This and That

For the first time in several years we did nothing for the 4th of July. We normally set off our own fireworks and in the past we've watched the fireworks that Emerald Point does (about 5 minutes from our house), but this year we just stayed home. I didn't feel like going anywhere and the kids didn't even bring it up.

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This past Monday, July 3rd, shortly before midnight, marks one year since Evie Lynn died. It's hard to believe she's been gone that long. She was so sweet and funny and affectionate. We still miss her and talk about her. Sam's been dead for six months. Also hard to believe. I miss my sweet boy.

Sweet, silly Evie Lynn.

 Sweet Baby Boo, Sam.

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Sean takes his third test this afternoon. I hope and pray he passes. Just one more test after that and then hopefully he can enroll in the aviation mechanics course. We're not sure where the money is going to come from for that. We don't have it and Charlie doesn't want Sean to take out a student loan (though it would be 10s of thousands less than what it costs for a student loan for a regular/non-community college college), so I'm praying that God will work something out. It'd be great if he could find some kind of on-the-job training situation or something. The husband of a Facebook friend said something about the aviation company he works for hiring people with little to no experience and training them as mechanics, electricians, technicians, etc. It'd be great if we could find something like that for Sean.

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I've made some purchases since my last entry.

I had a pair of nude heels already, but they were T-straps (not the best look on my short legs) and had gold metal links on the T-strap part. I was kind of tired of them and had been looking for new nude heels for a long time. I got these heels at Belk. Regular price almost $90; I paid about $81 after tax.

I got this skirt (I think it's by Nine West) at Stein Mart for about $40 before tax. Click to enlarge.

Nine West dress from Belk. Regular price about $90. I got it on sale for $45.

Style & Co. dress from Macy's. Regular price about $99.50. I paid about $30.

 I got this at Macy's for about $13.

Cross-body purse from JC Penney. I got it to replace one I had that was falling apart (the lining was separating). Originally $45, I think I paid about $20.

I got this (Worthington?) white shrug at JC Penney. On sale for about $20.

I got this Westbound shirt and the pink one below at Dillard's for $26 before tax. It's been difficult to find plain shirts. I don't know why designers are creating printed and patterned (lace, etc.) tops and printed and patterned skirts. You can't wear those together. It clashes. Almost every top and almost every skirt I own are printed or patterned. :-/ I hope I can find some plain skirts sometime.

I'd like to go back and get the red one and the white one this weekend.

I got this shirt at Dillard's for $29. I'd like to get the navy one and the aqua/turquoise one (which doesn't have the crisscross on the shoulders) this weekend, if they still have my size.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Ceiling Damage, Refinancing, a Book, and Other Things

Saturday night, June 27th, we came home from a conference we'd attended at our church that evening. After changing clothes, I went to my closet to hang up the outfit I'd worn and couldn't believe what I found. The ceiling coming apart and some of my clothes soaking wet. The floor was also wet. It had rained hard pretty much all day and night. *sigh* I called Charlie, who was still in Georgia, to tell him what had happened. Thankfully, we got very little rain (and no more leaks) before he was able to come home the following Wednesday, July 1st. Charlie fixed the leak, which was coming from a cracked seal around a pipe sticking out of the roof.

The rain had begun flooding our road, and many other roads in our city, hours earlier.

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Charlie had to go back to Atlanta this past Friday, but may be coming back home today. A surprise to us both as he's usually gone at least a week or two when he gets sent out of state. Though there is a chance he may have to go to Louisiana.

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July 4th, Charlie, the kids, and I (and Sean's girlfriend Ashley) went to the home of some church friends to shoot off the fireworks Charlie had bought in Georgia. They were really great and everyone enjoyed them.

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We were contacted by our mortgage company recently about refinancing our home. We received the papers early last week and signed them and had them notarized this past Thursday, July 9th. That will bring our interest rate down a couple percentage points and save us $23,000, according to what we were told.

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Book recommendation: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I really loved it and gave it five stars at GoodReads and added it to my favorites. The best book I've read in months. It was moving, inspiring, heartbreaking, and beautiful.

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I bought a new dress a couple weeks ago at Macy's. It was originally $129, but I got it on sale for $41. Later that week, I bought a light pink shrug at Dillard's to wear with the dress.

I'm short, so this dress is below my knees by several inches. Click for larger view to see details.

Kelly and I went to the mall late Sunday afternoon (after coming home from church and eating) to get a cherry icee for me and a strawberry smoothie for her. We went in through Dillard's and on the way out I wanted to look at purses. I saw three that I really liked. I didn't want to get all three though (too expensive and it may have been a little ridiculous to get all 3) and it took me awhile to decide. They're all the same purse, but different colors. One was pink in the front and back with gray sides and white handles. One was gray in the front and back with white sides and black handles. The third was white in the front and back with black sides and pink handles. I chose the third one.

I think the charms are really cute. Originally $128. Got it on sale for $90. I love Guess purses.

Recent photos:

Milo and Sam sleeping next to me and on my lap. This was taken a few hours before I started this blog entry.

Rainbow on July 5th.

Also on July 5th. Kelly took this with my phone. View large to see rays.

Our 4th and More Quotes

The kids and I left the house shortly before 9:30 and made our way to a spot just a few minutes from our house where we had looked at the Emerald Point (Wet n' Wild) fireworks a few years ago. (I didn't want to have to deal with the crowds closer to the water park or downtown.) It's a spot most people don't know about. It seemed like in times past we had a very good view of them, but last night they seemed further away somehow. Some of the fireworks stayed below the trees, but we could see many of them. We actually saw four or five different displays at one time, all in the distance. I'm not sure where they were all coming from. I know one display was coming from the water park. One may have been in downtown Greensboro.

It wasn't as spectacular as we had hoped, but at least we got to see some.

We caught a little of Boston's fireworks on TV and then stayed up late watching a movie before calling it a night.

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Not much else to write about at the moment. I will close this entry with some new quotes (well, new to me) that I read today. Y'all may not care for them, but I really do. :-)

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” -- Winston Churchill

“He who cannot give anything away cannot feel anything either.” -- Friedrich Nietzsche

“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” -- Albert Pike

“The truly generous is the truly wise, and he who loves not others, lives unblest.” -- Henry Home

“The generous man enriches himself by giving; the miser hoards himself poor.” -- Dutch proverb

“The fountain of beauty is the heart, and every generous thought illustrates the walls of your chamber.” -- Francis Quarles

“In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present.” -- Tao Te Ching

“How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being?” -- Oscar Wilde

"Happiness quite unshared can scarcely be called happiness; it has no taste." - Charlotte Brontë

“Remember that whatever may be said by a lady or her friends, it is not part of conduct of a gallant or generous man to take up arms against a woman.” -- Sam Houston

Eclipse and a Family Gathering

I dropped the kids off at my mom's house this morning before going grocery shopping and going to see Eclipse. While I was standing in line to buy my ticket, I had to kind of laugh and subtly shake my head at the two women in front of me, who were also seeing Eclipse and both of whom appeared to be in their mid to late 20s. The second one may have been around 30.

Anyway, when the first one was asked if she wanted to contribute a dollar to a charity, she said, "No, I did that already." That surprised me. Then the next woman, who had her son with her (he was probably around 9-11 years old), stepped up after the first got her ticket and when she was asked the same question, she said, "No, my dad did that last week. His name is probably all over the wall from donating." I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows. So if a family member donates to charity, you don't feel like you should too? He or she donates for the whole family?

I could maybe see if they were asking for $10 or $20 or $50, but it's just one dollar. It just kind of surprised me. I guess I just assumed that people always donate when asked if not much is asked for. Obviously I was wrong.

And, yes, I did donate and sign my name on a paper star. And, no, I didn't do it loud enough for them to notice. They were already inside, and even if they hadn't been, it's not my style to do such a thing.

So, Eclipse. I liked it. The book Eclipse is my favorite in the series and I had really been looking forward to seeing the movie version. I read the books once two years ago, so I don't remember everything that happened that may have been left out of the movie. I suppose that's a good thing. It kept me from feeling disappointed or annoyed at any changes there may have been since I couldn't tell what was different and what wasn't.

The fights were cool, though I would've preferred it if there wasn't the sound of stone breaking. I know the vampires are supposed to be like granite or marble or something, but I found the stone-breaking sound effect a little annoying. Other than that, I liked the fights.

Loved Emmett (I hope there's more of him in Breaking Dawn) and Charlie, and it was nice that they showed some of Jasper and Rosalie's back stories. Really liked the tent scene. I'm lukewarm on Bryce Dallas Howard as Victoria. Maybe if there'd been more of her I would have a different opinion. In some ways it feels like there wasn't enough of the vampire army prior to the battle, but at the same time when they were on screen prior to the battle, I wanted the story to go back to Edward, Bella, Jacob, the Cullens and the wolfpack.

Though I liked Eclipse, I'll probably wait for the Blu-Ray before I watch it again.

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My mom dropped the kids off shortly after I got home. Her and a friend are going out to eat tonight, I think.

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An aunt of mine, my dad's youngest sister, is having a family cook-out tomorrow at her house in Fuquay-Varina. Her and Uncle Mike have a swimming pool that everyone will be swimming and playing in before we eat. I won't be in the pool though. It's not my thing really. I'll be bringing swimwear and so forth for my kids though. They're really looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to seeing my family. Some I haven't seen since my dad's funeral in May of 2006. Others I saw at my brother's wedding in September of 2008.

I don't know if there'll be fireworks at my aunt's house or not. I may or may not take the kids to see fireworks somewhere on the fourth. Definitely not downtown. It's way too crowded there on the fourth. There's a place not far from our house where you can park and see the Emerald Point or High Point fireworks from a distance.