Saturday all alone. I woke up to my girl Hazel giving me a bath. Somehow she had managed to get above my head in bed without me noticing. I can think of worse ways to awake. It was gloomy out. Pretty perfect. I desired a burrito. I went and got a burrito. It was magical. After that beauty I found myself in Hobby Lobby looking at pumpkins, glass, and all sorts of other s***. I somehow exited the store without anything. The same cannot be said of Lowe’s, where I walked out with yet another house plant. I’m that f***ing person. HEB was next and it took a whole minute in and out. That’s all I needed to do.

I couldn’t figure out lunch. I was alone and didn’t really feel like going out. Plus, graduation weekend. No thank you. I ordered some carry out. I’ve become very familiar with carry out over the last year. We are buds. Got some for Bekah and delivered her some lunch. I think she was happy and not expecting it. I ate and couldn’t finish. Bloated.

I than decided since it was my fathers birthday I needed to get his bottle of hooch and have a drink with him later. He would have been 71. We would have been in Alpine, TX celebrating like we did every year for his birthday for over a decade. That’s just what we did. Load up and go to Alpine for his birthday weekend. Get a good drunk on. I miss that man. Hard to believe he would be 71. Needless to say, it was a little bit of an emotional day.

I decided to see my mom. Just a short visit but always fun. Her dogs are goofs. I walked away with a Chimenea. I was gifted. Didn’t know I needed one. Didn’t know my wife wanted on. It was a good visit. She has flying pigs.

I came home, Bekah got off work and I cooked. She face timed Slovak for a while. We had drinks. She did karaoke The bane of my existence. She had more drinks. Maybe too much. It happens.

Sunday we slept in till 10. It was great. It was gloomy. She felt like “a**”. As she should have. Turns out half a bottle of vodka was consumed. Drinking and FaceTiming with the Slovak. Who was actually supposed to show up on Sunday but because of the shots Saturday evening was incapable of doing a f***ing thing. Better off. Monday would have been a real tragedy if she had. The pain…

We collaborated on some breakfast nachos that turned out to be the motherf***ing BOMB. Yes, I just said that. I can’t stress how awesome they were. Bacon, scrambled eggs, beans, melted cheese, jalapeño cilantro. Salsa.

The afternoon Bekah wanted to go get a drink. We found a friend and had some drinks. Haleigh is a freaking hoot. Always the pessimist & great for laughs. I do not believe there is someone in this world so fun to f*** with. Real treat. Of course probably one too many. We ordered pizza.

Monday I awoke with a world class hangover. It was my turn to hurt. A rare thing for me. Thank god I was off. It’s the whole bar experience. I’m just not used to it after the last year. I can’t pound shots of various liquor. Thank the lord it was gloomy. I slept in till almost 11 and needed it badly. I don’t sleep in and here I have 2 days. The idea of functioning at 100% seemed awful. I went to HEB and just about died from the experience. The struggle is real.

Note: I went back and checked my blog last year. Yes, I was hungover on Memorial Day. Must be a theme. I was crying like a little kid a year ago just like I am now. Eye rolls, please.

Crockpot pork butt. Someone shared a recipe for a change. I got that going and than Bekah and I went out and search of food. We ended up at Outback. I bet it’s been since 2018 since I had been in the place. The food was good. The drink I “needed”. It was a wet gloomy day and I couldn’t have asked for more. Just not the hangover. It eventually went away.

63 degrees on the last day of May. Heavenly.

What’s Memorial Day without a little grilling. I meal prepped some burger patties for the week. It felt so f***ing good outside. I was greedy for more rain but really I was satisfied with the conditions I got.

So the tacos turned out amazing. The queso was great. Why on earth did I meal prep? I have so much leftovers.

It’s raining, I’m happy & full. Hope all of you had a good weekend. Gloomy weekend here. Cheers!!!

High strung people make my a** twitch. So do people that have a b**** about everything in their f***ing lives. Right now so does the Ice Cream Man that is cruising through my neighborhood with his f***ing song. Damn the guy/girl. Don’t know the gender. Also, people that decide it’s a good idea to try and make a left turn into heavy traffic all the while blocking everyone else from going anywhere. The worst!! How do they do it? I mean, I lack the patience to sit so long. These alien f***er’s don’t mind sitting 5 min to make a left turn when they could have gone right and made a block? WHO ARE THEY!!!! You know what else I can throw on the a** twitching list? The f***ing post office & the people that wait in line for 30 min to just get stamps. You can buy those elsewhere. Please stop taking up my time. No-it-all motherf***er’s. A** twitch. That lottery ticket cash in d***hole. A** twitch. Being the only person that takes out the trash. A** twitch. Heck, my barking dogs. A** twitch. Probably my youngest brother. Irritating f***!. A** twitch.(Love you, broheim. You know it’s true.) And this Ice Cream Man. For god’s sake, here we go again. My a** is literally twitching. May he/she end up in the depths of hell.

We have new residents living amongst us. Squatting on our front porch, no less. I call them Richard & Harriet. They are expecting child. Accommodating as we are, they are welcome to stay. It would be rude and likely terminal for the baby if we attempted relocation. I’m happy for a guest that doesn’t mind the porch. Easy to clean and no hassle. They are a little shy though. But that’s understandable. They don’t make my a** twitch.

Mock Orange rocked!!! Then streaming concert was just what I needed. Yes, a Friday would have been better but beggars can’t be choosers. They played a very good set list. I probably have not seen these guys since 2005? Such a tight act. Only an hour but well worth the money. I told Bekah that we need to try and go to more music events in the future. I used to live for concerts. The travel. The crowds. The music. And the booze. Such great experience. I’ve had drinks with many of my favorite musicians back in the days. My a** never twitched.

So we had a surprise Friday. It turned into a half day. I took Bekah out to lunch. A thing that NEVER happens on a week day. I ran errands. I went and saw mom for a little while. I had a nice unexpected cloudy trying to rain afternoon. Trying… I was so happy. I even went to see the lilies. Happy Friday!!! No a** twitch.

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Song of the Week: “High Octane Punk Mode” by Mock Orange. The concert I watched via the internet. I miss concerts.

Jalapeño

Bekah is really Keto diet right now so I came up with a pizza burger. I grilled a patty, put pizza sauce, fresh mozzarella & pepperoni on to. Roasted some mushroom and red onion as a garnish. Served over a bed of warm pizza sauce. It was pretty amazing.

Ham, cheese & egg muffin cups with some roasted broccoli for brunch.

Beef fajita steak with green sauce, onion, jalapeño and cilantro. pretty good.

Spicy chicken thigh street tacos. It was apparently a taco day. Two other friends were having some variant of taco.

Spatchcock chicken. There was a much cruder term for it on the kitchen menu that I won’t say here. Basically half a chicken with some fresh salad. It was delightful.

BLTA wraps. I could eat this every day. Is it healthy?

Queso burgers. Topped mine with some avocado.

Not the meal planned but the one we decided on. Ban Moon Spicy Chicken. So delicious. Finally a good decision.

It’s so quiet with the kick off of summer. Not like the last few semesters have been loud. Since the pandemic things have not been the same. I kind of like it right now. Mask are no long mandatory on campus. This actually might take a bit of getting use to. Is the world going back to normal? Unfortunately, not. Products are still on back order, a lot of the country still lockdown & we will probably have to get a vaccine for the rest of our days. But you know what’s great? We live in a beautiful world and can adapt to such small things.

A week of rain again? Well I woke up to rolling thunder Tuesday. RAIN!!! Already half an inch by 7 AM. Let’s just say getting up before the alarm goes off I’m generally not happy. This Tuesday I was a happy f***er. Great way to start the day. Saw some pretty gnarly video of tornados not that far from us on The Weather Channel that morning.

It didn’t rain enough for me but beggars can’t complain. Actually, let me complain. I wanted to get out in it. Drive in the rain. I was out the door and a f***ing painter came in. They are the worst. We have to wait on them. Wait for a phone to ring. This gut likes to wast time. I called him out to his boss once before. I might again. He killed my rain drive.

I said the campus was quiet, but my office was not. I was a busy busy bee. With the kids gone it’s time to fix everything. I was all over the town. Some weeks I have to find things to do. Not this week. It should have made the week go by fast. What it did was this: the morning half felt like a day of its own and the afternoon was another day. I thought: “That was yesterday. Nope, it was this morning. Wednesday felt like Friday. Not a good sign. We did get some more rain, lots of gloom & some Mammatus clouds.

I hate the words “abundant sunshine” together. It means misery to me. When I hear that in the mornings before work I cringe. So Thursday that was it. I was blinded going to work. I had forgotten what the morning sun looked like. I hate it. “Abundant Sunshine”. I don’t even want that s*** at the beach. Dreadful. Why do I live here?

Friday was my burrito day. It almost wasn’t. Someone else was going to buy thinking it was their day. Technically I suppose that was correct, but because of my flawed Friday the week before I was unable to buy. In the end I couldn’t let them do it in good conscience. Silly, I know. But it felt like I was cheating. Skipping out. Not going to be “that” guy.

Once again it was a busy day. The week was relentless. You’d think that would make it go by fast but nooooooo. People had me running well after the usual hour on a Friday. Finally 3:30 rolled around and I said screw this and took off on the golf cart. The ribbon cutting for the museum that my dads exhibit is in was happening at 4. I gathered with friends across campus and watched a live stream. Yeah, exciting it was not but it was good to watch and I kind of felt I needed to.

Bekah was staying at her sisters so I had some “me” time. I was going to cook up some heavy carbs and I had paid for a live stream concert I was excited to watch. That’s pretty much it, friends. Hope you all have a nice safe exciting weekend. Cheers!!!

Edit: The concert isn’t until the 25th. F***! I had everything set up. Ha ha. Oh well.

Song of the Week: “Empire Builder” by Typhoon

Jalapeño

For Sunday brunch we did something different. French toast. Bekah did the cooking of the toast while I knocked on the prep work and the bacon. It was delicious and we were in carb overload.

For dinner I decided to just make something up and use things from around the house. Made Mac and cheese with velveta and bow tie pasta. Cooked some chicken breast seasoned with Italian dressing. Topped with bacon, green onion and jalapeño. It was a high carb day before Bekah starts her diet.

Steak kabobs with some southwest macaroni salad.

HEB stuffed salmon with some cheesy broccoli. The broccoli though.

Steak bites and some veggies. The veggies were good. The steak was trash. I f***ed up. I was lazy and just bought already cut stew meat. Idiot. That was TUFF!!! Flavor worked, but it was a workout chewing.

Bunless burger patty with some beans topped with jalapeño.

Teriyaki chicken spicy fried rice.

So it cooled down again. It was like winter in May!! It was cloudy. It was wet. I don’t want it to end!!! It felt like somewhere in the northwest. I should have been in high spirits just because of this, but the week was hard.

It was a slow boring week. I knew I had a funeral and a drinking arrangement on Friday. I slept like s***. I drank more than I needed. Vacation mode & a 20% discount. It was also, as mentioned, gloomy. I had “no want to”. Again. I had to drag myself to work on Wednesday. Too soon for another mental health day. I sooooo wanted one. I’m done. I’m just done. Jumping into my car and just driving sounds appealing on some days. That’s life. Everyone hits a rut from time to time. Haha

Sadly, my “want to” only began to appear on Thursday. Why….. Another day of little to do but also one of good laughs. A friend had a coworker totally go off the deep end. Even for her. My own office was completely inappropriate. I strongly believe myself and my coworker all have something wrong with our heads. The things we get our kicks off. We also found a treasure trove of old campus newspaper and memorabilia which was great fun to go through. All in all, I generally love my coworkers. We are sick, but sick together.

Another semester down, another graduation. Clearly this ones a bit different than the last. A little more “normal”. I don’t even know what that means anymore. It’s wild to think. I feel like I was just taking first day of school photos. Did the year feel quick for anyone else?

Friday was a heck of a day. “Want to” gone. Sewage backed up into our house through the shower and tub. It was a city issue. They were knocking on the door when I was trying to leave. That’s how the day started. I made it to work and hour late only to go to a funeral and hour later. The boss and I went. It was emotional to say the least. My coworker who I’ve called “Jimmy” lost his wife after a long and short battle with cancer. They had been married for 44 years. High school sweet hearts. When he got up and attempted to sing his and his wife’s song, broke down into sobs. It hurt. It really hurt. Took a lot out of me.

Upon returning to work I found myself slammed on a day I wanted to do nothing. I was having one f*** of a morning. I told my coworkers “I am going to lunch, f*** this place.” I went home and just contemplated 2 things. 1) Do I take a brief nap and wake up feeling worse, or 2) do I have a beer and hope for the best? I choose the beer. I don’t ever do this. I know in the work OP their is nothing against it. WTH. To admit this is something I shouldn’t be saying but it really did improve my afternoon. I was reinvigorated. I was friendly. I had some “want to” again. I could make it!!! And we had ourselves a very fun afternoon. The office was an HR nightmare. We were so inappropriate. The beaver….

After work I was having drinks with my friend The Dean. My house stank of bleach so we sat outside. It was good therapy for all of us. We had all had a week and needed laughs and drinks. They both came in plenty. I had been anxious about the get together but like last time, we all had a blast. It went on until half past 11. No dinner. Lots of good times.

Song of the Week: Shadowlands by Ryan Adam’s

Jalapeño

Grilled Salisbury steak with scalloped potatoes and a mushroom gravy.

Seared tuna with some miso asparagus.

It’s soup weather in May so I had to take advantage of it. I went with White Bean Chicken Chili. It’s almost a stew. Very hearty. It turned out good.

Fish tacos and corn. Bekah said these were the best. They were good.

Cocktail of the Week: shots.

Oh boy. It was another week in the office. That means every f***ing day is a Monday. Monday Monday Monday Monday Friday. They are the worst. Monotonous Monday. Kill me. I hate it. I usually take the Monday off but I didn’t.

So the second Monday afternoon was a trip. I heard people I knew died. I heard a good old friend was basically terminal. I heard some good news in between. It was a rollercoaster of emotions. It was 10 days worth of bad news crammed into one. I felt like the s*** had been beaten out of me when I finally made it home. I mean, to find out someone close to you is probably not going to make it from a simple idle conversation in the office. Had no idea he was ill. He was fine Easter. A big chunk of my life this guy was an everyday part of. It hurt. It hurt Bekah. We don’t know his future but it’s not looking promising. Too f***ing young with too much to live for. We drank. It’s what he would have done.

I woke up on the 3rd Monday with no “want to”. I thought long and hard about taking off. It took little convincing that taking the day off for my own mental health was the way to go. The only way. Mental health days. We all need them. I’m lucky to have a boss that understands them. I don’t get pestered. I don’t have to lie and say I’m sick. I’m just f***ing burnt out and need to regain myself. Give me the day. I don’t think I’ve ever taken one in the middle of the week.

I stayed in bed with the dogs. I lounged around the house. Did a little casual shopping. Ran errands. Took Bekah some lunch. Did the yard. Had a late lunch and drinks in at an empty bar. It was relaxing in every way that I needed. My “want to” meter regained some hearts. I felt replenished come the 4 Monday. Mental health days should be an acceptable reason to take a little time off in all fields of employment. Sometimes you just need that time to yourself to find a little recharge. When life gets heavy what else can you do? Let it bury you? No thanks.

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Side note: The conversation for the week. The campus softball team had themselves a game. The final play the umpire made a call the coach didn’t agree with. Arguments. They went on and on and on. You know how it is. Suddenly the umpire trotted off towards the dugouts. No one knew what was happening. Weird game. That’s when the team fled the dugouts and rushed into the field. People thought “WTF, a fight over the play?” Last call of the game. Nope. No. Just a mortifying moment in life for the umpire. One he will likely bring to the grave with shame. Apparently he had to take a s***. And s*** he did. He dropped his drawers & blasted 2 walls & destroyed the carpet. It had to be removed. Too much of a mess for our contracted cleaning company. I don’t k ow what those poor softball players saw. PTSD? I don’t k ow what that poor umpire did? Ask for rags? Will the contract him for the next game? Would he even want the gig? I wonder how many people know of his embarrassment. Hard times. Might be best to leave the state & change ones name. Poor b******. I know we all felt horrible for laughing at the story but jokes were made all week.

Jalapeño

We had all the makings for eggs Benedict. Bekah made some homemade Bloody Mary mic. I’m not the biggest fan, but hers are indeed good.

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Sweet potato and broccoli covered in sloppy Joe and jalapeño.

Chicken Tikka Masala.

Teriyaki steak.

Chili verde chicken soft tacos with spicy corn. Happened to be Cinco de Mayo.

Asian chicken salad. Delicious and refreshing.

Burger and Mac salad.

Cocktail of the Week: margaritas.

We waited. And we waited. My friends and I on campus that prefer gloomy wet weather over bright sunny days. It kept wanting to accommodate us but in the end kept failing us. Morning would start off promising and than the freaking sun would break through the clouds. And it was GROSS outside. Wednesday morning I stepped out of my car and my glasses immediately fogged up. Oppressive humidity and no rain. We were in agreement that it was unfair. And then evening rolled around and I heard thunder from my back patio. It sprinkled. It smelt great. I desired much more. I can listen to thunder all night. I was happy. Unfortunately it didn’t last long enough and the heat returned with the humidity. But then it cooled down and the thunder returned. How many rounds would we be getting? Week ain’t over yet.

So it sprinkled all night. We did get precipitation. Woke up and finally a downpour. The temp was in the 50s. I was grateful. It was my kind of day. It rained and rained. Our crocodile was finally set loose once again. He couldn’t have been happier. It rained all day.

Pink super moon. I wish I could get a decent picture. The actual night of we had clouds. Of course we did. Give us clouds at night after a bright and sunny day. Rude. I did manage a not so decent picture the next clear night.

Finally I got the vaccine. The first run. After 2 failed attempts. First attempt was the same week I caught the virus. The second was too soon afterwards. The first shot is finally down. No side effects. Slight soreness. The lady giving me the shot was a real peach. She asked what arm? I said I heard it’s best in the dominate so it’s worked out sooner. She rolled her f***ing eyes out of her head. When eyes are the only expressions we have due to mask, I don’t recommend doing that. At least not to strangers. I’ve never had that from someone I don’t know. At least that I realize. She might as well have replied “dumb s***, it doesn’t f***ing matter”. I replied, whichever are you are more comfortable with. She paused and sighed and said “which are do you want it in”. Okay. Someone is tired of this. Give it to my right. The dominate. What do I care or know. Great disposition.

Friday finally rolled around. It felt like an extra week. I don’t know why it was so long. I got my burrito. Burrito Friday’s was something I started way back in August as a welcome back on campus to my friends. Somehow it became a rotational thing where someone buys a burrito every Friday. I like it. On my days to buy maybe I don’t. I have had more burritos in the last school year than probably the last 2 years. I really only treated myself on a few occasions. This Friday I got trapped by the Dean and wasn’t in my office until about 8:30. Man likes to chat and it’s always a good time. I never need lunch on burrito days.

The week sure did end on a much higher note. 60 degrees and overcast with rain. What more can a man ask for. Cheers!!!

Jalapeño.

Sausage egg breakfast sandwich with hash browns.

Bunless queso burger with avocado. Can’t go wrong.

Steak tenderloin done up like I do my tuna. Even had the side seaweed salad.

Fajita chicken. It had been a while.

Just a burger patty with some beans. Basic basic.

A soup day during the last week of April!!! Heck yeah!!! We went with tortilla soup. I tried a small batch. I cans make one. It was great.

As per tradition, Bekah is gone so I make pizza. Traditions die hard.

Cocktail of the Week: Vodka, lime, lime Topo & OJ.

You never want to come back. Sure, you miss people. You miss a lot. Dogs and cats. People! But you just want that vacation to last forever. Blue moon beyond the stars and big birds flying across the sky throwing shadows upon our eyes. I miss everyone. It was a treat to see the dogs.

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Work was a f***ing chore. I was not out of the mode. I was tired. I was cranky. I had emails that I’d ignored for a week. I had annoying people to contend with. I still blew some of them off. I just couldn’t. Two training courses I was last due and needed to complete. Hey, I was already late. Screw it. What’s another day. My mind couldn’t handle. Fortunately I was able to get out of the office after catching up, but the day just soundly surrender me. It also happened to be 420 and I was a lover the place with blood shot eyes. Allergy and sleep deprived eyes. On 420!!! I wonder how many people thought I was one toke over the line. Oh yeah! Did I mention the mouse party in my snack drawer? The pooped and peed all over everything. I thought the little b*****s’s we’re all dead. Welcome back buddy. We missed you.

The middle of the week winter decided to grace us with her presence once again. I heard the usual complaints. “It’s too cold for this time of year”. These are the same people that will be complaining about it being 90 degrees next week. I personally welcomed the cold. I’m a fan of the gloomy weather.

Earth Day fell on us. It’s also the day my Riley dog died. Couldn’t have picked a better day to pass away. The day It was a pretty darn good day. I finally felt rested and things were looking on the bright side. I think everything’s better on Friday Eve. I mean, one more day to go. So happy Earth Day! Hope you did something for Mother Earth. Maybe planted something. Picked up some trash. Heck, recycled. Anything helps. Lord knows she needs all the help she can get.

Friday the gloom continued and we finally got a little bit of early morning rain. Finally. It was a long week. Lots of bull****. Great first week back. Isn’t that how it happens? You don’t see the bumps in the road until you hit them. Those f***ing bumps. Toss you in the air. Toss you in the s***. What a bumpy ride. We always survive. It’s life. Bumps. Cactus. S***! That’s life. F*** it. Cheers!!!

Update on the mouse wars: By the end of the week we had killed 4 of the little bastards. They are getting bold. One had the audacity to run across my bosses desk and poop on it while he was sitting at it. I feel that over the weekend they will regroup. Only time will tell.

Jalapeño

Seared pork chops w/ steamed green beans and blistered tomatoes seasoned with chimichurri seasoning. The pork was topped with a mixture of feta cheese, cream cheese, fresh dill & lemon juice. Once placed on the pork it was thrown into the over to give a nice texture. The sauce was amazing.

Seared chicken with a honey BBQ sauce I whipped together using BBQ sauce, honey & Mayo. The broccoli has cheese and bacon crumbles. Very tasty.

Spice coconut grilled chicken thighs over sushi rice. My middle brother made this on our Florida trip one night and it was a real treat so I had to try it myself. Mine was much too spicy for Bekah. It was great though.

SPAM teriyaki fried rice.

Air travel. I don’t really care for it much. I’m not terrified, but I’m not at ease. I’m tall to boot, making the entire experience a little uncomfortable. I also don’t sit still. This is a problem when on a plane.

We took off to the airport at 5AM and hit the air at 6:16. I had a little vodka to make the trip tolerable, I won’t deny. Music on and in the air the flight to DFW was over. Now we had 3 hours to burn. Without booze, might I add. It was Sunday and they don’t serve in the great state of Texas early. New experience, airport without booze. Good thing I brought my own. Side note, planes are not built with tall people in mind. I was folded up like a f***ing card table. We never actually had any turbulence. . It was great to be in the clouds again.

Connie arrived Wednesday. A great addition to the pack. Honestly, I relate to her and was happy she was along for this ride. First born children and all. We all need this break. I hope the birthday present treated her well. With the kids running around it can get a little crazy. You have to step aside occasionally. Watch the pelicans fly by for a moment.

Bekah and I didn’t get as much time together as we would have liked. It is vacation but we really need one on our own. Yes, family is great and I love everyone involved, but we need some serious alone time. I couldn’t get enough of her. Is that selfish? We made an excuse to go in town and hang out. We were able to escape and walk the beach. We even managed to go for a nice cold swim. Truthfully the thing I wished we could have done the most was stay in bed together. Nothing erotic, just lay together. It seemed that wasn’t in the cards. It’s something that can be done at the house and I plan on doing so. Why vacation opened my eyes to such a simple pleasure. I guess the getting away part.

The Gator Farm. Place I’ve been soooo many times. This last go I originally didn’t care to attend. The reason I did was for the kids. The excitement in their eyes was enough. And it was pretty cool the 5th time. The vultures. The f***ing stork. More terrifying than the gators. Bucket of rats… not for kids.

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Friday was Bekah and my cooking day. Middle brother came in for the assist. It’s fun and chaotic. Bekah had the shakes. The kids and commotion were killing. Powered through it.

Found a mouth of shark teeth. One of my favorite things to do is look for shark teeth. Once you find one it’s like the eyes just home in on them. It’s weird. I have an eye for them. Coming home with a collection. You would be shocked how much they cost in the tourist traps.

I sprinkled my father to sea. I snuck away. I cried. I said my fair wells. It was much needed. It was my own private service. Just him and I. I wished he was with me. We would have had fun.

I wrote about waiting last week. Well, when the wait is over it’s over. It’s amazing how quickly a good time goes by. Florida came and went in a blink of an eye. One moment I was boarding in Texas for departure, the next I was packing to go home.

It was a nice time. We had a nice time.

Song of the Week: “Florida” by Modest Mouse

Jalapeño.

TGIF crap omelet.

Brawts with red cabbage & spaetzle.

Seared tuna and oysters. Boogers.

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Chocolate and biscuits.

Spaghetti and meatballs.

Hot chicken salad and asparagus.

Fried green tomatoes and fish tacos.

Huevos rancheros with some steak and rice. Bekah was the leader here. I did the steak and all the prep. My middle brother came in with the egg assist.

Spicy coconut grilled chicken thighs.

Charcuterie board

Cocktail of the Week: who cares.

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The anticipation & anxiety is palpable. Vacation is near. It’s been over a year since I’ve left this town. A year!!!!

Waiting. Waiting all the time. That’s what we all do. We wait. We wait ourselves through life. We wake up and wait for the coffee to brew. Once at work we spend the entire day waiting on various things all the while waiting to get off work. After work it’s waiting on dinner or perhaps a buzz to alleviate all the waiting we did during the day. Waiting to get married. Waiting for that promotion. Waiting on that a**hole buying lottery tickets but not sure which ones he wants to get out of your way so you can by a bottle of water. Waiting for your kid (or dogs) to finally be potty trained. Waiting for that idiot in front of you to turn “right on red” when they clearly don’t know that’s an option that they have. Waiting for retirement. Waiting for your over priced cable and internet to work again. Lots of waiting on Amazon Prime packages the last year… It’s a life just full of waiting. Life is just one long line at the Post Office & only one window is open. I’ve been waiting on the trip to Florida since 2019. It’s finally hear and the wait is almost over. That final day I’ll be waiting to get home. Waiting to see my pups.

Life is funny in that we want things to come along and hurry up and happen. Waiting for future events. We are basically speeding through our own existence. Pumping the brakes a little would serve us all well. Learn to enjoy that time waiting. Each moment. So much takes place in a single second. A bird song. That butterfly fluttering by. A familiar face in a grocery store. The unexpected kindness of a stranger. Stumping your d*** toe. It’s all meaningful. Right?

Our lives are dictated by time. That clockwise rotation. What a real heifer. Throw all the f***ing clocks out! I’m soon to be 40. I don’t view myself at that age. Looking at myself in the mirror everyday I never noticed the lines on my face forming. The spark in my eyes fading. The hairline receding. (Okay, that I did notice.). Time. Do you remember when you were young? It fells like yesterday. Yet as a child yesterday felt like a long time away? Grandparents always said time, it flies. That the years keep getting shorter. As a child you can’t possibly understand this notion. As an adult, you begin to accept it at hard truth. Each passing year you find yourself saying something along the lines of “wow, the month really went by fast” or “how is it already insert month.” Our strict diet of calendar days. I suppose I should hold the calendar as accountable as the clock?

All this time waiting I forgot how to prepare for a trip.

Biannual lab and doctors visit. The vampires had a feast on my blood. I was left a nice blue, purple and yellow bruise. Rude. My results were positive. My A1C was considerably lower. Big win. Trying to get below the diabetic levels.

It warmed up this week. I had to turn the AC unit on for the first time. And the patio fan. Not what I want to start doing. It’s actually going to be cooler in Florida when I go.

It was a short week but it was a busy long week. I took Monday off and kept busy. Did a little landscape makeover. The days at work were crazy busy. Needy f***er’s. I couldn’t have been happier for Friday to roll around. Adios!!!!

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Jalapeño

Mac & Cheese Burger. Why have I not done this before. Everything just went together so well.

A Hello Fresh meal that appeared on my desk. Thanks! Pork tenderloin with roasted veggies. I added. It needed more. Some balsamic worked for the veggies. It turned out well. Bekah liked and that’s the point. The red wine fig sauce was interesting.

Easter brunch!!! Solo today, Bekah worked all weekend. Decided to keep it simple and make spicy egg Benedict with some prosciutto wrapped grilled asparagus. Wait! Is that really simple? I don’t know. It was good.

Easter dinner!!! Squash dressing, mashed potatoes, spicy green brands and ham Hawaiian roll slider. Deviled egg appetizers.

Another Hello Fresh. We didn’t follow the recipe. It was gross!!! Lucky for us it was easy to convert the meal kit to teriyaki steak. Roasted soy broccoli. All was good in the world.

Grilled chicken caesar pasta salad.

We were going to have leftover Easter ham and eggs. It just didn’t sound good but I hate to waste. Oh well. Ended up going to HEB for Korean ribs, stir fry and sushi’s. Easy tasty solution.

Mushroom Swiss bacon burger.

Pizza

Cocktail of the Week: Beer!!!! It was national beer day Wednesday.

Good Friday!!! Yay!! I had the day off. And it was a productive day spent running all around town. I got out of the house early and went to the plant nursery. I really wanted this bougainvillea I knew they had. I didn’t want to spend the money but in the end I somehow justified the cost. No more bougainvillea!!! NO MORE!!!

After that it was time for a beeto. Machacado for this guy. I asked for 2 green sauces & only got 1. Rude!!! It hit the spot and got me through most of the day. Julio’s does not skimp on their burritos.

Now that I was fueled it was time to run errands. I was also keeping my eyes open for some Ritz jalapeño crisp. I did my shopping at HEB. No crisp. I went for a treat at Market Street. No crisp. I ran for socks at Target. No crisp. Found a plant at Home Depot. Got my car washed. Dropped of my suit to the dry cleaners. Refilled my propane tank. Refilled my water bottles. Hooch run for rum. Finally I went to the Neighborhood Market where I knew for a fact I could get the crisp. Why oh why they are the only to carry that flavor is beyond me. Satisfied, I was on my way home. It seemed like every motherf***er in town was on the road. WTF!!! And none of them seemed to know how to drive.

Since I was still fairly satisfied from the beeto I went with a light “charcuterie” for a late lunch.

I went out to my mother for a little while to visit with her and my middle brother who came into town for the vaccine and Easter. Had a couple drinks and discussed the upcoming vacation to Florida. He went for carry out and was absolutely shocked how relaxed most people in our town are when it comes to the pandemic. See, in Austin they are still being responsible unlike around these parts. He was the only person in a crowded restaurant with a mask on. This includes the staff. He wasn’t even sure he wanted his pizza anymore. If anything, that experience might have prepared him for what we will likely see in Florida. I hear the pandemic is over in that state. “Eyes rolling out of my f***ing head.”

Bekah was at the bar so I decided to make a drink. Why not? It’s not like I hadn’t had a drink every other day this week. Yes, it was that kind of week.

It’s so nice and gloomy!!! Saturday I got up early to meet with the gutter people. We decided to go ahead and knock out a portion of our back yard so we can progress with the landscape overhaul later in the year. Gotta use that stimi check. After getting his estimate I decided to mow the yard. Bekah kept saying she was going to do it but she was really dragging her knuckles. It’s a satisfying chore.

I met my brother at a place called Street Eats. The same place I had lunch last Saturday. He had seen the pictures of the barria tacos and wanted to try them. It’s a picnic table kind of place with a BYOB policy so we grabbed some brew and had our lunch outside. We both don’t eat out so this was kind of a training exercise for Florida. The meal was nice and the time was well spent. I got an order to go and took it to Bekah. She was most impressed as well.

My life is so exciting. After dropping off the food to Bekah I boiled eggs and played a video game. Paid my mortgage. The dreaded SuddenLink bill. I hate that f***er. It was still gloomy. Once I realize I wasn’t progressing and only wasting my breath saying “f*** you” to a video game character, I left for my mother’s for another visit. It was a Harry Potter marathon. Good times as always.

Happy Easter! I got up early-ish and fertilized the yard. We have a big front yard so I treated areas I knew needed it the most. Running the sprinklers I noticed a few problems. Heads needing replacement and a pressure issue I’ll have to address later. S***!

Since the pandemic Sunday brunch is a tradition. I wasn’t going to stop on Easter even though I was alone. Eggs Benedict with prosciutto wrapped asparagus. I was satisfied. It was another nice gloomy day so I decided to make a little cocktail to go with my meal. Yeah, I made a cocktail because it was gloomy out. Don’t laugh at us weather geeks. Drinking due to weather conditions is quite normal with us. It was a good day for drinking. I’ll probably take a break next week before vacation where heavy drinking is assured.

Cocktail of the Weekend: Something I made up. Vodka, lime Topo Chico, OJ & a splash of grenadine. Tasty refreshing drink.

My main Easter task is always the deviled eggs. I’ve been the one making them for so many years I can’t even keep up. I make them well, what can I say. this year I decided to throw a little bacon into the mix. What the hell. It’s the appetizer.

As per normal, our holiday cooking experience was full of insulting each other. Lots of jabs and a little bit of wine. Okay, a fair amount. We had a good time. The meal wasn’t the important part. It was the family. The laughs. The good times. The memories to be had. I cherish these moments. We didn’t have Easter last year. I think we made up for it. Happy Easter everyone!!!

Happy Easter!!!!