July has been a somewhat overwhelming month so far. From trying to get Briana's apartment set up to my dad's back surgery. And just some other life things that have had me starting to realize I need to alter some my perceptions and/or expectations. Sometimes what you put out there just isn't always what comes back to you. I'll just leave it at that.
Of course, July 4th happened this year. To be honest, with the orange dementia patient hijacking and destroying everything that was the 250th - I really didn't feel like celebrating. I wasn't going to completely ignore it, but I wasn't going to do jumps and cartwheels.
I did decorate my house a bit because I do enjoy my July 4th goodies...
So to keep ourselves busy and with Briana luckily having that weekend off of work, we went to her new apartment to bring furniture and assemble it. It was a LONG day.
Heading up to the apartment...
Briana put this TV stand together herself...
This was the finished product (so far)...
The weather was all over the place that day. It did rain for a while...
B's apartment overlooks her school, especially her freshman dorm.
A rainbow appeared and there was a beautiful sunset that evening too...
Our intention was to watch the fireworks in the distance that are set off yearly in Buckhead from the apartment windows. We had ordered some food in for dinner and when I looked to see what time they would start, we realized they had happened the night before. Good grief.
So we finished eating and just headed home. We were so tired. We did see this pretty view on the way home as we went by the lake...
We just watched firework on the TV...
Bri is still living at home right now because she has to work, but she will move in to the apartment toward the end of August. Doug and I will be going there this weekend to build a little more furniture.
Speaking of Bri's work, I have ordered two sandwiches from her since she started working at Firehouse. Were they gluten-free? No. Did I eat them anyway? Yes I did. I just had to eat some of her sandwiches (yes they were delish)!
July also brought a much needed surgery for my dad. He has had back problems for a very long time and all other options had been exhausted. So, I picked up my mom and dad and took them to the hospital and it was a very long day...
It was outpatient surgery, which is amazing to me. We got to the hospital at 9:30am and didn't leave until almost 6:30 at night. I spent the night at their house in case they needed me - which they did a bit.
I went home the next day to freshen up a bit and grab something they needed, and then I went back to their house (with Doug this time) in the evening. As Doug and I headed back home, we saw not only a beautiful double rainbow, we saw an amazing sunset. The sky was showing off that night...
The good news is my dad is doing well. We won't know how well the surgery worked for a little while. He still has some healing to do. I am hoping this will help his pain and get him walking better again.
It was a draining week, so Mei snuggled up on me one morning - I think she could sense I was a bit depleted...
I will say that with all the life-ing we have had going on, having Tovala has been really great. We can just pop meals into the oven easily and not think too much about it. We love it so much, we are going to set Bri up with it when she is in her apartment. Look at these meals...
From crab cakes to chicken to beef to pork chops to Asian to southwest, it is all really good. I have either loved or liked all the meals I have tried - except for one. And it was these Reuben hot dogs...
I thought they would be fun to order around the July 4th holiday and I even decided to eat the gluten buns. Underwhelming. The hot dogs were hard. Not doing those again.
Doug and I have also had a few yummy meals out over the last couple of weeks...
And Briana made gluten-free peanut butter/chocolate/oreo mini pies...
And I should have posted this in June, but I missed it somehow. My gardenia bush bloomed for a couple of weeks in my front yard (I love gardenias) and my Christmas cactus decided to give me a bloom as well - which hasn't happened in a long time...
After a very busy couple of weeks, my friend/neighbor Jennifer asked me to come over and swim in her pool yesterday. I had not gone swimming at all this summer and it was time. We had a great catch up and I needed a quiet day.
And finally, someone got her hair chopped today. I absolutely love it! She wanted a summer do and I think it is so cute!
Hope everyone is having a good July so far!
