Corona Facebook Post and Wedding Photos

I posted this at Facebook a few minutes ago and I want to copy and paste it here so that it's easier for me to find. Things get buried quickly at Facebook.

"I'm trying to be careful, but if I should get sick (God forbid!) or even die (God really, really forbid!), I want all my friends and family to know that I love you and I'm praying for you.

"Please, everyone be careful. Stay home if you don't have to work (except to get groceries and medications), wash your hands, sanitize your homes, and stay away from people you don't live with as much as you can. I love you all and I want you all to be safe and healthy and live long lives."


I then posted this in the comments:


"Charlie still has to work and even though only about 6 or 7 other guys are there at a time, I'm still concerned about him bringing corona home. Much of his job he can do from home (phone calls and emails), but he has to be at his job to make sure his guys are doing their jobs. I'm praying though that he can stay home. At least for most days of the week.

"My mom and Sean are also still working. Keep them, Ashley, and Charlie in your prayers. As well as me and Kelly. As I said, Charlie is still working and I go out on Fridays to get groceries. (I had to go to 5 different stores trying to find what we need, but still couldn't find everything. We're going to need toilet paper soon!) But I'm having Kelly stay home to limit her exposure.

"I sanitize my hands while I'm out, I sanitize everything I buy and then the counters after putting groceries away, I sanitize door knobs and light switches, etc., and wash my hands after sanitizing and putting away the groceries.

"I don't think we can be 100% protected, but I'm hoping what I'm doing will be enough to keep us from getting sick. And, of course, prayer."

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A few more pictures from the wedding.

Such a shame that I can't spend more time with my son and my new daughter-in-law and my mom. I will do it to keep them safe (though they've come over a couple times since this all started), but I really wish this wasn't necessary. Someday this will be behind us and I hope we will all still be alive to see its end, but getting to that point seems to be taking so long. I want normal life back. :-(


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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Edited to add:

Last I heard, there were 88 positive cases in my county and 4 deaths. (2200 cases in NC and 19 deaths.) That was several hours ago. There may be more by now. My city is the third largest in NC and while we're unlikely to see the number of positive cases and deaths that Charlotte/Mecklenburg County and Raleigh/Wake County/the Triangle will have, the numbers will likely go quite a bit higher before this is over. 

But I and others are praying and we know that God can step in at anytime and put a stop to this. Only He knows why this is happening and why He hasn't stopped it yet. We can only pray, not only that He stops corona soon, but that He protects us, our families, and our friends.

Introversion

I "like" the Introverts are Awesome page on Facebook. They're always sharing great articles. Sometimes I share those same articles as well with my friends. This is one of those articles and one that I made comments about on my news feed.

10 Ways Introverts Interact Differently with the World

And this is what I had to say about it:

"They get distracted easily, but rarely feel bored.

"If you're looking to destroy an introverted person's attention span, just put them in a situation where they feel overstimulated. Due to increased sensitivity to their surroundings, introverts struggle with feeling distracted and sometimes overwhelmed in large crowds and open office spaces.

"However, when they are in peace and quiet, they have no issue tending to a favorite hobby or delving into a new book for hours."

This happens to me at church. Any little movement in my periphery or any sound, loud or not, will cause me to turn my head and see what's going on and who's making that noise (usually a baby or small child) and why. It's largely involuntary for me. I just automatically turn and look. It takes great effort for me to keep facing forward and the whole time my mind is focused on the movement or sound ("Why can't they be quiet or take their child out of the sanctuary?!") and not on what the pastor is saying. So I miss some stuff, which is very annoying.

 As for the rest of the list. Yes, I tend to withdraw from crowds. (The only place I like it crowded and loud is church.) I don't enjoy small talk. I have no interest in being "on stage" or being the center of attention (serious blushing when that happens) or being any sort of leader.

I'm easily distracted (as mentioned above) and I'm rarely bored. Others may find things like reading or being online (FB) or working on one thing for hours at a time (as I do with my family tree) boring, but I love it.

Yes, I try to be on the periphery, such as to one side of a room near an exit or the aisle seat at church, as much as possible when surrounded by people. Quick and easy exits are ideal for me so that when I've had enough, I can leave without too many hindrances.

I'm definitely a thinker. I don't like to make quick decisions (it's nearly impossible for me) or speak too soon.

I screen my calls, for sure. If I don't know who's calling (and sometimes even when I do know), I don't answer the phone. If it's a doctor or the orthodontist or dentist or a place of business, I don't answer the phone unless it's a really important expected call. Such as test results.

True that when I've had enough of a group or activity, I pretty much shut down. And if I can't get away as quickly as I need to, I get really frustrated. Kind of like a claustrophobic feeling. Like if I don't get away now  I'm going to die or explode or something. It's a very strong feeling of needing to escape "right now!" I do this at parties. That is, when I go to parties. Which is hardly ever, as I don't like them. I went to a baby shower a few weeks ago and left the house to be outside a few times just to escape the crowd and the noise. I had  to! lol


What I said above at Facebook is really just part of what it's like for me as an introvert. And, I'm sure, other introverts as well. Friends and family are of great value to me/introverts, but time alone is of equal value. I can quickly get tired of even my favorite people. lol 

You've heard the line, "It's not you, it's me". It's the same with introverts. It's not the company necessarily (though it certainly is if the company is loud and/or talkative) so much as it's just our need as introverts to be alone and "recharge the batteries" as it were. People drain us of our energy and the louder they are or the greater their number, the quicker and more desperately we need time alone.

Extraverts feel energized by being with other people. The more the merrier for them. They love parties and dinners with large groups of people and other social gatherings. Introverts, on the other hand, feel energized by being alone and then we can handle some time spent with other people. (Preferably only one or two people at a time.) However, it takes more time to recharge (time alone) than it does to be drained of energy. After a day of being around other people (whether it be a social gathering or just out and about shopping and running errands), I need 2-3 days of being home to "recover".

Anyway, I could say much more about the subject, but I'll stop here. :-)

I'm Still Here

Wow. I haven't posted a new blog entry in over a week. I didn't fall off the face of the earth for a time or anything. I've really been into this Facebook game called Gardens of Time, in addition to the mom and wife thing and reading Drums of Autumn, which I'm very close to being done with. Please excuse my neglect. (I've also been neglecting the researching of my family tree. Need to get back into that.) I know I need to post more and visit the blogs I follow.

Not much else going on really. We've got a heat wave going on (temps in the mid-90s) that I'm trying to keep cool in. The front of our house (living room, dining room, kitchen) has a hard time keeping cool though even with the A/C turned down low. Thank God for ceiling fans in the living room and kitchen.

The last day of school for my kids is next Friday. I'll be glad to not have to get up early in the mornings anymore. Not until next school year anyway.

They're having promotions at Sean's karate school/dojo this Saturday. If Sean can successfully perform whatever moves it is he's supposed to do he will get an orange belt.

As for me, the wife and mom thing, as I said. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, chauffering, grocery shopping, clothes and shoes shopping for the kids, etc.

So that's pretty much it at the moment. Y'all have a great Thursday!

Tidbits and Life Lessons

Sean is sick and will miss school today. Hopefully his sickness will be gone very soon. He's already missed too much school.

Kelly cleaned her room, including vacuuming, without being told. She then dusted the furniture in the living room and tried to straighten up my somewhat messy desk. Wonder what's got into her.

I thought she was sleeping good earlier tonight when I heard her quickly get out of her bed and practically run into the bathroom. She had lost a tooth. Gotta check my wallet and see if I have any money to leave under her pillow.

Every night when Kelly goes to bed, she plays a classical music CD or Irish instrumental CD. The rest of us need a fan to sleep. Kelly likes soothing music.

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I wrote this at Facebook:

"Before you think that you don't need someone in your life, maybe you should stop and think that they might need you in theirs."

Maybe you think they're too different or weird or that you don't have anything in common. Maybe their background isn't the same as yours. Maybe you think they're too rich or too poor or that they're not cool or hip enough or stylish enough. But give them a chance.

God often uses circumstances or people we didn't expect Him to use to bless us or to teach us or to meet a need that we have or to answer a prayer. He could be using this person to do that for you or using you to do these things for them.

How many times have we asked God to use us to be a testimony or blessing for others or to use us for His kingdom? It may be that God wants to meet someone else's need through you or meet your need through them. Don't brush them off. Don't ignore their desire to talk to you on the phone sometime or to go out to lunch or to come by their or your house to spend time together.

I'm not saying you have to hang out with every person who expresses an interest to do so. Just don't immediately decide that you're not going to have anything to do with someone just because they're different or not what you were expecting. Open your heart to God's will, seek His wisdom and you might be pleasantly surprised by what He does, how He does it and who He does it through.

To-Do List and Quotes

December is always such a busy month. And not just because of Christmas, though most of what I must do is Christmas related.

• Finish Christmas shopping, including stocking stuffers for the kids.
• Pay the car insurance this Friday.
• Get the car inspected next week and get the registration renewed for the car and Charlie's car hauler.
• Pay for Sean's Karate classes tomorrow.
• Mail off an ornament for an ornament exchange I participate in with some online friends.
• Get the tree up and decorate the house for Christmas. Including putting lights on the bushes outside. I need someone to get the Christmas boxes down out of the attic. The boxes are too big and heavy for me. Not to mention I'm afraid of heights and can't climb up into the attic.
• Wrap presents.
• Fix Christmas dinner. I haven't decided yet what I'm going to make.

The car was in bad need of an oil change. (It was practically panting for it.) I got that taken care of this morning.

I think that's it. It's possible that I'm forgetting something.

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What type of wife are you

Niki got Perfect Wife.

You are destined to be a good wife. The all-American wife waiting at home getting dinner ready for when the hubby gets home from work. With two or three kids.

Destined to be a good wife? I already am a good wife. :-D

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My current Facebook status:

"I can never remember the real words to Oh Christmas Tree since reading Catmas Carols.

"Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, your ornaments shine temptingly.
Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, your ornaments shine temptingly.
I want to wack them with my paw and chase them when they hit the floor.
Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, your ornaments shine temptingly."

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"Do not give away to others what you have not first given away at home."

"A man who's wrapped up in himself makes a very small package."

Beautiful October and a Beautiful Song

It is now one of my favorite months of the year. I love October! October in North Carolina is beautiful with its changing leaves and comfortable temperatures - highs in the 60s and 70s, lows in the 50s. We do still get some 80s in October from time to time, but they're pretty much gone now. While I love Autumn, I know that it being October means that winter will be here soon. I hate winter. My least favorite season, even if our winters are much milder than what they get up north.

We're hoping to take a day trip to the mountains again this year in a couple weeks. We had such a great time last year. I hope the weather will be just as beautiful this time as it was last year when we went.

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I've been busy cleaning house today, doing laundry and trimming bushes outside. The bush-trimming is actually kind of pathetic. I don't have shears/hedgers/whatever they're called and while we do have electric ones in the garage, I don't want to use them. I imagine they're loud and vibrate too much. So I used an old pair of scissors. The bushes don't look perfect, but they're better than they were.

I'm going to be starting supper soon, after I thaw out the meat. We're having tacos and refried beans. I'm skipping the enchiladas this time. I'm not in the mood for them and don't feel like making them.



"What do you see when you look at me? If you don't know my story, make no assumptions." -- Facebook status.

Don't You Just Hate Insincere Apologies?

"True remorse is never just a regret over consequence; it is a regret over motive." -- Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

"If you're truly sorry for what you've done, you won't continue doing whatever it is that is hurting the person you apologized to. When you're truly sorry, you change your behavior. You don't continue in it."

I wrote this at Facebook after choosing the above quote by Mignon McLaughlin as my status a few hours ago. Someone apologized to me earlier in the year for a wrong they had done, but did they change their behavior and try to make things right between us? No, they did not. This tells me that they're not really sorry. This person has continued down the same path they've been on for a good while now and has made no attempts to do what's right. None whatsoever. If you say you're sorry, but you do nothing to change, then you lied.

If there's anything I can't stand it's dishonesty and insincerity.

This is how Webster's defines apology, in the usage I'm referring to:

apol-o-gy : an admission of error [fault; lapse; mistake; screwup] or discourtesy [disrespect; rudeness; inconsiderateness; ungraciousness] accompanied by an expression of regret [grief; repentance].

re-pen-tance : the act or process of repenting especially for misdeeds or moral shortcomings.

Synonyms of repentance: contrition, penitence [sorrow for sins or faults], remorse [a gnawing distress arising from a sense of guilt for past wrongs], guilt, self-reproach [self-rebuke; self-disapproval], shame [a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming or impropriety].

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I changed my status to this shortly after the previous status:

"I have to laugh at myself. I just found two spare house keys under our front mat from when our realtor returned them almost 2 years ago! lol I didn't know they were there. I happened to see paper sticking out from under the mat and when I pulled it out, it was a small Lowe's bag with the two house keys in it. If she ever told me about it, I obviously forgot. Thank God a criminal never found them there."

Not that a criminal would need keys to get into our house, but keys would make it easier.

Reaching Out

My current Facebook status:

"Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean God isn't doing something."

A friend responded about being in a valley, feeling angry, feeling lonely. This was my response:

"I can relate to feeling angry about things. It's something I struggle with. Not that I lash out or anything. My anger is internal. I think that it does cloud our thinking. I know for me it can block out God's promises, causing me to forget what His Word says is mine. Sometimes I have to remind myself what God has said by quoting His words and promises to myself.

"As for friends, I've always been a loner and it's easy for me to isolate myself somewhat and go weeks or even months without calling anyone or hanging out with anyone. It takes real effort for me to go outside of myself and spend time with a friend. It doesn't mean I don't care about them. I just get lost in my own world and my own problems. It's something I really have to put a lot of effort into changing about myself. I have to remind myself over and over, "I need to call so-and-so", and even then I forget to and it may be weeks before I actually make that phone call.

"I pray God brings a friend into your life who can spend time with you and reach out to you. I prayed that God would bring someone like that into my life, but the friendships didn't really start forming until I reached out.

"I have a melancholy personality and am very much an introvert, so spending time alone doesn't bother me. I'm very content. For a time. But we all need friends. God created us to need each other, to pray for each other, to help each other, to spend time together. It is not good for man (or woman) to be alone. :-)"

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I was going to write something else in this entry, but I can't remember what. Maybe it will come to me later. If so, I will add it to this entry.

I will end this with a quote:

"A person who truly loves you will never let you go, no matter how hard the situation." -- Author Unknown

I am Emily Bronte

Not really. ;-)

I like taking quizzes at Facebook. I don't take a whole lot of them (compared to some), but I sometimes take several in a row if I'm bored. I took one last night the results of which were almost entirely accurate for me.

Which Famous or Infamous Woman in History are You?

I got Emily Bronte.

"You are the writer Emily Bronte. You seem to keep to yourself most of the time, and only have a few close friends. Though you are beautiful, you don't find yourself attractive. Other people in your life, whether they are your friends or your family, always come before you, and you work hard to please others. You are very educated and intelligent and school was always extremely important to you. You care mostly for writing, reading, and other arts, and people tend to think of you as a loner, and don't take the time to get to know you very well. You have a dark, lonely side to you, and though you put on a happy face, you are often very sad."

The inaccurate bits: I'm not beautiful and while I don't think that I'm stupid, I'm not as intelligent as I'd like to be either.