Tag: family

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Taco Salad

I slept much better last night, but Summer didn’t. I sent her to work with a bottle of caffeinated water, which is a thing that apparently exists. Then I was off to see what they day had in store for me.

I spent the whole day to myself at the high school, but still felt only slowly productive. It was cool to see the group text come to life so much, since eight of them were quarantined but supposed to be working from home. Even Allen chimed in a couple times.

Summer was having a rough day, so I took a late lunch to get the girls and took them to Morelos. Three of us had the taco salad that was on sale, and they were delicious. I originally felt like they looked really small, but the girls only ate about half, and I was pretty stuffed after finishing mine anyway.

Summer took the girls home afterward, and I finished my day up fighting a growing PaperCut issue. I didn’t really get anywhere with it, but it definitely seemed to be getting worse over time. That will probably be my big project for tomorrow, since it seems to be district-wide.

After work, I went to get the girls and deliver them to band and karate. Then I spent some time with Split while cleaning up a little bit. Summer got Eaddie after karate and brought her over until Autumn finished. Then they all headed home for the evening, and I spent the rest of my night with a gravy-filled cat.

What an inconvenient time to start dying.

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iPood

I was a total wreck of exhaustion this morning. I thought I slept well, but I felt broken and weary as I climbed out of bed. I moped around a bit and had a shower, but I could still barely move, so it was up to a bottle of Bawls to get me moving.

I started at the high school, but pretty quickly ended up at the shop so I could ship off a piece of server equipment for Gary. Then I went down to the shop to learn that I would be setting up iPads all day. I finished 40 of them in total, and delivered them to Crawford as I left at the end of the day.

When I got home, I called the vet to try and get an appointment for Split, but the good doctor was quarantined. We may be able to wait the week, but as time passes I feel less confident in that.

Mom made phở and spring rolls for dinner, so the girls met me there to eat. Then it was back home for a very short evening before bed.

This day in the past, the baby was still a little atrophy.

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Corrugation Station

We got up this morning without any plans for lunch and a sizeable hunger, so Eaddie and I ran to Burger King for a super cheap bag of food. I really don’t even know how they can sustain those multi-packs of food, because nobody else can feed a family of four for a lucky thirteen bucks.

After we ate, Summer took the girls home to do their chores while I tried to clean up a bit more at home. I got a bunch more empty boxes out of the house, including a big one from my first flat panel TV. The Vizio is still in the garage from when I brought it home from Summer’s, but it stands freely without too much trouble. My newer LG OLED, on the other hand, would require much more care in shipping, so I really didn’t want to get rid of that enormous box, filled with high density styrofoam.

Eventually I made it out to Walmart to pick up a few things to take up to Summer’s for dinner. She tried slow cooking a pork loin for pork tacos, but it just didn’t shred at all after such a short cooking time, so I chopped it up for tacos. Overall it was a super fresh dinner that I could have felt good about if I hadn’t eaten over twice the three tacos I should have eaten.

After dinner, Summer, Eaddie, and I watched a couple episodes of Glee before I headed back home for the evening. I broke down a few more boxes, still failed to get the cat to eat anything, and eventually made it to bed before the loneliest, most stressful work week ever.

Just call me SuperTech.

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Finding Room

I got up pretty early this morning for how late I made it to bed. I really ought to look into blackout curtains or blinds. I didn’t really have any trouble getting out of bed though, so I got showered and started cleaning up a bit around the house. I finally decided to get rid of some big, empty boxes that were taking up a lot of space. There are still more to go, but today was already a noticeable improvement.

In the early afternoon, I went to Mark’s office to help with some trouble he was having with G Suite. I ended up sticking around for quite a while before making it up to Summer’s for a chicken dinner with some kick.

I didn’t want to leave Split for too long, and I still wanted to try and clean up some more, so I didn’t stick around too long. The girls ended up beating me home though, because I spent too much time in Walmart picking up some fresh, refrigerated cat food to try, and then perusing the clearance items. I did come out with a couple gems though.

Julie wanted to chat on the phone for a bit on the way home from there, and then the girls and I watched an episode of Glee before they each started wandering off to bed. It was nice to have enough room again to pull the futon out to make a more proper bed for the girls.

A wonderful place that becomes slowly less comfortable over time.

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Bickerdoodles

Summer and I got up this morning and had leftover waffles and eggs for breakfast. Then she tried to motivate the kids out of bed to clean up the house while she went to the gym. I left as the girls started bickering at each other. I gave Noah permission to knock them around if needed, and headed home to try and clean up a little bit.

Noah had to work, so Summer brought the girls over after dropping him off. Then she and Eaddie went out for a bike ride in the heat while Autumn stayed inside and watched multiple screens as usual. I cleaned more carpet, because that’s my life now. When they got back from their ride, Summer took them home to prepare dinner.

I eventually made it back up the hill, just in time to eat. Summer grilled some pork chops to go with an asparagus, mushroom, tomato, and mozzarella dish, and some mashed potatoes. It was nice to have a well-rounded meal again. Afterward she watched a couple episodes of Glee until everyone scattered to their rooms.

But they don’t look like pigs’ tails.

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Yeehaw.

We all got up this morning and Summer made waffles for breakfast. Autumn drove me to Dollar general so we could pick up some peanut butter for them, and we had a great breakfast. On a bit of a whim, everyone agreed to go to Magic Springs for the day, so we all got up and ready pretty quickly. We had to stop for gas, then by my house to check on the cat. Dad wanted to go with us, so he came over and drove down with Autumn while Eaddie and Noah rode with us.

It was a pretty uneventful drive down, and Dad just happened to get right behind us after we got stuck behind a box truck that was just creeping along. We got to the park in the early afternoon and sent Summer and Autumn off to swim while the rest of us went down the hill for some rides.

We really only had time to ride a couple of the rides. Dad took Noah and Eaddie on the Hawk while I took pictures from below. Then we all rode the Gauntlet. That line experience was the worst we had all day because of all the trashy people cutting in line ahead of us, but we eventually got our turn.

The others tried to ride the X-Coaster, but it got stuck while they were in line. We wanted to ride some more, but we ran out of time before having to meet the others back at the top. It was hot and humid, so we wanted a chance to cool off in the waveless pool before eating. Eaddie insisted that someone else brought her swim suit, and instead learned another important lesson in doing what I tell her to do even if she thinks she knows better. At least we had someone to sit and watch our stuff.

After a brief swim, we went up to the Split Rock Grill and had a bunch of hamburgers. Except Eaddie, who had a sad three little chicken strips. The burgers were surprisingly satisfying, yet devoid of any extras. The kids went off to ride a few more rides while we went to get chairs for the concert. Then we all went down the hill for Lee Brice.

The lawn was absolutely packed with people. It was nearly as crowded as any other popular, non-pandemic concert I’ve seen there. We squeezed in between a few people, quite a bit closer than we really should have, but nobody seemed upset. We watched for a few songs, then left pretty early to beat the traffic out.

We stopped to fill up on some spring water on the way out of town, and decided to do a lap around a few blocks. It was a bit too late to get into any shops, but the kids had fun hanging out together and seeing the night life. Then it was a slow drive following Dad back home for bed.

Lemme hear y’all holler if’n y’er a country bumpkin!

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Last Friday Night

Summer went in to work this morning while I caught up on a bit of sleep. When I got up, I spent the morning and most of the afternoon tinkering with G Suite. Autumn got up and started cleaning house, which eventually prompted Eaddie to do the same.

I had to run home and shower so I could meet up with Mark in the late afternoon. When I got there, he said he forgot to text me that he wasn’t going to have time today, so I headed back home to clean up after the cat. He left me several little presents, so I got the carpet cleaner out and went to work. I ended up liquifying some food for him to see if that would help.

When Noah got off of work, I picked him up and we headed up to Summer’s for the evening. She grilled some chicken for salads, and we watched a bit of TV with the kids until they wanted to watch something without us. Then Summer and I retired to the bedroom and watched Starship Troopers until bedtime.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW MORE?

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SUPERSONIC RAGE

Every step I took this morning landed me a little further behind. Split evidently had trouble keeping solid food down last night, so that was a fun surprise this morning. We ended up at work just a hair late, but we jumped right to work. Autumn basically imaged laptops all day long while I ran around the building closing work orders.

We still had leftover Subway in the fridge, so Autumn worked through lunch while I ran to the shop for some supplies. I stopped by Sonic for some drinks on the way back, then continued on through the afternoon. It was nice to get so much closed out, especially considering how old some of those work orders had gotten.

Most of my new Patriot Supersonic Rage USB drives had arrived, so I got them loaded with the student image in record time, and swapped them out for Autumn. I still have a few rooms that I know I have to visit this week, but for the most part I’m sort of just waiting for everything to fall apart once teachers come back on Monday.

We went home after work, and I got the carpet cleaner out to finish what I had started in the morning. Then we went to get Eaddie and dropped her and Autumn off at karate. I cleaned the cat box again to try and eliminate my gnat problem, then met the girls at my parents’ house for dinner.

Dad grilled some great pork chops and shrimp, and Mom put together noodles and veggies for us. Then we headed back up the hill for the evening. Just after we got there, a college kid knocked on the door trying to sell educational books. It kind of spooked us since it was so dark, but I talked to him for a little bit. The books looked similar to the ones my parents bought me when I was young, and I never once touched them.

Eaddie, Summer, and I finished the evening with an episode of Glee, and then it was off to bed a little early.

This is why they’re called “bored meetings.”

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Living Within the Means

Summer got up and took the girls home while I started cleaning in the garage. Frustration and anxiety about some of the things I’ve hoarded has made it a tiny bit easier to get rid of them, but it’s still not easy. Seeded deep within me is a primal need to be prepared for the day I’ll need some of those things, and I have a genuine fear of not having them when the day comes.

Along with removing the less valuable things comes reorganizing the things that will stay. I have amassed a veritable trove of things larger than I am, and I’ll have to find enough wall space to store them all. I can get a little creative with suspending things from the ceiling, but that will take a considerable amount of work in and of itself. It is neat to be back in a place where I can imagine a realistically finished project though.

The girls eventually came back and we took the leftover barbecue to my parents’ house for lunch. We got there and realized I had forgotten the sauce, so Summer and I ran back across town for that before we could eat. After lunch, Mom seemed to be feeling some kind of way about the way I’ve tried to live within my means, and kept encouraging me to go into debt all just to build a new house. Being out of debt and having money in the bank has been a point of personal pride for me for quite a while, so building a new house isn’t even in my 10-year plan.

We made it back to my house and the girls went home while I cleaned up a bit more. Split wasn’t well, and has gotten to the point where he only eats the gravy out of the canned food I’ve been getting him. Of course he’ll eat the more expensive cans though, so I suppose I’ll be getting more of those tomorrow. Ultimately I made my way up to Summer’s for the evening, and watched some Glee with her and Eaddie before bed.

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”
-Douglas Adams

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The Best Laid Schemes

Summer took the girls home this morning so she could get her nails done. I made plans to pick up some Ridgewood Brothers BBQ for lunch with my parents, then made it across town early enough to be the first person in line. They hooked me up with some incredible banana pudding, but I forgot to tell them what sides I wanted with my Hog Trough, and ended up having to go back for them later in the afternoon.

Uncle Giao came down with Erica to help move Nova into a dorm at Tech, so my parents ended up bailing on lunch with us and went to Linh instead. Summer brought the girls back and we ate a super late lunch at my house.

I knew Robert had quite a bit of trouble with green wood yesterday, but I didn’t expect to taste the difference in the meat. The smokiness just wasn’t there the way it usually is, and all the meats seemed a bit drier and less flavorful than we’d ever had before. We did finally get some burnt ends though, and they were super rich, fatty, and juicy. Honestly, I think I would actually prefer them left on the brisket, but that may not make sense when you’re serving by the slice. Overall, I hate to say it was SubparBQ, but the expectations at this point are so impossibly high, and everyone deserves an off-day. They’re still my number one pick hands-down, and I’m not even playing favorites.

After we ate, Summer left for her hair appointment. Eventually I got the girls loaded up and we went to my parents’ house to swim for a while. Summer took forever to meet us there, but her highlights looked great. We sat around for a while talking to Mom about cars, then eventually made it back to my house for the evening.

Eaddie and I stopped along the way to get some Dairy Queen for everyone, then they watched some TV for a bit before getting up and exploring the house a bit to make plans for The Great Cleanout. There’s a lot to do, but everyone seemed genuinely excited about it, which felt pretty good. I dug out my box of greenman suits, and Eaddie danced around the living room for a bit. I got some intense stomach cramps from all the laughing.

Autumn was the first to crash as usual. Then Summer went to bed while Eaddie watched some TV and I poked around the internet until the yawning took control.

Nothing can stop it cause you’ve just gotta ride ride ride ride ride!