This and That, November Through March

Sean, Ashley, and Lydia went to the Outer Banks in early October. I always worry when they take a trip, but they had a great time.

 

I think this was at Bodie Island Lighthouse.

 

At the Roanoke Island Aquarium.

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I'm not going to go into a lot of detail because of how much time has passed and because I don't remember most of the details lol, but we had a great Thanksgiving (desserts were pumpkin pie and apple pie), Anniversary (31 years), and Christmas (desserts were pumpkin pie again, key lime pie for Charlie, and homemade chocolate chip cookies). I don't remember what gifts were given. Lydia had a great time though. She loved the talking, singing tea set we got her.

 

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December 27th, Sean called me so that I could hear what Lydia calls me. (She hadn't called me anything prior to that.) He and Ashley were showing Lydia pictures of me and saying, "Who's that?" Lydia said, "Mema". It melted my heart to hear her say that with her sweet voice. She gets excited when she sees me and says, "Mema!" And when Sean's talking to me on speaker phone and she hears me she says, "Is that Mema?" Charlie is "Papa."

 

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On January 9th, I had to bring Loki to the vet because of blood in his poop. Thankfully it wasn't anything serious. He had a full anal gland, which the vet took care of. 

 

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Saturday, January 24th, it was forecasted that we would get a bunch of ice with very cold temperatures, and probably have power outages. We didn't get as much ice as was expected and we didn't lose power, but it was very cold (single digits and teens at night and in the mornings; 20s during the day). 

 

Sean, Ashley, and Lydia came to stay with us (they live about a mile or so from us) in case they lost power. I had bought a lot of food for all six of us (I had to go to five different stores to get everything we needed because people were buying up everything; I went to Walmart, Food Lion, Dollar General, Lowes Foods, and Harris Teeter) and ended up spending over $600! But at least I didn't have to worry about us going hungry.

 

We have a generator, so I cooked up a few meals ahead of time that we could heat up and have a hot meal each night for supper.

 

We got ice and sleet that Saturday evening and Sunday morning, which meant the roads were iced over. Sean, Ashley, and Lydia left sooner than we felt like they should have (Sunday afternoon) because Sean was going to try to go to work that Monday. They made it home safely, but Sean wasn't able to go to work.

 

This was taken on January 27th.

 

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Saturday, January 31st (and I think into Sunday, February 1st), we got 13 inches of snow. The biggest snow we've had in awhile. Again, I had go to three or four different stores to get what we needed because of people clearing the shelves, but I didn't spend nearly as much that time.

 

 

 

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Some time in January, Sean and Ashley told us that they're expecting another baby. On February 28th, we found out that it's a girl! She's due in September.

 

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My 53rd birthday was February 7th, Kelly's 26th birthday was February 8th, Charlie's 57th birthday was February 21st, and Lydia's 2nd birthday was March 11th.

 

Lydia is such a sweet, smart, funny, sassy, adorable little girl! She is a joy to our family and friends. She loves cats, dogs, horses, buses (yes, buses), dinosaurs, and frogs. She knows her ABCs, colors, can count to 10, knows some words in sign language, and is learning to count to 10 in Spanish. 

 

She's at that adorable age where she can't say many words correctly and has such a cute voice. Fish is feesh, car is caw, bus almost ends with a lisp, she can't say the R in horse (well, she can't pronounce the R in any words; Ls are also difficult), Kelly is Keggy or Keh-yee, dragon is gaggon, frog almost sounds like the F word. She says our cat Effie's name really well, but can't quite get Loki.

 

Anyway, I could go on, but I'll stop now. :-)

 

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Tomorrow (technically today), March 21st, is Sean and Ashley's 6th wedding anniversary! 

 

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Lydia is supposed to get tubes for her ears this Monday. She gets an ear infection nearly every month (except for the summer) and had two in one month last year. They've had to reschedule the surgery several times because if she gets sick (like a cold or anything that causes congestion), they can't do the surgery. As of today, she's not sick. Here's hoping and praying she stays well. 

 

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Anniversary, Christmas, and Shopping

Charlie and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary on December 17th. I wasn't feeling well (AF), so we didn't go anywhere. We exchanged cards and Charlie gave me flowers and a laptop. 

 

We don't usually give each other gifts. Our anniversary is a week before Christmas, so we usually just do cards and dinner out and he gives me flowers. I had been wanting a laptop for about a year or two now so I could sometimes use a computer (bigger than my phone screen) while sitting on the couch in the living room with him while he watches TV or messes with his phone. Then my computer started having problems. I don't recall bringing it up in the past couple months, but when he brought home a laptop from work over a week ago and let me use it, he remembered that I've been wanting one. 

He was going to give me the laptop for Christmas, but when he asked me what I wanted and I said, "A new stereo for my car" (the aux cord outlet doesn't work anymore and so I can't listen to my iPod in the car), he decided to give me the stereo for Christmas and the laptop for our anniversary. The stereo isn't a surprise, but the laptop was. 

 

I told him I'd like new speakers for my birthday in February (the speaker in the front passenger door quits working sometimes; the system is as old as the car - 2007), but he got me those for Christmas as well. I wasn't supposed to know that, but I looked in the box that was delivered and saw them. lol

Anyway, yeah. Twenty-nine years. Almost thirty. Our thirtieth first date anniversary (we don't actually celebrate that lol, but I mention it some years when it comes around) is April 29th. So we have been together nearly 30 years. (We got engaged on May 6th.) Which is crazy because I don't feel like I should be 30 years old, let alone married for nearly 30 years. lol And we'll be grandparents in April! That's even crazier to me! lol

We went out to eat (Cugino Forno) a couple days before our anniversary. We weren't looking at that as an anniversary date, so unofficial anniversary date. lol

 

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Christmas is almost here and I'm almost ready for it. lol Charlie finally got the tree out of the attic for me Monday night and Kelly helped me decorate it - a week before Christmas! lol But I normally leave it up until the first or second week of January, so we have some time to enjoy it. I've also bought most of the Christmas presents, including one for our mail carrier. I just have to find something for my mom (I've checked several places, but haven't found anything I think she might like) and get one more gift for Sean. I was going to get him and Ashley two each, but then I got her three, so I have to get one more for Sean.

 

For Christmas dinner, I'm making fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, black eyed peas, probably corn, and crescent rolls. Pies will be pecan and chocolate silk. And I'm going to make chocolate chip cookies because Sean wants them. I made fried chicken last year and I'm making it again this year because Sean loves my fried chicken.

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My most recent purchase (December 8th):

Boden dress. Purchased from someone on eBay. Originally around $130, I paid $38.20 after shipping and tax.

Yes, I love shirt dresses. lol Especially Boden shirt dresses.

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I forgot to mention in the entry about the storm and my car that the windshield was replaced on December 8th. I don't know how much longer it's going to be before my car is repainted and looks nice again.

Anniversary, Christmas, and a Sinus Infection

Charlie and my anniversary was December 17th. We've been married for 28 years now. We were going to go to Salvino for dinner, but there were no tables available that night. So we went to Bravo instead. (Lucky 32 would've been our next choice.) Our food was really good. We ordered cheese filled fried ravioli for our appetizer. Charlie had the pasta woozie (alfredo) and I had chicken marsala.

 

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We had a pretty good Christmas even though I was starting to get sick with a sinus infection. I had made chocolate chip cookies a few nights before Christmas. My son Sean absolutely loves my cookies (the rest of the family loves them as well), so he was excited about that. I only make them once or twice a year. He told me the other day that he wants me to make more. lol For Christmas dinner, I made fried chicken (salt and pepper on Kelly's, Cajun seasoning on Charlie, Sean, and Ashley's, Goya adobo on mine and I dipped it in honey), homemade macaroni and cheese, homemade buttermilk biscuits, corn, and black eyed peas.

We watched the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special while we ate. Sean and Ashley hadn't seen it before and they loved it. It's so funny and touching.

Gifts

 

I got Charlie two pairs of plaid/flannel house pants. (House britches. lol) Sean and Ashley got him a cup that's like Yeti, but not that brand, and something else, but I don't remember what.

I got my mom a pair of soft pajamas by Cuddl Duds (dark blue with little Christmas trees and red pick-up trucks). She gave us money.

We got Sean the set of Mission Impossible movies. (He wanted them.) We got Ashley the first Outlander book. We got Kelly a video game (Death Stranding), a plush, dark blue/navy blanket, an Ahsoka Funko Pop, a wall tapestry with mushrooms on it, and an Elder Scrolls map. Maybe something else, but I can't remember. Also candy in her stocking. Sean and Ashley got Kelly a game, I think. Maybe God of War.

We got Del and his fiancee Shari a red plaid blanket that's lined with sherpa. Mom said they're getting us a gift card. They didn't know what we wanted and I couldn't think of anything.

Charlie got me new perfume. That's all I could think of that I wanted, so when we were out on our anniversary, we went to Macy's and I picked some out after smelling a lot of it. lol I chose "I Want Choo" by Jimmy Choo. I had been wanting new perfume for a few months now. I was tired of smelling the same. lol I had been using Marc Jacobs "Daisy Dream" for the past several years. I still have about a half a bottle left, so I'll alternate.

Sean and Ashley got me a book I wanted (The Fall of Numenor by J.R.R. Tolkien), a couple boxes of Goobers, and a bag of French burnt peanuts.

When I was finishing up the Christmas shopping on the 20th (for Mom, Del, and Charlie), I went to The Extra Ingredient and bought an apron and a set of biscuit cutters. So Christmas presents for myself? lol

 

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As I mentioned earlier, I started feeling sick on Christmas day. It was bad Monday through Thursday. Wednesday being the worst. The pain in my head, face, and neck was some of the worst pain I've ever had - a 9 on a scale of 1-10. I started sneezing and coughing on Tuesday or Wednesday. Thankfully, I was never fevered. I started feeling better yesterday evening. Today I felt about 90% better. I'm planning on going to church in the morning. I'm really looking forward to it.

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If I'm able to tomorrow, I really need to pay the taxes on my car and Charlie's hauler. It was due November 30th, so it needs to get done ASAP. As long as AF doesn't arrive, I will get that done.

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*~*Nocturnal Queen*~*

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Park, Milo, Holidays, and Anniversary

November 11th - Kelly, Milo, and I went to the park.

 Milo had a lot of fun running around.

 

 

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November 15th - Milo had to have an ultrasound at a specialty vets office. They saw that his liver is significantly smaller than it should be, nodular, and mottled. They think it could be cancer or copper storage. He will have to have surgery so they can do a biopsy. Surgery will probably be in January or February. For now, he's on special food and acts totally fine - loves to eat, playful, energetic.

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November 25th - Thanksgiving. Mom, Sean, and Ashley came over. We had turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli, black eyed peas, stuffing, crescent rolls, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and chocolate chip cookies.

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Speaking of Sean and Ashley, they moved out of my mom's place and into their own place 2-3 weeks before Christmas. Right down the street from my mom. Ashley's dad moved in with them. They also bought a new washer and dryer and a new stove.

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December 17th - Charlie and I celebrated our 27th anniversary. We went out to eat before our anniversary and then on our anniversary we went out again and had Kelly with us because we also had to do some Christmas shopping.

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December 25th - Christmas. Mom, Sean, Ashley, and Del came over. (Del came over after the others had left. He had been to our mom's house earlier.) We got my mom a blanket with a Christmas pattern and thick, purple house socks. (She loves thick house socks.) We got Sean and Ashley a knife set and a cutting board. We got Del a gray and black flannel shirt and a black thermal shirt.

Sean and Ashley gave me a black Loki T-shirt (it just says "Loki" on it with each letter being a different style; the O is gold, the other letters are different shades of green) and two books from my Amazon wish list - Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber and All the Little Hopes by Leah Weiss. They got Kelly a lantern wax burner, a pack of French toast scented wax, and a pink blanket. (Kelly loves blankets.) They got Charlie golf balls.

 

Mom gave us money.

We got Kelly a Wanda/Scarlet Witch Funko Pop, a stuffed Grogu/Baby Yoda, a Slytherin pillow with stuffed snake, a video game, a pink blanket, and a bat T-shirt. (Kelly loves bats and Batman. Sean's nickname for her is "Bats".) I got Charlie two golf shirts (Izod and some kind of Pro Golf/PGA brand) and a pack of dress socks (which he really needed).

I got a Hawkeye T-shirt, a Loki T-shirt, a Hawkeye Funko Pop, a forest green wool coat with removable hood, and a throw blanket with Christmas cats on it.

For Christmas dinner, we had lasagna. Dessert was Oreo pie, pumpkin pie, and butterball cookies.

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*~*Nocturnal Queen*~*

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Easter, Surgery, Special Days for Sean

Sean and Ashley celebrated their first wedding anniversary on March 21st. They left for Southport on Friday, March 19th, and came back on Tuesday, March 23rd. It was a little cool (60s) and rained or drizzled a few times, but they enjoyed their time away. I'm glad they did, but I'm more glad that they were safe. As a mother, I always worry.

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Easter was April 4th. Possibly my favorite holiday. I feel like the older I get, the more I love it. Thankfully, the weather was gorgeous. Temperatures in the low to mid 70s and clear, Carolina blue skies. I went to church (as did my mom, Sean, and Ashley), but Charlie stayed home to avoid the possibility of being exposed to covid (which would delay his surgery) and Kelly stayed home with him. I was sad not to have them with me. Easter would've been perfect if they had been.

As for what I wore, this was probably the cheapest Easter ever. lol (Except for the year when I didn't buy anything.) I paid $17, before shipping and tax, for an Anne Klein dress off of eBay, around $20, give or take before shipping and tax, for a pair of heels from Amazon, and about $20 before tax for a straw purse from TJ Maxx. The purse I wanted was about $40 at DSW, but they were sold out. :-/ I wore an ivory/beige Calvin Klein shrug that I've had for about 10 years or so. So I spent probably less than $75 total. That's less than what I've paid for just a dress. lol Poshmark, eBay, and Mercari have made me kind of cheap now when it comes to what I pay for clothes and shoes. lol

 

I love this dress!

 

 

 

This ended up being too small. I struggled to fit the absolute necessities in it - driver's license, debit card, a little cash, my little iPod, a bottle of medicine, Tic Tacs, a pen, my cell phone, and my keys.

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Charlie went to Wesley Long on Monday, April 5th, for his covid test. Which was negative. Then his surgery was on Thursday, April 8th, at Moses Cone. It was supposed to start at 2:00 and take 3 hours, but they didn't start until almost 3:00 and were done between 4:30 and 4:45. 

 

I was in the waiting area on the 2nd floor/main entrance floor from about noon (we arrived shortly before that) until around 4:00. It was a noisy waiting room. It's open to the main hall/concourse that goes from the main entrance to several rooms, elevators, stairways, and branches/hallways. So there was a lot of foot traffic and some people were pushing carts and things. Plus, every couple minutes someone's cell phone would go off. (I had my phone on silent.) And a few people in the waiting area were having conversations. I felt like my brain was being assaulted.

 

I had passed the time reading a book (Days of Danger by Jack Hunt), getting on Facebook on my phone, dozing off, and just looking around. When my stomach started growling around 4:00, I went down to the first floor to get something from Panera. I ordered a pepperoni flatbread pizza (it was alright) and a bottle of water.

That area of the hospital was much quieter. I sat at a table near the windows across from Panera and enjoyed this more peaceful area. I was about halfway through eating my food when I got a text (they had been keeping me informed this way throughout the day) after 4:30 telling me that Charlie was out of surgery and was being taken to recovery. The doctor called shortly after that and left a message saying that everything went really well. He removed the bad part of Charlie's intestines and the rest looked great.

A few minutes later, I went back up to the waiting area where I had been. They said they were going to move him to a room in about an hour, but that didn't happen. I may have dozed off a time or two while I waited. 

 

Sometime after 6:00, they said that they should be moving Charlie to a room soon and that I could go to the waiting area on the 6th floor. I was there for about an hour when they texted me again and said that he didn't have a room yet, but that I could come to recovery to see him since visiting hours would be over in less than an hour. So, back to the second floor I went.

A nurse named Mackenzie (don't know how she spelled her name) met me outside the doors near the bigger waiting area where I'd spent most of the day and walked me to recovery to see Charlie. I spent less than 30 minutes with him before I had to leave.

Charlie was in the hospital until this past Sunday. Of course, I went to see him every day. He was in quite a bit of pain (he said an 8 out of 10) and had some periods of nausea every day. Sean came to see him once or twice and our pastor spent a few minutes with him.

The day Charlie came home, he had texted me late that morning saying he expected to get out some time after 1:00. I got in the shower shortly after that text and while I was in the shower he texted again saying he could leave right then. He then texted Sean (since I didn't respond) in a group text with me and Sean went to get him. I had just stepped out of the shower when I saw that Sean was leaving to get him.

Charlie has been sleeping in a recliner in the living room since getting home. He tried to sleep in our bed his first night home, but it was too painful to lie flat. He wasn't in the bed a minute before I had to help him up so he could sleep in a recliner. He tried again tonight/last night, but it's still a bit too painful. I told him it hasn't even been a week yet since his surgery and not to rush things.

He can go back to work in 2 weeks as long as he doesn't do any heavy lifting. 

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Sean's 24th birthday was April 9th. I hate that we couldn't spend the day with him since Charlie was in the hospital and of course I was with Charlie. Charlie had taken Sean to play golf a couple times before his surgery, so I guess that was Sean's birthday gift from us. I gave him a birthday card from us. Actually, Sean came to the hospital on his birthday for a few minutes, so I sang "happy birthday" to him in Charlie's hospital room. I'm pretty sure Ashley made him a cake.

 

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On Monday, Charlie wanted to go with me to get groceries so that he could do some walking. I also had to go to Petsmart to get filters for Loki's cat fountain. (The one on Wendover didn't have it and neither did Petco on Wendover. I found it at the Petsmart on Lawndale.) I told him that if it got to be too much that he should go sit in the car. He did fine though. We went to the pet supply stores first and then to Cugino Forno for pizza (we were the only ones there) before getting groceries at Food Lion and Walmart.

He wants to go tomorrow to buy new flooring for the house from Home Depot. We had decided on which one we wanted before his surgery, but they were sold out. I filled in my email address on the website and they emailed me a few days later saying that it's back in stock. Hopefully it still will be when we go tomorrow.

We also have to go to the vet to get one of Milo's medicines and the pet pharmacy to get his other medicine.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~

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Wedding Anniversary and Christmas

Charlie and I celebrated 25 years of marriage on December 17th. I say "celebrated", but we're not into parties or fancy dinners or big to-dos. We went to our favorite pizza place - Cugino Forno (delicious Naples style pizza - they use the original 1889 recipe and get their ingredients from Italy), exchanged cards, and he sent me flowers. Normally we probably would've gone somewhere like Salvino (great Italian food) or something, and for a few of our past anniversaries we've gone to Asheville, but we wanted to keep things simple.

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We had a pretty good Christmas. Money was tighter this year, (Charlie's truck payment for the truck he bought in the spring, vehicle tax on the Honda and Charlie's car hauler, car insurance, vet bill, etc.)  so not nearly as many presents were bought/given, but it was fine. The kids (who are technically adults) are old enough to understand.

We got Sean a video game he wanted (he wanted a couple others, but his girlfriend Ashley got those for him), a Playstation gift card, and Charlie ordered something for him that we're still waiting to be delivered. We got Kelly a book, a Fawkes Pop (Harry Potter creature), a big plush cat (can't remember if it's a Pusheen thing or what), and a Playstation gift card. And, of course, a few goodies in their stockings.

Charlie/the kids got me the perfume I wanted (I had recently run out) - Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream - and an iTunes card. I got Charlie a Calvin Klein dress shirt. I got my brother a Starbucks gift card. He goes there every morning. I got my mom a soft, purple blanket. Mom gave each of us money. I bought a book Saturday evening with part of it - Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.

I bought it at Macy's. Originally $75, but was on sale. I can't remember how much I paid. The color is called bordeaux.

The food was good. I made roast chicken, stuffing, green beans, black eyed peas, and biscuits. Desserts were apple pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate chip cookies, and butterball cookies (made with almond extract instead of vanilla).

My mom had to work Christmas Day, but came by at around 7:30 after she got off work. My brother ate dinner with us and watched a movie/TV with Charlie, and Sean's girlfriend was here for several hours.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Anniversary and Christmas

Sunday, December 17th, was mine and Charlie's 23rd wedding anniversary. We got each other cards and he gave me flowers. Neither of us felt like going out. Mostly me though. With all the busyness lately, I just wanted to stay home.

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Tuesday, December 19th, Charlie, the kids, and I (and Milo) went to Tanglewood Festival of Lights in Clemmons. We hadn't been there since the kids were little. It was really beautiful. I took lots of picture and videos.

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This past Friday night, Charlie went with me and Kelly to get groceries. (Sean was at my mom's house.) We then went to a few stores and got something to eat at Brixx Pizza. After that, we drove around the Sunset  Hills neighborhood and looked at the Christmas lights and Christmas balls. (You can find some videos on YouTube.) I took pictures and a few videos.

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Charlie and I did the Christmas shopping together on Wednesday, December 20th. I usually go alone. It was nice to have the company. The kids didn't ask for much. We got Kelly an LED potion desk lamp, a white tiger dream catcher, long sleeve Hogwarts shirt with matching toboggan (knit hat/beanie to non-Southerners), long sleeve Batman shirt with matching toboggan, Fawkes the Phoenix action figure/statue thing, Skyrim Alduin Funko Pop figure, and a plush blanket throw with a wolf and wolf cub on it.

We got Sean three video games (Star Wars Battlefront II, Need for Speed Payback, and Project Cars 2), and a year's Playstation subscription. He also wanted a Flash jacket from Hot Topic. We'll take him to get it sometime soon.

I got my mom two pairs of soft, purple pajamas (what she asked for) from Macy's. She gave each of us money. I got Charlie an Ancestry DNA kit. At first I told Charlie that I couldn't think of anything I want (that's realistic lol) and then I thought it might be nice to get a new dress. So I'm going to go shopping for a dress. If I can't find one I like I'll get boots or something else.

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 For Christmas dinner tonight, I'm making Lidia Bastianich's chicken and potatoes, green beans, and stuffing. For dessert we're having blueberry pie and cookies and cream pie.

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I'm almost done reading Scythe by Neal Shusterman. I want to finish it before the new year so I can have it on my list of books I've read this year. Since I started it this year, I want to finish it this year. I have 156 more pages to go.

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That's it for now. Merry Christmas!!!


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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Anniversary Trip to Asheville and Biltmore Estate

Charlie and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary (December 17th) by going to Asheville. We left on Thursday the 15th and came back on Saturday the 17th.

On Thursday night, we went to Biltmore Estate for the Candlelight Christmas tour. All the trees were lit, as they are during the day, and so were the fireplaces. There was live singing in the Winter Garden (to the right as you enter the house) - Christmas carols, of course - and a harp player on the 2nd or 3rd floor.

I took dozens of pictures. Here are a few of them.

Big tree in the banquet hall.

Banquet hall.

Library.

Library.

Tapestry gallery. Near the library.

Grand staircase and chandelier.

Oak Sitting Room.

Banquet hall.

Pretty tree near some back stairs.

Front lawn.

Our reservation time was 6:45. We got there pretty early, so we went to the shops (formerly stables) right next to the house until it was time for us to enter the house. It was a very cold night (about 26° with wind chills probably about 20° or colder), but there were heaters above us that worked pretty well if you stayed away from the entrance, which was opened and had a pretty good breeze coming in. I bought some cherry cordials (10 milk chocolate and 10 dark chocolate), which cost more than I remember them costing last time ($2.50 each; I think they were half that last time, but I could be wrong). Charlie got himself a cup of coffee and got me a cup of hot chocolate.

After two sips, my stomach started hurting for some reason. Charlie got me some water so I could take medicine (which I always have with me) and I eventually started feeling a little better, but then when we were more than halfway through the tour (in the kitchen in the basement) I started feeling extremely nauseated. I kept clearing my throat trying to keep from vomiting. The last thing I wanted to do was throw up in Biltmore House. And there are no public restrooms in the house. I was clearing my throat and praying! lol

When we were done at Biltmore, we went to a grocery store near our hotel to get crackers and medicine for nausea. After we got to our room, I told Charlie to go ahead and get himself something to eat and that I would just eat crackers, but he said he was fine with the box of Cheez-Its he was eating. :-/

I stayed up late eating crackers and waiting to feel better. I fell asleep watching TV around 3:00 AM. I woke up after 4:00 with a splitting headache from the very uncomfortable hotel pillow. I sat up, threw the pillow in the floor, and tried my best to sleep without one. I woke up a lot. :-/

When I woke up that morning sometime between 9:00 and 11:00, I still wasn't feeling well. I no longer felt like I was going to throw up, so that was good, but my stomach still didn't feel right. We left the hotel sometime after 3:00 and went to the mall to do some Christmas shopping. Though my stomach was still hurting a bit, I was also feeling kind of hungry, so I got a cinnamon scone at Barnes and Noble.

We were able to get a few gifts (we also picked up a couple things at Walmart later) before going to Vinnie's Neighborhood Italian restaurant for dinner. We loved it when we went there two years ago. I should've gotten the same thing I got last time (penne marinara), but I got the chicken piccata (something I love at one of the local Italian restaurants in Greensboro) and for some reason it was covered with onions. I've never heard of onions on chicken piccata. That wouldn't have bothered me so much if it had had enough lemon flavor in it, but it didn't quite have enough. The spaghetti with red sauce that was served with it was pretty good, but I couldn't finish it because my stomach started hurting again. :-/

As I mentioned earlier, we went to Walmart also that night. The main reason being so that I could get a pillow. The one I got was so much more comfortable than the hotel pillow and I slept much better that night.

I ate some more crackers that night while I watched TV and hoped my stomach would start feeling better. Again, I fell asleep watching TV. I woke up sometime after 4:00 and thought I set the alarm on my phone, but apparently I forgot to touch "done" and so it never went off. :-/ Charlie woke me up about a quarter after 10 and I got ready as quickly as I could and packed up our stuff.

I had wanted to eat breakfast at the place we usually eat breakfast at in Asheville, but we were too late for that. So we had lunch instead. I ordered salisbury steak, but what I got was nothing like any salisbury steak I've ever had. Instead of a cube steak or two covered with gravy, onions, and mushrooms (I wouldn't have eaten the onions or mushrooms), it was a big ball of meat filled with onions (more like a meatloaf, which I hate) and covered with gravy. It didn't taste good to me and I couldn't eat it. I did eat the little bit of mashed potatoes and gravy I ordered with it, most of the little bit of macaroni and cheese, and most of a biscuit. I started feeling sick again (I had actually woken up still feeling sick) and couldn't finish the macaroni and cheese or the biscuit.

Despite the really cold temperatures (of course, it warmed up to near 60° the day we left) and my stomach hurting me the whole time, we really enjoyed our trip to Asheville.

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I've made one clothing purchase for myself since my last entry.

Daryl Dixon (The Walking Dead) t-shirt.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Hanging Rock, 21 Years, Christmas Preparation

Saturday, December 12th, Sean, Kelly, Ashley, my mom, and I went to Hanging Rock State Park. Hanging Rock is about 30 minutes east/northeast of Pilot Mountain.

The kids and I loved it. My mom loved it too until we had to hike back up to the car. We saw a couple waterfalls (Hidden Falls and Window Falls) before going back to the car. It wasn't easy hiking back, but it was even harder for my mom. We stopped several times so she could rest.

 Sean.

 

When we got back to the car, the kids and I went to another waterfall (Upper Cascades) that's across the road from the parking lot. It's a bit of a hike too, but not as far or as steep as the first two we went to.

 Kelly, Ashley, and Sean.

After coming back up the stairs from that waterfall, Sean wanted to find a way down to where the waterfall drops again. There were three wooden steps/ledges we had seen to our right on the way to the waterfall. We went back to those steps and literally had to climb down. It was very steep, almost vertical, and I had to sit on my butt a few times, hold onto tree trunks, roots, and rocks, and carefully work my way down. If I'd stayed on my feet I most likely would've slipped or tumbled down. I would've broken something if I'd done that.

 View from the top, before we started climbing down.

 Looking up at where we came from. This picture doesn't really do justice to how steep and, at times, treacherous it was. And it's hard to tell in this picture how far down we climbed.

Sean told me later that he was surprised when he looked up and saw me coming down with him. He thought I would've been too scared. I did hesitate for a few seconds, but I ignored my nervousness and went for it. It was fun, even if it was a little treacherous. Ashley and Kelly were too afraid and thought Sean and I were crazy. They sat down on the wooden ledges and waited for us.

There was another small waterfall down there, a pool and a stream, and some very large boulders.

The climb back up was literally a climb. We were on our hands and knees at times, grabbing onto rocks and roots and tree trunks trying to pull ourselves back up to the top. We made it without injury. We were just a little dirty and out of breath.

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Sunrise at our house the next morning:

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Thursday, December 17th, was mine and Charlie's 21st wedding anniversary. He had wanted to go somewhere for a couple days like we did last year, but since he had to miss some work due to his illness, he didn't really have enough PTO left to go on a trip and  take a couple days off near Christmas. That was okay though. Just as long as we're together, that's all that matters.

So, we just had a dinner date. We chose a place we'd never eaten at before - Lucky 32. I'd always heard they had good food. And they do. We loved it! Charlie had the meatloaf and I had the stew beef with rice. That Saturday night, we went back and had the kids and Ashley with us. Sean didn't eat anything, but the girls did and they loved it. I had the same thing I got last time, Charlie had the jambalaya, Kelly had the chicken and dumplings, and Ashley had the same thing I got.

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I finally did the stocking stuffer shopping last night. (I bought a few non-stocking stuffer items as well, including a couple ornaments.) I was expecting really awful crowds, but it actually wasn't too bad. Walmart, of course, was really busy, but I didn't have to wait in line long. Dick's Sporting Goods was crazy. The checkout line went almost all the way to the back of the store. So, I walked out without getting anything. All the other places I went to (CVS; Target; Kohl's; Bed, Bath and Beyond; Belk; Macy's; Belk Home Store; Rite Aid) were really easy to get in and out of.

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And now it's Christmas Eve. My plans for the day are just preparing for Christmas Day. Clean house, stuff the stockings, and wrap presents.

MERRY

CHRISTMAS!!