Albatross accessories

Earlier this week I got my application and live scan steps to begin the foster parent process. The 20-hour adoption training begins in the fall and I’ve already been pre-registered by the agency. I have the summer to complete the application.

How’s the weather?

It has been a month since BIL #1 moved out of my house. I’m not going to lie, it’s been peaceful but I am still pretty annoyed about the way he left. A lot of people have expressed their version of bitterness too. You would think it would be an opportunity for him to step up and help out around the house doing chores, but no, he chose to leave as soon as he can. Perhaps choosing to flee and avoiding to engage in anything to do with his brother is his way of coping with grief?

Feeling chill

We are halfway through April and it’s now over a month since I lost my husband. The other day I got his ashes. The urn has not arrived yet at the funeral. I’ll pick it up next week. Right now it’s in a plastic box. Who knew a small dense box would make me feel so happy, it would hold so much meaning? On Thursday, his army unit had a service for him. It was a three-hour drive from Los Angeles. It was a short casual service, but going there would mean so much to him. On Thursday morning when I got the call from the funeral home that he was there, I stepped out of work (I worked remote that day) to pick him up. It was timely. He was present in all the services, and I know he’d like to be present for his unit’s service.

It looks like I found a new hobby…

I may have picked up a new hobby and that is reuniting lost dogs with their owners. There was that failed attempt during Christmas…only to learn the owner didn’t care about the dog anyways. That made me bitter. It confirmed my stance on how much I should care about things.

The Cat and Rabbit

It’s been getting very cold over the last few days. We don’t have central heating, we have a gas heater that heats up the house okay and space heaters in the room. Oh, old house problems.

Starting the New Year off with a vacation!

If we were having coffee we’d probably be sharing — yes, sharing! — this cup of coffee. This is an $11 latte — the most expensive cup of coffee I’ve ever purchased. They recommended the mocha, but I’d imagine it would be even more expensive. The barista explained that they make their own chocolate or something like that. There were no prices posted on menu so I was price-shocked when I was about to pay at the counter. Was this latte worth the price tag? Unfortunately, no. But the coffee shop was beautiful.

The Long Thanksgiving weekend

How was your Thanksgiving? Ours was pretty simple. We just had it at my parents’ house. They live about 30 minutes away. I did not prepare anything fancy, I just got frozen appetizers from Trader Joe’s and I baked them when I got to my parents’ house. There were these fried goat cheese balls I wanted to make but I’ll try it another time. I don’t want my first attempt in fried cheese goat balls to be on Thanksgiving Day.

The Opposite of optimism is cynicism

It’s been chilly all week long which means it’s starting to feel like fall in LA. In a previous post, I mentioned it was a little hard to adjust to the normal routine since coming back from vacation. I mean it’s been my first major vacation in more than two years. Plus it was my first vacation since having a baby and it was my first time being away from her for a week. I think around Wednesday was when I finally got the hang of my routine again (for the most part).

You’re doing it all wrong: Year two

The last time I wrote a post reflecting on motherhood it was a year ago around her birthday. I am just as cynical as last year and that is okay. I think it’s a good time to reflect on how I’ve been doing. I think we get so caught up with how the kids are doing, but nobody seems to check up on how mom is doing. How have I been dealing with motherhood after two years? Well…I learned…

Cutting back on my sass

If we were having coffee or tea, we’d be pairing it with these cake samples I got from a Ukrainian bakery. The top half is a Napolean and the bottom half with the berries is a honey cake called Medovik. Feel free to choose or have both!

Naptime is an indulgence

My husband came back home on Tuesday. He is COVID and pneumonia-free since he spent most of his annual training in quarantine. Today he and Lana are going out to a car meet with a few friends. I was supposed to join them but our pets had a vet appointment today. On the bright side, it is kind of refreshing to be by myself and not have to entertain my kid every second of every day — it is a much-needed respite. The only thing I have on the schedule today is taking my dogs to the vet and nothing else after that. As I mentioned before, it was getting really hard when my husband was away for training so long. Don’t get me wrong! I love my kid but it can be overstimulating. My free day after the vet appointment would be a trip to the gym, go grocery shopping, taking a nap, and binge-watching The Mindy Project instead of the Baby Shark channel. How indulgent!

The Plate is full

I would like to say that July is my least favorite month of the year. Background: My husband is in the National Guard Reserves. The first time around he started after he graduated high school and left in 2013. He left because it just did not give him any meaning and it did not benefit him aside from helping pay for some of his college. He never got promoted for all the time he was there.