Sometimes
I have to eat my words. I like them lightly toasted, not steamed, but today
they are steamed, because I am steamed.
The
high today was 89. Now, by my personal criteria, anything less than 90 is “not
hot.” However, running around in the car, in the heat, with both kids, it
strikes me as HOT. To make matters worse, we stopped and ate lunch at Arbys,
and the air conditioning in the restaurant was on the fritz, and it was like
HELL HOT. I told the manager and he mumbled something I couldn't understand. I think my hearing is going, or maybe it was just the steam coming out of my ears.
For
once, I was glad my kids eat fast. I guzzled down iced tea like I was an extra
in Sahara.
Alesia
was impressed by the fact there was an eclectic mix of folks in Arbys,
including some young men in dress shirts and ties. “I’ve never been in a place
with so many businessmen before,” she whispered, delightedly. “It’s like in the
movies!” I was tempted to tell her only young businessmen eat lunch at Arbys, but I didn't want to argue.
We
had just come from DSW Shoe Warehouse, where we had found Michael some nice
Adidas sandals on sale for $24. I am hoping and praying they will not tear up.
He is so hard on his shoes, plus he is growing so fast. He wears a men’s size
8. That’s tough to find. He kept going around trying on the display shoes,
despite me saying repeatedly, “Mike, that’s a size 10. Look at the boxes and
pull out a size 8, hon.”
The
start of our day was a trip to the driver’s license testing place, where the
line of people was 50 deep. I had told Alesia, let’s go early in the morning,
but she wouldn’t listen to me. I had to drive all the way over there and prove
to her that there were a slew of people. Many of them were smelly people, too.
(What a pity people can’t be fined for having BO. We could make millions.)
Tomorrow, we are going to be at the driver’s license place by 8:00, or as close to it as possible. We are not going to sleep until 9 [cough cough].
For dinner, I decided to make soup.
In our house, soup always begins in our “vintage” [from when I was a kid] Club
Aluminum pot. I saw this same pot on Ebay for $54!
Elva’s Vegetable Beef Soup
Take a lb. of ground sirloin, and
brown it. Add in ½ large onion, diced. Let it simmer for a few minutes. Throw
in some salt and pepper. Add in the following and simmer for 1-3 hours:
1 jar Classico sauce of your choice
[I used Fire-roasted tomato and garlic]
2 cups beef broth
1
8 oz. Can tomato puree
¼ cup red wine or sherry
1 can green beans
1 regular size can of diced potatoes
Serve with a Salad, or add more
veggies to the soup, add some Fritos, and there’s dinner.
I had to give Michael a lecture
about playing nicely and how to treat guests. One of his friends came over and
spent the afternoon with us. Michael is still not remembering good manners
about guests. I had to tell him a couple of times not to just wander off and
leave his guest alone.
I also had to tell him no horseplay on the trampoline. I
have safety rules for a reason – so nobody will get hurt. Grabbing the child's legs as they jump is NOT allowed. Alesia made them come in because I was on the phone. Mother could see them from her window. After the lecture, Mike didn’t seem phased
by my little lecture. I finally just said if I ever see that behavior again I
will sell the trampoline and that will be the end of it.
