Summer Happenings (So Far)

Before I get into the specifics about my birthday and our trip to Savannah, I am going to share some of our overall summer happenings.

Speaking of Savannah, the picture above is the pool at the hotel we stayed at. It was really lovely.

So, what's been going on?

 

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Bri's summer job at CFA is going great. This job has been so good for her - she's getting out and talking to people, learning about customer service, making some money and building her confidence. She works with her friends Imerie and Meredith and she has made some new friends as well. Doug and I have visited her twice while she was working - once going through the drive-thru and once while she was working dining room. She luckily got to take a break while we were having dinner! 

 

Briana took a woman's order in the drive-through the other day. The woman came back around and gave Bri a dollar tip because Bri was so helpful with her. She was tickled by that!

 

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 Bri had a college visit to Kennes@w State University a few weeks ago. Friends Ilene and April had made an appointment to visit the art department and asked if Briana and I (and Doug) would like to join them. We were definitely in! We got a great private tour from KSU and had a lot of questions answered. The art department has a lot to offer. Bri is still in a SCAD mindset, but it is nice to know there are other really good options out there...

Bri and April...

Sites on the tour...

A big thank you to Ilene and April for allowing us to tag along!

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Bri has hung out with friends Mary and Meredith this summer...

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I went to a girls night with my besties Amy and Valerie to celebrate Valerie's birthday...

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Bri and I had a fun mall day in June...

Bri loves this Asian-inspired store at the mall. It just moved to a bigger space and she was in heaven!

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Doug, Bri and I went to two different immersive experiences. The first was "Art of the Brick" which we went to on my birthday (a Lego exhibit) and the second was all about "Claude Monet." Both were really amazing...

I took a bazillion photos at each experience, so I will write separate posts on those.

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We of course went to Savannah - Doug and I enjoyed the city while Bri enjoyed her SCAD workshop/camp (separate posts coming on this too)...

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I celebrated my birthday (several times over - I'll blog about that separately too)...

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We celebrated Father's Day quietly...

Doug requested French toast for breakfast that morning (and I added in bacon).

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Other than the stress of being in the kitty hospital and then being boarded at the vet's "lodge" for a week while we were in Savannah, Mei has had it pretty good this summer...

Poor thing was so unhappy going to get boarded...

If I could only explain to her it was for her own good.

I think she has gotten over the trauma ok now though...

She is SOOOO happy to be back home with us now. And we are so happy she is back home with us and healthy.

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And finally, we celebrated the 4th of July...

We were so tired from my birthday, Savannah and the Mei ordeal, we didn't really do anything for the 4th. Doug and I watched "A Capital 4th" on TV that evening. The night of the 3rd, the neighborhood next to ours always does a huge fireworks show and we drove down the street to view it...

It did not disappoint...

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So that has been our summer so far. Three weeks until Bri heads back to high school for her last year. *Gulp* 

I've got a lot of blogging still ahead of me, so I'll be back soon!

Life's Been Kind Of Crazy

Life has been a bit of a whirlwind since I turned 50. There have been some crazy ups and downs the past few weeks.

The morning after my birthday, Mei Mei decided to eat a lily flower that I had in a floral bouquet that I received for my 50th. I placed the bouquet in my home office and shut the door. The door doesn't always catch properly unfortunately. I should have double checked it and I didn't. She must have smelled the bouquet from the hallway because she pushed herself into the room and got to the flowers during the few minutes I was distracted.

Lilies can be very toxic to cats. She ended up in the kitty hospital for two days getting her system flushed out and force fed activated charcoal. She scared the bejeezus out of us, but she is totally fine now. Thank goodness. You don't even want to know how much we spent to keep her safe. Dang cat.

Right after that crazy scare, Doug and I brought Briana down to Savannah to another SCAD camp. The camp overall was a big success. Bri had a great time. Drop off and parent visitation day had some bumps this year (mainly issues on SCAD's side), but once we got though those, things were good. While Bri was on campus, Doug and I enjoyed some time together enjoying the city/River Street.

Once we got home from our trip, we all had to get back to some normality. Work, appointments, errands and lots and lots and lots of laundry. Ugh.

Today, we slowed things down a bit and went to see the Monet Immersive Experience. It was the last day for it in the Atlanta area and I'm so glad we were able to check it out...

I'm slightly starting to catch my breath, but Briana starts back to school in three weeks and we have a bunch of things to get accomplished before that happens. Trying not to feel overwhelmed.

I plan on writing all about my birthday, our Savannah trip and just basic summer stuff as soon as I can. It might take me a bit to get it all blogged.

So that is the life update. I'll be back soon...

Happy Birthday To Me (Today I'm 50)

Well.

I am 50 years old today. 

Gosh I have so many feelings about turning 50.

First, I think feel a bit stunned. I mean - I can't believe I'm 50. I do feel more mature and experienced than I did when I was in my 20's and 30's. At the same time, I don't really feel 50 mentally. I mentally feel younger than that. I definitely feel 50 physically. Maybe even older than 50. Heh. It's all really strange.

 

Secondly, I feel kind of melancholy. I know that I have less time in front of me than I have behind me. I feel a bit sad that my youth is gone. I was definitely more carefree in my younger days. I am in that time of life where parents are aging and kids are growing up. My generation is sandwiched in between a lot of overwhelming stuff right now and it's tough.

 

But finally, I feel happy and blessed. I made it to a half century. So many people sadly don't make to 50. How and why was I able to make it to 50 when many others didn't get that chance? I am not sure. And it isn't really fair. But I'm still here and I'm still kicking and I am trying to embrace that. 

 

Here is a little story - I had a friend named Liene. Many years ago, she and I had met up for a play date for Bri and her son. She and I had met through the China adoption community. I believe at this play date she was still waiting to adopt her daughter (which she eventually did). Her son was adopted domestically. As the kids played, she started telling me how she was born with a congenital heart defect.

 

We were both in our mid thirties at the time. She said that it bothered her when people complained about getting older. She said she just felt blessed to be alive because according to a number of doctors that she seen throughout her life, she wasn't supposed to make it that far. She felt blessed by every extra day she had been given. She moved away several years after that play date and we mainly kept in touch via Facebook after that. Sadly, she did pass away four years ago. 

 

I wish I had told her how much of an impact her words had on me. Believe me, there are those days I complain and I don't feel my best. I struggle with anxiety. There are definitely those days that I curse getting older. It is human nature I guess. But then I sometimes catch myself, think about what she said, and then I try to get my act together. I will always be grateful to her for sharing her perspective. I think it is quite appropriate to pass on that conversation on my 50th birthday.

So this is me at 50...

I've been through A LOT in my 50 years and I'm a little worse for wear, but overall, I don't think I am doing too badly. I had a friend tell me today that turning 50 is a super power. I really love that and I'm ready to test that out.

So, happy birthday to me! Hoping 50 is going to be an amazing year!

Another Yummy Food Post

As you all know, I really enjoy taking pictures of food. I guess because when food is placed so nicely on a plate, it is kind of a work of art. And, the food (most of the time) looks at good as it tastes.

Since Briana started working, a lot of evenings are now just Doug and me. Bri doesn't love to eat out, so Doug and I have been having some more outside dining date nights. Of course I miss my girl, but it is nice sometimes when it is just me and D.

I left off in April with my last food post, so now I will post about some places we've eaten in the last month and a half and I will also show off some food we have cooked ourselves.

 

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I'll start of with Doug's and my anniversary at the beginning of May. We had a delicious dinner at one of our favorite restaurant's "Largos" ~ we had shrimp and crab fritters, prime rib, blueberry cheesecake and refreshing white sangria...

A few days later, Doug, Bri and I met up with our friends the C family at restaurant called "Fish Thyme." We hadn't eaten there since before the pandemic. It was delicious. I had a delicious lobster roll tossed in dill mayo and parmesan truffle fries...

About a week after my anniversary, Mother's Day comes along. A few days before Mother's Day, I met my mom and sister for lunch one afternoon at this yummy hot dog joint called the "The Original Hot Dog Factory"...

And for actual Mother's Day, Doug, Bri and I enjoyed a fondue feast at "The Melting Pot"...

Doug and I hadn't been to "Buffalo's Cafe" in many years, and we decided to check that out again. I really enjoy their buffalo chicken wrap...

There is a little pita place not too far from where we live that serves the BEST gyros - it is called "Pita King"...

Doug and I hadn't been to Red Lobster in forever (we used to go there quite a bit when we first got married), so we went there one evening for fun ~ we had Caesar salad, lobster feast for Doug and crab alfredo for me...

 

There is a Louisiana restaurant not far from where we live named "Henry's" and all the food is so delish ~ seafood fondue appetizer, fried crawfish in cream sauce pasta for me, catfish (cooked two ways) on jambalaya for Doug and creme brulee for dessert...

We also love a nearby Italian place called "Fuscos." They have such good pasta and risotto. Bruschetta, Caesar salad, pasta with vodka cream sauce for me and seafood risotto for Doug...

We frequented "UnWined and Tap" again (we go there every so often). Unfortunately the food was just meh this last time we went, even though it looked very pretty...

We were disappointed because the food is usually really good there. The fried green tomatoes lacked flavor, the sesame beef had a nice flavor but the meat was not super tender and the peanut butter pie was just ok.

One place we really enjoy going is "1885 Grill." The restaurant can get a bit noisy, but the food is really good. Doug and I went there while Bri was at her drama club induction and we got some super juicy and tasty burgers. And then I went again a few weeks later with two of my best girlfriends and I got honey garlic shrimp and maple glazed brussel sprouts. SO good...

Finally, I want to share with you the meal we had out at "Viva Chicken" - which is a Peruvian rotisserie chicken place. We had chicken, yucca fries, Peruvian fried rice and corn salad. All SO good. The corn salad had a bit too much cilantro in it for me, but if you love cilantro, it is the salad for you...

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Now for a few meals we have cooked at home (Bri was home for all these meals!).

Doug smoked some amazing ribs one night...

I made a yummy turkey chili...

 

 Doug grilled a delicious tri-tip...

I baked some super juicy pork chops the other night (I was excited they turned out so good - I tend to overcook chops sometimes)...

We steamed some crab claws and ate some grilled corn one evening...

And finally, I made some tasty cheesesteak sandwiches (with grilled onions). They were quite good if I do say so myself...

Hope you enjoyed this food post. And I hope I didn't make you too hungry!