Tag: holiday

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Just Eat It

I didn’t sleep very well or very long. I didn’t let myself sleep in because I knew I wanted to get some meals in, so I took Muad’Dib outside and then brought some breakfast back upstairs with us. I was really proud of him when he did a great job of sitting by a table alone while I went into the other room to get food. Summer was slow to get out of bed, but then I slowed down a bit as we were trying to get out of the room. We ended up checking out right on time, and made our way down the road to Southern Tail for brunch.

Summer walked up to the front and learned that they were only seating people with reservations, which would have been nice to know before we planned an entire weekend around the event. They didn’t take any of her information, and instead told us to come back around 12:30. We sat in the car until then, but when I walked back in to ask about seating, I was told there was a wait list, and we wouldn’t get a seat until around one. That they the girl got my number and called us back in at 12:35.

We got seated outside as the heat intensified. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t fresh feeling. There was a pretty good band playing live, and the food was good though. Service was slow, so we didn’t have much for drinks, but it was an okay time. It might have been worth the price at a better season with some good company.

We headed straight home after that, and had a little bit of time to lounge before heading to my parents’ house to swim. The pool was surprisingly cold, and by then most of it was in the shade. Julie and Kevin eventually showed up with some Popeye’s chicken and we picked at a little bit of food.

I was completely beat by the time we got home, so I shut down quickly and got ready for bed.

What did you expect?

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In Memoriam

I decided to stop the iron supplements today so I could level out before my eventual annual checkup. We had brunch planned at IHOP for Autumn’s birthday, and we barely got around for that. Eaddie slept late while Summer had to go to Atkins to pick up Noah. Things immediately started going wrong.

The restaurant was pretty busy, and they were not prepared. A table behind us had some kind of drama going on, so a manager demanded that they leave. When they refused, he walked away saying the cops would remove them. Things settled down pretty immediately after that, and we eventually got our order in. Of course, it was a full hour before we saw a morsel of food, so we sipped ice waters until then.

Afterward, I ended up taking Muad’Dib home while Summer dropped Noah off. Eaddie wanted to go ride bikes, so I was tasked with getting out the bike rack in the heat of midday. I immediately started pouring sweat in the humidity, but we eventually got everything loaded, aired up, and ready to go.

We had a false start when my watch incorrectly alerted me that I had left my phone. We turned back before I realized it actually was in my pocket. We got to the lake and unloaded the bikes, but I realized I didn’t have Muad’Dib’s collar remote, so I left Summer with him on a leash and ran back home.

I couldn’t find the remote at first, and in the process, I dumped a full tumbler of water all over the kitchen floor. I mopped that up, dried my socks, and eventually loaded up again. The kids had gotten their bikes and started riding around the marina, and Summer was walking around with Muad’Dib. I brought my Onewheel since I wasn’t sure what the mood would be like after I had been gone so long.

Summer got Muad’Dib into the water and splashed around with him a bit. I was still hot and burned out, so I mostly sat from that point on, but I did take Muad’Dib for a couple short runs. Eaddie, Eli, and Ceci eventually came back around and hung out with us before we loaded up to go back home.

We unloaded and the kids went for more biking while I took Muad’Dib to my parents’ house for a brief visit. Summer started a bath for him when we got back, but I made it in there to take over, which upset her for some reason. She always refuses any time I mention that maybe she could bathe him, so I just didn’t get it.

I got him bathed and she helped dry him. Then I vacuumed a ton of hair off of him before finally getting to wind down for bed. Eaddie got home and took a shower, but then started to leave again. Summer was in bed, so I had to play bad cop again and tell her she needed to give their family a break and stay home to finish cleaning her bathroom and bedrooms, which have been complete wrecks all week.

Finally, I made a mad dash to finish up for bed, exhausted from the break.

And not one “thank you” was heard.

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Family Assembled

We slept in a while today after a long day yesterday. Summer got up, and I followed to make breakfast croissants. Then Eaddie got up and they spent the day together cleaning up the porch and assembling planters I had gotten from Amazon Vine. We originally had plans to have Mother’s Day with Eli’s family, but several of them couldn’t come down, so they wanted to try for another time.

The day went by pretty quickly, but it felt good to get so much done. There’s more to clean up, but we have at least a little more space now than before. We wanted to do something with my mom, but they didn’t want to go out to dinner with everyone else in town, so Summer and I went to Popeye’s to pick up some chicken.

Eaddie went to visit her grandparents while we waited in the longest line I’d ever seen at that restaurant. The drive-through was wrapped around the building and there was another line inside, but they did a fantastic job of working through all the orders.

We made it to my parents’ house, and then Julie responded that they had been napping all day, but they’d end up coming to visit. Eaddie showed up late as well, so we didn’t wait for her to eat. It was a good time, and then Eaddie took Summer home. I followed a little later and let Muad’Dib run off some energy before driving him the last couple blocks.

We ended the evening watching some of the Kevin Hart roast on Netflix, but we didn’t start early enough to finish it. I was proud of Summer for staying up as late as she did, but we had to get sleep before work.

Motherhood takes many forms.

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Mid-to-Late Forties

Summer decided to take the day off for her birthday, and spent the first day of spring break with Eaddie. In contrast, I went to work and spent a lot of time reading Microsoft documentation. Muad’Dib and I went to Sonic for lunch, but it was slightly cold and super windy, so it wasn’t quite as enjoyable as I had hoped.

The whole day kind of crept along, but we eventually got to go home. The car routed me off the Interstate early, so we drove by and saw that Zaxby’s was, in fact, permanently closed. I think we loved their chicken the most, so this was pretty upsetting, not to mention the fact that I still have some money left on a gift card.

The girls were gone when we got to the house, because all three kids wanted to take Summer out to dinner. I offered to go along, but Eaddie said they just wanted to go with the four of them. I rested for a bit, and then walked Muad’Dib to my parents’ house where we ate some bok choy that Mom stir fried.

We walked back home as it got dark, and Summer and the kids all met us out in the road as they were leaving. Then Summer went to bed, and I eventually trailed along.

Fewer and fewer breaks feels like living life in reverse.

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Spur of Thought

I really planned to have a Soylent this morning, but then I got super hungry just as I was getting into Morrilton again, so we stopped at Wendy’s for a small breakfast. Muad’Dib was super distracted and didn’t want to come inside, which left me shivering in the wind. We finally got inside and I continued tinkering with Intune.

Summer finished with her meeting early and wanted to meet for lunch, but I didn’t want to eat too early, so I had her meet me at the office. She came in to see Maple, but she was being shy all day and wouldn’t even come to me for a treat. We went to Ortega’s and had a really good lunch, and then I had her go by Ridgewood on the way home so I could try their pastrami special.

Earlier in the morning, I finally emailed Future Motion for an update on my Onewheel. It took them all day to respond that after thorough testing, they found nothing seriously wrong with it. That was exactly what I knew they would say, and I probably should have just disputed the charge with Discover Card first instead of talking to them again. They’re such an incredibly shitty company.

I finished the slow afternoon, completely forgetting about therapy until right at 4:30, so we raced out the door and made it just in time to wait another five minutes. I felt like our session was really good this time, but I didn’t realize how depressed Summer was really feeling. All I can really do is try to keep communicating with her, but doing happy little things is never going to be enough to turn this around for good.

When we got home, she put the cabbage in the slow cooker with the corned beef she started in the morning, and then we waited to eat. Once we did, dinner was great. Then her birthday present arrived and we set up our pair of BedJets for some temperature controlled air in the beds. Hopefully this keeps us comfortable and try, since she has a habit of feeling cold and then sweating all over the place.

What do you call a cow who tells dad jokes? Corney beef!

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Long Distance Pool Party

We lost power briefly last night, and I woke up gasping because my battery backup just doesn’t have any life left in it. I got back to sleep after a reset, and eventually got up to eat a leftover waffle. Summer did her nails and watched TV, and I got ready for my trip to the Springdale Pool Lounge.

I couldn’t find anyone to ride with me, so I made the trip alone. I stopped in Alma to charge, and went into Harp’s for some food since the pool hall wouldn’t have any. I got some pretty good chicken strips and a hilariously small serving of potato wedges, but it was all more than enough.

I got to Springdale about half an hour late after all of that, but it looked like they were just getting settled in anyway. There weren’t a bunch of people, but we had a good time and played a few rounds of some pretty bad pool. We were only there for about three hours before we had to give up the reserved tables, and then we parted ways.

I stopped by the Hawaiian Bros just up the road and had a little bit of food, but brought most of it back home. I had to stop in Alma again to charge for a little bit, and then wound down for bed.

Don’t get distracted by all the pretty lights.

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The Browns

I managed to stay pretty busy at work today, bouncing around in Intune and HubSpot. I also got my Windows 11 Pro license key delivered, so I was glad I hadn’t tried to get an update from Janice on account of how busy she always is.

There was a slight chance of very little rain, but it felt nice outside, so we went to Taco Bell for lunch. Muad’Dib did great, so he got go run back down the street afterward. The whole day went by pretty quickly, and then we headed home for an early birthday dinner.

I stopped by the old house looking for my Brown’s Catfish birthday reward, but it wasn’t to be found. When we got back home, it was in the mailbox, evidently having never been delivered before. I must have just imagined receiving it in the first place, though I did have another points reward that was delivered.

The girls, Muad’Dib, and I loaded up in the car and met my parents, Kevin, and eventually Julie at the restaurant. I let Muad’Dib run around a bit at first, but then he had to wait in the car. I wasn’t starving, but the food was good and I overate. I was frustrated that the girl refused to scan my reward card, so we didn’t earn any new points on the nearly $200 ticket, which still would not have been enough to earn another $10 certificate. She said to scan for points would be “double-dipping.”

Eaddie had a concert to attend, so we left there and came home to bed.

AND a credit fee? Get outta here!

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Lazy Valentine

We started lounging on the couch early this morning. Summer had some coffee, and then I warmed up some leftover waffles and a pancake for breakfast. After a while, we sent the dog to get Eaddie out of bed, and then she eventually had Eli come over for the day. They talked about making pizza or chicken, and then both, and then ended up only making pizzas for dinner. Summer and I hardly left the couch. I had an anxiety attack at some point, but I got our room booked for Eaddie’s trip. Then we mostly watched YouTube while it rained all day. I guess we could’ve done worse.

Rats

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Conspire to Give

I woke up to a stomach ache this morning, presumably from the eggnog, but I think the Lactaid helped. I made breakfast bagels for Summer and myself, and had an anxiety attack somewhere in the process. Then we started packing up the Christmas tree. We stowed all of that in the attic and took down the light trees in the front yard, but we still managed to forget a couple things in the house.

Julie and I conspired to show up at my parents’ house so we could distribute the gifts we didn’t take to the airport the other day, so after my shower, I took Muad’Dib on a run over there. The girls followed in the car with the gifts, and Julie and Kevin eventually showed up. Mom had fallen asleep, and Kevin woke her up and scared the heck out of her. I didn’t realize how shy we were on Kevin’s gifts, but Dad and Julie liked theirs.

Afterward, I finished my run with Muad’Dib through cold and heavy winds while the girls went to Zaxby’s to pick up dinner. We got home and ate, and then I started some laundry and watched some Stranger Things recaps. When Eaddie came out to the living room, I moved off of YouTube and into the official Netflix recaps, and then we skimmed through a few episodes before bed.

Then the north wind blew south.

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Spring Holiday

I slept a little later than I intended, but had plenty of time to get the turkey on the smoker. We had time for some coffee and presents, and a game of Phase 10 Tiles. I managed to get some blisters on my right hand trying to chop up some wood for the smoker, and then ended up putting the disc in whole since it just barely fit. I was worried the charcoal would jam it, and it did later on. I took Muad’Dib on a run to my parent’s house for some honey, and then rode back with an instant read thermometer for Dad. On the way back, the Onewheel died on me, so Summer had to come pick us up.

I smoked the turkey and the ham, and had to dislodge the wood to keep the fire going. I had accidentally started the turkey about 100ยบ too hot, so I dropped that down after basically reverse-searing it. The ham probably could have gone on earlier too, but they all finished right on time for me to get the turkey sliced up.

Eaddie, Eli, and Ceci were watching Stranger Things all day, but came along for dinner. We got to the airport just in time to eat, and Kevin had a bunch of family there along with our group. I didn’t feel too bad, because Julie had to run home for something too.

Dinner was a little fragmented, and we didn’t really have a clearly defined dinner and dessert time. Dad did some magic, and then flamed the plumb pudding. The alcohol didn’t all burn off though, so it tasted a bit boozy with the PGA. I chased it down with some of Julie’s over-rich chocolate cake.

The kids kept wanting to go home early, but we made them stay a while before cutting out. Then I was in a rush to get out so we could settle down for bed and work in the morning.

But now I’m sunny with a high of 75