Oh the Joy of the New Year

Seventeen days away from work and I’m all the merrier to be back at my desk basking under the cold glow of fluorescent lights. This place, I have missed so deeply it’s disturbing. My heart fluttered when I walked in the door. When I saw all the familiar faces I fought back tears. Such a joyous reunion. I’m feeling good. Damn, I’m feeling so fine. Boy howdy did I miss hearing about good ole Jimmy and his rotten bowel movements and weak bladder. How he almost urinated himself at HEB just the other day. Never have I been happier to be back. You should see the Cheshire cat grin upon my face.

For this lovely blog I’m focusing on all the food a drink I had over the break. Don’t think lesser of me when you see how much I consumed. Cry for my bank account though. She took a hit.

Jalapeño

Starting the break with a real treat, filet mignon. I made a balsamic glaze to go with it. Sprinkle a little feta cheese on top and what a delicious meal. Don’t ask how much those steaks cost. I feel ashamed just thinking about it.

Christmas Eve tamales. This has been a family tradition for about as long as I remember. I was supposed to have a little get together but it fizzled out. Tends to happen.

Christmas morning we have chocolate & biscuits. This recipe belongs to my grandmother. Funny, my mother has made this for years and only just recently found out that my grandmother hid a main ingredient from her but happened to share it with my uncle’s wife? Favoritism? Maybe? I know this doesn’t sound all that appealing to many people. You have to try. It’s a really good meal. The sauce is so fluffy and rich. This was the first time Bekah has ever made it and she passed the test. My heart swells.

Since it was only 4 of us on Christmas we decided to try something different rather than make the big spread. Someone mentioned Chinese earlier in the week so it kind of stuck. I made some Sesame chicken for the family. It was a hit. I made my own portion spicy. How says you can’t get a little adventurous on Christmas?

Loco Moco on the mind? Loco Moco but deconstructed? I don’t know? Looks like a heaping pile of rubbish but the flavors were fine. I can’t be expected to make all my meals presentable, now can I?

Time to eat out. Angry Cactus. I have had many of bad occasions with this spot but I’m always willing to try a place again. I don’t know why. Some of the other stories I have heard from friends should be enough to warn me away. I suppose I’m a fool that doesn’t learn his lessons. I ordered the chicken burrito and I sure got a burrito. It was like a freaking baby on my plate and once I completed it I felt bloated. It was delicious though. But you really could feed two with that plate. So this restaurant is now 3 for 3.

I wanted pasta abut I also wanted tacos. Then why not make a taco pasta? This was a success in all ways possible. I will do it again very soon. F***ing carbs. Why do they have to hate me?

Cork & Pig. One of my favorites. I usually order a chorizo pizza but had a hankering for their Cuban sandwich. I think they are the only one in town that have this menu option. I was satisfied.

Pot roast for dinner. Ummmmmm… I let it cook down a little too much. It was mush. The texture was a little off putting. Kind of like someone chewed up the meat and spit it on my plate. Not a proud moment for me…. Just look at that mess will you? Disgusting, isn’t it?

Hooters! What a strange place. And I was not feeling well that day. Bekah had fed me too many shots the night before. Not to mention a great mixture of various liquors. A san man does not mix. An intelligent person does not mix. Amateurs mix. What happened to me? I was in bad shape. I craved nachos!! After a beer, which didn’t help with the recovering process like I had hoped, the nachos arrived. They were excellent. I like that they use nice fresh jalapeños. Real treat. My hangover subsided for a little while before it came back full force and shut me down. The beast I had to bare.

I was a shell of a man. I knew this was going to happen at least once on the long break. I wrote about it in a previous blog. Bekah, being the dear wife that she is, made me some comfort food. Fideo. I couldn’t have been happier. It was time for a hot bath and sleepy time. I was broken. Had to admit my defeat and hope for a better tomorrow.

Chilies. I was not 100% and wanted some enchilada soup. I did not get a picture. The soup was a delight. It was needed.

Baked spasagna. This is a recipe that I ripped off from Cheddar’s. Talk about carb overload. You basically cook spaghetti noodles, mix them with a 4 cheese blend and bake it. I top it with a meat sauce and some Alfredo. I need insulin. Lots of it. Carbs………

Funny thing, the next day I actually went to Cheddar’s. Had I known I would have not made the spasagna. Mine was probably better though. Yes, I guarantee it was better. Anyways, it was Jody’s birthday so some of us from work took her out for a treat. I ordered the bourbon glazed salmon. The fish was good. The broccoli & rice under cooked. I did not get a picture. It was a fun time.

Tomato soup & grilled cheese. This was comfort food for Bekah. It was a great meal. The soup recipe is very simple. Cook down tomatoes and onions. I add a little spinach, basil, and some parmesan cheese. I can’t tell you the secret ingredient. Nope. Not happening.

Julio’s. I needed a burrito. I stocked up on them to considering this was New Year’s Eve and I would need a good breakfast the following morning. That green sauce was on fire.

Wings from Zero One Ale House. Nothing to write home about.

New Year’s Eve. My mother made some King Ranch Chicken. It was just how I liked it growing up. The green sauce also paired well with it. She is a great cook and thought me a lot of what I know in the kitchen. Much love for the woman.

Twin Peaks. I kind of sound like a pervert. Hooters & Twin Peaks within a week? I promise I don’t usually frequent these places. This just happens to be where Bekah & I usually go following NYE. The beer is cold and we are usually hung over. Man, I needed that beer. Sad thing to admit, needing a drink. Oh well, this is an honest platform. I ordered cheese bites and spicy Thai pork ribs. I was a happy camper. Because of the food, not the ladies. I promise. I promise. It’s the food.

Domino’s pizza and black eyed peas. You have to get that good luck in somehow. What a strange combination.

Okay. Time for some fast food. My brother had been in Vietnam (I know, I’m lame. Much better way to spend a vacation than how I did.) and he sent me a picture of McDonalds. I couldn’t get over how good that little burger looked. I don’t often eat fast foods. But I couldn’t get that burger out of my head. If I was going to have a fast food burger it had to be Whataburger green chili. It was everything I hoped it would be. A+

Green enchilada chicken. Just without the tortilla. Bekah made this and it was fantastic. I cooked the eggs. This is a go-to meal for us.

Decided to try a new place in town that I’ve only heard good things about. Masa’s – sushi bar & Japanese grill. We were right in the area after having seen Jumanji. (Great movie, btw.) This place is fancy. Very well done. The good preparation was basically art. You hated to defile it by eating it. I enjoyed all that we ordered. Tuna stuffed beer battered jalapeño. Well f*** yeah! Two of my favorite things right there. I’m sold on the sushi bar. It was rather mesmerizing watching the chef draw this designs with the sauces. I will have to go back and try the food from the kitchen.

For the evening, Bekah wanted store ramen noodles. The kind you pour hot water on and let sit for a few minutes. Nothing wrong with this. I went to the store that night to retrieve them. We ate them in bed. Who does that? A fine comfort food if ever there was one though.

Woke up the next morning with a craving for some cheesy red enchiladas. I had not been to Ceilo’s in a while so why the heck not. They have some of the best Spanish rice in town. It’s about as good as you can get unless you make it yourself. The cheese was so creamy and delicious. They have a nice bar atmosphere to top it off.

More comfort food. Notice towards the end of my break that’s what became of the menu? Wonder why? Too much rich foods and drinks. We needed comfort foods. Mac & cheese with chicken & green beans. Yum!

I don’t know why but we have a habit of attending Chili’s on Sunday. Could it be that they have happy hour all day? Maybe. Well, we also happen to know the bartender. Friend form Bekah’s past. I ordered some more soup (not pictured) and mixed fajitas covered with queso. Not the best in town by any means but still very edible. Plus, the cold beer.

For the final lunch of my long unhealthy break I went the Taco Bueno. The Muchaco. A staple of my youth. I ate these almost every day while in high school. It’s a wonder I wasn’t obese. For the longest time the only way I could obtain one of these was to travel a distance to some nearby town. They finally rebuilt in our town and I can have one whenever I want. I’ve been on a diet so that hasn’t been very often. But this was the last hurrah so what the h***.

And that concludes my gluttonous holiday leave.

Cocktails of the Weeks: Beer, martinis, old fashions, crown & coke, scotch on the rocks, blue Hawaiian, spiked eggnog, champagne, wine. Really, WTF didn’t I drink.

The Long Week

The slowest f***ing week on campus. The week before the long Christmas break. The buildings are tombs. The week just drags on and on. The campus became kind of a lonely place. You are so use to it being busy with kids walking to and from class. Now you hardly see anyone. You can hear a pin drop. It’s only the straggler’s left. The campus is dead. Once the students flee, the faculty slowly begin to vanish. Before you know it most of the academic offices are vacant. I try to enjoy this quiet time, but all the while I am anticipating my holiday. It feels like f***ing Friday is a million miles away. Somehow I managed to keep myself somewhat busy. Just space things out a little. It seems I was not alone in doing this either. I talked to a few people that only had 2 things left to do during the day and they were being spaced out. One before lunch, the other after lunch. And you can only look at the internet for so long before you begin to lose it. But hey! At least I have people sending me pictures from faraway f***ing lands. I can live vicariously through them.

Ashely, one of my favorites, decided to leave us. Wednesday was her last day so I found an excuse to go visit and wish her well. She has been working here just as long as I have so it’s kind of a sad moment. I always liked our visits because they mostly consisted of laughter. We lived down the street from each other before Bekah and I became homeowners so we always traded comical neighborhood stories. See, we had college kids, crackheads, and just crazy people commute down our street. She once had a naked lady sitting on the curb across from her house. No joke. Me: “So Ashely, what kind of crazy s*** have you witnessed since we last talked?” & vice versa. Most recently almost all conversation was her desire for alcohol consumption. You see, she has been with child. That is a long stint without a drink for someone that really likes to consume the drink. It was always “I really need a drink.” “We are going to f***ing Fredericksburg and everyone is going to be drinking but me!” “How can I do fantasy football this year without a drink?” “This baby better come out before Thanksgiving because I will really need a drink.” I mean, you were the one that got pregnant. I know this makes her sound like she has a problem but it was mostly just joking around. She never said it in a serious manner. And since popping out the child, she has had a drink. On one occasion, a little too many which led to vomitus results. I said take baby steps, you can’t just rush right back to your old ways. Your tolerance is gone. It will be hard to replace her I’m afraid. But I get why she is leaving. When a better offer is thrown on your doorstep, you do take it. I’m sure I’ll see her out and about.

The Llama’s replacement started last week. What a week to start a job. Nothing to do. Probably reconsidering. She seems like an alright person. Heck, almost anyone would be an improvement over that lazy sack of s*** Llama. That guy. Have to wonder how his new job is going. I mean, they probably expect him to actually work and that was one thing he did not like to do. He liked to sit on his fat a** and surf the web all the while picking his nose with one hand & munching down on food with the other. Such a loud eater at that. CHOMP! CHOMP! CHOMP! He is going to break a tooth if he doesn’t change his ways. I have the decency not go into details, but our plumbing has to have sighed sweet relief. I’m so glad I don’t have to hear his bulls*** anymore. He certainly won’t be f***ing forgotten. He literally left his mark. Llama’s replacement at least smiles and laughs. That alone is a huge improvement.

Thursday night was Bekah’s company Christmas party. Same place it was at last year. Napolis. It was a fine experience last year. This year…. Not so much. Party starts at 6. We arrive just before 6:30. Some people had already made orders. This year they had the liquor license so I order a scotch. Last year it was BYOB which was rather nice because the booze wasn’t included and therefore wasn’t free like the food. We sit down and the menu is rather expansive compared to last year. I’m sticking with lasagna. It was good last year. I see a table getting chicken Alfredo and think I might change my mind but Bekah says that’s what she is getting so I can stick with lasagna and sample hers. Waitress arrives at our table. It seems there was a misunderstanding. We actually can only choose from 3 items. They gave our party the wrong menu. Although every other table was able to order from the other menu, our table was limited to 3 items. How the f*** do you serve half the party from one menu and limit the other half of the party. If you make that kind of screw up you just eat your losses. But NO!!! These people make us order either lasagna, ravioli, or chicken parmigiana. Sorry Bekah, that delicious Alfredo that half the party is enjoying is off limits. And our waitress tells us we can’t even have a salad. You have to be kidding me. Well guess what? She must have been kidding because I start to see salads going to other tables. WTF!! Even with the fact the food was paid for I was not happy. I wanted a f***ing salad. The lasagna arrived and was tasty as I remember it, but the chicken parmigiana and spaghetti that Bekah ordered were both cold and bland as f***. So was everyone else’s that ordered that. It also turns out that on top of a salad we were supposed to be getting a desert menu that never arrived. The doctor that paid for the party was pissed. She had some words to say to the manager. It didn’t matter at this point though because it was already a colossal f*** up. And then came my drink ticket. 42 bucks for 4 drinks!!! You got to be joking. This is a f***ing joke, right? Nope. That the legit price. I reluctantly gave the waitress cash only to never see my change or that waitress again. It’s like she skipped town. I was SO ready to get the hell out of that place I didn’t care about the 3 dollars change. What an embarrassment. I sure hope it was an off night. I feel I could have used the F bomb more in this bloated paragraph but I used as much restraint at I possibly could. I feel better now. Needed to vent. F***!!!!

Friday the f***ing anticipation for the long break was almost palpable. Eight hours of work left and sixteen days of vacation right around the corner. There was nothing going on. What people did remain on campus were mostly twiddling their thumbs counting down the time and trying not to look at the clock. I had nothing to do. So what did I do to pass my time? I went around the campus and handed out candy canes to the few remaining people that I could find all the while wearing a Santa hat. Why not be festive for the holidays. It was actually rather fun and I’m sure I looked like a total dork. I got some compliments on the hat and people seemed to think it was a kind gesture. Why not make the few remaining people on campus smile. What leftover candy canes that I had we to the ladies in Purchasing at the end of the day. I talked with them for a good 30 min. That office is such a friendly place now.

The week also marked an addition to our family. My little brother & his wife had their second little boy! Patrick! I have a new nephew!! He is adorable and I can’t wait to meet him. I am so happy for them. Talk about a Christmas present. I can’t wait to spoil him rotten.

3:40 arrives and I’m done with this year. I left at 4. I went and grabbed a drink. Had to go say goodbye to a friend moving to California. Chances are I won’t see her again in this life time. Whose to say. And now I’m here at home blogging from my phone cooking what will be a teriyaki dish and having a cocktail that you will read about down the line. I’m in my house alone for the first f***ing time in what feels like a very long time. Music is playing. I know I’ll be bored later. But this is kind of nice.

This could be the last blog until I return to work on the week of January the 6^th. If so, have a very Merry f***ing Christmas & a Happy f***ing New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jalapeño….

I figured I should at least cook for the kids one night while they were in. Also saving money. It was good cold soup weather and what’s better than tortilla soup. They sure did scarf it down. You all will be proud of me. I made a batch that wasn’t too hot!

Pizza from Lily’s again. The youngest was wanting some more ever since eating it the Friday before. Grant his wish on their final evening with us. Once again, I was impressed. We tried a supreme this time and I was a happy camper.

So you remember my kitchen screw up from the week before? My carb free steak enchilada? I’d be damned if I wasn’t going to get that right. So this time I made my own marinade for the steak. I mixed beer, Worcestershire, black pepper, seasoning from hell, salt & garlic. Let it sit for 5 hours. I grilled the steak to get a nice char. After that was accomplished I added the steak to a skillet with some red enchilada sauce and let it cook down and get a nice think coating on it. It was AMAZING! Top that with some onion, jalapeño, cilantro, avocado, cheese & a sunny side up egg and you have yourself on heck of a meal.

The only thing good about Bekah’s Christmas party was this f***ing lasagna.

I was on my own Friday so I just used what I could find in the fridge and made a spicy teriyaki chicken stir-fry. Emphasis on the spice. It was hot! Loved it!

Cocktail of the Week: I have no f***ing idea. It’s white rum, lime juice, pineapple juice & grenadine. It’s pretty f***ing fantastic. So how many times did I say f*** in this f***ing blog?

Gloomy Days & the Nutcracker

The gloom. Oh how I love thee. My general mood in elevated by you. While others worship the sunshine and bright blue skies, I will always belong to the clouds and grey skies. Why I don’t live in Seattle is a question I ask myself frequently. Oh to experience overcasts skies the majority of the year. While this thought seems depressing to most, I am excited by the prospect. Living under the gloom. Like a warm blanket it comforts me. I feel more myself on a darkened day. More outgoing. More willing to face the obstacles in life. Untroubled by the burdens that might have troubled me on a sunny day. Exuberant. Good-humored. Chirpy. Walking on air. Tickled pink. Glowing & grinning. Ecstatic.

Imagine my joy when Monday was gloomy. I took the day off to enjoy it. Tuesday was the same but with added perk: RAIN!!! I couldn’t have been happier. It was a week with nice gloomy weather spread out amongst the sunshine. I suppose everyone got a little something. Even so, I still heard complaints. Coworker: “This weather is bulls***!” I disagree. This weather is heaven, my grumpy little friend. Turn that frown upside down!

The weekend we had three teenagers in the house. Whatever could we do to entertain them? Well they have never been to the Nutcracker. Turns out my wife had never seen it either. I was kind of shocked. The Nutcracker was something I remember fondly from my childhood. In awe I gazed upon the magic dancing before me. Eyes wide, I could not get enough of it. The costumes. The dance moves. Who knew people could move like that. And the music! I loved the music. Tchaikovsky. I still occasionally get goosebumps when I hear The Nutcracker Suite. The feelings overwhelm me. The happiness of a little boy enchanted by that magical moment overcome me. For a moment I am again that little boy in the auditorium seeing something fantastical for the first time. Thank you dad for introducing me to classic orchestra at such a young age. That is something that you gave me that I will always cherish.

So we went to the Saturday matinee. It had been a long time since I had last seen it performed live. I was all smiles when the lights dimmed. The music begins and I feel a warmth in my heart. The show was excellent. The choreography was simply beautiful. The little kids were adorable. The stage design remarkable. I still had a bit of a fright when the rats came marching out with their glowing red eyes. Boy did those creep me out when I was little. I had nightmares. I think the snow scene was my favorite this time around. It’s just magical. It’s funny how I enjoyed it for some different reason as an adult than when I was a child. I guess I appreciate it more as an art while as a little boy it was the story and the costumes. The only thing I thought strange is the way they concluded it. Clara never woke up. They end it with the celebration of sweets. That was confusing to those who had never seen it. Oh well, small gripe. It was a great time but that first experience cannot be touched. I probably spent half my time watching the expressions on Bekah & the kiddo’s faces. Bekah cried. She laughed. She looked enchanted. It was a good first experience. She even has a pointe shoe to remember it by.

At work today I am still hearing the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. I’ve been whistling it off & on. Not at all a bad song to have stuck in my head. Overall a pretty good weekend. A little freaking hot for December. It reached 89 degrees on Sunday. I wanted to melt. Oh well, its cold again. I’m happy Bekah and the kids got to enjoy the Nutcracker. Even if one of them did understand the language of dance. lol

Jalapeño.

This night was almost a disaster. I was originally slaving over some marinated steak I was cooking with red enchilada sauce. It was going to be carb free steak enchilada. For some STUPID reason I used a steak marinade that I’d never used. Once it began to cook down we started to notice a very smoky odor in the house. LIQUID SMOKE!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO. We both tried the steak and I was inedible. I mean, I need to brush my tongue. It was THAT bad. Not only was dinner ruined, the house and myself smelt like a liquid smoke bomb had gone off. Lucky for me there is a reason I keep certain things in the pantry. I took a can or cream of chicken, rotel & some chicken breast. Chopped a jalapeño & onion and threw that in a skillet with the chicken. Added the can goods and the rest was history. Dinner was saved. If I had not worked something out quickly I would have never heard the end of it from Bekah. She did give me a hard time about the house smelling like liquid smoke, but I gave her a hard time about the house stinking of fried deer the week before. Fair enough, I deserve it.

Because it was so nice and gloomy it was the perfect time for some soup. I basically just made chili but substituted the ground beef for chicken breast. The end result was rather delightful. A hardy meal. Too hot for Bekah. She hardly touched it. More for me. Leftovers frozen for a later date.

I just made something up for this one. Chicken breast, onion, ONE jalapeño, can of green chilies and some green chili sauce. Added some corn and let it cook down. Once cooked down I threw in a little bit of cream cheese. The result was something delicious. We both agreed I should make it again. But again, Bekah says this one was hot. I think her taste buds a devolving.

Wanted to make some orange chicken. I think I’m finally kind of burned out on the Panda Express sauce I bought form the store. Time to start making my own from scratch again.

Friday we had the three teens so it was easier to just order pizza. But from where? Oh yes, a new place opened right around the corner!!! Lily’s pizza! Time to try something new. The pizza was pretty fantastic. For the most part, we just had the basics. What set this apart was the crust. It was so light and soft. The kids want this one more time before they go so I will likely have this again soon.

Cocktail of the Week: Old Fashioned

Fa la la la la, la la la la

After a holiday week eating and, let’s be honest here, drinking too much I returned to work worse for the wear. To top things off I have a lot of catching up to do. Why do I do this myself? I blame my family. That and the free time. The wine is aplenty. I pulled a Bekah two nights and found myself asleep on the couch. I now understand how it claims here so often. It is comfortable. Maybe she isn’t narcoleptic? No, no. She most certainly is. I keep sending her text messages to the website morethantired.com but she refuses to entertain the thought that maybe she does have a sleep disorder. I have them! What so wrong with that? Some people.

It’s finally that time of year. Get out the Christmas decorations and put up some lights. We realized we have a LOT more fall décor than Christmas. The house looks empty without the pumpkins. Speaking of which, I painted my pumpkins to look like Christmas ornaments. I think they look great, if I must say so myself. I need to get ambitious and put up some lights outside. I always have in the past. Heck, I decorated our house and my parents. Ever Friday after Thanksgiving I’d climb up on their roof and attach lights to the shingles. After their house was aglow, I’d go home and do our porch. For now it’s just my snowman shinning on the porch and a discounted fake tree I got last year in our front window. I suppose that’s a start.

The campus is now fully on board with the holiday. Office trees are up & you can feel the spirit everywhere you go. Well, almost. Our office is severely lacking. No Crone. All our decorations went with her. I should buy myself a little USB tree to hook to my computer. Give me a little office cheer. But this week I spent very little time in my own office so all the decorated ones across campus gave me cheer.

The annual Christmas tree lighting. I meandered my way up the road from my house to meet some campus friends for the event. Jamie, the expert on campus life, & 2 others who had never been to the ceremony. Virgins to the tree lighting. This was my second year. We sat and chatted, waiting for the clock to get a little closer to 6:30 before we all made our way to the crowd. And boy was there a crowd. It was spread out more this year and that’s good because I swear more people showed up. They had blow up slides, ornament decorating, synthetic ice skating (what is that anyway?) & all sorts of things for the kids. We were there for the lighting. If I hadn’t know the location of the tree it would have been hard to spot in the dark oak grove. We made ourselves through the many bodies to the tree. About 15 min to go and all would be illuminated. Lurking in the shadows was a very belly sick electrician. It was his duty to flip the switch. It was his wiring that everyone was counting on. What would happen if all remained dark? That was his worry. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1!!!! LIGHTS ON!!! The grove was a spectacle of Christmas lights. Satisfied with what we came for, we all departed to the sound of Christmas carols. Till next year.

Bekah and I kept putting off getting a tree. House isn’t truly Christmas without the tree. I surprised Bekah by getting one during my lunch break in the middle of the week. We couldn’t keep pushing it off. One of our favorite things to do together is put up all the ornaments. So that night I started some kind of stir-fry and we had drinks and decorated our tree. I think it looks great. It was a special time. It was the night before our 11 year anniversary.

December 5^th it’s been 11 years since we first started dating. What an amazing time spent with the woman I love. It’s hard to believe over a decade has passed since we first met. They say time flies when you are having fun and we have had fun. In that time lots has changed in our world. We graduated college. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. We briefly broke up. I pulled my head out of my a** and committed. We moved in together. We got engaged & 2 years later got married. Lots of vacations. Became homeowners. Lost loved ones. Found our fur babies. It’s been a wild ride. And it wasn’t always without a few bumps in the road. No two people are ever going to be on board for the same thing all the time. They say marriage isn’t easy, but for the most part ours has been. We forgive each other and realize whatever it was that came between us at that moment was usually something of little importance. We are bound together by our strengths. What might be my weakness she is strong at & vice versa. We have fun together every day. I thank the lord that she puts up with me. I can’t imagine a life without Bekah in it. I don’t want to. She is the moon of my life.

We went out for a drink. A drink became a few. People got word that we had been with each other for 11 years and started buying. Unexpected. Wonder how that happened. Facebook, maybe? Anyway, it was a fun time. Then we went home for dinner. A little carry out and a main dish by Bekah. Those drinks that were bought for us went right to her head. The narcolepsy kicked in around 8:30. It was a fun evening though.

It’s also the day my father went on to heaven. How I miss that man. But I know he is in a better place and I will see him again eventually. We will laugh and smile. It will be a great reunion. I had myself a little bit of his label of scotch & put on some Neil Young. Neil Young reminds me of my father. For a while the emotions were to strong and I had trouble listening to him. Now his albums bring a warmth to me. So I jammed out in the kitchen. Cheers to you, dad!

I have an extremely long vacation from work approaching. I have no plans whatsoever. 16 days off. What kind of person will I be when I finally do return to work? Will I be more rested and ready to go? Unlikely. What is likely is I will return in worse shape than I was before I left. Have you seen the movie “The ‘Burbs”? Tom Hanks character takes a week-long vacation from work only to stay home and become a shell of the man he was before? That an unjust description of the movie. It’s a comedy with horror elements. He has too much time on his hands and begins to suspect that his neighbors are up to foul play. Neighborhood watch gone bonkers. Really quite the hoot. I grew up with this film and it holds a special place in my heart. One of my favorites, you really should check it out if you have not. Anyway, before I digress, I need something to do with my time or I will sleep in, stay up late, eat badly, and probably drink too much. I will come back to work in a piss poor state if I let that happen… Kind of like I did this this last Monday.

Jalapeño!

Jody, my friend on campus, made us some spicy tamales. I was pretty impressed with the flavors that were to be found. Just the right amount of heat for Bekah. Do you really want your tamales to be biting you back? No, I don’t think that you do. I know you are probably reading this, friend, so I want you to know that all my praise is genuine. Despite of what you see in the picture, I did eat one alone without topping in order to get a proper taste. As for the toppings. I had one with queso, another with green sauce I made, and a third with ketchup. Some people find that third topping appalling. To each their own, right? What do you all like to place on your tamales? Should also mention my mother-n-laws beans. Delicious.

Cincinnati chili. Leftover from a few weeks ago. Frozen and ready to thaw. You just add spaghetti sauce and WHAM! A new meal. Does it sound gross to you? Think about it. Spaghetti and chili are very similar in construct. You just change some of the spices up. Why would noodles in chili be bad? Do you like chili mac? Kind of the same concept. Don’t knock it until you try it. And it’s a great way to keep leftover chili interesting.

Let’s just throw whatever we have together and call it a meal. Green bean chicken stir-fry? Sure!! Add peppers & onion? Why not. It was pretty tasty and fairly effortless. What more can you want. Sometimes just let the meal cook itself. Besides, we had ornaments to put up.

Originally for our anniversary we had planned on going out to dinner. We changed the plans. Now that we have a venison hook up Bekah can make her famous chicken fried. Thank you, Jamie. We might need more. It was pretty f***ing delicious. No joke! I’m serious! I’m not a big fan of deer meat. I admit that with no shame. There are much better options out there so why would I eat deer? I will eat this meal again. It was tender as f***. This is as country a meal as you get. Corn and mashed potatoes (made correctly without KFC substitute!!!). But we still were missing something. What we eat every 5^th of December, The Wharfs cream of jalapeño soup & jalapeno bottle caps. I went & picked up a to-go order. I know it does not pair well with the main course but it would not be our dating anniversary without that. We snacked on the caps while Bekah made the meal. The soup was served next. Delightful. I witnessed some truly disgusting behavior in the kitchen this night. Better left unsaid. And my house did stink the following day. Thank you again, Jamie.

HEB stuffed salmon with some cheesy broccoli. Pop that sucker in the oven on a Friday night that I don’t feel like cooking. Simple easy meal. You’ve probably seen this on my blog before. Sriracha goes well with it. Which is strange because the thought of eating that with salmon just doesn’t sound appetizing. Sounds like a craving a pregnant women would have. Sriracha and salmon…..

Saturday pizza!

Cocktail of the Week: Cape Cod

Butcher that Bird

Thanksgiving. Short week on campus. My second short week, actually. I was joking that I could get used to these 20 hour work weeks. I feel like no one is doing a thing. Who really wants to start a project when you only work for 20 hours? Not time to get anything done. Just try and blow through the days. And from what I gather, many people don’t plan on coming into work Wednesday anyway. I live close to campus so it’s no big deal but if I had to commute into town… nope. Not for 4 hours.

Followed my nose. The Facilities guys had a BBQ. Or better, all day cooking event. They fired up the smoker at 8AM and put pork ribs, bone in chicken breast, chicken legs, quail wrapped in bacon, all sorts of sausage links. Chorizo & eggs. Homemade tortillas. I had myself some eggs. Everyone said they were spicy. I must be missing something?

Multiple batches of hot sauce. One for the white boys and one for the people that know how to handle their heat. I impressed the grounds guys with my ability to eat the REAL sauce. I knew there was a reason I have been eating jalapeño all my life. It was for this moment! To show the world that I can handle the heat. Unlike the other gringos that were crying and puffing, I endured. I ate chip after chip. The flavor was outstanding. (Side not: the guy making the REAL sauce took a habanero seed to the eye while cutting it. He looked miserable. What a champion!)

Side effect of this cook out is that I was left smelling like a camp fire all day. I could smell it all dang day. I was offered hibiscus scented Febreze. I don’t think that would mix well.

I don’t think I like the month of November. I’m bitter that October is over (my favorite month) and it’s not yet Christmas. This year the weather just won’t make up its mind. I should not have my AC blowing this time of year, but I do. It’s hot. Tomorrow is supposed to be cold & cloudy like I like it.

Thanksgiving. As far as holiday meals go, it’s my least favorite. No spice no dice. Turkey is just okay and the rest of the meal is carbohydrates. Think about it. Do you really make Thanksgiving plates any other time during the year? If the food was so amazing wouldn’t it be on the menu regularly? And why must we have mashed potatoes every year? I’m not hating on mashed potatoes, but they are not special. I can find them on nearly every menu in town. Why not make au gratin for a change? Hell, even seasoned red potatoes would be preferred. Green bean casserole. Let’s put a little effort into this for once. Add some spice. Maybe don’t let the most incapable person in the kitchen make it. The reasoning being he can’t possible screw that dish up. Maybe just give him clean up duties next time. Cranberry sauce from a can is gross. When I made my own people still went for the canned stuff. Waste of my time. What is appealing about that red gelatin? Nothing, that’s what! Dressing/stuffing is okay. I really don’t crave it. (One Thanksgiving home from Lubbock I did eat it raw and cold right out of the fridge with my friend Melanie one night after having a few too many beverages. We never even thought a thing about it. My mom wasn’t to thrilled the next morning when she opened the fridge only to find the dressing/stuffing annihilated. Mel & I still joke about that to this day. We will have a laugh about it this Thanksgiving.) I’ve tried to make things exciting by introducing new dishes over the year. Everyone want’s traditional. I give up.

This is my new Thanksgiving contribution.

Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!!! May your food be more exciting than mine!!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Jalapeño

I got to cook for the sister & mother-in-law. I threw together skillet king ranch chicken. I had to make a last min run to the store for sour cream because it needed to be cooled down a bit. They seemed to have liked it.

Bekah was in need of some more comfort food so we just picked up some frozen lasagna from HEB. It was okay.

Korean BBQ chicken with a side of kimchi and broccoli that I really needed to use. I usually use this sauce with steak. Honestly, I think it caramelizes better with the steak.

Prosciutto & sage wrapped chicken. Bekah made this and I made the white wine sauce. Chardonnay, chicken stock & butter reduced. Love this meal, but the chicken was a little dry. Sorry Bekah.

Hot & Sour soup. This was my first attempt. I was really kind of apprehensive about getting the eggs to ribbon like they needed to but it worked out. My sister-in-law was with us again and she said it was amazing. She would know. I will make this again.

Cocktail of the Week: Old Fashion with black cherry.

The Worst of News

I’m so distraught right now I really don’t know what to do with myself. I came back to the office and was immediately told the horrible news. The Llama has found another job. A part of my heart breaks. My eye well up with tears. I can’t breathe. My stomach turns and I vomits a little on the floor. I don’t know if I should just call it a day and go home or seek a bar for some sweet relief.

The Llama and I have become best of buds over the past year. I really cannot see my life having even an ounce of happiness without him by my side cheering me on and motivating me to excel. He truly makes my work week enjoyable in a way that is unexplainable. This is all so heartbreaking. I will live out my days in utter misery without him in my life. This was a day I always fear would come. I prayed & prayed that it wouldn’t.

Those of you that know me and also read this blog: I am not okay right now. I am a broken man. I will need all the support that I can get from you all. If I show up on your doorstep in the pouring rain with a bottle of Jim Beam in one hand and a bottle of pills in the other, please help me. My grief is overwhelming me as I type this. The tears blurring the monitor screen. My shaky hands missing the keys. This blog is it for now. Wish me the best of luck.

Goodbye for now.

It Was Just Always There

On this cold & dreary day I don’t have much to say. My concentration is kind of zapped. It’s been a gut punch of a week. Long, sad & lonely. There are things I want to write about but my emotions are interfering. I’m tired.

You can get consumed with the stress of life. The unfair things that happen to you or the ones you care about. You sometimes feel like you just can’t catch a break. Everything begins to get filtered through the gloom and the bright happiness of life is obscured. It can be hard to remain positive. To have an optimistic take on life. It’s a relief when you break free. Sometimes you see something on a dark day that brings the light back into your heart. It’s when you need it the most. And it doesn’t have to be anything big or important. It can be the simplest things. A very common things that you just fail to observe on a daily basis. For me, it was in the parking lot at HEB. I was in a deep funk. I was just sitting in my car kind of looking at nothing at all. Zoned out. And elderly couple were walking into the store and the man reached for the woman’s hand to hold. It was this small embrace that touched me in a profound and unexpected way. Something inside me began to burn bright. I felt my eyes begin to water. A deep happiness had settle over me. A feeling that love is all around us if we choose to see it. In the littlest of things. Humans have capacity for horrible deeds, but inside I think there is more love than hatred. It really made my opinion on humanity turn over in that moment. It was a long day of dealing with s*** news and awful people. A sad hopelessness settled on me. The small act of reaching for the hand of whom is likely his wife. The hand that he has possibly held for 50 years. Some involuntary gesture he might preform every day. It touched me and changed my attitude for the day. You really don’t have to look hard to find love. For it’s all around us. It’s just that sometimes you don’t see it. But eventually love finds you and it’s when you need it the most.

I’m just going to post pictures for the rest of this blog.

Jalapeño!

Chicken cheese enchilada soup. I found a rip-off recipe for Chili’s. I really liked it. Thank goodness for that because we had a lot of leftovers since Bekah could not eat it because it was too hot. It was not that hot. I swear.

Chicken taco salad. I made some green sauce to go with it. The chicken had a bit more citrus than I was expecting but that wasn’t a good thing. I Once again had leftovers which I used to make nachos.

Hoisin beef tenderloin. How could u possibly go wrong? Grill to perfection. That red jalapeño was REALLY f***ing hot. I had to give up on it. I believe I was laughed at because I couldn’t handle the heat. Someone liked seeing me cry.

Seared tuna with seaweed salad. Okay, I get it. The salad isn’t for everyone. Bekah absolutely hates it.

I had leftover steak so I thought I would make some teriyaki steak. Oh look, I also have some miso soup. This will be a great meal. Well, the soup was good. The steak was terrible. It was over cooked. Kind of like eating card board. The flavor was WAY to salty. I could have just licked a salt block. This was an utter failure on my part. I even tried to make some sriracha mushrooms a side and that was garbage too. I guess my mind was elsewhere.

I wanted spicy chicken from Ban Moon all week long. I don’t know why I never satisfied the craving. Friday I just decided to basically make my own. It turned out to be a really good meal. I used Panda Express orange sauce as the bass. A little sweet, but what can you do.

Grilled Chicken w/ green chili gravy. A real treat. Just spicy enough. A twist on a comfort food.

Cocktail of the Week: Hot Coco & Jameson

Halloween

My favorite time of year is upon us! Time for glow sticks, trick or treat, spooky movies (“terrifying as f***” per Bekah), costumes, & jack-o-lanterns. The inner child in me becomes giddy as soon as October hits.

The month is horrorfest at our casa. I have an excuse to watch scary movies. We try and watch one every night. It’s a tradition. I say we. I drag my poor wife along for the ride. Already she has had nightmares. Already hearing things go bump in the night. I know horror isn’t for everyone. I warped my mind at a very young age. I remember watching “Prince of Darkness” with my older cousins. They were babysitting. I was probably 7 at the time. I thought it was so cool that they let me watch it with them. I tried to act like a big boy and not show my fears, but that movie forever scared me. To this day I am terrified of beetles. If you know the movie, you know what scene I speak of. Black beetles f***ing give me the heebie-jeebies. I’m 38 and I still feel a repulsive fear when I see one. Do any of you recall that year in the early 2000’s when the town was infested with them. Nightmare for this guy.

This movie ruined my life. See that beetle? No thanks!

Before I was old enough to watch scary movies with my parents I would sneak out of bed. My mission was to see what I wasn’t supposed to be seeing. This was a serious mission, with multiple obstacles in my way. First and foremost, my younger brother. I would have to wait for him to fall asleep or my mission would be failure from the get go. Once he found dreamland, I would get out of bed as quietly as I possibly could. This was made difficult by the fact we shared bunkbeds and mine was on the top. Once on the ground level, the door. Must be as quiet as I could shutting it as to not wake him. Once outside the room, the real trouble began. I had to crawl down a hallway on my belly all the while trying to keep my movement out of my parents’ peripheral vision. It was a real chore and I took my time. Once past the hall, I would attempt to make my way behind them. This was the real risky part. Our dog Leo. If he noticed me the mission would have all been in vain. It was like the little s*** knew I wasn’t supposed to be out and he certainly took pleasure in giving away my position. Sometimes I was unable to move forward because he liked to sleep behind the couch. Frustrated, I’d turn around or move forward to failure once he noticed me. On a good night, he would be sleeping at my parent’s feet and I could move forward. There was an end table between the two couches that I could crawl under with just enough space for me to view whatever was on the TV. Let me tell you, I lost sleep on these nights. I often gave my position away with muffled screams. Was it worth it? Maybe? I had some cool things to tell my friends about at school the next day.

My father always liked scary movies and during Halloween we always watched them. Back in the 80’s & early 90’s it wasn’t hard to find one on TV during that special night. We would get together in the living room after trick-or-treating, light the jack-o-lanterns, kill the lights, and watch the flix of the night. “Nightmare on Elm Street”, “Friday the 13^th”, “An American Werewolf in London”, “The Thing”, “Fright Night”, “Night of the Living Dead” & “The Monster Squad” to name a few. Make no mistake, some of these movies are terrible choices, but they hold a special place in my heart for the memories that remain with them. I miss you, dad.

The weather seems to have finally aligned itself with me. The long, hot summer is in the rearview mirror. See ya! Bye bye!! Cooler temperature have finally arrived! I can handle being outside again. Love the brisk mornings. That’s another reason October & Halloween is my favorite time of year. It just feel so fresh outside. I can finally enjoy a good Oktoberfest beer. No one wants to drink one of those while sweating. Nope. No way.

I still have a good time carving pumpkins. Either blindly setting upon it with the knife, or drawing out a design beforehand to make something truly cool. The end result is always special. The smell of pumpkin. The scents not good but it bring on good feelings. I don’t do it as often as I would like because I hate to ruin a perfectly good pumpkin when it can later be repurposed as Christmas decorations. So last min we decided let’s do it, we always have fun. I went to HEB. They were out of all but the fancy fairy pumpkins. Well s***! Bekah was going to Market Street for soup so I called her up. GET PUMPKINS!!!! They had plenty, no worries. And we carved and had a great time doing it.

Funny how the joy I receive from trick-or-treat has changed over the year. When you are a kid it’s all about the dressing up and the candy. One year I wanted to be Jaws. I had a thing for sharks. Still think they are beautiful creatures. My mom made this really cool shark costume. She did some impressive work. Trick-or-treating was so exciting. Going door to door for that precious loot. The high light of the night was the Coca-Cola house. Instead of candy he would hand out a can of cold Coke to the kids. I don’t know what was so special about that, looking back. It’s just coke. But when I was little it was the crown jewel.

Now I am the one handing out the candy. I love it! Especially now that we have moved we get a lot more foot traffic. We have our regular kids that friends & family bring by every year and the door to door stoppers. It’s always exciting to see what next ghost, goblin, vampire or unicorn might show up on my porch. There are some really cool costumes out there. And it’s fun being in reversed positions. I want to give out something as special as coke was too me, but I have not nailed what that is yet. Time will tell. Maybe glow sticks? Or am I the only one that is obsessed with those? I should be embarrassed to admit this, but I woke up with a glow stick in my hand the other morning. I went to bed with a glow stick. It’s the little things that entertain me.

And we sure did decorate. Have to make the place look presentable for the Halloween guest. Spooky pumpkins, ghost, all the fun stuff that I remember from my childhood. I’ve seen some crazy decorations around town this year. Halloween yard décor seems to have really blown up in the last 10 years. Some pretty neat stuff. I don’t go all out like that, but to each their own. It’s good to see people having fun.

I also still dress up some. Nothing elaborate, you can do a lot with a little improvising. Devil horns and a suit. Bear mask and a suit. This year I went a little scary. Glowing mask and a black hoodie. Hope the kids were not too afraid to come back again next year. I would think the amount of goodies we gave them will encourage a trip back next year. I LOADED down on candy.

Halloween week started off cold & cloudy with a couple days with 80% chance of rain. We did not get that rain unfortunately. I kind of feel we get more rain on the days we have less chance for rain. Anyway, the day arrived w/ temps in the lower 20’s with real feel at 17. The sun was out in all its horrible glory. I guess I should feel blessed that I had 3 days of wonderful gloom but I really wanted it to last longer. Oh well. I should just go ahead and move to Seattle if I’m going to complain about the sun every dang day its out. My closest campus friends all showed up w/ a little Halloween spirit in their attire. I had my ghost & pumpkin buttons on. Some people went full costume. I was probably walking around with a stupid grin on my face most the day enjoying the students & faculty/staff that did dress up. The Llama tried to ruin my day but I kept myself out of the office as much as possible. Not letting that happen on Halloween.

So after work I ordered pizza and rushed to the store to buy more candles for the jack-o-lanterns. Of course while at the store, in a hurry, I run into someone that will spend 20 min talking to you about absolutely nothing at all. FML. After finally leaving the HEB I run to get the pizza that was ready 10min ago. I finally get home and Bekah notices that I am visibly shaking. Blood sugar low. Inconvenient timing, I need to get dressed. I eat pizza. Get a call that “The Slavic” is bringing her kid over. Shoot. Rushed, we dressed up. Bekah as a llama & I as some hooded freak. The kid arrived shortly after 5:30. Creepy clown. I was outdone. Slavic enjoyed a slice of pizza & a beer. They departed. I had some time to really wind down at last. Not long after 6 the kids started really rolling in. I think I scared a few of them. One kid said: “That is freaking scary looking”. Thanks, dude. By 7:30 they were marching down the street. I think the trunk or treat on campus must have helped. This was a much bigger year than the prior. By 8:30 we had 8 kids running around our house and more trick-or-treater’s ringing the door. I must say, this was a good dose of birth control. But it was fun. The kids were loving the glow foam Jamie gave us. They were running around having sword fights. The two girls even took over our job of handing out candy. I was exhausted when everyone left. Once we had the house to ourselves we start up what has become our Halloween movie: “Trick-‘r-Treat”. I have myself a beer and get ready to enjoy a good old scary movie. It was a good night.

Horror Movie Marathon 2019!

Cigarette Burns

Tragedy Girls

Midsommer

In the Tall Grass

Pelts

Evil Dead

Silver Bullet

Christine

Creepshow

Event Horizon

The Autopsy of Jane Doe

The Banana Splits

The Thing

The Broken

The Cabin in the Woods

Videodrome

Society

Wounds

Feast

Abandoned

Ghost Ship

Halloween (2007)

The Void

Final Destination

30 Days of Night

In the Mouth of Madness

Planet Terror

Flatliners

Wrong Turn

Graveyard Shift

The Dead Zone

Hellraiser

Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D

The Exorcist

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Hocus Pocus

Beetlejuice

Trick R’ Treat

Jalapeño!!!!

Bekah made her famous enchilada chicken. Another simple recipe you really can’t go wrong with. Sunny side egg was my contribution.

Chili. Traditional? Not really! I was supposed to make it traditional but that just didn’t happen. Oops.

Orange chicken stir-fry. Do I need to say more about this meal? I think I’ve cooked it 3 times since I started this blog. I made this version less spicy so Bekah could enjoy it. Cooked my peppers separately and added afterwards. She was able to enjoy it.

Pizza for Halloween.

Teriyaki steak. Pretty basic. Hard to screw this up. Simple!

Bowling for Beer

Bowling is a sport that I fully support. It was my athletic credit in college. You can be a talentless whack job and still possibly manage to be a good bowler. You don’t have to have any real athleticism. You sit on you’re a** waiting for your turn. You can get loaded on booze and it might actually improve your game. (I fall into that category, I’m not ashamed to admit.) If so inclined, and if the establishment allows it, you can even bowl with a cigarette hanging from your lip. I remember the smoking section of the alley I grew up playing. Through a haze of smoke I could see the ball soaring down the lane towards the pins. You can have a mouth full of pizza and still bowl. Yes, there is competition like all sports. With bowling it’s more often about the gathering of friends. A shared good time. No one’s going to be too upset if they gutter ball every time. You won’t go home feeling like a failure. Competitive league bowling is not what I’m talking about here. If that is at all like joining a dart league, which I begrudgingly did, then it is very serious and very competitive. Almost to the point where it lost it’s fun. I’m talking casual bowling. So I have to say I was excited when Bekah said all her coworkers were gathering again for a night of bowling.

After a long but really rather nice day at work thanks to the overcast cold weather, I went home to prepare myself for the evening. I was famished and needed a little snack to bring me back to the world of the living. The game didn’t start until six so I had an hour. I also enjoyed a couple beers. Like I said, my bowling is much looser after a drink or two. Not to mention this weather is the kind that makes me want to dive into those Oktoberfest that I’ve been waiting to drink. So I chill with the dogs for a bit and enjoy the solitude. Thinking to myself how f***ing dumb my coworker is. I have never worked with someone so stupid. The Llama continues to surprise me with his ignorance and general lack of higher qualities. I decided one more drink won’t hurt. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this guy drives me to drink.

I leave the house feeling relaxed and ready to play ball. I check out my shoes, hoping athletes foot isn’t in my near future. The first thing I do before I’m noticed and forced to socialize is check out the arcade room. I want to see how much has changed since my childhood days of blowing my parents quarters. It’s also nostalgic. Arcades were a big part of my childhood experience. I spent lots of time in the various ones across town. Shakey’s Pizza was a home away from home. (Just writing about arcades right now has me feeling excited. Future blog?) So I want to see what the games people are playing these days. Any of the old classic still around? To my horror, they had killed the arcade. It was all claw crane games & two pathetic excuses for arcade. I always hated the driving simulation & shooters games. Sad!

After leaving the arcade in disappointment I make myself towards the bar and purchase a bottle of beer. A sadness has settled over me. Once beverage has been secured I make my way to the crowd. I say crowd. I was the first to arrive other than my wife, her coworker & husband. I say hi, share brief pleasantries, and am ushered toward tonight’s dinner: pizza. My face probably lit up. Joy was returned to me. Junk pizza, no doubt. But you can’t tell me that just the cheap stuff isn’t still good. I’m no pizza snob. Junk pizza is almost a comfort food. It was delightful. 4 different varieties. I made myself have a slice of each before the night was over.

When everyone else arrived Bekah & I got together with the same group that we played with last time. Good people, and hilarious to be around. Like I mentioned, it’s the gathering of friends that really makes this fun. Here I was, sitting on my a** with a beer in one hand and a pizza in the other waiting for my turn to bowl. A perfect moment if ever there was one. I start off strong with a strike. That was just luck. I have no real strategy when it comes to bowling: I just hurl the ball with all my strength down the lane. I’ve always had pretty good precision when it came to throwing. I continue this way for a bit. Bekah brings me another beer. I bowl and hit one pin. Yikes. Oof. Bekah was beating me at this point. That didn’t last though. I took great pleasure in yelling “OH NO” when she sent one down the gutter. I ended up in 2^nd place out of the 6 of us. Not my best game, but not my worst. Good fun. I really should try and bowl more than twice a year. I always enjoy the game. Till next time.

Jalapeño!!

Does this really look gross? The Slavic said it looked like Hazel threw up on my plate. I took a bit of offence to that. This was a crockpot recipe I got from Jamie and kind of altered. It was really good. Just chicken thigh, jalapeño, onion, cream of chicken soup & taco seasoning w/ a can of corn added towards the end. I might have added a little too much water so it was runnier that I had wanted. It had really good flavors.

Bratwurst. It’s October and Bekah wants some good German foods. This will probably be the only time in a year that I have brats. I have to admit it was a nice dinner.

This is one of our favorites. And we have to make it last. The Lea & Perrins white wine Worcestershire sauce isn’t even available anymore. I have about half a bottle left and I’m making it last. I have no idea why they stopped producing that sauce. It is so amazing. I grew up on it.

Pizza & bowling.

Jagerschnitzel. This was a real treat. German cabbage and some mashed potatoes. Some of the best mashed potatoes. We used heavy cream and it made all the difference. I can’t believe I only just now found out that heavy is the key. Well, that and lots of butter. We only ever make this meal about once a year.

Cocktail of the Week: Samuel Adams Octoberfest

Birthdays, Anniversaries & Hangovers

Our goofy girl Hazel turned 4 on Monday. She is still very much a puppy at heart. To celebrate she got a party hat, a skunk toy, some cookies, a walk, & ice cream. Also, lots of love and belly rubs. Spoiled rotten, this one. Bekah even sang happy birthday to her. She appreciates her gifts. She is a good girl.

Well most of the time. I had to give her a bath 4 times last week. She has developed a habit of rolling around in the dustiest dirtiest spot in our yard. Always while I’m on my lunch break. Usually 5 min before I need to head back to work. Let me just say that I was frustrated. Thursday I returned to work looking like maybe it was I that got hosed off and not the other way around. I forgive her, but she is testing my patience. I guess that part of being a parent. My adorable little angel can also be an irritating little b****.

This was Bekah and my 5 year anniversary. 5 years with the one I love. No one ever thinks that they will meet “the one” at a bar, do they? I mean, I didn’t know where I would meet “the one”, but is certainly wasn’t happy hour. Life is just full of surprises. Chance encounters & such. That was a hell of a weekend. This years anniversary we unfortunately didn’t go anywhere like all past ones. Usually it’s a week off in October. This year it just felt like it got here before we knew it. Plus so many unforeseen things kept coming up that required money I guess our minds were not on it. I doesn’t matter though. I can have just as much fun with Bekah in our house as I can on the beach or in the mountains. We went to our anniversary spot, The Wharf. I got my usual. I don’t deviate much. Blackened Hawaiian chicken, jalapeño soup & bottle caps. I left stuffed. I don’t know how I ate all that. So delightful. Bottle of wine? Sure!! It was a nice dinner. One that made us release we need to go on dates more often. Afterwards it was time for a movie. Do we stick with the horror that we have watched all month or something different? Horror movie! And drinks. Probably a little too much of the red wine. We had to re-watch the movie. I know, that is sad. All I can say is that we had a nice night.

The next morning I had to get up early for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. I was not feeling my finest. I had a wine hangover. It’s been a while. I dragged myself to the walk. I was told my eyes looked “rough”. Glassy glazed over? Yes! Blood shot & Broken. Lacking spirit. Well, thanks a lot. I’m glad to be here too. Thanks for the encouraging pep talk. . I’m happy everyone I’m meeting for the first time got to see me in my finniest form. Yes, I feel like I look. No, this is not my normal condition. What a number this had on my confidence. Is Chick-fil-A open yet? I could really use some breakfast. I toughed it out.

Once free of my tormentors I had breakfast w/ a little hair of the dog to invigorate myself with the courage I needed to make it through the day. I was to spend the day with my brothers and nephew. Never show weakness to a 3 year old. For that matter, never show weakness to my brothers. They will take it and feed off it. Leave me a shell of a man. I had to soldier on. That meant suck it up and have a beer with my middle brother for lunch while youngest is at a birthday party with kids. It didn’t take me long to realize middle brother was in much worse condition than I. The moron. Hard night at the bar, that guy. Got himself cut off. Tried to order drinks and fell down, they say. Acted a fool. Was being “unruly”. Bummed a cigarette off some guy and proceeded to call him an idiot and some other more offensive names. At Whataburger a cop approached my youngest brother asking him how the middle brother was planning on getting home. “Uber” he said. He was later found asleep on the bathroom floor with his eye open. Contacts dried up and crusted to his cornea. Upon hearing this, I wondered what condition I would have been in had it not been our anniversary & I’d gone out with them?

Over drinks, that we both needed, we discussed the merits of presentation or lack thereof. Is a pina coldada served in a Dixie cup just as good as one served in a pineapple? Does the presentation make the drink? Do we let the aesthetics rule out life? Whatever. We both felt better than we had before that drink. Off to see the nephew.

I swear, kids are exhausting. He is just a bundle of energy. And SO smart. His vocabulary has improved immensely since I saw him last. You can actually engage in conversation with him now. After running around with his aunt Bekah be sat down next to me and we watch Brave together. Fun times. It was really great seeing everyone and hanging out. The only part of the weekend that was a bust was Saturday night dinner. I had my first and last Panda Express. No thank you.

Sunday. That hangover I had forced away decided to reel its ugly head again. This time two fold. It’s no surprise & I was anticipating the beast to bite back. Drinking with the brothers will do that to you. If you have any experience with hangovers you must know that the worst usually come from consuming an abundance of vino. Like Dionysus, the Greek God of wine, we could not quench our thirst. Wine became water. So Sunday morning I pulled my miserable a** out of bed, winced at the sunlight, & proceeded down the halls to find rehydration and nourishment. The day was mostly spent on the couch with the comfort of old horror movies to keep me distracted from my pain. At some point I said f*** it, I’m going to have a beer. This isn’t going away on its own.

Jalapeño!!!!

Hoisin pork loin. I grill everything else with that sauce, why not try it on a nice loin. It was pretty delightful. Bekah thinks I’ve mastered cooking pork. I don’t want to pat myself on the back here, but I have gotten pretty good at it. Never dried out and always juicy and tender. One misconception is that pork has to be well done. This is not true.

Beef tenderloin filet with a balsamic reduction. One of the best ways to serve a steak.

McCormick’s chipotle season packet and chicken. I’m glad I found out about these.

Pre-seasoned hickory pork from Market Street. It was pretty bland, really. I added some BBQ sauce to liven it up some. Bummer that it came as a 4 pack and I have 2 more in my freezer that I’ll have to work with again.

Date night at the Wharf! I discussed this meal briefly above. I must say, they rarely disappoint. The bottle caps had a nice spice. The blackened seasoning on the chicken was amazing. Pretty sure it is a mix of black pepper and chipotle. I actually got a bowl of the Jalapeño soup this time around. Usually I only get a cup. I felt like a glutton. I don’t know how I walked out of the place. Good think we declined bread.

Cocktail of the Week: Tempranillo. Actually let’s add Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon & Pinot Noir. There was a reason I wasn’t in my best form. Mixing of red wines. Oof.