Tag: family

Uncategorised

I’m Yellin Timber

I woke up really early today after a long night, and didn’t really feel the need to go back to sleep. I made Summer a coffee when she got up, and she eventually pushed me to get cleaned up so we could go to the store. She wanted to make Chicken Florentine, which appears to be capitalized for some reason. She and Eaddie set up the Christmas tree while I was in the shower, and then Summer and I went to Walmart to shop around a bit.

I was pretty hungry, so the first thing we did was stop and try the new Krispy Krunch Chicken inside the Walmart. The chicken strips were awesome, but the jambalaya was pretty dry and lackluster. Once we finished there, we picked up some Dirty Santa gifts for her work parties, and then got stuff for food.

We stopped by the old house on the way home so I could feed the fish and grab a few glasses out of the cabinet. Then Eaddie started baking some pumpkin muffins when we got back. Summer cleaned up a bit around the house and then helped with the baking. It was a little late by the time they finished, and Summer had to sit down for a little while and wanted me to try and execute her dinner plans.

I wasn’t thrilled with that since I wasn’t really excited about the meal anyway. Then we realized she had forgotten to pick up sundried tomatoes. It hadn’t been a very good day, and this just made me crankier, so I decided I wasn’t cooking.

After a while, Summer got up to cook herself, so I prepared to go back out to the store. Just as I was getting dressed, I heard the loud crash of the Christmas tree falling behind the TV and smashing at least one ornament into shards all around the area and into the back of one of my subwoofers. I spent a while cleaning that up, and we eventually disassembled everything to throw the tree and its broken stand away.

Dinner was actually very good, though the amount of cream in the sauce nearly caused me trouble. Eaddie’s muffins turned out pretty sandy, but I think she was at least taking those to school so they shouldn’t sit around the house. The girls went to bed and I stayed up for some peace to myself before bed.

Talk to me, ooh-ooh, talk to me.

Uncategorised

Dear Eight-Pound, Six-Ounce, Newborn Infant Jesus

Sleeping was fairly uncomfortable with a weepy bit of road rash on the inside of my left ankle. I couldn’t believe the tire had gotten me as badly as it had, but I guess it just accelerated into me yesterday. I slept in pretty late, and got up to find Summer doing her nails. I spread some sauerkraut and mustard on a waffle and ate the last brat that was in the fridge. I thought the waffle might be a little more satisfying as bread, but it was pretty grainy.

I took a shower in the afternoon so we could go shopping, but Summer remembered that we were going to watch Christmas with The Chosen at UEC with Dad. Eaddie and I were hungry and she wanted cheese, so the three of us went to Cici’s for a late lunch before the movie.

We got to the theater just in time to find seats, and I was a little bit surprised at how empty the theater was. I guess all the church groups probably went to see it early. Some of the people sitting in front of us had snuck some really loud snack packaging into the theater, which struck me as a little ironic considering the forbidden nature of the act. The “movie” itself was about half music videos, with a few quick scenes of some dirty shepherds and a dirty messiah infant. I don’t know about Dad, but it wasn’t what any of the rest of us thought it would be.

After the movie, we headed home and Summer and I watched some TV. I started with a little YouTube, and then we ended up watching Rock-a-Doodle, which was shortish and relatively fun. Eaddie hid in her room all night, and I stayed up late configuring the old, original Pixel I bought for use as a photo backer-upper. Hopefully it plays nicely with the special photo and video editing features of my newer Pixel 8 Pro.

Don’t even know a word yet, but still omnipotent, with your golden diapers.

Uncategorised

Deep Dried Chicken

I got up this morning and made a couple caramel lattes for us. The magic club was having their Christmas party in Fort Smith, so I prompted Summer and we got ready to go. Eaddie stayed behind since she traveled all day yesterday. We took Summer’s car to get Dad, loaded up, and headed west. We were the first ones to the venue, which was the Riverfront Pavilion instead of the amphitheater building we normally use. Evidently there was a scheduling conflict, so they upgraded us.

Summer lost an earring, but we never did find it. People were filling in pretty quickly by then, so we got the food laid out, tables set, and had our lunch and a show. The best performer by far was a younger guy I hadn’t seen before with a great linking rings routine. Everything else was fairly predictable for the occasion. At the end of it all, everyone left as quickly as they had arrived, and we were the last ones out.

We stopped in Ozark to charge for just a bit, and then made it home fairly early. We dropped Dad off and came home to find Eaddie doing laundry. Summer did some work in bed and I watched an interesting and long Smarter Every Day video which was a speech that Destin gave to some folks in the Artemis program. I shouldn’t have dawdled so long and gone to bed early instead.

Apparently milk ratios are a key technicality.

Uncategorised

Short Parade

After going to bed super early last night, I woke up around midnight thinking I had shut off my alarm. I was halfway through getting ready for work when I realized the sun wasn’t coming out, so I crawled back into bed and snoozed through a couple of alarms as I laid in bed awake. That got me to work a few minutes early, but not for much good.

I was by myself for most of the day because Kim had to take Jase to the doctor, where she learned that he had a ruptured eardrum. After that, he spent most of the day in the office with us. She left again in the afternoon to get a prescription, so I carried on until finally leaving just a few minutes early.

I stopped to feed the fish, and then went to Harbor Freight to buy one of the smaller tool chests with Dad’s coupon for 25% off. It was still a pricy cabinet, but I guess that’s what you get for buying the latest model. Hopefully they release a nice hutch to fit on top, but even without, I think it’ll fit the space better than if we had crammed a cabinet into the room that was a whole foot longer.

Without a truck to take the thing home, I arranged for them to hold it and I went to AT&T to see if Kevin was there. He was, but said I couldn’t borrow his truck because he had to go to the parade right after work. He was riding his bike in the parade, but said he could probably help tomorrow.

By that time, people were already gathering along the sides of the street. I made it home through the traffic, changed clothes, picked up Dad, and made it across town to park for the parade just in time to meet Summer there after getting back from Greenbrier. Somehow she didn’t notice that it was me parking in the road right in front of her, so she parked a block away and walked over to us. I had brought my Onewheel, but after feeling a little wobbly in the middle of the street and bailing off, I decided to stick it back in the trunk.

Eaddie was the first band in the parade, so we got our pictures of her and left. We didn’t even get to see Kevin riding with the mountain bike club. I took Dad to his house and then beat Summer home. I cleaned up some leftovers and made Summer a bowl of some corned beef. Eaddie made it home pretty late, and everyone went to bed early.

You sass that hoopy?

Uncategorised

TenWheels

We had a PD day at work, but Russellville kids were back in school. They had a speaker there in the morning, so they kept coming to get me to fix audio issues. I didn’t actually fix anything myself, but I guess they felt better having me around. Eaddie called and said the Murano smelled like something was burning, but the temperature gauge looked okay. She said nothing seemed wrong otherwise, so I told her to take it easy and listen and smell for bad things on the way to school. Hopefully it was just the heater while she was defrosting.

Kim went to the doctor for a couple hours in the middle of the day, and then brought Taco Bell back for us since the cafeteria was closed. The afternoon dragged on, and I didn’t feel like I accomplished anything at all. I did order a Onewheel while they were still on sale for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. I talked myself into getting the biggest, fastest one, which may have been a mistake. I just thought my extra weight would benefit from the extra power, and aftermarket prices seemed to hold pretty well. I couldn’t tell if that was true for the higher-end models, but the idea isn’t to sell it anyway.

After work, I went to feed the fish. Eaddie wanted 50-cent corn dogs, and Summer was home from work really early, so I stopped at Sonic on the way home. Eaddie and I ate a couple dogs, and then I went to my parents’ house by myself since they both had work or homework to do. Dad and I grazed over leftovers and I left pretty stuffed.

The girls were both wound down by the time I got back home, so I spent a little more money and eventually made it to bed.

These are expensive months.

Uncategorised

Holiday Crash

Eaddie nearly stayed up all night, but was probably the most spry of any of us all day. I did my best not to sleep too late, and made Summer a coffee when she got up. They went for a quick shopping trip while I had a shower, and then we all went to my parents’ house to eat some leftovers. Julie and Kevin showed up to do the same, and then we took Eaddie home to rake leaves while Summer and I went to the old house to get my wheelbarrow.

It had a bad tire, so we went to Lowe’s to shop around, and then Harbor Freight to pick up a replacement wheel. It was dark by the time we got back to the house, and we all sat around waiting for my parents to call for dinner. Summer and I watched the first episode of Secret Invasion, and I didn’t much love it, but I think the universe is just getting too big for me to wrap my head around it.

Once my parents had some sweet potato and shrimp ready, we went to eat pretty quickly before coming home to get ready for bed. Eaddie left her purse there, so Dad walked it over to us, and then it was off to sleep before going back to work.

Not completely opposed to the Whataplane.

Uncategorised

Ready for Takeoff

I got up early today so we could go hiking on Petit Jean with Tom, Angela, Brandan, and Nikolle. They brought Cutie along as well, and she really enjoyed running around outside. I thought Eaddie was going as well, but she stayed home and slept instead. Summer and I met the others at the Cedar Falls Overlook. That was barely a walk at all, and then we went to the lodge for a restroom break before going to the Bear Cave Trail. That was more climbing than walking, but I think they had fun. Our last stop was the gravesite, and I let Tom drive the Model 3. We weren’t there long before we had to get back to town because Uncle Rick’s family made it into the airport.

I raced home with Summer and had Eaddie load the Model Y for us so we could do a quick swap and go. We loaded up some food and went to get some ice, and met everyone at the airport. Julie rented a big room there where everyone could sit and eat, but everyone eventually spread out across the whole building and outside, particularly while Kevin was giving airplane rides.

I finally got to go flying with him, and it was exactly what I had imagined. I’ve always wanted to fly, but never put any effort into it. The regulations and formalities just sort of made it less fun, which was sort of the same way I felt about ham radio. We flew along the river toward Petit Jean, which was way faster than driving earlier that morning. We scared some birds, skated on some water, and got eye-level with a buddy of his that had flown to a sandbar for a night of camping. I got to fly while we climbed for a while, and then he took over for a couple maneuvers before we landed.

I was the last one in the air, so I got to see the beautiful sunset. The girls had left earlier because Summer was feeling sick and Eaddie wanted to go to the movies with some friends, so they didn’t get to see any of it. I also got brave enough to try out Kevin’s Onewheel, and did way better than I expected. I tripped up trying to get off a couple times, but didn’t fall until I had already ridden around with a little bit of speed. When I did finally fall, I think it was because I was trying to start out on a slightly sloped surface.

Dad finished up the night at the airport with a short magic show, and then everyone helped us load up to go home. Julie and Kevin locked up at the airport, and my parents and I waited for everyone else to make it back to their house to pack some food for their trip home. Then once they left, Dad took me home.

Summer was in bed, and Eaddie and Eli were at the house watching TV, so I showed them a clip from my flight before going to the office to research Onewheels and EUCs. It was tempting to order one at Black Friday prices, but I don’t guess I’d really have much occasion to ride one. It really was fun, though.

The Need for Speed!

Uncategorised

Hostgiving

Summer got up this morning and started prepping her food for hosting Thanksgiving. The fireplace kit I ordered came in a day late, but just in time for us to put it together and get wood loaded onto it. Kevin called just as I was finishing up, and I met him at the old house to load up the old sofa to bring to the new house. Since he had room in the truck, I also had him dump the old mattress I still had in the garage.

We unloaded the sofa really quickly, and Eaddie vacuumed so we could get it placed in the sunroom. I got a fire going, and people eventually started showing up. All of the out-of-towners came in first, so we had to rush everyone else. Mom and Dad brought Doug, and then Julie and Kevin showed up with most of the hot food.

It was a really great time, and we clearly had way more usable room to spread out than if we had been at my parents’ house. We did have one chaotic moment with a flooded bathroom, so I spent some time mopping up in there, but it was still a great first time to host a big family event.

Once everyone had enough socialization for the day, the girls and I cleaned up the kitchen and dining areas and settled in for the night. They did a really great job getting everything clean in a really short amount of time. I felt like I hit a brick wall, but still dawdled a bit before making it to bed.

That was a lot of potatoes.

Uncategorised

Three South, Five and a Half North

I thought I would be stressing over the last minute moves today, but I decided to take a different approach. We had enough cleaned up and ready to go, and I decided against trying to wall mount my nice TV in a rush. My stud finder was going nuts anyway, so I’m not sure if there’s something else already in the wall anyway. I’ll have to investigate further.

I ran to my old house to pick up an assortment of things. While I was there, I cleared a path for the sofa in case we would have time to fetch it. I brought a rake home so Eaddie could clean up the front yard while I blew off the deck with the leaf blower. Summer spent all day prepping food and cleaning up around the kitchen. I tried fixing the craft ice maker in the refrigerator, but it appeared to be an issue with the gears in the motor. Before we knew it, the sun went down and family started coming in.

My parents had turkey soup and egg rolls, so the girls walked while I caught up to them in the car. Summer got to cook egg rolls, so she and Eaddie spent most of their time out back. John, Thea, and her mother were the first to arrive. Mom got upset after we tried to corral everyone to the dinner table and gave up, but Eaddie and I were hungry and there weren’t enough seats for everyone anyway.

The girls tired early, before the others arrived, so I took them home. When I got back, everyone else had finally arrived. I could tell they were exhausted from the drive, but they humored us and came over for a little bit of food and company.

Julie gave me some dry goods to take home, and I stayed until everyone else was ready to head out. Then I went home and calibrated my speakers for their new home. I hate that my subwoofer went out so suddenly and unexpectedly, but maybe it’s a sign.

Why, no!

Uncategorised

Griffed

Summer went in to work late today because of some rain. I tried not to sleep too late myself, and continued running wash cycles to try and clean out the washing machine. After making a leftover burrito and taking a shower, Grant texted to get our address. I was kind of in limbo for the rest of the afternoon, waiting to see if he would show up.

Summer came home early since there wasn’t anything going on at the shops. I eventually started cleaning the carpet along the television wall, having given up on Grant. Then he texted that he was coming, followed shortly thereafter by another text that he wasn’t. Eaddie had a game night with some friends, so I just kept cleaning carpets into the evening.

When I finished cleaning my area, I dug some food out for Summer to see what she had rotting in the fridge. She cleaned up some newer leftovers and I went to my office for a while before coming back out to clean and organize some of the stuff in the pantry. Then I made some ramen noodles before retiring to the office for the rest of the evening until bed.

I pick all of them.