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

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

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

Rodeo time

Well, our first rodeo shift went rather well, especially for a first shift and for only the second day of cook-off. We only got yelled at once, and it was by someone on the committee who clearly needed to ‘be in charge’ and ‘be the boss’ for the minute, without having any idea what actually was going on in the moment. And we got it all handled quickly, anyway, and that person left, because her shift was over, anyway. Aside from that, things were mostly normal and good.

My mom and I stopped in a bathroom on our way out, and I realized then that I hadn’t yet seen myself in a mirror in my rodeo uniform. I had always looked at myself in the mirror during rodeo, in our uniform, I mean, and felt that I looked so blah and not-womanly and not-pretty. I always looked a little bit of a mess, somehow, even if I was freshly cleaned and brushed and whatnot. There was just something about it I couldn’t seem to shake off: I didn’t look very good in our uniform, the black cowboy hat, the vest, and the white collared button-down shirt.

Last year was the first time that, suddenly, I not only didn’t look not-very-good anymore, but I actually looked pretty. I looked like a woman. I looked beautiful. I was wearing the same exact uniform as the year before, the same shirt and vest and hat. And I had the same long hair, just a few inches longer. Yet something was different, because I was pretty. It made me smile like crazy whenever I looked in the mirror. And I noticed that I looked at myself much more often than in the past. It felt good to see myself looking so good. It was the opposite of a Catch 22.

This year, I have short hair. And I’ve been a bit of a mess off and on in terms of looking feminine and pretty and all, ever since I cut it. It’s just about shoulder length now, and I was worried I’d be back to looking boyish again, and very much not pretty.

And yet, when I saw myself in the mirror tonight, I was shocked. My hair somehow looked perfect and cute and girly and pretty. I looked beautiful, gorgeous, good. And so it began again, smiling at myself in the mirror. I look forward to seeing more of this beautiful woman in the near future. This truly shows that what’s going on in our heads impacts a lot in terms of how we appear physically. When I’m happy, healthy, holy in my head, so, too, isn’t body. When I’m uneasy, stressed, and feel like I’m not worth it, so, too, is my body.

Thank you, God, for this blessing of joy that has caused such wonderful beauty in my life. Thank you for this life, and thank you for this love. Help me to share your love, especially with those who so openly share love with me. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023

Improvement!

Today, as of this morning, I feel different. Yay! I feel distinctly different from how I have felt these past two-ish weeks now. I guess the weakness of illness has actually left me, now, and I have a sense of normality within my body’s bounds again. I even am genuinely considering going to the gym tomorrow midday. That’s huge. Truly.

Yes, I still have coughing, especially from too much talking. But it is significantly improved. No full-body convulsion-type coughing fits. Just the occasional few coughs and single coughs sprinkled throughout the day, hacking down that phlegm that is finally clear and white, not yellow.

Anyway, it feels like improvement.

Tomorrow, we go to the apartment to see if they’ll do a walk-through with us (because they no-showed for the walk-through today, our last contract day, since they decided to close the office for the day and ignored our appointment… we had to drop the keys in their dropbox… which never seems actually to work, as they’ve lost everything we’ve ever dropped to them in it…). Fingers crossed on that going well for us, please. Prayers appreciated. We really want to move onward from this apartment.

God, help us, please, so that’s e might dedicate our time, resources, and energy to other things and endeavours that will honor you and share your love with the world around us. In your name, we pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2023