Tag: food

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No One Mourns the Wicked

I slept in a little later than I meant to this morning. I had to wake Eaddie up to get her to her friend’s house, and then I stopped by the post office to return my first Fossil watch on the way home. I had a lunch date with Brandon, so I headed home to shower and then met him at Linh. He had come down to visit after moving again to Seattle, so we had a lot of catching up to do.

As soon as we finished, I headed home to change, then picked Summer up to head to Conway. I had a bunch of Kohl’s Cash to burn, and then we continued to Little Rock to meet Julie and my parents for dinner. They decided on Samantha’s Tap Room, and boy was I unimpressed. It felt like high prices and fine dining portions, but almost everyone’s food was overcooked and dry or tough. Our waitress was nice enough, but nobody wanted to send anything back. Having to pay for sides à la carte just added insult to injury. I felt like they just grabbed bottles of “Asian” sauce and used it wherever they could to seem worldly. I would have had to stop by a Wendy’s afterward if I hadn’t gotten some hunks of steak from Mom and Julie after I finished my lamb “lollipops.”

We all took Mom’s car to the Robinson Center for the show, and made it inside with plenty of time to spare. Julie had gotten us all tickets to see Wicked, which I’d wanted to see several years ago, but with little priority. It was an incredible story, though it was difficult for me to understand well over half of the words being sung. I was familiar enough that it didn’t have a huge impact on my enjoyment, but Mom apparently fell asleep during the first act. The intermission didn’t seem particularly necessary, but seemed nice anyhow. The set changes were awesome to see live, but I wished I had binoculars in spite of our relatively close seating.

After the show, it took us forever to get out of the parking garage. It seemed like they just cleared out everybody in front of us before we could leave. Once back to my car, Summer and I headed home, making one quick stop at the Conway Rally’s for some fries to fill my completely unsatisfied belly.

Like a ship blown from its mooring.

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What Wood You Axe of Me?

Summer left with Eaddie for their hair appointments this morning. I thought they would be gone through the afternoon for a trip to the climbing gym, but they came back and loaded up the rest of the kids instead. Jesica was passing through from Dallas and wanted to get lunch, but I had already eaten some leftover pizza. She fussed that she doesn’t like any of the Chinese places in Fort Smith, so we went to Mulan’s where I just had a bowl of hot and sour soup for two bucks.

Afterward I made her tag along to Harbor Freight so I could pick up an axe to chop some firewood. A couple guys in the aisle spoke up to give me some advice and pointed me towards the axes with synthetic handles, but for the limited use it would see, we decided the big, red, wooden-handled fireman’s axe would be the coolest looking one to have hanging in the garage. We headed back to my house so Jesica could be on her way, and I loaded up as many logs as I could fit into my trunk.

I still had to run by Walmart for some s’mores materials and cilantro, and then it was off to Summer’s to prepare for our guests. I started by trying to chop some wood, and though my aim was true, I struggled to split the logs very evenly due to their age and having been partially eaten and weathered. Summer joined me outside to take out some of her own aggression, and ultimately we split the wooden handle and separated it from the head of the axe. After a bit of deliberation, I decided to run back by Harbor Freight for one of the previously suggested axes. They were closing early, but I was fortunate to have arrived five minutes before they did. Then I stopped by Walmart and ran all around looking for a decent lighter. I settled for a cheapo single pack from the garden center, then made my way back up to the house.

As though I’d found a calling from the wild, I split the remaining logs with the greatest of ease. Hair sprung from my chest and my voice dropped an octave, and we had firewood. Summer made a smorgasbord of pico de gallo, guacamole, ranch dip, deviled eggs, pigs in blankets, and a veggie tray while I took the lazy road with an Instant Pot of cheese dip, and we were ready to party. Ronda, Steven, and Maleea showed up while I was tending the coldest fire I’ve ever made. It didn’t get super hot until it was just coals at the end of the night.

Most everyone stayed inside since the fire wasn’t really hot enough to keep anybody warm. The girls watched some TV and played some Switch. Steven even got in on some Mario Kart with us for a few rounds. They couldn’t make it to midnight though, and left with only 50 minutes to go. Autumn had already gone to bed. Eaddie stayed up watching TV, but as soon as we finished cleaning up, Summer was off to bed.

…AND MY AXE!

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Tending the Dumber Slumbered

We got up this morning and decided on a cheapish Burger King lunch for the horde. Summer left for the gym, and after a bit I took the kids up to her house so they could shed their collective stench. I had gotten a call earlier in the morning that my final(?) pair of trial contacts had come in, so I stopped to get them on the way home. Then I spent the afternoon cleaning house.

I found myself getting bitter over the careless, wasteful, and generally unsanitary nature of the kids, but they’ve grown into their filthy habits without regard for the types of things that matter to me. I shouldn’t have much room to gripe on account of my own lifestyle, but so much of what irks me comes from a lack of consideration or respect. Sometimes I feel like I just have to step around them and ignore what they’ve done as I clean up after them, but ultimately it just makes me want them around less.

Summer eventually brought them all over again, along with a bunch of stuff for dinner. We left them here watching The Simpsons against my better judgement, while Summer and I went to Walmart to pick up groceries for New Year’s Eve. Hopefully it’s a fun time for everyone. We should have plenty of snacks, but I still think I’ll end up getting more vegetables.

We made salads and sloppy joes for dinner, then finished The Lord of the Rings saga with The Return of the King. Overall it was a better night than last. I even put together a shoe rack to bring some order to my entryway.

It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.

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You Don’t Know Jackfruit

I got up and finished some leftovers this morning while the girls were mostly off doing their own things. Summer squirmed with back pain all day, while Autumn was laid out playing the helpless card all day. She assured us she was well enough to go out to McDonald’s with her father, though.

I left to shower, then picked up Noah to go to my parents’ house. They had gotten another jackfruit from Uncle Giao for Christmas, and wanted my help picking it apart. It wasn’t too bad – just tedious, but didn’t taste quite ripe yet in spite of its smell. We only pulled half of it apart before wrapping up the other half for later. The hope was that it would ripen a bit before our next go at it. I had some leftover ham on rolls, and then we headed back to my house to meet up with the girls. Autumn had tipped over backwards coming down the stairs at their house, so they didn’t want to fuss over coming to my parents’ place first.

Noah wanted to get some snacks for everyone while we watched The Two Towers, so I took him by the Neighborhood Market. He said he couldn’t find French onion dip there, so I also took him by Kroger for some of that before finally making it home. The girls were already finishing up a movie there, and then we put on The Lord of the Rings. The extended edition clocked in at just under four hours, but it took us significantly longer to watch with breaks and such. Summer and Autumn were long ready for bed. The other two stayed up and watched TV as I went to bed myself.

That stuff really sticks with you…

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The Baby-Sitter’s Club

We stayed in today. All day long. Summer made a good breakfast, which I turned into a pretty delicious sandwich. The cat jumped into the Christmas tree, knocking it over and breaking some ornaments, so they put that away. I put on Contact until Summer went to work out, and then she returned with some friends to see the girls for a while. They brought tacos and I started making some pinto beans in the Instant Pot, but they left before I even finished putting it all together.

Summer wanted to play Mario Party, and the first round of minigames went okay, but the actually board game always just makes me mad. Eaddie and I watched MKBHD’s Retro Tech: Walkman episode, and then it was back to bed.

Even this rainy December day felt more like spring.

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On Waiting and Support

I got up an extra hour early this morning to pick up the girls and head to Little Rock for Autumn’s surgery. There was hardly any traffic until it came up from behind us halfway past Conway, but we made it with plenty of time to spare. None of us ate anything to keep from being unfair to Autumn, but Eaddie and I wished we had left for lunch at some point during our six hour waiting room session. I didn’t even get to go back for the anesthetic because they considered Eaddie an “adult” and only two could go back. Summer’s parents eventually showed up and waited with us, but they could just as well have showed up right at the end to take her home.

Eaddie and I played on our phones for most of the morning. I took a break to get Jerry a Diet Coke and walk around the gift shop for a while where I picked up a little yeti pen for Autumn. Otherwise it was a completely uneventful day in the waiting room. We even had to wait forever for them to bring Autumn down once they were ready to discharge her. Eaddie started to get cranky from being so tired and hungry, but we eventually started hunting burgers. Autumn went home with her grandparents, so Summer, Eaddie, and I went by Cotham’s to see if they were open.

Evidently they’re popular enough that they can pay rent just being open for lunch, so then it was across town to Big Orange Burger. I had never been to the midtown location, but it seemed really cool. The service was definitely nowhere near as good, but the food was fine. Eaddie was convinced she had never had a better burger in her life, but part of that may have been how hungry she had gotten.

We stopped by the liquor store on the way home to stock up before new year’s eve. Then it was straight to get Autumn back to my house. I started some laundry and we watched Home Alone. About halfway through, Autumn got to feeling pretty hungry so I made a Baconator run. We finished the movie, Summer passed out, and the girls settled in for the night. Autumn wasn’t complaining about pain or discomfort, so that was a win in my book.

I don’t understand why nobody else cared about getting the old tendon back. How often do you get a chance to make a ham bone soup with a piece of yourself?

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Getting Baked for Family

I got to sleep in a little today while Summer went off to work. The kids were all up playing Mario Kart when I finally got around. Noah and I finished up some salad stuff, and then Eaddie and I shared what was left of Veronica’s tamales. Summer had me bake the cookies so they’d be cool for decorating in the evening. Eaddie wanted to help at first, but didn’t really commit. Once they were done, I headed home to start cleaning up the house for everyone to stay the night.

Everything cleaned up relatively easily, but I’ve still got a ton of clutter that needs to be managed. I definitely had to skimp in the evening as Summer finished up work and I had to pick up some groceries for Christmas dinner. Walmart had been extremely busy the past few times I’d been, but had surprisingly calmed down a bunch for the evening. Erica yelled out at me as I was running out the door and said she still wasn’t having any of the crowd.

The kids ambushed Summer when she got home, so she called in an order for some pizza. I was pretty early to get them, but it was fun watching the make line and I chatted a bit with who I presume was the shift leader about my nostalgia from my first job working in pizza. With pizzas in hand, I made my way up to Summer’s where the kids were mostly practicing being in the way. We ultimately decided to put off decorating cookies until tomorrow so we could get started watching The Fellowship of the Ring with Noah. The kids decorated the tree and then we were off.

Summer went straight to bed. Autumn watched, I’m estimating the first 30 seconds of the film before she passed out. Eaddie made it a bit farther. Noah was aggravated after spending two day swatching Harry Potter when Autumn wouldn’t provide him the same courtesy. We eventually called it quits just as we made it to Rivendell.

Bah Humbug, now that’s too strong!

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Surprisingly Productive

I got up this morning and headed home to get ready for my all-you-can-eat date with Allen at Long John Silver’s. He called while I was in the shower and said he was on his way back from church, and then immediately gave up on me and went to eat without me instead of picking me up like we had planned. I met him there, but he had already finished eating. I made sure he wasn’t going to just get up and leave by the time I got my food, and we ended up sitting and chatting for a while. I was pretty aggravated at first, but I let that fizzle out as usual.

After I was stuffed with fish and chicken, we both headed home and I started washing my sheets and cleaning up the bedroom. I worked on that all day and late into the evening until bedtime. A better person would have made more progress, but I was happy with what I accomplished in my one little corner.

Well that was nearly half of my entire life.

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Gettin’ Weepy

The girls had all region today, so I got up alone and had some salad for breakfast before heading home to clean up. I had to get Aimee’s laptop from the high school to her at the junior high, and ended up sitting and chatting with her for quite a while. By the time I left there, Summer had already left the concession stand, so I left and stopped by Ridgewood Brothers to pick up some smoked turkey. I must have clicked something on the iPad that made it not charge my credit card, so when I got back to the car and realized it, I ran back to pay Robert and he handed me a side of slaw to go with it.

I ate a little when I got home, then cleaned the vacuum cleaner so I could clean up the bedroom a bit. There’s still a ton of junk in there to sort through and discard, but at this rate that will always be the case. Eventually Summer got everyone home, so I went to pick her and Autumn up so we could go to Walmart. I volunteered to make burgers and Autumn wanted to pick up some snacks for Eaddie and herself while Summer and I were out with friends.

We dropped Autumn off and gathered everything up to head to John and Melissa’s. Travis was already there, and Veronica and her kids showed up a bit after that. We had a great time eating and drinking, and then tried to play some Magic: The Gathering until we gave up on teaching three new players and switching to Cards Against Humanity. Asher had brought it and wanted to play, but we refused until he could beat Travis at Magic. The kids ended up leaving to go to an escape room anyway, which made it all the more funny when they returned to us playing their game.

By the end of the night, Travis had gotten pretty weepy about everything, so we tried to sober him up enough just for us to take him home. As I walked him into his house, he seemed very concerned about the Dust from His Dark Materials. I did my best to reassure him, and locked him in his house so I could get home with Summer for some sleep.

I AM THE DARKNESS! I AM THE ONE WHO DUSTS!

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Busy Start to a Busy Weekend

Amanda and I coordinated our Weird Al shirts for today’s meeting. Allen and I were going to team up for the day, but before we could do that we had a conference room meeting about job expectations. It was a little foreboding, but I was hopeful.

Allen and I first went to the high school with the trailer to pick up the cart that had mysteriously appeared in my office the day before. We took it back to the shop, then took a touch panel to Crawford to be installed in the afternoon. Since we were on that side of town, I offered to ride up to Center Valley with him to check out their sign. I pulled the truck right up to it, which worked perfectly for climbing up to the raised panels. We couldn’t get any video out, so we pulled the computer and headed back to the shop for lunch.

I had been thinking of Fat Daddy’s, and I guess that psychically rubbed off onto everyone else, because a huge group of six of us went to the one downtown. I got the nachos since they were presented so much better than the one in London. Then it was back to the shop to get ready for Allen’s touch panel install.

When we finished with that, we ran by the high school so I could check on Ethan and his robotics tournament setup. We got him squared away, then stopped in to see Al, who had accidentally hidden all of his desktop icons. Jason called us all back to the shop at the end of the day, which was predictably bad. It’s upsetting to see that happen to a friend, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to do the things if you’re going to have a job. I really love Ben as a boss, but I hate how easy it is for people to take advantage of his want to see the best in everyone.

With that done, they let us out a bit early and I headed home to bring in the day’s shipments. It wasn’t too long before I had to head to Walmart for some drinks for dinner with Ronda and Steven. Inside wasn’t too bad, but traffic outside was an absolute zoo. I was running behind and still had to swing by to pick up the girls. We ran on up the mountain and had a great time and an incredible feast of M-E-A-T! Steven grilled marinated pork chops and ribeyes to go with some asparagus and tomatoes, twice-baked potatoes, and more. Every time I turned around, he was making something else for us. He really pulled out all the stops for us, and I hate that I don’t think I could ever top that, but I think he and I just really enjoy hosting like that.

We all ate so much, and the girls had fun with Maleea, but we had to get everyone home for all region band in the morning. I had to give up programming their DirecTV remote, and we got everyone to bed with a medium amount of fighting. Looks like we’re going to be running all weekend.

What an extravaganza.