I drove one hour to pick up a little camera

Meet the newest addition to my little camera family, the Sony RX100 VA (5A). I have to tell you acquiring this camera was quite the journey.

Normalizing healthy choices as an adult

On Thursday I got my permanent crown for my molar. After the dentist appointment was my annual health check-up. I did the blood test to learn that my triglycerides were high. They’re just outside the normal range but it was enough for me to worry. It’s been over two years since I’ve had an annual check-up and a lot in my life has changed. I don’t want my triglycerides to trend upward.

I could be going on a bad date or I could…

I am happy to report I feel much better. My energy is back. I’ve been less sick. Maybe it was that darn tooth all along.

Tivoli, Italy

I uploaded new photos on my SmugMug featuring the Italian town of Tivoli. It is located 20 miles outside of Rom. In February 2020, H and I went to Rome for the second time. We spent more time in Rome and chose not to take day trips across the country (i.e. day trip to Florence, day trip to Venice, etc.). Though we liked Rome, we wanted to explore a small town in Italy without making our way to the Amalfi Coast.

Spending log for March

February’s spending log was not exciting but in a good way. There were no surprise spends in February. But March made up for it with an emergency dental procedure. Here are some highlights for the month:

Quintile one is done!

For this Weekend’s Coffee Share, I am going to change it up. Instead of sharing a coffee or latte of the week, I’ll be featuring a cocktail of the week. Last Sunday I had brunch with friends and decided to get a cocktail. This cocktail is called Strawberry Fields and it has prosecco, tequila, lime, strawberry vanilla peppercorn, and a microflower.

The Latte factor

Disclaimer:  This blog is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial advice.

When I was in college and early 20s, I was always shamed for my coffee-buying habits. “Why are you going to Starbucks all the time? It’s so expensive! It’ll be impossible for you to save money!”

A Regular dentist visit takes a turn…

Yesterday I went to my regular dentist appointment. Though I visit the dentist every 6 months for cleaning, it was also my annual x-ray. Right before the cleaning, the hygienist noticed a large crack on my left lower molar. She showed me a photo of it. After the cleaning became an emergency procedure to shave off half of my molar and place it with a temporary crown.

Springing forward

This past Sunday, we sprang an hour forward. The adjustment this week has been brutal. I’ve been waking up late and I argue with my kid to go to bed. Why are we still doing daylight saving? Why do we need to save the daylight? It didn’t help that for the past month, every weekend was so busy. This weekend is the first weekend I get to do nothing.

This past Sunday was also my husband’s one year. My MIL and I went to the temple to pray. I reached out to the monks some time ago that I would return on that day to do the one year. I reminded my MIL about the one year at the temple. I know, I know… his side of the family didn’t invite us to Lunar New Year, but yet here I am extending the invite to my in-laws to attend H’s one year. My in-laws are my husband’s family after all but sometimes I feel like such a sucker. I mean I did let my BILs live with us for free for a while to only have them bounce. Ugh.

I’m ready to announce

I posted a one-year reflection post on my Instagram and Facebook. It was also where I declared my goals to retire early (or become recreationally employed) and live abroad — it doesn’t matter the order… This isn’t news on this blog and to some of my close friends, but sharing that goal to my Instagram and Facebook made it very public. I have friends, acquaintances, relatives, distant relatives, former coworkers, and current coworkers all on that platform. My coworkers have received my 15-year notice. Before posting, I shared with my parents about my goals. For months I was a little shy about it. I would say vague things like talking about the cost of private health insurance abroad versus the US. I told them the cost of a private school in France is 1/3 the cost of what I am paying for in preschool. (Side note: The majority of preschools in the US are private.)

One day I got brave and told my parents about my life goals. Then my mom said, “You can wait until Lana is in college so she can study abroad.” I told my mom that she was making no sense. Study abroad programs are very short-term. Also, I never got to study abroad because I didn’t have the money. I get that my job is the live for my kid, but why does my kid get to live her life? I already have to leave many pieces of my life on the back burner. I used to exercise every day but there are many days where I am too tired to even squeeze in 20 minutes of my time to exercise from a YouTube video. I see that I am not as athletic and consequently I eat less. There are days when I am so tired that I just microwave leftovers for my kid’s dinner and I just lay down on the couch to skip dinner. I chose to be a parent but didn’t choose these conditions. Realizing that I can choose my dreams is the reason why I wake up in the morning. It has influenced a lot of my decision-making.

Also, don’t you think kids would find it inspiring that their parents are pursuing their dreams? I don’t want to teach my kid or any young person that the best years of your life are from 0 to 22 years old. It may sound light-hearted to say “Congratulations on graduating high school! Now your best years are behind you haha!” A lot of high school students are already anxious about their future, they don’t need more adults to double down. I remember feeling so anxious about life after high school because I felt like my one decision — my college major — was going to define the rest of my life. Then when I got to college, I didn’t expect to enjoy life so much. I felt freer because there were no cliques or “popular kids.” But… those anxieties did re-appear when I got closer to college graduation. At that time, I wondered if I made the right decision to not continue into graduate school. But when I got to that next stage in life, I didn’t expect to like it so much. A major part of it was that I got to travel more and pursue hobbies. I still like school and I still like to learn things, but what I like about life post-school is the boundlessness of it all.

KateGate

Anyway, I wanted to write about KateGate on this weekend’s coffee share. My Instagram stories are going crazy especially after that botched (UK) Mother’s Day family photoshoot. Earlier in the year when there were reports of her getting “planned abdominal surgery” while some joked about her getting a tummy tuck, I suspected Crohn’s. I know it will be a long while until we find out, but if it is Crohn’s I think it is a missed opportunity from the British Royal Family. She’s the most popular and well-loved Royal member; it would be refreshing to see someone who is so public-facing live with a disability.

I just wanted to share my really brief thoughts about it because man…KateGate news sure has spiraled out of control.

This weekend’s coffee is flat white from La Columbe Coffee Cafe (Century City, Los Angeles)

WeekendCoffeeShare

Loud Budgeting

Ooof what a week. I think it’s all the travel I did in February finally got to. I was in Montreal for a few days. The following week, I went to Temecula for birthday party. Temecula is 3+ hours from my house. Then the follow week I went to the Bay Area for my cousin’s birthday.

February spending log

What were my major spends in February?

Well, it’s not very exciting compared to the previous months…I think that’s a good thing.

Approaching week 52

This following week will be week 52…as in 52 weeks since I’ve been without my husband. I originally had something drafted and I’m still working on it. This weekend is a little busy because but we are out of town again. We are in the Bay Area for my cousin’s baby shower. Speaking of showers, when we landed from LA last night, we were greeted by heavy rain.