A Mexican (Food) Stand-Off

She says in Spanish, ‘Is there another salsa? A green salsa?’ The waiter replies in Spanish that there is a cilantro, creamy green sauce that is kind of a topping sauce. ‘Yes, could we have that also, please?’ He agrees and thanks are given.

So far, they have gone through almost two normal containers of the red salsa, eaten almost entirely by him, her man, not the waiter. They continue eating the chips with the delicious red salsa.

After less than a minute, a small container of delicious-looking green creamy salsa arrives. It is smaller than the size of a shot of alcohol, much smaller than the regular red salsa dishes on the table. She looks down at the green salsa. He, her man, not the waiter, looks down at the green salsa. The two look at each other briefly before she, with a lightning-fast move, grabs the green salsa and moves it to her far corner of the table, out of his reach.

He does not share food well. He admits it fully. He devours food. Sharing happens only by speed and force, before he can finish eating, or else it usually doesn’t happen at all. They both know that this is why she has taken the salsa. Two normal dishes of red salsa have been eaten entirely by him at this point. She has full rights for her move. But he doesn’t trust her, because he wouldn’t trust himself if he’d been the one to grab the green salsa first (which he’d tried to do).

He retaliates by grabbing the chip basket and moving it to his far corner of the table.

It is a Mexican (food) stand-off. She says as much, chuckling.

They begin negotiations. ‘Let me get a scoop, and I’ll give you three chips.’ ‘Let me get that scoop for you, so you don’t take all the salsa in one scoop.’ ‘No, let me get the scoop, or I won’t give you any chips.’ ‘Then you won’t get any salsa.’ ‘Okay, put the green salsa over here for one scoop, and I’ll give you three chips.’ ‘How about I hold the salsa over here, and you can get a FAIR and small scoop yourself, then give me three chips?’

They reach an accord.

She holds it tentatively to make sure he doesn’t scoop half of it out in one go. He surprised her by confirming that his amount is okay, and even wipes a bit back on the container before asking. She approves. He eats. She asks for her chips. He gives her one.

The container is small, so she breaks the chip in half. She dips and eats one half and dips and gives the other to him. He gives her another chip, and the process repeats, repeatedly.

‘See?’ she asks. ‘I told you I would be fair with the chips and the salsa.’ He just smiles and eats another bite of chip and salsa.

After a while, she has had her fill and hands the container off to him. He devours what is left in mere moments, it seems. They both know she was right to take the salsa, though he doesn’t want to admit it, and that’s okay for both. They got the chips and salsa they had wanted, and they got them together, which was what had mattered most.

………..

I just hope you can see us being idiots at the restaurant tonight. 😛

Post-a-day 2023

Volunteering

Nothing quite like being yelled at by angry people who thing you’re responsible for their problem, when, really, they just didn’t read the directions in their e-mail to download the ticket app and to create and account… It’s actually quite easy to do, really, yet loads of people struggle with it. And why do they struggle? They DO NOT READ THE SIMPLE DIRECTIONS THEY RECEIVE IN AN E-MAIL.

Uuuuaaaagggghhh(!!!!!!!!!!!)!!!

Glad I get to go to sleep now.

Post-a-day 2023

Phew

Well, we made it through the week. Now to survive Sunday, after being out at the rodeo late tonight for the Ranch Rodeo Finals. They were really cool, of course. But they wen until after ten, and we were already exhausted, especially for me, after helping with tear-down for a bunch of stuff all afternoon/evening. And I had only shown up to take some photos of parts of that process, so we could have a guide for next year’s set-up. I had slept in this morning, then gotten breakfast and snuggled on the sofa with a blanket for a while longer before sitting a few minutes in the sun, and then getting dressed and heading in.

Once there, I surprised my man at his shift, and I watched him work just a little bit before heading up to my own stuff. That was just plain lovely. Mm!

Now, I can barely think straight, I’m so tired. I had mostly caught myself up, but then stayed up too late tonight to finish catching up. Now, we have to be there to start at 6:30am for the other committee tomorrow. Yikes.

God, thank you for this day and week. Please, grant me wonderful rest tonight, and get me there on time in the morning, please. And the same for my mom. Thank you. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Resigned…

But not in the poor emotional way – in the really good way(!) and from my part-time job. Yay!

I actually felt giddy after sending it in. My man said it perfectly that this is just an opening for what’s next now. I am ready to move forward from that work, and be my best self elsewhere.

Thank you, God, for this opportunity and this blessing. Thank you for this chance to develop myself and to learn how to be more and more myself each day and in more circumstances through this job I’ve had the past two+ years. Help me to use all of that to move forward powerfully and to fulfill your will. Thank you. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Being of service

This week, I chose to be of service. I was only signed up for work on my rodeo committee on Sunday and on Wednesday. However, I was there and working every day this week. I didn’t have to be there. I just genuinely wanted to be there. And, once I was there, I always asked what our leaders needed. Usually, they had an answer. Oftentimes, I didn’t even need to ask – just by seeing me, they would ask me to go do this or that. Why? Because I’m reliable and I get stuff done, they said.

And I am grateful for that. All of it. Thank you for this amazing week, God. Thank you. Please, help me continue to be of service and to learn and to better myself and to make a positive difference in the world. And, if you would, help me to do that while earning lots of money, please, so that I may care even more so for my family and loved ones . In your name, I pray. Amen.

P.S. I hope everyone had a happy Texas Independence Day today!

Post-a-day 2023

Applications

No, I do not want another app on my phone. I don’t care how great of an idea you may think it is – I’m not adding another app, just so I can use it for fifteen seconds once a month for whatever your thing is. Figure something else out, please, because I’m tired of everyone demanding that we have their app on our phones. If we did that, no phone would work, as no phone has enough space for all the apps everyone keeps trying to make us download all the time.

Ugh…(!)

Post-a-day 2023

Happy Birthday to me

My man planned to take me to dinner for my birthday tonight, since we agreed to plans with some neighbors for tomorrow night, my actual birthday. (It’s comfortable drinks with them at their house in celebration of her birthday, also the same day as mine, so it makes sense.) He spent a lot of time planning our flight to nearby College Station, recalling that I had mentioned recently that flying there just for dinner would be fun.

However, for my birthday, it has always been important to me to see my aunt (who is also my godmother). Usually, she makes every effort to make it happen. However, she and my uncle recently moved, and aren’t anywhere near as close as they used to be. So, it didn’t make sense for her to drive three hours plus each way just to have dinner with me the day before my birthday (because I was busy all day today and will be busy most of the day tomorrow, too).

In a last-minute change of events, my man determined that we could change the flight plan almost entirely, pass College Station by, and go to Waco to have dinner with my aunt and uncle. He was going to an airport of which he had never even heard, let alone visited, and was more than doubling the distance… and at night. Despite all the changes and uncertainties and newness of this plan, my man came through stupendously. Yes, I still had times of real terror and panic – how could I not? But, for the most part, he did a great job of informing me about what was happening with all the adjustments and all throughout the flights, and helping me thereby to be somewhat calm and alleviated from panic when compared to the previous and only time I’d flown with him before tonight.

I was running late getting home, due to traffic and being overly helpful volunteering at setup today for one of my rodeo committees, so we got to the airport way later than planned. Then, with the change of flight plan, my man had some things to sort out newly before we could depart. That meant that, instead of having dinner around 7:30pm, we ended up arriving to Waco at 9pm. We ate at one of the only restaurants open late in Waco – though, it supposedly is a big deal one, culturally there – which was heavy southern food, and had an amazing time with my aunt and uncle. Their car was completely decorated with streamers and mini balloons and shiny unicorn cut-outs all throughout the backseat when they picked us up, and it was quite the delight.

After dinner, they stood out where they could see the full runway, and watched us take off, wave the wings, and then do a quick low-flying pass over the runway, before we headed home. Until tonight, apparently, they hadn’t known that my man even has a private pilot license. Well, now they know(!). 😛 Haha

The flight home had some tiny technology/mechanical issues, and his fidgeting with controls to see about sorting it out somehow really freaked me out. In my head, something was going to go just perfectly wrong that a wire somewhere would spark and catch fire… Really, though, I just don’t know enough about how planes work, I think, in order to feel comfortable with such a scenario as we had tonight. I struggled immensely to let go of this fear and to give it up to God. And I had to do it over and over again, every time he tried to fiddle with it and fix it again. I was seriously distressed and working very hard to trust in God that the outcome would be His will, whatever it may be. I trusted my man’s own skill and training, but I had much trouble trusting the plane itself and God’s will.

Within ten minutes of landing back at the home airport, fog overtook the whole area. Had we been ten minutes later, we likely would have been unable to land (for safety reasons) due to the immense fog. We were just in time.

Now, as I’m falling asleep anyway, I’m going to sleep.

Post-a-day 2023

Hmm

It’s almost my birthday – in two days – and I still have nothing planned for myself. I wonder why I’ve usually felt like people don’t care about my birthday…

Anyway, I started with daily mass and reconciliation last year, and it served me well. I’m very much interested in starting the same way for this year, too!

God, guide me, please. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

What a date night :P

We had the availability tonight, so we chose to have ourselves a date night together. We even thought that, since we were going to an early dinner, we might even go to the cook-off just to check it out, try the free barbecue, visit the Jack Daniel’s tent with his special Jack Daniel’s card, and just have a small little hang out there together.

We, of course, fooled around getting ready, and so didn’t actually leave until maybe an hour after intended to go to dinner. Granted, we’d thought we’d stop for a haircut for him on the way, but the place was closed early, so we never even stopped. But that only saved us about 20 minutes or so. Nonetheless, we have dinner, determine that neither one of us really feels like going to cook-off anymore, and we head home. We diddle around at home some more and then put on a movie. But we’re both so tired, we stop the one we’d picked and chose one we knew we’ll and didn’t mind missing if we fell asleep or went in and out. Keep in mind, this is at 9:30pm, now.

We put on Shrek, then. I make it only to the scene where he starts to fall, after saying, “But you ain’t ever seen a donkey fly!” before I apparently passed out. I don’t think my man made it even that far.

At about 2am, I woke up on the sofa, hot and uncomfortable and with my legs falling asleep, lying across his, hanging off the sofa. I wake him up multiple times over the next half hour, as I shower and get ready for bed, because he had wanted to nap and then go to the gym… still not sure st this point if the gym is happening tonight, though.

I’m about to collapse into bed now – just finishing this and my stretches. Got to check on him quickly first, then I can sleep.

But really, how silly is all that for a date night? Clearly, we are exhausted.

Dear God, please, grant us restful sleep tonight especially, please. In your name, we pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023