My final week before the holiday begins. 17 days of freedom. Words cannot express how excited I am. No idea what I’ll do, but I’m away from boring work. I decided to make it a small one by taking both Monday & Friday off. Great decision. I could really get used to working a 3 day week. Would it be frowned upon to make a habit of this?

Once again, a rather un-exciting week w/ very little going on. Monday I was all over the town shopping & running errands. The town was nuts though. Does no one work anymore!!! Over all it was a good day. I felt accomplished. I was certainly more productive off work than I had been at work the past 2 weeks.

Tues-Thursday. Work. Nothing. I was in and out of the office. It was really cold and sunny. I do not like cold sunny days. It should be cloudy and cold. Also, the wind. I do detest the wind. Cold and cuts to the bone. Also, the dirt in the air. Gross. My nostrils said heck no!! I felt like I was in Lubbock, TX again. The wind and dirt was the bane of my existence.

The work week ended with a little spa treatment on Thursday. Paraffin wax for our dry cracked hands. Yes, that’s how universally dead the campus has been. 4 of us had time to wax our hands. Jamie brought a paraffin bath kit. Yes, she has one of those… I’d never even heard of it. It was a rather weird sensation, have wax and plastic bags on my hands. I felt sort of cripple. I couldn’t use my hands. While Yvette was functioning just like normal. Usual motor movements. Clearly, not her first rodeo. Peeling it off felt like shedding. Afterwords I could tell the difference, my hands felt soft. The things ladies do. Pretty sure the Dean was thinking the same thing.

So Friday rolled around and I was supposed to get a beeto (burrito). I rolled out of bed and got dressed. Waited. Never heard anything. Oh. He forgot it was his week. “Eyes rolled”…

Morning started off nice and gloomy, but a little windy. I ran errands, read my book & lounged around. Had more coffee than I’m accustomed to. Took at trip to Target and wasn’t brave enough to go inside. The parking lot was freaking FULL. I just couldn’t. I chickened out.

It was time for the trails. I walked for an hour. It was nice to do that and I look forward to the walks while I’m off for the next 17 days. Walking around work just isn’t the same.

That pretty much sums up my week. So exciting.

Jalapeño

Huevos rancheros pizza. I have been wanting to make a breakfast pizza for months not and I always chickened out. I was intimidated by the idea. Wasn’t sure what steps to take. Had different ideas and couldn’t settle on one. What do I use for the sauce. What protein to use with the eggs. I was so indecisive. I finally settled on it. Just make it already. I layered with spicy tomato sauce, refried beans, chorizo & jalapeño topped with cheddar cheese. Now how do I keep the eggs from going all over the place? How about onion rings? Crack the egg into the rings and it stays firmly in place. So I baked for 15 min. Wasn’t sure how baked eggs would be but they surprised me by not being runny. The yokes had a custard like texture. Garnished with fresh jalapeño, avocado & cilantro. We were all very impressed. It was amazing.

Made some caldo de pollo. It was a cold night. I think we were both happy with this.

Bibigo steak! I grilled some jalapeño, onion & carrots to go with it. Bekah made some sticky rice and I made some sriracha broccoli.

Soy glazed beef tenderloin w/ miso ginger sautéed asparagus. Basically how I make my tuna but with steak. Which is better, I don’t know.

Bekah’s chicken & veggies. It’s been a LONG times since she has made this meal. Always a favorite of mine I was excited to have. Of course it was great. The picture certainly doesn’t do it justice. That’s a mixture of chicken, tomato’s, mushrooms, asparagus, yellow squash & spinach. Seasonings and cheese. Love it.

Sweet & sour chicken. That’s 3 Asian inspired meals in one week. I was ordered not to make it 4 on Friday.

Spaghetti squash & grilled meatballs w/ spicy marinara sauce. Grilling the meatballs… that was the f***ing trick. What a treat.

Cocktail of the Week: Mexican Chocolate.

Again, a rather uneventful week. I suppose I could complain about the unseasonably warm weather, but I’m kind of enjoying being outside. I want it to feel like December, but this is also nice. I took my time cruising the campus on the golf cart. Why not? Nothing was happening. After last week being stuck like a fly in a spider web, I was staying out of there as much as I could.

I conformed to the neighborhood. I put a little Christmas tree at my curb. I was going to do it until I saw some on my street. WTH, it’s kind of fun. If it’s a new tradition I will welcome it. This year more so than any, new traditions that life the spirit are all so welcome. Maybe next year I’ll “spruce” it up a little bit. No pun intended.

It might look better than the campus tree. This thing was pretty the last few years but they decided to “upgrade” to a 20 footer. I just don’t like it. Can’t get behind it. Eye sore. No no.

I also thought our office could use a little bit of holiday cheer so I found a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I’ll only be in the office for another 4 days but my coworkers can enjoy it for another 8 days. Now that I have it I’ll decorate the office every year. It plays Linus & Lucy but I didn’t put the batteries in. I can see that being abused.

Speaking of work. Ever since we got back from the Thanksgiving holiday the cleaning crew has been driving me insane. It’s like blitzkrieg at 8AM. I just can’t take it. 3 people show up and mop, vacuum, and generally crowd our tight office space. It’s too much commotion too early. None of us like it. I immediately fall into a bad mood. I told my boss that I’d just start taking vacation and show up at 8:30 once they have all left.

Exciting week, right?

Jalapeño

Chorizo potato egg tacos. I was cooking the potatoes just fine and when my back was turned someone added the raw chorizo. I cook these separate and add them together for a reason. The end product was good but not exactly the texture I was going for. Nothing that I’d share with a friend.

Comfort food. Mac & cheese, green beans and grilled chicken. Simple and to the point.

Red enchilada chicken with a sunny side up egg. All I cooked was the egg, Bekah did the rest.

Skirt steak fajita with bells and onion. Pico, ranchero sauce and queso. Delish.

Bunless burgers, classic style.

Tikka Masala. Bekah pointed out that’s it had been a while since I’ve cooked this. Easy and delicious.

Chick-fil-A nugget tray & Domino’s pizza. Bekah had company so this was it.

Cocktail of the Week: Guess!!

Down with the pumpkins. Sad day. My favorite seasonal decor. I got my worth out of them. They have been making me happy since September. It’s still a little sad to have them down.

I was off Monday and Bekah stayed home sick so we put up all the Christmas decor. I realize I have so much more fall and I need to work on my Christmas. It was fun decorating. A tradition that we do it together. I wish she had felt better and was able to enjoy it more.

No students until January 25th. Staff working in skeleton shifts. It’s going to be a long December. I had one of the most boring weeks. Perpetual boredom. I did… nothing. I spent more time browsing the web & on my phone than I did doing anything work related. I mean, I vanished for over an hour one day and no one even missed me. WHY ARE WE HERE!!!! I think because many people are “working” from home makes it all the worst. I feel like a prisoner. Am I a little jealous? Maybe a bit at times.

Really not much to talk about. Clearly nothing eventful transpired. If the rest of the month is this boring maybe I’ll take it all off.

Song of the Week:

Jalapeño

I got a good idea from another foodie that I know. Tamales and fried eggs. I picked up some chicken tamales, made a green sauce and fried up some eggs. Don’t forget the beans. What a treat this was.

Teriyaki chicken over sticky rice. This meal was extra extra spicy.

Chick-fil-A rip off nuggets and scalloped potatoes. Comfort meal all the way. I even had some Chick-fil-A Polynesian sauce.

My own orange chicken stir-fry. The little time it takes to make the sauce is SO worth it.

Broccoli cheese chicken soup. This turned out to be a delicious meal on a cold night. Pure comfort food.

Queso burger. I wanted Velveeta. Eating a block of melted cheese sounded great. Well, I was out of f***ing chips!!! I just made a beef patty mixed with jalapeño, onion & cilantro. Cover with melted gold. Super duper dinner!!!

Cocktail of the Week: Rum & Coke

I grew up on science fiction that doesn’t mean I want to live in it.

A two day week. What a joke. The campus was a ghost town. I tried to spend time visiting with the friends I had that were still around. Why are we here? No one is doing anything. Again, what a joke. I spent most my time driving around trying to find things to do.

Wednesday I had to myself. I managed to sleep in till 9ish Went for a walk. Decided I needed some new sunglasses so I went for a quick shopping trip. Store was packed. Went for another walk. Middle brother came in so went to visit. Have some drinks. I cooked. It was a nice evening.

Thanksgiving. Bekah & I couldn’t do our usual tradition where we go to a diner and drink coffee and have breakfast. The place closed. D*** you 2020!!!! So we made our own at the house. We vegged for a couple hours before we went to my mothers. It was a small gathering this year. 4 of us. We didn’t hold back on the spread though. Somethings are hard to dial back. Especially when you are accustomed to large family gatherings. Besides, Friday my youngest brother, his wife and 2 kids would be in. Leftovers will be consumed? It was a nice quiet Thanksgiving. We visited. Watched the Cowboys once again lose a game. Good times.

That evening it was Thanksgiving pt. 2. Half my family didn’t get a proper Thanksgiving spread. I honestly don’t care for leftover Thanksgiving. Too much carbs and I’m sick of it after the first meal. I made myself a carb free tortilla pizza to tide me over.

Friday. I was a couch potato. Good thing, I had to wait for a delivery. I hate it, waiting. They give you a window of 4 hours and it never fails that the delivery arrives at the end of that window. Motherf***ers!!! At least I had a book to read and was able to pass the time. I don’t sit still well. Dune.

It was great seeing everyone. The kids are getting so big. Teddy wanted to look for ghost. I hid in a closet behind cloths and made spooky noises. He also cracks up at fart sounds. Typical boy. Patrick is really moving around. This is only my second time to be around the little guy. D*** pandemic… It’s hard to believe that I have not left this town in almost a year. That’s depressing. I kind of believe 2021 won’t see me traveling much either. I was one vacation in Florida in April that was planned and booked before the country was put on lockdown. I’m both excited and afraid of that experience.

Song of the Week:

Jalapeño

Broccoli, onion, jalapeño chicken & cheese. Comfort food at its best.

Fajita steak. I cut the skirt steak against the grain which is a pain in the a** but the payoff is well worth it. Made a marinade with beer and spices, sitting in the fridge for 48 hours. Red & green bell peppers, red onion & jalapeños. Pico and a ranchero sauce. This was by far the best steak fajita that I’ve ever made. I have a tendency to buy the preseasoned from HEB. Not any more.

I cooked the pre-Thanksgiving dinner. It was chicken, onion, jalapeño, yellow squash & red enchilada sauce. I’ve made this ice before as an experiment. This time we added white rice and some street corn off the side. The dish blended very well. The family was impressed. Hey, it’s easy.

For 9 years Bekah and I have had a tradition where we have breakfast at BoBo Kitchen Thanksgiving morning. Since they have closed I guess we will be starting something new. Chorizo jalapeño onion cheese omelette. Still have ranchero sauce to use. Refried beans. Yummy. Not the same as a BoBo dinning experience, but what is?

Thanksgiving spread. Turkey, dressing, sweet potato casserole, mashed potato’s, sautéed bacon green beans, spicy Brussels.

Low carb tortilla pizza.

Cocktail of the week: Scotch on the rocks.

Well we made it. It’s time for finals. It’s hard to believe the semester is at a close. Even though it’s early it still can’t already be the end of November. Domino days falling one by one. It feels like just yesterday we were posing for the first day of school photos. Where did the time go? Maybe the collective anxiety on campus ate it all up. I mean, this fall passed in a blink of an eye. It was also relatively pain free. Our numbers remained much lower than I expected, until recently. From the get-go I was expecting things to not run so smoothly. I’m glad to have been proven wrong.

Once this week passes the students go home for over 2 months. That’s a winter break I’m jealous that I never had while in college. What will the campus be like in that time. On a normal semester when the students leave its SO slow. We twiddle our thumbs. I’m trying to imagine 2 months of that and the boredom of it all is maddening. I’m considering taking every Monday & Friday off for the month of December. Not joking.

I guess I should mention that the stores are running out of toilet paper again. Paper towels. Napkins… Yeah, that’s happening. What, people didn’t learn the first go round? Of course not. I’ve said it before when this all began and I’ll say it again now. A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it.

Not much excitement at work. I feel like I was basically working for Admissions. I helped transport over a thousand pounds of junk mail for them throughout the week. Good times. After lots of cuss words the facilities guys finally put together the Christmas tree. We don’t get out traditional tree lighting, it’s going virtual, but I think I’ll still go see it in person. From a distance. With a mask. Maybe… I finished off the work week with glitter all over my a** & chair. Great send off.

On a very random side note: people that can’t whistle. I feel sorry for people that can’t whistle. It’s a small joy, to whistle a tune that you love. To just whistle a tune constructed from your own mind. It’s soothing. And these poor people are missing that. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah. Whistle that and tell me it doesn’t elevate your mood? (Do you even know that tune?). Whistling is essential to my song writing process. Lots of melodies arrive from a random whistle. Not to mention, these poor unfortunate souls don’t get the pleasure of completely and utterly annoying their spouses with show tune jingles and other god awful ear worms. It’s a truly satisfying thing to do to the one you love. These poor folk that can’t whistle…

Horror Film

Since I had the night to myself I figured I’d watch a horror movie that I’ve never seen and would probably be too disturbing for Bekah. Lord of Illusions. Clive Barker. The man that made Hellraiser. This was a movie I caught a glimpse of at the age of 14 and quickly turned away from. The imagery was… disturbing. Graphic. All things f***ed. I’d forgotten all about it until today, Friday. Why not give it a try. Eat some pizza. Yeah…. not a movie to eat with. I remembered why I had turned it off as a wee teen. It’s good. A nice film noir horror!!! Disgusting. All around an unpleasant evening.

Horror Film

Jalapeño

Another breakfast bowl. I cooked some pork sausage links, some seasoned potatoes. For the eggs I threw in some fresh pico del gallo.

Pot roast. Comfort bowl.

Armidillo eggs with grilled okra. Cleaning out the freezer meal # 1.

BBQ pork chop with some baked beans. Cleaning out the freezer meal #2. Pretty blah looking meal. It was perfectly cooked and tasty.

Croissant egg cheese bacon sandwich. This came from campus. This thing was amazing!!! It had no right tasting as good as it did. I skipped lunch on this day. Didn’t need it. And for under $4 it’s a real steal.

Hoisin tuna steak, asparagus & rice noodles. Cleaning out the freezer meal #3. I’ve done hoisin chicken. Hoisin steak. Hoisin pork tenderloin. Why am I just now doing hoisin tuna? It was so good and so simple. The rice noodles I tossed with rice vinegar, soy sauce & cilantro. Winged it and won. Bekah was impressed. Said it was like watching an episode of Chopped.

Chicken yakatori. Sort of.

Bekah was gone so I made a pizza from scratch. Pepperoni, jalapeño, red onion, mushrooms, & black olives. Bueno!!!!

Well… our numbers are up. Higher than ever before. What happened? What is everyone doing? Is it all the no mask wearing mouth breathing motherf***er’s? Undoubtedly! We clearly have a problem here. Wasn’t the virus going to disappear after our election? 🙄

The campus sort of feels like it did back in March. So many rumors, gossip, uncertainty. Are we closing. Are we working from home. Are we to shift to skeleton crew. With 1,012 new cases since Monday everyone is freaking out, as they should be. 116 active COVID cases on campus. Many people on quarantine, including my friend Yvette. She is well, but had a bit of an ordeal. Let’s just say they didn’t break it to her well. That’s really an understatement. Boy oh boy was she ever pissed. Rightfully so. To be told you were in contact with a positive but ever told who this person was to know just how in contact you were. Preposterous. She is now getting a little pandemic leave out of it. Some time at the house. She deserves it after the stress she went through.

Crazy a** week. I took a mental health day Monday not realizing how badly I would need it to get through the rest of the week. I walked the trails. I fed the ducks corn. I ran errands. I visited with my mother. I relaxed. I’m glad I did all this. I can’t imagine having worked a full week once Friday finally arrived. I was f***king done. DONE!!! The lack of decision making by the people that make decisions was giving me a headache. By 4 o’clock I was ready for an adult beverage. I suppose I should be thankful for the gloomy morning.

A chance for rain. Minimal, but there. Give me something good. I need it.

Jalapeño.

Saturday nachos. Italian nachos. Made with wonton, Alfredo, and mozzarella. Topped with real goodies. Naysayer’s be d***ed!!! It might not be 100% Carino’s, but it was my take on Italian nachos and it was delicious.

Chicken fajita bowl. You will likely see more bowls now that we have these “dinner” bowls. I like them.

Breakfast burrito bowl. This consist of scrambled eggs, chorizo & mushrooms, avocado, jalapeño, tomatoes and cheese. Bekah is doing the Keto diet and I’m doing my best to help.

Teriyaki burger.

Slow cooker Asian pot roast. I’m not sure why I’ve not done this before. It’s my basic Asian marinade that I make for everything else, but applied to a roast and slow cooked. It was rather amazing.

Tuna!!!

Cilantro lime chicken. Bekah made this one. The flavors were out of this world. I wanted seconds.

Usually on Friday I have an idea WTH we are having for dinner but not this time. Rummage through the fridge and pantry for ideas. I had chicken thighs. I have ramen noodles. Some Panda Express orange sauce. I can make something of this. Another bowl meal.

Cocktail of the week: Scotch

This was written on election night.

What a year for a presidential election. What a s*** year. People will disagree with me. But I do not do politics. That’s doesn’t mean I don’t care. But I don’t see the point in living every day of my life wound tight as a spool of yarn worrying about it. The f***er’s that run our country will not change because of me. Besides, they are all one and the same. If you believe otherwise….

So an election year. I have heard SOOOOO much bulls*** my head wants to explode. From both sides. People eat it like it’s a bowl of LuckyCharms. That we believe in a person that claims to know what is best for us that we have never met. Never will meet. That has the authority only because they have the means to reach that position with wealth. How can we relate to these people? They are not us. They never were us.

We have 2 babbling buffoons that are both too old to be making decisions. You have an age which you must reach to run. We should have a cut off age. It makes no sense. NONE!!! So here we are. Two diaper wearing halfwits. Yay, America!!! Great choices.

Let’s think about this. When the options are so bad that on election night the country is boarding up building in case of riots. Do we really have the people we need running for office. Does this not say a f***ing thing to any of you? Bloody hell. These two candidates are not what our country needs. But we have to have one or the other at this point. Because we have completely fallen apart. We have f***ed up. We have lost our reason. I’m sorry, but we have. This American dream is becoming a nightmare.

You want a true president? That’s someone that never aspired for the job. Someone that isn’t arrogant enough to believe they have the right to rule over others. Not someone that is trying to to reach the position, but someone the people want to rise to the position. Someone that doesn’t have the millions/billions to be wasted on a campaign. Money that could be put to so many charities. So many good causes. This is why our system is flawed. That individual is lost. A person that might make the best leader never will because he isn’t the super rich. He isn’t trying to become a leader.

I’m tired of the divide in this country. It hurts. Hatred isn’t a way to live. We need to erase hate. Divide. What does division do for anyone? We have no reason to act this way towards each other. We are all the same. We are born of the same heart. A heart that was born with kindness for each other. Love one another. It’s not hard, my friends. Just be nice. A little bit of kindness goes a long way. People remember it. When they feel it, they feel something. It might be happiness. It might inspire them to share a little of their own.

With my head in the sand I will try and drift into a peaceful lull and hope the country doesn’t burn over night. Whatever the outcome. For I am not watching thing s***!!!

BTW, it’s silly to have diarrhea over an election.

To conclude: While it has been a year, I have been happy for a lot. Although I’ve had some bummer days, I’m not dwelling on the darkness. I see too much light. I’ve made new friends. Stumped my toe and not broken it. Read some good books. Had some happy endings (Not that kind, you perves). Lost weight. Eaten great pizza. Saved money. Dreamed of vacations with my wife. Organized my sock drawer. Accepted the fact that I am weird. While we all miss the world that was 8 months ago, let’s please try and make the most of the one we now live. Let’s hope we all look towards the positive. Towards the light and away from the dark. We are in this together. Focus on what is good, not what is bad. We got this. No matter what the election results might mean for you. We got this, friends.

Jalapeño

Stacked green chicken enchilada.

Bunless burger. I put Carolina reaper pepper in mine.

Chicken Alfredo w/ sundried tomatoes over broccoli.

Teriyaki steak w/ grilled asparagus & grilled pineapple. Yes, it was rare. Delicious.

Chicken Caesar salad.

Friday I eat alone so I thought I’d try something Bekah can’t eat currently. I keep hearing about this little joint in town so now is the opportunity. The street tacos were amazing. I can’t wait to try some others. These were Asada.

It’s the perfect Halloween. Beautiful weather. Saturday. A full moon!!!! Could the trick or treaters get any luckier? Oh. Yeah…. F***ing COVID!!!! Just another holiday kicked in the teeth. I had been worried about this one for months now, being that it’s my favorite. I was worried it would be totally canceled. Probably, maybe it should have. I don’t know, but it wasn’t. Because it wasn’t, we decided to say screw it. Safely hand out candy. We had hand sanitizer. Only hands in the candy would be our own. We had mask. Which… in the moment we often forgot to put on. It was the fun. Boy did we have fun. Lots of laughter on our front porch. All they needed to look at me….

The idea to dress as a woman began as a joke. You see, I always do creepy. That’s what I’m good at. My brain is rotten from all the horror movies/books that’s I’ve digested over the years. It’s what I know. I know macabre. What a thing to admit. So anyhow, cute somehow turned to me being a lady. To the point that it was discussed so much I really couldn’t not do it. Also, Bekah had been trying to put full makeup on me for what feels like most my life. She was very enthusiastic about me being a woman for the night.

So the week before Halloween I solidified this idea by finding a wig and dress. I know a seamstress to help me find my size. That was a conversation I never thought I’d have. Even with everything procured, I wanted to back out. I began talking myself out of it. “I might disturb children.” “Will this be frowned on in the future?” “ What will work think!!” “Will some conservative father beat me up for being a pervert?” Legit concerns? Probably not. I was just being a coward. Had it not been for my friend Yvette, I might have succumbed to the fear. She said sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone. That stuck with me. So I stepped miles outside of my comfort zone.

Bekah applied my makeup. She went all out. I have utter respect for all you ladies putting this stuff on. I know you are used to it. I was not. When I finally saw myself I decided this was by far the creepiest Halloween costume yet. Nothing about this was cute. I disturbed myself ever glance I took in the mirror. Well, she finished just in time. The doorbell rang. I cowered I the kitchen. That’s when I heard: “Where is Jordan?” Oh boy. Someone is here for the freak show. So I creeped around. It’s Yvette’s group. I wasn’t yet in my dress so her daughter told me to go put it on. Haha. I obliged. The looks on their faces. Priceless. She said: “You look pretty. You need heels. That’s a thin dress.” I was cracking up. Of course she needed a picture. Who wouldn’t. It wouldn’t be the last. That boosted my confidence for the night. Thanks, kids.

So the night progresses. A few friends brought kids by. We had a decent number of door to door treaters. It was a slower night than the year before. That was to be expected. The pandemic. I don’t know if we did the right thing. We tried to be safe. This was the first time since March that we participated in anything. We had fun. It was like the old days when people could go out and have fun without a worry. We both needed it. Just once a year. My favorite time of year. Happy Halloween.

Bonus: We had fireworks & pizza!!! What a night.

We saw our earliest measurable snowfall this year. 2020. Full of surprises. The campus wanted it to happen. We had our fingers all crossed. But a snow day in October. Too good to be true. Wasn’t it? Then we got the news of a weather delay! 10 o’clock is when I have to go to work. Things were looking good for us. We all kept our fingers crossed. Guess what!! It paid off. Sleet and frozen drizzle most the night and I wake up to the news the campus was closed for the day!!! Woot woot!!!

I got up to check out the scenery. It was about as much a winter wonderland as we ever get in my neck of the woods. After admiring the beauty of it I decided my dogs had the right idea. They were back in bed. I joined them & managed to fall back into sleep until around 9:30.

Out of bed and showered what was I to do with myself. After inspecting the roads I determined they were safe enough to drive on. I thought about lunch and made a quick list for the store. I also really wanted some hot tea. So I left for groceries and warm tea. While waiting for tea I received a text from my neighbor inquiring whether or not I still had power. There went my carefully made lunch plans. No power, no cook. Did I mention it was 32 outside. At least the beer I bough could sit on the back porch. Darn power outage. Kaput were my plans of watching reruns of Seinfeld.

I decided to get out of the house. Frozen lilies sounded fun. The park was completely ice. Kind of a fun sight. On my way back to the house my car informed me that I had a low tire. I didn’t want to wait at Discount and I didn’t want to pay for air. No one should have to pay for air. The jerk that started selling it. It’s a sad thing when you have to ask around to find where there is free air, but I did just that. Other option was to drive from point to point looking. What a waste of time. Anyhow, I found free air.

Because of the power outage I had to scrape my lunch plans. I went with some yummy spicy chicken from my favorite Thai joint. Happy I was. After lunch I ran errand that I needed to do. I was productive.

Once back at the house it was time to get the knife out and start a carving. I didn’t want to do my usual scary pumpkin. I went with a silly happy pumpkin. Once a year tradition taken care of a little early so we could enjoy it. Good times.

Will Wednesday follow suit? No. We all wished for at least a delay but our luck had ran out. The day on campus I noted most everyone seemed to be in a better mood. It’s as if we all needed that snow day to preserve our mental health.

The rest of the week was just like any other week. Nothing to write about!

Horror Movie

The Thing. Once again, John Carpenter. I basically grew up with the guy. The warped my mind. Any who… this film I’ve seen at least 100 time. Probably more. I don’t know. It’s a horror film that I’ve seen so many times I don’t even consider it a horror film. It’s one of my top 5 films of all time. It’s engrained in my brain. I knew this film when I was in second grade. I remember teacher at that time saying it was the scariest movie she had ever seen. She was horrified that I knew the movie at my age. She want expecting any of her student to know what she was talking about. Thanks, dad. The film is set in Antarctica. A USA research station with a mixed bag of scientist, technicians & etc. They happen upon an organism that can mimic them. Consume and mimic. “Trust is a tough thing to come by these days.” Starring Kurt Russell, on of my favorite actors and possible hero, the movie is in good hands. The practical special effects are some of the most horrifying that I’ve seen. The score, done by legendary Ennio Morricone, is a moody classic that just gets under your skin. Everything about this film is perfect. The ambiguity. Just a classic movie with all pieces having fallen right into position. If you have not seen this classic, do yourself a favor.

I suppose this concludes my horror movie section until next October. Hope some of you enjoyed.

Jalapeño

Bekah made some chorizo potato and I made some hot sauce. They married well on the plate.

It got REALLY cold. Slow cooker chicken & dumplings.

Leftover chick & dump. I added some to make it a little different. I think I liked it better.

Salisbury steak… but broken down. That’s what I did.

Skillet King Ranch Chicken. This is just simple. I don’t like to bake. Taste just the same.

Bekah being gone I went HOT. This was sort of my lunch plans from the snow day pushed back. Sweet & sour chicken with jalapeño, pineapple and Carolina Reaper peppers. It was… stupid hot. I had to take breaks. Do you know what though? I throughly enjoyed it.

Cocktail of the Week: Old Fashioned

The weekend was our anniversary. 6 years. We had been in the talks to do something for months but with all that was going on in the world what could we really do. When we travel we like to go places. We are foodies and we like to sit at the bar while we eat to engage in small talk with strangers. Sometimes that small talk gets pretty interesting. We make friends. That’s just not happening. I know things are open, but we are still living like it’s March.

So what did we do? We just did absolutely nothing. I decorated the house with candles and roses and kisses while Bekah was out Saturday and we just had a lazy romantic weekend at the house. We watched chick Flix’s and horror. We cooked. We had drinks. We had conversation. It was a rather nice weekend. It will be nice to go somewhere again, but if it’s just us and our house again, I’m okay with that to.

I don’t have anything to say about the week. I was trapped in the office most the time. Each day felt the same. LONG.

Horror Film

Prince of Darkness. Another Carpenter film. This is the one that started it all. Introduced me to true fear. Warped my sweet little brain. Gave me a phobia of black beetles (I guess that’s a form of Entomophobia?). Gave me my favorite genre of movies. I had to have been 6 or 7 at the time. My parents went out to eat with my aunt & uncle so the older cousins were in charge of baby sitting my brother and I. (At that time their was just 2 of use, youngest hadn’t come along just yet). Once my brother was asleep my cousins thought it a good idea to put on a horror film and let me watch it with them. I thought this was so cool. This was forbidden. Something mom & dad wouldn’t allow. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Brief spoiler free synopsis. The church has been hiding the origin of evil. A team of scientists from a university are brought in to study an old relic that’s been kept underneath and old abandoned church. A priest who knows more than he is telling accompanies them. Weird scary s*** ensues. No spoiler to say that the origin of evil is contained in that relic. This was my first movie experience with the devil. It scared the s*** out of me. One scene, in which a man literally falls apart and becomes a mass of crawling black beetles has scared me for life. I’m not afraid of much. Can handle roaches. Put a harmless black beetle on me and I might scream like a child. The film is also very smart. As a kid, I didn’t understand all the physics mumbo jumbo. I understand a lot of it as an adult and appreciate the film even more for it. I highly recommend this one for your Halloween viewing.

For our anniversary weekend we start of Saturday night with carry out from The Wharf. We had bottle caps and cream of jalapeño soup to start off with. Main course we split beer batter shrimp and Hawaiian chicken. Win.

Bekah made some Huevos Rancheros from scratch. This was a first for her and it was excellent. A great anniversary brunch. I was totally impressed.

Spinach manicotti for our anniversary dinner. One of Bekah’s al time favs.

Bunless mushroom Swiss burger. This was the best I’ve done. All I can figure I did differently was add red onion into the meat. The mushrooms I usually blanket with Swiss but I used as a garnish. I might have cooked the mushrooms differently. Who the f*** knows. Bekah said “remember this one”. I will try.

Made one of my 3 orange chicken recipes. This one is the simplest because I don’t have to make the sauce. I just use whichever store bought I feel like. On this night it was Panda Express. It was a good batch.

Okinawa taco rice. Bekah cooked.

Italian seasoned pork tenderloin w/ spicy Brussels sprouts & a raspberry chipotle sauce.

Originally it was going to be Bibigo steak but it got COLD. I couldn’t pass up some soup. I got home and went through the pantry looking for what ingredients I could throw together. I had green enchilada sauce so why not make up some sort of green enchilada chicken soup. Onions, peppers, corn, pinto beans. It can’t be bad. It wasn’t bad. It was great.

Cocktail of the Week: Hot Chocolate w/ Stout Jameson. Great cold weather drink. BTW, I clearly don’t endorse the message on the mug.