May Part 2 (Memorial Day, Social Issues, and Socializing)

I'm almost catching up to July finally, so I can get back to more up-to-date posting.  I still like doing the summaries, but I forget so much these days.  Just with a lot of what I've been through, and just being busy, I find myself just focusing on the present most of the time.  That's not such a bad thing, but memories and future goals are still important to me.  I just can't or don't want to get fixated on them.

This year's Memorial Day also marked the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre, or Tulsa Race Riot, where a white American mob, some given weapons by local officials, tore through a district where black residents had built up some wealth for themselves, killing many of them.  I don't know why people say bringing awareness to these dark periods in our history is unpatriotic.  Part of learning history is so we don't repeat those same mistakes or so we become more aware of how we are repeating them.  God doesn't leave the ugly out of the Bible, either.  One of the main problems we have is even the idea of race.  That somehow if you are born looking a certain way, you are either greater or lesser, or that one race takes away from another.  What we could aim for instead is elevating all people  through learning about one another and even about how unfair practices have left certain people disadvantaged.  Talking about Tulsa doesn't diminish the memory of the soldiers who gave their lives for our freedom to do so.  There is room to talk about both, but I know some don't feel that way or have been taught that way.

I had breakfast with a friend from college, and three subsequent churches, outdoors.  Both of us were fully vaccinated by that time but chose to sit outside anyway.  It did get a little chilly.  She and I both run cold sometimes.  We also have similar views on racial and class disparities.  We both have felt the division with people close to us who have completely bought in to conspiracy theories.  It really helped my sanity to talk to her.  Thankfully Manny and I are also mostly on the same page when it comes to social issues and theology.  

On the commercialized holiday traditions front, M smoked a brisket for the first time and then the next day made these awesome brisket nachos.  Nom nom nom.  We had olives, but I thought we didn't.  Oops.  

I broke my glasses so couldn't really see well for a couple of weeks as my spares are scratched and ancient.  Thankfully I do have contacts, but can't read with them.  I lost my reading glasses and have been stubborn about buying another pair, even though it's cheap.  I am trying to move away from that thinking, though (being too cheap to take care of myself).  I did splurge on a peach sugar scrub and body butter (I love peach), and gave myself a little bit of a spa treatment.  

I'm still cooking new things but just using random recipes I find online now or making stuff up, and then I forget the recipe or what I did.  Need to do a better job of keeping track.  I did enjoy trying new foods, but as time is starting to become more limited again, and Manny returns to cutting calories, I will probably not make as much.

Out with Isaac, treating myself for Memorial Day

M's beef brisket nachos

Sat on my glasses

Chocolate pecan cake from scratch.  So rich!

Spa day at home for me

At the Korean butcher shop for brisket

Pluto sniffing the roses (thank you, Manny)

Jing do pork chops, Chinese broccoli, and leftover Mexican food

Udon with tempura shrimp and naruto.  Easy lunch for Naomi.  At least that was one thing that was better about being at home.

Pluto is actually not very surefooted and has slipped off several times.

Flashlight eyes out for his morning "walk."

Watching the eclipse online.

Cheddar biscuit bites, corn and peppers, and pork roast.  We aren't big roast eaters, but this was on big-time sale.

Phone cameras aren't great for moon photos, but the moon was really gorgeous.

Salmon, tomato and cucumber salad, air-fryed and mashed potatoes.

My tomato plant when it was thriving

Watching my childhood favorite band, Duran Duran, still rocking it in their 60s.  Pluto remained asleep.

My Pampered Chef Donut Hole Pan is so much fun.

Out for breakfast with an old friend from college and church.  It was so refreshing, but I forgot to take a photo.  Often happens when we get into really deep conversations at the end.  

Pretty flowers.  Out for boba and a walk again with Naomi.

It was great to be out again, and in that time period before "reopening" where it was still empty.

Me and my girl taking a break before her finals

More pretty flowers

I made this stir-fried chicken that M really liked but lost the recipe.  It was 2 lbs of chicken!  Also kiwi berry salad and tofu.

May Part 1 (First Outings, Mother's Day)

In May, we started seeing things opening back up.  I got my second vaccine dose, Manny got his vaccine, and the weather got better.  We took Isaac out to eat for the first time (outdoors).  

Pluto loves the cardboard boxes.

And the shoes.

Isaac loves to pet Pluto.

Warmer weather means tostadas for dinner.

Isaac happily helping me take out the trash.

Caramel Tres Leches cake on sale.

First time back to the bookstore.  So happy.  I was dropping Naomi off to see her friends but ended up staying.  Naomi said she thought I was stalking them, but I didn't notice them at all.  Too busy with my books.  I got a life skills book for Lucas and a memory booster book for myself.  And I browsed some books which I checked out later from the library or got with my Audible credits for listening.

New and much-needed desk for Isaac.

Mother's Day brunch at Palo Alto Creamery.

Isaac's first time eating out since March 2020.

Giant blueberry muffin

Flowers in bloom around our complex.

I don't recall having roses in our arbor area before this year.

Indeed.  I have friends and family who are doctors and nurses, and it has been a year of tremendous stress, including people from leaders to friends denying or even ridiculing what they were seeing and battling and sacrificing their lives for regularly.  We don't tell firemen there's no danger in fires.  We don't tell policemen there's no danger in violent crime.  And we certainly don't say well it only affects people with underlying conditions and they matter less than healthy people.  But would we if someone we trusted, say, our political party, just said so?

Second shot, back to Levi's Stadium.  Manny and the older two got theirs at a pharmacy.  I just liked being at the stadium.  The orange sticker is because I'm allergic to acetaminophen and hydrocodone, but I was okay with the vaccine.  I was knocked down for a couple of days, but after that I was okay.

Tonkatsu, broccoli slaw, and congee.

Pluto also loves windows, as most cats do.

Back to the library for the first time in since Covid hit, and the reading area is gone.  Sad.

May the Fourth be with you (that's the day I went).

Wrapping up our school year with a little chemistry and a few tests.  Naomi had the worst chemistry teacher this year.  I almost wish I could have taught her myself.

Pepper steak.  Note to self--since we don't eat onions, we need more steak.

Now both paws in the shoe.

I enjoy going with Naomi to different cafes and boba places.

One of Naomi's favorite soups, a version of the creamy spicy stew from the video game Genshin Impact.  It's so spicy, even to Manny, but she loves it.

April Part 2 (Naomi's Birthday, Cat Stuff, Friends)

Happy Sweet 16th to Naomi.  I won't post her photo here per her request, but she looked pretty cute that day in a light pink cardigan, white shirt, and black skirt and tights.  It's too bad she had her birthday on the Monday after spring break, with midterms, AP and Honors applications, and just a rough time in general.  But I am so very proud of her, and I hope she knows or will come to understand it.  I had a sore arm from the shot for a couple of days, but recovered in time to do some things for her celebration.  She didn't want a big celebration.  I got her some of her favorite Malaysian food, a fruit tart, and some spending money (which she promptly saved, as all my kids do).  I also got her some cute stationery, a Luna (the black cat from the cartoon Sailor Moon) keyring, and I can't remember what else it's been so long.  lol  Grandma got her this phone projector she really wanted.  Naomi was out with her friends, and really needed that time, but I felt obligated to call her home to thank her grandparents.  In hindsight, I probably should have just had her call the next day or something instead of cutting her time short.  

The teen years are a challenging phase for both the child and the parent.  It's time to begin establishing one's own identity and have ever-increasing independence from our families.  I was really lost as a teen, no relationship with God, no feeling of safety anywhere, no firm grasp of who I was, with my identity solely placed in my achievements and certain relationships.  I'm glad Naomi isn't like that, but like most teens, she is still formulating their own opinions and coming face-to-face with the pain and ugliness of the world, including even our relationship.  She and I continue to work through our conflicts, past and present.  At the end of the day, she knows we love her and that God loves her.  And that life can be hard, but we can become better people for it.  She has really overcome a lot over this past year.

We have been meeting with our small group at church via video for a year now.  Through that time, I visited with people, with some precautions and distance, every so often.  I went hiking in April with an old friend.  Of all the trails to pick, she decided on the Stanford Loop, the same one I just went to with the boys individually.  But we're both Stanford grads, and it was fun to reminisce.  My closest friends don't live around me, so phone calls or messages are the norm anyway, but hopefully I will get to see them in person sometime soon.

Cat chillaxin'

Made strawberry bars to use up overripened strawberries.

Cat in a box is a common occurrence

Pluto celebrating

Fruit tart

Malaysian food from Banana Leaf

She got this mug for her birthday and got a kick out of it because of me (I am a "The Office" fan).

Pluto pawing at the decorations.

Isaac helped me decorate and occupy the cat.

I continue to find Pluto in the most random places.  He was hiding in a tiny crevice in the garage.

Pluto sleeping on my lap.

With his fish and mouse toys.  He has to be in the mood to play them.

Hiking with friend J.