Tag: food

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Sheltered Ham

Day eight of quarantine kept us in all day long. Summer got up and made bacon and eggs for breakfast. She and I made bagel sandwiches out of it, which turned out really great. Then she spent much of the day trying to coax the kids into cleaning house. In the afternoon, we watched Yes Man while Summer had a workout on her Bowflex. Eventually it came time for me to start warming up a ham for dinner.

Walmart was mostly out of meats when we went for supplies, but they had lots of spiral cut hams. We always have weeks worth of leftovers after Christmas, so I figured a ham would be perfect for dinner, sandwiches, and eventually a nice ham bone soup. It was my first time cooking a ham, and there was even less to it than I imagined. Everyone really liked it too, which was an awesome surprise. It’s not often we get everyone to agree on dinner. Summer made mashed potatoes and broccoli with cheese, one of Eaddie’s absolute favorites.

Autumn wanted to end the night with some Monopoly, so she, Summer, and I played a game that tipped between the three of us until I eventually came out on top. Summer had to go to bed for work in the morning, so Noah, Eaddie, and I ended the night watching Cabin in the Woods. I had wanted to see it for a while, but I was glad I didn’t make Summer watch it with us. I thought it was alright, but in the end it was more of a check off of a list.

Hide ya kids and hide ya wife, cause they infectin’ err’body up in here.

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Exploring the Wastelands

We slept in quite a while today, and then I left for home to clean up and take care of the cat. I moved a couple bettas around because Murderface was looking pretty lame. It never could recover from the face tumors or whatever was going on there. Hopefully being in some circulating water would make a difference, but I had to sacrifice the betta I had there and put her in a stagnant cup, at least temporarily.

Once everything was sorted there, I went back up the hill to pick up Summer so we could venture out into the wild for supplies. What I thought was going to be a relatively small supply run ended up being a really long and expensive shopping trip with little regard for how much stuff I was touching with my bare hands. Of course any time they tell you not to touch your face, it itches like crazy. We filled our cart to the brim, possibly because we were shopping on mostly empty stomachs. Then for the first time in forever, we went to a cashier instead of self checkout. Summer even went to get a second cart to lessen the burden of re-packing the cart with bagged goods. Our cashier was in good spirits, and in true fashion, I was right on the money in guessing how much our total would be.

When we got back to the house, the kids helped unload the car and Autumn started making some pizza dough. Then they set up a badminton net and started playing outside, and it was great to see them outside of the house without any screens in front of their eyes. I had a blast hand-tossing the dough into individual pizzas for everyone to make, and after not too much longer we all got to chow down.

Summer and I went out to join the kids, and I even got in on some badminton myself. I was always pretty good with a shuttlecock. I’m no Olympic bronze medalist, but I held my own against the girlfriend of pure gristle. I was even undefeated against multiple children at once, even when Eaddie tried using a baseball bat.

As the daylight dwindled, the kids came in cranky from having to tear everything back down, and Summer and I snuggled up to Her with the Joker and Black Widow.

Ben and Mike’s Pizza Emporium

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Hunker Down

I slept in just a very little bit today, but got up for a full day of work from home. It was mostly pretty dull with the usual amount of just different kinds of distractions. I have to watch out for eating when I’m just bored, but otherwise I actually feel like I eat healthier just because I’m not restricted to some artificial construct of time. The kids did their work, or at least pretended well enough for someone only barely paying attention. Noah left with some friends again. Summer left work early, and I went home to take care of a few things before coming back for dinner.

I got frustrated that we let my Colton’s birthday coupon expire after talking about going out for two weeks. Autumn made a pretty good chicken Alfredo dinner though, and I loaded up with a pretty good looking salad. The kids ate and then ran off to whatever electronics were distracting them in the moment. Summer went down with a headache, so I laid with her for a while, eventually watching a couple episodes of Master of None to wrap up the first season. Somehow we outlasted the kids, who were all off to bed before the show was over.

Two more weeks of home schooling, and we’ve just had our first tornado drill. This is fine. Everything is fine.

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Playing Work

I got up earlier this morning and trudged out a bunch of laptops to do some work. It was a little difficult to focus on some things, but honestly it probably wasn’t much worse than usual. I definitely noticed network latency in just about everything I did, but I attributed that to being at Summer’s with her ISP-issued equipment. At the end of the day, I got some important things done, and made myself useful and productive.

Noah and Eaddie sat quietly by themselves most of the day. I had to prod Eaddie to start on her homework, but Noah at least got his laptop out on his own. I don’t have a clue whether he actually did any work, but I still struggle with how to motivate any of them.

Summer got home later than she wanted, and I started cooking tilapia for fish tacos. She made some avocado sauce, and I pan fried the fish on the fly for the freshest tacos ever. Autumn was dropped off after having eaten, so the kids all went back to the television, and Summer and I watched an episode of Master of None before bed.

Get comfortable. We’ll be here a while.

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Homemaker

Summer left for work again this morning, leaving me with a house full of kids. Autumn was the only one up before me, and she was in her room doing schoolwork. I started sauteing a roast to put into the crock pot for dinner, and around the time I really had my hands full, Eaddie got up and tried to ask for help on some of her work. I got frustrated with her when she didn’t want to put any work into learning how to do it, and I basically had to dictate an email to her teacher because she wouldn’t type it herself.

Noah eventually left with a friend, which finally killed the highly-inappropriate Hell’s Kitchen episodes that had been playing all morning. By the time I was ready to leave, Autumn had called Summer to see if she could stay with her grandparents for the evening. I guessed correctly that she just wasn’t happy with what we planned for dinner. I left to take Summer some coffee, then went home to clean up a bit. On the way back up, I stopped by the high school to get my work laptop as well as a couple test units since Ben approved me for some work from home.

Autumn didn’t even get close to finishing her chores before she left, so that’ll be trouble with Mom tomorrow. Noah got into a little trouble himself after leaving town and coming back super late. At least Eaddie and Summer really enjoyed the roast. I could tell I went a bit too heavy on the potatoes. The juice was great with some fresh sliced bread, and it may warm up well with the potatoes for later.

Eaddie joined Summer and me in bed for an episode of Glee before Summer had to crash for work. Then I tinkered on the computer until the kids went to bed.

I can’t tell if it’s coronavirus, or if it’s snot.

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Coronavirus

We got up this morning and Autumn tried scrambling some eggs because she suddenly has an interest in a culinary class at votech. She basically protested the entire time Summer was telling her to cook breakfast, and she hates every food, but I’m trying to be positive and supportive. I took Noah to work and then went home for a while. Evidently I was exhausted, because I laid down and napped for a few hours before waking up pretty disoriented. I got progressively more phlegmy as the day went on, but hoped it was my usual allergy/CPAP combo.

I played a little Overwatch to wake up, cleaned up after the cat, and took a shower before heading back up to Summer’s. She made some chicken spaghetti since Walmart was completely out of ground beef, and it turned out really great. I helped by making some garlic bread, and all the kids seemed to really like the meal. After we ate, Autumn wanted to play some Monopoly, so we went a few rounds until Summer had to go to bed.

I stayed up and played a little Overwatch to earn some loot boxes while Noah and Eaddie stayed up watching scary movies. By the time I was ready for bed, I had quite a bit of junk in the top of my chest making me constantly clear my throat. Hopefully this isn’t the end of us all.

It’s funny how the “essential” employees that have to work all week during the pandemic closure are paid the least.

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Come at Me, BrOVID-19

I tried sleeping in this morning, and though my bed felt pretty luxurious, I couldn’t get back to sleep once I was up. I called Summer and met her at the gym for about a half hour walk on the treadmill. Then I went home to clean up before meeting her, Eaddie, and Noah at the new Cicis to try and catch the novel coronavirus. It was evidently their opening weekend, so the parking lot and insides were completely packed. They managed to keep the bar loaded, but the pizza types were boring, and the bar didn’t seem as big. They put the salad stuff up front, but it didn’t appear to have as much stuff either. Overall I was pretty disappointed. I don’t like having to put in custom orders, but I guess now I have an excuse to ask for one made with every single topping they offer.

After lunch, Summer took Autumn to her play practice, and Noah and I met her back at Walmart to do a little shopping. That place was packed too, presumably from pandemic panic. We even ran into my parents while wandering around. They were out of a ton of stuff, including all paper toiletries, all hamburger meat, and tons of canned or dry goods. As we were checking out, they made an announcement over the intercom that they had a small cart of hand sanitizer located at the front of the store. We turned around to see a cart guarded by employees as they only allowed a couple per household.  You could definitely tell people had gone completely bonkers. It was all over everyone’s faces.

Noah left with some friends while we were there, so Summer and I took our groceries back home and chatted some more until Autumn finished. I went to get her, stopped by my house for a few more things, and then came back up the hill. She went to bed super early, so Summer and I watched Master of None until Eaddie got home from her birthday trip with Maleea. Noah eventually got home as well, we ate some leftovers, and then when Noah went to sleep, Eaddie joined us in the bedroom for a couple episodes of Glee. She was the best snuggle buddy tonight.

A pocket full of posies!

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These Axe Puns Are Bringing Me Down

I got up a little early this morning so we could head up to Bentonville for Brandon’s semi-surprise birthday shindig. Brandie messaged me early to let me know she was bailing on us, so after dressing up and washing the car, I picked up Josue and we headed out of town. We stopped in Ozark at Rivertowne BBQ for lunch, and though the food tasted pretty good, it seemed to lack in presentation a bit. At least the portions were huge, and I boxed up about half of mine.

We still had a bit of time, so we continued up to Fayetteville and stopped at Kohl’s so I could burn my $45 in bonus cash. I assume the slight difference in climate drove up the demand for winter wear, because they had a ton of coats on clearance. I picked up another hoodie and a coat after I couldn’t find anything else compelling. I wish I could have fit into one of the leather jackets better, but they were super tight around the shoulders. Both Josue and the cashier acted stunned when I checked out under five bucks for the two articles, but their rewards program doesn’t have me fooled. Luckily by spending so little this time, I think I’m out of the cycle of repeat visits to spend rewards.

At last, we made the last of the trip to the Urban Forest Axe House and met up with Diana, Brandon and his brother Ryan, and a couple of his other friends. Our coach was quirky and a little awkward at times, but it was a good time. Diana brought snacks, though Josue and I were still pretty full from our big lunch. My second throw was a bulls-eye, but when it came down to Diana and myself for the finals, she won with a killshot that I had never been able to nail, and eventually ignored in favor of the larger and lower bulls-eye.

Once our time was up there, Brandon decided we should go by Dave & Buster’s for some drinks and gaming. We all sat at the bar, and I chugged soda waters as we visited. Brandon talked to me a little about his job, which was the first we had really talked much about anything since we were all kind of busy throwing axes. Eventually we got up to play some games, though I didn’t spend very much. My birthday promo had expired, and the place was kind of busy anyway, so we just mingled for a little while and then left.

Ryan suggested we go to Bariola’s for cheap appetizers and free ice cream, so we made the quick hop down the road and visited some more. It seemed like a pretty good pizza joint, but the cheap appetizers were perfect for sharing and just hanging out. In the end, I asserted my dominance by creating a huge ice cream cone, and eventually it was back to the road to head home.

I really hate that drive… And after all that, I never even got out of the state!

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Bye Forever!

It was nice enough, and I got out of the house early enough that I got to ride the bike to work this morning. The first thing on the agenda was to get some plants planted in the new office goldfish aquarium. It’s way overstocked and way underfiltered, so I figure some plants would help as much as anything else. The rest of the day was mostly spent working on laptops while the rest of the building started on testing.

I made it back to the shop for lunch just in time to hear we were all taking Jason to Taco Tuesday for his last day. For some reason, eight of us didn’t want to squeeze into the two appropriately-sized tables, but I guess there were still open tables for others. It wasn’t a particularly sentimental moment the way that others might have been, but we enjoyed our time together. Then I rode back to the high school to chug away at more laptops.

Classes let out early for the students to watch the basketball tournament in the arena, so it was really quiet. My office got super cold super fast, and it finally got to the point that I just had to get up and leave. I went back to the shop for the last 30 minutes or so, and chatted with Ben about his plans for the department moving forward. I would have liked to just take over the position, but I also know some of who I would be up against. Instead, I think he’s really leaning into adding a second tier for us so that multiple employees can benefit from an overdue wage increase.

I rode home for just long enough to get cleaned up, and then I met Summer at Ruby Tuesday for $5 salads. John served us, and I shared stories of his greatness. As we left, I finally asked the best way to pay our compliments, and proceeded to submit my entry through the company’s corporate website. Summer was exhausted from work, so I got Eaddie from karate and Autumn from hanging out at the basketball tournament. We headed home and everyone settled in to bed pretty quickly. Even I was feeling pretty exhausted.

Whatever you do, do it well.

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Little John Mountain

We got up a little early this morning so we could have a day up on Petit Jean. Summer took Autumn to get things to make sandwiches while I went home to clean up. Then the girls and my dad met at my house so we could drive up the mountain. We went up the back way and stopped at the bear cave trail first, where we had lunch in the back of the car. It was cool, but great weather to be out in the wilderness. We climbed up on some of the rocks where we found some chiseled out steps, and I collected a few mosses, and Dad took a bunch of pictures of nature. Autumn didn’t originally want to go at all, but once we were there she insisted that her knee was fine to continue trailblazing and climbing up rock faces.

The next stop was Mather Lodge to clean up a bit, and then we continued to the Cedar Falls overlook. As the day progressed, it seemed to get windier and cooler, but the rain never showed up. Summer wanted to go to a new coffee shop on the mountain, so we had some drinks while the girls played Scrabble. Then it was off to the Petit Jean gravesite. That’s where it was the coldest with the most wind. I don’t think Eaddie really put anything together in her head for the homework she had on the subject, but it was still a nice day to get out of doors. It was personally very aggravating to feel how I’ve aged since I last spent any significant amount of time hiking, and I think Dad felt the same way. I guess the best thing any of us can do is keep at it to maintain dexterity.

We took the interstate back home, which felt quite a bit longer, and definitely more boring. Dad and Summer each went home while the girls stayed with me to watch TV while I started some laundry. Once that was done, Summer came back and we met my parents at Bocadillo for a birthday dinner and ice cream. Mom didn’t seem too happy that it wasn’t the same type of Mexican place they usually visit, but I thought it was good. Afterward we got some dessert and I split a strawberry and cream funnel cake with Summer and Eaddie that was just divine.

With this year’s birthday plans out of the way, I took the girls back to their car and went to Amanda’s to check on her cats one last time. Then it was back home to finish up some laundry before bed.

I’ve really taken a lichen to you.