18th Briana Day Anniversary

 18 years ago today, Doug and I met our beautiful Briana (Jiang Ai Juan) for the first time in Chongqing, China at 4PM in the afternoon (China time) on July 30th, 2007.

It was an emotional, joyous, overwhelming, terrifying day for all of us...

We cannot imagine our lives without our beautiful Briana. She was our miracle and gift on that day - and she still is.

Our almost 19 year old will be starting her second year of college in 5 weeks. Dang - time is a thief.

Here is our China travel video once again...

Here's to 18 amazing years!

All About July

Wow - it has been quite a busy July for our family and it isn't even officially over yet. 

Big news - Doug parted ways with the company he started working for last summer (he was very happy to part ways - the company is a sinking ship). He was already interviewing elsewhere when the split happened. He has another job secured and chose to start at the beginning of August. So, he's been enjoying having some time off of work, but I think he is ready to get back at it again. 

 

Briana just finished her online summer algebra class and got an A. She is very happy because she does NOT like math, but she studied hard and got through it.

 As for me, I have visited a couple of doctors this month and I have one I still need to see. I did finally see an endocrinologist (which I waited two months to see) and I didn't really like her. But, she did tell me I definitely have Hashimoto's Disease based on my antibody numbers. Ugh. I have been taking a generic form of thyroid medication and she wants me on the brand name now (says it's better). Gosh knows how much that will be. I have a follow up in three months and I will see if that change helps me start feeling better because I still have an underlying crappy feeling all the time. 

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Our family started off July by celebrating the 4th (even though I do not feel all that patriotic these days - you all know why). I still decided to decorate for the holiday though...

The night before the 4th, the neighborhood next to ours set off their big annual fireworks display, and Doug and I went to see it (Bri wasn't interested in joining us).

The sky was so pretty that night...

The fireworks were great once again...

On actually July 4th, we had friends Khalid and Kira come over to have dinner with us. They really lifted my spirits on the 4th. We hadn't seen Kira in quite a while, so it was really nice to see her again.

We hung all out and the dads/girls played some pool. We grilled hamburgers and corn on the cob for dinner (Khalid brought rum cakes for dessert - yum!). And then we lit sparklers when it got dark...

 

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Since Doug has had some time off, he and Bri have been spending a bunch of time together. They have been attending a D & D session on Tuesday nights at a local arcade and have been really enjoying themselves...

Briana went to Six Flags one day with her besties and they had a great time. It was very HOT though that day and Bri did feel a bit nauseous at one point, but they had a lot of fun despite that...

B also went out and met a friend for lunch one afternoon and was looking really cute...

Briana and I met our besties for a "farewell" dinner since all the girls will be going off to college soon. Imerie starts at UGA first, then Mary heads to Mercer and Briana will start her second year at SCAD come September. We had some great catch up and a lot of laughs...

Briana ordered a scallion bubble pancake for an appetizer and had no idea how large it would be when it came out. We all started to laugh. It was just filled with air, so it really wasn't that much food, but the presentation definitely caught us off guard...

We are going to miss all the girls so much. I know they are all going to do amazing things, and I can't wait to see what their futures hold.

 

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Mei loves having everyone home pretty much all the time. If one person isn't paying attention to her, she just finds the next person. She loves to cuddle and gets really mad when she has to be alone even for a short time. #SpoiledRotten...

 

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I enjoy crafting every so often and I decided to do something with some jewelry I own but haven't worn in forever. I bought a Styrofoam cone and hot glued my meaningful jewelry (and some of Bri's jewelry too) and Christmas-y embellishments to make a small lovely Christmas tree (to add to my large collection)...

 

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Doug and I (and sometimes Bri) like to try out new (well, new to us) restaurants and luckily, they have all been terrific lately.

Doug introduced me to the Anchor Bar (which is home to the Buffalo Chicken Wing). We had my very first Weck Sandwich and the wings (it was all amazing)...

He also took me to the Brooklyn Cafe - we had delicious fried tomatoes, split a lobster bisque and chowed down on amazing Reuben sandwiches (we both could only eat half and took the rest home)...

We tried out a restaurant for breakfast called The Crooked Tree Cafe. Doug's banana pancakes were really yummy and I had a brisket hash that was SO good...

We also tried a restaurant called Super Chix (it is a chain). Oh my gosh - the sandwiches and fries were amazing (I had buffalo and Doug had Korean BBQ)...

We also went to a restaurant that I had tried with my friends years ago and it had just opened up at the time. There were a few growing pains, so I just hadn't gone back. We decided to check it out (again for me) and I am kicking myself for not returning sooner. The sushi and ahi tuna were superb and the Bri's ramen and takoyaki were so good...

 

The mochi ice cream was tasty but the texture was a bit strange for me.

 

Doug and I also returned to a couple of our favorite restaurants as well and the food is always so good...

And I'm not sure why I have had a couple of cravings for Jersey Mike's, but I indulged. It never disappoints...

We ordered a few trays of mac n cheese from Mr Macs and we heat one up every so often (until it is golden brown)...

Briana made us delicious mini cheesecakes...

And I have cooked a few meals (and Doug has grilled)...

I know that I shared quite a bit about food, but we are foodies and have enjoyed a number of good meals this month!!

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In my previous June post, I mentioned that I bought a couple of Labubu figurines for me and Bri and also ended up with a couple of plush Lafufus as well. I still was never able get an authentic plush Labubu blind box (it's impossible), but I have stumbled upon a really cool line of blind boxes called Skullpanda from P@pmart. The stuffies and figurines are so cute and I couldn't resist getting a few for myself.

I have only purchased two from each line because if you buy more, you do risk getting repeats. So, I have limited myself. Actually, I did get a third one from the L'impressionnisme line for Briana and luckily hers was different than mine. I have been having some fun with these though...

Life is kind of tough and these cute things make me happy - so I treated myself.

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So, that is the update on July so far. We have one more week of July - and it is supposed to be a HOT one again in my neck of the woods. I am still in physical therapy. My progress in trying to heal is very, very slow going. I am working on getting my new medication. I am still enjoying my girl being home. I am not really looking forward to her returning to school in September. We are going on vacation soon and I am looking forward to that. My girl will be 19 in a couple of weeks (how is that freaking possible?). I hope Doug enjoys his new job - wish him luck (he is going to be working with a friend/co-worker that he has worked with before and he is excited about that).

I'll be back again soon. Thanks for catching up with me!

A Post I Need To Share

(I posted this on FB and I am sharing it here.)

I think what people don't understand is that for people who feel like me, the very passionate ones, this isn't just about politics anymore. I have voted both for both sides of the aisle in my lifetime (though I'll never vote republican again due to the support of MAG@). Every single administration has had its faults - on both sides. What people like me are seeing with this particular administration are massive human rights violations (Alligator A!catraz and the stereotyping/the grabbing of brown people off of the streets even if they are citizens), the encouragement of hate speech/sexism/racism (just listen to Dump speak), the hiding of pedophil!a and tr@fficking (the hiding of E's list), the squashing of minority rights (the removal of DEI and the overturning of Roe vs Wade) and the lives of the disadvantaged being made so much more difficult (including the intense slashing of Medicaid while increasing the debt by trillions starting in 2026). Everything I just listed is absolutely happening - it's not just propaganda. So, people are either fine with the things I have listed (which is so troubling to me) or are ignoring that this is all happening/making excuses as to why this is happening. Just because an injustice may never pertain to someone directly or isn't happening to a person in this exact moment, it doesn't mean it isn't important or that it isn't happening at all. This is why I post so much about what is going on in the nation today and why I am so angry. People like me saw so much of this brewing during Dump's first term and yet people voted for it a 2ND and 3RD time. And this time, it is a million times worse. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), my intense empathy isn't allowing me to ignore the atrocities that are going on in this country right now. This post isn't an excuse or an apology, it is just my way of trying to explain. (Oh - and I will refer to the gulf as the Gulf of Mexico until my last dying breath.)

June Recap

 It is now time for my June recap. I have already written posts about Briana's referral day anniversary and all of my birthday shenanigans. When I started going back and looking at my photos of June, I realized we have done quite a bit this month. We haven't done any swimming yet or enjoyed any sort of beach time, but summer has been nice so far. Briana is still in the midst of her summer math class (and doing well). I am still not feeling the best, but I am working on it. It was nice being doctor free in June. (We will be taking a vacation in August. A much needed one. We haven't been on vacation since before my surgery.)

Doug, Bri and I have actually had a lot of family time together. I think our girl missed us a tiny bit during the school year, so she has grace us with her presence quite a bit this summer so far!

 

On the first evening of June, to celebrate Briana being back home, we ate at a delicious Chinese restaurant, popped into a Brazilian bakery to grab some goodies and stopped at a tea place so Bri could buy a boba tea for herself...

 

We had a family dinner one night at my favorite Italian restaurant (which is a little drive from our house). As we got done eating, the skies opened up and it started to pour. It was seriously raining sideways. We parked in front of the door but had no umbrellas. We tried to wait for a while but we needed to get going and went for it. Even in that short distance, we got SO wet! Still totally worth it - heh...

We had a shopping afternoon where Briana purchased some much needed rock climbing/pilates clothing and then we had very yummy taco'ria food...

 

We went to play some pinball one June afternoon and then dined on some yummy burgers...

At the end of June, we took a trip to HMart - one of Briana's favorite places to go. She loves to go there while she is at school and get groceries. I've really been wanting to check it out. We live a bit further away from the store, so we made a trip over there so she could stock up on some things while she is home this summer. It was fantastic. So many amazing Asian items to choose from. I wish I cooked Asian food better than I do! Briana stocked up on things like ramen, dumplings and kimchi. And we ate at the little food court before we came home (we split all sorts of absolutely delicious goodies, including Korean fried chicken, from a few of the different restaurants)...

Briana's favorite frozen dessert is this peach ice cream on a stick...

 

HMart had all these cool, brightly colored claw machines (each grab is a dollar, so we passed on these!)...

Doug and Briana have also had some very nice dad/daughter time. They found a place that holds D&D games on Tuesdays nights and they have really enjoyed that each Tuesday.

 

They also had a fun hang out afternoon one day...

 

We indulged in a lot of "not so good for you" foods with all the celebrations and summer fun in June...

 

The fried rice, the sub from Jersey Mike's and the Varsity dogs were really good. The Burger King sucked. We never get Burger King, but we did that June day. Briana really wanted to try the "How To Train A Dragon Meal." She doesn't like huge burgers, so I ate the whopper and she had a regular cheeseburger with the cheese sticks and lemonade. We all got food from there that day, it all sucked and we all regretted it. Burger King isn't the best overall anyway, but the Burger King closest to us is especially sucky. The cashier didn't even know the mozzarella sticks were a part of the special deal. She charged Doug extra for those even though he fought her on it, and she didn't even give Bri the "fiery" ones. Never ever eating there again.
 

I did a little bit of cooking in June (Reuben sandwiches, stir fry with the beef bulgogi I bought from HMart and pork chops; Briana made mini lemon pies)...

Father's Day came around once again in June. As you know from my birthday post, Doug, Bri and I visited my parents for an early Father's Day get together (and they surprised me with a cake for my b-day). I brought CFA nuggets and mac n cheese for lunch, we exchanged gifts and we spent quality time together...

On Father's Day, Briana and I gave Doug gifts (Briana crocheted a dinosaur for Doug and I gave Doug a collage of his favorite Briana college selfies), we watched the movie "Labyrinth" (per Doug's request) and ate delicious Cuban food for dinner...

I have been talking about all the family time we have managed to spend together, but Briana has definitely been spending time with her friends too...

Totally random ~ but I needed my car washed, so Doug and I went through a nearby car wash and I enjoyed all the colors that glowed as we went through the cycle (so corny I know)...

It has been so warm lately, I haven't spent a lot of time outside. But I did notice two sets of cardinals at the same time through my window in early June. I have seen a male and female cardinal together before, but never two "couples" at the same time...

And my gardenia bush bloomed once again. My favorite smelling flower. 

When I drive around in my car in the summertime, I listen to "Yacht Rock." I really enjoy it (and yes it ages me). But come September, I will go back to regular programming...

And lastly, I hopped on the labubu train a couple of weeks ago. Why? I have no freaking idea. I just heard about these stupid little things being such a tough find. So for fun, I went on a hunt for some just to see what would happen. I didn't score any plushy, hanging ones, but I did manage to nab two blind box figurines from the lazy yoga series through Am@zon. I paid regular price for them from the actual Am@zon PopMart store. They are authentic. Anything labubu is pretty impossible to get your hands on right now. Mine is the green one and Bri's is purple...

 

 And then...Bri and I were at HMart and we stumbled across some "labubus." Or what I thought were labubus. Ugh. I usually pride myself on making informed decisions, but I impulse purchased that day. They looked so authentic (but that is what imposters do best) and I was purchasing them from a vendor, so I thought they were ok. When Bri and I started opening the boxes (which did say labubu on them), we both immediately realized that something was off. After doing very little digging, I confirmed that these are indeed fakes. Cute fakes - but fakes. So we now have official "lafufus!" LOL! We just laughed about it and are now enjoying our imposters. So don't be fooled. Only purchase directly from PopMart or the Am@zon PopMart store to get the real thing (if you can ever find any)...

 

So that was our June in a nutshell.

I thought about complaining once again about the crap show this nation is right now, but this post is just too upbeat to drag it down. If I decide to complain again at some point, I will do it in a separate post. 

 

This is how I feel these days...

 

Now we are in July. Doug, Bri and I celebrated July 4th as best as we could. I have doctor appointments again in a couple of weeks. Please send me some good vibes if you can. I'm enjoying my time with my gal until she leaves me again in early September.

If you read this whole post, thanks for reading. I enjoy writing and sharing my "regular" life. 

I'll be back soon!