This morning we decided to make smoked ribs on the smoker for preparation for tomorrow. I got up early to make sure that I was prepared for things and realized that I should be using briquettes instead of lump charcoal. We did not have any briquettes so I waited and went to the store at 9am with Xavier in order to get some. I am not sure if I am strong enough to carry out the 15lb bag so I brought him along. The way that he carried the bag made it look so easy but I knew for sure that I would have struggled with it. When we got home I prepared the dry rub and then him and I went outside to prepare the smoker. He helped me setup the smoker and get a fire started in the chimney to use. These are pretty much Xavier’s ribs as he did most of the prep. I showed him how to take off the silver skin on the ribs and then he spread the rub all over the ribs. We got the smoker started and he put the ribs on and we then waited for 3 hours. I told him that he was responsible for spraying the ribs every 30 minutes. I had wanted to use some apple juice, but we had none and I was too lazy to go get some, so we used coke instead. By this time it was early afternoon and I was exhausted so I had to take a nap. I can not remember if I had shared this or not, but I had made a mistake on Wednesday and Thursday taking 8mg of my steroid. I normally that that on Tuesday and then spend a couple of days decreasing my dosage, of 4 and the 2. Yesterday I took 2 and today I took another 2. It is supposed to help with my energy and my appetite, but today I am not having a great day. I had some issues with constipation that may be due to all of the drugs and it kind of made me uncomfortable today. I spent a lot of the day going up and down stairs and I think that has taken a tolll on my body. I am exhausted and ended up taking multiple naps throughout the day. My body feels like when I was playing sports and I have exhaustion throughout my body. I decided to take a hot epsom salt bath tonight and it was rather relaxing but I also realized that with my exhaustion if I feel like this way again I should not be in the bath by myself. Everyone was home and I had my phone so I was not too worried, but I lacked a lot of strength together and getting out of the bathtub was a bit more difficult than I had anticipated. On the bright side this is the first bad day I have had in a while and it is not as bad as I have had on other days. Most of the things I think that I can explain and understand how I got into this situation that I am in now. I need to build up my leg strength more so that it is not so draining to go up and down stairs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Besides making the ribs, we made some smoked beans, crispy potatoes and some corn. I had to expend energy on all of this and used Xavier’s help for the smoker as I had to move grills around or shift the meat. I think that for next weekend the brisket may be easier as I can just leave it on the top rack for 7 or 8 hours. I have the smoker dialed in and used multiple thermometers to measure temperature so I know where I need to have it. I also can see how much bark that I am creating on the brisket and can pull it easier and wrap it faster if I need to. The end result of the ribs was delicious. I had given the boys a sample of the meat before I sauced it and they enjoyed it. Olivier is not a big fan of ribs normally but he said he loved mine because they were so tender. He ate close to a whole rack by himself, while Xavier ate a rack. He was able to easily take the meat off of the bone to eat. Eating ribs at my parents they do not always like it but they devoured these ones. Xavier asked why we do not use the smoker more and I think that perhaps we will in the future as it was rather delicious. I might see what else we can throw onto the smoker. I am not sure if I want to throw the chicken into the smoke next week, use the rotisserie or spatchcock the chicken for the BBQ. I will need to start planning out what the menu looks for like scheduling what I do throughout the day. I do know that when I have it set Mel is going to get mad at me and say that it is too much, so I am going to need to figure out that part. I can get Xavier to help out with a lot of it now I do believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Junior high was an interesting time. My best friend and I had quite the routine. His house happened to sit on a hill at an angle that you could see down one of the major roads where the bus came. There were times where we would walk to one of the first stops on the bus route which was roughly a kilometer down the street. Back then there were no cell phones or anything and we did not want to stand at the bus stop. What we use to do was watch Tiny Toons while looking out the window and then do a mad dash to make it to the bus stop that was closer to us before the bus got there. I do not think that we were ever late when we did this. There was once where we walked to the first stop and a bunch of us decided that we were all going to miss the bus and walk to school and then tell the school that we all missed the bus. I am not exactly sure of the logic of this one as it was not super close, but not super far either. I do not really know what we were thinking. At this time students started getting interested in each other and started dating and showing interest in the opposite sex. At the time I was not really super interested and even as I got older as I was getting interested I was never really one to pursue someone. I think that I am oblivious to signals. I can think of a lot of situations where I did not properly engage or read the intentions of females. I think that Xavier will be the same way as me, he has said that none of his friends have girlfriends but we know of a lot of kids his age that do. Xavier will want to date a girl who enjoys sports as that is all that he wants to do. I think that she is going to need to pursue him as he seems oblivious to making plans with his own friends let alone a girl. He will go play sports with his friends and that is about it. I never see him really hanging out with anyone if it is not sport related. I think that Olivier will be different as he is more forthright and charismatic. I believe that he will be more direct. When you hear him talk to his friends he is the bossy one that orders them around. The only reason that Mel and I are together is because of her. In a lot of things in life I can be aggressive and have no issues setting things up, but I tend to be far more guarded letting people into my inner circle. I think this is also why writing the blog is interesting, because it has provided a lot of people insights into our daily life. I have heard people say that they feel that they are spying on my life and know everything that is happening. That is ok, I need to let my guard down so I can accurately document my journey and not sugar coat things. The benefit is that people gain insight and understand how I operate. It is interesting when I think back on my life and see how all of those experiences have helped shape me. Some of the things were good and some were bad, but you need both for growth. This whole cancer journey is a growth opportunity and the second time around I have learned quite a bit. No matter how fatigued or tired I am, I always write something in my blog and at times I get energized by it. I am happy to share this journey with everyone who wants to be part of it and read along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Quoc Hao<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This morning we decided to make smoked ribs on the smoker for preparation for tomorrow. I got up early to make sure that I was prepared for things and realized that I should be using briquettes instead of lump charcoal. We did not have any briquettes so I waited and went to the store at…<\/p>\n