👋 Hello everyone!
Well, sometimes when it rains, it pours. Little is still doing her thing, eating her special kidney diet, drinking an insane amount of water, and seeming fairly normal aside from being way too skinny.
Just as we were getting comfortable with that, I got sick (it wasn’t COVID, but we don’t know what it was), and on the day I felt the worst, my grandma went into the hospital. We lost her that same day. She was 95—so in some ways, death was an expected thing; but it happened so quickly that none of us were ready. We drove to west Texas, then to New Mexico to be with my family and bury my grandma next to my grandpa, who died before I was born.
I grew up with my grandma living with us… at night, I would read aloud to her in Spanish from her tiny prayer book (I could read in Spanish before I could speak it), and we would do word search puzzles together (until I got too good at them). In the morning, I’d hear the tinkle of spoons stirring in coffee cups, and her low voice as she and my mama talked about all the things.
The priest at the funeral said our bodies are like cocoons for our souls—they house us while we’re here on earth, and then, one day, our souls break free, like beautiful butterflies. I believe this. She’s not gone. She’s just changed. And we just have to learn how to feel her energy again.
Until then, we must live our lives to the fullest.
What have you been up to lately? I’ve been…
🍣 Eating + Drinking
We celebrated our 23rd anniversary last month! We got super lucky and snagged a spot at Uroko for their omakase dinner. It’s usually sold out for months (there are only 6 seats), but I guess someone cancelled, and we were able to slip in that Saturday. It. Was. Amazing. These are just some of the courses we had; all nigiri, all insanely delicious. The photo on the right is my fave—the server held up this certificate of the wagyu beef that graced our plates. It was… dreamy.
My friend in Japan sends me the best things. This is baby star ramen, a crunchy, spicy, addictive snack. I pick out the peanuts, though. (A recent realization—I love peanut butter, but I don’t love peanuts.)
She also sent me some ochazuke packets, which are perfect with rice. (I vlogged about them here!)
When I was sick, one of my clients sent me a DoorDash gift card, which we promptly used for soups from Chosun. J opted for bulgogi, but I got two lovely soups that sustained me through a tough week.
This is what happens when we’re way too hungry to be ordering takeout from our favorite Chinese spot. General Tso’s chicken, rice, wonton crisps, beef with vegetables, steamed dumplings, dan dan noodles, edamame, and not pictured, egg drop soup and hot and sour soup. Leftovers for days.
A trip to H-Mart must include lunch. This time we had a spicy udon and cold noodles from Narrow Street 512. So, so, so good.
Lunch at Café No Sé: poke with shrimp chips, pickled veggies, fries, and a side salad.
We stopped at L’Oca d’Oro for an anniversary dessert. Their sweet corn cannoli and tiramisu are amazing.
Ever since we moved to Mueller, J has wanted to try the Fairways Cantina, a little spot on the nearby golf course (note: we do not golf.). We finally made it happen. Verdict: it’s just a little concession stand/diner situation, but once it cools down outside, I think we’ll sit on the patio and eat chips and watch the golfers do their thing. It’s just too cute.
💻 Organizing
We all know I’m a nerd. Lately I’ve been:
Setting up my new iPad! I finally hit the limit of what our old iPad could do, so I replaced it with an iPad Pro. That means (1) designing (BTS) home pages, creating shortcuts, setting up widgets… So much to do!
Journaling in Goodnotes. I’ve finally found a journal that I’ll keep up with every day! I’ve been doing a daily journal (2) as well as a monthly photo diary (3) in Goodnotes. If I don’t have a photo for that day, I just insert a BTS photo. It’s the best.
Sorting through my 80,000 screen grabs. I just slouch on the couch with my iPad and look through my screenshots folder in Photos, then deal with them (add to Notes, find the song, save the book in Goodreads, research the thing). I. Love. Screen grabbing.
😂 Laughing
That’s it! Thank you for reading—hit reply and tell me what you’re up to.
--Crystal
So sorry about your grandma. 🙏🦋