It has been almost 6 months since we returned from Fiji & New Zealand and I'm glad to finally have time to complete all the trip reports and edit all the videos, clearing out my blog backlogs...very productive Memorial Day Weekend. =)
As mentioned in my Winter 2018 update, this work busy season has been one of the sh*ttiest one I've had, and just as I thought things were starting to slow down in April, we were thrown with more crap to deal with through May, which resulted in more long hours, working through weekends, and a whole lot of stress. When it rains, it pours, it floods..ugh!! Unfortunately, this work crap is not over yet, more 'fun' to come.
Oh well, work never ends so let me take a break and spend time in my happy place (blogs). Here's a quick recap of my all-work-no-play life over the last 2.5 months.
Apr 21 (Sun): Easter weekend with the family. Thanks BIL & SIL for hosting!
Home-ownership 'fun'...house maintenance. Replaced our toilets, replaced the dryer vent, bought a blower to clean the gutters, and mulched.
Spent a good number of nights in hotels.
Drove several Toyota and Jeep.
Had countless meals in front of the laptop...working.
Ate-out much lesser than eating in.
My attempt to work-out consistently didn't quite work out. =P
However, one thing I managed to stay consistent through was Sunday meal-prepping. =)
Mar 10 & 17 (Sun): Roasted chickn, stir-fry veggies, stir-fry pork, chicken herbal soup, chicken noddle soup.
Mar 24 & 31 (Sun): Meatball, stir-fry veggies, pasta, mushroom egg roll, stir-fry pork, chicken noddle soup.
Apr 7 & 14 (Sun): Stir-fry potatoes, stir-fry veggies, tomyum mussel noodle soup, egg sandwich, bakuteh soup with chicken and shiitake mushroom, mushroom egg roll, beef & potato stew.
Apr 21 & 28 (Sun): Sausage, fried rice with spam and green beans, pasta, roast chicken, egg sandwich.
May 5 & 12 (Sun): Chicken herbal soup, stir-fry veggies, stir-fry pork, pasta, sausage, scrambled egg.
Beautiful spring days.
April was a tough month for the family as well. Received a message from bros on a Sunday evening that dad was admitted to the hospital because of stroke...his 2nd stroke after the last one in 2010. Another hemorrhage on the other side of the brain and he ended up being in the High-Dependency Unit (HDU) for a week. The stroke was in the thalamus, and impacted his movement, balance, speech, cognitive, and memory. =( The last stroke impacted his mobility on the left side, and while he has recovered enough to be able to walk and relied a lot on his right side, this stroke impacted his right side...a double whammy for sure. I thought about traveling back to help but since I've already booked my home trip for June, bros agreed that it made sense to wait till then, and to hire a helper to help mom at the meantime.
The road to recovery is going to be tougher than the last one but we've gotta stay optimistic, be patient, and motivate dad to help him on his path to recovery.
These lil' munchkins are gonna be his cheerleaders.
Before (left) and after (right) the stroke.
Quote to share: "Life is not about how hard you can hit. Life is about how much you can get hit and keep moving forward!"