. I am very happy where I am and I wouldn’t trade this. Life is something. Our departure was a good thing for me. I’ve found someone. I miss my dad. I miss Alpine, TX. Yes, I miss my ex wife. I think of the days we were happy. We lost that time. I’ve found someone else to make memories with and I’m happy. Im happy. Lord, I am happy.
Jalapeño
Breakfast sausage tacos with hash browns. .
Pizza!!!
Seared tuna with sweet soy reduction over sticky rice with seaweed salad
Brunch!!!
Quesadilla.
Hildalgos combination plate. Cheese enchilada and tacos.
Cork & Pig California salad.
Caribbean Jerk pork tenderloin and snap peas.
Ban Moon lunch.
The kids wanted Sloppy Joes so I made myself a frito pie.
I don’t know what this Texas weather is trying to prove. It went from a high of 90 followed by a day I don’t think even reached 50. I do know I had dinner plans that was grill heavy and a night planned on enjoying outside that failed in many ways. It was rescheduled and instead I went to a birthday party for the Dean. Damn this weather has made me tired. I like the gloomy but not if I’m not home. Also, thanks for fucking up my date night. (Shaking fist at the clouds).
I was on purchase duty again for the first time since October. I’ll admit, I took me a little bit to recall the motions. What the hell did I do in FAMIS? It was nice going out and visiting with all the vendors that I hadn’t seen in the last 5 months.
I suppose it was a good week. Very gloomy. I finally was able to do my favorite part of the job after 4 months being stuck in an office. Friday evening was great and my lady and I had a lot of fun grilling and hanging out till midnight. I have nothing to complain about. Maybe the weekend will expand upon that. We shall see. Happy Friday and I hope all of you had a nice week and an even better weekend. Cheers!!!
Jalapeño
Saturday I cooked for Yvette 2 meals. She got eggs Benedict with sausage, hame and a spicy green hollandaise sauce served with hash browns for brunch. Dinner was my orange chicken stir-fry.
Bibigo chicken thigh.
Just a burger.
My take on a burrito bowl.
Ground Philly Cheese Steak.
BLT
BBQ steak bites with grill okra and corn on the cob. I had jalapeño with mine.
Friday night was amazing with an amazing beautiful lady. Saturday it was off to Austin. My best friend for 37(???) years of my life picked me up. We had lost contact with each other due to life and BS. It was like no time had passed. Off to Austin we go!!!
Most road trips with us is high volume music. Not this time. We chatted the entire way. it was great to catch up. The trip went quickly. That’s what happens when you are having fun. Why can’t the bad bits of life not leave you quickly?
Once in Austin and at my brother we geared up for what was to be an epic concert. Two nada that we had all grown up with for 27 years. Sunny Day Real Estate & The Appleseed Cast.
Oh Austin! What a town. I hate it. I love it. I don’t know what it even is anymore. It was a place I wanted to visit. The place was a destination for good food and great music. I’d travel hours to consume both. Now…. What had the town become.
It’s changed so much. The Austin I enjoyed is almost gone. Eastern away buy “we won’t say who”. I do not recognize or like what I now see. As I write this I paused and thought to myself how much I hate what it’s become. A steaming pile of shit surrounded by flies waiting for a foot to fall upon.
The week of work I was an uncaged bird finally spreading its wing for the first time in forever. I was free to get out and about on the campus. Finally. Stuck in the office was a fucking living hell. I had almost broken. Had enough. I saw so many faces I had missed. Had so many conversations. Some people had no idea what happened to me. Thought I had left. It was great catching up.
It tried to rain on Thursday but we just really had wind and dirt. It was exciting nonetheless. Saw some lightning. The days most anxiety was dinner. I was cooking for a family. It was a lot of fun but DAMN I’ve gory the single man meals down. I hope they liked it. I had a great evening.
I don’t like getting old cause it feels like losing control.
Friday was a day. Woke up to at 3am to the sound of glass hitting the floor only to find my damn dog Owen had gotten on the table to eat the brownies Yvette left. He killed the container. The day at work progressed about as fast as it take an old man to pass a bowel movement. The last 30 min at work was spent going round and round and on hold with insurance.( I gave up and hung up). I get home to find my mail, and Anthony Bourdain book, destroyed by the same dog. Also, my dinner date was pushed back. That I completely understand. She had family things. She made it over later so all was well. It was a nice night. What an end to the week. Sheesh….
Jalapeño
Grabbed some Coopers BBQ to go for dinner. Pork, brisket burnt ends, beans & slaw. Dinner with Yvette.
Spicy chicken thigh with peppers and onion.
Chicken burger with bacon, cheddar and onion rings.
I was invited to a very great Super Bowl party to my girlfriends parents. They had a great spread. I really didn’t have any stakes in the game but I was going for KC. All I wanted was a good game and by god did we get one. This was the first SB game I’ve gone out for in a long time and I couldn’t have been happier. KC won and I was the only one going for them which made the win so much greater.
Relationships are interesting. After 14 years with one person it’s strange at times. Is it a trail? I don’t know. I might be thinking too fast. I’m happy and I have deep feelings. We both do. We bounce off each other with grace. It’s nice to find that in someone. Twice in life. Some people don’t find it once.
I dated after my ex wife left me. I had a few good and some bad. Dating at 40 is a different game. I never thought I’d be doing it. I’m out of touch. There was one person I kept coming back to. Our first date( which she says wasn’t a date but I do) was a lot of fun. It was a sloppy mess on my part. The place we were suppose to eat wasn’t even opened so I made last min changes across the street. It is a great memory. I already liked her. I found her attractive when I was married. I would never do anything. I was married. You can’t deny attraction but you don’t have to act upon it. I am not a cheater. Never. We went on many of dates since the divorce. I had dates with other people in between. I kept coming back to her. She made me happy. Did I have the luck? I think so. I wish I had kissed her sooner.
I never wanted my marriage to end. I loved my ex wife. I meant my wedding vows when I said them. I miss her. She was my best friend. We had our time and it ended. I was a television version of a person with a broken heart. I would have fought to keep us. I hold nothing against her. I wish she had not blocked all communication with me. Cheap immature thing to do. I don’t understand that attack. She cheated on me and I was still willing to be her friend. Now I have found someone else. Someone that pulls my heart strings and excites me. I’m happy. Life is weird. I think I’d probably still be upset with my failed marriage had she not cheated on me. I never vilified her for that. Our marriage was dead. She did what she had to do. I forgive her. I wish we could still be friends. Long time to be with someone and they exit your life. Moving forward has been interesting. I think I might have found the person of my dreams.
I’ve often thought about being alone in the last 2 years. I thought I could do it. I met someone and I realize all over again that I don’t want to be alone. I’ve found someone that keeps me up at night just thinking about. I don’t know what humans are meant to be. I just know that after nearly dying I’m not backing away from my feelings for someone when they arrive. Marbles on glass and thinking too fast. Don’t run from your own feelings.
Valentines I went a good ways out. I wanted it to be a special night. Candle light dinner and a good home cooked meal. Some wine. A movie.
About that movie…. I’ll be honest, it was utter trash. Rubbish. Acting was top notch awful. I would rather watch someone constipated try and take a shit for an 1 1/2 than sit through that again. Pretty sure she liked it. Blah. Romantics. It was fun nonetheless. Just wait till she gets to see some of the weird stuff I watch. Haha.
There is not safety in love. It’s always scary but one has to put their feet in the water. I’m doing that now.
Jalapeño
Brunch on Saturday. Potato, sausage, scrambled eggs and gravy.
Lasagna and rolls.
Eggs Benedict with chorizo, chipotle hollandaise sauce and hash browns. I miss making brunch.
Super Bowl party fajita and much more. Boy do my girlfriends parents know how to cook.
Took the Monday after Super Bowl off and made a chorizo egg breakfast taco with an avocado mousse.
Carry out pizza.
Valentines romantic dinner for two. Steak with balsamic reduction & feta crumbles. Air fried lobster, caprese salad, prosciutto wrapped asparagus and loaded baked potato. Served with wine, of course.
Steak kabobs.
Jalapeño stuffed with brisket & cream cheese encased in pork breakfast sausage sever with shells and cheese. It was experimental but just so-so.
Carry out with my mother and middle brother from the Logic Cafe. Orange chicken. It was HOT. I don’t say that often about food I don’t make. So good.
Saturday I woke up to feed my little monster dogs (more on them later). It was a nice gloomy morning so I decided to lay my ass back down. It’s cold and not like I have the liberty of going out to do anything. I’m burnt out of doing housework. One can only suffer so much.
Speaking of the dogs, they are absolute heathens right now. Hazel barks at nothing all the fucking time and Owen has been getting into things. First he would get in my shower and eat my soap. Not he is bold enough to jump up on my kitchen counters. He gets into my packages that come through the mail. My girlfriends purse was pillaged. Her Christmas present was destroyed. I don’t know what to do. Why suddenly start this behavior I don’t know. It’s as if after my month stuck at home they just decided to go nuts when I went back to work. They are driving me crazy and leaving a bad impression. I sadly have to close them in a room when I go to work or else I’ll come home to some mess. I hate doing that. Any suggestions?
I love my dogs and they get good attention from me. Could it be the girlfriend? Do you think it’s a jealousy issue? I don’t know. They both seem to like her. She has been stopping buy for over 2 month or longer. (I think longer but November was a little foggy for me after the head trauma). Hazel has taken to walking around with one of her toys and crying like it’s a child she needs to keep safe. Owen follows me everywhere. He must be by my side like a guardian dog. These are my children…
The weekend was nice. Saturday was a little boring. I went on a walk out of boredom. After a long week stuck at home I was easily bored and getting my vehicle back will be great. I decided to make a pizza have a date. Girlfriend was willing to partake. We had fun. We ate. We laughed. We watched “You’ve Got Mail” and fell asleep on the couch. Unfortunately my blood sugar dropped and my alarm went off and we woke and I had to find sugar. Ah life, but what a night it was. The dogs mostly gave us peace.
My mother and I have basically had lunch together every Sunday since the divorce. Some days I miss making my Sunday brunch. This Sunday was one of those. Nonetheless we went out and had a good time. I was tired because my fucking dogs woke me up before the sun had even risen.
We had some wild weather swings this week. 80 one day, 40 the next. Big surprise to me was that it rained both Tuesday & Wednesday mornings. I was not expecting the precipitation. Made for some nice gloomy mornings.
I don’t know if I mentioned how much walking I’m doing again. Kind of have no choice not being able to drive. I hate to bum a ride. Anyhow, I’m getting about 4 miles a day. I hope I partially keep it up once the vehicle is back.
Randomly I started playing an old school vibe TMNT game on my Nintendo Switch when we were iced over. This week I really got into it. Reminds me of one of my favorite games growing up and seeing the characters all these years later has been a real treat. I was obsessed with the Turtles growing up. I woke up Saturday morning to watch the carton and I had an entire box full of the action figures. Talk about some good old nostalgia. What a treat.
National Pizza Day happened to be Thursday so what better than to share a nice pie for lunch. I called it in and we picked it up and brought it hope for lunch. Local restaurant. It was a real treat of a lunch.
Friday was the longest day of the week. At least the end was near. We were having a dinner/movie date night at my house. I was cooking something that seemed comfortable and good on a cold night. The movie was a romantic. Your Pl e or Mine. I do like Reese Witherspoon. One of these days I’ll get her to watch some of the weir d stuff that I’m into but until then I’ll just take however I can get my time with her.
Happy weekend!!!
Jalapeño
Pizza topped with cheese, pepperoni, jalapeño, black olive, sun dried tomato & spinach w/ salad. Date night.
Brisket an slaw.
Grilled fried rice and bibigo chicken thigh.
Tortilla soup.
Spicy chicken stir fry w/ broccoli.
Coconut chicken curry w/ sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms & spinach over sticky rice.
Someone watching me? Most people just drove around the random barstool in front of my house. At one point it just vanished.
Well unexpectedly we basically had the entire week off work. They cancelled Monday at 11 and Tuesday-Thursday. Yes, we did indeed get some bad weather. Things did ice over.
Monday wasn’t really so bad. I had which will hopefully be my final CT scan. I started some pot roast in the slow cooker and had dinner with my sweet girlfriend and her some. I think it was a hit. The rest of the week was just stuck indoors. I spent a lot of time on the phone. It was okay but I wanted some interaction. I guess after being home for a month due to doctors orders I kind of like people. Haha.
Friday was the neurologist. View those results. I can’t believe I went to work on a Friday and that would be the only day I worked. The visit was good. It took longer than usual because I wasn’t the only on the rescheduled due to bad weather. Result is I might be able to drive by mid month. Fingers crossed. Friday really felt like Monday.
Jalapeño
Chicken& rice.
Grilled cheese with tomato soup.
Mac and cheese w/ green beans.
Eggplant parmigiana & green beans.
Chicken thigh, asparagus, yellow squash, tomato, onion & jalapeño thrown into the slow cooker. Served over sushi rice and side of avocado.
My leftover from last night over egg noodles. This might be the better way to eat this meal.
The first month of 2023 is almost behind us. How the fuck did that already happen?
We have a pet. His name is Birdie. Birdie is in love with himself. He can’t stop looking in the mirror. Ever since coming back to work I have seen Birdie admire himself to the point of obsession. He can’t look away. Does he have an emotional attachment to his reflection, I wonder? Is he dim to the point that he believes his reflection is another bird he must joust with? Whatever the case, Birdie has become an amusement for our office. We come and go and Birdie is always by his mirror. If Birdie is happy so are we. If Birdie leaves we will forever be saddened.
Well we finally had a few days which it actually did feel like winter. Rain!! About time if you ask me. I want a little bit of season. I finally was able to light up my fire place. How I miss that. Can’t not like some soup weather. My girlfriend seemed to enjoy it as well. I don’t know how to make a small batch of this soup so it was nice to have someone to eat it with me. It’s probably been since my wife was still under my roof that I last made it. I call it green chili chicken & dumplings. It’s prepared in a slow cooker and it cooks for 7 hours. I don’t consider it that spicy but I guess it does have some heat. It has not quenched my soup cooking appetite though.
People are so damn strange. I’ve had some weird encounters with them this last go round. My ex randomly attacked me via text message. That was a real treat. It seems I serve no purpose in her life and she blocked me every way she could. I have only tried to be civil. What can you do. Damn shame really. I had a question I needed to ask her about a recipe that she once cooked all the time and I had to figure it out all on my own. I think I succeeded. But damn, people. I’m still not sure what that was about. It was early so I’m thinking she was still drunk from the night before. I know how it goes.
Not much to write about this week really. I took Monday off because why the heck not. The rest of the week was just a typical week. Two retirement parties I attended. Crappy free food. It is what it is.
I should mention I am having disciplinary issues with one of my dogs, Owen. He has taken to getting things off my kitchen counter and eating/destroying them. It all started, oddly enough, with him eating my bars of soap out of my shower. Don’t even understand why he would be doing that. What is the appeal. I had to start closing the door to my bathroom and eventually I got a shower rack. He still tried. He destroyed a gift I had for my girlfriend. He also took her purse off the counter and raffled through it one morning. He has gotten ahold of packages. Destroyed my mail. He didn’t use to do any of this until I went back to work after my long month off. I don’t know if it’s some sort of separation anxiety but I don’t know what to do with him. I have taken to closing him up in a bedroom but I really hate doing that. If anyone has any suggestions please share with me. If he wasn’t so damn sweet I might be looking for him a new home or seeing if the ex-wife wanted him. It’s getting expensive and frustrating to say the least.
Jalapeño
Asian chicken thigh.
Teriyaki meatballs.
Chicken & dumplings.
Bekah’s chicken & veggies. This was the first time in 14 years of eating this meal that I actually made it myself.
So it’s a new year. I guess that’s a good enough time to reboot my blog, which has been dormant for months. 2023 has already started out as an improvement to the last. Especially the ending. I was hospitalized, forced to stay home for a month and finally told that I can’t drive for at least 3 months. I still can’t drive.(Although not driving has warranted me certain time with a special person). I had a Intracranial Hemorrhage (brain bleed) from falling down because my blood sugar was out of control. Due to this I started having seizures which led to more falling down.(I also did bite a dime size chunk off my tongue which wasn’t cool). I was a stubborn goat and refused to go to the hospital until it was almost too late. I almost died. So 4 days in the ICU. The first day I was on a ventilator. Somehow I managed to remove it with my tongue. The nurse said she had never seen that happen. Bless the nurses and some nursing students. They witnessed a lot of me. My doctor said “He fell down a LOT. What a joy. I was frequent to ripping out my IV’s. They had to restrain me and place some IV’s in my feet. I got to become a pet to some of the nurses. Some found me fun because I was able to communicate. One was partial to taking me on walks. Damn walker. I hated that thing but I couldn’t walk without it. I recovered much faster than they originally though. There was talk of me being shipped out of town but I was able to walk myself out of the hospital. Talks of physical therapy. It’s not over. I still have some memory issues. Particularly with names. I’m still going to have at least one more CAT scan. I do not miss that hospital food. Now I’m on a pump and seriously watching what I eat.
I found someone over the course of time since I have been out of the hospital. I am a lucky guy. To be fair, I had gone out on multiple dates with her before we actually started seeing each other but I was just too damn slow (edit: cowardly) to make a move. I’ve liked her for a while. I knew she cared when she came to see me in the hospital with my mother. I came out of a fog to her sitting next to my mother. I made a face and thought “oh shit” and passed back out. I was first in mild shock because I didn’t want her to see me like I was. I wonder how much she saw.( Unfortunatly many saw a lot of me). She came back to visit me two more times. After having a near death experience you start to realize that you should take hold of your life. If you have feelings for someone, let them know. You might not get another chance. So I kissed her one night after dinner. I should have kissed her months before. Now I have a girlfriend. I’m happy. I always found her attractive but I was married and never even thought a thing. Why would I? I can now. It’s weird how life works out. Maybe this will be “the one”? Who fucking knows. Follow the heart where it takes you. She makes me feel alive while before I was feeling empty.
Btw, I’m not editing the cuss words. Fuck. Damn. Shit. Bastard. Bitch. Etc.
So I am back at work after the long month stuck mostly at home. Because I can’t drive or lift anything over 30lbs I am basically forced to be THE office guy, which you all know I FUCKING HATE. I miss getting out on the campus and seeing friends. I miss getting out on the town doing business with people for the campus. My coworkers have taken me out to see some people and it was great. They have been so good to me. Hopefully I will be cleared soon. Fingers crossed. I’m sure it gets a little old for the people that are shuttling me around and running certain errand for me. Bless them all for what they have done.
Only a couple weeks back at work and the Christmas vacation begins. It was a shorter one than I’m used to but that was okay with me considering I’d been off the entire month of November recovering. The break began with a trip to Houston to be with all the family. It’s a long trip & I hate Houston but what else would I do? Skip Christmas and be all alone. I was also sad that I would be away from my girlfriend but I turns out I would see plenty of her when I got back in town. Besides, it was only 4 days. I finally was able to meet the youngest nephew. He was a real joy. The trip was rather fun all around. My sleeping arrangement was a little lame, the bottom bunk bed. Oh well, the kids had fun burying me in stuffed animals every morning. Had some good meals and good drinks. Saw some people I have missed seeing. It was a nice change. The ride back was not. After Houston I still had the oldest two nephews to entertain. They wore my mother and I out. So much energy. After some time with them I would see my lady. It was nice spending full days with her. I even was invited to her family New Years Eve party. They can cook for me any day. The break ended and work was slow waiting for the student to come back and the semester to begin.
I have gotten to walking again due to the lack of vehicle mobility. Good for my legs. I feel so much better than I did before my hospital stay. It’s nice. I was eating on campus since I can’t really make it home and back in the hour. Lucky for me the weather has been agreeable.
One other thing I should mention is how much fun it is to cook for someone again. Someone that had never had my meals. Someone that each meal is a first time experience. She really seems to enjoy them. So the meals are fun again.
I’m posting a load of food pictures since it’s been so long. No descriptionsb.
En Fuego 