Tag: holiday

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Thanksgiving Time Warp

Summer had a 5k this morning, so I slept in as long as I could before getting up to cook for Thanksgiving. I decided to make the broccoli, rice, and cheese casserole in the instant pot just by using the sauté function for most of the cooking, and it went pretty well except for the moment where I sealed the boiling broccoli. I think I ended up adding too much rice too, but I was afraid it was too saucy. Summer mashed some potatoes and made her fruit salad, and we rounded up the girls to head to my parents’ house.

We beat everyone else there, but Bác Vân and Doug weren’t far behind. Julie brought way more food than I realized, because I guess she hasn’t been satisfied with our traditional offerings. While we were waiting on everyone to get there, the kids and I dumped out a bunch of old boxes of toys that Dad had been gathering with the hopes of a purge. It was a blast from the past for sure, and I even found some McDonald’s toys that I had just been thinking about last week.

The food was great, and we all stuffed ourselves before continuing to dig through all the old toys and stuff. We laid around the living room and generally had one of the most peaceful Thanksgivings we’ve ever experienced, even after Julie tried convincing Bác Vân to grow marijuana in her back yard. The girls decorated some cupcakes, then spent a little time trying to learn the piano up until the time we left.

When we got back to their house, I tinkered with Destiny 2 on Stadia for a bit more while the girls went quietly to their rooms. Summer was pretty pooped and went to bed early, but I wasn’t terribly far behind.

Toys were better before all the movie franchises took over.

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Chillin’ with Esna

I got up today and had some leftovers for breakfast. Eaddie slept until nearly noon when I finally went into her room and shook her around a bit. Eventually she got up and we played some Mario Kart, and I fried her some chicken strips for lunch.

Dad called Roto-Rooter to come ream out the house, so I had to head home and let them in. There, I waited until Summer got off of work so we could shop for Thanksgiving tomorrow. Just before she was ready, I ran to McDonald’s to get a corrected Happy Meal for the one they shorted me a couple nuggets on yesterday. Then I met her in the parking lot and we braved the crowd inside. It really wasn’t too bad, perhaps because of the time of day.

I ran home to get her a couple more things, then met back up at her house for dinner. I heated the leftover rotisserie chicken and some buffalo wings for Eaddie, then we watched some Parks and Recreation before Summer went to bed. Eaddie and I started the second episode of Luke Cage, but she gave up almost partway in and left me to finish it myself.

It’s like a colon cleanse for your house!

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Splashgiving

We got up this morning and had some leftover barbecue for brunch, and then Summer left for the gym. We wanted to head to Little Rock early so we could make a day of it, but I ended up feeling a little crummy and we only really had time to stop at Sam’s in Conway. We wandered around there until a good departure time to arrive at the Splash Thanksgiving shindig close to six o’clock. Ben, Sarah, and the kids were all in the kitchen of their new historical house-office finishing up dinner, so we got a tour of the rest of the place. Having an office there seemed unnecessarily expensive, but maybe it’s not as bad as I suspected. Nobody asked my opinion.

Overall it was a good time, and we both got some practice talking to new people. I was really glad I decided to dress way up, even though Summer said not to worry about it. There were people wearing jeans to be sure, but otherwise it was a pretty clean-cut crew, and slacking on formality wouldn’t have done us any favors. We mingled for just a little after dinner, then headed home so Summer could go to sleep for work in the morning. Then I stayed up for the next six hours self-learning optometry so I could purchase cheap eyeglasses with greater confidence, because that’s the kind of shit I do for fun apparently.

F = Fcyl*(SIN(Î))2 where Fcyl is the cylinder power and Î is the angle between the cylinder axis and the new meridian.

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Hey You Guize!

It was just above freezing this morning, but fortunately a clear drive home. I had to take extra care getting ready, to layer my costumes well. I was to dress up as Amanda, but I wanted a less niche and more casual outfit underneath, so I had my usual Dracula t-shirt on. Then I donned some skinny jeans, cow socks, house shoes, a blue zip-up hoodie, wet hair parted on the right, hole-punched red dot stickers for gauged ears, Red Bull, and a flask of lighter fluid to complete the look. When I got to work, I got a few chuckles, but I don’t think most of them truly appreciated how much effort I put into the ensemble.

We didn’t actually have a meeting other than to see each others costumes, so I headed on to the high school for real work. There, I ran into Doug as he was helping Misty bring some things into the greenhouse. Then I immediately changed out of my skinny jeans into some slim ones that felt suddenly very loosey goosey. I fixed a couple other things pretty quickly, and then mulled around the laptops a bit more.

I was going to stop by the shop to see if I could find a lunch partner for something a little lighter than usual. I had gotten stuck by the D&R Railroad when Ben called to see what I was eating, and we decided to meet up at Linhs. We had a really good chat over some really good food as we usually do, and then it was back to work. I decided to end the school day by blaring Thriller as the final bell rang and kids flooded into the hallways. Again, I felt like not many truly appreciated what I was doing there. The workday ended on a higher note as I was able to recover my bricked touch panel by installing the correct firmware.

When I got home, I shed all the extra clothes and tried to make sense of my evening. The girls had gone out to eat for dinner and weren’t doing anything for Halloween. Summer was working out and would have to start prepping some chili for work tomorrow. Suzanne was going to come visit and meet the family, but wasn’t certain of the time or whether she’d be able to join us for an actual meal that was up to me to produce. I ended up picking up some Taco Villa on the way up to Summer’s, and we ate as she ran around the kitchen all evening.

Suzanne eventually showed up with a gift of some fresh sourdough bread that she had labored over all afternoon, and we sat and chatted for quite a while. I do miss the days of being able to stay up and do that for longer, but hopefully this time of year will allow for more of that.

This hammock itches inconveniently.

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Let’s Get Weird

We got up a little early this morning so we could get out of town for lunch. Our first stop was Home Depot to pick up some work lights I bought, and then we went to a little diner called Taylors’ Made on the other side of Conway. Summer had breakfast food, and I got the reuben. It was all pretty good, but I didn’t care for the super thin onion rings. I wish we had tried some of the appetizers.

As we got into Little Rock, I decided to go down to the Park Plaza Mall rather than the usual McCain. I figured it would be closer to the hotel, and we could kill enough time there until check-in time at the hotel. Summer was happy to look around but was reluctant to pick up anything. I got an armful of clothing from Dillard’s, which reminded me of how much I hated shopping there with my parents as a child. It was just always so boring, but now I get it. We covered most of the mall by about 3 in the afternoon, and then headed to the Wyndham Riverfront to get our room.

Eventually Amanda messaged me back, and we met her at the Red Lobster for dinner. Sarah decide she didn’t want to go to the concert, so she brought her father along instead. Summer and I got our fix of endless shrimp, and then we headed back for the concert.

We both parked at the hotel and walked the quarter mile or so to the arena. We were early, so we had to stand out in the heat for a little while before we could go in. Once the line started moving, I had trouble getting the TicketMaster app to load the tickets, but fortunately I saved them to Google Pay and that worked to get us in.

The concert was incredible, but I was surprised they didn’t have the upper bowl open. We were in a lower section of removable seating right by the stage, so we could see everything really well. It was awesome having the orchestra there, especially seeing a McLovin lookalike on the French horn. They started off with some Indiana Jones, and we loved the Superman theme song. They took a 20 minute break after the warm up routine, and then Weird Al came out with his crew and performed a huge mix of songs I expected, as well as some I’d never even heard before. Afterward, Summer and I made our way through the merch line to get a couple shirts, and then walked back to the hotel for the evening.

And protect them from the evils of the world, like trigonometry and prime numbers!

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It’s Fryday, Fryday!

I would have expected to be put on Chromebook enrollment this morning, but instead everyone was sent off to do their own things. I’m sure a few work orders were probably completed, but the two pallets of Chromebooks aren’t going to enroll themselves, and it won’t be long before we have a bunch of desktops to image for various buildings. I went to the high school after a while, but even then I really wasn’t overworking myself.

I rode back to the shop for lunch and came across Gary walking to Smackin’ Wings and Things, so I decided to join him for a Fryday. I had the Curious George off of their specials menu, which was a heap of fries, macaroni and cheese, bacon, boneless buffalo wings, cheese, sour cream, and probably something else that I’ve missed. Gary had something like chili cheese fries with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos on top. They both looked amazing, and I know that at least mine tasted really awesome as well. We both only made it about halfway through before giving up.

The majority of my day was spent trying to image a Dell 2-in-1 device. I was excited to get to mess with the task sequence with Gary to try and get it working, but unfortunately I won’t know until next week whether the new image will work.

After work, I stopped by Superfast to give Summer my leftovers. Then I went home to change and clean up a bit before heading to my parents’ house for their anniversary. Dad rode the Grom around the block and came back grinning. Then we went and picked up a bucket of chicken because Mom didn’t feel like getting out. Summer and Eaddie met us there to eat, and then Eaddie swam for a bit by herself before we left.

Summer had to crash early in order to get up tomorrow for Autumn’s explorers competition, so I went to pick Noah up from work. Then the three of us stayed up late watching Jessica Jones until I just had to sleep.

Gotta get down on Fryday!

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70s Pizza Party

We got up and around this morning to some leftover chicken tacos. They were so much better with the crunchy greens this time, and frying the cheese in the pan onto the tortillas made them that much better, and even a little more durable. Eaddie and I watched a little Daredevil while Summer went out with Autumn to get some things. Then I went home to clean up for our trip to Cabot.

I got frustrated when my brand new air conditioner only dropped about six degrees in three hours, but I didn’t have the temperature probes I needed to check how much it’s actually cooling. I left my still-warm house to pick up Dad, and then to get the girls for our trip to Cabot for Uncle Rick’s birthday party.

We met up at U.S. Pizza Company and greeted a few of the mostly strangers-level family. It was pretty uneventful for us, but Dad had a good time and it was nice to get together to celebrate. The pizza wasn’t bad, but the toppings seemed cheap. I got pretty frustrated as usual with Autumn’s refusal to eat anything other than a plain pepperoni pizza. It only got worse when she ate our pizza after she finished hers. I swear next time I’m just not asking what they want at all.

On the way back we stopped at PetSmart and then PetCo looking for some shrimp. The first stop was a complete bust. PetCo had some, but they were mostly pretty tiny. I went ahead and picked up three anyway just to grow them, but I’m thinking I may have better luck just getting some from a random stranger on the internet.

Once we got back to town, I dropped the girls off at their house, then the shrimp at my house, and took my parents’ receiver with us back to their house. Dad and I tried hooking it back up, but it still didn’t pass any video along to the TV. I guess it really is only good as an audio amplifier now.

Back at Summer’s house, Eaddie and I finished the evening with a couple more episodes of Daredevil while everyone else was in bed. We made it most of the way through the first season pretty quickly, and I’m excited to finally watch more for the first time.

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Bánh Mì on the Rooftop

We all slept in quite a bit today. Summer got up and ready to hit the gym while I ate leftover Mexican. I cut up some potatoes and made some really skinny fries to go with some chicken strips for everyone else when Summer got back from the gym and from picking up Autumn. Immediately after she ate, she started super-cleaning the house while I more or less wandered around uselessly. I should have gone home to clean up, but I didn’t.

In the late afternoon, we got the girls loaded up to go swim at my parents’ house. I remembered that I had a pickup order ready at Lowe’s, so I ran in there first, then to my house for what was supposed to be a quick stop. My portable A/C unit had stopped because it was full of water, so I had to empty it out and clean the air filter before we left. Autumn had a couple hot dogs at my parents’ house before joining the rest of us to swim for a while. When we got out, I pulled out some super old fireworks to explode, and the girls didn’t seem to want any part of it. None of them really wanted to be around it. Summer at least got into some sparklers.

It seemed to get late pretty fast, and Amanda beat us to the junior high, so we left to get my keys I had forgotten at my house, then went to meet her there. The fireworks show had been moved to the aquatic center, and I estimated we would have a pretty good view from the roof. Mom and Dad brought some bánh mì for us to eat on the roof, and they watched from down below. Amanda’s crew had to split before the main show, but I think the better part was seeing the surrounding fireworks from around the city and even out of town.

The weather was nice, and there weren’t much in the way of bugs where we were. Once the show got started, I don’t think it even lasted 15 minutes. Most of the low stuff was hidden, but we could see bits of it peeking out over the trees. I assume you couldn’t see much of that from the ground. It was a great time though, and the girls really enjoyed it after begrudgingly climbing a pair of vertical ladders.

Once the show was over and the heavy traffic had left the parking lot, we headed back to Summer’s for the evening. Eaddie and I watched the first episode of Daredevil while everyone else went to sleep, and then we followed suit.

Is it sacrilege to celebrate the birth of America with a picnic of Vietnamese sandwiches?

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But It’s Hot

We got up this morning and Summer took the girls out to run Father’s Day errands. I cleaned up some leftovers before heading back to my house to take care of things there. I got two loads of laundry done, messed with the fish, took a shower, and parsed through my air conditioner quotes.

Dad wanted Western Sizzlin’ for dinner, so we all met back up there to eat. Autumn ate lunch meat and Eaddie tried to eat a huge plate full of desserts. It really made me want to put them on an original Soylent diet as punishment. After we ate, Summer took Autumn to stay with her parents while I went home and went over the air conditioner quotes with Dad. Then Mom came in and escalated things the way that she does.

Back at Summer’s, the three of us settled in for a couple episodes of Parks and Rec before bed.

Steps are for climbing.

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The Long Way Home

We got up this morning and packed to leave. Summer took most of the stuff down to load onto the bus while I got ready, and by the time I got out, I didn’t really have time for breakfast. We took the junior high and the losers from the high school back to the Riverwalk to shop and eat, but this time we got to actually ride the bus there, which made it much more pleasant.

The high schoolers were pretty much jerks all day, and their chaperones didn’t seem very worried about it. Summer, Hannah, Dylan, and I all walked all the way to the end of the Riverwalk, stopping at the bi-level area so Dylan could get an electric massage, and then again so Summer and Autumn could go on a VR “ride.” Then we made it back to the food court just in time to gather everyone to eat. Johnny had kept the district credit card, so it was up to me to pay up front again. Disappointingly, all three of my cards got declined for fraud prevention, even though I specifically called Discover to make sure that it wouldn’t. We made it through eventually though, and I came back with two foot long sandwiches from South Philly Steaks & Fries. Summer really liked her chicken, and I really enjoyed my Philly, so I considered that a pretty big win.

The varsity team showed up right around that time as well, so they ate, and then we all loaded up onto the bus to say, “goodbye” to New Orleans. Aimee was worried about flooding along the way, so she played it super cautious by going through West Memphis, which probably ultimately added an hour to our trip. We never really stopped for food, and even told the students not to buy anything when we had to stop for fuel, but of course they didn’t listen. Everyone was really beat and anxious to get home, but I wasn’t quite ready to pass out. While the others slept, I unpacked and tried to put most of the stuff away before bed.

Fix it.