Tag: food

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Rodents Everywhere

Summer made us some little breakfast sandwiches this morning before going to the gym. I wasn’t as productive as I wanted to be, but I somehow still felt like I was fairly busy all day. Eaddie left for church, and then Summer and I took Muad’Dib for a walk around the neighborhood when she got back. We visited Mom briefly, but Dad was still at church.

I had a ton of security camera clips of the rats downstairs, and strangely we saw a couple dead mice on the sidewalk while we were out. I never made it downstairs to investigate, but it looked like my bait was gone on the bucket trap again, but I kept seeing more clips of rats moving around. I don’t want to kill them, but I’m at my wits’ end. I’ll probably have to put out some more poison tomorrow.

I gave Muad’Dib a really good bath, and then Summer and I stayed in the rest of the day, just eating leftovers and cleaning up a very minor bit around the house. I finally finished the split pea soup, then made her a grilled cheese to go with some leftover tomato soup, and we finished the Wonderman series before bed. We liked it.

Full

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Slowingburgertime

We got to work a little early this morning and tried to lock in. I had a couple things interrupt me throughout the day, but I felt like overall I had decent answers to everything. It was nice enough at lunch time that we ate outside Taco Bell again. Then Muad’Dib had a good run up the road back to the office. The afternoon went by quickly since I got to move around a little bit more.

Summer was standing outside when we got back to the house, and she really wanted a cheeseburger for dinner. I suggested going out to get a good one, rather than getting something less good from a fast food joint. We decided on Buffalo Wild Wings so we could take Muad’Dib.

Service was kind, but unbelievably slow. It may have been the kitchen’s fault, because the restaurant was absolutely dead, and we were the only ones outside. At least the food was really good, and we had a decent deal for it all.

Summer had a bath while I tinkered and cleaned up some stuff. Then we watched some of the MKBHD YITL episode before bed.

Mechanical Button Pushers

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Square Wheel Keep On Turnin’

I woke up hungry today, but I tamed that with a Soylent. I’ve been under-stimulated and under-motivated, but I played around some more with PiSignage and its less-than intuitive interface. I didn’t decide on lunch until we got outside, and then decided on Wendy’s. Muad’Dib looked back at me through the windows with jealousy, so he got a treat when I finished. Then I let him run back to the office from the very end of the street. That boy misses the Onewheel as much as I do.

The afternoon was a little more focused, but only just. The drive home had more traffic than I expected, which got worse as we got to town. I should have let the car take the first exit like it wanted. It knew better than me. We ended up going around our normal route at the last exit, and finally made it to the house.

The girls were home so we could chat about Eaddie’s band trip, but I guess I had figured most of it out before I got there. I wanted to book a hotel, but that didn’t happen. They got distracted by the television, and then I warmed up food for Summer and myself. We just can’t all stay focused on one thing ever. Then I got upset with Eaddie because she and Eli left about a quarter of a steak worth of scraps in the trash, which I fished out for Muad’Dib.

I thought I had caught a rat because I didn’t see my bait, but evidently something got to it without falling in. I added some more bread, then started some laundry to finish up the night.

I don’t wanna wait

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Big Catch

I felt much better today, but found it much harder to focus. I basically just tinkered all day between projects or other break/fix stuff. Summer had a meeting in Little Rock, so she met us for lunch at Ortega’s. Our server was slow, which saved me an extra plate. We ran into Teisha and her husband on the way out, and he was rocking a solid cast on his leg.

The afternoon went by just as slowly as the morning, but it could have been worse. Then we stopped by the old house on the way home so I could get a five gallon bucket to use as a rat trap. Summer was doing her cross stitch in front of the TV, and Eaddie was on her way out the door.

I set the rat trap and had some leftover split pea soup, then sat in front of the TV with Summer briefly before she went to bed. Just then, I heard some commotion downstairs and went out to find I had caught a small opossum. It wasn’t too toothy, but refused to come out, so I had to set the bucket on its side and then just wait.

I eventually re-set the trap, and then it was off to bed on time.

Old CDs

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The Cheese Stands Alone

I heard some rustling in the dining room this morning, and shook down some boxes to expose a rat, who scurried around the corner faster than I could believe. The dog has no traction, but the rat moved like it was on rails. I thought I heard another one, but could never find it, so I knew we had to excavate the corner sooner than later.

We got to work and I actually felt pretty good, but quickly turned sour as my stomach did flips. We made it to lunch, and it was nice outside, so we went to Taco Bell. Muad’Dib did great sitting at the picnic table outside while I waited forever to get our food. There were multiple employees standing, and no discernible reason for the food to have taken so long. I eventually made it back outside and we shared some fries and chicken bits.

Afterward, we stopped by Sonic for some cheese sticks and then made it back to the office. It was a long afternoon, but I finally submitted my first purchase order with Howard. I like my new reps so far, and hopefully I can execute this digital signage well enough to impress some folks.

Summer was in the shower when we got home, and I still felt gross for a little while. I thought I might go help Neil with a computer, but ended up having leftovers for dinner with Summer, and then cleaned up the stack of boxes in the dining room. Hopefully I can keep things moving enough to keep the rats from moving back in, and then I’ll have to go full-extermination mode.

Gains

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Lemme Cook

We got up this morning and I decided to make pancakes and waffles, so Summer and I went to the Neighborhood Market for some milk, and browsed for something to cook for dinner as well. We ended up with a whole bunch of New York strip steaks, sweet potatoes, and Brussels sprouts. The girls went back later for some russets though, because I really wanted a classic baked potato.

I was disappointed in my breakfast, which we ended up eating right around noon, because both the pancakes and waffles didn’t really fill in, and had holes or jagged bits after they were flipped. I did get to use up a bunch of blueberries and bananas that had been sitting around for a while though. At least everything tasted good.

The kids had to go to a recital in the evening, so we planned to have dinner early. I tried to clean up a bit, and got the kitchen taken care of, but before I knew it, we had to start on dinner. I had gotten a fire started in the fireplace that we never really got to enjoy before I had to get up and start the smoker. I wanted to smoke and then sear the steaks I got, but time dictated that they could not smoke for long before they needed to be ready.

By the end of it all, we had everything ready and it was only Eaddie that ate. Eli didn’t come over, and Summer and I weren’t really hungry enough for dinner quite yet. Eaddie had also brought some ribs and chicken wings that she just picked up from her father in Clarksville. She ate and then left, so Summer and I cleaned up a bit more before sitting down to eat a small dinner ourselves.

We cleaned up a bit more before relaxing a bit. Then as the evening came to a close, the fire roared up in the fireplace again, so we sat together to watch that for a while before bed.

Speedrun Sundays

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Running a Cold

I got up with Summer this morning and thought I might go to her 5k with her, but ended up staying home to clean up a bit. They messed up the tracking, so she took forever to get her second-place division award. I figured we could go to breakfast to celebrate, but by the time she got home it was about time for lunch. She cleaned up and we ended up going to Brown’s Catfish because I had been craving catfish for a while.

Lunch was great, but I stuffed myself stupid. Summer had driven separately so she could go to the basketball game where Eaddie was playing in the pep band. I considered going to that too, but Muad’Dib had already been in the car for all of our lunch time. I took him home instead, and after a bit of rest, we walked to my parents’ house.

We visited for a while before I headed back and continued to clean up randomly. Summer got home and we sat on the couch together for a while, but she felt progressively worse all day. She thought it might have just been all the cold air during her run, and went to bed with a massive headache. I stayed up and tinkered until really late.

Plaidly

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Make Italian Grate Again

Summer opened this morning and would have to go back to replace the wash belt in the evening, so we had a dinner date planned. My day didn’t go exactly as I planned, and it was still no more productive. I was called to a few issues that I was at least able to mostly resolve.

It was cold out, so we went to McDonald’s for lunch where the manager had come to know me by name. Service was good, but my Big Mac was stale and dry. My first round of fries was good, but when I went back to redeem a free Happy meal out of nostalgia for the Changeables toy, those fries were somehow terrible. The hot honey sauce for the nuggets was divine, but Muad’Dib got the fries. An older gentleman in a suit came and sat by me at the bar just as I was packing up to leave.

The afternoon was full of trips up and down the stairs to troubleshoot a cabling issue, and so far I’ve been pretty annoyed by the quality of the install from Blue Sky. It seems like this is the second instance of some bad termination, but I want to be sure before I start screaming.

Summer wanted Olive Garden for dinner, but on the way home she said Eaddie wanted to go with us, but to Pasta Grill instead. I was truthfully dreading Olive Garden on account of their overpriced and mostly terrible menu, so this was a wonderful change of plans. We drove separately since Summer would have to go back to work, and then Eaddie rode around with me while Summer went in.

We had to get her boots from the house first, and then I took Eaddie to Dairy Queen. It was too cold to sit outside with Muad’Dib, so we headed back to the house where she finished up her school stuff and I cleaned up a bit before bed.

Second best dressed at the Morrilton McDonald’s

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MexiMash

I had been looking forward to lunch at Ortega’s all week. I didn’t really figure Grant would show up, but that was okay. Summer didn’t leave town either, so I just ate alone. I think this may have been my best plate yet, with a tostada, chalupa, chicken enchilada, and chili con queso. I threw some chip crumbs on top, and basically had some epic nachos. I felt a little woozy in the afternoon, but we survived.

Kaleb stopped in for help with some SharePoint nonsense, which still confuses me, but it worked well enough for him. I struggled with some HubSpot reporting for the rest of the afternoon and left no better. We stopped in to Brown’s for a gift card, and then Summer encountered us at the El Paso intersection and followed us to Ridgewood where I got another gift card just from myself.

When we got to the house, Summer and I had a heated conversation about her having to open and then work late again tomorrow to repair a broken belt at the wash. She was told not to go, but insisted that she wanted to, and she didn’t seem to understand how this felt like she was choosing work over family yet again.

We talked a bit, she bathed, and then we sat in front of the TV, flipping through YouTube until bedtime. Nothing else written or discussed, cleaned or dust’.

Wax off.

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Lessons Fought

Eaddie called me a little after midnight, which of course startled us both. I tried to answer, but then she walked around the corner toward the bedroom and said she needed help. Summer jumped up too, but I dressed and followed her outside to investigate. Eli was sitting in the Pathfinder in the driveway right behind my car, and had gotten stuck on the ice slope.

We couldn’t even walk on the ice because it was so slick, so I got a couple containers for the kids to shuttle water back and forth. Eaddie was minimally helpful, and sassed me any time I told her to do anything. Summer eventually came out with my axe and started whaling on the ice to break it up. After a couple hours, we finally got free and climbed out of the driveway. I mentioned Eaddie’s attitude to Summer, and she decided to address it right away before the kids left. Of course Eaddie started crying in frustration, which broke Summer down. I meant for it to be discussed later, but apparently Eaddie had previously expressed wanting to be called out on the spot. They left and Summer and I struggled to go back to sleep.

As tired as I was in the morning, we made it to work for a long day. Rhonda said Muad’Dib had peed on Teddy’s bed in their office, which surprised me since he’s usually right around me. I tried to stay focused, but had a pretty bad anxiety attack in the morning. We got mozzarella sticks from Sonic, then a box from Taco Bell since it actually felt reasonably nice outside. Some old jackass parked crooked next to me, but luckily I could Summon my car out of the spot and load Muad’Dib back in when we left.

The afternoon dragged on a bit, and then we headed home. Janice gave me some money for gift cards from Old South and Brown’s, but the latter would be closed until the next day. The girls were at the house when we got there, but things seemed quiet. Summer bathed and I left to pick up some food. Eaddie denied hunger, but I knew she would eat, so I picked up a bunch of wings from Buffalo Wild Wings, and then a plate from Panda Express. Buffalo Wild Wings was terribly slow, and the boneless wings were terribly small, and of course Panda Express had boxed up my order half an hour before I finally got there.

We all sat down to eat, which was nice, but then Summer quietly summoned me to the bedroom for a talk. I think we both knew Eaddie was really upset that Summer had reversed her decision to get out by the end of the week, but I guess they talked about it and it had them both very bothered. I went to talk to Eaddie about it myself, and I felt like we had a pretty good conversation. Of course I won’t know how she really feels, but hopefully she and Summer can revisit later, and I’m sure we’ll be fine if we can all agree to focus our energy in a positive way.

Eaddie left to practice at Witherspoon, and I rushed to bed without much of a catch-up session with Summer. The less energy we have to spend on catching up for things like this, the better.

Beat the keys out of it.