The Rest Of July

The last week of July for our little family was a pretty busy one.

We celebrated Briana's gotcha day anniversary, I had a blood draw appointment, a doctor appointment and a therapy (counseling) appointment that week, I met a friend for lunch one day, we made a trip to H Mart, and Doug and Bri went to their last D&D game of the summer.

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We celebrated our family day once again by going to The Melting Pot for dinner.

 It is always delicious and it is a couple of hours where our family can chit chat and enjoy a meal together.

Briana dressed up for the occasion...

Our family...

We dined on cheese, bread and veggies, meats and shellfish, chocolate and sweets...

I love our little family.

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A few days before our gotcha day anniversary, we made another trip to H Mart. We had gone through most of the groceries we had gotten a few weeks prior, so we needed to make another run...

We ate at the food court again (everything was so good - especially the dumplings)...

We bought filets and beef bulgogi to bring home. Doug grilled up the steaks one evening (so good) and I made a very yummy stir fry with the bulgogi (if I do say so myself)...

And see these shoes?

I had not worn these sneakers in forever. I couldn't wear them because they pushed my on swollen heel and it was quite painful. The day we visited H Mart, I put on the shoes and had no pain in my heel. I am a bit of a mess in the rest of my body right now, but I was so happy to put on these shoes again and walk around the store like a normal (sort of normal) person again.

 

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The evening that Doug and Bri went to their last D&D game, I was alone in the house. I started walking downstairs and I looked out the window. I noticed that the sky was pink. I have seen colorful sunrises and sunsets before, but this was different. Everything outside had a pink hue to it - it was so crazy...

A few days before that, I noticed a faint rainbow in the sky. I hadn't seen one in real life in a long time...

And the night of Briana's gotcha day anniversary, the clouds were just beautiful as we were driving home from dinner...

Mother nature has been showing off a bit lately.

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Doug was very kind to drive me to my therapy appointment so we could have lunch together afterward. We went to Super Chix again and it was so good...

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Ok, um, I bought another labubu figurine for me and Briana. I know, I know. These are the adorable Coca Cola figurines and like I said, anything labubu is pretty difficult to get...

 

 I saw these available on Amazon and snagged two while I saw them. Of course, they sold out quickly. Did I originally say I didn't really care about labubu stuff? Yes. Do I need it? Not at all. Did I mean what I said at the time about not caring about it? Yes. Did I change my mind? Again yes. Is it silly/crazy/ridiculous that I am kind of obsessed with these stupid things now? Absolutely yes. Is it really more of the hunt and catch rather than the actual product that is so appealing? Probably yes. Is it ok that I am having some fun with something so silly because life is kind of hard and I don't feel all that well and this gives me a small piece of happiness? I think so.

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At lastly, here are a few pictures of my sweet girls...

While Doug and I were out eating chicken sandwiches the other day, Briana decided to send us a few cute cat/kid selfies. When Briana heads back to school in September, she is going to miss this cat so dang much. And vice versa. I am quite sure B will once again miss Mei more than me and Doug. Heh.

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So that was the rest of our July. It is now August. I can't believe it. Doug started at his new job/company today - which is pretty exciting (send good vibes his way please!). I am looking forward to going on vacation soon because I haven't really left this house for any significant amount of time in a year. It is time for me to get away for a few days. Briana has already started her back to school clothing journey (she has gotten some really cute things) - I will post about that soon!

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.)