Tag: food

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Everything Day

We got up this morning and the purse/wallet collection I bought Summer was delivered, so I surprised her with that. Autumn was up and wanted CJ’s for lunch because evidently none of them had ever had it. Eaddie wasn’t interested, but I met Summer and Autumn there. It was more disappointing than usual, with small patties and soggy fries.

I rode back home feeling super muggy, and eventually got cleaned up enough to go shopping with Summer. I picked her up and we went to Walmart to pick up some things for her Paint the Town Green and Gold for Tech next week. Then we went back to get Eaddie so we could deliver her to the bowling alley for a double date.

Autumn had to work in the evening, so Summer and I just went to my parents’ house for beef spring rolls while we waited for Eaddie to finish up. We took a peak at the pool pump that had seized up, then took a bolt with us to find an extracting socket that would fit. Eaddie finished up and we all went up to their house for the evening.

Summer had some laundry to get going, then went to bed while Eaddie and I watched some House. Being school season, Eaddie gets tired really early, so we only got a couple episodes in before she started dragging. I finished up my routine and tried not to get to sleep too late.

Shoulda gotten the rain suit…

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Track Your Time

I walked in to work this morning and immediately fielded two phone calls, which prompted me to create the Super Brody Tracker. Zach had joked that we should write tally marks every time he calls, so instead I built a spreadsheet for hilarity’s sake.

It was otherwise a pretty scattered morning, but I felt good about it. I closed some things, and helped with plenty of others. Summer wanted to join us for lunch, so five of us met her at Stoby’s. They were surprisingly busy and slow, and my burger was less good than usual, but the fries never disappoint.

After lunch, I got some slightly good news about my employment ordeal, but I’m still waiting for further instruction and to plead my case with anyone of consequence. Without any other drivers in my day, I continued on doing all of the things until quitting time.

I ran home to change, and almost immediately had to leave to get Eaddie’s karate gear out of Autumn’s car at the high school. Eaddie had gone to do homework with Maristella, so I had to then pick her up from their house before dropping her off at karate. From there, I met Summer at my parents’ house for spring rolls.

After we ate, I helped clean up and went outside for a little bit, then went on up to Summer’s for the evening. Eaddie spent the evening doing math homework while Summer went to bed. Autumn got home and pretty well went straight to bed herself. I wasn’t very tired after such long, good sleep last night, but I did my best not to stay up too late.

There’s no payback like no payback.

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Buckets N Boards N Guitars N Ukuleles N Turtles

We lazed around a bit this morning before Summer went to the gym and then home to make mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Eaddie and I watched some House until it was time for her to take off on her bicycle to meet us at my parents’ house. I ran by the shop because I thought Summer was going to be stuck there helping remove a drain plug, but she finished up just as I got there.

We dropped her car off at my house and then continued to my parents’ house for a late lunch. Eaddie showed up a few minutes later with her friend Aaron, but then went back out to ride bikes. Julie came to eat too, but just sat in the living room. It was like a mini Thanksgiving dinner, but with slightly less food and yelling. Eventually the kids showed back up and ate a little too, before taking off again.

Summer and I went for a little swim before we had to leave so she could change before the concert. She bought tickets for us all to see Buckets N Boards at the arts center. Autumn beat us there right after work, and my parents showed up just in time to find seats before the show. At first I was worried it was going to be more Buckets N Bored, but then they started roasting children. It was entertaining but long, with an intermission.

The girls wanted to go home after the show, so Summer let them go while we went back to my house for the night. She played games in bed while I messed around on the computer, and then it was a relatively early night to sleep.

There’s 1,440 hours in my day!

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Mind Flay

It was a little bit cooler today, so I took the Shadow to work. I spent the morning in my office bouncing all over the place. I felt like I was on a rack, being stretched in every direction all morning long. I’m juggling so many things right now, and it actually feels pretty good. I struggle focusing on any one big project, but the constantly changing scenery keeps things from getting boring.

I picked up Summer and we went to Morelos for lunch, but she left me early and ran across the street after staring at an angry customer through the window. I managed to get the leftovers home on the bike, then went back to the shop to get some things to take to Oakland.

Michael and I got to talking about crypto for a bit after work. He gave me a frozen turkey that was sitting on his counter, which I had to swing by and get after going home to get my car. Eaddie had walked to the house after school, and Summer picked her up for karate. I went to my parents’ house after picking up the turkey, and Mom made some super dressed-up ramen.

Things were quiet when I made it back home. I got into the mood for some low-hitting bass after reading an incendiary thread on a speaker deal, so I put on some music. I don’t know what it is about speakers that brings out the forum trolls, but it’s so eye-rollingly stupid. I still want some big subs for behind/under my eventual theater seating though.

If they won’t cater to my whimsy, I’ll cater to it myself.

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The Bore Before the Storm

I got up and picked at leftovers for brunch, then mostly sat around all morning and afternoon. Autumn was at work all day while Eaddie stayed in her room with her head cold. Even Summer didn’t get out to do anything until she decided to cook dinner. I eventually went home to clean up a bit, but didn’t get up to much before heading back up for the night.

I got back just as Autumn was home and cleaning out her car. Summer had some ribs and corn on the grill, and was inside making mashed potatoes and some kind of pan-fried vegetable medley. We all ate, then let Eaddie go back to her room while the rest of us played a game of UNO.

The girls went to bed early for the first day back to school. Summer and I watched a couple episodes of Modern Family, and then we were off to the same.

Chickie-chickie, Slim Eggie

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I Don’t Have the Time or the Crayons

Today was the last Friday before school starts, and a Friday the 13th at that. I jumped right back into my report scripting in Cognos, at least between calls and nags to help other people. Thomas came in to prod me into finishing the job, but at the end of the day I wasn’t even sure what else he had for me to do. I think Bryan got aggravated that I couldn’t stop everything and fix his issue, but it wasn’t just a simple fix at all, and I was busy trying to get rostering done for a math curriculum program used across nearly the entire district.

Evidently Shane from Howard came down and took the Big Three to lunch but they didn’t invite anyone else. Kyle happened to be in the shop with me, so the two of us went to The Gunslingin’ Burger again for their anniversary deal. I had a Cajun burger that had fried shrimp and rice on it, and I don’t think I loved it. The lady also brought out a plate with like four onion rings on it, but when I commented on how paltry that was, she ran to the back and had them fry up some more without any hesitation. At least the service is good, especially for a place that is more or less fast-food.

I still didn’t make it to Oakland in the afternoon, but things did at least kind of calm down for me while some people were coming through the front of the office for badges and accounts. I did my part quietly in the background and never had to interact with anyone, which was kind of perfect for today.

I worked a bit late again but made it home just before Eaddie made it back from a bike ride. While she was there, I cleaned some more hair algae out of my shrimp tank and found one of my missing snails in the sump area. I moved it back to the front, so hopefully it can keep that area a bit cleaner. Now I just need to find the little baby one, if it’s still alive.

Summer came home not long after that, and we went to Nonna Bella’s for dinner since the girls were going to their friends’ house for the evening. That place was way bigger inside than I imagined, and they actually had a really nice atmosphere. The staff reminded me of a cleaner version of the folks that run the burger joint. They were very proud to be a family-run business, and the service and food were both pretty good. Summer’s pasta seemed a bit too reasonably priced until it came out with imitation crab instead of real crab meat. The pizza I ordered was pretty awesome, but it was on the higher end of the cost spectrum. Overall I think it will be a decent date night establishment.

Summer went straight to bed when we got home, on account of her 5k in the morning. I got into some daydreaming about business cards and letterpress printing again, but had to shut myself down on account of how absolutely unnecessary that is for my present life.

Priorities are a struggle.

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Who Knows Why Madmen Do What They Do?

Summer took Autumn to work and Eaddie home late this morning while I got cleaned up. Eaddie said last night that she wanted New China, and I had been craving it earlier in the week, so I took Bác Vân and Doug to meet the girls and my parents for lunch.

After we ate, I came back home and started to doze off, so I broke down and took an hour nap. I woke up a bit groggy, but only because I was still short on sleep. I had to get up to the girls though, so we could meet Noah and his friend Wade at UEC for The Suicide Squad.

I didn’t realize how gory it would be, but maybe I should have. I hadn’t really looked into it much, so everything about it was a fresh surprise with plenty of good twists. The kids enjoyed it. I hated that it was in one of the four smallest theaters, but at least it was for the matinee price. A couple came in with two adolescent boys that sat down in the front area and wouldn’t shut the hell up. It was like a really lame Mystery Science Theater without any jokes.

After the movie, we picked up Autumn and headed to my house for the evening. I had to take Autumn to the high school to pick up her flag while Eaddie went out for a bike ride. Then I started some laundry while we watched a few episodes of House before bed.

A little Xtra

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M R Not I. M R Ducks!

I felt pretty sour this morning, but I made it back to get the girls for their trip to the Children’s Hospital. There was a report of a crash around Pottsville, so Waze routed me off the interstate from there to Atkins. Fortunately we still had plenty of time to get there. I dropped Summer and Autumn off at the hospital for Autumn’s MRI, and then drove a few blocks away to Ben’s new office.

I was surprised how close it was, though it took some Google Fu and driving around his building to realize I was right under his office the whole time. I found the Arkansas Public School Resource Center on the directory downstairs, took one of the four elevators up, and could not have been any closer to their office. It was just a short walk down the third floor, past a big open stairway above a big water fountain. When I walked in, I told the lady he’d get a kick out of it if she told him his StripperGram had arrived. He didn’t answer the phone, so she had to go back and find him, and I heard laughter from around the corner.

He took me back to where he was working and we chatted for a bit, and then I got my laptop out to work on the importing of new laptops for the junior high library. I was on the right track and really would have had it figured out on my own, but it was nice to get some back history of his process so I could more easily replicate what he had done in the past. I really doubt it’s something the libraries will be able to do themselves in the future.

Autumn ended up not getting an MRI today after a new doctor talked to them about checking on some mental health issues that may be more likely, so maybe his words will carry some more weight. When Summer said they were done at the hospital, we picked them up and drove just a few blocks further past Ben’s office to Cotham’s for lunch. They were pretty packed, likely from walkers since there was plenty of parking available. Service was extremely slow, but not the worst. Three of us got hubcap burgers, which had a pound of meat that completely dwarfed the already large buns. The meat and the fries were both seasoned well, and everything was really good. Summer had to be different and got the chicken fried chicken, since they were out of regular fried chicken. She seemed to like it, on account of her happy plate.

After we ate, we dropped Ben back off at work and headed to the Splash Carwash on JFK for a quick detail. Then we went to McCain Mall and wandered around uncomfortably in the heat. I was absolutely miserable for nearly the entire time. I agreed to get Autumn some cookies from the Nestlé Toll House Café because I thought some ice cream would help, but it really didn’t. The young girl at the counter was having some trouble with her receipt printer, so I fixed it for her and jokingly asked if I earned a free cookie. She smiled and nodded, and I gave her another buck for a tip because she was so nice.

We made our way back through and out of the mall, and drove across the street to Target. There, at least a gust of cooler air came out of the door as we walked in. I was still uncomfortable though, and ended up just fanning myself with an Exploding Kittens expansion that I picked up on clearance.

Summer wanted to stop for some wine on the way home, so I looked up reviews and we drove the opposite direction to a well-reviewed one in Sherwood. They were nice, with a pretty good selection, and I even got a case discount on some Flyway. Once we loaded everything up, we made our way home, having to stop in some construction traffic around Morrilton. It didn’t take us too long to get through it fortunately.

The girls went to their rooms as soon as we got home, and I finished importing the rest of the laptops for Jessica. Then it was off to bed.

Time to sync some photos…

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Gotta Get Away

I got up early and ran straight home to clean up before going back to pick up Summer and Eaddie. We had to run by Summer’s shop to print Eaddie’s itinerary before we could leave, but then we were off to Little Rock. We made it with plenty of time, but they only let one of us go through security to the gate, so Summer went in while I sat on a bench outside just out of the rain. Fortunately it felt pretty nice out, and I had my earbuds on me.

Once the plane took off, Summer came back down and I took her to a place called Lakewood Fish & Seafood House to cheer her up. Watching Eaddie take off hit her a lot harder than she expected, so that pretty well set the tone for the day. At least everything we ate today was delicious. The stuffed crabs and seafood chowder were probably our favorites. The crab claws were odd, tasty, and overall left me a bit hungry.

After we ate, we walked all around McCain Mall and basically just felt sad about the state of retail in America. The nostalgia is all but gone. Even GameStop was uncharacteristically empty. JCPenney felt like a ghost town in areas. None of it made me happy.

I took us to Best Buy next, which again only served to kill time. They had zero deals, so we left and went to Sam’s Club. By that time I felt like I was just dragging a corpse around, so I picked up a couple things and we headed toward home. We had spent enough time out that we were both hungry again, so we stopped in Conway and ate at Bulgogi, which was excellent.

It rained all day long, but we eventually made it home, and Summer went straight to bed just as Eaddie landed in Milwaukee. I knew she could handle it.

I still kind of just want a steak.

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Call of Doody

I had a pretty rough start this morning, but thought things might turn around eventually. We spent all morning at the junior high building tech tubs full of old laptops for summer school, which only lasts a couple weeks. We finished just in time to make it back to the shop before lunch, and Ben was there to join us.

We all went to CJ’s, which was pretty packed, so we ended up parking down the hill in the 40 club lot. Lunch was pretty good, but it was crowded and loud, and their sound system kept cutting out, which made the music annoying.

As soon as we got back to the shop, I split my pants and had to run home to change. By the time I made it back, everyone had headed to the middle school to set up an alternative learning environment room. We had enough people in the room that it felt a bit crowded, but that’s just how it goes sometimes.

Kyle and I ended up splitting off from Josh, who couldn’t keep track of the parts he needed, to do some work at Dwight before the day was up. We didn’t finish, but quitting time is quitting time. After a quick run home, I went to see Summer for an oil change. Then it was up to her house for dinner.

I prepped some veggies for grilling to eat alongside the pork she had in the slow cooker, and it came out pretty good. We ate as soon as she got home from the gym, then watched the last episode of Loki before I headed back home to clean up before bed.

Eggie wegs! I would like to smash ’em!