Life - March, & April

Man, how am I having trouble keeping up with once-a-month posts? Well, I'll tell you. I had shoulder surgery. Yeah. Not as fun or easy as I expected it to be. It's a BIT harder to sit and type on a computer than it was pre-surgery. So I'm saving computer work for my actual job.  It turns out the 4-month recovery does apply to me. I thought that since I'm young-ish and an overachiever when it comes to a challenge that I could heal faster... It has been 5 weeks and I'm over it. It just might take me 4 months to get back to a fully functional shoulder. Anywho, more on that later.

Heard around here:

Mya when asked if she'd like to go fishing - "Fishing is pretty much waiting and then being terrified." Mya has a healthy fear of most creatures. I guess fish are no exception.

I celebrated my birthday in March. I do love March. In SoCal it is usually quite lovely. And even though it rained a ton, spring started to peak out through the clouds.

My birthday was lovely. Friends helped me celebrate and the sun shone all day. 

I invited my high school fam over for a birthday shindig. They are some of my favorite people who I've known for over 27 years which is crazy. I met them when I was Mya's age. We've gone away to college, watched each other grow up, get married, etc, and stayed connected and involved in each other's lives. My kids rarely get to hang out with my high school friends so it was fun combining the two. 

Addie asked my friend Nikky questions about being a veterinarian. 

And Angus picks a guy to hang out with usually. He craves bro time.

On my birthday I treated myself to a mini shopping trip to the local Old Navy because it was either that or the mall and the mall doesn't open until 11 so I picked Old Navy. This is me sending pics to my mom and sisters. My mom always says "Oh that's very cute" because she's a positive reaffirming person no matter what. Happy Mother's Day Mom!

I went to Tilly's next door against my better judgment. Most of the items of clothing I wouldn't let my daughters wear let alone pick out for this 42-year-old body. But I did find one skirt that I thought might be acceptable. On my way to the dressing room I saw a lady who appeared to be in her late 50's shopping with her teenage daughter holding the same skirt. So I returned the skirt to the rack and walked out, never to return again. Shopping in your 40s is tricky.

This is a typical dinner when Dad's at work. The dining table is covered so we shoved the mess on the island over a bit to make room for them to eat. =) 

Mya and Winter both play the bass. The biggest instrument available. This was their spring concert.

A boy at school told Addie about his dog who "sacrificed his life" for the boy by attacking a coyote who got into his yard. Addie was so moved that she drew a picture for this kid. She loves animals. There are so many layers to this pic. First there is the pic, then Addie, then Angus photo bombing, then our friend laying on the couch minding her own business =)

At the end of March, I had surgery on my shoulder. I tore my rotator cuff working out in new ways because I tore my hip cartilage. So instead of running and hiking, I tried to incorporate swimming and more upper-body workouts. Turns out, my upper body did not like that idea. So the surgeon fixed my tear and frozen shoulder while I was unconscious. I'm on the mend and doing PT these days. If anyone needs an awesome shoulder doctor or an amazing PT place, I would highly recommend Dr. Garg in Arcadia (shoulder) and PT 360 in Covina. Both are magical. Dr. Garg also said that he has a fabulous hip doc if I ever need one so I guess I have a great hip guy rec as well. #ImOld. 

Dan took off some time from work to take care of his recovering from surgery wifey as well as all the things said wifey normally does like shuttling kids around, grocery shopping, laundry and tackling his to-do list. Unfortunately, most of us got sick during the kids' spring break so we spent it at home coughing, sneezing, and drugging ourselves with Ibuprophen, NyQuil and cough drops. These types of things don't really get me down though. They're temporary setbacks. Sickness and recovering from surgery aren't permanent and for that I'm thankful. We didn't have anything planned so it actually wasn't terrible.

A few hours after surgery before the nerve block wore off. Then there was pain.

I received some lovely flowers. This was the cutest thing I've ever seen. Thanks to the guys at Dan's work 💓

Mya and Dan have been working in the garden.

I would love to recommend this lovely tea BUT I cannot find it anywhere online for the life of me. I found it at Marshalls. So maybe it's still at Marshalls? It is so summery and tasty. 

This is the best way to open a lid on a jar without asking your husband, brusing your hand or letting words of profanity slip out. You basically tap the jar in 3 or 4 different spots with something heavy like this can opener or the back of a big knife. Not too hard. About the same pressure as you would use to clap your hands. You make a few tiny dents in the lid, releasing the vacuum seal and viola. My 8-year-old could open it after that. I learned it from my 75-year-old friend at church who lives alone.

I love this spread at Trader Joe's. It's awesome on sandwiches, toast, veggie dip or pretzel dip.

And I LOVE pickles. You can imagine my delight when I came across these. I devoured them in one night.

Starbucks Hacks Reminder to all you coffee drinkers - 

This may be old info to some of you BUT Starbucks prices have doubled in the last year so here are a few ways to save money without changing the flavor too much:

Instead of a latte, order a misto. A latte is an espresso with steamed milk. A misto is coffee with steamed milk. Not much difference in taste. But you save over a dollar. =)

Also, that fun syrup they add? Also about a dollar. Instead, just add a sugar packet. It's free.

OR just make your own coffee at home and put it in a travel Starbucks mug and walk around the grocery store like you just ordered it =) Happy caffeinating! 

And Happy Mother's Day!!