On Thursday, I celebrated my birthday. Food is always a big part of my celebrations, and I like that! It started on Monday, as I was in Minneapolis for an appointment with a new Speech Language Pathologist and a new doctor for Botox injections. The hospital is affiliated with the University of Minnesota, so I knew I was going to be in good hands or good ears, nose, and throat! They did numb my nose so they could get a good look at my vocal cords, and from my vantage point, I was able to see my own vocal cords as well. They look good for being 49!
I had a rental car on Monday, so I was able to grab breakfast before hand at Taco Johns. Taco John’s is fast food Mexican, and instead of breakfast tacos, they call them burritos. I have yet to find “good breakfast tacos”, but Taco Johns is OK. I mean, they are full of eggs, cheese, potatoes, and sausage or bacon.
When I arrived at my destination, it was smack dab in the middle of the University of Minnesota campus. I knew from prior research that there was a small cafe in the hospital. So, before I went to the voice clinic, I got a drink and a bagel with cream cheese. Afterwards, I grabbed lunch at a Chinese restaurant called Tea House (the parking lot was literally where the Gophers football stadium is and less than 5 minutes away from where I was). I got a wonton soup and pork and eggplant noodles, and it was actually really good. Niko ate my leftover soup, as he is my little soup boy. Why is it that eggplant at Chinese restaurants is always so tender and soft? Oh I know, seasonings and excellent chefs! I have actually had eggplant a small number of times, and each has been delicious. The pork in the noodles was OK, but maybe next time, I can ask for chicken or shrimp. I say next time, but in reality, it will probably be a different Chinese restaurant in the area. I am going back, TBD, for speech therapy and if I feel that helps me, great. If not, I can schedule the botox.
Side note, Niko was sick and was home on Monday. He started feeling bad (cough) on Sunday night, and getting him to fall asleep was a struggle because the coughing kept from going to sleep. I was hanging out with him, but after about 45 minutes, he kicked me out. After I left, he came out several times to pee and each time, he looked more exhausted. Also, getting meds in him is another struggle. Eventually, he was able to sleep, but not nearly as long as he normally gets. Monday night, before bed, I was able to get him to take a dose of medication, and a few minutes later when he was in bed with Nina hanging with him, he said, I feel better! Gee, I wonder why? On Tuesday morning, he requested meds and I was like, really? We kept him home on Tuesday through Thursday (he had a small fever on Wednesday, and on Friday, we schooled him and one of the things they did that day was tie dye shirts. Next week, they are walking to the other elementary school and will hang with the young kids and help them tie dye.
I felt bad leaving Nina and Niko, but this appointment has been scheduled since October of 2025. I am also glad I had a rental reserved, as I could’ve canceled the car and taken the Pilot, but I didn’t want to leave them home with no car. I did, though, have to get them to drive me to the car rental facility at 7:15 am. I heard a rumor that Nina and Niko got Starbucks and drove around for a little bit. When I got home, I called Enterprise and asked them if they could give me a ride home the following morning, and they were like yeah, no problem. I was like, good! The N’s could stay home.
My rental car was a 2024 Hyundai Kona, and it was weird having a screen that mirrored my iPhone, but very nice for the GPS as I had no clue where I was going. It was also weird having a camera show up when I turned my turn signals on! About 20 minutes from home, a message popped up on the screen and it said take a break! It did take me about 5 minutes after my first stop to figure out how to put the car in Park. I did give Niko a quick ride in after I arrived home as he likes things and he was very pleased with the car. He was like this is nice and he wouldn’t object if I brought it. I told him, yeah, but if we do buy a new car, I might want a little bit bigger SUV. And, it would probably be a Ford or a Honda. Lesson for me, next time I need a rental, I will request a little bit bigger SUV.
It was a long full day on that Monday as it started at 7:15 am, and I got home around 3:30 pm. It was almost as if I had gone to work in the Twin Cities! On the way home, I hit Minneapolis traffic for a few minutes, then it was smoothing sailing on I-94! It would’ve been earlier, but the doctor was running behind schedule, so my 11:15 am appointment was finally served at 12:20 pm.
Fortunately, the hospital has a small parking lot (which was full) and a parking garage across the street, so it was easy to park and walk to the hospital. I just had to take some pictures of where I parked in the garage including what my car looked liked so I wouldn’t be running around like a crazy patient trying to find my rental car. When I exited the parking garage and was heading to the hospital, I grabbed my phone and typed in the address and it guided me the 0.2 of a mile to the entrance.
On Thursday, I ordered a lot of Chinese food from Asian Cafe and had Nina pick it up. Last week at work was Remarkable You, where we had guest speakers (James Lawrence, also known as the Iron Cowboy) and speakers from our leadership team. I got house special lo-mein noodles with no veggies (Niko also likes it, so I ordered two), beef fried rice with no peas and no carrots (that is something I just can’t deal with in Chinese food), two egg drop soups (would’ve been wonton, but they were out), two egg rolls, fried dumplings, fried shrimp, two orders of fried sushi, and sesame chicken for Nina. I definitely am a noodles and rice boy, and I will happily accept that and will never get tired of Chinese food. I had leftovers for lunch on Friday (which I was so excited to be eating).
That evening, Nina made steaks and fresh vegetables, and I cooked beef rice-a-roni. For my birthday cake, I could’ve had a store brought one or a homemade one from Nina. Easy choice for me. Nina made a chocolate tuxedo cake. I didn’t expect her to put 49 candles on it, because that may be a fire hazard! But, one was fine, and somehow, Niko always ends up blowing it out for me!
A gift that was supposed to be a surprise for me arrived last Sunday as Amazon didn’t put it in Amazon wrapping as Nina requested. It was a basketball hoop. I am actually excited to get it together and start hooping. I also think Niko will enjoy it. I was joking around with Nina that I need a jersey to go with it, but not a tank top one, but rather a t-shirt one. Then, she asked which Spur? I threw her a curve ball, and said, I wanted a Minnesota Timberwolves jersey for Kevin Garnett (#21). I also got two basketballs and taffy and assorted nuts from Nuts.com. From the parents and in-laws, I got Amazon money, so I will look and buy myself something nice.
Next Saturday, Niko will turn 10! Holy shit, I am going to have a 10-year-old! Please help me!
